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!

So Happy Together

Hello friends! Today I have a layout to share with using the Feels Like Home kit from Felicity Jane. I loved the soft colors and patterns in this kit. I knew this black and white photo would be a perfect one to pair with it. I love how it really pops.

On the cut aparts, there were all of the cute words..I thought it would be fun to add in a few on here. I used a white gel pen to add an "s" to the end of sister. I also used some of that gold thread to smoosh a little up under my layers for some fun texture.

Then, I wanted to add in another little cluster of embellishment in the top corner...it just felt like it needed something. I used this ticket from the cut apart sheet, and stamped a few different sentiments on it, layered it with a heart from the cut apart sheet, and loved the little bit of extra it added.

Looking back at this photo now, I can believe how much my babies have grown up! So crazy to think that this was over a year ago..times flies, we have to remember to enjoy every moment!

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

Picture Perfect Summer

Hello friends! Back for another layout to share with you today! This uses the "Here's the Scoop" kit from Felicity Jane. Question...have you ever bought a kit because you knew that it was perfect for just one photo?? I did with this one right here! lol. When I saw that adorable popsicle, and the colors..I instantly thought of this photo and knew I had to get it. I was able to create some other projects with the kit, though I will admit none of them came together as easy as this one. I will be sharing those later in the week. 

Back to this though, I knew I wanted to use that popsicle card, and this summer paper, but I didn't want to have all that business up by the photo. So, while this is not my normal style, it really worked to highlight my photo and those elements that I knew had to make it on here!

The kit also came with these adorable acrylic pieces...I thought it would be so fun to layer this on top of the card for a little dimension, and it also made a perfect resting spot for my date!

I loved the summer stamp, but once I had it on there, it needed something else, so using another stamp from the kit, I stamped and fussy cut the " heart" this, and added in a clear sticker from mambi. Finishing it off with a few more papers layered, and an old Dear Lizzy flair from my stash, and it was good to go. Adding in a few drops of mist..and this one was done!

Gotta through it in here how much I love that photo...they had gave me a super cute posed one, with eyes and smiles on me..but then they started playing, and I captured this one purely by chance...those kind always end up being my favorites :)

Thanks for stopping by today, have a happy Monday, and take time to create something you love

Multi Tasking Mamaw

Hello friends! Long time, I know. We have been so crazy with back to school/work, soccer, enjoying the little bit of free time that we have, you all know the drill! The good news is, I have been creating in the meantime, and we have finally get settled into the schedule, which means I will be posting on a more regular schedule again! Yay! :)

For my layout today, this is a random picture that I snapped of my son, mom, and nephew on a day out we were having. My mom loves to take my two girls, sister in law and myself out for pedicures everyone so often...we usually have the boys with us, and of course, they always want to be all over Mamaw! Good thing she loves it!

I pulled out some more goodies from my stash on this one, I am really making a dent in that stash! I loved this striped My Mind's Eye paper, and I used it to pull my color scheme together. 

I didn't go too heavy on embellishments on this one, I really liked the lines that I had going, and how great everything was flowing..so I kept it simple so that could shine through.

I love this color scheme, and how well it worked with the photo...these cork circles have been in my stash FOREVER! I was so excited to finally get them on a layout, and I think they were perfect for this one!

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