Layout #77 - Get Picky

This picture is from 2 and a half years ago when my mom treated me to a trip to Hawaii (yeah, she's pretty special!) That's her on the right, and my aunt came as well. We went to a luau, and this is the photo that they take of you as you get off the bus. It felt kind of cheesey, and then they sucker you into paying $20 or something to get the photo at the end of the night, but it is a good shot of the three of us! It was our first luau, and we laughed our butts off the whole time - it was a riot! I am entering this into the Get Picky inspiration challenge for November. The photo they have for inspiration is full of pastel colours, and banners, so I incorporated these into my page. I also added some glittery swirls inspired by their swirly lollipops. I used a sketch I saw on the Scrap-tures blog last week for Finally Friday sketches, and it is one from Got Sketch, although I couldn't find it on their blog. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Supplies: Bazzill and CTMH cardstock, CTMH Tickled Pink and unknown patterned paper, Little Yellow Bicycle letter stickers and epoxy button, CTMH hemp, Ranger Distress Stickles, Creative Memories and Sakura pens, unknown chipboard and fussy cut flower (courtesy of Mel!)

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Layout #69 and Creative Scrappers #125

My computer is infected with 24 viruses and I don't know how much longer I'll be here! I made this layout for Creative Scrappers sketch 125 (big celebration!), so hopefully I can get it linked up, but I don't know if it'll work, my computer is not letting me do ANYTHING!!! So if I don't get to visit your blogs, you know why. Amazing how much I've come to live in the virtual world. I feel like I'm going down on a sinking ship! Goodbye, all! It's been great...

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Layout #68

I just loved this sketch from Julie Bonner, so I printed it out and put it away for a bit, then found these photos that seemed to go well with it. Don't ya just loooooove this Cosmo Cricket paper? I had such a hard time choosing just two papers from this line, but I knew I had to limit myself! Some of the elements on this page are from blog candy prizes - gotta love that! And the title piece is embossed in clear powder, then misted with Glimmer Mist. Somehow, I managed to finish this page amidst the chaos of having the in-laws here for Thanksgiving. I had a hard time holding it together when I found that my FIL deposited his WET HAT on my craft table, INADVERTENTLY on my NEW PATTERNED PAPER!!! GGGGGRRRRRRRRR!!! Three deep breaths, (a beer would've helped only I'm off the hooch due to the nursing baby!) and a reminder that it was an accident (huh) and no tears were shed. How was your Thanksgiving?

Supplies: Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, Creative Memories pen, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, CTMH Picture Perfect stamp set and Clear Detail embossing powder, Versamark ink, unknown ribbon, twill, journaling spot, and fussy cut flowers

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Layout #66

I made this layout for the Design Dollies Trifecta last week, but I missed the posting deadline! I was really grumpy last night, too, because it just seemed like I was busy all day doing stuff for everyone else - laundry, baking, cooking, comforting, etc. etc. - and all I really wanted to do was finish this bleepin' page. That's the life of a mother, ain't it! Everybody else's wants and needs come first. Ah well, eventually I got to scrap this old photo again, and play around with stamps and ink and glimmer mist, so all is good in the end. The top right piece of paper was made with stamps coloured in with water colour pencils and stamping ink/blending pen combo, and the bottom left piece I made by brayering a piece of white c/s with ink and stamping over top. I realized as I was journaling that this photo is almost EXACTLY seven years old. The same photo makes an appearance in another album, but it is one of my faves, so I did it again on its own.

Supplies (all CTMH): cardstock (Colonial White and White Daisy), Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Black and Garnet, Exclusive Inks marker in Black, Intrinsic Backgrounds and Felicity My Acrylix stamp sets, watercolor pencils, blending pen

Other: Creative Imaginations, Scrap Within Reach, and Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper, Black Staz-On ink, Hero Arts stamps, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, unknown ribbon

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Lauout #64 - Smitten!

