LM #554 - All About the Photos - Throwback Photo

Hello, hello! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a great weekend. I have had a fun weekend filled with a shopping trip with my daughter and granddaughter, then a day of scrapping, and today looks to be a nice relaxing day at home.

Today I am sharing a layout that I created for this week's challenge at Lasting Memories. The theme for this month has been "All About the Photos" and today's challenge is to use a throwback photo that is at least 10 years old. If you don't have an old photo, you can use a selfie.

Recently I found a folder of photos from when my oldest son was in kindergarten - 18 years ago! This is what I came up with: 

I just love this photo of Matthew and his best bud, Charlie. I don't know - or remember - any of the details from this day - just that they were blowing bubbles out on the playground. These two became fast friends in kindergarten and still good buddies - and roommates - today.

I used the masculine papers in my June - Lisa and Lori's Great Stash Bash kit - which you can see here. I managed to use all but one of the papers that I included in this "masculine" mini-kit. I did pull in a cut apart sheet and a few stickers from the Echo Park  - Little Dreamer - Boy collection.

I based my layout on this sketch from PageMaps from March 2021:

Here are a couple of close-ups:

All of the star stickers are from one of the sticker sheets that I included in my stash bash kit. The word stickers, 3x4 cards, and enamel dots are all from the Echo Park - Little Dreamer - Boy - collection. I thought this collection matched pretty well with the Crate Paper collection that I had included in my kit.

I love how this layout turned out and I am so happy to get a photo of "little" Matthew scrapped! It's always fun to look back at photos of the kiddos when they were little and see how they've grown.

Be sure to stop by the Lasting Memories blog to see how the rest of the design team took on this challenge. I hope you have some time to play along with us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #196

 Hello, hello! Happy Friday to you! I hope that you have had a good week and that you are ready for the weekend. I know that I sure am! I am kicking it off a little early with a shopping trip with my favorite girls today. I am hoping that we can find some bargains and I think I will stop by Scrapbook Generation for the first time in over a year. A little in-person/in-store scrappy shopping will be fun!

Today I am sharing the card that I created using the June 20th card sketch at Sketch N Scrap. Here's the sketch that Lisa has created for us:

And this is what I came up with:

I used an old Carta Bella 6x6 paper pad - Flora No. 2 - for this card. This is one of the 6x6 paper pads that I found when I was reorganizing my scrap room that is almost all gone. I was happy to use 3 sheets of paper with minimal scraps left over. I found this sentiment in one of the die-cut packs and used it for my sentiment piece. I popped it up on foam tape for a little dimension. I also added in three black gems as my banner piece seemed a little bare. 

This card came together so quickly, thanks to this sketch, and I know I will be using it again soon!

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog to see how the rest of the design team took on this sketch. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a great day!

Extra projects for The ScrapRoom

 Hello, everyone! Happy Thursday to you! I hope that you are having a good week. Ours has been pretty quiet around here - which is how I like it!

Today I am sharing a few extra projects that I created with the June kits from The ScrapRoom. 

First, I created the title page for my 2021 Project Life album. I thought the Photo Play 'Wicker Lane' cut apart cards from the Shot of Life Kit were perfect for a title page. The only thing that I used that wasn't in the Shots of Life Kit was white cardstock for my photo mats and the dies that I created my date with. As I was looking for photos for the title page, I realized that I didn't take a single family photo in 2020. I did pull together what I could and I am so happy with how this turned out. I have already made it a priority to take more family photos this year whenever we all get together. 

Next is a layout that I created using the Vicki Boutin collection pieces found in the patterned paper add-on kit, embellishment kit, the Shots of Life kit, and a few die cuts from the Flavors of the Month kit. 

I tend to have trouble using papers like the one that I used above, but this came together so quickly and I love how it turned out! I gutted the pink background paper that I used for a mat and then used that paper to mat my photos. I tried to pair the few die cuts that I used with the same color on the background paper. I also added some enamel dots from my stash to the same color areas as well. 

