Scrapping the Stash! - A Travel Layout

And now back to my regularly scheduled posts about scrapping from my stash... 

Not that I have been traveling, but my grandson has!  And I thought I better get his (few) photos committed to layouts before they are lost and stuck in a drawer. 

The No Limits pad (from Heidi Swapp) I found on clearance some months back has been wonderful for more masculine layouts and is proving to be equally great for travel pages.   Also using a travel themed packet (picked up at Michael's some time ago, but I think they still have it) made by Studio Calico. 

I used a map pattern and a grid pattern torn and overlapped for the background and edged the page with a very tiny sliver of an orange and off white embossed stripe.  I again went to a deconstructed style page design, placing the photos side by side and arranging elements around them. I started by picking up various strips and pieces of papers (the gold diagonal stripe, the orange polka dot, and the tan diagonal stripe) and then added a journaling box. 

Once the scraps of papers were in place, I cut apart the little calendar, the ticket stub and found the travel related stickers (from Basic Grey, Amy Tan, Heidi Swapp) and added  those in three clusters (forming the visual triangle at top right, left side and bottom right). 

The title letters were left from (you guessed it) the Sweater Weather kit, "explore" is from Heidi Swapp, the arrows punched from scrap. 

I seem to have an abundance of travel type stickers (left from other collections purchased long ago) because, like, I really haven't travelled!!!  ha, ha, Therefore, have lots of little things left in the old stash to do the grandson's travel pages without any additional expenditure!  Kind of excited about that. 

Is this living vicariously through one's grandchildren?  ok, I'll go with that. 

best,
Cheryl

Too Tired for Complicated Pages

Ho, Ho, Ho, It's my "after Christmas I'm so tired I can't think straight" time of year. 

Time for an easy page layout.  It helps that the paper was so easy to work with.  Heidi Swapp's No Limits paper pack had this arrow border paper that needed little but to pile on some coordinating papers under my photo. 

I added a few things; stamped title, a (for real) Bingo card, some tags (Pink Paislee and Tim Holtz), several banner stickers (from Glitz) for who, what, when kind of journaling, a strip of paper and a length of washi tape for the photo to rest on.  After that, I fussy cut some of the circles from the circle patterned paper (I think that one was a scrap of old Cosmo Cricket), added some leftover pieces of border stickers, and  glued on some teeny gold star sequins.  But that's really about it. This was just stuff that was out on my desk and within easy reach.   Just what I needed right now, an easy, no brainer kind of page. 

I know I mentioned posting some of my gift card holders...the pictures I took were pretty awful.  My daughter did put them aside Christmas Day so I could take photos again and hopefully I do a better job this time and can get that post up in the next day or two.  (Cuz they really did turn out cute!) 

best,
Cheryl

Four-Square Page Design (and little boys and hats)

What is it about little boys and granddaddy's hats?  This is my Jacob man years ago at age three proudly wearing Boppa's felt cowboy hat. 

I wanted to use kind of a four-square design, and I wanted it to be casual and playful, so nothing is lined up, the outlining is done very loosely and I used three different alphas on the title square.  It's a really simple design, the four-square thing and worked out great for me because I didn't want to have to arrange and rearrange and rearrange again till I was happy with the photo placement.  It was 1,2,3 oh yeah, and 4 and I was done! 

Used Heidi Swapp No Limits papers and I think a piece of Echo Park's About a boy, as well.  Most of the embellishments are from the cut-a-parts in the No Limits pad or from a Heidi Swapp embellishment pack, but the viewmaster piece is from a Maggie Holmes emphemera pack, the Oh Boy is from the Echo Park sticker sheet (About a Boy or a Boy's Life---I can't remember which), and the little camera and dimensional star are from an Amy Tangerine embellishment pack.  The alphas used in the title are from the Echo Park sticker sheet, a Webster's Pages alpha set and the large textured red alpha are Thickers. 

And this was just taken the other day...our Mr. Jackson, a.k.a Bubba Lu (he's almost three)--and yep, he's sporting Boppa's woven cowboy hat! 

So funny to me---Jacob and the hat 15 years ago and Jackson now.  Little boys and granddad's hats, some things don't change, do they?  I may even use the same layout design to scrapbook this!

best,
Cheryl

Water Water Everywhere

Took another stab at a watercolor background.  I sure do enjoy sloshing the paint around, but I must be a bit of a control freak because I tend to want to put the paint where I want it, but I'm pretty sure that control is not supposed to play a big part in this technique...

I just used  American Crafts white cardstock instead of watercolor paper this time.   Tried out the watercolor on acetate technique. 

Step One.  Mix up some watercolor on a piece of acetate (in my case I used an old Thickers wrapper)

Step Two.  Turn acetate over directly onto to the cardstock

Step Three.  Smoosh paint around a bit. 

Repeat...

