Friends {8th Grade} Layout

I'm playing along with a challenge over at A Cherry on Top that requires both black & White and color photos, something I almost never use, but I remembered that my 8th grade photo album that is falling apart has a bunch of mixed photos. Pulling it out, I found exactly what I needed: a bunch of random photos from 8th grade, some color and some black & white! The only common theme that stitches them together is that they feature my school friends, and, even 40 years later, I can still name most of them without looking at the names I carefully printed on the back (in ball point pen, but that's another issue).  I decided not to clutter up the layout by printing all the names on the front, but I will definitely make a list and place it on the back of my layout so I can remember these long ago friends!

Recipe:
Design & Display "Friends" kit
Pear cardstock
Heart punch (EK Success)
Challenges: As You Like It Favorite 2 Color Combo - I love the look of pink and green together because the green is so soothing and the pink is a little hotter but not too hot!; Craft Rocket #126 No Designer Paper

Dragonboat Races Layout

Every summer, my husband loves to participate in the dragonboat races. In 2018, his team placed second, and someone was nice enough to take some pictures of the team so I could scrapbook them!

Recipe:
Save the Date and You & Me stamp sets
Summer Vibes papers
Glacier, Candy Apple, Lemonade, Kraft & White Daisy cardstock
Glacier, Candy Apple, Sunny Yellow, Nectarine, Fern & Black ink
Black marker
Color Kaleidoscope sticker (American Crafts)
Sweet Rush Collection - Loving This puffy stickers (American Crafts)
Color Kaleidoscope Thickers (American Crafts)
Star Attraction Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge: curvy arrow
Cricut Design Space: title, boat, dragon, arrows
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #87

Challenges: A Cut Above Anything Goes with a die;-cut; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone; Double Trouble #193 My Guy - includes  boat and oars for optional twist of how my guy likes to spend his time!

EMS Sketch Challenge #122 + My Favorite Flakes Layout

It's Sunday, which means another Lasting Memories challenge has started, and it's a really fun one. Lisa gave us a list of paper sizes that we need to include on our layout. I decided to pull out photos from our Mammoth vacation in April 2018; I scrapped the rest of my photos from that vacation, but then was waiting for my Stampin' Up order with the adorable Snowy Scenes papers to arrive. Since my papers were brand new, I didn't just want to randomly cut into them, only to decide I wanted to use them differently, so I created a sketch with the four papers Lisa challenged us to use, and I even extended it into a double pager with a repeat of two of the papers. Feel free to play along with the Lasting Memories challenge, either using the sketch as inspiration, or just getting creative on your own. Be sure to leave a link in the comments if you use the sketch! 

Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

Recipe:
Snowy Scenes papers (SU)
Candy Apple, Almond, Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
Glacier & Almond ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
White gel pen (Sakura)
CTMH chipboard
White Pines flair
Cricut Design Space: snowman, title using BFC Night Kiss font
Challenges: Cut It Up #331 - anything goes including a die-cut

{Shipwrecked} Imagination Station Layout for Lasting Memories #751

Hello, everyone. It's a happy day here in Southern California because my daughter's softball team won their second playoff game yesterday despite fierce winds and lots of dust in the air! Congrats, Cougars! And that was on top of my daughter receiving the Most Improved Player award at the sports banquet on Friday night, so it's been a good sports weekend for our family.

In other news, Lasting Memories has a new challenge posted, another Tic-Tac-Toe Board, and I got to scrap some more fun memories from Shipwrecked VBS. I chose the middle column with Stripes + Flowers + Stickers, which was a popular one with the rest of the Design Team. There are so many fun combinations you could use, though, so we would love to see you create a layout and link it up over at Lasting Memories before the end of the month!

Here's my layout:

And here's the board:

Recipe:
Background Elements stamp set
At the Zoo paper (Doodlebug Designs)
Sweet Safari paper
Magnolia paper (MME)
Desert Sand, Chocolate, Pear, Clover Meadow & Lagoon ink
Clover Meadow marker
Spring Green marker (Zig)
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Chocolate brads
Telling Our Story adhesive brads (Echo Park)
Bold & Bright ephemera (American Crafts)
Monkey sticker (Frances Meyer)
Summer Afternoon & Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altenew)
3-D foam tape
Cricut Artistry cartridge: monkey, vines (edited in Design Space)
Cricut Design Space: title using Cricut Sans font
Miscellaneous Cricut cartridges: flowers (they were in my leftovers box and I'm too lazy to look them all up!)
Pattern: found on Pinterest, possibly a Michelle van Wyk sketch - I reversed it because I will have a photo storage page between the left and right sides of my layout and so wanted to have my title on the left page.