This was a fun layout for me to do! I challenged myself to make it as quickly as possible, and I finished it in an evening. Kind of hard to say exactly how long it took because I kept getting interrupted! I used a sketch from Creative Scrappers (#119) and a prompt out of my Scrapbook Play book: #15 - scrapbook about an obsession. Just a note here, this is an old obsession! My new obsession is scrapbooking, but before I ever discovered this wonderful hobby, I used to loooooove going to concerts and drooling over rock stars! The new generation can have their vampires and werewolves, but I'll take a rock star any day (but not the old ones, hee hee!) Here you can just barely see Edwin and David Usher from Moist. I pulled colours from their shirts, and then scoured my stash for old and new stickers to coordinate with the "smitten" theme. Some machine stitching and journaling strips, and there you have it, another embarassing layout for my kids to laugh over one day when I'm old and grey!

Supplies (all CTMH): Tulip and White Daisy cardstock, patterned paper from You Rock Level 2 paper pack, Exclusive Inks marker in Tulip

Other: Stickers from Jolee's Boutique, Creative Memories, Top Line Creations, and Little Yellow Bicycle

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Layout #60

Don't you just loooooooove this paper? (Here is where you can picture me doing the Homer Simpson mouth-watering drool sound!) I had a hard time cutting into it, but I love the back as much as the front, so I used my new technique. I trimmed out a photo mat-sized piece, flipped it, and stitched it together with a couple of scrap cardstock strips in behind for support. The purple strip under the photo is pleated to look like ribbon, and the key is grungeboard doctored up with distress ink and perfect pearls (I'm loving that technique, too!) When I showed Jason this page, he said, "Uck, I've got food in my mouth!" Well, duh, you're the one who thought that was funny when we took the picture! It's pretty typical of him, so I figure it's fair representation. Anyway, I used a sketch from Kristine Davidson, who drew this one up for Scrapbook Sussies, and I really like how it turned out!

Supplies: CTMH felt, stamps (Chocolate Alphabet small and Key to My Heart), and ink (Olive), Webster Pages and Creative Imaginations patterned paper, Maya Road fibers, date stamp, Tim Holtz/Ranger Grungeboard, Distress Ink, and Perfect Pearls, Creative Memories pen

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Layout #59

I've wanted to do a page like this for a long time! I found a box of school memorabilia at my parents' house, and in it was an autobiography I made in Grade 6. It is sooooo cute! Really, it's like an ancient scrapbook, or something from a time capsule. Anyway, on the very last page I had to write my future plans, and I was shocked when I read it! It is right on! Well, except for the part about being in a rock band or an actress, but everything else, down to going to university and getting married and having kids. Doing this page, I figured out my printer's scanner (the photo is even printed out on cardstock) and I got to use prompt #5 from my Scrapbook Play book: copy your journaling from a childhood journal. The ruffle is from a band used to wrap a Woolrich sweater that I kept in my stash forever. I basted it, then pulled the stitching to form the ruffle. I used a sketch from Design Dollies, and also their elements challenge (this week's challenge was to use a school photo of yourself), and I also used the colours from a Scrap That challenge in an effort to win their monthly kit. All in all, I'm very pleased with this layout, and now my kids can see just how nice my handwriting was!

Supplies (all CTMH): patterned paper and cardstock from Topstitch Level 2 paper pack, Classmate Alpha My Acrylix stamp set, Exclusive Inks stamp pad in Chocolate, Exclusive Inks marker in Cocoa, Liquid Glass

Other: Prima flowers, handmade ruffle, unknown jumbo flower, brown cardstock circle, and glitter, Bic pen

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Layout #47 - P.K.

Do you ever think back to the time before you had kids and think, "Hey, I did some pretty cool things!" Well, this layout is titled "P.K." which stands for Pre-Kids, and it shows one of the adventures we had with a group of friends one December. There's a little cabin in the mountains near where we grew up that's first come, first serve, and a group of us went up after Christmas. You have to snowshoe to get to the cabin because it's too steep and treed to snowmobile up to, then you have to snowshoe up further in order to board down. It's a lot of work for not much boarding, but the powder makes it all worth it, and we had a lot of fun just hanging out in the cabin once it got too dark to do anything outside.

