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)

Luncheon Layout for Lasting Memories #762

I love shopping my stash, so I was really excited when I saw that fellow Lasting Memories designer Wendy had decided to do a stash busting challenge this month. The first week, she has asked us to use any or all of the following: ribbons, lace, fibers. I chose to use some ribbon to make two big bows on my layout. Hopefully you decide to join us over at Lasting Memories this month to use some of the items that are piling up in your stash!

Recipe:
Hawthorne papers
Vanilla Cream, Sangria & New England Ivy cardstock
Saffron, Toffee, Sage, New England Ivy, Vineyard Berry & Sapphire ink
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Wild Wheat ribbon (SU)
Cork Color-Ready Alphabet Stickers
Mocha Opaques pearls
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #14

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #7 - used the scissors to trim my ribbon ends and to fussy cut the hexagon paper; Love Those Pretty Papers - I had lots of fun fussy cutting the hexagon paper and creating the journaling pocket with folded over paper; Colorful Options - this rich color palette worked perfectly for my photos and paper!

Hooray for Today Layout

Today's layout is a birthday one, so I dug into my stash and found some fun birthday themed papers to use along with one of my sketches. It came together pretty quickly, but then my scanner malfunctioned so I had to take photos with my phone and stitch the layout together, which is why the page on the right looks greyer than the left hand page.

Recipe:
State of Mind stamp set
It's Your Birthday papers (Echo Park)
Raven textured cardstock (Bazzill)
White Daisy cardstock
Vellum
Candy Apple, Clover Meadow & Black ink
Rainbow Acrylic Shapes - hearts
Cranberry brads
It's Your Birthday ephemera (Echo Park)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #117

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #76 Orange or red hearts; Little Red Wagon #817 F is for Food (birthday cupcakes); Love Those Pretty Papers (4 fun patterned papers); The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card-Free Zone

Highlights {Science Center} Layout

We were excited to see the Treasures of King Tutankhamun exhibit at the California Science Center in 2018, but the tickets had timed entry, so these photos were taken while waiting for our time to enter the exhibit.

Recipe:
Sweetheart & These Are My People papers
Black cardstock
Green textured cardstock (from MU stash, source unknown)
Pixie, Green Apple & Black ink
White gel pen (Sakura)
Bold & Bright Title Thickers and ephemera (American Crafts)
Blush ribbon
White embroidery floss
Craft buttons
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #117

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #5 - included 5 patterned papers and used my scissors to trim the ends of the ribbon and embroidery floss; Let's Craft and Create #220 - Anything Goes with optional twist to use buttons; Color My Heart Color Dare #654 - my additional color is green.

Go Fish Layout

I have scrapped pictures from the Aquarium of the Pacific at least four times that I recall, so at first I wasn't sure what to call this layout to differentiate it from all those other times, but the title Go Fish popped into my head, so I went with it!

Recipe:
Lollipop Shoppe & Colo Me Silly papers (Basic Grey)
Red speckle & colorful dot papers (from my big bag of scraps, source unknown)
Glacier & Sapphire cardstock
Tangerine textured cardstock (Bazzill Papers)
Tangerine gel pen (Cricut)
Simply White Nuvo Drops
Fish punch (EK Success)
Funky Journaling Genie (Chatterbox)
Cricut Design Space: waves
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #113

Challenges: Neglected Stuff June challenge - I dug into my bag of paper scraps and found three old papers from Basic Grey to make my waves, plus I used the Funky Journaling Genie that I haven't used in 10+ years as a guideline for my writing; Paper Rocks Scissors #5 - used my scissors to cut out the triangles for the sun;  Colorful Options June 2025 - I ended up using a rainbow of colors, but also had a "by the sea" theme, so I decided to include the inspiration board as well!

About My Father Layout

I struggled a bit with this layout, since the card I made for my hubby was red but my son's card was orange, but eventually I decided to go with an orangy-red background and brown + kraft accents. Hopefully you think it worked! The journaling was fun to do; I went with a list of things my hubby does for/with our family rather than just telling all the things we did this Father's Day.