Challenges: Cut It Up #330 Send Me Flowers - used die-cut and sticker flowers

Award Layout

My third layout for National Scrapbooking Day! We were so proud of my son Elliot for winning the perseverance award in third grade. He has ADHD, so school was hard for him, which made this a great achievement!

Recipe
Blue Ribbon stamp set
School Days paper (MME)
Good Times paper
Sweet Leaf, Brown Bag, Journey & White Daisy cardstock
Sweet Leaf, Brown Bag & Chocolate ink
Fineliner pen (iBayam)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: hexagons
Cricut Artistry cartridge: arrow circle
Cricut Simply Sweet cartridge: title
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #101

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #805 Use stash items - everything on here is from my stash; The Male Room #197 Masculine + Geometric

SVK Layout

I had some cute photos of my daughter in Sunday school at my old church, and I decided to scrapbook them on this bright yellow paper as a reflection of how much fun the kids had in their class! The design is pulled from two old sketches, one of which I had used before (see here) and one I had not. I added a strip of paper all the way across both pages to tie the two together, plus used the Juniper cardstock and patterned paper to form a visual triangle and further unite the pages. Hope it worked!

In case you're wondering, SV was the initials of our church and the K is for kids!

Recipe:
Reasons to Smile paper pad (American Crafts)
Oh Happy Day papers (Simple Stories)
Sunflower & Juniper cardstock
Sunflower, Juniper & Poppy ink
Black marker
Reasons to Smile ephemera & puffy stickers (American Crafts)
Oh Happy Day ephemera (Simple Stories)
Summer Afternoon & Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altenew)
Cricut artiste cartridge: title
Patterns: Sketch-n-Scrap #169 & #192

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #71 Pink and/or red hearts (I used both colors)

January 2018 Layout

Happy Valentine's Day! Is anyone scrapping today? My hubby and I went to dinner last night because he has to work a super long shift today, so I have extra time to get creative. Something I have been enjoying over the past couple of years is using random pictures from a certain month to create a monthly layout. This one features photos from January 2018, where I didn't have enough photos to make a full layout of an event or the photos weren't good enough quality to merit a separate layout. But I am still glad I scrapped them because they feature people I love!

Recipe:
State of Mind & Conversation Hearts stamp sets
Topstitch papers & stickers
Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
White Daisy textured cardstock
Chocolate, Desert Sand, Heavenly Blue & Baby Pink ink
Brown marker (Zig)
Highlights PML card
Tan sparkles
Grid washi tape (Recollections)
White Lacey Trims (49 and Market)
White paper flowers (Recollections)
Heart stencil (Scrapbook.com)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Design Space: title using Medina Script font
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #95

Challenges: Challenge YOUrself  #134 hearts + a picture of myself (used stenciled and stamped hearts + I managed three photos of myself!); Double Trouble #184 Love Is In the Air (my 2 shapes are hearts and circles, my sentiment is Savor This Moment, and I included Thing 3's optional twist of  hearts + a "talky" heart)

Top Golf Layout

I started this layout three weeks ago and just couldn't figure out how to finish it once I got  the photos and patterned papers on it, so I put it aside until today. Coming back to it, I added a title and some puffy hearts, plus stamped some phrases on the talk bubbles, and now I am much happier with it!

Recipe:
Captured Happiness & Friendship Word Puzzle stamp sets
Summer Celebration B&T papers
Black & White Daisy cardstock
Topiary, Dutch Blue, Ocean & Watermelon ink
Black marker
Hopscotch PML card
Bubblegum Hearts & Blue Jean Hearts Puffy Shapes (Doodlebug Designs)
Falling for You Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Cricut Design Space: title using Mochiy Pop One
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #68

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #69 Anything Goes with multicolored hearts

San Dimas Parade Layout

I had a bunch of photos from a Christmas parade my kids attended, so instead of using a sketch, I decided to crop them to odd sizes and fit them together like a puzzle. Haven't done this for a while, but it was fun to play with!

