Life's Trivialities

Holly Ball 2017 / Echo Park /Tuesday Morning Stash Busting

This is a long overdue post of another double page spread! Created from a Tuesday Morning kit that I put together about two weeks ago which I shared in a video HERE. I gathered bits and pieces from various trips to Tuesday Morning and printed these photos to do with the goodies and set about creating. I have not created a sketch to accompany the layout however if there is enough interest, I am happy to create a sketch. Just let me know in the comments.

The way this layout turned out and what I had originally planned in my head are two different things, not surprisingly. There are green papers as part of the collection and originally I was going to incorporate more of the green. Even use it to cut out the tree. However the business of the patterns in the patterned paper would have detracted from the intricacy of the cut file and the ornaments wouldn't have popped as they do here. I love the way the green tree pops the green in the photos!

One of the great things about these haul kits is that you get to mix and match and create your own kit. I build my kits based on colors, trying to create an equal mix of patterned papers with bold and small prints as well as different mix of embellishments. I love creating my own kits.

The simplicity of these ornaments hanging in the corner adds a wonderful touch of the holidays and festivity to the layout, don't you think?

That, my friend, is it for today. A quick and simple layout with just enough complexity to capture your interest and use up some stuff and a few photos to share a very special evening shared between father and daughter! If you are of the process video watching variety, be sure to swing by my YouTube channel and you can see how the whole thing comes together! It's not too long either!

Thanks for stopping in today!

Birthday - Bella Blvd / The Scraproom

I asked about a month ago what the likelihood of you sitting and watching a longer video was if it were for a double page spread and I got overwhelming responses that yes! double page process videos were desirable! Thank you for all of you who responded and shared your opinions with me! To thank you, I have not only a double page process video but a sketch to go with it. Enjoy! And if you do use the sketch, PLEASE share your complete projects with me. You could comment on my Scrappy Facebook page with a photo, that would make my day!

If you want a larger file to download then be sure to follow THIS LINK over to Dropbox where you can download a larger file for free.

This bright, birthday layout was created using Wish Big from the October Doubleshot kit from The Scraproom. I still have enough left over from creating these two pages for another single page layout at the least, possibly two.

Are you a theme-y scrapper? By that, I mean, do you buy themed product to scrap that particular theme? Do you buy birthday product to scrap birthdays? There is no right or wrong answer, we all have our preferences. I tend to only scrap birthdays with birthday product because it was sent to me. But generally speaking, if left to my own druthers, I prefer to scrap without themed product. I don't need to announce birthday, I feel the photos speak for themselves.

There is a lot of white space in this layout. Theoretically, you could add more photos if you felt like it. My initial thought had been to put typed journaling strips under the "birthday" title heading. But I really like the white space. With the black of the fireplace in the photos, you really need that white space to add balance to the layout.

Should you be interested in watching how this layout came together, be sure to head over to my YouTube channel. Or watch below! LOL! My goal is to get 1-2 double page spreads up a month. I cannot guarantee double page sketches that often but I'll do what I can! I'm close to 3,000 subscribers so watch out for a give away coming soon!

 

Thanks for stopping in today! Enjoy the sketch!

 

Belle Isle / Cocoa Daisy DITL

Many people use pocket pages for Day in The Life or Weekly Project Life pages. I prefer to use them for multiple photos of one event across two pages. The pressure of daily scrapping or sequential weekly scrapping just freaks me out and I can't. But when I have a million (and one) pictures of a single event (horse show, swim meets, vacations, etc) I like to use a good number of the representative pictures and put them in pocket pages.

Below is a pocket page spread I created using the August Cocoa Daisy kit of a recent local outing to Belle Isle with the family and the WrinkLee's when they were here to visit for Mia's birthday.

I love the bright colors of this kit! They are just perfect for outdoor adventures of all kinds! And the little gnomes!! Squeel! They make me happy, bring a smile to my face.

One of the other things that I love about pocket pages is not only the ability to showcase lots of pictures but there you can include a lot more of the story without it being disruptive to the flow of the layout. You can truly be a storyteller as well as share the pictures of the occasion.

Be sure to check out the Cocoa Daisy blog post HERE and see how a few of the other ladies from the team used the Day in the Life kit as well!