Recipe:
Starter Alphabet & A Typeface stamp sets
Pet Shop paper (KI Memories)
Paprika & Espresso cardstock
Espresso & Twilight ink
Twilight marker
Lucky Assortment chipboard
Milepost Shapes
Twilight Brads
Halloween Mix epoxy stars (Bella Blvd)
3-D foam tape
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: frame
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #85

Challenges: Double Trouble #191 - this is my entry for Father's Day, including using kraft items (chipboard, corrugated shapes, photo mat)

EMS Sketch Challenge #117 + Christmas Layout

There are many fun ways to start the new year, so I am hoping you will enjoy my special treat for you: a brand new double-page sketch! If you are anything like me, you take a ton of photos at special events like Christmas, and then you have to decide which ones to scrap. Well, this sketch can hold a whopping nine photos, and if you have more, you can do what I did and place the extras in a photo storage page. Of course, if you are not a multi-photo scrapper, I invite you to check out any of the other sketches here on my blog; they are made to be shared and used. Just click on the label in this post that says EMS Sketch challenges, and it will show you all my sketches.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout, staying pretty faithful to the sketch:

Recipe:
The Holiday Life papers (Simple Stories)
Almond & Fern cardstock
Ruby, Fern, New England Ivy & Black ink
Black marker
Ho Ho Ho puffy stickers (American Crafts)
Pear & Partridge PML card
The Holiday Life Journal Bits & Page Pieces (Simple Stories)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: hearts

Movie Night Layout for Lasting Memories #725

I've been busy working on a photo book for my recent Alaska cruise, so I have been neglecting my blog a bit, but here's a layout I managed to eke out for the new Lasting Memories challenge. In honor of Halloween costumes, Brandi Jo asked us to use something that sparkles, so I chose some gold Stickles to do the Wonder Woman logo, plus I added some gold star brads. That's more sparkle than I am used to, but I love the look. Hopefully you are inspired to scrapbook along with us. Just click the link above to hop on over to the Lasting Memories blog and add your sparkly layout!

Recipe:
Joy in the Journey, October - December 2022 Mix-In & September - October 2023 Mix-In papers
Journey, Scarlet & Linen cardstock
Journey & Scarlet ink
White gel pen (Sakura)
Joy in the Journey cardstock stickers
Gold Stickles (Ranger)
Gold star brads (Creative Impressions)
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #84

Challenges: Cut It Up #3156 Add Embellishments + a die-cut; Color My Heart Color Dare #623 (used blue, red & white plus neutrals grey and gold for my metallic - thank you for the beautiful inspiration photo!)

Time Out Challenges #275 (I focused on the sweet treats with the chocolate fountain)

White Tower Tour

This weekend, I finished up scrapping the photos we took of the White Tower at the Tower of London. These photos were from a tour we took of the interior, from the basement to the top floor, not including the arms and armor exhibits on the entrance floor. I had fun piecing together the stone block wall, although it got a little tedious at the end! The horizontal photo lifts up to reveal another photo and some journaling (see below).

Here's the hidden journaling:

Recipe:
A Typeface stamp set
The Stack 2 (DCWV)
London Memories Journal paper (Scrapbook Customs)
Toffee, Pebble, Pewter & Black cardstock
Toffee & Candy Red ink
Black marker
London stickers (Mrs. Grossman's)
Cricut Design Space: stone blocks (using cobblestone pattern from Holidays Around Town cartridge)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #59

What Matters Layout

Recently, I was rummaging around in a file of semi-completed layouts that needed photos and found two pieces of Moonstruck blue cardstock with a couple of strips of patterned paper stuck to each one. Not sure what I originally intended to do with them, but when I needed to scrapbook a set of photos taken at various times during a trip to visit family in San Diego, they sprang to mind as being something I could work with. I was also inspired by a couple of challenges (see below) for the direction I went with the layout, so thanks for breathing new life into something long ago relegated to the "finish someday" file.

Recipe:

This Happened, Balloon Talk & Captured Happiness stamp sets

Smiles From the Garden stamp set + Thin Cuts

Blue Ribbon papers

Moonstruck, Lilac Mist, Kraft & White Daisy cardstock

Moonstruck, Indian Corn Blue, Chocolate & Desert Sand ink

Moonstruck marker

White Acrylic Heart & Flowers

Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: curved rectangle

Challenges: Cut It Up #306 Feeling Blue + use a die-cut; Stamping Sensations Mood Board (inspired by the color blue, butterfly, and flowers)

Celebrate {Baby Shower} for Lasting Memories #707

It's hard to believe we're already on the fourth Sunday of June (where did that month go?) and it is time for another Lasting Memories Favorite Things challenge. This week, Jill wanted us to use our favorite brand. For many years, my favorite has been Close to My Heart, and while I am no longer exclusive to them as I once was, it's rare that I create a layout with no CTMH products on it. I am so sad that CTMH is going out of business, so I will be looking forward to checking out everyone's favorite brands. Someday when I run out of CTMH products (probably around the year 2050), I will need a new favorite! If you want to share your favorite brand, please pop on over to Lasting Memories before July 6th and link up your layout using your faves.

