Making Mom Proud Layout

There was a challenge I wanted to participate in at Scrapbook.com that required the use of the word "mom," so I pulled out some photos for my youngest kiddo's school scrapbook and used the opportunity to reflect on how proud this mom was of her son. I kept my journaling basic, but this kiddo went from being malnourished and having a diagnosis of mild mental retardation (erroneous, IMHO) when he first came to live with us, to a healthy, happy, and extremely curious and smart kindergartner just two years later. It's been a blessing to see him flourish and become a permanent part of our family!

My son is the handsome guy in the suit in the top photo!

Recipe:

Blue Ribbon, Victory & Love This stamp sets

Tickled Pink papers

Crystal Blue, Blush, Sweet Leaf & White Daisy cardstock

Crystal Blue, Blush, Sweet Leaf, Twilight & Bamboo ink

Twilight marker

White gel pen (Sakura)

Crystal Blue, Blush & Twilight brads

Sweet Leaf craft button

White Daisy embroidery floss
Blush ribbon

Lagoon Check washi tape
Clothespin
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag, tickets, hearts
Cricut Design Space: title (used Class of . . . image set plus Chloe font)
Spellbinders flower die

Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap Birthday Bash sketch (rotated right)

Challenges: Heart 2 Heart Angel Mother challenge (this was doubly appropriate because my son's name is Angel!); Use Your Stuff #398 Patterns (I chose to use two patterned papers); The Paper Girls #200 All About Boys (there are lots of other kids on the layout, but the focus is my little boy)

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

Dinner at the Clarence Layout

I finally finished scrapbooking my photos from 2014 (woohoo!), so while waiting for my order of photos from 2015 to arrive, it seemed an opportune time to catch up on a few more photos from my London trip. For some reason, we took a lot of photos of us at pubs and restaurants, so here are a few from The Clarence. I started with a scraplift from Scrapbook.com but was inspired to add the watercolor background paper and stamped houses because of the Library's Anthology challenge based on the cover of Mary Poppins (see below). The challenge is open until January 11, so there's lots of time to join in on the fun!

Recipe:
Neighborhood & Victory WOTG stamp sets
Watercolor papers (Recollections)
Color Kaleidoscope papers (American Crafts)
Words paper from my stash (it was a gift so I don't know its source)
Barn Red & Colonial White cardstock
Barn Red, Ruby, Lagoon, Whisper, Slate & Buttercup ink
Barn REd & Ocean markers
Pink craft buttons
Grey Wool baker's twine
Field Notes Journaling Ephemera (American Crafts)
CTMH Chevron embossing folder
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: circle border, ticket
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: Scraplift of this layout from Scrapbook.com

Challenges: The Library Anthology challenge - Mary Poppins

Chino Air Show Layout

My hubby loves air shows! Need I say more?

Recipe:
Victory, Flyin' High & Kudos stamp sets
Victory papers
Desert Sand, Outdoor Denim, Bamboo & Colonial White cardstock
Desert Sand, Chocolate, Outdoor Denim & New England Ivy ink
Outdoor Denim marker
Star brads (creative Impressions)
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title

Victoria Layout

This layout took itself off in a totally different direction than I had originally envisioned, but I love the result! I was hunting through my stash for a blue patterned paper to go with the cloud paper and brown felt circle I had already pulled out when I happened across this gorgeous background paper from Basic Grey. It made me think about the fact that Victoria was Empress of India, which is why her monument is engraved with the title "Regina Imperatrix" (Queen / Empress). It didn't really match the blue in the pictures, so I left it on my desk overnight and, when I saw it this morning,I finally decided it was the right one! I ditched the cloud paper in favor of a purple one, and the rest of the layout came together over the course of the morning, with the finishing touch being the quote from Mark Twain, "In her the public saw the English Empire itself."

