Birthday Spa Layout

Recently my sister, my sister-in-law, my girls, and my niece all got together to celebrate my mom's 80th anniversary with our traditional spa day but with an incredible twist- an overnight at a local spa.  We had such a great time together! 

I used the Hobby Haven DSP and a sketch from the Creative Design Team to put this layout together quickly.  All of the accents are die cuts from the DSP collection.  I did stamp the title and used a little Pecan Pie ink with a blending brush to add a little texture/interest.  If you look closely, you can see that I added more texture/interest on the Pecan Pie cardstock accents by embossing them with my Birch Wood 3D embossing folder.

I know Mom loved having all of us girls together for some uninterrupted girl time!  

If you're interested in some uninterrupted crafty girl time, come to one of my classes!  I'd love to have you join my Inky community (if you're not already with another Stampin' Up! demonstrator)!

A December to Remember Layout

As I reflected on all of the fun of December, I added my favorite photos to a folder on my phone and then ordered prints.  I had fun scrapbooking these memories before the year ended!

PRO TIP: If you're not sure what color goes best, take a picture with each to help you compare.  Either Shaded Spruce or Pretty Peacock looked nice with my photos, but I preferred the blue background more than the green. 

If you'd like to get your photos off your phone and into albums that you and your family can enjoy, I would love to show you how!

Memories in Bloom Scrapbooking Workshop Kit

Where are my scrapbookers/memory keepers?  As much as I love creating from scratch, I also love the ease of using a scrapbooking workshop kit from Stampin' Up! (in the former CTMH style, of course).  Let me show you what's in the Memories in Bloom scrapbooking workshop kit.

Gorgeous DSP, exclusive DSP, and cardstock to create three two-page 12"x12" layouts

Layout #1: Mother's Day 2025

Layout #2: Ansley's birthday 2025

Layout #3: Victoria, BC, June 2025

These layouts were really fun to put together, and I love how everything is included in the kit, including directions.  Of course you'll need to add your own adhesive and tools, like a paper trimmer.  

Oh Christmas Tree Layout

Usually I don’t make layouts before I have my photos, but I know that I will take several portrait (vertical) photos of our Christmas tree this year. I enjoyed making this layout at my November open studio crop with the Branching Out dies, Elegant Pines Snowflake DSP, and two retired stamp sets.

I love all the shades of green in this DSP (Designer Series Paper).  It’s really nice to be “ahead” with this layout (while I ignore all the other projects I am behind on).

Flight Solo Layout

A few months ago, my sixteen-year-old nephew successfully soloed, and I was thrilled to be invited to be there!  We are so excited to welcome a third-generation pilot into the family!  Of course I had to use the Take to the Sky DSP to create a layout of this very special day (and I do have his permission to post it).

I cut several arches out of the DSP with the Everyday Arches dies and stamped a few tiny airplanes on the layout from the coordinating stamp set.  I cut the large circle on my Cricut and die cut the title with my Alphabet a la Mode dies with Misty Moonlight cardstock.

The biplane accent on the right page was actually on a card that I received in a swap at OnStage last month, so I carefully cut it off to use on this layout since I didn't get this stamp set myself.  

The gray gems were in my stash and added just enough sparkle to keep this layout interesting without being too girly.  Way to go, Will!  We are so proud of you!  Thanks for letting me be part of this special day!

NOTE: The Take to the Sky suite is in the Last Chance section at a discount so grab yours today before all of the elements are gone!

Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #3

Happy Halloween!  Here is the third and final layout from the Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop kit, which I used for Christmas Day highlights.

Again, I love how fast and easy this came together!  I still have lots of product left to be able to create a few more projects.

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Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #2

Here's the second layout from the Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop kit (actually the first one in the instructions) that I used to scrapbook Christmas Eve.

I really liked the paper weaving stripes but felt that the top row needed to be extended across both pages.  Fortunately there is enough extra paper that isn't used in the three layouts that i was easily able to do that.  I also love how you can make your photos work for the sketch rather than follow it 100% exactly as instructed. 

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Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #1

Using the Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop kit has made it really easy for me to scrapbook the highlights of last Christmas.  (Anybody else now humming or singing "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...?"  You're welcome!)

I made the layout pretty much exactly as instructed and even refrained from adding any extra embellishments from my stash.  It was very quick and easy!

