You're So Cool - Sketch N Scrap's January Monthly Challenge #5

Hello, everyone! Happy Wednesday to you! I hope you are having a good week so far. The temperature is warming up today - we have hit 33 degrees! That's feeling downright warm after spending the last few days right around 0 with the wind chill in the negative 20s!

Did you know that Sketch N Scrap is offering up a smaller format sketch starting this month? It has been posted over in the Sketch N Scrap's Monthly Challenges Facebook group as Challenge #5. Lisa has created a great 6x8 double-page sketch to kick things off. Don't let the smaller size scare you! You can adapt it to any size that you would like.  Today I am sharing a traveler's notebook layout that I created using the left side of the sketch.

Here is a look at the sketch:

And here is my layout:

I used the left side of the sketch and added an extra photo and a place for my journaling. Other than that I kept to the sketch. 

The blue dot paper is one that I had included in my 100-patterned paper pile for this year. There is no information on the back and no manufacturer strip, and it is very lightweight, which means it's either from the early 2000s or from Hobby Lobby. I used less than half of it, so I won't count it as being used until I can use a little bit more of it - maybe on a card. The background paper is from the American Crafts Ready Set Go collection from 2012 and the heart paper is from Pink Paislee's Pen Pals collection and both were in my scraps. It feels so good to use up some of these older papers in my stash!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

The title is from Cocoa Vanilla's No Limits collection and the stars are from Pretty Little Studio's Savannah Dreams collection. The sunglasses are from an Echo Park summer collection... I can't remember which one I pulled them from, and the camera and red circle label are stamps from Elle's Studio Here & Now stamp set.

I am so happy that I used so many manufacturers on this layout! If this isn't using up my stash, I don't know what is!

The photos are of Miss Ada showing off her new sunglasses. She found them at Target on our last girl's day shopping trip right after Christmas and spent some of her Christmas money on them. She's showing glimpses of the soon-to-be teenager that she will be before we know it. 

Here it is in the traveler's notebook:

It has been a while since I made a traveler's notebook layout and I have missed it! I am so happy to be back working in them again.

Be sure to check out the new smaller format sketch at Sketch N Scrap's Monthly Challenges Facebook group. We would love to see how you interpret the sketch!

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

Hello Spring

Hello, everyone! Happy Tuesday to you! I hope that you are having a good week. 

Today I am sharing a traveler's notebook layout that I created for a Mindful Monday prompt over in the From Lens to Paper Facebook group. I am way behind on these prompts but I do plan to catch up and keep up over the next few weeks. Here is a look at the prompt:

And this is what I came up with:

For this layout, I used scraps from this month's Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash kit. So far, I have only managed to use up one full sheet of my kit, but I have used up quite a few of the scraps that I included. 

The photos were all taken around the first day of spring and are of some of the flowers around our house and the field when it was first starting to turn green - all sure signs that spring is here.

I stamped my title using a combination of stamp sets from Studio Calico (spring) and Citrus Twist (hello). I wanted to be sure to add in some journaling, so I created a photo flip to accommodate that:

Creating the photo flip also meant that I had room for one more photo!

I love how this layout turned out and I can't wait to add a few more layouts based on the prompts to this notebook! I know that the majority of the prompts are going to have a lot more journaling with them and I may even use the prompt more than once if I have more than one story to share about it. I am so excited to work on this traveler's notebook!

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

LM #634 - One Little Word

 Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you are having a good weekend.

Today I am sharing the traveler's notebook layout that I created for this week's challenge at Lasting Memories. For January we have been focusing on the year that has passed and the new year ahead and this week's challenge is 'Word of the Year.' Many people follow Ali Edwards One Little Word and use their word to focus their intentions for the year. This week we were to choose a word and create a layout using the word as our title.

Now, before I get into my post, I just want to say that I have chosen words in the past but I have never subscribed to Ali's One Little Word Class. That does not stop me from choosing a word to focus on throughout the year.

Here is what I came up with:

This year the word that I have chosen is 'Intentional.' I thought of several words as possibilities but I just kept coming back to intentional. The definition of intentional is - done on purpose; deliberate. When you are intentional you choose to make decisions and take action on what's most important to you. This is so what I need for this year! 