Celebrating / Just Nick / Simple Stories

Recently my baby entered the double digits. In reflecting back upon her single digit years, I decided it would be fun to have a picture of all those single digit year birthday's together and thus the evolution of the double page spread I'm sharing with you today. You can also find it HERE on the Just Nick blog.

The foundation of the layout is created using this month's FREE (yes, free) digital cut file from Just Nick which is backed with an aqua cardstock. I then went to town filling the squares with Simple Stories' Let's Party collection and a picture from each birthday.

Here's a better look at the left hand page, which happens to be her odd year birthdays;

I love how the colors in the negative spaces of the digital cut file pop from the page. It's refreshing to have a birthday collection that isn't loaded with primary red, white and yellow. Little girls need different colors!

Here is the right hand page;

And a close up;

Be sure to pop on over to the Just Nick shop and use the code TICTACTOEFREE at checkout to get the Tic Tac Toe Background file for free until June 30th!

 

 

Fall layouts / CREATE Magazine / Simple Stories

Speaking of fall, have you seen the latest issue of Scrapbook Generations' CREATE Magazine? It's full of fall! All kinds of great crafting goodness to do with Autumn, Fall and things fall-like! Be sure to check it out HERE.

One of the two layouts I have in this issue! I have always been a huge fan of Debbie and Allison's sketches, particularly the double page sketches. I was excited to showcase this Simple Stories collection with this amazing sketch!

The grid of squares in this sketch are fantastic! And you know what makes it even easier? 6x6 pads! You don't feel quite so guilty hacking into those 12x12 pages! Easy math too!

So many picture possibilities with this sketch! I stuck relatively true to the sketch but think about all those squares as photos too!! Did I get the gears a turning?!

I usually manage to flood the magazine with projects however this month, I had but a few. This was the second and last of the layouts. If it's a fall, collection, I must have it and this collection from Carta Bella was no different!

Lots of layers using lots of great fall colors! I love this picture, taken at the corn maze last fall. The place of that star was ideal to really make the sun flare radiant, don't you think?

A fun little embellishment cluster. And empty journaling spot... :)

Summer Paddle / Simple Stories 2 page

Double bonus today; a large photo AND two pages. Or possibly a triple bonus as the layout is created using primarily Simple Stories!

There is something about those little bright colored fishies that just sold me on this collection! HAD to have it. Every single piece of it! And it's just perfect for this summer moment on Lake Michigan.

I kept the edges of the layout very clean so that the bright yellow of the background cardstock would bring your eye back to the center and Nikolas' yellow life jacket.

Paddle boarding was something new to us this past summer, summer of 2014. Nikolas went to a paddle boarding camp and had a blast. While in Michigan for our week long summer get away we rented a board for a few hours so he could show off his new skills. I'm not sure it was all that he wanted it to be. Something about the vastness of the lake might have been a little intimidating to him... Versus the proximity of the river?

A little summer sun amidst all the spring green that is around us here in the USA. Crazy how summer is just around the corner really. One and a half more months of school...

2x2x2 layouts with Simple Stories

Hey there! It's retreat weekend for 100+ ladies here in Glen Allen, Virginia and I'm teaching today! My friend's Cheryl, Michelle and Tessa host 2-3 retreats a year. You can find more information on Doodle Crew Retreats HERE if you are interested.

Each of the layouts features a Simple Stories Simple Set and is used to created a double page layout. There are TONS of extra stickers, Element pieces and left overs that you could create additional projects with.

Hugs & Kisses for my girl who LOVEs reading! There's quite a bit of fussy cutting on this layout and lots of little embellishments are pop dotted for some dimension. You could very easily turn this layout created using a Valentine's themed collection into a Valentine's layout if you wanted.

A little close up peek of the layers and title work.

When creating this class, we hadn't had much snow yet here in Virginia so these are some of last years' pictures of Mia sledding. Not that this years pictures look much different! Add a few inches to her height and some glasses and she is still the spunky gal we all know and love. The Snow Fun Simple Set by Simple Stories was used for this double page layout.

There are so many fun coordinating stickers that come with both collections! I can't wait to use the extras for this years sledding and snow person pages!

I had such fun creating these layouts and hope that the ladies joining me today for this class enjoy them as much I do!

Christmas Sneaks with Scrapbook Generation

I was incredibly fortuante to work with Debbie and Allison from Scrapbook Generation over the past few months and contribute 6 double page layouts towards their latest Sketches for Christmas sketchbook. I have always been a fan of their sketches so be able to use them and create visual samples for others to see was such an incredible honor and privelege.