I wanted to give some details of the baby shower that is the subject of this layout, but I also wanted to keep some things private, so I wrote the journaling on a long tag and tucked it into into a pocket behind one of the photos.

Recipe:
Magic Moments scrapbooking kit
Indian Corn Blue, Sunflower & Colonial White cardstock
Sweet Leaf ink
Hollyhock marker
Sweet Leaf brads
Stuck on You Puffy stickers
Blue Jean Hearts puffy shapes (Doodlebug Designs)
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped border & tag
Pattern: Jeanette L:ynton's Reflections (Quartet - Sliding & Triple Play - Three of a Kind)
Challenges: Festive Friday #162 (used red + white + blue + celebratory sentiment)

As You Like It  Favorite - With or Without Words (when I first started scrapping, I didn't always title my layouts, but I find it gives them a focus and so I always use words!)

EMS Sketch Challenge #113 + Epic Delivery Layout

It's been quite a while since I created a sketch (mostly been re-using my old ones), but I needed something for a bunch of vertical 4" x 6" photos, so here is a new sketch! As always, feel free to switch it up to fit your photos, and please post a link to your completed layout in the comments below so I can admire your creation!

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Newsprint Alphabet stamps (SU)
Field Trip & It's All Good papers (American Crafts)
Dutch Blue, Sundance & White Daisy cardstock
Candy Apple ink
Black marker
Oh Happy Day stickers (Simple Stories)
Good Day Sunshine stickers (Echo Park)
Puppy Love Shape Sprinkles hearts (Doodlebug Designs)
Pewter Bigger Brads
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: house
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: truck
Challenges: Cut It Up #305 Anything Goes including a die-cut (mine are the house and the truck); Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #55 Part A = wheels (on the truck) + Part B = red heart shape

5th Grade Graduation Layout for Lasting Memories #692

My goal for this month is to finish my oldest son's elementary school album, since he is already 22 and I should have done this years ago! Thanks to this week's Lasting Memories challenge, I was able to put another layout into his album. Sandy asked us to create a layout with at least four squares and a square shaker box. I pulled out an old sketch of mine that had lots of squares, and was able to fit the shaker box into one of the photo spaces. I love challenges that make me get creative and step outside of my comfort zone, so thanks to Sandy for her inspiration. We're playing with shapes the whole month of March at Lasting Memories and would love to have you join us!

Recipe:

Blue Ribbon, Teacher Appreciation, Friendship Alphabet Small & Casual Expressions stamp sets

March-April 2002 & January-March 2023 Mix In papers

Black, Clover, Honey Butter & White Daisy cardstock

Black, Clover Meadow, Lagoon & Honey ink

Black enamel dot

Green, silver & gold sequins (from my stash, source unknown)

Washi tape (Recollections)

3-D foam tape

Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #32

Challenges: Colorful Options March 2024 - Green; Color My Heart Color Dare #590

Double Trouble Challenge #161 Pinch Proof - Thing 1 = use green + Thing 2 = play along with Festive Friday's Inspiration list #154 (I chose green, gold, gold embellishment & good luck sentiment) + Thing 3 = add a touch of gold

Going Up Layout

Since he's a recent high school grad, scrapbooking my son's elementary school photos sometimes seems like an exercise in futility, but he seems to enjoy it when I call him over to see whatever photos I'm working on, so I persevere! These photos were taken at his 2nd grade school luau (more like a carnival but with a slightly tropical feel), where the climbing wall was a huge hit with the kids. I scrapped the left page while the right hand page is actually a pocket page, but to show it here, I stitched the photos and journaling card together on the computer to avoid the glare of the plastic page protector.

Recipe:
Stitched Journaling panels stamp set (Autumn Leaves)
You & Me stamp set
The Summer Stack papers (DCWV)
Goldrush & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Green Apple & Desert Sand ink
Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Color Ready Kraft Borders
Matte Sprinkles Zoo assortment (Doodlebug Designs)
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title, arrows
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #64 (rotated right) + pocket page

Look Whoo’s Here Layout

My son graduated from high school last week and I wanted to get his elementary school album finished, but I‘ve been super busy getting him through his last weeks of school (I’m a homeschooling mama) so I had to settle with just getting second grade scrapped! Fortunately I don't have nearly as many school photos as family photos. Here's his first day page.

