Four new Layouts

 I know not everyone is interested in scrapbooking so I'm posted all four of these layouts in one post.  Everything used is by Stampin' Up! except the last one.  Speaking of that last one, can you tell I glued the pages down in the wrong order?  Oh well!

 Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

You Light Up My Life! A 12x12 Layout.

Have you seen the new Parker's Patterns Designer Series Papers in the Spring Catalog?  They include many great, masculine patterns and colors which I thought were perfect for these pictures.  You can get a glimpse of a few of the other patterns at the top left corner.  I did those with the Bitty Banners Framelits.  I rarely do a page with just a single picture, even though I love the look, but I always have so many pictures I want to include.  This time I just put all the rest of them on the opposite page.  Works for me! 

Gotta love pictures of your kiddos when they are getting along!  Especially now that they are 13 & 11.

   

So does anyone else that scrapbooks chronologically leave a blank page in the front and back of the album?  I seem to rarely remember to go back and add that title page... so recently I did two, one for 2004 and one for my 2005 album.  I'm planning to keep them simple so I am more likely to get them done from now on.  For this one I used an old Simply Scrappin' Kit called At Home.  

And this one uses the Tickets and Tags Simply Scrappin' Kit.  Love these kits!!  Saw a page similar to this on Pinterest and HAD to put my spin on it.  I added a few little embellishments and some giant chipboard numbers which I stamped with a large background stamp.

So tell me, how do you wrap up an album on the last page?  One time I typed up a summary of the entire album and an expectation for the year to come.  I really enjoy going back to read it so maybe I'll try that again.  Let me know what you do! 

An Easter Layout

Good morning!  Who is up for some scrapbook pages?!?  Now that I've finished the 215 wedding invitations (picture at the bottom) I've had some spare time to scrap.  What a job that was- but I'm happy to say it went well thanks to good planning and working a few hours a day on them.  

For this layout I used the new Tea for Two Designer Series paper available in the current Spring Catalog.  Thought it was perfect for an Easter page with the soft springy colors.  I also used my new oval framelits for the Big Shot as well.  I wanted to mimic the hexagon shape from the paper so I used my very old Creative Memories cutting system for the pictures on the right.  

 Here is the left page... the title and the bunnies were cut with my daughter's Cricut.  Love that thing!

I am glad to say I've completed my 2004 Family Album and am now diligently working away at our 2005 album!  I am actually happy that I'm so far behind because I love the pictures from when my kids were so little.  They've changed and grown so much since then.  

Here is the box of wedding invitations I completed on February 27th.  Believe it or not, I did really enjoy doing this project!  By the last few days I was ready to get it over with because it had consumed all my free time for quite awhile, but thankfully I allowed just enough time to get them to the bride right on time without rushing.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back with more scrapbook pages and then I'm sure I'll be back to doing some cards soon.
~Kristin

Beautiful You: An Artisan Entry

Boy, not great photos of this page, but here is my 3rd and final scrapbook layout I entered in the Artisan Award contest. Once again I could not bare to put a single photo on the page, but instead chose my 4 favorites to "tell the story". This is my daughter eating a Superman ice cream cone last summer on the beach at a campground in Northern Michigan. It was so hot and the ice cream melted so quickly it left a sticky, colorful mess!  I tried to keep it simple in color and design to showcase the photos more.  Below are pictures of the many little subtle details....



 Since I struggled with titles using all CURRENT Stampin' Up! products I decided to try a banner title using the pennant punch and the stamp set Fabulous Phrases.  I was so pleased with how it turned out.  The fact that beautiful didn't fit and needed to be layered ended up being a bonus I thought.  I used the Penant Parade stamp set to stamp the background on the penants. 

 Here is a closeup shot of the embossed corners.  I was particularly pleased with this detail since it took some work to just emboss the corner of a 12x12 page in the Big Shot which is only, what, 6 inches wide?!  Part of me wishes I'd left the brads off though.  I used the Adorning Accents embossing folder, Pretty in Pink brads and Pretty in Pink striped ribbon.

 The required journaling was, once again, hidden behind the main photo.  I raised the ice cream cone embellishment on a double layer of Stampin' Dimensionals so it would nicely slide over the picture but also anchor the journaling box so it can slide out easily.  Added a bit of Dazzling Diamonds for sprinkles and the drip was made with the triple layer flower punch (the part you throw away!). 

 Here is the journaling box.  I used the Top Note die which is secured with a length of pink satin ribbon so it doesn't fall out and can only slide out so far. 

