Tower of London Wall Walk Layout

Since it's been over 7 years since my hubby and I visited the Tower of London, I had to do a lot of research to figure out what some of the locations were that we photographed on the Wall Walk, a self-guided tour of the battlements of the Tower. I think I got them all correct, but please feel free to leave a comment if I messed any up! Anyway, I originally laid out my photos from left to right in the order that we snapped them, but eventually decided to scrap them  as if we were re-enacting our walk around the walls. This means we entered at Lanthorn Tower at the southern boundary of the Tower (bottom right on the layout) and started our tour at Salt Tower (#1 and #2 on my layout), and then moved around the eastern wall (#3 - #4) before exiting at Martin Tower (#5 and #6). The final photos (#7 and #8) were taken as we exited and made our way over to where the Crown Jewels are housed. Clear as mud? I included a scanned map with a big red arrow at the bottom where we entered and another arrow at the top where we exited. No one else may care, but it will at least help me remember in future times!

And here's the map:

Recipe:
Vintage Type stamp set
Grandpa's Attic papers (SEI)
Mink cardstock
Barn Red ink
Black marker
Let's Wander Thickers (American Crafts)
Black label tape (Dymo)
DIY Shop Cork arrow stickers (American Crafts)

Bloody Tower Layout

I decided to switch gears from Christmas layouts and work on finishing scrapping the photos from a 2017 visit to the Tower of London, so here is the facing page to the ravens layout I posted earlier. The vertical photo will lift up to show off another photo and my journaling, but I am not quite finished with the journaling, so here is a link to the history of the Bloody Tower for those who are interested in how it got its name.

Recipe:
For Always papers
Black, Cranberry, Rosemary & White Daisy cardstock
Black ink
Silver photo hanger
Charmalong key (Bead Landing)
Vintage washi tape (Emmoolife)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, tear drops, scalloped border
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #114 (right side only)

Legendary Birds Layout for Lasting Memories #731

It's not quite 2025, but over at Lasting Memories, we're getting a jump start on our challenges for the new year! This month, I am hosting challenges centered around the idea of deliberate designs, or focusing on an area of your layout. Today's challenge is to use a sketch for the basic design of your layout. I love creating sketches, so I decided to use my most recent one but adapt it for a different topic than I had scrapped last week. I know a lot of you scrappers like to use sketches, so feel free to join us to show off your sketch-based layout using the link above!

Here's my layout:

And here's the sketch I used:

Recipe:
For Always papers
Black, Rosemary & White Daisy cardstock
Black & Whisper ink
Black marker
Black hemp
Vintage washi tape (Emmoolife)

Black enamel sparkle dots (Eyelet Outlet)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Design Space: title using Chloe & Copperplate fonts

Challenges: My Time to Craft #550 - New (I chose to use a new set of vintage washi tape my sweet son gave me for Christmas - totally not my style, but I really appreciated the thought so I will strive to use them as often as possible!)

Beauchamp Tower Layout

We took these photos at the Tower of London, and I tried to recreate an aerial view of this section of the Tower at the bottom of the layout. Not too sure how successful I was, but as i always say, at least the photos are scrapped for posterity!

Recipe:
Background Elements & Ink the Background stamp sets
Dutch Blue, Clover, Toffee, Slate, Almond & White Daisy cardstock
Dutch Blue, Clover Meadow, Slate & Toffee ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Color Kaleidoscope stickers (American Crafts)
Spray pen
Circle Double Stitched Steel die (Art Impressions
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: compass
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: treetop
Cricut Design Space: title
Pattern: Sketches In Thyme #639

Off With Her Head! Layout for Lasting Memories #276

If this seems like a gruesome title for my layout, it is, but it's because I needed to scrapbook some photos from the execution site at the Tower of London, where such famous people as Lady Jane Grey and Anne Boleyn were beheaded. Another round of challenges from the Lasting Memories blog starts today, and they are super fun, with inspiration from various artworks found at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. Today's inspiration is Jen P. Harris' mixed media work entitled "Parte Incognita." My first instinct was to go with hexagon shapes, and I even cut out a few, but then I noticed each hexagon was actually divided into three diamond shapes, so I decided to go with that instead. There is some great inspiration on the Lasting Memories blog, so be sure to check it out and join us for this fun round of challenges!

