Bootiful

Hello friend! Over the weekend, I had a little time to break into my new Scraptastic Kit "This Is Halloween", and use a fun sketch from the Paper Issues facebook group. Both of these are WAY out of my comfort zone. I don't really normally buy themed items, but I have been wanting to sub to try out Scraptastic for awhile, and it just so happened, that the other kit was sold out before I got around to doing it...and as far as the sketch, not my normal style, at all, but I really loved  it, and just thought it would work perfect with this kit and photo.

First off, here is the sketch that I used:



I started out, by doing a little bit of mixed media on the background. I used a fun stencil from Echo Park, with some molding paste, and then misted over the top with black, and a few orange splatters.
I thought the bats were perfect for this photo. :)

It's very subtle, but I love the little extra bit it adds. I wanted to come in with some layers under my photo, but I didn't really want to use a lot of paper layers, so I layered bits and pieces from the emepherma from My Mind's Eye, and that cute exclusive flair badge.

The majority of this layout was kept simple, but I really liked how this design helped to draw everything right in to the photo. I did feel that I needed a little something down at the bottom...just a little too much white for me. So I added in a strip of that awesome plaid paper, and layered in a few embellishments.

I actually have ended up enjoying this kit a lot more than I thought I would. I am excited to break into it a little more and see what I can create!!

Never left fear and worry, rob you of the joy of creating! Always take time to create something you love!

Homegrown Goodness

There is nothing better than a fresh picked strawberry. Every year when our little patch ripens, we all get so excited to start picking and sampling to see how delicious they are this year...they don't usually last too long!

I wanted to go with some bright colors on this layout. I used some older Ell's Studio and Chic Tags products on here, and they worked perfectly with the story and photo. Lots of layers, to add interest and dimension.

Since I had kept the photo and all of the heavier layers centralized, I wanted to put small clusters in opposite corners. This way I could add in a little more embellishing, and my jouraling without overwhelming the center of the layout.

I loved how the brighter colors and patterns really popped off of this background paper. I also loved that how by placing my photo and layers in the center, this paper pointed into that from all angles, so that even with two opposing clusters, the focus still comes in to the photo.

Summer Battle Wounds

 I love scrapbooking happy memories and stories for my family, but I think that it is just as important to document those moments that are harder to process, and think about. This is one of those memories.
 A few summers ago, our oldest went to spend the night with a friend. Things were just going along, when the mom of this friend called me. I could hear in her voice how scared she was, she could barely even speak to tell me what had happened.
Our girl had had a pretty bad stumble while riding a bike...she ended up going over the handle bars, down there gravel hill. It was hard to tell at this point how bad it was...so we loaded her up and went to the emergency room. She ended up being extremely lucky...scrapes, bruises, and a chipped tooth..but thankfully nothing too serious. It's still hard to think about or look at these photos even now though.

The summer battle wounds title came from the clever mind of this little lady in the photo. I never would have thought of that one, but she came up with it, and I knew it was perfect. I tried to keep this one a pretty light layout, yes I wanted to get this documented, but I didn't want it to be heavy and dark where the main focus was on the wreck and the injuries...I more wanted the focus to be on how grateful we were that it hadn't turned out worse.

I used the Felicity Jane "Here's the Scoop" kit for this. My daughter loved the colors and patterns in this kit, so she helped me put this together. I think that is important also, especially on moments like this one, that were hard for her to process, to let the kids have a role in how there lives are documented and remembered.

I used some word stickers from the I am collection from simple stories...the colors were a little off, but the sentiments they had were perfect to describe her and this moment.
Don't be afraid to scrapbook those hard moments too. They help to shape our lives, and make us who we are. :)

Have a good one, and take time to create something you love.

Bookworm

Hello friends!! Back today with you to share a new layout...this one is a little outside the box for me. I used a few different items/elements that I wouldn't normally use, but I am SO in love with this layout, I think I need to step out of that comfort zone more often!

First though, I want to give you a little back story on the layout. This was taken over summer break, and it was a normal sight all summer long. Our oldest daughter is a true lover of books...most times you can find her with her nose right in the middle of a book, and I LOVE this! I am a reader ( well, I was before I had children! lol), and the fact that she is embracing that same love ( and our middle daughter is following right along in those footsteps behind her!!) just makes me excited! I am loving sharing with her books that I loved at that age, and am so looking forward to the time when I can read some of my classic favorites with her, and know that she will fall in love with and appreciate that world as much as I do/did!

I so wanted to share all of this in the journaling on this layout, but for some reason in that moment, the words just would not come to paper. Does that ever happen to you??




When collecting supplies for this layout, I was rifling through my stash, looking for an old book that I knew I had somewhere..I found it, and by a happy accident, saw this along the spine, where I had tore pages out previously. I LOVED the look, and knew it would be perfect for this layout, not only in theme, but to add dimension and texture.

I had received the chipboard from the "I am" collection from Simple Stories in a Gossamer Blue kit, I had had it for quite awhile, and not used anything but the smaller elements. Again, this was the perfect layout to put some of those to use. I loved that there was a stack of books, and to me the globe just made sense. These are items that I would never normally use...I don't even buy chipboard often, but I really had fun incorporating these onto my layout.

I had this bookplate from the ephemera from a Maggie Holmes collection, and I thought it would be a fun embellishment, and I was able to fill it with some of that pink/red paper to bring that over to the left of the layout. Some simple, messy stamping, and a few ink splatters later, this one is done and in the books. LOVE the way it turned out, and that I was able to stretch my creativity and open up to using some unusual ( for me) items!



I am linking this layout up to Paper Issues and their new Fan-atics challenge, because this girl is one of the biggest book fans I have ever met...she might even give my old self a run for the money! ;)

Details for the linky part are here! :)

The Best Part

Hello crafty friends! I have another layout to share with you today using the Felicity Jane Here's the Scoop kit. This kit had such a great variety of colors...I had some very girly, pink layouts, and then there were elements like what I used here, that lent itself towards a very boy layout. 

Oh, the powerwheels...what toddler doesn't love them, and my boy is no exception, as you can tell by that look of pure delight on his face. What is even better than his powerwheel at home is when we go to Mamaw's, and he gets to ride the slightly bigger and faster one. That's where I snapped this photo. 

I loved this chevron paper, and really wanted to use it as a main element, but wanted to bring in some of that gorgeous green color, so I cut this strip to run down then middle of my page. I wanted to do some messy stamping on here too...My layers were a little to uneven ( which I wanted) for the stamps to come out completely clear..but I still love the texture and little bit of dimension that it adds.

The Best Part actually was part of a pocket card, but I loved the idea of using it as a circular element, so I simply fussy cut it out, and ended up using it as my title. A few enamel dots, some staples, and flair later, and I have one adorably cute boy layout! :)

Thanks for stopping in today, have a good one, and take time to create something you love!