Sea Lions Live Layout

This must be the week to use leftovers, because this layout contains a bunch of die-cut chevrons left over from a layout I created in 2014. Although they weren't the perfect color match for my photos, they were close enough to use with the Fish Tales patterned papers and these fun photos of the sea lion show at Sea World.

Recipe:
Down By the Sea, Keepsake Alphabet, Authentic, Moments in Time, Make It Count & Starter Alphabet stamp sets
Fish Tales papers (Photo Play)
Glacier, Crystal Blue, Star Spangled Blue, Cranberry, Honey Butter, Goldrush, Topiary, Whisper, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Crystal Blue, Star Spangled Blue, Cranberry, Honey, Goldrush, Topiary & Black ink
Black marker
Liquid Glass
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: chevrons
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title shape
Cricut Artiste cartridge: LIVE, clock hands
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #105

Challenges: Park Hopping My Happy Place April Anything Goes inspired by a theme park (Sea World); Critter Crazy Challenges #73 Anything Goes with a featured animal (mine are the amazing sea lions)

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.

The Tree Checklist Layout

Can't believe I'm already scrapping Christmas pictures! Oh wait, these are pictures from 2013 - LOL! Hopefully I can finish up the rest of December 2013 before 2016 ends, right? I had to dig deep into my CTMH stash to find wood grain paper in order to play along with Heart 2 Heart's wood grain challenge, but I finally came across a woodsy print from the Back County paper pack from 2009; how's that for a blast from the past? I used a whole sheet and combined it with the Pear & Partridge Christmas papers and Picture my Life cards. My design went through several modifications before I was finally done with it, and I'm still not sure it doesn't look lopsided, but I'm just going to keep moving and call myself happy this memory is in the album.

Recipe:
Checklist & Moments in Time stamp sets
Back Country & Pear & Partridge Level 2 papers
White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, New England Ivy & Cashmere ink
Black marker
Pear & Partridge Picture My Life cards
Cranberry baker's twine
Cranberry grosgrain ribbon
Red sparkle trim
White Pines badge button
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: pennants
Pattern: The Memory Nest Make It Monday #73
Challenges: Use Your Stuff challenge #238 - Mixing Up the Stamps (I used two stamps for the checklist and the little red checks on it)

Stash Busters December Week 4

If you have tons more scrapbooking supplies than you could use in the next ten years, I have a Stash Busters challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers just for you. Just create a layout using the listed items and then link up at SCS using the link below.

Stash13Dec4
This month, I am challenging you to use up certain items from your stash and then link your completed layout here so we can all get excited over it! I'll post a new list each Thursday this month, and you have until December 31st to scrap your layouts using the products. If you complete all four layouts, you will get an honorable mention for the month! Sound fun? Let's get started.

Please use:
• 3 patterned papers that are at least one year old
• Baker's twine
• At least 3 pieces of bling
• Felt or fabric

You can use additional products, but you must use at least one of each of the items listed. If you don't have an item in your stash, please don't rush out and buy it! Just substitute a similar item from your stash. Happy hunting!

Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Large & Moments in Time stamp sets
Silhouette Level 2 papers
Cranberry & Colonial White cardstock
Cranberry, Olive & Black ink
Heartfelt Wonder felt die-cuts
Cranberry baker's twine
Cranberry dot ribbon
Red Sparkles
Gold wire (Artistic Wire Ltd)
Winter Defined Sticker (Making Memories)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: Title Topper - Heading & Sidebar - Layers from Reflections
Challenges: Sketch-n-Scrap Bingo (I used the fourth row down - twine, 3 patterns, tag, 2 alphas, inking); 1 2 3 Get Scrappy board (I used the middle row down - ornaments, baker's twine, lots of white); Creative Belli Christmas challenge; Lil' Red Wagon Anything Christmas; Southern Girls Christmas challenge

April LOAD #1 - Kody

Welcome to the first LOAD of the month. I am so excited that we have several people joining in this time. Here is my first layout. The design is scraplifted from page 25 of the February 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazines.