Recipe:
Snowhaven paper
Brown Bag, Candy Apple, Evergreen, Carolina, Sapphire & White Daisy cardstock
Whisper & Black ink
Black & Goldrush markers
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Silver & White gel pens (Sakura)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Classic Snowflakes stickers (EK Success)
Black label tape (Dymo)
Black stripe grosgrain ribbon
Xmas Red & Stardust Stickles (Ranger)
Cricut Speaking of Winter cartridge: title
Challenges: Cut It Up #319 use more than one die-cut (my title used lots of die cuts); Time Out Challenges #278 photo inspiration (inspired to do a creative title)

Disney Day Layout

My hubby took our older boys to Disneyland, which gave me an opportunity to pull out some Disney themed papers and stickers and create this fun layout! 

Recipe:
Chocolate Alphabet Large & Trinity Alphabet stamps
Happiest Place papers
Glacier & White Daisy cardstock
Glacier, Candy Apple & Sunny Yellow ink
Black marker
Acrylic shapes
Say Cheese III stickers (Simple Stories)
Magical Adventures Element stickers (Echo Park)
Halloween Mix epoxy stickers (Bella Blvd)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: starburst border
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #88 (reversed)

Challenges: Park Hopping My Happy Place - inspired by Disneyland!

The Medieval Palace Layout

I am still working on photos from the Tower of London, but got stuck on this layout for a couple of weeks. It was supposed to be a scraplift, but I didn't take into account that I had a very limited selection of papers and no embellishments to use in certain spots, so I kept trying to figure out what to use. I finally decided to simplify and omit the highly embellished tags on the original layout, so it's must simpler than I originally planned. I'm glad to get it into the album so I can move on, so it's all good!

The medieval palace at the Tower of London is made up of three towers, so I put photos of St. Thomas Tower on the left page of the layout, and photos of Wakefield Tower and Lanthorn Tower on the right page. In between is a photo storage page with journaling and more photos, some of which I showed off below.

Recipe:

Newsprint Alphabet stamp set (SU)
Once Upon a Time papers (P13)
Indian Corn Blue, Kraft & White Daisy cardstock
Indian Corn Blue & Candy Red ink
Cobalt Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Yesterday & Today PML cards
Trinkets Wooden shapes
Wooden Arrows
Durables Artisan Studs
White wired ribbon (from my stash, source unknown)
Red ribbon (Offray)
Scalloped border punch (Fiskars)

Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: Scraplift from Scrapbook.com

Forever Family Layout

There is a saying in the adoption community that kids, especially those who have bounced around in the foster care system and moved from home to home for years, just want a forever family. For the fortunate ones, their birth parent gets his or her act together and is reunited with the child, but for many, adoption by another family is the only way they will ever experience what it means to have a forever family. Our Brianna and Oliver (Angel) were in the latter category, and I am finally caught up enough to scrapbook the day they became part of our forever family. There were a lot of details I wanted to remember about the day but also keep private just for us, so I created a pocket on the right hand page to hold my journaling about this amazing day. Suffice it to say that the people in the photos were some of the ones who supported us on our three-year journey to adoption. 

Recipe:
Background Builders & Love Tags stamp sets
Wicker Lane papers (Photoplay)
Outdoor Denim, Sundance, Raspberry, Kraft & White Daisy cardstock
Outdoor Denim, Goldrush, Raspberry, Capri & Juniper ink
Clear embossing powder
Love This Wood Titles
Key Charms (Bead Landing)
Raspberry baker's twine
Lollydoodle Assortment Flair
DE Hearts chipboard
Miracle chipboard
Miracle stickers
Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altnew)
Washi tape (from my stash, source unknown)
White heart brads (from my stash, source unknown)
3-D foam tape
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: banner, scalloped borders
Cricut Artiste cartridge: tag
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #39

Challenges: Cut It Up #304 Send Me Flowers - I used some pretty floral paper across the center of my layout; Festive Fridays #159 - I used silver (key) + brads (hearts) + embossing (on chipboard heart & the word family) + family sentiment

Inspiration Station #61 (used flower paper and similar colors of pink and yellow)

Imagination Station Layout

I always take a bunch of photos at Vacation Bible School (or my hubby does), and then I have to decide which ones to put on a layout, always a challenge. I'm so grateful for pocket pages so I can slip a bunch more photos in between the two sides of my double page spread and don't have to worry about creating yet another layout for them! While creating this layout, I wanted to use a funky font stamp set for the title, but the "i" had a curly tail and looked more like a "j" so I did something I have never done before - I cut my stamp! I love the result, but it was a weird feeling to do surgery on a stamp. Has anyone ever done that? Am I strange to feel weird about it? LOL!

