The Truth About Me Layout

Kristin over at A Cherry on Top hosts the Picture Yourself challenge, and this month the challenge was to scrap about a little known fact about yourself. Mine is that, despite trying really hard to be outgoing and friendly, I am really an introvert. Part of the challenge was to include a picture of just yourself, so I dug one up that I don't absolutely hate (LOL!), and that inspired me to also play along with the Challenge YOUrself blog this month and create a black and white + one color (mine is pink) layout.

Recipe:
Story FYI stamp set
Modern Christmas paper (SU)
Spring 2020 Mix In paper
My Happy Place paper (Doodlebug Designs)
Molly paper (Bella Blvd)
Oh Happy Day paper cut apart card (Simple Stories)
Flamingo, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Flamingo, Raspberry, Smoothie & Black ink
Black & Watermelon markers
DE Monograms chipboard - M, E
Bubblegum embroidery floss
All Aflutter Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
White acrylic flowers
Oh Happy Day sticker (Simple Stories)
Spots & Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: camera
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap #321

Challenges: Challenge YOUrself  #142 Black and White + one color - I chose shades of pink; Can You Handle the Pressure - added embossing to the big circle and the paper strip on the left; NBUS #79 - my never before used schtuff is the loopy background paper from a kit I just bought from SU; The Outlawz Twisted Thursday Anything Goes with twist of All Tied Up - I tied an embroidery floss bow onto my chipboard and used some more floss to add stitches to the top of the layout.

The Story Layout

I was asked to guest design for Heart's Quest Challenges Blog's latest challenge to use white, purple, and/or pink hearts. I decided to go with the white and purple, and even threw in a blue one just for fun! The photos are from a birthday party my kids attended (complete with a roasted pig), and I copied my original post from Facebook to tell the story of my son's humorous answer to a request I made.

Recipe:
Story FYI, Whooo's Your Valentine & Just Be You stamp sets
Watercolor paper (Recollections)
Color Kaleidoscope paper (American Crafts)
Sparkle & Shine paper
Black, Lagoon, Grape, Mulberry & White Daisy cardstock
Black, Eggplant & Juniper ink
Black marker
White gel pen (Sakura)
Black glitter tape
Purple glitter gems
Liquid Glass
Triplets Butterfly Dies (Sizzix)
Nested Stitched Rectangles dies (Cottage Cutz)
Cricut Artiste cartridge: hearts, pennants
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap #48 using papers over a year old

Challenges: Double Trouble #183 Recipe - 3 Images of your Choice (I chose a butterfly and 4 types of hearts) + 2 Patterned Papers + 1 Sentiment that Makes you Smile (Treasure the now); Cut It Up #322 Have a Heart

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

Angel's Party Layout

It seems strange to think of this happy occasion as a tough time, but it was in the early stages of fostering our two youngest children, and that made for an awkward and uncomfortable afternoon with a bunch of people we barely knew. I still remember the frustration of being outside the circle of family that Brianna and Angel shared, as represented by the group picture where I am standing at the far edge and slightly apart from the group. I decided to scrap the photos as a 6"x8" back-to-back layout that will fit between the photos we took at Chuck E. Cheese before the birth family arrived several hours late.

The front layout is a more traditional and happy layout with my son blowing out the candles on the cake, while the flip side has a picture with shadows across it and some clouds over the sun. When you flip the center section up, it reveals the group picture and my journaling. I tried not to get into the whole story in my album, because I don't want to make my kids sad if they read about my feelings on that day, but I'm pretty sure they will never bother to read my blog, so I feel safe posting it here! I also used the "negative" of a sun that I found in my scrap box, and the background grey is darker on the back of the layout to go with my mood.

The front

The reverse with the flap closed

The reverse with the flap lifted up - adult faces are blurred for privacy reasons.

The journaling card on the back of the lifted up section

Recipe:
Friendship Word Puzzle, It's Your Day, Story FYI & Boutique Borders stamp sets
Stargazer papers
Pebble, Canary & White Daisy cardstock
Canary, Poppy, Pacifica, Sapphire & Pewter ink
Light Greg Fineliner pen (iBayam)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Stargazer enamel dots
Beautiful Friendship Complements banners
Sapphire baker's twine
Star punch (EK Success)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: sun
Cricut Artiste cartridge: clouds
Pattern (first page): Sketch-n-Scrap #254 rotated right and adapted for 6" x 8" layout

Challenges: Lasting Memories #612 - 3 Things - striped patterned paper + stars + enamel dots; Challenge YOUrself #104 Tough Times 

Update: I was one of the top three participants in the Tough Times challenge!

Hitting the Slopes Layout

My first layout of 2022! I was going to pull out some newer items so I could play along with some new-themed challenges, but the products that worked best with my photos were some old papers and stickers.  I finally gave in and went with them. I even used an old sketch, so couldn't even count that. 

