Today is good

Hello again! Now that the busyness of the holidays are over, I am hoping to be posting and creating more regularly again! It's amazing to me how just an hour up in my scrap room, can help to de-stress and relax! So, with that being said, I have another layout to share with you, still from the All of You kit from Scraptastic...I can't say enough how much I love this kit!

I pulled out an old photo that I have had sitting on my desk to scrap...one of my kiddos with 2 of their grandparents...I have found that I don't take near enough photos of my kids with people. I document most everything they do...but I need to work on documenting the people that are part of their lives also! Does anyone else struggle with this?

This background paper was another Scraptastic exclusive, and it was one of my favorites. I used it to guide my design. I just followed that path that the circle made, and kept everything very centered. I used the exclusive vellum circles to add a little more interest to a few of the printed ones.

I layered in a few of the printable labels, and the labels with sentiments, were off of the branding strip on one of the papers from Elle's Studio. I really love that most companies make their branding strips usable, especially love this fun way of putting several labels along there.

Then, instead of using alphas to make a large title, I layered together a few of the die cuts for a cute, custom title...I didn't have much journaling for this one, so I tried to use a title and sentiments that would help convey the meaning.

Off to get ready for our wild new years celebration...Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip and pizza with the hubby and the kiddos! :) Hope you all have a happy and safe new year! Take time to create something you love! :)

Locks of Love

Hello friends! I have another layout to share with you using the "All of You" kit from Scraptastic. Again, this kit is just perfection! I absolutely love it, and the bright colors. I am also using a fun sketch that is up on the Scraptastic Blog...you can find it here! 

A few years ago, both of our daughters cut their hair to donate to locks of love ( though I now wish we would have donated somewhere else, after doing more research) but, they were so excited to do this special act of kindness for others...made this mama proud! :)

I loved this little light bulb embellishment from Fancy Pants...and I thought the sentiment rang so true for this layout.
I needed something to fill that little captured space there, so I used it to my advantage to add in a little more yellow, and the date!

I kept the embellishment on the top of the layout to a minimum. There is so much going on at the bottom, that I didn't want to overwhelm, and the photos get lost.

Here's a full shot of the layout...a new favorite for sure!

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

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!

Love These Moments Together

Hello crafty friends! I have another layout to share with you today, using another fall line that I really fell in love with...Thankful from Elle's Studio. I really love the nontraditional colors and patterns for this line, and this striped paper was my absolute favorite!

The two starting points for this layout were the striped paper in the background, and this leaf stencil from Echo Park. I knew that I wanted both of these elements to really stand out, which is why I really kept all other embellishment to a bare minimum. I layered up some of the more neutral papers under my photo, and added in a few pops of that bright blue.

Then, I wanted a fun, chunky cluster up in the left hand corner. So I hit up the tags, stickers, and other ephemera to make this focal point. I used it to layer up some more of those text elements that I felt really hit the spot with this layout.

I am also linking this layout up to the current issue at Paper Issues " How 'bout them Apples",

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

Paw Patrol

Hello crafty friends! I have a super fun layout to share with you today. If you have a toddler, chances are you know all about Paw Patrol...well a few weeks back, we went to the state fair and had a chance to do a little meet and greet with some of the characters. To say we had one excited little boy would definitely be an understatement.

I knew that I wanted to do bright, bold primary colors on this one...because Paw Patrol is bright, and also because said excited little boy also very much loves the color red.

How fun is this layout..I mean seriously, it just makes you smile! :) For the photo "mat", I did a few paper layers, but I really had fun using stencils and stamps behind that. I love all the added interest and texture that it adds, all the while drawing your eye into the photo.

Then for the title, I knew I wanted to do it in a bright bold red, and when I saw this Tall Type font from The Cut Shoppe, I knew it was perfect. I cut this out on white cardstock, with the intention of using watercolors...but I just couldn't get them to be bold enough, so I actually ended up coloring over my watercolor with a red copic. LOVE how bold this turned out, perfect for the look I wanted.

Then to finish it off, I went looking through my stash for anything bright, and fun. I kept embellishing pretty light, but these little bits were the perfect touches!

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

New Layout and a WINNER

Hello friends! We are gearing up for the end of summer/back to school time here. So to help me get my mindset a little more around that, I decided to scrap this photo from our middle daughters preschool graduation...hard to believe that she will be starting first grade next week!! Where does the time go??

For this layout, I didn't want to do any traditional "school" colors, but I did want to use a few items that related back to the school theme. So..I used a fun number pattern, some lined paper, and apple wood veneer...again, using what I have, and trying to make my way through my stash.

I went for a messy/uneven grid design on this layout, I really just had fun with layering papers and embellishments, and didn't think too much about any type of design principals, I just did what I liked!

For the title, I knew two things...I wanted it to be Hello Kindergarten, and I wanted to use this Heidi Swapp wood veneer. The Hello lined up perfectly, and I loved the way it looked. I really struggled with fitting in the kindergarten...do I love this part of the finished layout, no, but it is what it is...I have realized on this journey through my stash that I need more of a variety of alphas..I have a pretty limited selection.

Now...on to the winner from the mini album blog hop! I truly appreciate everyone that too the time to follow along our hop, comment, and become followers! I hope that you were inspired along the way.

The randomly selected winner from my blog is......Heather Sweet

Heather, email me with your contact info and I will get your goodies out to you asap!

Enjoy the day, and take time to create something you love!