Lastly, I created a few cards with the papers from the Flavors of the Month kit and scraps from the patterned paper add-on kit, and a couple of the 3x4 cards from the Shots of Life Kit:

I just love the colors in the pretty collection!

Thank so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a great day!

The ScrapRoom - Mixing the Kits - Smile

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my blog! I am so happy that you have stopped by today! 

Today I am sharing the layout that I created for the "Mixing the Kits" post for The ScrapRoom blog. For my layout, I have used - the June portion of the Shots of Life kit, the Patterned Paper Add-on Kit, and the Embellishment kit:

May/June Shots of Life Kit

June Patterned Paper Kit

June Embellishment Kit

All of these kits were still available the last time that I checked.

Here is my layout using all three of the above kits:

I absolutely love the My Minds Eye Gingham Foundry collection. The colors and patterns are so beautiful in this collection. I opted to use the more generic - more masculine - type papers and create a layout about my oldest son when he was three and a half years old. Just look at that sweet - powdered donut - smile!

The text on the background paper is the lyrics to the song 'What a Wonderful World' - which has special meaning to us. I did gut this paper so I could use the diamond pattern on the back to make my paper strips. I pulled several of the 3x4 journaling cards from the Shots of Life kit to serve as a frame, or mat, for my photo. 

Here are a couple of close-ups: 

I think the birds are so cute in this collection!

Be sure to stop by The ScrapRoom blog every day of the week for more design team inspiration using the June kits. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

The ScrapRoom June Shots of Life Kit - Week 10/2021

 Hello, everyone! I hope that your week is off to a good start.

Today I am sharing the layout that I created using the June portion of the Shots of Life Kit from The ScrapRoom. When I last checked this kit was still available. Here is a look at the May/June Shots of Life Kit:

Here is my layout:

For my layout, I have used a mix of the Vicki Boutin Color Study cut apart paper and Photo Play's Wicker Lane cut apart paper. I love the bright colors in both of these collections. Bright colors always make me happy and these cut apart papers were perfect for a busy week from earlier this year. 

Most of the Color Study cards are used as-is and the Wicker Lane cards I used mostly for matting my photos. I did pull in a few orange, pink, and blue scraps from my stash to bring more color to my spread. The alphas, label stamp, date stamp, lined journaling card, and some of the puffy hearts are all from my stash. 

Here's a closer look at the left side of the spread:

Here are a few close-ups:

For my title card, I used a piece of pink grid paper from my stash. I cut down the bright 'love' card slightly and added it to my title card. 

This week Matthew came over to pick up a piece of wall art he had ordered. We got it all framed and ready to be hung in his apartment. 

Ada had made the cutest little horse in class and Abby made sure to get a photo of her with it hanging on the wall outside of her classroom:

Shane was in need of a haircut so we made of it with shopping and lunch after his haircut.

I used my Exacto knife to cut around the clip part of the clipboard so I could slip the photo underneath it.

This week was Ada's book fair at school and she couldn't wait to show me her haul when she and Abby came over for supper. It looks like she will be busy! I wanted to bring a bit more pink to my spread, so I cut off the bottom part of the 'hello' card and added it to one of the pink cards. This also gave me a spot to add a bit of journaling about Ada's book fair haul.

This week I also snapped a photo of me and Scott on a "wild" Saturday night around. I was getting caught up on writing blog posts and he was working on building a stagecoach for his Johnny West collection. Pretty exciting stuff around here!

Here is a look at the right side of the spread:

And a few close-ups:

Ada lost another tooth. Abby said she had tried to get it to come out all weekend with no luck. Then on Monday morning, it came out while she was brushing her teeth!

On Saturday of this week Abby, Shawn, and Ada went car shopping and Abby bought her dream car - a 2021 Prius - which she named Patty! They came over in the evening to show it off to us. I will add a bit of hidden journaling behind the photo to tell the whole story. 

Our little dry creek is dry no more! After it completely drying up the week before we got so much rain that it was really running again. 