  Here is the whole thing with the journaling slide out.  Did you notice the spritzing in the background?  That was a LAST minute decision and I had to do a LOT of masking and even removed a few things to add it after everything was glued down!  That's a tough decision to risk the whole page- especially since the Smooch Spritz is so tempermental (meaning you can easily spray large unwanted globs if not extremely careful).  Lisa Henke gave me the boost I needed to go for it- thanks Lisa!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Sorry I've taken awhile to post the rest of my projects.  Squeezing in some camping trips and other fun family stuff before football season keeps us home. 

~Kristin

AMAZED BY YOU! an Artisan Award Entry

If you're ready, I've got another scrapbook layout to share today.  This is probably the page I'm most proud of mostly because of the photography courtesy of yours truly.  This is my niece enjoying a play mat that hooks to a hose for sprinkler fun that we got her for her birthday last year.  I was so pleased with these pictures and knew good photos make for a better scrapbook page.  True to my nature I couldn't just pick one- had to get them all on there. 

I had also forgotten, and didn't get a good picture to showcase it, but the main largest picture (which is 5x7) was run through the Big Shot with the largest Apothecary Accents Framelit.  If you look closely can you tell?  I then raised it on Stampin' Dimensionals and placed right back on the original photo.  Wish I'd gotten a better picture of that detail!

My favorite detail about this page are the faux water droplets that are sprinkled throughout the page, from the title and on the pictures.  You may not have noticed them upon first glacne so here are a few closeups.  I made them with Crystal Effects.  Just dabbed them on in the shape of a water droplet and let them dry.  My initial idea was to make them on one of my clear stamp blocks then glue them on, but they got so hard I couldn't get them off without chipping them away, plus they ended up cloudy when I handled them.  This was SO SCARY to do after my page was entirely complete!  But I had extras of everything if I needed to start over. 

 My main image that was mounted on vellum cardstock actually lifted by the black dotted ribbon to show the journaling block as well as a final hidden picture. 

In case you are curious, here is the actual journaling...

Finally, I would like to make a VERY SPECIAL shout out to Louise Streater (AKA Evalou) who so generously and super quickly responded to my plea for help on Splitcoast by cutting and shipping within about an hour it seemed, the very letters used on this page!!!  She even went so far as to send me two full sets just in case I messed up (which I didn't so I can now make myself a copy)!  AND she sent them in the most beautiful card ever... I'll have to post a picture of it soon.  So, THANK YOU LOUISE!  I didn't win but thanks to you I was at least able to do my best and be proud of trying!

Thanks for visiting today!  I hope everyone is staying cool and safe today, especially if you are facing 90+ degrees temps like we are here in Ohio- PHEW! 

~Kristin

Edited to add:  Closeup of main photo showing the detail of the Apothecary Accents Framelit.  You can see more faux water drops here too.

SUO Supplies: 

Stamps:  none (uh, maybe that could've helped me get selected, duh!)

Colors:  Wild Wasabi, Naturals Ivory cardstock, Pool Party, vellum

Accessories:  Apothecary Accents Framelits, Big Shot, Black dottted scallop ribbon, jewelry tag punch, linen thread, scallop border punch, Polka Dotted embossing folder, Jelly Bean Sweet Shop brad

Artisan Entry: Explore (a scrapbook page)

Good morning!  Are you here looking for another Artisan Award entry?  Well here you go, one of the three scrapbook pages that were required.  I finished this one last and was the most pleased with it I think.  I'm willing to bet many of the winning entries only had 1 large photo as the focal point as those are the most dramatic pages... but I decided at the outset to stick to "my style" and I generally tell a story on my scrapbook pages that usually can't be told in one photo.  Rather than covering the entire page with photos I chose to offset them on an angle for visual interest and some creative cropping.  I've done this before and love the outcome every time, despite the extra work involved.

This page is from a recent family outing to the Hocking Hills State Park in southern Ohio.  What a beautiful place!  We enjoyed every single minute of it and I'm so happy to have my layout all designed (need to make myself a duplicate though). 

The patterned paper and journaling tag are both from the Tickets & Tags Simply Scrappin' Kit (now retired).  I also used the Extreme Elements stamp set to further grundge up the background paper.  For my title I used chipboard letters from Onboard Alphabet Soup, dirtied them up with some Soft Suede ink and- my favorite detail- textured them with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I was excited to experiment with this and find out that chipboard easily embosses with the Big Shot! 

