Sketches In Thyme Project Life Style Sketch #28

Hello everyone!

I'm popping in really quick to share a project life style  card and page with you. I used sketch #28 from Sketches In Thyme Project Life Style. Now that school is out for the summer and we are finally settling in to our summer routine, I am finding a little extra time to catch up on a few things!

Here's a look at the sketch:

I kept my card pretty plain and simple, because that is how I scrap! I do really like the way this card turned out - even if it is plain and simple.

And the left hand side of the layout:

Let me start off by saying that I struggled with this layout. I probably would not have picked these paper colors for this week/these photos, but the right hand side for this week is going to be about our 25th anniversary party that was during this week. Hopefully I will have that page done tomorrow and posted by Thursday! You may remember the card I made for my reveal on the 12th here. Here is a refresher of what it looks like for you:

So, I wanted to keep the colors across the two pages the same, because I just "need" it to look like all one spread. Does that make sense? I probably wouldn't have had any trouble if it was another week facing it, but I just have to have the whole week the same!

Anyway, I think once both pages are done and side by side it will look much better. Hopefully...

Today is the last day to enter the challenges for May over at Sketches In Thyme Project Life Style. But tomorrow starts a whole new month of sketch challenges! 

Thanks for stopping  by! Have a good night!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #162

Hello everyone! Happy Monday to you! Our long weekend is winding down, and boy has it been a good one!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge has a fun new sketch posted today!

 

This is one of those sketches that has lots of possibilities, and I can see myself using it again! I think it would be a great sketch to use when making a pocket card for the pocket type scrapbooks.

I used a Simple Stories 2x2 square for the focal point, and added in a "thinking of you" sentiment. I have had this punch to make fancy photo corners for ages and I hardly ever use it. I thought since the sketch called for them, I would dust it off and give it a try. I really need to use it a little more often, it's very pretty!

Check out the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog to see the sketch and to read up on the rules. The full design team reveal will be on Wednesday, so be sure to stop back by!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Hello My Name Is... Lasting Memories #295

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you! We are right in the middle of a nice long weekend here in the states, and I have been enjoying every minute of it! It has been busy, but it's been filled with lots of family time, and I love that!

We are almost into a new month (can you believe it is almost June?!) and that means a new theme and a new set of challenges over at Lasting Memories. For the month of June, our theme will be, "All About Me". Our first challenge is, "The Meaning Of My Name".

My name is Lori, and as I said in my journaling, I've never been a big fan of it, but I don't really dislike it, either. Here is what I found out about the meaning of my name - and what I said in my journaling:

Lori...the meaning of my name:

English origin - with the meaning - Laurel tree or sweet bay tree - symbolic of honor and victory.

It was kind of fun researching the meaning of my name. I've never really been a fan of it, but I don't dislike it either. While researching I found out that people with this name have a deep inner desire for a stable,loving family or community, and a need to work with others and be appreciated. I find this to

be true with the way that I am. 

I know the reason my Mom and Dad picked this name for me was because I was their last hope for a boy. They had already had 3 girls and were hoping I would be a boy - no such luck for them!

My grandpa's name was Lawrence, and Lori is the feminine version of that name, so I guess I was 

named after my Poppy! I'm thinking Lori is not so bad after all!

Here is a look at the hidden journaling:

I finally broke down and used the beautiful Maggie Holmes Bloom collection for this layout. I love the papers and the colors in this collection, and thought I had better start using it instead of just hoarding all the pretty papers. I also used a couple of flair pieces and ephemera pieces that I have had laying out on my desk for ages.

I also (loosely) based my layout on this Week 4 sketch from Let's Get Sketchy - I'm barely getting it in by the deadline!

Check out the Lasting Memories blog to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. Design Team member Wendy is offering up a fun prize for this month, so be sure to check that out as well!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!

Flashback Friday at Sketch N Scrap

Hello everyone! Happy Friday to you! It's the start of a long weekend here in the states, and even though it's looking to be a rainy one around here, I'm hoping it's a good one!

Today is our last Flashback Friday for the month over at Sketch N Scrap. I am lucky enough to be the hostess for this week, and I have chosen a sketch from September 2012 for you to work with.

Oh my word, the poor cat's face in these photos are priceless! He looks like he is so over the lovin's from Ada! He was (and still is!) so patient with her, although when he got a little bigger and faster, he learned to run away and hide when he saw her coming!