Recipe:
Checklist, The Works Alphabet, Extreme Caps & Moments in Time stamp sets
Black & White Daisy cardstock
Black, Ocean, Crystal Blue ink
White embroidery floss
3-D foam tape

Mom's Mini Calendar, Part 2

I just finished my mom's mini calendar, and I'm happy to announce that I cleaned up my scrapbooking desk, too. Woohoo! Now I have a clean surface to use for my next project: wrapping Christmas presents. Here are the pictures of the last 6 months' pages. A couple were inspired by Anne Chek's samples, while I found inspiration for others from cards and layouts in the CTMH catalog. Thanks to CTMH for inspiring me, too. On a sad note, all the Word Puzzle stamp sets (the ones I used for the names of the months in this project) are retiring on December 31st, so if you love them but haven't bought them all, this is your last chance. They will no longer be available after this month. CTMH will have a new collection of monthly stamps, but they will not have as many images as these, so don't miss out on getting the Word Puzzles!













Recipe:
July Word Puzzle, August Word Puzzle, September Word Puzzle, October Word Puzzle, November Word Puzzle, December Word Puzzle, Moments in Time, Spot On Backgrounds, Felicity & Just for the Holidays stamp sets
White Daisy, Moonstruck, Tulip, Desert Sand & Dutch Blue cardstock
Moonstruck, Dutch Blue, Tulip, Clover Meadow, Sunflower, Desert Sand & Versamark ink
Tulip & Sunflower markers
White Gel pen
White embossing powder
Sunflower buttons
Sunflower & White organdy ribbon
Scalloped scissors (CM)

Mom's Mini Calendar Part 1

I have been toying with the idea of making a calendar for my mom for Christmas, but every time I sat down to work on it, my inspiration flew out the window. Then I was surfing the CTMH consultant bulletin board on Friday and found a cute mini calendar by consultant Anne Chek that really looked do-able. Using her pages as a springboard, the first six pages came together really quickly for me. Thanks for the inspiration, Anne! I used the Animal Cookies Level 2 paper pack and the Animal Cookies Creative Basics on each page. I love the versatility of this pack, with colors that are perfect for a variety of holidays and themes. I'm still working on the other six months, but here's what I've completed so far.













Recipe:
January Word Puzzle, February Word Puzzle, March Word Puzzle, April Word Puzzle, May Word Puzzle, June Word Puzzle, Moments in Time, All Decked Out, Extreme Caps & Say It In Style stamp sets
White Daisy, Moonstruck, Black, Dutch Blue & Sunflower cardstock
Moonstruck, Dutch Blue, Tulip, Clover Meadow, Sunflower, Desert Sand & Black ink
Autumn Terracotta marker
Liquid Glass
Brads

Man for All Seasons Birthday Card

This week has certainly been a card-making week, and there is no end in sight. I've made cards for Mother's Day and for my BSF leader (I'll post that one tomorrow after my Thank You stamp set arrives!), and tomorrow I am doing a 20 card workshop with my friend Lisa for a charity event. I still need to make cards for Teacher Appreciation week, and in the meantime, I put together this card for my husband's birthday. The idea came to me earlier this week as I was sorting the junk on my scrapbook table. Some die-cut snowflakes happened to find themselves next to a scrap of Hawaiian paper, and eureka! an idea was born. I went to work with my Monthly Word puzzle stamp sets, picking images that seemed to represent each of the seasons. Using the On Your Left pattern from Jeannette Lynton's Originals book, I created this card. The inside says "Happy birthday to my man for all seasons." Greg really liked it, and even thought I should make more (not for him, though!), so I guess the hard work I put into it paid off. Happy birthday, Honey. You truly are my man for all seasons.





Recipe:
January, March, April, August & November Word Puzzle Stamp Sets
Happy Birthday, Moments in Time & True Happiness stamp sets
Barn Red, Twilight, Bamboo & Colonial White cardstock
Barn Red, Twilight, Honey, Bamboo & Topiary ink
Barn Red & Bamboo markers
Blending pen
Edge distressor