Here is my layout:

And here is the inspiration artwork:

Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Small

Skylark, Splendor & Something Fierce papers
White Daisy cardstock
White watercolor paper (Canson)
Goldrush, Capri, Flaxen, Topiary, Espresso & Pewter ink
Goldrush pigment ink
Light Grey fineliner pen (iBayam)
Clear embossing powder

Chloe Ciao chipboard (Bella Blvd)
Cricut Artistry cartridge: diamonds
Cricut Artiste cartridge: head

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

Line of Kings Layout

I posted a few photos from the Line of Kings exhibit at the Tower of London last week, so here is the accompanying layout, along with the journaling card from the facing pocket page. I dug deep into my stash to find the color blocked papers I used here, but I really like how they look with the brown, so I may have to find another layout I can use for some more of this paper pack!

And here's the journaling card:

Recipe:

Kyla's Classic Color Block papers (Paper Pizazz)
Espresso, Almond & Toffee cardstock
Toffee ink

White gel pen (Sakura)
Red glitter gems

Stitched Circle metal die (Art Impressions)
Cricut Medieval Silhouettes cartridge: king's head, knight and horse
Cricut Design Space: title using Euphorigenic font, swords and shield image

Cricut Artbooking cartridge: cut corner rectangle
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #80

Challenges: Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone with twist of add a photo; Cut It Up #311 Anything Goes with a die-cut.

White Tower Journaling Card

Yesterday when I posted my layout of the White Tower at the Tower of London, I mentioned that the photos of the arms and armor exhibit in the White Tower were going to be placed in a pocket page along with my journaling about the Tower. I got the journaling card finished today, so here it is, along with a few photos of the Line of Kings exhibit from the pocket page. We were a little overwhelmed by this huge exhibit, so I forgot to take notes of who the armor belonged to, but it's still fun to look at it.

Keeper, a dragon made of armor, was actually part of the Power House display on the second floor, but since I put it in a pocket with the other vertical photos, I'm showing it here!

Recipe:

Color Kaleidoscope papers (American Crafts)
Glacier & Black cardstock
Glacier & Black ink
Black marker
Cricut Medieval Silhouettes cartridge: knight on horseback

White Tower Layout

In the center of the Tower of London is the White Tower, the original building William the Conqueror had constructed in the 1070s to bring the fierce and fickle Londoners under his control. One of the main exhibits inside is the Line of Kings, a massive display of armor that opened in the late 1600s. We took lots of photos of this exhibit, but I decided to put most of them in pocket pages, so my journaling about the history of the White Tower and the collection will also be in the pocket pages. For today, I just scrapbooked the exterior of the Tower.

Recipe:
Live Inspired, Distressed Backgrounds, Lucky & Friendship Alphabet Small stamp sets
Color Kaleidoscope papers (American Crafts)
Glacier, Linen, Black, Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
Glacier, Lagoon, Pear, Linen & Black ink
Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Halloween Mix epoxy stars (Bella Blvd)
Top Dog Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Cricut Medieval Silhouettes cartridge: castle (edited in Design Space)
Challenges: Colorful Options rainbow colors; Cut It Up Challenges #311 Anything Goes with a die-cut; Challenge YOUrself #128 Inspired by a Rainbow (I tried to use soft hues of all the rainbow colors, and there are two photos with me in them wearing a grey shirt and black scarf)

EMS Sketch Challenge #114 + Inmost Ward Layout

Anyone in need of a new sketch? I wanted to scrap a few more pictures from the Tower of London and decided to create a new sketch featuring 6 uncropped 4' x 6' photos. It's actually a pretty versatile sketch, since either side can be easily used on its own. I used the sketch almost as is, but as always, feel free to adapt it for your needs, and be sure to leave a link to your finished layout in the comments. Enjoy!

