Hands-On Learning Layout

My hubby used to teach Sunday school and asked me to help him out when he was doing a Passover meal for the class, so I got a few photos of the kids enjoying (or not) the foods. I decided to use the title "Hands on Learning" because it's the start of the school year and because it really was an interactive way to learn about this piece of history that is still relevant today. All the embellishments on the layout were die-cut on my Cricut using Design Space, and it was a lot of work, especially the seder plate items. Some were very detailed and didn't cut well at the small scale I needed, so I had to use the contour tool to remove all those details, which took more time than I should have spent - LOL! I popped up the sheep and the plate using dimensional tape, and the tag behind the plate pulls out to reveal my journaling, also done on my Cricut using a Cricut pen.

Recipe:
I Want Candy paper
Sapphire, Carolina, Fern, Canary, Shortbread, Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
Sapphire, Carolina & Chocolate ink
Navy pen (Cricut)
White Daisy grosgrain ribbon
3-D foam tape
Opaque Texture Paste (Ranger)
Starry Night Stencil (Simple Stories)
Cricut Design Space: title (using Thick font), all Passover themed die-cuts, journaling (using BFC Autumn Woodland font)
Cricut Just Because cartridge: sheep
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Challenges: Farm Quest Grocery Game Challenges #21 Anything food related; A Cut Above Anything goes with a die-cut (I used a ton!); Stencil Fun Anything Goes with a stencil - I used a star stencil and texture paste to create the background behind the lower right photo; Unicorn Challenge Blog #113 Circles

Right Now Layout

I combined a few photos of my kids in October 2018 on this layout. There wasn't room for a bunch of journaling on the front, so I plan to write a little bit on the back. However, the photo of my daughter with her red face needs some explanation: she got hit in the face with a ball at school, and although it was painful at first, we later discovered she liked the attention so much that she started putting make-up on her face to make it look like it was still red!

Recipe:
Honeycomb stamp set
Magnolia papers (MME)
Nectarine, Mocha & White Daisy cardstock
Nectarine, Ruby & Pacifica ink
Baby Blue marker (Zig)
Bold & Bright Thickers (American Crafts)
Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altenew)
Ruby washi tape
Lumberjack Plaid Distress Spritz (Ranger)
Red ribbon (recycled from a gift)
Corner rounder
Circle Double Stitched Steel Dies (Art Impressions)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped border
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Apr1

Challenges: Cut It Up #337 Anything Goes including a die-cut; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone

My 100th Layout for 2025 - Cuteness!

I am so excited to meet my yearly scrapbooking goal early this year, especially since I had to crank out 9 layouts in the last week of  December last year in order to make my goal of 100 layouts! These photos were especially meaningful to scrap since they involved a new addition to my two youngest kids' biological family. I covered up the names for privacy reasons, but my kids were definitely excited to meet their new half sister.

Recipe:
Framework Alphabet stamp set
Oh Happy Day papers & Stickers (Simple Stories)
Ballerina cardstock
Vellum
Ballerina, Raspberry, Canary, Juniper & Black ink
Black marker
Highlights PML card
Pink grosgrain ribbon (Michaels)
Cool Summer Nights & Summer Afternoon enamel shapes (Altenew)
Washi tape (Recollections)
Cricut Design Space: hexagons
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #14 (right side only, my third time using this sketch this month for a challenge)

Challenges: Crafter's Cafe #322 Anything Goes with option twist of patterned paper; Cut It Up #337 Anything Goes with a die-cut (hexagons); Paper Rocks Scissors - used scissors to fussy cut my title and trim the ends of the ribbon.

2 Little Pumpkins Layout for Heart's Quest Challenge Blog

This month, I was asked to be a guest designer for Heart's Quest Challenge Blog, so here is my layout with a sprinkling of orange hearts as requested. The other option is purple hearts, which would also be fun, so I may do another layout featuring purple hearts! 