I've had this colorful striped paper in my stash for quite some time, and I thought that it went pretty well with the striped shirt that Ada had on. I stuck close to the sketch on this one, because, hey, I like it like that!

Stop by the Sketch N Scrap blog to see the layouts from the other design team members. I hope that you have enjoyed our extra challenges this month in celebration of our 4th birthday. I hope you have a chance to play along with us before the end of the month. There is an awesome prize up for grabs!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday #272

Hello, hello! Happy Tuesday! I hope your week is off to a good start! We are starting to settle in to our summer routine. It's looking like it might be a rainy week for us, but that just means more scrappy time for me!

I have a new sketch from Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday for you today! Our optional theme for this week is "Summer Fun".

I decided to use just the sketch for my card this week, and I decided to make a bright, fun birthday card.

I used Simple Stories DIY Boutique 6x6 paper pad for this one. I just love those happy colors. I have almost used up every bit of this paper pad, which makes me a little sad because I love it, but it also makes me happy to be using up my stuff! I might have like four full sheets, but the scraps are the same as gone! For my sentiment I used Close To My Heart's B1417 - Perfect Fit Birthday.

Stop by the Try Stampin' blog to see the beautiful cards from the other design team members.  There are so many gorgeous works of art! I do hope you are able to play along with us. I know summer time can be a very busy time, but don't forget to make time for your hobbies, too!

A couple of reminders - the theme is always optional, stamping is always optional, you have 2 weeks to play along with our challenges, and you can enter either on the blog or on our Facebook page here.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #484

Hello everyone! I hope that you had a good weekend! We finally had some sunshine and warm temperatures, so it's finally starting to feel like summer break. 

We have a new sketch up today over at Scrapbook Challenges. This is a great sketch for one bigger sized photo, or do like I did and use 2 smaller photos. 

I have the hardest time photographing layouts with a white background! No matter how good (or bad) the lighting is, it always seems to look washed out...one of these days I will learn how to take a better photo, or use a different color background! 

I've had these photos of Ada and Matthew out on my desk for a while now, and I am so glad that I finally got them scrapped. These are from when we went to the pool last summer. #1 Ada thought it was pretty cool that Matthew hung out with us in the kiddie pool for a while, but when he started catching water in his hands and then throwing it on her, well, she just that was the greatest. Everything he does just amazes her!

For this layout I used some more scraps from Echo Park's Splash collection, and the little bits of pink are from Doodlebug - I do believe it is some of their first collections! I found a bunch more of it in my stash this weekend and decided to use on it while I can!

Stop by Scrapbook Challenges to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you can find some time to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a fantastic day!

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #74

Hello everyone, and Happy Friday to you! Are you ready for the weekend?

I have a fantastic new card sketch from Sketch N Scrap to share with you today! Our last card sketch for this month has been created by Lisa.

I just absolutely love this sketch! I really wanted to cut my strip behind the circle into a fish tail banner, but I refrained! I think it would have looked great either way.

I used My Mind's Eye's gorgeous "On Trend" 6x6 paper pad for my card. You can't really tell it in the photo, but it has just a touch of gold on the flower panel, and it is just so pretty. I didn't have any of the embellishments from this line since I had just picked up the paper pad at Hobby Lobby, so I fussy cut some of the flowers from one of the papers to finish off my circle.  The sentiment is from a stamp set from Kaisercraft called Shine Bright.

Stop by the Sketch N Scrap blog for more inspiration from the design team. I do hope you play along with us this month - there is an awesome prize up for grabs for one lucky participant! We will be back again next Friday with our last Flashback Friday of the month. Stay tuned!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back soon!

Scrapbook Challenges - Recycle It!

Hello everyone! Happy Hump Day! This week is moving right along. The weekend will be here before we know it!

We have a fun new challenge up over at Scrapbook Challenges today. Today our challenge is "Recycle It". Pick one of the three sketches below and create a Thank You card using it.

I picked sketch #383 for my card.

The only thing I changed about the sketch was the addition of the black banner piece behind the sentiment. I just felt like it needed a little extra something behind that circle.  I used Teresa Collins - Memories - 6x6 paper pad for my card. Since my sentiment (Close To My Heart A1125 - Thanks) was on the elegant side, I stuck to a more monochromatic color scheme. 

