Dinner @ the Crypt Layout

This layout, featuring a few pictures we took at the Cafe in the Crypt at St. Martins-in-the-Fields, seems like the perfect one to post on Halloween night because we were actually dining on top of the gravestones in the underground crypt! Loved the atmosphere of the place, too.

Recipe:
Tiny Typewriter Alphabet stamp set
Jeepers Creepers & Dreamin' Big papers
Ruby, Whisper, Steel, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Whisper, Grey Wool & Black ink
Black marker
Warm Grey ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Licorice Opaques pearls
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: monogram letters in title
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: bones, spiderweb, rat
Cricut Artiste cartridge: gravestone
Pattern: Sketches in Thyme #344 (revised a little so I could add three photos)

Challenges: Heart 2 Heart photo & color challenge (I didn't have all the colors so I improvised using older colors); Bitten By the Bug Halloween challenge (even thought these aren't actually Halloween photos, I went with a Halloween theme and used lots of Halloween Cricut cuts)

National Gallery Layout

I was invited to be the guest designer for a month over at Lasting Memories, and am excited to show off the weekly technique on which they will be focusing. This week, it's torn paper, not something I do very often, but I really like the look of the torn kraft paper on this layout. The paper I chose didn't have a white core that would be exposed when I tore it, so I may have to do this challenge again using paper of that type. Feel free to join us at the link above to play along with the challenges this month!

Recipe:
Skylark papers
Kraft, Lagoon & Colonial White cardstock
Lagoon & Desert Sand ink
Pure Brown marker (Zig)
White gel pen (Sakura)
Craft buttons
Sweet Leaf, Chocolate, Colonial White & Lagoon embroidery floss
Color Ready cork alphabet stickers
3-D foam tape
Heart & flower punches (EK Success)
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: title
Pattern: EMS Sketch 67

Brianna's Crazy Hair Day Layout

After so many years of scrapbooking boys (yet buying girly papers I couldn't use but couldn't live without), I am reveling in getting to scrapbook a girl! Brianna has lived with us since 2014, first as a foster child and then as our adopted daughter, but I was so many years behind in my scrapbooks that I hadn't yet scrapped her. So fun getting to use pink on a page, and perfect for the Lasting Memories challenge to use lots of pink on a page. This page is for her school album, and I adore these sweet photos of her looking sassy with her crazy hair. Funny story: my 8 year old son wandered by while I was making this page, saw the "my favorite" sentiment, and exclaimed in dismay, "Brianna's your favorite?" I had to explain it referred to the crazy hair, not her status  in our family! Since Brianna's the only girl, guess I better be careful what I put on her pages lest I start a family feud. . .

Recipe:
Dream Pop papers
Dutch Blue & Creme Brulee cardstock
Steel Grey marker (Zig)
My Crush Bestie Assortment circle sticker
Love Letters rub-ons
Grey Wool baker's twine
Assorted Cricut cartridges: title
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap #163

Brianna's Halloween Layout

Working on some layouts for my daughter's school album. These pictures were from a Halloween carnival at her school, but she was wearing a blue Elsa dress, so I had to hunt through my stash to find something to blend the Halloween colors with the blue. Hopefully the papers I chose did the trick!

Recipe:
Splendor papers
Goldrush, Topiary, Black & Colonial White cardstock
Goldrush, Heavenly Blue & Topiary ink
Goldrush marker
ShinHan Touch Twin markers (Clay, Mahogany)
Cricut Atrbooking cartridge: title, candy
Cricut Artiste cartridge: spider
Cricut Artistry cartridge: pumpkin, hey there
Challenges: Bitten by the Bug fall words using a Cricut cut (Halloween, pumpkin); Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Halloween;  Lasting Memories October Events - Halloween

Valiant Layout

For this layout of Trafalgar Square in London, I started with the October 15th sketch from Let's Scrap, and moved things around a bit until I got the look I wanted. Since Trafalgar Square commemorates the British naval victory at the battle of Trafalgar, I added a ship and some waves, and my journaling is all about Admiral Lord Nelson, commander of the British fleet, who was killed by a French sharpshooter in the battle. Just a fun tidbit: I included a picture of a pigeon because my kids used to love watching the animated movie, Valiant, which features a pigeon who goes to London to sign up for the Royal Pigeon Homing Service during WWII. And where does he enlist? At Trafalgar Square, of course!

Let's Scrap Sketch:

My Layout:

Recipe:
Pet Shop papers (KI Memories)
Goldrush, Whisper, Cocoa & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Whisper & Sky ink
Steel Grey marker (Zig)
Cats & Bats enamel dots
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: ship, waves, title
Challenges: The Studio Dotty about Dots challenge

EMS Sketch Challenge 68 - 1 of a Kind Layout

I haven't created a sketch for a while, so I whipped up one for these pictures from the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall Palace in London. If you have a bunch of vertical photos, this sketch can accommodate them!

The sketch:

My layout:

Click on the photo to enlarge it so you can read the journaling about this amazing place!