So once again I took on the Design Dollies colour challenge for this week, which is teal, brown, cream, and a pop of red. Honestly, I can't believe I fit this many photos onto one page, with journaling! I stole the design from one I saw in Scrapbooks, etc. because I loved the grid idea. And now these photos are scrapped (finally!) and there's proof that I was maybe just a little adventurous P.K. Who knows, maybe we'll take the kids in a couple of years!

Supplies (all CTMH): Juniper, Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock, Perfect Day patterned paper and My Stickease, Colonial White buttons and brads, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Juniper and Tulip, Exclusive Inks marker in Juniper

Other: Sakura white pen, Creative Memories brown pen, Prima journaling paper, unknown crochet trim and ribbon, Autumn Leaves stamp, K & Company button brads

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So You Think You Can Scrap!

I did most of this layout during commercials of Wednesday's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance". It was quite the challenge, and I almost finished the whole page, but it needed some fine-tuning and I didn't actually get it done until this morning. (Incidentally, I'm kind of disappointed with the show this season. It's kind of got that "been-there-done-that" feel to it, and I'm missing that wacky Mary!) The colours over at Design Dollies are baby pink, black, and red this week, and the Stampin' Royalty challenge was to use stencils (finally am going to enter one of their challenges, yay!) so I combined the two to make this page of my 16th birthday dinner. I got to play with one of my new Glimmer Screens, a new stamp set (Little Princess), and some Perfect Pearls, so I had a lot of fun making it. I kept the journaling simple by just stamping some phrases, because this was over half my life ago, and I don't really remember it all that well. I used to keep a diary at that age, but I think I got rid of it - too much embarassment if anyone ever cracked that open! Aren't the pictures bad enough?

Supplies (all CTMH): White Daisy cardstock, patterned paper from More to Adore Level 2 paper pack, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Blush and Black, Exclusive Inks marker in Tulip, Clear Detail embossing powder, Be Yourself, Classmate Alphabet, Picture Perfect, Little Princess, and Reminisce My Acrylix stamp sets, pewter mini brads

Other: Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and Glimmer Screen, Ranger Perfect Pearls, unknown ribbon

P.S. this is layout #45 of 120 for the year!

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Underwhelmed!

The Elements challenge at Design Dollies (click on their blinkie in my side bar, they have awesome challenges!) this week was to complete a graduation themed project, so this page takes us back exactly 17 years to my high school graduation. Unfortunately, this is THE best picture of the ceremonies (no zoom lens!) so I put the gem frame around my face to sort of focus the attention there. Did it work? The colours this week are Yellow, Brown, White, and Royal Blue, and I'm proud to say that every piece of paper on this page started out white! I did some random stamping, clear embossing and brayering, and even pulled out the ol' water colour pencils and blending pen to pretty up the flourishes. I also followed this week's sketch pretty closely, so yay, another Trifecta completed!

If you're wondering about the title, well, it comes from a song by a Canadian band, Sloan. Come to think of it, I think the song came out around the same time as my graduation. Anyway, it sums up my feelings on that day pretty well. I know most people are really excited about graduating, but me, on that day, I felt kind of bummed. Did anyone else out there feel like that on their graduation day?

Supplies (all CTMH): White Daisy cardstock, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Moonstruck, Creme Brulee, Cocoa, and Desert Sand, Clear Detail embossing powder, Tickled Pink, Intrinsic Backgrounds, and Key to My Heart My Acrylix stamp sets, watercolour pencils, and gem frame

Other: Dymo Label Buddy

P.S. this is layout #39 of 120 for the year

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Kicking Horse (layout #27)

This was a trip I went on BK (Before Kids), so it must have been 2001 or something. I went white water rafting with a group of people I didn't really know. I've had the pictures forever, but I didn't really know what to do with them. There were so many, I wanted to include a whole bunch, but not do more than one layout. Then along came the Close to My Heart Flip Flap Memory Protectors. These are 4x6 pockets with their own adhesive flap, and I just stuck 2 of them right on top of my page protector. So this layout has 11 4x6 photos! How cool is that? (I apologize for the glare, but I had to keep the pages in their protectors so you could see how the flip flaps work.)