Layered the photo on top of several pieces of plain white tissue paper, then a few pieces of patterned paper and a piece of vellum with gold metallic hearts.  (I found a partial sheet of this vellum cleaning out the closet---must have had this for years!  So what was old, is new again!)  Cut out a few of the gold hearts and then used some more gold chipboard hearts from that Heidi Swapp Project Life kit I picked up a few weeks ago and just a couple of stickers.  Really wanted to keep the page light and airy so didn't add much more.  Alphas are gold metallic Thickers---love this font and have bought them in gold, red and silver metallic, plus a black and a teal set. 

psssssst.  It's the weekend....
Happy weekend! 
Cheryl 

 

The Why's and How's of One Photo and One Page Layouts

I was talking with a friend the other day about why I have so many one-photo pages and many more one page layouts.  When I started scrapbooking years ago, it was for me.  But as time went on, the albums became for my adult children, then for my oldest grandson for graduation, and yes still for me.  So now when I view a stack of photos--I kind of mentally plot out--- this page about Jackson will eventually go into his album(s).  The page I did about Bella and frosting ( "Frosting!") will go into her album(s) and the photos I have of them both with frosting in hand (and in mouth and on face, etc.) will stay with me. 

Gotta give a little equal love to my youngest grandie, Jackson.  Just like his sister, Jackson has decided that frosting is a very good thing! 

Used some old Basic Grey Life of the Party papers, as well as some ephemera from Jillibean Soup, Maggie Holmes, and a couple of tab stickers from Simple Stories SNAP!.  The alphas used in the title are super old Heidi Swapp (yeah--I still have several packs of these...loved them then, love them now.  I'll be sad when they are gone.)  I punched a little star or two or three, and used some of my homemade enamel dots.  That's about it.  This page went together much more quickly than did Bella's frosting page---mainly because I had been hunting about trying to find just the right color and size alpha for the title on that page. 

 Best!
Cheryl

Just when you think you are free and clear, with critical matters handled... the car decides to break down.  Had another house showing late this afternoon, made it home from work with enough time to change out of work garb, grab the dogs and leashes, then was going to move my car to the street, when.... it wouldn't start.  Wouldn't take a jump...but electrical stuff works.  DH thinks its the starter.  Now I know this is not a huge thing, in the grander scheme of things.  But I truly just want to be able to come home from work and, I don't know...do nothing?  But onward we go.  Because, what else can we do? 

Onward... 

Today's layout is, once again, one that I did for Jacob's grad album.  I did a similar one of his high school photos, but this page went into album #1 (he actually received two albums from me--one was his younger years and the second one was all high school stuff). 

I wanted a representation of him as a baby, but not a bunch of baby photos.  So again used a grid type arrangement and wallet size photos like I did with his high school pics.   Papers were from Lily Bee (I think--it's that piece of aqua floral behind the photos), Maggie Holmes (from my $5 bargain pack) and a piece of...I truly have no idea where it came from...hahaha---I really haven't a clue--gotta start writing this stuff down--now there's a novel thought. 

The numbers are wood veneer pieces I bought at Michael's--actually bought a couple of packs because numbers are kind of hard to come by.  The month and days after the numbers are Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type.   The layered banner is Heidi Swapp, although I added the "love you" with October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket alpha stickers.  Then did a little outlining and my journaling and left well enough alone. 

And here we go, onward, right?
Best!
Cheryl

Not really a football layout, in that none of these boys were playing.... Jacob and friends were in the eighth grade and had gone to the high school game and apparently thought they would show their team spirit by painting "R. A. M. S." on their tummies...  h-mmmm  kind of at a loss for words on this one. 

Anyhow, I decided to post this layout since we were at my daughters this past weekend for her birthday and Jacob and his dorm-mate, Colin came for dinner.  The young man sporting the "S" in the photo stopped by briefly... his last day home.  "Tofur" (his nickname) was leaving that same afternoon to begin his career with the Marines.  We wish him God speed and hope that he remains safe and sound wherever his life in the service takes him. 

I used a (Heidi Swapp) stencils and some gesso for a quick (and messy) background on a distressed blue background paper.  Trimmed it down a bit to center it on navy blue  tone on tone paper.  Then just layered the photo with several blue and taupe patterned papers, as well as a kraft colored tag.  I did adhere the papers together, but also used my Tim's Tiny Attacher to staple a few of the layers.  Added washi tape, some wood veneer chevrons, a couple of punched arrows, and some large silver star sequins. 

I wanted the title to fit in a box type formation and the navy blue letters were going to be too large if I used only those, so I mixed in another font in a lighter shade of blue.  Kind of like the look of using two slightly different shades of the same color.  Gonna have to try and remember to try this again.

all the best,
Cheryl

Clinging to images of summer here.  The weather is warm yet, humid even, but there is that feeling of fall that is in the air.  I'm not ready for pumpkins and football and Halloween-ie things yet so I'm just going to concentrate on scrapping summery moments for a little while longer. 

I don't know why, but I just love the back view of both of the little grandies in the one photo.  Something  about them sitting side by side, driving their jeep up the drive way.

I used paper from American Crafts XOXO collection.  At first glance, I wasn't sure about the papers (I had purchased a collection pack at Tuesday Morning mostly for the pack of Thickers it contained). But it turns out I really like the "B" side of most all of the papers, so I really am excited about my $3.99 find! 

Mercy Tiara inspired me to use what she calls a de-constructed layout for this page.  No layers under the photos, just arranged everything around the photos.  Embellishments are truly a mish mash of collections...buttons from a pack of American Crafts that I got on clearance, dimensional "Hello There" sticker is from Crate Paper, their On Trend collection.  Stickers are from Amy Tangerine and Heidi Swapp.  And finally, the two little arrows are die cut.  I spattered on some Heidi Swapp Velvet Black ink and then added some black Stickles to a few of the ink splatters.   Title letters are black glittered Thickers--the ones that enticed me to buy the collection pack to begin with. 

Funny how one thing leads to another, isn't it?!