I want to be more intentional with our money - more saving - less spending - and I want to be more intentional with the money that I spend on my hobbies. I want to make sure I have a purpose already in mind for what I am buying instead of buying things just because they are pretty or because everybody is buying them and I have FOMO! If I am being more deliberate with spending then that is going to help with the saving!

I want to be more intentional with my relationships - making sure to spend more time with the ones that I love and to always be present.

I want to be more intentional with my time. Less time online - more time with the ones I love and doing the things that I love. 

Lastly, I want to be more intentional with my scrapbooking and the stories that I want to tell. 

For my layout, I have used papers from an American Crafts paper pad and I managed to use a couple of the labels that I had put in my bashket for this month!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

The alphabet stickers I picked up from the Studio Calico big year-end clearance sale. I wish I had gotten a few more packs of them! They are the perfect size for my traveler's notebooks and project life. I even managed to use a strip of washi tape that I got from Felicity Jane's big sale.

I based my layout on this sketch from Journals For Life:

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

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

LM #630 - 2022 Favorites - Shape Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend. Scott and I are still catching up on rest after having Miss Ada over. Our sleepovers are always jam-packed with fun and then we spend the next day or two "recovering" from it!

Today I am sharing a layout that I created for this week's Lasting Memories challenge. This week's challenge is a shape challenge and we are to feature one of the four shapes provided on our layout. The choices are triangles, hexagons, circles, or hearts. I chose hearts and this is what I came up with:

It seems like it has been ages since I created a traveler's notebook layout so I pulled out my 2018 Favorites of Ada notebook for this challenge. I started out my layout with a big heart that spans across both pages. It probably could have been a touch bigger but I didn't want it to overwhelm my photos, either. I also stamped a few hearts around my layout - so there are hearts aplenty!

I snapped these photos of Ada one morning back when she was not quite five. She had asked to use my stamps and she was so good with them! She listened to what I told her about cleaning them each time before changing colors, and she filled up a couple of papers with cute stamped images in no time at all. We spent many mornings at the kitchen table crafting and having fun together. Such great memories!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I found some crafty-related stickers in my stash and used what I could on this layout. I kept it pretty simple and I love how it turned out. 

I love this long title. I had originally planned on using a different font and color for the words heart and happy, but I didn't really care for it, so I opted to use all the same type.

I believe it is time to break down this traveler's notebook and add the pages to a life-crafted album! I started this notebook back in the day - before I knew how chunky these little guys can get.

It's not too terrible yet, but I know that there is no way that it is going to hold what I have left to do!

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories to see the lovely layouts from the rest of the design team. It feels so good to finally get to play along again. Sometimes being the DT coordinator and making sure that everything is ready to go makes it hard for me to play along as much as I would like. I think I am going to make it a goal to play along more in the new year. 

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

Wicked Cute - Heart's Quest Challenge Blog Color Heart #9

Hello, everyone! Happy Friday to you! I hope you have had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend. The plan around here is to have our family Halloween party! Pumpkin carving, maybe a weenie roast since we finally got rain this week, and who knows what else. One thing is certain - we are sure to have a good time as long as we are all together.

Today I am sharing my project for Heart's Quest Challenge Blog's Color Heart #9. This challenge is quite fitting with Halloween just a couple of days away. Color Heart #9 is to use at least one purple heart and one orange heart on your project. Of course, your project does not have to be Halloween related.

Your project can be a card, a scrapbook layout, a traveler's notebook layout, a tag, a bookmark, an ATC, a planner, or a bullet journal - any type of paper craft is acceptable.

I have chosen to do a traveler's notebook layout:

This layout is of Ada's puppy, Winnie, in her Halloween costume last year. It was probably the first and last costume that she will wear! She was not a fan of it at all. Abby said that it was a fight getting it on her and she only had it on long enough for Abby to get a picture of her and then she was fighting to get it off. Granted she was just a puppy last year so she may grow to like it eventually, but she was not having it last year!

For the challenge, I have added two sets of hearts to my layout - one orange heart and one purple heart to the left side of my layout and one orange heart and one purple heart to the right side of my layout.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I used Bella Blvd's Monsters & Friends collection for this layout. I bought the collection a couple of years ago when it first came out and I am just now dipping into it. It is so cute and I have no idea why it took me so long to tear into it, but now that I have, I will be using it to get some of those older Halloween photos scrapped.