Recipe:
Adventure USA & Story FYI stamp sets
Back Country papers and My Stickease
Goldrush & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Barn Red, Outdoor Denim & Olive ink
Outdoor Denim marker
Olive baker's twine
White rick rack (Wrights)
Diamond Stickles (Ranger)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: title, tag
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch17Jan
Challenges: Scrap With Stacy Tic-Tac-Toe (used the diagonal with 4 patterned papers + tag + 3 word title and the column with twine + tag + plaid)

Love This Getty Villa View Layout

I have been planning to scrap these photos of the memorable Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades for a while, and I finally finished the layout today. I didn't use any patterned paper on this layout, but I did add a subtle design by using an old SU stamp that I randomly stamped on the Sage and Almond cardstock pieces. My title was inspired by the Lasting Memories challenge to use the words "Love This View" as your title. Since I enjoyed every view in all the photos I scrapped, I inserted "Getty Villa" into the title to make it clear I loved it all!

We took a lot of pictures, so I will be inserting a vertical photo storage page in the album to hold 12 more photos. Here are a few of my faves:

Recipe:

Story FYI stamp set
Wide Journal Block stamp (Scrappy Cat)
Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp set (SU)
Paprika, Sage, Juniper, Charcoal, Grey Wool, Black, Kraft & Almond cardstock
Autumn Terracotta, Sage, Desert Sand, Slate, Grey Wool & Black ink
Black marker
Kraft Color-Ready Borders
Autumn Terracotta & Grey Wool baker's twine
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tags, dragonfly, branch, frame
Cricut You are Here cartridge: arch, cup
Cricut Design Space: title using Brushstroke MT font
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 40

Challenges: Lasting Memories #557 use "Love This View" in my title; The Studio Challenges multi-photo layout; Challenge YOUrself #91 use shapes (I used several tags plus a large circle, and I loved finally scrapping the photo of me in a Medusa hat!)

Movie Night Layout

In honor of Memorial Day this past Monday, I pulled out some photos from a war movie we saw when we were in London. It's called "Their Finest" and it tells the story of a group of film-makers creating a morale-raising documentary about the evacuation of Dunkirk during WWII. They suddenly run into a snag when one of their writers discovers the two young ladies whose story they are following did not actually make it to Dunkirk because their boat had engine trouble. My hubby thought the film was okay, but I loved the mix of drama, comedy, and romance! I don't have very many military themed scrapbooking supplies, so I used my Cricut to cut out stars and a medal, while the boat and the torn paper at the bottom represent the beach at Dunkirk and the "little ships" that came to the rescue of the allied troops stranded in France as the Nazis advanced.

I included two hidden items on this layout: the journaling is in the envelope that says "The Details" on it, and I used 3-D foam tape to pop up the movie marquee photo so I could slip the tickets from the theater behind it.

Recipe:
Story FYI & Victory stamp sets
Watercolor paper (Recollections)
Let's Wander paper (American Crafts)
You Rock papers
Black, Pansy Purple, Glacier, Almond & White Daisy cardstock
Pansy Purple, Glacier & Almond ink
Black marker
White gel pen (Sakura)
Purple glitter gems
3-D foam tape
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title, movie strip, ticket & envelope
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: boat
Cricut Aristry cartridge: medal, star border
Cricut Artbooking: stars
Pattern: Sketches in Thyme #419

Challenges: Bitten By the Bug Make It Military; Lasting Memories #499 Three Things - geometric patterned papers (stars), circles, at least three photos

The Truth About Flat Stanley Layout

My daughter did a Flat Stanley Project in 2nd grade where she created a Flat Stanley and mailed it to my sister, who then took a bunch of pictures of Stanley doing all kinds of things, then she mailed it and a journal about their time together back to us. I saved Flat Stanley, the photos, and the journal, and was going to title this layout Flat Stanley, but then I opened up a new stamp set I had purchased and it had the conversation starter "The truth about . . " and that sparked a whole new idea for the layout. I wrote a whole bunch of "truths"' about Stanley based on the photos my sister sent, and added them to a pull out tag on the layout. Really fun to get creative that way, and I hope you enjoy the result!

And here's Stanley with the journaling tag:

Click on the photo for a close-up of the journaling!

Recipe:
Story FYI, Pennant Alphabet, Life's a Jungle, Picture Perfect, A Chocolate Affair, Purrrrific & Highlight Reel stamp sets
Inspirationals stamp set (SU)
Craft On papers
Toffee, Raspberry & White Daisy cardstock
Black, Cocoa & Toffee ink
Black marker
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Raspberry baker's twine
White Daisy embroidery floss
Cricut Artist cartridge: "Flat"
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 10 (FYI: the large square on the right hand page made a great place for a memorabilia pocket! I layered mine with vellum over patterned paper to get two pockets, one for the journal and the tag, and one for Stanley.)

Challenges: Heart 2 Heart mixed fonts (my title fonts look similar but they're actually created using two stamp sets and a Cricut font)