Head on over to Scrapbook Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope you find some time to play along with our challenges this month!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Hugs To You

Hi, guys!

I am back with a card to share with you. Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge posted a new sketch yesterday, and I am here to share my take on it.

Here's a look at the sketch:

and my card:

I have a friend that is going through a tough time right now, and I thought I would send her this card to let her know that I was thinking about her. I hope that it will brighten her day!

I used Fancy Pants - Be Loved - 6x6 paper pad for this card. Even though it is more of a Valentine's Day/Love collection, it has lots of papers that can be used for anything. The sentiment is from a super old Studio G stamp set that has barely been used. I also added three puffy heart stickers in place of the sentiment, since my sentiment was already on one of the circles. (The hearts really do match better - the colors are off due to a dreary, rainy day!)

Stop by the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog on Wednesday to see the beautiful cards from the other design team members.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great one!

Sketches In Thyme #199 - So Much Fun

Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday to you! I hope that you are having a great day! We are now into our first full week of summer break, and it feels more like early spring! Highs in the 50's and rain...come on! I am ready for warm - sunny days!

Today is my day to be featured over on the Sketches In Thyme blog. This week we are working with Jenessa's sketch.

Isn't this a fun sketch? I will admit I was a little intimidated by it at first, but once I got to working with it, I really liked it.

I'm using up more of the scraps that I have had out on my desk from the last few projects I've made. I've got to get back to working through my stash and making kits. They just make scrapping so much quicker for me. 

I love these super cute photos of Ada out on the trampoline. Her Uncle Matthew was on the other side of it bouncing her around. She had so much fun and was full of smiles and giggles!

Stop by the Sketches In Thyme blog for new inspiration every single day. Kim is offering up a fantastic prize this month. Be sure to link up your layouts by the end of the month for your chance to win this:

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon with another project to share!

Use Your Stuff #223 - Heat Embossing

Hello again! I am back with my third post of the day! If you are looking for my Memory Nest  reveal, please scroll down or go here. If you are looking for my Scrapbook Challenges reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge up over at Use Your Stuff today. This week Shirley is challenging us to use heat embossing on our projects.

I heat embossed the sentiment on my card. I had these papers still out on my desk from my last layout. I have really been trying to use up some of my scraps as I go. I have so many scraps that I put away and then forget about, so I have really been trying to use them up as I go now. I added in a few enamel dots to add a little extra something.

I used this sketch from April from The Paper Players to base my card on:

Be sure to check out the Use Your Stuff blog for a ton of awesome inspiration from the rest of the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #483

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my reveal for The Memory Nest, please scroll down or go here.

We have a brand new sketch for you over at Scrapbook Challenges today. It is a fun - four photo sketch, and I can see myself using it again and again!

I stayed true to the sketch, only leaving out the embellishments that went down the left side of the page. I felt like the arrow patterned paper was a little busy and anything I put over there just sort of got lost, so I just stuck with a few enamel dots and a punched butterfly. (Thanks for the punch, Willa Jean!)

The journaling says - Every time we take a walk down the road we come home by the way of the neighbors orchard. Every time, Ada runs and gets behind these little trees. I'm not sure if she is posing or playing hide and seek!

No matter if she is posing or playing hide and seek, I think these photos are just plain cute!

Head on over to Scrapbook Challenges and see the layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you have some time to play along with us!

Thanks again for stopping by! I will be back soon with another project to share!

Make It Monday #60

Hello everyone! Good Monday morning/afternoon/evening to you! I hope that you had a good weekend. Ours was very busy with Matthew's graduation, and I am looking forward to the long - lazy days of summer!

Today is Make It Monday over at The Memory Nest, and this time around we have a sketch courtesy of Crystal.

I love the big banners on this sketch. I am a banner fan anyway, and these over sized banners are just so fun! I used some scraps from a couple of different Echo Park collections - Sweet Girl and Little Girl. I just love that different collections of theirs work so well together!

The title - You Are Loved - is not only fitting for Ada to know that she is loved, but I do believe that she is letting that little giraffe know that it is loved, too! I still need to add my journaling to my layout, but I need to get a couple of details from Abby first.

Be sure to stop by The Memory Nest and take a look at the projects form the rest of the design team. I do hope you have some time to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back later with another project (or two!) to share with you!