Recipe:
Swirl Stroke Caps and Lowercase stamp sets
Hip Hip Hooray paper
Field Trip papers (American Crafts)
Carolina, Sundance, Fern & White Daisy cardstock
Carolina, Sundance, Bluebird & Fern ink
Star Spangled Blue marker
Candy Apple Shimmer Trim
Cricut Accent Essentials: gears
Cricut Artiste cartridge: puzzle pieces
Pattern: scraplift from Splitcoast Stampers
Challenges: Double Trouble #166 Stash and Trash (Thing 1 - used papers from 2 paper packs); Colorful Options (I started out using the Royal Blue option, but ended up adding too many other colors, so I switched to the rainbow option)

O Come All Ye Faithful Layout

My last layout for 2023 is also the last layout I needed to complete for 2016! I started this layout in October but it was not working for me, so I put it aside and finally decided to finish it tonight. I fell ten short of my scrapping goal this year (only made it to 90) but am looking forward to a new year and hopefully more scrapping fun. Happy New Year, everyone!

Recipe:
A Typeface, Glory to God & Trim the tree stamp sets
Mistletoe papers
Cranberry, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, New England Ivy & Black ink
Black marker
Sparkles Holiday Shapes
Black button brads
Red ribbon (recycled)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, ornaments, stars, tag
Cricut Artiste cartridge: pocket
Cricut Design Space: nativity scene
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 98

Brianna's 9th Birthday Layout for Lasting Memories #667

It's time for another challenge from Lasting Memories, and hopefully this one will kickstart your creativity like it did mine! Design team member Sandy is celebrating her birthday today, so she challenged us to create a layout using numbers and tags plus three or more patterned papers. We could also play along with the optional birthday theme, which I did by using photos from my daughter's 9th birthday. All of Lasting Memories' September challenges will be open until the 30th, so hop on over and join in the fun!

Recipe:
Happy Birthday stamp set
Jan - March 2023 Mix In papers
Black, Sorbet, Honey Butter, Glacier & White Daisy cardstock
Black ink
White gel pen (Sakura)
Sorbet ribbon

Love Letters rub-on
Freshly Baked, Red & Teal enamel dots
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, tags
Corner rounder
Pattern: Stick It Down September double page sketch (found on their Facebook page)

Challenges: Color My Heart Color Dare #565 - used Melon + yellow, blue, black, and white.

Under the Wrappings Layout

I missed last week's Christmas in July challenge from Double Trouble, so I was excited to see they had a new Christmas challenge, this time asking us to include a Santa hat. While I was trying to figure out how to add the hat, I noticed Farm Quest Challenges had a bear challenge and, in one of photos, my son was reading from a Christmas book called Little Cub. What could be more perfect than to add the bear die-cut I found over on Cricut Design Space and give him a Santa hat and a present to hold? Great inspiration from these challenge blogs!

And here's a close-up of the cute little die-cut bear:

Recipe (all products CTMH unless stated):
Friendship Alphabet Small stamp set
Sparkle & Shine papers
Ruby, Scarlet, Almond, Chocolate, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Ruby, Juniper, Almond, Chocolate & Slate ink
Sienna fineliner marker (iBayam)
Sparkle & Shine Complements chipboard
DE Tags chipboard
Ruby glitter buttons
White Daisy embroidery floss
Grey and white twine (Recollections)
Xmas Red Stickles (Ranger)
Clear shimmer brush
Cricut Design Space: bear using Digital Gems cut file
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: gift
Cricut Artistry cartridge: Santa hat (modified in Design Space)
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Feb3

Challenges: Double Trouble #143 Christmas in July (Thing 1 = Christmas project + Thing 2 = enter your project at  Jingle Belles' Santa's Hat challenge + Thing 3 = include a Santa hat; Farm Quest Challenges #32 Bears; The Crafter's Cafe #299 Christmas in July

Huxley Layout

If I had been allowed to make the decision, we would have never adopted our dog Huxley (we already had two dogs so I didn't see a strong need for a third one), but I was outvoted by my hubby and kids, so he's now a loved part of the family. For this layout telling the story of how Huxley came into our lives, I pulled out a sketch I designed for Splitcoast Stampers in 2015, then flipped it upside down to suit my pictures. I used the same base cardstock for both pages, but for some reason it came out different shades when I scanned it.