Recipe:
Universal Backgrounds, Victory WOTG & Vogue Alphabet stamp sets
Karma paper (Basic Grey)
Purple paper (from my stash)
Bamboo & Colonial White cardstock
Gypsy & Chocolate ink
Gypsy marker
Heartfelt Wonder felt circle
Greenhouse paper flowers (American Crafts)
Mocha Opaques pearls
DE Mixed Shapes chipboard
"V" chipboard (from my stash)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped shapes
Pattern: Sketches in Thyme #347 (rotated to work with my vertical photos)

A Study In Greatness Layout

I'm hosting the Hooray for Hollywood Virtual Scrapbook Night over at Splitcoast Stampers this weekend, so I wanted to share a few of the challenges over the next week and invite everyone to play along. The challenges will all be posted this weekend, but you have until the end of October to complete them. Here's my layout for the Scandal Sheet Challenge.

The layout title was inspired by the title of Geoffrey Best's biography of Winston Churchill. My little known fact about Winston Churchill (at least I didn't know it!) is that he was born at Blenheim Palace into the aristocracy in the direct line of the Dukes of Marlborough, and his mother was an American.

The picture of Churchill's uniform and top hat flips up to reveal a hidden journaling card:

Recipe:
Victory & Make It Count stamp sets
Newsprint stamp set (SU)
Victory papers
Kraft, Fern, Outdoor Denim, Cashmere, Chocolate, Sapphire & Colonial White cardstock
Chocolate, Desert Sand, Fern, Slate & Black ink
Versamark ink
Gold embossing powder
Olive & Outdoor Denim craft buttons
Colonial White embroidery floss
Sapphire baker's twine
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: star circle
Pattern: Rochelle Spears October 2018 sketch (rotated, plus I added a grid design for the right hand page).
Challenges: The Studio Challenges numbers challenge - I added a clock to my layout, so that's 12 numbers!

Hampton Court Layout

It was a real treat to go to Hampton Court Palace since I had read so much about it. Seeing the actual red-brick towers brought to life the stories I had read but had trouble picturing until then. For the layout, I chose the sketch I had created in September for Splitcoast Stampers.

The Sketch:

My Layout:

Recipe:
Dreams, Chairs to You & Victory stamp sets
Florentine Level 2 papers
Bamboo, Autumn Terracotta & Cocoa cardstock
Cocoa &; Twilight ink
Cocoa marker
Bronze ShinHan Touch Twin marker
White gel pen (Sakura)
Bitty Sparkles
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: monograms, crown
Cricut Art Philosophy: lowercase title letters
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch17Sept

Kingdom Rock VBS Layout

For this month's single page sketch on Splitcoast Stampers, I decided to use a sketch that I had created several years ago but never posted, so I'm hoping it stood the test of time! I pulled some older papers and came up with the idea of the shields as complements for the layout's theme. The sketch didn't really have a place for journaling, so I added some strip journaling across the vertical photo.

The Sketch:

My Layout:

Recipe:
Noted Backgrounds & Victory stamp sets
Animal Cookies Creative Basics papers
Tulip, Sunflower, Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
Tulip, Sunflower, Chocolate, Desert Sand & Dutch Blue ink
Dutch Blue marker
Tulip brads
Scalloped border punch (Fiskars)
Cricut Simply Sweet cartridge: title tabs, cross ("t")
Cricut Noah's ABC Animals cartridge: lion
Cricut Wall Decor and More cartridge: crown
Cricut Artistry cartridge: shields
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch16Aug1

Loved Faces @ the Canyon Layout

Happy February, everyone. Hope you're having a fun day watching the Superbowl or scrapbooking, or whatever else takes your fancy. I was able to sit down and create another Grand Canyon layout that incorporated a few fun challenges.

Recipe:
Live Inspired, You & Me, Victory WOTG, Star Struck & Today's Date stamp sets
Lucky Level 2 papers
Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand & Colonial White cardstock
Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand, Sunset & Cocoa ink
Cocoa marker
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon
Brown sparkles
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, hearts
Pattern: EMS Sketch 22 + my creative brain!
Challenges: 4 Crafty Chicks Anything Goes challenge; Frosted Designs Directions challenge (arrows, @ symbol); Scrap It Girl Recipe challenge (arrows, numbers, blue)