Lasting Memories #293 - Only One Photo

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you have had a good weekend! Ours has been very busy and I am running behind this morning because of it! It's all because of this right here:

Our oldest son graduated from high school last night! Let me tell you, these last couple of weeks leading up to the end of the school year and graduation have been so busy! I am so glad that it is summer break and that things should slow down quite a bit for at least a little while!

Anyway, the newest challenge is up at Lasting Memories today. Our theme this month has been - All About The Photos - and this week our challenge is to use only one photo on our layout. It can be any size photo, big or small, but we can use only one photo.

My layout is of Shane and his favorite place to go - the flea markets! Here is the story that I told in the journaling:

"We have 2 flea markets in town that Shane loves to visit. They both carry a pretty good selection of old vhs tapes pretty cheap. More importantly - they carry old Disney vhs tapes pretty cheap! Shane used to buy one, or two, (or five!) tapes each time we went. Now the booths are like his own personal stash that he has to take stock of each time we visit. He makes sure they are all lined up right, all turned in the right direction, and sometimes he has to rearrange them to his liking. Then he is usually happy to leave until the next time. Thank goodness! We are running out of room to store vhs tapes!"

I took this photo of him last summer right before school started. See how he likes to make himself at home?!

I based my layout on this sketch from Creative Scrappers that they posted on National Scrapbook Day.

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the team. I hope that you can find the time to play along with us! You have until May 27th to join our challenges for this month. I am offering up this prize pack to one lucky person:

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Mother's Day with Stick It Down

Hello everyone! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketches In Thyme Project Life Style reveal, please scroll down or go here.

Today is reveal day for the rest of the card team at Stick It Down! Here's a reminder of what the card sketch looks like:

For this month's card I have made a Mother's Day card for my daughter. This is her second year of being a mother, and I wanted to let her know what a great job she is doing with Miss Ada.

This was my first attempt at a center step card. I always love them when I see them, but I have just never taken the time to try my hand at one. I am so happy to finally give it a shot. I can't believe how incredibly easy it was to make! There are a few things I know now that will make it even easier the next time I make one. It's always fun to learn new things and like them enough to try again!

Check out the Stick It Down blog today to see the rest of the beautiful cards from the rest of the card team. I hope you find some time to play along with us! Remember - in celebration of National Scrapbook Day last weekend, we have an awesome prize up for grabs! Play along with any or all of our sketches for a chance to win!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a fantastic day!

Sketches In Thyme PL Style Sketch #26

Hello everyone! Happy Thursday to you! I hope that you have had a good week. It has been kind of quiet on my blog this week - all due to the fact that this is the last week of school and things have been crazy busy. Today is the last day, so things around here should start calming down and get back to normal!

That busyness has kind of interfered with my scrappy time, but I do have a couple of projects to share with you today. First up is my reveal for Sketches In Thyme PL Style. This week we are working with this sketch from Crystal:

I am sorry to say that I got my card made, and most of my layout made, then I moved my scrap room this weekend, and somehow a couple of my photos fell out of the page protector and I have yet to find them! I have not had the time to get them reprinted (I think I need a Selphy!), so  my layout is not totally complete yet. I will get it finished up and added asap!

I am still working on my 2015 project life album, and this card will go in an insert to go along with my week 3 layout. This is the week that my sister hosted a 25th anniversary party for us and I had way too many photos and I thought an insert including everything I want to include would be the way to go. 

Be sure to stop by the Sketches In Thyme PL Style blog for lots of inspiration all month long. Kim is offering up a fantastic prize this month, so be sure to play along. Remember - your project doesn't have to be a PL style layout. You can use your card on a traditional layout as well.  The more projects that you enter, the better your chances to win this fun paper kit:

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I will be back soon with another project to share with you!

Try Stampin - Or Not - On Tuesday

Hello and Happy Tuesday to you! Summer break for us is getting ever closer! Just a day and a half of school left!

We have a new sketch up over at Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday today. Our optional theme for this sketch challenge is "May Flowers".

To be honest - I completely forgot about the optional theme of May flowers when I made my card. And, I had it printed off on the sketch right in front of my face! I blame it on the fact that my oldest graduates this Saturday and I am a bit scatterbrained - and apparently I have graduation on the brain when I planned out my card!