Recipe:
Thoughtful Seasons stamp set
Blue Mini Page Kit (Colorbok)
Honey Butter, Slate & White daisy cardstock
Nectarine ink
Light Grey fineliner pen (ibayam)
Hopscotch PML card
Puppy Love & Falling for You Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Unicorn ribbon (American Crafts)
Cricut Design Space: Cat, title using BFC Night Kiss font
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #72 (rotated left)

Challenges: Let's Craft & Create #222 Polka Dots and/or stripes (used both); Neglected Stuff Challenge - the papers, tag, and vellum sentiment are from an old mini kit I last used in 2020; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone

Fix Layout

I was hoping to have this layout done for the Lasting Memories Stash Busters challenge reveal yesterday, but my week got too busy, so here it is at last. I still added chipboard and acrylic for the challenge. These were rather odd photos to scrapbook, but I wanted to pay tribute to my hard-working husband, so I went ahead and chronicled how he fixed the walkway that tree roots were lifting up.

Update:

Recipe:
My Happy Place papers (Doodlebug Designs)
Wicker Lane papers (Photoplay)
Toffee & White Daisy cardstock
Pear, Juniper, Cotton Candy, Canary & Black ink
Black marker
DE Monograms chipboard
White acrylic hearts
Canary baker's twine
Mind Your Manners Fundamentals stickers (Bella Blvd)
3-D foam tape
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #73

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #821 Circle of Life - I used lots of circles; Crafter's Cafe #322 - Anything Goes including patterned papers; Paper Rocks Scissors #7 - used lots of patterned papers and cut the baker's twine with my scissors; Love Those Pretty Papers

Women's Retreat 2025 Bookmarks

Our church's women's retreat is coming up this weekend, and since I had some free time on my hands, I volunteered to make bookmarks for each lady attending. I had done this before at my old church, but we usually only had about 25 ladies, so I didn't consider how much work would be involved in making 70 bookmarks! My printer doesn't like thick paper, so I ended up printing the Bible verse on colored printer paper, stamping the designs, and then adhering it to the patterned paper before laminating it and hole punching it to add the ribbon. I made the first 25 but was already getting tired of the design, so I decided to make three iterations. Here's the first set:

And the second (2 variations since I ran out of plaid ribbon):

And the third:

And in case you, are wondering what 70 bookmarks looks like, here they all are together!

Design 1 recipe:
Love Life & Save the Date stamp sets
Meg Paisley paper (Making Memories)
Amethyst, Spring Iris, Ocean & Black ink
Lavender gingham ribbon (Michaels)

Design 2 recipe:
Tickled Pink, Bugs & Hugs, Love Life & Grown with Love stamp sets
Brown Paisley (DCWV)
Brown Bag, Mocha, Sunflower & Capri ink
Pure Brown marker (Zig)
Plaid ribbon (Berwick)

Design 3 recipe:
May Word Puzzle, Love Life & Find Your Style stamp sets
Floral paper (from my stash, source unknown)
Raspberry, Pixie & Pear ink
Plaid ribbon (Berwick)

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #7 - I cut each length of ribbon in addition to trimming individual bookmarks that were a little wonky!; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone - I usually submit scrapbook layouts, so I though this would be a nice change of pace.

10 Things That Make Today Great Layout

My husband and eldest son love to hike, while I love to scrapbook, so put them together and I get to scrapbook pictures of them hiking! The younger kids and I were actually part of this excursion, so I dredged up every fun thing about it that I could remember for my journaling. I may never love hiking, but spending time with my family is priceless.

Recipe:
10 Things & Forest Critters stamp sets
Pathfinding paper
Kraft, Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
Saffron, Olive, Glacier & Chocolate ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Yellow paper flowers (Recollections)
Beige Adornaments fiber (EK Success)
Summer Harmony Bigger Brads
Summer Afternoon enamel dots (Altenew)
3-D foam tape
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title shape & frame
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #14 (I'm doing a challenge to use the same sketch five times, so you will be seeing this sketch again this month!)

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #820 Be Krafty (use kraft cardstock); Neglected Stuff Challenge - my neglected stuff is the two stamp sets: "10 Things" I seldom use because I'm usually too lazy to come up with 10 things, and "Forest Critter" I bought and forgot about until now; The Outlawz Festive Friday Challenge - Critters; Double Trouble #197 You're in the Spotlight - my three colors are blue, green, and yellow, and I played along with Triple B's August challenge by adding some blooms to my layout.