There are 24 sketches and they are all double page sketches with exact measurements provided! Many of the sketches could very easily be adapted and used for single pages.

Of the 24 sketches there are;

• (1) 3 photo sketch
• (2) 6 photo sketches
• (7) 7 photo sketches
• (8) 8 photo sketches
• (1) 9 photo sketch
• (2) 10 photo sketches
• (1) 12 photo sketch
• (1) 17 photo sketch
• (1) 25 photo sketch

There are wreaths, ornaments, Christmas trees, stars and iconic Christmas symbols galore! There are lots of reds and greens, gold and silver! All tlhe fun things one would expect to see on Christmas layouts. Families opening presents, holiday baking, pictures with Santa, festive outfits and so much more!

Companies used include Basic Grey, Authentique, My Minds Eye, Bo Bunny, Simple Stories, American Crafts, Echo Park, Pink Paislee and many more! Twinery baker's twine featured heavily on a lot of my layouts as you can see from the picture above.

I had masses and masses of Christmas pictures that were all sitting on my hard drive just waiting to be scrapped. The one occasion that I have the most pictures of and least scrapped is probably Christmas. In those 6 layouts I did for this book, I put a good dent into Christmas 2013 and I can't wait to use more of the sketches to hammer out the rest!

This inspirational book is available for purchase HERE for $16.99 for the hard copy or $14.99 for the e-Book version. Buy a copy for yourself and while you're there, get your scrappy friends one too! They would make great Christmas presents!

You won't regret it, I promise!

 

Open Water Swim / Bella Blvd & 17 Turtles

For those of you who know me or have followed by scrapping you know that we are a swimming family; ie, two kids who swim and 2 parents who fund and volunteer to make that happen! Finding scrappy "support" to those swimming layouts is difficult. I'm not a Jolee's kinda gal. I don't need more goggles and lane lines, I see enough of those in a week, thank you. So when Juliana of 17 Turtles asked what other cut files her audience would like to see, I said swimming. And she delivered! I LOVE these files!

On this layout I used the "Just Keep Swimming"files from Juliana's Etsy shop. You can find those files HERE. If you have a swimmer, be sure to check these out! There are two other collections of swimming cut files as well. I'll share one of them another time.

And, but of course, Bella Blvd! Another of the newer collections! When I saw this collection, Tiny Tots, I just knew it was going to one I had to have. For no other reason than those fish right there! Sure, the rest of the collection is bright and cheery and fun but I don't have toddlers any more. No matter, I have need for those fish and the plainer patterned papers!

Fushy cut fish and some Stickles to add depth to the 17 Turtles wave cut file. Love those chipboard letters from Bella Blvd. Been hoarding them for eons and finely, a layout worthy of use!

It took some doing but I created the sun cut file for this layout myself. The layout is created using a 2 page Scrapbook Generations sketch and called for a sun in the top left corner. Just as you see here. I often modify those embellishments but the sun really went well with this theme so I stuck with it.

This two page spread is focuses around the beginning of the race; the preparation, learning the course, getting into the water and the first 25 meters or so of the swim. I have another layout planned that will be of the end of the race; including his finish, beach run, time and Nikolas' own opinions of the race.

Thanks for visiting today. If you haven't already paid her a visit, be sure to check out Juliana's cut files! They are so easy to use. She has many more themes if swimming isn't your thing!

Published / Scrapbook & Cards Today

Finally! A scrapbook bucket list item checked off! Woot! I have been trying for YEARS to get something published in Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine and FINALLY, that goal has been realized and my persistance paid off! Today is the online share of the fall issue! You can see that issue online HERE.

My fall layout titled "Flavorful" can be found on page 71. A layout I created using a fabulous sketch from Scrapbook Generations with a mix of patterned papers and embellishments and, of course, Core'dinations cardstock. And, like most of my layouts, there's some Twinery baker's twine to be seen too!

It's difficult to tell from the large picture but the red Core of the Core'dinations Chocolate box cardstock adds a really cool look to the tree on the right!

What would an apple picking layout be without some apples?! I mixed in a lot of Basic Grey Persimmon embellishments as well.

There is some amazing inspiration in this edition of Scrapbook &Cards Today! Be sure to stop by the SC&T blog and celebrate with us and peruse the whole issue and my full layout!