Some of the details include a new Naturals button with a bit of linen thread and twill tape.  One of the hardest things about this page was leaving myself off (one of SU's rules for fairness).  My husband is just as interested in photography as I am and gets really creative sometimes so many of the best photos he took which means I am in them.  On the other hand, I like it even more that I'm NOT on it!

Well, once again, thanks for stopping by and for your comments.  They keep me going! 

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps:  Extreme Elements

Colors:  Baja Breeze, Soft Suede

Accessories:  Tickets & Tags Simply Scrappin' Kit, Linen Thread, Twill Tape, Bitty Banners Framelits, Natural Button, Alphabet Soup Onboard Chipboard

Two More Layouts and an apology

I feel like I owe you an apology.  I expect people to visit my blog, enjoy it, comment and be enticed to come back for more... then I give nothing more.  So, I'm sorry.  I'd love to blog and stamp as often as I think about it, but it just doesn't happen.  But alas, I'm finally DONE with my *ahem* contest entries and ready to ship them off so hopefully I'll be back to something appealing to look at that I can actually show you.  Of course, the weeds are now taller than I am (you are not the only one I've neglected) so that needs to be addressed as well. 

In the mean time, here are two more layouts I completed at my recent scrapbook weekend.  If you are looking for examples of how to get LOTS of pictures on a page look no further!  I'm a pro at this by now.  :) 

This top layout was done with the specialty designer series paper, The Write Stuff.  I really love those colors:  Soft Suede, So Saffron, Real Red (I think), and some Old Olive.  Used the stamp set Circle Circus too. 

This page uses a little Pink Flamingo DSP.  I did both of these titles with the Cricut and various cartridges.  Over the weekend we seriously had probably 100 or more cartridges to choose from!! 

So, thanks for bearing with me and visiting one more time.  Let me know you've stopped by and maybe I'll be motivated to come back with a bang.  LOL! 

Have a great day!

~Kristin

Sweet!

One of my favorite layouts I finished last weekend!  I am in denial that my beloved Medallion stamp is retiring.  One of the only mistakes I think SU made in the huge list of retiring stamps and stuff!  Doesn't really matter because I don't get rid of anything and will continue to use it. 

So glad I was able to fit all these pictures on one layout but still have the drama of only 2 pics on one side (even though my daughter wasn't looking).  What a fun time in our lives when they were this age!   

Here's another one... our very first camping trip with the kids.  A one-night tenter!  We've since upgraded to a pop-up camper which is quite a bit more luxurious.  What fond memories though. 

All SU stuff, but the title & tree and frame for journaling were all done on the Cricut.  Love that thing!  Now that I'm looking at this one I wish I would've switch the two embellishments on the right side for a more balanced look.  Might still do that!

Thanks for stopping by today.  This Mother's Day weekend take a moment to hug your mom and tell her how much she means to you, if you still have the chance.  Will be missing mine more than ever.

~Kristin

Wild Things

Surprise!  I'm back.  Sorry I've not been posting lately.  I've been keeping myself busy (obsessing) working on some "secret" projects and had a long scrapbook weekend last weekend so had plenty to keep me busy.  Thought I'd pop on and share a few of the 12 pages I completed. 

This first one was quick and easy, but fun to use the Inspired by Nature stamp set to add some grass to the bottom... and the Mixed Bunch stamp set for the flowers.  My title was made with the Cricut.  Everything SU besides the font.  Colors:  Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Summer Sun.

 

Here's another one.  A rare single page layout of my son's first day of preschool.  I copied this layout from some random old magazine- loved it!  Intended to keep it totally simple then as I was all done I got not 1, not 2 but THREE random ink smudges on the "white" areas so had to dream up a few extras to cover them.  Still like it though. 

All Stampin' Up! papers used here, but the alphabet ribbon and charm and stamps (gasp) are not SU.  Both sets, alphabet from MFT and quote from Verve, were sets I've won in various contests lately! 

That's all for today.  I have so much to do today preparing for my family coming for the weekend.  I'll stop back with more scrapbook pages soon.  Thanks for stopping by today!
~Kristin

On Pleasant Pond

How about quick scrapbook layout today?  I had fun with this one, especially since it uses full size, uncropped pictures and 6 of them to boot.  Of course I managed to squeeze two more little ones on there.  I was thinking this was a sketch I copied, but since it was so long ago now I can't find it.