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Picture Perfect & Harmonious Patterns Stamp sets
Pine, Scarlet, Wisteria, Peach & White Daisy cardstock
Pine, Scarlet, Wisteria, Peach & Greg Wool ink
Black marker
Grey Wool baker's twine
Petticoats & Pinstripes enamel Dots (Echo Park)
Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl embossing folder
CTMH Chevron embossing folder
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners, hearts, title, scalloped borders
Challenges: The Outlawz AG in a Card Free Zone with optional twist of use a photo; Color My Heart Color Dare #611 (used all the colors except Papaya, added black, white, and grey)

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

Mint Street Layout

I've been a little lazy this week as far as scrapbooking goes, but today I got back to work and finished up another Tower of London layout, this time encompassing our tour of the former National Mint in Mint Street. The circles across the top of the sketch I used were perfect for cropped photos of some of the coins we saw. I ran out of journaling space to list all the coins, but they range from an Edward I groat (1279) to some Elizabethan coins (late 1500s), to Charles II guineas from the 1670s. The final one on the top was a countermarked Spanish real, a repurposed Spanish coin used during a currency shortage in England. A tiny portrait of the English monarch was stamped onto an existing foreign coin in order to make it legal English currency!

Recipe:
Lucky & Silhouette papers
Almond & Dutch Blue cardstock
Almond & Dutch Blue ink
Black marker
Wooden hearts
Wooden arrow (Crafter's Square)
Black craft buttons
Gold ribbon
Cricut Design Space: window, title (using Artbooking cartridge)
Cricut Medieval Silhouettes cartridge: castle
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #78

Challenges: Double Trouble #171 What's Your Drive-Through Window? (it was super fun to create a window scene based on the view out the window at the Mint); Color My Heart Color Dare #609 Black + Beige + one color (I chose blue + my free metallic is gold).

Tower of London Layout

My hubby and I went to London in 2017 and took over three thousand photos, so every once in a while I pull out some photos and try to get some layouts scrapped. On this particular day, we visited the Tower of London, so here are the photos of the exterior walls, the drained moat, and the entrance at the Middle Tower. Hopefully I can get on a roll and finish scrapping our Tower photos this month, but we took a lot of pictures so no guarantees!

This layout also includes a Flip-Flap that opens up to reveal another photo and my journaling card. Here's the other photo:

And here's the journaling card:

Recipe:
Love Life, You & Me, Cherish the Day & Vintage Type stamp sets
Sage & White Daisy cardstock
Sage, Honey, Pewter & Black ink
Black marker
Silhouette & Zippidee My Complements cardstock stickers
Storybook PML cards
Happiest Place Acrylic shapes
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: ticket
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 3 (The bottom two photos on the left were a panorama but not quite perfectly lined up, so I decided to ditch the straight lines of the sketch and stagger everything slightly, plus I added a bunch of PML cards to the background.)

Challenges: Park Hopping My Happy Place (inspired by Cinderella's Castle at Disneyland); The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone with optional twist of travel (our trip to London); Time Out Challenges #268 On Vacation (to London!)

Ancient Words Layout for Lasting Memories #696

This month, Lasting Memories Design Team member Brandi is challenging us to use some brand new sketches. I loved this week's sketch, although I don't know that I did it justice. There are only so many embellishments you can add to a layout about stone tablets - LOL! The Polaroid photo part of the sketch was perfect for adding some journaling about each of the tablets, but I can see that on other layouts, it would work equally well to leave these spaces blank. Hopefully you are inspired to check out the design team's creations this week and join us for this or any of the sketch challenges this April!

Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

Recipe:
Timberline stamp
March - April 2022 Mix-In, July - August 2021 Mix-In, May - June 2022 Mix-In & Passages papers
Glacier, Sage, Espresso, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Glacier, Sage, Peach, Flamingo, Desert Sand & Black ink
Black marker
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Flamingo Dots
Washi tape (Recollections)
Cricut Artbooking: banner
Cricut You Are Here; boat, house, waves
Cricut Design Space: title (using Maiandra font), ring
Challenges: Color My Heart Color Dare #595 - Fancy Five (used Peach + Glacier + Flamingo + Sage)

Water Lane Layout

I really wanted to use some patterned papers I bought to scrap my London trip from 2017 (I've only been working on it six years - LOL!), so I skipped ahead to the Tower of London. These photos were taken just inside the Tower's entrance, at historic Water Lane, so named because it used to be right on the banks of the Thames until Edward I filled in part of the river and created the Outer Ward. We took some great photos at the Tower, but the one of my hubby with the Yeoman Guard (a Beefeater) is one of my favorites!

When I put it in the album, this layout will also include a Flip-Flap with two additional photos (St. Thomas' Tower and the Traitor's Gate) that will cover the journaling, so here they are:

Recipe:
Limited Edition, Make It Count, Distressed Backgrounds & Stipple Plaid stamp sets
Once Upon a Time paper (P13)
Candy Apple, Sapphire, Mist, Almond & White Daisy cardstock
Candy Apple, Sapphire, Mist, Almond & Slate ink
Grey Fineliner pen (iBayam)
Wood heart & arrow
Bamboo Bigger Brad
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners, tag
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #95

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog # 32 Travel + Love/hearts; Double Trouble #141 Something, Anything, Everything (Thing 1 = anything goes + Thing2 = played along with previous partner Cupcake Inspirations #572)

There's grey in there, too, but hopefully that's okay!

Explore the Details Layout

Every so often, I will pull out some photos from my 2017 trip to London and get a layout or two scrapped. These photos were taken in the Assyrian collection at the British Museum and feature a relief commissioned by King Sennacherib to celebrate his conquest of the Judean city of Lachish. The conical hats of the soldiers and the diamond  pattern in the background of one relief inspired me to use the triangle overlay, which I offset by using the green circles. For any history buffs out there, you can get a a more in-depth look at the siege and conquest of Lachish at this website. 

Recipe:
Card Word Puzzle & Story FYI Stamp sets

8.5" x 11" patterned paper from my stash (source unknown)
Almond, Scarlet, Black & Desert Sand cardstock
Almond, Ruby & Desert Sand ink
Field Trip Puffy Thickers (American Crafts)
Topiary conchos
Cricut Artistry cartridge: triangle overlay
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch16May1

Ashurbanipal's Library Layout

It's been almost a year since I scrapped any photos from our 2017 trip to London, so I though I should get some more done. I would like to see this trip completely scrapped before I die! These photos were taken at the British Museum's Assyrian exhibit. Since I am such a bookworm, I loved seeing King Ashurbanipal's "library to contain all knowledge." Compared to the capacity of my Kindle Fire, his library seemed pretty tiny, but I got a kick out of someone in ancient times loving reading and knowledge as much as I do!

Recipe:
I'd Rather be Reading & Quotable Words stamp sets
She's Magic One More Chapter & Kind Heart papers (American Crafts - Dear Lizzy)
Flamingo, Crystal Blue, Cotton Candy, Ballerina & White Daisy cardstock
Crystal Blue, Juniper, Cotton Candy, Sorbet & Black ink
Black marker
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Freshly Baked enamel shapes
My Crush Besties Assortment journaling card
Field Trip Puffy Thickers (American Crafts)
Color Kaleidoscope stickers (American Crafts)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped border
Cricut Design Space: cat & book stacks (I scanned the stamps and imported them into Design Space, then used them to make a cut file that I will be able to use any time I use these stamps, which could be often!)
Pattern: scraplift from Scrapbook.com (this really was my starting point, although I made lots of changes as I went along)

Challenges: Cut It Up #270 Love + a die-cut (this is probably not the type of love they had in mind, but I am an unashamed book lover, so that's where I went!)