Using my Green Stack: 2 Picture Layout

After the GREEN STACK was gifted to me a few weeks ago, I have been staring at it and flipping through all the different papers and wondering how and when I would use it and of course in awe because the papers are so detailed and beautiful.

I finally came up with something. I have 2 pictures of my son with 1 of my nieces and nephews and the pictures are very similar just taken 2 years apart. It is almost like a 'then' and 'now' layout.

I choose the paper with the bird background. I love the colors. So bright and happy. I matted the pictures in a coordinating paper from the same line. The chipboard embellishments are also from the Green Stack. I cut out the names with my Cricut and for the first time used my Cricut Design Studio (I purchased it last year but never got to install it on my desktop but now that I have a laptop, I installed it and I am lovin' it!). The "Cousins" title is a laser die-cut that I had purchased last year on Ebay. I actually purchased a bunch of different ones that I know I will use eventually.

I hope you like it as much as I do :)

Christmas Layout: 3 Pictures

aCheck. Another one off my to do list!

So there is about a week left to this year and I only got 1 more layout done! So it is officially that I will not make my goal. I tried....

This weekend I put together this layout "Cookies for Who?". These pictures were from Christmas 2006, my son was just 1 years old and when he came out of his bedroom Christmas morning, instead of being in awe of what Santa left him, he was too busy eating Santa's left over cookies! It was the cutest thing ever!

I used my Cricut to cut out the letters using the Zoobaloo cart. I antiqued the edges of the letters with green Cat's Eye ink. I placed the letters on circle cuts out that I made with my Fiskars Side Punch. And I was so happy to find in my "food" sticker stash, the big chocolate chip cookies that I used as the O's in Cookies.

The Cookies and Milk sticker set is from Jolee's and it was something I bought I believe last year to use for these pictures. Yes, I know it took me this long to get to it!

I typed my journaling and printed it from the computer and attached it to the layout using Candy Cane brads.

I like the way this came out, I hope you do too!

And in case I am not back before Christmas, which is less than 3 days away...

Merry Christmas!

My Favorites

I have done a few layouts this year and here are some of my favorites from earlier this year which I have not yet blogged about:

1st Snow

This picture did not come out as great as I would have liked but... it is a great layout! The background paper is blue with white and silve snowflakes. The word snow that is on an angle is chipboard and the 'O' in snow is a cleaver little snowflake. Some of the snowflakes that are on the corners of the journaling and photos were made for me by a fellow scrapper and have blue glitter in them - so perfect for this layout! At the bottom is a Jolee's winter title. There wasn't any better way I could have captured this moment for my son!

Cheers!

What a great picture. My son and my father in law, toasting to a great dinner. My father in law with his glass of 'vino' and my son with his cup of water. Priceless.

I went with a green and brown theme on this layout. It went well with the colors in the pictures. There are lots of great touches here. Riboons, swirls, pop-up words, etc. The title came out great. When I created this layout, I had just purchased by Fiskars circle side punch and I cut out the circle to matt the letters which I cut using my Cricut. I used a lot of antiqueing on this to give it the old feel.

Cool Guys

This is another great one! I had the perfect paper, which is very masculine and did a lot of layering behind the picture, all in different shades of blue.

The brackets around the 2 and the word guys are all raised using my favorite product, 3D-dots.

I added ribbon to the mat of the picture by stapling it down with blue staples. A nice little touch, if I do say so myself!

I framed the light blue mat with my Daisy D Zig Zag tape runner. I made a mistake in the lower right hand corner but I easily disguised it with a chipboard flourish - no one could be the wiser!

All of the letters in the title I cut out using my Cricut and antiqued the edges with my ColorBox Cat's Eye inks.

Play Time

This is a nice and bright layout. Primary colors normally seen and used amongst kids.

I used a piece of green string on the top and put it down with yellow mini brads and strung metal letters, "Play Time". I thought that was a unique way to display the title. I am not sure how I just thought of it, but I did!

The other embellies are a Soft Spoken set. And I made the paper clip by gluing down a foam ball sticker to it.

Christmas 2007

I did this layout in July. I was part of a Christmas in July swap on myspace where we traded all Christmas items and after doing that, I was put in the Christmas mood!

I think this might be the first time I used 4 pictures in a layout.

There are a lot of cute Christmas items on the layout: ribbon, buttons, gifts, etc.

I punched the corners out with an ornate corner adorner - a little fancy for the holidays. The red paper behind the matted picture has a border of Christmas phrases and song lyrics. Not sure how I got that paper but it was a nice addition.

And of course how could I go wrong by adding pictures of my Christmas tree and my son opening his gifts Christmas morning.