I was a little stuck on how to get the title to stand out on the text paper. I finally decided to pull out my distress inks and blending brushes to add a little bit of color where I wanted my title to go. I really like how it turned out and I am sure I will be using this technique again soon.

I added a few die-cuts around the title. When I started hunting down witch die-cuts I could not find much in my stash.I did find the witches hat - which was perfect -  and just decided to go with other Halloween related pieces.

I kept the right page pretty simple since the photo and the journaling took up a lot of real estate. I just added a tab, ghost, and the two hearts above the photo and called it good.

Be sure to check out the Heart's Quest Challnge Blog for all of the information on the challenge. I would love it if you played along, too!

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

Heart's Quest Challenge Blog - Love Theme #8 - Love AND Animals

Hello, hello! Happy Friday to you! We have made it to the weekend - do you have any fun plans? Scott has been working a lot of overtime so I am sure we will just enjoy a nice quiet weekend at home. 

It is time for a new challenge at Heart's Quest Challenge Blog today! The challenge this time around is to use the word "love" - or any variation of it - and add an animal to your project. Scrapbook layouts, traveler's notebooks, planners, journals, bookmarks, tags, ATCs, and cards are all acceptable formats.

Here is what I came up with for the challenge:

This is another photo of Ada that I took last week while our maple trees were looking so pretty. I had asked her if I could take her picture up by the pretty trees and she said, "Yes, I love to climb trees!" and she just climbed right up and struck a pose! This traveler's notebook spread will go in my 2022 52 Favorites TN.

I used papers that I had included in my Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash October kit. I am so happy to be getting these papers used up! They have been floating around in my stash for far too long. I feel like I have been using them for my fall photos forever! It will be nice to break into the new Fall Fever collection before long! I just know if I start using the new stuff this old stuff will just keep setting in my stash, so it's better for me to challenge myself to use the old before starting with the new. And I still like the papers - even if I am a little tired of seeing them!

I based my layout on this older sketch from Sketches In Thyme (January 2022). I think it translated well into a traveler's notebook layout.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

When I saw this cute little squirrel in my kit, I knew I wanted to use him, either on a layout of Ada or on a card to her. The layout won out! It also serves as my title piece.

I had a hard time embellishing this layout. I felt like using the plaid paper for the background on the left side along with the cut-apart card just made it feel a bit busy and that anything that I tried to add to that side just got lost. I even kept the embellishing on the right side to the bare minimum - just a stamped circle that says "love you lots" (to satisfy the 'love' part of the challenge!), a heart, and a few enamel dots. 

Head on over to Heart's Quest Challenge Blog to read all about the challenge. I would love it if you played along with us!

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

TN Time With Lisa & Lori October Challenge

Happy Monday! It is a gorgeous fall day today and I am soaking up every bit of this warm weather that I can!

I can't believe that it is already time for the October challenge for TN Time With Lisa & Lori! It seems like it has been forever since I have worked on my traveler's notebooks and it was great to have a reason to get back to them.

Here is how our challenge 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.

Here is my October Challenge:

Add a stamp to your traveler's notebook layout, bullet journal, or planner. It can be something as simple as a date stamp or something more - just as long as you use a stamp. 

Here is Lisa's sketch:

This is what I came up with:

I took this photo of Ada just last week. Our maple trees are turning such a pretty red - which is quite surprising seeing as how it's been so dry lately - we weren't expecting to get good color this year. She was all for taking photos and I know from experience that I had better get photos with the pretty leaves when I can because they sure don't last long!

For this layout, I used my October Stash Bash kit. Everything - including the stamps that I used - came from my kit. I was able to use most of a full 12x12 paper and quite a few scraps on this layout. This layout is an out-of-pocket layout and is going into my 2022 traveler's notebook. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I stamped my title directly onto the background page. I always find that a little daunting to stamp directly onto my layout but I am glad that I did it. I really hope to use my stamps more, especially in my traveler's notebooks, and that means I need to get over my fear of stamping directly on my layout. The more I do it the more comfortable I'll be with it, right?!

I added a few die-cut leaves that were still on my desk from a previous project and a couple of ephemera pieces from my kit to finish out the cluster. 

I fussy cut the squirrel - Ada's favorite animal at the moment - and punched out the "so stinkin' cute" pieces from one of the paper scraps. I found the "I love fall" piece in my ephemera pack, as well, and added it to the cluster.