Recipe:
Animal Cookies, Basic Paper Fundamentals & Free to Be Me papers
White Daisy cardstock
Tulip, Creme Brulee & Desert Sand ink
Gold metallic marker
Antiqued Gold Durables triangle studs
Trinkets Wooden Shapes
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: title
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped borders
Challenges: Scrap With Stacy Song Inspiration (using the lyrics "take a good look around" from You're Gonna Miss This)

An InLinkz Link-up

Bed & Breakfast Layout

My hubby took pictures on several days of us enjoying breakfast at the Portobello Hotel in London; it was truly delicious. Due to the extensive amounts of walking we did, it's probably one of the few times in my life that I could indulge in a chocolate croissant for breakfast every day without gaining pounds and pounds! For the layout, I used a sketch from Sketches in Thyme, but broke the 10" x 8" photo space up into a grid of smaller photos. I kept everything pretty simple because the papers were kind of busy.

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Beautiful Friendship papers & stickers
Sapphire, Canary & White Daisy cardstock
Smoothie & Buttercup ink
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: tea kettle, title
Challenges: Bitten By the Bug "Coffee, Tea, You & Me" challenge

Horse Guards Layout

I'm hosting the Hooray for Hollywood Virtual Scrapbook Night over at Splitcoast Stampers this month, so I wanted to share a few of the challenges over the next week and invite everyone to play along. You have until the end of October to complete the challenges, and all you need is a free Splitcoast Stampers account in order to post your layouts in the gallery. Here's my layout for the
Celebrity Stash Busters challenge. We needed to use stash items (nothing new) that start with the letters in CELEBS. Here's my list!

C - chipboard, chevron washi tape
E - embossing (Lagoon strip using chevron embossing folder)
L - Lagoon cardstock, ink, and washi tape; Love Life stamp set
E - Enamel hearts
B - Baker's twine
S - Sparkle & Shine patterned papers, Stickles

I also used the new sketch from Let's Sketch.

And here's my layout:

Recipe:
Vintage Type & Love Life stamp sets
Sparkle & Shine papers
Black, Lagoon, Slate, Whisper & White Daisy cardstock
Ruby, Slate, Black & Lagoon ink
Ruby & silver baker's twine
Black grosgrain ribbon
Silver ribbon
Enamel hearts
Ruby chevron and Lagoon herringbone washi tape
You & Me Irresistibles chipboard
Xmas Red Stickles (Ranger)
Chevron embossing folder
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tags, scalloped border
Cricut Noah's ABS Animals Cartridge: horse, title

A Study In Greatness Layout

I'm hosting the Hooray for Hollywood Virtual Scrapbook Night over at Splitcoast Stampers this weekend, so I wanted to share a few of the challenges over the next week and invite everyone to play along. The challenges will all be posted this weekend, but you have until the end of October to complete them. Here's my layout for the Scandal Sheet Challenge.

The layout title was inspired by the title of Geoffrey Best's biography of Winston Churchill. My little known fact about Winston Churchill (at least I didn't know it!) is that he was born at Blenheim Palace into the aristocracy in the direct line of the Dukes of Marlborough, and his mother was an American.

The picture of Churchill's uniform and top hat flips up to reveal a hidden journaling card:

Recipe:
Victory & Make It Count stamp sets
Newsprint stamp set (SU)
Victory papers
Kraft, Fern, Outdoor Denim, Cashmere, Chocolate, Sapphire & Colonial White cardstock
Chocolate, Desert Sand, Fern, Slate & Black ink
Versamark ink
Gold embossing powder
Olive & Outdoor Denim craft buttons
Colonial White embroidery floss
Sapphire baker's twine
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: star circle
Pattern: Rochelle Spears October 2018 sketch (rotated, plus I added a grid design for the right hand page).
Challenges: The Studio Challenges numbers challenge - I added a clock to my layout, so that's 12 numbers!

Ben Franklin House Layout

I'm hosting the Hooray for Hollywood Virtual Scrapbook Night over at Splitcoast Stampers this weekend, so I wanted to share a few of the challenges over the next week and invite everyone to play along. The challenges will all be posted this weekend, but you have until the end of October to complete them. Here's my layout for the Celebrity Homes Tour Challenge.

I didn't have a Hollywood home to scrapbook, but I figured Benjamin Franklin is a pretty huge celebrity in American history, so here are some photos from the home he lived in for 16 years in London. I included a fun fact we learned on the tour (click on the photo to see a close-up view of the journaling), and I have some hidden journaling about the strange looking object in the photos on the right page. It's a replica of the original glass armonica invented by Franklin. (If you're not sure what an armonica is, check out this video). We were able to try it out to see if we could make it work!

Recipe:
Swirl Strokes Caps & Lowercase Alphabet, Take Note & Connections stamp sets
Emporium papers & My Stickease
Barn Red, Buttercup & Colonial White cardstock
Barn Red, Sweet Leaf, Cocoa, Creme Brulee & Crystal Blue ink
Colonial White ric-rac
Sweet Leaf ribbon
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: journal page
Cricut Artistry cartridge: house
Pattern: EMS Sketch 57