Wish List

There are items out there, some new and some not so new that I want to add to my supply stash. Some, I just have to get out there and buy and others, I am just waiting for the right time, but as life has it, there are other things that fall higher on the priority list than scrapbooking supplies :)

I have the basic Provo Craft Cricut and I have about 8 cartridges right now.I would love to add these two, Storybook and All Mixed Up.

The All Mixed Up cart looks like something that would work well on my layouts since the are predominately kid oriented. This cart gives off the impression of a child's handwriting!























Glue Arts - GlueGlider Max Adhesive Runner.

This baby rocks!!

This is industrial adhesive! I just imagine the wonders I can do with this, instead of sitting holding the roll of glue dots in one hand and try to hold an embellie or picture in the other hand and trying to manage getting the dots on!

Only down fall is that it is pretty expensive. Runs about $50 and then the refills are about $20.


Fancy Pants Designs - About A Boy Collection

These 3 items all coordinate and I have been eyeing them for sometime now.

The colors are captivating. The chocolate brown background with the pop of oranges, blues, green and the hint of yellow. LOVE it!!

I have seen great layouts created using this series and I want to jump on that band wagon! Oddly enough in my almost weekly trips to Michaels and/or A.C. Moore I have not seen these in the stores. It seems I will have to eventually order them online and I have seen them and have them on my scrapbook.com wish list.

The coordinating sticker and chipboard I love. The best part is you can use them with other papers.

I love the "cool boy" look of everything and that is exactly what I need to scrap for my little guy.

The best part is all of these items are really inexpensive, all under $5! The question is "what am I waiting for?"!



Making Memories - 4x6 Spiral Notebook for Journaling.

The 5th Avenue Collection in black & white, is my favorite. Each time I see this in A.C. Moore my friend and fellow scrapper reminds me that my scrapping style does not call for such elegance. There was no put down there, it is just the mere fact that I scrap for my 3 year old. But one day, if I ever a chance to make that adult album, this will be one of my first purchases!

The Noteworthy Collection in the brighter colors is more my style but I haven't seen it in the stores. I will get my hands on it sooner or later!

I love to add journaling to my layouts and I love how these are big and stand out!

Heidi Swap - Chipboard Clocks

These little clocks are the cutest thing and I am sure I could make them work in a layout or two. I would definitely work with the brown ones.

They also come in pink and with the pink... oh are my wheels turning or what?!

I have been asked to do a scrapbook for a friend who is having a baby girl and I think the pink clocks would work wonders on a layout showing the date and time the little girl comes into the world. I will definitely have to pick these up!




Fiskars Border Punches

There are many varieties of border punches and different brands. A most common brand is Fiskars and there are many straight edged and circle borders, like flowers, designs and even holiday themed.

Each time I am in a craft store, I always pick one of these up to buy but then put it down because I am not sure which design I want and if I really want to spend $15 on it. I know I will one day.



I think I could do a lot with these and put a little pizazz into my layouts. I just wish I could find one a little more kid oriented. I will have to keep my eyes open.



A fellow scrapper that I have be-friended on scrapbook.com uses embossing on almost all of her layouts and beautiful layouts they are. I know she uses Heat Embossing but I do not know much about it. This is something I would like to learn but I think before I wish for items (I honestly don't even know what is needed) I should really do research first. Maybe "Embossing for Dummies"?? Hmmm....


Ultimately I wish for a scrap room! Right now I scrap on my dinning room table and what a sight for sore eyes! It is terrible. If I could only learn to clean up after myself, it wouldn't be so bad. But I have that mentality, ' why clean up now, if I will end up making the same mess tomorrow?'. The only way I will ever get a dedicated scrap room is if we move and buy a bigger house!

Halloween Layouts

Since Halloween is quickly approaching, I thought it would be a great time to catch up on my Halloween layouts.

My son is now 3 years old and I have never scrapped any of his Halloween pictures. I have done fall layouts just not Halloween. So these past few weeks I was able to do 3 layouts for the past 3 years.

I am hoping that this years layout won't be as late as these. Maybe I will make a goal to scrap them quickly - maybe in the month of November. Let's see if I can do it.

All of his Halloween costumes have been cute - nothing scary so far :) This year he will either be a spider or a turtle (he wants to be a monkey, so we are still tossing the idea), but I am sure which ever he is will be cute, not scary.

His 1st Halloween 2005 - ROOSTER:

Here I used a traditional Orange and Black color scheme. I used double mats behind the 2 pictures and rounded the corners of the mats as well as the pictures. I love my corner punches! I cut out the title using my Cricut and layered it.

The number 1 and the H in Halloween have a raised dimension by using some foam dots. I was once again able to use Stickles in yet another layout - I love that stuff! I created my journal in MS Word and added a clip-art image to it and then ink'd the edges for the antique look. Other embellies are store bought.

