Living Desert Layout

I finished several layouts of the Los Angeles Zoo and now I'm moving on to another zoo, this time in Palm Desert. My husband took the boys, so I had to ask him for details from which to write the  journaling. It makes for a nice change to have his perspective covered in our family scrapbooks. BTW, this is my intro page for the Living Desert, and I realized after I did the journaling that the pictures don't show any animals, but trust me, they were there!

Recipe:
Clementine papers
Creme Brulee, Saddle, Twilight & Colonial White cardstock
Saddle, Sorbet & Twilight ink
Twilight (CTMH) & Coffee (Zig) markers
Field Notes Journaling Ephemera Collection (American Crafts)
My Crush Best Day Ever arrow sticker
Sorbet ribbon
Natural hemp
Cricut Art Philosophy + Artiste cartridges: title (created in Cricut Design Space)
Cricut Southwest cartridge: cacti, flower
Pattern: Let's Scrap sketch 1-15-19 (right side only)

Challenges: Lasting Memories This or That - Trims challenge (I used ribbon, hemp, and paper strips)

Unforgettable Elephants Layout

Four years ago, my neighbor moved and gave me a box of scrapbooking paper she didn't want to take with her. One of the designs had elephants on it, which isn't something I would ordinarily need, but I'm finally putting it to use! It was perfect for these elephant photos taken at the L.A. Zoo. The elephant accents were punched out of the portion of the paper that is covered by the other other papers. For the title, I tried a new technique with stamped outline letters that I partially filled in using an alcohol marker. I like the finished look, so hopefully you do, too.

Here's what it says on the hidden journaling on the tag: The elephant encounter at the zoo was really cool! The zoo keepers actually ask the elephants to touch their trunk to the top of their head or to lie down as ways of checking their health and getting safe access to parts of the animal they need to examine. It was an experience we will not forget soon.

Recipe:
Framework Alphabet & Picture Perfect stamp sets
Elephant paper (from my stash)
Slate, Whisper & White Daisy cardstock
Black, Slate, Goldrush & Whisper ink
Steel Grey marker (Zig)
ShinHan Touch Twin marker - Marigold
Grey Wool baker's twine
Enamel stars
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: Sketches in Thyme #355

Challenges: Try Stampin' on Tuesday #391 mixed fonts
Joy Of Sets Tic-tac-toe challenge (I chose twine-circle-blue)

Anniversary Card

It's my 27th wedding anniversary tomorrow, and I wanted to make a card for my hubby that wasn't too frilly yet expressed my appreciation for him. Using a sketch from Try Stampin' on Tuesday, I created a bold black and white design with just a tiny pop of color. Here's hoping he likes it!

Recipe:
Feel So Blessed stamp set
For Always papers
Black & White Daisy cardstock
Black ink
ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Gold metallic marker
White Daisy organdy ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: couple
Challenges: The Paper Girls #167 - Black & White
Pattern: Try Stampin' on Tuesday #390

Be a Little Crazy Layout

Today I scrapbooked some bittersweet memories of one of the last excursions my boys had with our neighbor girl, Cassidy, before she moved away. I combined mostly older products with a few new items, using as inspiration two layouts I scraplifted from Katerina (Trek) over at Scrapbook.com.

Recipe:
Moments in Time stamp set
Roxie papers
Colonial White & Black cardstock
Black, Steel, Desert Sand & Tulip ink
Black marker
Black epoxy dots
Mod Great Lengths Titles sticker (CM)
Escape the Ordinary Thickers (American Crafts)
Zoo animals stickers (from my stash)
Challenges: Heart 2 Heart The Important Things - I chose friendship and laughter!; Use Your Stuff As Time Goes By - I'm scrapbooking photos from 2014, so quite a bit of time has gone by and the little boys in the photos are no longer so little! Also I included a calendar and the "today" sticker to emphasize the time theme.

Spring Blooms Layout

My husband loves to take pictures of flowers, so I usually wind up with a bunch of really pretty pictures and the decision whether or not to include them in our family scrapbooks. I decided to go for it with this batch that he took at the zoo, since I figure it's one thing I want the kids to remember about their dad - his love of beauty. Plus I love the picture of me and the kids checking out that fun bloom!

Recipe:
Hooray Bouquet & You Are My Happy stamp sets
Hopscotch papers
Glacier, Sunset, Cocoa & Colonial White cardstock
Glacier, Sunset, Smoothie, Cocoa & Flaxen ink
ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Gazebo Titles stickers (CM)
Mocha Opaques Pearls
Craft buttons
White embroidery floss
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: butterfly, flowers, scalloped border
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 2
Challenges: Lasting Memories This or That challenge (buttons, bling)

Going to the Zoo Layout

Do you ever have times when you're scrapbooking a place or event that you've scrapbooked several times, and it's hard to figure out how to get a fresh look? I find that happens to me when I'm working with zoo pictures, which is why I don't even bring the camera anymore when we visit the zoo! For this layout, I tried to bring a fresh look using some older papers and embellishments in combination with a brand new sketch from Rochelle Spears.