The top photo above is of Shane's stockpile of Super Mario sleep pants. I got him a pair for Christmas and he doesn't want to take them off! As soon as they are out of the wash, he wants them right back on. When you find something that a kiddo with autism loves - you try to make sure that if anything was to happen to that item, that you have something to replace it - so Abby and Shawn found a few extra pairs for us to have on hand. #BecauseAutism!

The bottom photo is of my bookshelf all filled up with my pretty albums. Just seeing them all lined up on the shelves makes me happy and I thought the 'live colorfully' card was quite fitting for it!

Be sure to stop by The ScrapRoom blog for more inspiration for the June kits.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

You & Me - Lasting Memories #553 - Black and White Photo

 

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday and Happy Father's Day to all of the Dads out there! All of the kids are coming over today for lunch and I am sure there will be some swimming going on, as well. 

Today I am sharing the layout I created for this week's challenge at Lasting Memories. The theme for June is - All About Photos - and this week's challenge is to use a black and white photo on your layout. This is what I came up with:

I took this photo of me and Ada on the 4th of July last year. We were just hanging out waiting for the fireworks to start. I don't normally tend to take such - up close - photos, but I really love this one of the two of us.

I used Bella Blvd's  Summer Market 6x6 paper pad and the blue paper is from their graph and dot collection. I based this layout on Sketch #3 from the Sketches for 6x6 Paper Pads by Allison Davis for Scrapbook Generation downloads. If you like to use sketches and you have some 6x6 paper pads laying around just waiting to be used - this sketch bundle is so worth the money! 20 sketches for $12...yes, please!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I die cut a few hearts in different sizes for embellishments. I pulled a few stickers from the sticker sheet and the "you're the sweetest" was cut from the cut apart sheet.

The chipboard piece that serves as my title was just floating around in some embellishment packs that I have been going through. I believe it is from a Maggie Holmes collection but I am not certain. I added a label from Freckled Fawn and sprinkled a few enamel dots around the layout.

If you have a chance to play along with the challenge, I would love to see what you create! Head on over to Lasting Memories to see the wonderful layouts from the rest of the design team.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

World's Greatest Day - Sketch N Scrap

 Hello, everyone, and Happy Saturday! I hope your weekend is off to a good start. It looks like it's going to be a quiet day around here and I am hoping to spend some time in my scrap room creating. 

Today I am sharing a card that I created for the June Rewind Challenge on Sketch N Scrap's Facebook page. Since tomorrow is Father's Day, I decided to create a Father's Day card for my hubby using the sketch. Here's a look at the sketch:

This sketch has always been a favorite of mine! Here is what I came up with:

I have been doing a little more reorganizing in my scrap room thanks to the purchase of another bookshelf and a big desk/cabinet for more storage. I thought I was going to be moving my 6x6 paper pads but that didn't quite work out. I did go through and organize my 6x6 paper pads and found quite a few that were almost empty. I pulled those out and put them where they are easy to reach for - and hopefully - I will get them used up over the next couple of months.

For this card, I used an old 6x6 paper pad from Simple Stories called DIY Boutique. This paper pad is from 2014 and has a lot of really bright colors in it. I actually had 2 of these paper pads and out of a total of 48 sheets, I have 18 full sheets left and a few scraps.  I chose to go with a few of the black and white prints with a bit of orange for my card.

The sentiment is from an older Close To My Heart stamp set (C1542 - Perfect Fit - Dad) and it is my go-to stamp for cards for my hubby. I popped up the sentiment with a bit of foam tape for some dimension.

This card came together so quickly - which always happens when I have a great sketch to start with!

If you have a chance to play along with this sketch, be sure to head on over to the Sketch N Scrap Facebook page and share it with us!

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

Sunny Days - Sketch N Scrap #227

 Hello, hello! Happy Tuesday to you! I hope your week is off to a good start. I can't believe that it is already the middle of June! Time flies when you're having fun has never been truer!