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Fall & Family Layout

We recently had a lovely weekend spending time with family on both sides. Since I’ve been on fall break and had some time to myself, I was able to go ahead and scrapbook these recent photos and memories. 

I wanted to use some of the splendid autumn 6 x 6 DSP, and I made it work well with photo mats from the backside of the DSP and the addition of crushed curry and Mossey Meadow card stock.

I thought that the design was a little too plain, so I grabbed an old brick stencil and used Cajun craze and earliest espresso ink to create the bricks in the corners.

I thought that the crushed curry and the DSP textured leaves were a little plain in conjunction with the Macey Meadow seasons of elegance DSP de cut leaves, so I sponge some gold and copper enamel effects onto the leaves. I also ended up, distressing them a little bit with early espresso ink. I really love how the two clusters came together. They added a ton of interest to the layout without Detracting from my photos (In myOpinion) 

This last photo isn’t quite as interesting, but I added a lot of family history, and who is related to who and how on this strip of card stock. I want my girls to know exactly who is who and how they are related, but I didn’t feel that anybody flipping through my scrapbooks would necessarily want all of that history. So, after writing on the 3 1/2 x 12“ white willow card stock strip, I created a pocket on the back that the large journaling strip can slide through. That way you can pull up with the tab, read the information, and tuck it back in behind the layout fairly easily. Time will tell! Lol.

Be sure to share all of your story, even if you need to have the partially hidden. You and those after you will be very glad that you did!

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First Day of School Layout (2024)

First day of school photos are a tradition that my husband still helps me with!  Though I made this layout a month or so ago, I forgot to post it!  I thought that the muted colors of the Wildly Flowering DSP were a good match for my first day of school outfit.  I used Crumb Cake, Wild Wheat, and Early Espresso card stock plus the White Willow base pages. 

Paper tearing helped to soften some of the hard edges of the layout, and I like the effects of tearing both the solid core card stock and the white core DSP.  I stamped the title and date with a retired CTMH alphabet stamp set. 

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GACIS Conference Layout

With fall in the air and the Changing Leaves bundle on my work table, I decided that it was time to scrapbook photos from a conference I attended last fall.  (I had to attend this year's conference virtually thanks to Hurricane Helene.)

I began with White Willow card stock and Wildly Flowering DSP.  I decided on a sketch from (retired) Close To My Heart's Make It From Your Heart (not sure which volume) that I modified to fit my photos.

I stamped my title with Crumb Cake using a retired CTMH alphabet stamp set.  I had a lot of fun mixing and matching the Crumb Cake & White Willow die cuts to create the embellishment clusters.

Be sure to label the people in your photos because over time you may not remember who everyone is!  (TRUST ME on this one!)

I really love how the Changing Leaves bundle accented the beautiful DSP and helped move your eyes across my layout.  Try to work in odd clusters like the there that I used here.

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Changing Leaves Anniversary Layout (2024)

This week, I am featuring projects with the Changing Leaves bundle, which includes a photopolymer (clear) stamp, dies, and a hybrid 3D embossing/die cutting folder.  (You can learn more HERE.)  This collection was a fun way to accent our anniversary layout from this summer.

I began with the bold Full of Life 6"x6" DSP and picked out a few of the patterns that I thought coordinated with my photos.  I ended up cutting two piece of the "rainbow" DSP to make the two 12"x12" strips on the sides.  I used Real Red two-tone card stock (both sides) and die cut a journaling heart and two accent hearts out of DSP and card stock.  I stamped a few accents from the Sentimental Journey stamp set.

Don’t be afraid to add some dimension to your scrapbook layouts! I wanted the family photo to really be the focal point of my layout, so I use 3-D dimensional thumb tape to pop it up from the page and then did the same thing for the journal heart die cut.

Adding the leaves really took this layout from plain to gorgeous (in my opinion).  The leaves aren't just for fall!

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Family Reunion Layout with Thoughtful Journey & Perennial Lavender

Using the beautiful Thoughtful Journey 6"x6" DSP on a 12"x12" layout is easier than you think!  (We cut and "stretched" the paper behind the mats.)

I love how well this beautiful paper coordinates with the Thoughtful Journey 12x12 specialty papers and my Perennial Lavender stamp set and dies.  Of course there is a gorgeous Thoughtful Journey suite of products, and bundles are always at a discount.  Don't forget that select DSP is on sale at 15% off this month!  Learn more HERE!

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