The papers I used are Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss, plus some black and whtie.  Also put my pennant punch to use, and some other SU stuff from my stash.  I love putting things to use that I've hung onto for a long time! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Stop by tomorrow for a sneak peek of one of my cards for the SAS coming up on March 24th.  I'd love to have you so if you are local let me know and I'll get you a registration form. 
~Kristin

PS- This layout is of a playdate we had with my BFF and her girls.  The little one in the yellow swim vest is my now 10 year old!  So fun looking back at these pictures from when they were so small!

Catch Up Mode

Good morning!  Sorry I've been away so long.  Scheduled a last minute 8 day trip to Florida with my dad and just got home on Friday.  It was great- 83 degrees every day, beautiful, sunny, perfect days.  Couldn't have been better!  But now I am playing catch up.  The downside of every getaway I suppose. 

Here are a few of the scrapbook layouts I completed awhile back and never got around to sharing.  The first one went fairly quickly, for me, with the Pina Colada Simply Scrappin' Kit.  I love those when I actually put them to good use and stop hoarding them! 

This one took forever.  I'm happy with how it turned out but not how long it sat on my table while I fretted over it.  It didn't help that the kit I used was not by SU so it didn't really match anything I had.  But, I did have fun using my daughter's Cricut to cut a bunch of flowers.  Even so, I still waited to get my new stamp set Mixed Bunch to finish the page.  This layout came from a sketch on Let's Scrap.  Not sure if I can remember where my other one came from- maybe a magazine or my stack of sketches I have printed that I have kept in my bag for years. 

Well, I've got an event for a variety of vendors this Saturday (Yikes!) and our Spring Stamp-a-Stack to prepare for on March 24th so I'd better skeedaddle.   Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

A Matter of Moments

I hope you've had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend filled with family, friends and food!  We have had a nice time with family, a big WIN for our high school football team who will now be playing for the state title, and even winterized our camper... so now I'm ready for bed.  But first I'll share this layout I did last week.  I'm happy to say I've gotten 18 pages done this month.  That might be all I get done with Christmas coming up, but more to come in January I'm sure!

I used Sahara Sand, black and Crushed Curry.  Kept this one fairly embellishment free with the exception of some ribbon and a few stamped images from an old stamp set called Shore Thing.  Here's the fun sketch I used from Let's Scrap:

I'll have some Christmas cards for you soon.  Have gotten 4 done recently but no time to photo yet.  Thanks for stopping by! 

 ~Kristin



3...2...1...JUMP!

Just what you wanted to see, right?  Another scrapbook layout!  Well, too bad... (:P)  I'm slow as molasses and took more than a few hours to finally get rolling on this one, but once I got started it was moderately fast.  Choosing the perfect layout is always the toughest thing for me, but Let's Scrap helped make it easy again with their amazing selection of great sketches! 

I was happy to use a Simply Scrappin' Kit by SU to pull this together.  It is called Creative Lisence and is a few years old but a great one none-the-less.  I also used a few other components like the Headline Numbers stamp set, the Scribbles Swirls Sizzlit and Big Shot, and out of desperation for some bright orange letters, some ancient STICKERS!  I know!  But I still have a ton in the stash and sometimes they are just the easiest thing to grab.  The orange isn't perfectly Pumpkin Pie like the other orange in the layout but I'm OK with that. 

I hope you like my interpretation of this sketch!  It was so fun to work with.  I wasn't sure how on earth I'd manage a title page like that with all the scrolly background etc... but it all worked out with some paper piercing anda  combination of stamps and stuff.  Would you like to see another great sketch in action??  Go visit Lisa Henke HERE for her amazing layout! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  Oh wait, I almost forgot to mention, THIS LAYOUT was selected by Let's Scrap as their IOTW (Inspiration of the Week I think)- isn't that amazing?!  I can't believe it.  Might be the first honor ever for a scrapbook page by yours truly!  I've proudly displayed my new badge of honor on my sidebar.  Anyway, see ya soon!

~Kristin

100%

Another scrpabook layout for you today.  I joined up with my pal Lisa Henke for a virtual scrapbook night and between making chocolate cookies with my daughter, this is the only spread I got done.  I am LOVING the sketches from Let's Scrap- they are unique and involve multiple photos which is more realistic for scrappers like me than one picture spreads.  Check them out!

I did my title with my brand new printer- was my first experiment with printing with it and I'm happy with how it turned out, although I wish I would've thought to adjust the color close to Soft Suede instead of black. 

Some of the SUO supplies I used on this one include:  Autumn Traditions DSP, circle punches, Early Espresso twine, jumbo eyelets and a few vintage brads.  Oh, the spiral punch and dotted scallop ribbon border punch too. 

Thanks for stopping by again today!  ~Kristin