Recipe:
Pet Shop papers (KI Memories)
Shortbread, Carolina & Paprika cardstock
Autumn Terracotta, Chocolate, Sky, Mink & Slate ink
Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Pet Shop chipboard letters, stickers & epoxy stickers (KI Memories)
Wedding chipboard letters (KI Memories)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: hearts, banners
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15May3

Challenges: Double Trouble #134 PAWsome Pets (Things 1 = include a dog or cat on your project + Thing 2 = play along with Use Your Stuff #480 Animals)

Making a Splash Layout for Lasting Memories #640

Another Sunday morning, and here's another fun challenge from Lasting Memories. This month we are being inspired by some special days, so here's the first one, World Wildlife Day on March 3rd. Lori asked us to create a layout and add an animal to it by using photos, patterned papers and/or embellishments. I went with photos of the wild marine animals at Sea World (okay, some are trained so maybe not so wild as those in the ocean), then used some stickers and pocket cards to carry out the theme. Lori has lots of creative ways to use this theme, not just with actual wild animal photos, so hop on over to Lasting Memories for some inspiration, and then play along!

Recipe:
Stacy's Hand Alphabet & My Life stamp sets
Fish Tales papers (Photo Play)
Glacier, Nectarine, Lagoon & White Daisy cardstock
Crystal Blue, Nectarine, Lagoon & Outdoor Denim ink
Turquoise fineliner pen (iBayam)
Fish Tales stickers & pocket cards (Photo Play)
Color Kaleidoscope puffy stickers (American Crafts)
Crisp Air enamel shapes
Capri shimmer trim
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: sunburst borders
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: curvy rectangle
Cricut Simply Sweet cartridge: heart
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch16Sep3

Challenges: Critter Crazy Challenge #72 Anything Goes with a featured critter (I used dolphins, seals, puffer fish, killer whales); Park Hopping Anything Goes inspired by a theme park

Relax! Layout

My cat Thor is able to stretch out and sleep in the weirdest places, so I thought it would be fun to create a layout showing a couple of his favorite spots to relax. I even got into the act in one of those photos, and I  must confess cuddling on my bed with my kitty and a good book on my Kindle seems like the definition of bliss to me!

Recipe:
Good Day Sunshine papers and stickers (Echo Park)
Juniper, Poppy, Outdoor Denim & White Daisy cardstock
Juniper, Poppy & Outdoor Denim ink
Maize grosgrain ribbon (Offray)
Black label tape (Dymo)
Cricut Artiste Cartridge: title
Pattern: EMS Sketch #24

Challenges: Double Trouble #118 Relaxation Celebration (Thing 1 = I'm not a beach person so my relax day is cuddling with my kitty who really knows how to relax! + Thing 2 = played along with Crafter's Cafe #288 Relaxation Day challenge + Thing 3 = included flower paper and stickers); Critter Crazy #65 Anything Goes with a featured animal

Cave Fun Layout

For my final photos from our church's Cave Quest VBS, I adapted a sketch from Stick It Down and played along with a couple of challenges to inspire me. I probably should have added journaling, but I  didn't really feel like tracking down the lady who was in charge to ask what the kids were doing in the photos, so feel free to use your imagination!

Recipe:
A Typeface stamp set
Something Fierce papers & chipboard
Bluebird, Carolina & Canary cardstock
Bluebird, Carolina, Topiary & Canary ink
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: postage stamp frame
Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge: starbursts
Pattern: Stick It Down July 2022 double page sketch

Challenges: Lasting Memories #606 Opposites Attract - Big and Small (used large cardstock starburst and small stamped starbursts, and used large and small lettering on my title); Heart 2 Heart Summer Fun (for our family, summertime includes Vacation Bible School, which our church calls Summer Blast, and what could be more fun than that?)