I had to get creative with this bottom border. I originally had a piece of the same orange paper that is on the left page down for my border and I had even used glue on the ends to secure it. Then I took a good look at it and saw that it was crooked. Sometimes when this happens I will just leave it alone - especially since I had already used glue - but it was too crooked for me to ignore. And, of course, when I tried pulling it up it tore the background paper in a couple of places. I had already used all of that orange paper and I was not about to go searching for another scrap or full sheet to use. I found this orange border sticker on the sticker sheet and decided to just use it. You could still see a couple of torn places on the paper that the sticker did not cover so I added a stamped phrase and a couple more die-cut leaves to hide those spots and I am happy with how this turned out!

Head on over to Lisa's beautiful blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see her take on this month's challenge. We hope you have a chance to play along with us this month! I would love to see what you create!

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 it 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!

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

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Heart's Quest Challenge Blog - Love Theme #7 - Love & Flowers

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a good week.

It is time for a new challenge at Heart's Quest Challenge Blog today and since it is the first challenge of the month, that means it is a Love Theme challenge. You are to use the word "love" - or some form of it - AND flowers on your project. Two of my favorite things to use!

This is what I came up with:

To satisfy the two parts of the challenge, I titled this layout 'So lovely'  and I used floral patterned paper and flower stickers.

I am back to working in Ada's School TN for this challenge. I am getting so close to being current with this project! My goal is to be all caught up by the time this year's school photos come in - or soon thereafter. They take those photos tomorrow so I've just got a couple of weeks to get five layouts done. Definitely doable as long as nothing comes up!

This TN is getting quite chunky! I was hoping to get kindergarten through third grade in this one but I may have to stop at second grade - another reason I want to get those last few layouts done, so I know what to do!

I (loosely) based this off of this month's TN Time With Lisa & Lori sketch. I flipped the sketch and left the tags off of my layout. Here's a look at the sketch:

Here is a better look at the left side of the layout:

The flowers on the patterned paper are a really light pink so I added pink in a few more places around my layout. I really like this color combination and I'm not sure I would have thought to add pink with the golden yellow and forest green, but it works.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I was a bit stuck on what embellishments I was going to use, but I found just what I needed in my Maggie Holmes embellishments. Here sticker books are some of my favorite things to turn to when I need an embellishment. They are so versatile when pairing them with other manufacturers.

The gold glitter hearts were on foam and I did not want to add that much dimension, so I peeled the gold glitter heart off of the foam and used them just like a sticker. 

Here is a better look at the right side of the layout:

I love how this title piece turned out! I layered up several of the pink flower stickers to create a little cluster - or bouquet - of flowers. It's pretty plain and simple but I really like it!

Head on over to the Heart's Quest Challenge Blog and check ou the challenge! I would love it if you playd along with us! This challenge runs from September 14 to September 27 at 12:30 AM Central Time.

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

Heart's Quest Challenge Blog - Color Heart Dare #7 - Photo Inspiration

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend.   

Today I am sharing the project that I made for Heart's Quest Challenge Blog - Color Heart Dare #7  - which is a photo inspiration challenge - and you are to use 5 or more colored candy hearts on a banner or garland/string. Here is the inspiration photo:

And here is my project:

I created a traveler's notebook layout of Miss Ada. When I saw the inspiration photo, I knew I wanted to replicate the good old conversation hearts that are found around Valentine's Day, but I did not want to make a Valentine's Day layout. I decided to find photos of Ada from the last several months and play off of the "sweet" candy heart theme and title my layout She's So Sweet. 

I went through my scrap bin and pulled pink, purple, yellow, mint green, and orange scrap papers for my die-cut hearts. I typed up the phrases for my hearts on the computer (and I made sure the font was red) and then printed them out. I used a paper piercer to make holes in each heart to string the twine through for my banner. I added some low-profile foam dots under each heart for just a touch of dimension.

Here is a close-up of the banners:

Luckily, I had enough scraps to mat each of the photos in a different color. I am so happy that I got six photos on a traveler's notebook layout! I think that is the most that I have done on a traveler's notebook yet!