Recipe:
Distressed Backgrounds stamp set
Expedition papers
Olive & Autumn Terracotta cardstock
Olive, Chocolate & Autumn Terracotta ink
Vellum animals (from my stash)
Natural Twill ribbon
Timberline Assortment wooden shapes
Cork Hearts & Arrow stickers (American Crafts)
Safari Font stickers (Karen Foster Designs)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: rings
Pattern: Rochelle Spears January 2019 sketch

Escape the Ordinary Layout

For the first 2019 Scrapbook Variety Challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers, I am asking everyone to dig into their stash of neglected tools and pull out at least one tool that has been collecting dust, and then put it to work on a layout. Surveying my stash of tools, I re-discovered my embossing stylus, light box, and metal stencils, which I used to create the vertical strip and the decorative circles on my layout. I then inked up the vertical strip (also the dotted circle, which was done using an embossing folder on my Cuttlebug)  and used a marker to color in the pattern on the circles. My final touch was to pull out a tool that was formerly much used but has been hardly touched for several years, my corner rounder, to round the outside corners of the photos. So what is your most neglected tool? Pull it out and let's see what you can do to bring it back to life!

Recipe:
Black, Lagoon, Willow & White Daisy cardstock
Lagoon, Sky & Clover Meadow ink
Black marker
Cerulean Blue ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Lagoon baker's twine
Escape the Ordinary thickers (American Crafts
Riley chipboard buttons (Love, Elsie)
Cats and Bats & Blue enamel dots
Dreamweaver circle stencil
Lasting Impressions geometric stencil
CTMH Confetti embossing folder
Pattern: EMS Sketch 25 (much modified!)

4 Precious Gifts Layout

Christmas Eve 2014! The title of this layout is extra special because it has a double meaning. First, each of the kids received a gift that they could use that night, with Adrian and Elliot receiving pajamas (Grandma made Adrian's) and Brianna and Oliver receiving I Spy quilts that Grandma made for their beds, a cherished tradition ever since we first brought Adrian home with an I Spy quilt made by friends of his birth family. That's the first precious gift, but the true gift is the four children gathered around the tree. In retrospect, this was a tough time of integrating two younger sibling into a pre-existing family, but there were also so many sweet moments for which I am truly thankful!

FYI: I was moving papers around on my desk and noticed the little mouse (rat?) die-cut left over from Halloween scrapping. He reminded me of the "Night Before Christmas" line about "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," so I added him for fun.

Recipe:
Sparkle & Shine papers and chipboard
Ruby, Juniper & White Daisy cardstock
Ruby, Juniper & Slate ink
Steel Gray marker (Zig)
Ruby baker's twine
Sparkles Holiday Shapes
Chipboard 4 (from my stash)
Cricut Noah's ABC Animals cartridge: title
Pattern: Scraplift of Lela's Jurassic World layout
Challenges: Scrap With Stacy photo inspiration (I was inspired to add sparkly "strings" to my chipboard circles, which then inspired me to add sparkles everywhere!)

EMS Sketch Challenge 71 - Christmas Eve Party Layout

Time for the first sketch of 2019. I haven't been very consistent about posting these in the past, but I'm giving it another try, so wish me luck! You'll notice this sketch doesn't have any measurements on it. That's because it's composed mainly of scrap pieces. My intent is to encourage you to dig into your stash and throw together a bunch of paper scraps that complement your photos. The scraps don't have to be the same sizes as the ones I used; I've suggested an arrangement of scraps, but figure out what works for you and go for it! And don't forget to link up your completed layout at the bottom of this post.

The sketch:

My layout:

And here is the front and back of the tag with my hidden journaling:

Recipe:
Jingle Borders & Share the Magic stamp sets
Believe papers
Kraft, Holiday Red, Sky & White Daisy cardstock
Desert Sand & Tuxedo Black
Pure Brown marker (Zig)
Prismacolor Watercolor pencils
White Daisy brad
Red ribbon (repurposed from a gift)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Artiste & Artbooking cartridges: snowflakes
Challenges: The Paper Girls Santa and his elves (a new challenge blog for me but it fit perfectly for these photos!); Double Trouble challenge #18 - for Thing 1's challenge, I used circles & snowflakes for my shapes & for Thing 2's challenge, I played along with the Paper Girls' Santa challenge. (Would have loved to get all three challenge categories in with this layout but couldn't figure out how to incorporate birds without it seeming really random!)

An InLinkz Link-up

Sing Christmas Layout

It's usually challenging to capture photos of kids singing because they are frequently moving as well, but I managed to get a few shots during practice and our church service of the Sunday school kids singing Go Tell It on the Mountain. Yes, the obnoxious boy making faces in the background of the soloists is our son, but fortunately the top photos were taken during practice and he behaved himself in church - LOL!

Recipe:
Tiny Typewriter & Notice the Details stamp sets
Cream & Green Holly paper (DCWV)
Evensong and Pear & Partridge papers
Cranberry & Champagne cardstock
Cranberry, New England Ivy, Champagne, Desert Sand & Chocolate ink
Pear & Partridge PML cards
Cranberry grosgrain ribbon
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: title
Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl embossing folder
Pattern: EMS Sketch 65
Challenges: Double Trouble challenge #18 - for Thing 1's challenge, I used circles, rectangles, and banners for my shapes & for Thing 3's challenge, I added some song birds (great inspiration, since I was having trouble deciding how to embellish this layout until I read your challenge!)