Recipe:
Colorful kit & Collection V papers (KI Memories)
Capri, Chocolate, Almond, Desert Sand & White Daisy cardstock
Capri, Chocolate, Saffron & Desert Sand ink
Peacock Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Yellow-gold grograin ribbon (Offray)
Chevron embossing folder
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: title, owl
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tags
Pattern: Scraplift from Scrapbook.com 

Winter Wonderland Layout

We never get snow in Los Angeles, but we are fortunate enough to have mountains within a short drive, so we occasionally are able to take the kids sledding. I loved being able to pull out a bunch of my winter themed stamps - that I can't resist purchasing but seldom get to use - and put them to work creating this layout!

Recipe:
Snowflakes, Flakey Friends, All Decked Out & Take Note stamp sets
Snowhaven & White Pines papers
Cranberry, Glacier, Pewter & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Glacier, Pewter, Almond & Black ink
Black marker
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Jingle All the Way puffy stickers (Simple Stories)
Red & White pearls
Cranberry grosgrain ribbon
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title shape, snowflake
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: notebook paper
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: postage stamp frame
Pattern: Stick It Down January 2023 double page sketch

Challenges: Use Your Stuff #475 Inspired by a Book - my son's kindergarten teacher gave him this book many years ago, and even though we didn't build a snowman on this trip, I added a couple to my layout anyway!

Play Date Layout

For these fun photos of a playdate with my eldest's son's birth mom and siblings, I pulled out a stamp set I had purchased last July in anticipation of scrapping this layout. Can't believe it took me this long to get to it! I stamped the "Play Date" title on a pocket card and then colored it in using my ShinHan markers.

Recipe:
At the Park & Notice the Details stamp sets
May/June 2022 Mix-In papers
Honey Butter, Capri, Gypsy, Blush, Hollyhock & White Daisy cardstock
Flamingo, Mint, Capri, Gypsy & Black ink
Black marker
Ink Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
ShinHan TouchTwin markers
Childhood PML cards
Crisp Air & Seas the Day enamel dots
Craft buttons
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: butterfly, large flowers, banner
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: scalloped photo mat
Small flower punch (EK Success)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #59

Challenges: Cut It Up #269 Anything Goes with a die cut (mine were all cut on my Cricut)

The Little Stuff {Opening Stockings} Layout

Last December was our family's first Christmas since my son passed away, so my scrapping mojo was definitely lacking. I only scrapped one Christmas themed layout in December, so this year I'm trying to make up for it and get all my Christmas photos from 2015 and 2016 scrapped. Wish me luck! This layout features photos from Christmas morning 2015 as we opened our stockings.

Recipe:
Cassidy Alphabet & Random Act of Cardness stamp sets
Jolly Dot paper (Creative Imaginations)
Evergreen, Pear, Candy Apple & Ballerina cardstock
Pear, Candy Apple & Ballerina ink
White gel pen (Sakura)
Great Lengths stickers (CM)
White baker's twine
Red enamel hearts
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped circle & square & border, Christmas stocking
Pattern: Conclusion Combo from Jeanette Lynton's book Imagine (revised for larger photos)
Challenges: Lasting Memories #630 Favorite Shapes (I chose circles); Inspiration Station #43 Holiday Magic (I was inspired to scrapbook photos of opening our stockings on Christmas morning)

Boo at the Zoo Layout

Fun times at the "haunted" Los Angeles Zoo with my family! I've never used the tiger and monkey die-cut from the Cricut Artistry cartridge before, so it was fun to finally add them to a layout.

Recipe:
July/August 2021 & May/June 2022 Mix-In papers
Black, Paprika, Toffee & Chocolate cardstock
Autumn Terracotta, Nectarine & Peach ink
White gel pen (Sakura)
Fineliner pens (iBayam)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: Boo, bats
Cricut Art Philosophy: title
Cricut Artistry cartridge: pumpkin, eek!, tiger, monkey
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Feb3

Challenges: Use Your Stuff #468 Fall Themed (our zoo was all decorated for Halloween );  Color My Heart Color Dare #515 - I chose the diagonal with Nectarine, Peach & Paprika, plus I used Toffee and Chocolate (because I didn't have Mocha) for the monkey.