I use Close To My Heart's Love Life (D1482) for my flourishes and then die cut some silver stars to match my silver numbers. I really like the way this card turned out, and I hope my son will like it as well. I have a sneaky suspicion that he will like what's inside the card more than the card itself!

Stop by the Try Stampin' blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the team. You have two weeks to join in the fun, and you can enter on the blog, or over on our Facebook page - here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Another Christmas Card!

Hello again! It is shaping up to be a beautiful day today! We are supposed to come close to 80*, lots of sunshine, and very little wind - looks like I will be spending some time outside today!

I am back to share another Christmas card with you today! This week's challenge over at Christmas Card Challenges was a photo challenge.

I had many ideas for this card, but this is the one that stuck! I originally wanted to stamp a doily and have the "25" on top of it. I just couldn't get it to work for me. Then, I remembered this stamp set from Close To My Heart that had this "Dec. 25" stamp, and I thought it would be perfect. I tried to stick with only red and white, but I just felt like it needed a little something more.

Another Christmas card done and ready for the holiday season this year. It will be so nice when the holidays roll around to have my cards made and not be rushing around at the last minute!

Be sure to check out the Christmas Card Challenge blog. Maybe you'll be inspired to get started on your holiday cards, if you haven't already!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Flashback Friday At Sketch N Scrap

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! This is our last Friday of school this year! That's right - this time next week we will just be starting summer break, and I can't wait!

Sketch N Scrap is celebrating their 4th birthday this month, and in honor of that we are treating you to Flashback Friday all month long! Today Lisa has picked our Flashback Friday sketch, and it is the very first sketch that Sketch N Scrap ever posted on their blog - created by the super talented Lisa!

Here is a look at the very first sketch:

I decided to just use one photo for my take on this sketch. I kept everything else pretty much the same as it shows on the sketch. 

This is one of my favorite photos of Miss Ada from last year. Just so many things about it that I just love! She's wearing one of my favorite outfits, her hair was really starting to get long, and that little face is just too adorable!

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap to see all of the wonderful layouts from the rest of the team. Be sure to play along with us for a chance to win and awesome prize!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope that you have a fantastic Friday!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #158

I'm back with one more project for today! So much good stuff going on on Mondays!

This time I am back with this weeks sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge!

I created a birthday card using some My Mind's Eye paper. I stamped the sentiment on the center block, and to be honest, I meant to add some gems on the sentiment block and at the bottom - but I completely forgot until after I had already taken the photo. I will try to remember to get an updated photo on here!

Be sure to stop by the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog to see the sketch and to read the rules!

The full design team reveal will be up on the blog on Wednesday, along with top three from sketch #157.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Use Your Stuff #221

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day! Mondays seem to be a busy day around here, so here we go!

This week over at Use Your Stuff, new design team member, Tina, has our challenge for us. Her challenge is to use the following sketch for a layout, card, or off the page project.

Since this sketch translates easily into a card - that is what I went with for my project.

I had this Dear Lizzy - Neapolitan collection out for another project and I had quite a few scraps left, so I thought it would be a good time to get them used up. I fussy cut the flowers from one of the sheets of paper, and you can't tell it in the photo, but one of the flowers is popped up just a bit. 

Be sure to stop by the Use Your Stuff blog to see the creations from the rest of the design team. There is a good mix of different projects, so I'm sure you will be inspired to play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Enjoying Life - Make It Monday #59

Hello everyone! Happy Monday to you! I hope that you all enjoyed a good weekend! I am excited because after today we only have one more Monday of school! Counting down the days here!

Today is Make It Monday over at The Memory Nest and we have a fun - new sketch for you!

Just so you know - the photo on this layout is much better in person.I have tried everything to get it to show up better with no luck.

I really liked the shapes on the background of this sketch and I decided to go with circles - because they are my favorite!  I already had this paper out on my desk from a previous layout, and since I had one more picture of Ada from that day, I decided to go ahead and scrap it! I had originally thought of decorating each circle with some type of embellishment, but when I laid it all out it was way too busy for me. 

I used a few cut outs that my good friend, Willa Jean, sent to me a few months ago. The colors were just perfect for this layout and those tiny flowers are so cute! I'm not really sure why the dark pink flowers look so bright in the photo - they really aren't that bright.

Be sure to stop by The Memory Nest blog to see the how the rest of the design team interpreted this sketch. I hope that you are inspired to play along with us this month!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back soon with my next project of the day!