His 2nd Halloween 2006 - SHARK:

Here I used a black background with orange, green, white and purple dots. I matted the pictures in orange and rounded the corners on both the pictures and matts.

Using foam adhesive squares, I raised the 'Happy Halloween' tag, the journal square and the year.

I used a variety of embellishments from Jolee's jack-o-lantern filled with treats, to felt leaves.

His 3rd Halloween 2007 - LION:
Here I used a solid orange background paper and matted the pictures with a carmel color brown paper. I added a patterned harvest paper to the background for a something little extra. I added brads, buttons and embellies by Jolee's and Pebbles. In the center is a great fabric adhesive in a pumpkin design that I got at Oriental Trading - another fabulous spot for great deals.


This years layout to follow in November.

Sketch Challenge: 2 pictures

Yes... I gave in and participated in another myspace sketch challenge.

This challenge required 2 pictures.

Original sketch provided by Larissa:

My version:

I used a bright green with dark green polka dots 12x12 paper as my background. A different shade of the same paper was used for the paper edge up top as well as the mats for my pictures. I made the journal circle on my own in MS Word. I have journaling stamps but the circle one is not that big and I wanted one to pop out. I used my Cats Eye inks to give it some color. The stars I made on my Cricut using my Celebrations cartridge and jazzed them up with Stickles and placed them on the layout with some foam adhesive to give it dimension. I did the same with the chipboard title.

I hope you like it!

I Made it!

Step 1 - get crafty a
Step 2 - start scrapbooking a
Step 3 - start making invitations!!!! aa


I am very very proud of myself for attempting home-made invitations this year for my son's 3rd Birthday Party. I wanted to do something different and wow everyone.


I started just with an idea and had no idea if and how I would implement it.


The Theme: Cowboy/Western


I started with the supplies (all purchased at Michaels):

• white/blank cards with envelopes
• vellum paper
• 3 kinds of patterned paper
• Jolee's stickers
• Brads
• glue stick
• glue dots
• ColorBox Cat's Eye Ink

I sat there looking at the white cards and said to myself "how am I am going to 'un-whiten' them".



I took a piece of the bandanna print patterned paper and cut it down to size and glued it to the inside of the card (cover all the white space). So far so good...




I then took the tanned cowboy print patterned paper and did the same to the front of the card.


I printed the invitation information onto the vellum paper using MS Word and added a cowboy silhouette clip art. I cut the vellum down to size (I was able to print 2 invitations on 1 piece of 8.5" x11" vellum paper) and attached it to the inside of the card using 2 western themed brads (lucky find on eBay!) on the top 2 corners.


The inside verse was:

Howdy Partner!

I'm asking you

to saddle up

and come chow down!

Thomas' 3rd Birthday Party

Date

Time

RSVP

Here is a closer look at the brads - aren't they the coolest?

Back to the front....

I used another color of the bandanna patterned paper and cut out "You're Invited" on my Cricut using the Beyond Birthdays cartridge. I attached the cut out using Glue Dots to the center of the front.

I used decorative scissors and cut the bottom edge of the front of the card to give the illusion that the card was ripped or even burned. I used my ColorBox Cat's Eye ink and distressed all the edges in a dark brown to give it the burned/antiqued look. Looked PERFECT!!!

To add the final touch to the front, I placed Jolee's cowboy themed stickers to the front. The package can with a few different stickers, so I was able to have 4 variations of the front.

The final product:

These are the 4 variations of the front: the inside:

I am so proud of how these came out and was so happy to send them out to everyone. I received tons of compliments and the "you should start your own invitation making business" suggestion but I don't know about that :)

I then made my own return labels and stamped the front of the envelope with a horse stamp that I was lucky to find on sale at A.C. Moore.

The party came and went and it was a success.

Layouts in 2007

I started scrappin' in the Spring of 2007 and I think I did plenty layouts in about 6 months.





All of these layouts are part of my son's "1st Year" album.

Now keep in mind, I was a beginner :) I already posted my 1sts.... these are the rest:


The layouts without matts behind the photos are ones I did earlier, not knowing matting brings out the photo :)





*These are not necessarily the order I did them*

my 1st attempt at journaling:

I tried using stencils on this one... that was the last time I ever used them!

I love this one... my friend Joey cut out the watermelon for me!

These are 2 Valentine layouts and the 2nd one is not a favorite at all... has to be one of my worse



You can see that at this point they are starting to improve a bit.

I love how this one came out.... one of my best that early on (at least I think)

This pool layout was my time ever using my Cricut!

Sorry for the photo dump.... but now I will be able to show you my 2008 layouts in more detail!

Thanks for lookin'!