Head on over to Heart's Quest Challenge Blog to see how Dottie took on this challenge, too. I would love it if you played along with us! The deadline to enter this challenge is September 13th at 12:30 AM Central Time.

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

TN Time With Lisa & Lori August Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy Monday to you! I hope that your week is off to a good start! 

It is time for TN Time With Lisa & Lori's August challenge! I love working in my TNs so you know this is one of my favorite challenges!

Here is how our challenge 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.

Here is my August challenge to you:

Just add a bit of polka dot paper to your layout!

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

And here is my layout:

I am still working on Ada's school traveler's notebook - trying to get all caught up before the new school year gets too far in.  She starts 3rd grade in a week and a half and if I could be all caught up by the time she gets her 3rd-grade school photo back - then I will be a happy camper! 

I stayed pretty close to the sketch for this layout, only adding the phrase stickers to the top of the left page. I would have added those somewhere around the photo but since I created a flip-out to include another photo, I just couldn't make it work.

Here is a look at the flip-out:

I still need to add my journaling - it will probably repeat what is on the board she is holding with a few additional "favorites."

For this layout, I used Echo Park's - Play All Day - Girl - collection. I knew I wanted something with rainbows on it since her lunch box is a rainbow and the shirt she is wearing has rainbows on it. This collection had the perfect rainbow paper in it. I paired it with a pink polka dot paper from Simple Stories to satisfy my part of the challenge. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

These pink Jane Tile Alphabet stickers from Elle's Studio are a perfect match! For the circular element, I die cut a pinked circle out of blue paper and layered a white circle on top. I added a few floral stickers to finish it off. 

I pulled out an old file folder tab metal die from Echo Park to make my tab. I don't use these dies very often and I don't know why - I always love the look of them.

I have skipped around quite a bit in this traveler's notebook. I still have eight layouts to do before I am completely caught up. When I printed these photos, I took the time to print off all of the photos that I need and rounded up the school (professional) photos so they are all ready to go when I get a chance to work on them. I already have two of the layouts planned out and papers pulled - I just need to work on them and get them done!

Now, head on over to Lisa's beautiful blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see her take on this month's challenge. We hope you have a chance 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!

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

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

HQCB - Love Theme #6 - Shane's Angel - And An Announcement!

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you are having a good day!

I am so happy to be sharing some exciting news with you today! Becca from Heart's Quest Challenge Blog has asked me to be on her first design team! Of course, I said yes! So, I will be sharing projects with colored hearts for the Color Heart theme on the 14th of every month and the word 'love' for the Love theme on the 28th of every month. 

Today's challenge is Love Theme #6 and you are to use the word "Love" AND a cupid or angel on your project.

When I first saw this challenge I knew I wanted to tell the story of our angel Christmas tree topper, and so I have started yet another traveler's notebook! This one is going to be all about my favorite/special Christmas ornaments and decorations. Every year when we pull out our Christmas decorations, I always think that I would like to tell the stories of where some of them came from or why they are so special to me and this challenge gave me the push I needed to get it started.

Here is my layout:

Here's the story of our angel - Shane made this little toilet paper roll angel way back in 2005 when he was 5 years old and in his last year of preschool. He drew the face on a circle piece of paper - which was huge for him at the time. Those were the early years of autism and all of us trying to navigate it - and getting him to stay on task to complete this little angel craft was a very big deal!

Her wings are his hands that they traced and she did have the cutest star halo but that has fallen off over the years and is lost. I don't know how many more years this little angel will top our tree but I will enjoy every year that she does! 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

For the angel part of the challenge, I found this cute little angel puffy sticker in my December Daily supplies. She was the perfect embellishment for my layout. 

To satisfy the word "love" part of the challenge, I found a puffy sticker that says, "love this tradition." Shane doesn't always put the angel on top of the tree - sometimes he has no interest in decorating it all, so you better believe that I snap a photo of him placing her on the top every chance I get! I think this photo is of him from 2017.

I have added a hidden journaling block behind the photo on the left page. I still need to add my journaling to it but once it is done it will be tucked behind the photo.

Be sure to go check out Heart's Quest Challenge Blog. We would love it if you played along with us! Any type of paper craft project is accepted - a card, scrapbook layout, traveler's notebook layout, tag, bookmark, or ATC card is accepted. The deadline to enter Love Theme #6 is August 27th at 12:30 AM Central Time.

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