Our Christmas Tree Layout

Every year, we go down to Walmart soon after Thanksgiving to pick out a tree. The kids are less interested now that they are older, so I am happy to have these photos of a time when they thought this was exciting! I played along with Rochelle Spears' monthly sketch, and it was like a puzzle figuring out how all those layers fit together. I'm pretty pleased with the results, but I think I will go simple on my next layout - LOL!

Recipe:
One Wish papers (Sweetwater)
Santa's Village & The Holiday Life papers (Simple Stories)
Merry Christmas paper (from my stash, source unknown)
Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine & Colonial White cardstock
Cranberry, Saffron & Cocoa ink
Sap Green fineliner pen (iBayam)
White gel pen (Sakura)
Scrapbook Stitches Forest Green embroidery floss (Making Memories)
Jingle All The Way decorative brads and chipboard (Simple Stories)
Merry Little Christmas Ephemera Words (Bella Blvd)
The Holiday Life Journal Bits (Simple Stories)
Magic Mesh (Creative Imaginations)
Believe rub on (I had to insert a V from another set because the V in the word got crumpled up)
Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: TREE, stamps
Pattern: Rochelle Spears August sketch

Challenges: Can You Handle the Pressure? Anything Goes with an embossing folder; Cut it Up #336 Use a sentiment and a die-cut (hopefully the title, "the perfect tree," and "Merry Christmas" count as sentiments; Let's Craft and Create #222 Use polka dots and/or stripes (I used both); Love Those Pretty Papers; Scrap With Stacy August Tic Tac Toe board - I used the left column and the middle row.

Party Layout

I missed Christmas in July but decided to scrap a few Christmas events in August. Here's my first layout, using photos from my husband's work party. My kids were pretty fascinated by the guy carving the ice sculpture, but he was taking forever so we never got to see it finished because we had to get home. Unfortunately, many of my photos from this night are grainy because of the low light conditions, but at least the memory is preserved, right?

Recipe:
Very Merry Christmas & Cityscape stamp sets
Sparkle & Shine papers
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas paper (Echo Park)
Juniper, Ruby, Slate & White Daisy cardstock
Juniper, Ruby & Slate ink
Black marker
Sparkle & Shine chipboard
White organdy ribbon
Ruby baker's twine
White embroidery floss
Ruby sparkle buttons
Winter stickers (Recollections)
Silver Stickles (Ranger)
Lumberjack Plaid distress spritz (Ranger)
Christmas Tree steel die-cuts (these were a gift so I don't know the source)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #113

Christmas Challenges: The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #189 Anything Christmas Goes; Make My Monday #258 Snow in August (Christmas); NBUS #77 - my never before used stuff is a set of Christmas tree dies that were a RAK from someone at Scrapbook.com)

Autumn Days Layout

Last week, I scrapped photos from the car show at a local park, so here is the companion page showing our visit to the pumpkin patch at the same park later that day. There is a pocket page between the two layouts with more photos from the events, so I didn't try to match the other page at all!

The bottom right picture also lifts up to reveal two more photos, one of them with my journaling on it. I wrote about the lack of clearly defined seasons in Southern California and how a visit to the pumpkin patch signals the advent of autumn.

Recipe:
Fall Favorites stamp set
A perfect Autumn & Celebrate Autumn papers (Echo Park)
Kraft cardstock
Mocha, Saddle & Nectarine ink
Chocolate pigment ink
Shin-Han Touch Twin markers
White gel pen (Sakura)
Clear embossing powder
Brown grosgrain ribbon (Michaels)
Puppy Love Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug)
Woodgrain washi tape
Autumn to Remember woodgrain die-cut & word stickers (SU)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #121

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #76 Anything Goes with red and/or orange hearts; A Cut Above Anything Goes with a die-cut; NBUS #77 my never before used schtuff is the woodgrain title and the three banner/phrases under the circle, all from the SU collection Autumn to Remember