For this one, I used a page design from the Creating Keepsakes May/June 2010 edition and colours from last week's Design Dollies colour challenge (pink, orange, and cream). We went away this weekend, though, and I didn't get it posted in time. I wanted orange letters for my title, but didn't have stickers, so I embossed them with clear embossing powder and then cut them out with a craft knife. I really like how they turned out! I also stitched my ribbon on with my sewing machine - that is so much fun!

Supplies (all CTMH): Hollyhock and Colonial White cardstock, patterned paper (pink) from Boom-di-Ada Level 2 paper pack, Giggle Caps My Acrylix stamp set, Flip Flap Memory Protectors

Other: American Traditional Designs patterned paper, Versamark ink, Creative Memories pen, unknown clear embossing powder, ribbon, and orange patterned paper

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Design Dollies, Sketchy Thursdays and Who's That Girl

Whew, long title there. This is also layout #23 in my quest to complete 120 layouts this year. Hmmm, I might be a bit behind...

So Sketchy Thursdays has a sketch this week that I sort of followed, plus they joined up with Who's That Girl this week, and their challenge is a theme: "Right Now". Then there's Design Dollies, who wanted to see the colours Brown, Orange, and Teal. Let me say, I wouldn't have chosen those colours on my own, but I love the results, especially the turquoise. I think it adds quite a pop! I also had a hard time mixing and matching all kinds of stuff from my stash! It's hard to read my journaling, but I wrote that I'm into reading, coffee, Sirius Iceberg 85, organizing, and night time snuggles with Brenna.

Supplies (all CTMH): patterned paper (orange) from You Rock Level 2 paper pack, Exclusive Inks pen in Cocoa

Other: Doodlebug Designs teal paper, Beary Patch brown paper, Making Memories trim (I think), Cosmo Cricket rub-on, Hot Off The Press "5", Colorbok "I", Magenta gold letter stickers

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Hot Little Momma (Layout #21)

When Jason took these photos of me last summer, I was really self-conscious. I was only in the first trimester, and I thought I looked fat, not pregnant. Now I would love to have this bod back! So, this layout serves to remind me of how cute I looked with my little baby bump!

I LOVE the hot pink and purple on this page, but I didn't have enough purple to make the wide strip behind the photos, so I trimmed some scraps and stuck them down so that you can't even tell. I had these Making Memories monogram stickers and kept the backing (for 5 years, can you believe it!) and used the backing as a stencil for these letters. I've recently been going through my scrap space, trying to organize and purge, so maybe now that I've finally used this stencil, I can finally let it go! Or maybe I should keep it, you never know when it might come in handy...

Supplies (all CTMH): White Daisy cardstock, patterned paper from Whoops-a-Daisy Level 2 paper pack

Other: Making Memories letter stickers (as stencil), Creative Memories pens

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Layout #18

Here's a layout I made very quickly using a Reflections pattern called Sidebar-Mainframe and some old Cosmo Cricket papers. I loved these papers when I bought them, so much I used the colour palette in my old house, but the papers themselves have been in my stash forever. I'm glad I was able to use the title strip, as that saved a bunch of time. The ribbons are old hair ribbons from when I was a kid.

Supplies: White Daisy cardstock from Close to My Heart, Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, journaling spot from Little Yellow Bicycle, Creative Memories pen, hair ribbons.

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Layout #17

Yay, another Brenna page done! This is how we spend our evenings from about 8 or 9 until 10:30 or so. It's pretty nice, I must say! For this layout, I used the Reflections pattern book from Close to My Heart, and it came together in no time. The hardest part was getting some of those rub-ons transferred properly. Felt like my arms were getting a workout! Oh well, they can use it!

Supplies (all CTMH): cardstock and patterned paper from Sweet Home level 2 paper pack, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Garnet and Indian Corn Blue

Other: rub-ons from Heidi Swapp and Colorbok, pen from Creative Memories

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Layout #16

I just placed my order to Close to My Heart, and I decided to get a 12x12 calendar for Brenna, you know, to record all her special moments. This will be the first page! I'm totally digging the black and white photos lately - they make it so easy to use any colour paper, and the patterned paper here is one I've had forever. I've been slowly and steadily cleaning up my scrap space, and I keep finding old stuff that I want to use. I also used a sketch I found at a cool site called 4 x 6 photo sketch blog. I think I will be using this site more often now - no cropping!