Since it is the middle of the month that means that Sketch N Scrap has a new sketch for us to play with. This fun sketch is courtesy of Sketch Artist Lisa and I had so much fun creating with it:

And here is my layout:

I am in love with Simple Stories' - Sunkissed - collection. It is taking everything in me to not order another round of the papers, but I didn't even have enough room in my Simple Stories bin to hold this collection, so I thought I had better put it to use! I will see how many layouts I can get done with this collection and if I'm still in love with it and wanting more, then I will see about getting more.

Now, about the layout. We had a really cool and rainy spring - almost to the point of being depressing! It felt like most of May was rainy and in the 50's and 60's - way too cool for this time of year around here. We did not even get started on getting the pool up and going until Memorial Day weekend and then the water was way too cold to get in.  Finally, on June 4th, Scott, Shane, and Ada all decided to brave the cold water and get in. The water was 73 degrees - way too cold for me! They sure didn't let it bother them - they were just happy that it was sunny enough and warm enough to finally get in! Since then the weather has turned off hot and humid and the mid-80-degree water is perfect for me to get into, too!

These photos are from the first time that Ada and Shane got in. As you can see, the cool water temperature didn't bother them a bit!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I just love this little cluster of summertime essentials! This cluster has them all. 

I added just a bit of journaling on a label - not many details needed - just that this was the first swim of the summer. There are lots more photos that will have more details with them.

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap to see the wonderful layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. Have a great day!

TN Time With Lisa & Lori June Challenge

 Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you and thank you so much for visiting my blog today! I do hope that you are having a good weekend. Ours has been very full with lots of family time and fun. Today is looking to be a bit quieter - which is just what we need to finish off the weekend and get ready for the week ahead.

It is time for the June TN Time With Lisa & Lori Challenge. Here is how it works - this is a just-for-fun monthly challenge that starts on the 10th of each month and ends on the 9th of the following month at midnight CST. If you complete my random challenge for the month - link your TN, bullet journal, or planner spread below. If you complete just Lisa's sketch challenge, link up over on her blog - My Creative Endeavors. If you combine both challenges - be sure to link up on both Lisa's blog and here on my blog. Now, on to the challenge.

Here is my June challenge:

For June, my challenge is to use the color yellow on your spread - how much or how little is up to you - and to add a circle to your spread. This could be a punched/die cut circle, circle chipboard, a sticker, enamel dots, etc. 

Here is the fun sketch that Lisa has created for us:

This is the layout that I created:

Let me just start this by saying that the photo I chose to use for my spread was not the best to use once I edited the photo of my spread! Abby took this photo of Ada last summer on a bright sunny day. The original looks a little washed out at the top of the photo and no matter how much I try to edit it - I just can't get it right. It's such a good photo of Ada and in person, it really isn't as bad as what it looks like in the photo above. Here's a look at just the photo:

Not nearly as bad as the layout shows. Maybe one day I'll learn how to edit better!

Now, about the spread. I used papers from a couple of different Echo Park collections - Echo Park's #selfie collection, and Teen Spirit Girl collection. I thought the bokeh background paper looked like Ada's shirt and I tried to cut my paper where there was at least a little bit of yellow showing. To get a little more yellow on my spread, I matted my photo and journaling box with yellow,  I used my yellow acetate alphas from Elle's Studio, a chipboard sun, and puffy stickers and hearts.

The journaling reads - Abby and Shawn took Ada to Nathaniel Greene park for a fun carefree day before school started. With everything still being shut down due to the pandemic - it was somewhere they could go and still social distance. I love this photo of Ada. She looks so happy and ready to conquer the world. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I punched a couple of circles from one of the papers to create a few more circle embellishments, and I love these acetate alphas from Elle's Studio!

All of the embellishments came from Elle's Studio. They matched so well with the Echo Park papers. 

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see her beautiful spread. I hope you have some time to play along with us this month!

Even though this is a just-for-fun challenge we do have a few rules:

1.Create a TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK, PLANNER, OR BULLET JOURNAL spread based on the CHALLENGE THEME and/or our sketch. 
2.Create a new, not previously posted project.
3.You are welcome to combine with other challenges.
4.If you have a blog please include the challenge graphic & a link to our challenge in your post.
5.You can link to social media if you don't have a blog. If you show your project on Instagram, please make sure to use #TNtimewithLisaandLori 
6.You can submit multiple projects but they must be posted to InLinkz or social media separately.
7. Most importantly have FUN!