Supplies (all CTMH): The Works Alphabet My Acrylix stamp set, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Tulip and Black, cardstock (for hand cut flower) in Tulip

Other: American Crafts patterned paper, Bazzill trim, Prima journaling spot, Creative Memories pen, date stamp

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Layout #15

I'm starting to worry what my daughter's going to be like when she's 15. She's already right into flirting with the boys! This layout came together pretty easily. I almost went for purple papers to match her dress, but I'm glad I didn't. I really like the navy blue and light pink together (it reminds me of my old competitive gymnastics suit). I have a journal with acid free, lined paper, and I try to write stories in there whenever I can. Then I can just rip out the page and add it to my layout, which I did here. Saves a bunch of time! I usually find journaling the hardest part, don't you?

Supplies (all CTMH): White Daisy cardstock, Dazzling Die Cuts in Outdoor Denim, Exclusive Inks stamp pad in Outdoor Denim, The Works Alphabet My Acrylix stamp set, Liquid Glass, Prisma Glitter

Other: patterned paper from Provo Craft, pink jewels from the dollar store, black pen from Creative Memories, journaling spot from my notebook

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Layout #14

Aussie Scrapper, I hope you're looking at this layout! Basically, it tells about the conversation between my daughter and her daycare worker. Ailis told the lady that it was okay for her to eat bugs because she's an Australian Aborigine! I howled with laughter when her daycare worker told me the story. It is true, she is an Aborigine, but only one sixteenth or something. Too cute!

This was a quick layout. I almost made my own patterned paper for the purple strips by heat embossing white snowflakes on purple cardstock, but I'm glad I used the other paper instead, because it save a bunch of time. I also love the tag - I saved it from something or other, then I sponged and swiped the edges to grunge it up a bit. Enjoy!

Supplies (all CTMH): White Daisy and Desert Sand cardstock, patterned paper from Bella Level 2 paper pack, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Black, Cocoa, and Desert Sand

Other: tag was a found item, black pen from Creative Memories, journaling spot from Prima

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Layout #13

This is the first layout I've completely finished since having Brenna! Feels really good! I really wanted some nice photos of my pregnancy, seeing as this will be the last time I'm pregnant, and also because I didn't get any decent photos from my other two pregnancies. So, I put my husband to work as photographer, and these four were the best of the bunch. I wanted to try again, but just kind of ran out of time. I was able to use some new and old supplies together on this layout: the paper pack is new (to me!), and the rub-on, letter stickers, and buttons are old. I used a pattern called Double Take from Imagine, and I really like how balance it is. Enjoy!

Supplies (all CTMH): cardstock and patterned paper from Sweet Home Level 2 paper pack, White Daisy organdy ribbon, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Garnet and Indian Corn Blue, Thoughtful Seasons and Key to My Heart My Acrylix stamp sets, Natural Hemp

Other: Rub-on from Basic Grey, pen and letter stickers from Creative Memories, buttons from my stash

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2010 Layout Challenge #12

I loved the colours from the Design Dollies colour challenge this week: lavender, white, and grey, and I thought these pics would go great with those three. Don't you think the red just adds a nice bit of pop?

So last year we had Ailis in Jackrabbits ski lessons, and she really took to it. She had the best attitude of any little kid there, was always smiling and laughing and having a great time. This year, it was a complete 180 degree turn - pouting, crying, etc. We didn't know what to think! Oh well, she only just turned 5, so what are ya gonna do! We'll try again next year, maybe just on our own without lessons, and see what happens.

Supplies (all CTMH): White Daisy cardstock, and Intrinsic Backgrounds and Moments in Time My Acrylix stamp sets

Other: grey cardstock from Bazzill, lavender cardstock, Versamark Ink, silver embossing powder, letter tiles from Hot Off the Press, metal photo corner, buttons, and embroidery floss

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