I would love to see your take on our challenge and to leave you some love so be sure to link up below if you play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

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TN Time With Lisa & Lori

 Hello, everyone! I just wanted to pop on here and let you know that due to some unforeseen circumstances our TN Time With Lisa & Lori will be posted on Sunday, June 13th.

We have another great sketch and challenge coming your way so be sure to check back then!

You Are So Sweet - Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #195

Hello, hello! Happy Saturday to you! I do hope that your weekend is off to a good start. It's looking to be a quiet weekend for us, which is always a good thing.

Today Sketch N Scrap has posted the first card sketch of the month and it is a fun one - created by sketch artist Heather:

This is what I came up with:

I am going to try to send my granddaughter a card regularly this summer. She always loves to get something in the mail, so I created this card with her in mind. Maybe it will have a little "treat" in it for her to get her own sweet treat this summer.;)

I used Echo Park's - A Slice of Summer - 6x6 paper pad for this card. I have included this paper pad in my June Great Stash Bash kit and this is the first time I have used it. The sentiment piece was fussy cut out of one of the cut apart sheets and then I added foam tape to the back of it for a bit of dimension. I added a couple more popsicles to the bottom of the card - adding foam tape to the one on top. 

Card sketches like this one always make for a quick and easy card. 

Be sure to stop by the Sketch N Scrap blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Whatever It Takes - Sketch N Scrap #226

Hello, everyone! Happy Friday to you! It's been a fast week around here trying to get back into the routine after the long holiday weekend. We are finally drying out after so much rain and it was good to see a bit of sunshine yesterday, and hopefully, we will see a little more sunshine today.

Today I am sharing the layout that I created using the June 1st sketch at Sketch N Scrap. This fun sketch is courtesy of sketch artist Heather:

I wasn't really feeling like a big circle for my layout so I changed things up a bit and replaced the circle with a square. I kept everything else the same except I did put my title above the photo and added journaling below:

For this layout, I have used my June stash bash kit that you can see here. When I pulled the papers and embellishments for this kit I hadn't even taken this photo yet. I can't believe how many of the puffy sticker embellishments I could have used on this layout - they were all so fitting and it made it hard to pick which ones to use. Funny how things work out like that! The only things that weren't included in my kit were the doily, the alphas, and the navy cardstock.

About the photo - I recently made my title page for my 2021 Project Life album (which you will see later this month) and realized that we did not take a single family photo last year. Not a one! I have photos of all the kids together but not a single photo with all of us in it. I am determined to change that this year! That may be easier said than done! Shane - the one who is usually pretty willing to take a photo has now decided he ain't havin' it! Anytime I pull out my phone or camera, whether it's to take a picture of him or something else, he hollers "not yet!" and runs in the opposite direction. 

All of the kids came over for a BBQ over the Memorial Day weekend and I was determined to get a family photo. As luck would have it, Shane came in and laid down for a nap. I told everyone to gather around the couch and we would get our family photo. Is it the best photo? No. None of us are big on taking selfies and when you add a selfie stick into the mix, well, it's safe to say there's a bit of blur, and in the first photo we took you could only see me from the eyes up! Shane even woke up in the middle of our picture taking but did not object. Even though it's not a great photo, it is one of my recent favorites!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I did not have enough e's in the white alphabet so I had to use an f and cut up another letter to make it an e. You can see it in the photo above but it's not that noticeable when you're looking at it in person. 

I was so happy that this love chipboard fit perfectly inside the center of the doily. I added a little bit of foam under the puffy phrases since I layered the ends of them on top of the chipboard. 

I'm sure you will be seeing this photo again in my 52 Favorites TN. It is definitely my favorite photo from that week.

I hope you find some time to play along with us - I would love to see your take on the sketch, too.

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