Beach Buds & Co-Captain Layouts

Hello blogger friends.  I'm trying to do better with posting and what better way than two days in a row!  Today I have two layouts to share.  For this first layout, I had this great wave paper that I wanted to use, but I wanted the details of it to be a part of the page, so I cut around a lot of the pattern and popped it in several places creating the left side of the page.  The title is from Life's a Beach cartridge, which of course I welded on my gypsy.  Here is the layout...

With some of the left overs from those patterned papers, I created this layout documenting my little boy's love of boats and his nickname, daddy's Co-Captain...

Thanks to Jen & Angie for your comments - makes me so happy to see you're still reading my blog :)

Also to my best scrap buddies Marylin & Maritza, thanks for the bloggy love!

Remember you can sign up for emails of my new blog posts on the top right of the blog.

Hope you all enjoyed the layouts.  More to come!

Thanks for stopping by!

Guest Designer for Whimsical Wednesdays - "Aquaholics"

Hello all, I am so excited and thrilled to be a Guest Designer at Whimsical Wednesday this week for their challenge to create a layout that has to do with "humor".  I love all the different challenges that they have each week.  They are so much fun and inspirational.  I am honored to be joining this amazing Design Team this week!


Now for this week's challenge, "Sense of Humor", it could be interpreted by incorporating funny pictures or cuts/images or by words that have to do with humor.  I decided to be inspired by some very funny pictures of my husband and friend at his birthday party last year.  You see, after lots of drinks, they decided to have a jumping contest into the pool.  Let me remind you, these are grown men and they thought they were Spiderman or Karate Kid... the pictures say it all!  Every time I see them, I crack up.  So I thought they would be perfect for this challenge.  


I decided to look into my sketch folder and found one that worked with these four photos.  The next thing was to come up with a great title for these hilarious photos.  This took a while, I didn't seem to come up with the right one, but then I remembered a name of a boat I saw recently that I loved and I knew I needed to use on a layout and it just worked perfectly for these pictures.  So with my title, AQUAHOLICS, the layout came together.  Now, I used these chipboard letters I've had forever and as soon as I got to the last letter, I realized that I didn't have an "s" - I hate when that happens!!!  So I had to rig it and I did so by manipulating an & sign.  I added a couple embellishments and voila!  Here's the layout...

So be sure to join in on the fun at Whimsical Wednesday and enter the challenge!

I hope you've enjoyed my layout (and my funny photos!).  Thanks for stopping by!

Be sure to leave a comment and let me know you were here!  I hope you come back tomorrow for yet another layout you won't want to miss (with some other funny photos)!

Splish Splash Layout for Sketch Challenges

As promised, I have more to share today.  It all started with one sketch that I really liked, so I started looking for pictures that would work for it and then I happened to find more than three, so I combined two other sketches to create the other side of the layout.  I'm really happy with the results and even happier that another memory is now preserved :)  As for the title, I decided to use part of the patterned paper and then combined it with my new favorite font from Baby Steps (which kind of looks just like the patterned paper one).

Here is one of the layouts...

I used glossy accents on the title and the drops that make them look "wet"...

Here are the two sketches that I used for inspiration, this one from Sassy Lil' Sketches...

and this one from Stuck On U Sketches, turned on its side...

This is the other layout which goes with another sketch from Sassy Lil' Sketches...

Here is the combined layout...

I hope you like them!  As always, thanks for stopping by!!

Have a great start to your week!

One more Keys Layout

Just a quick post today.  These are the last of the pics from our Keys Vacation last year that I wanted to scrap before we leave again for this year's trip.  I was able to put 19 pictures in this layout!  Gotta love those collages!  Here is the layout...

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Keys Layouts

Hello everyone.  Had some new paper from Best Creations that were inspiring so I browsed my thousands of pictures for vacations that I hadn't scrapped yet and found pics from our Keys trip last year that would work with the papers.  Now the same thing happened to me for both layouts that I'm sharing today.  There was this one really great paper that was easy to work with, just add pics, a title and it was good.  Problem is, I wanted to make them 2 page layouts and then I had to come up with the side page from scratch to coordinate, which is really time consuming.  So they took me a while (much longer than I wanted, but that's how it goes), but I love the end result.  And that's another thing I love about scrapbooking, once you've completed a layout, you have this sense of accomplishment, a memory saved.  I don't know about you all, but I find myself staring at my layouts again and again with a smile on my face.

So let me talk a little about each layout.  First of all, if you know me or follow my blog, you'll know that I like putting a lot of pictures on my layouts (because I take a ton of pictures and like to have them on my pages, but don't necessarily want to create a ton of layouts for the same topic).  So you'll see lots of pictures on each layout.

I like using punches and I especially like the new EK punches (the ones that pack up tight and don't take up a lot of space), which I used to create the top border on the right page of the Keys layout.  Now for the bottom, I had cut a semicircle from the patterned paper, but wanted to add a border to it, so I did using a circle punch and tucking the circles behind the patterned paper to create the scallop paper.  I also ended up adding brads to add more interest, as well.  Now, I try to always journal because telling the story is super important to me, but on this layout, I didn't have much space, so I created the little journal tags and tucked them in.

This second layout was first inspired by the great paper on the left.  I had a focal point photo and tons of others, so I decided to print them small and then I loved the look of this photo block on this paper.  Problem was, I had more photos to add about us on the boat and it took me forever to figure out what to do with the right page.  Of course, now that it's done, its my favorite page, lol!  

 would

I had a scrap of this dot blue paper on my table and it work, but I wasn't sure what I was going to put it on.  I decided to use different shades of blues.  I again went to my punches and created the scallop border for the top and bottom.  The left page has words all over it, so I need words on this page to balance it out.  I decided to create a mixed font title (which I love to do because I love that look). 

 I used a variety of fonts and moved them all of the mat on my gypsy so I could cut out the different colors all at once.  I used Baby Steps (such a cute font, have I mentioned how much I'm loving this cartridge), Mickey Font, Lyrical Letters and Wall Decor & More.   Of course, it's all stickled and "Boat" is popped!

At this point, it was coming together, but I needed something at the top.  So I took a cue from the postcard signage and writing on the patterned paper on the left and decided to create it myself on this page.  I punched circles in a bunch of sizes and dusted off these circle stamps I own that I haven't used in forever.  I created the postcard/mail processed lines with my flexi ruler, a pen and stickles.  

Wow, that was a long post, whew!  Sorry, just decided to let you in on my process (and like I said, with these layouts, it was a long one!).  I hope you've enjoyed the layouts.  As always, Thanks for stopping by!

Life is Good Layout

Hello my cyber friends, so glad you've stopped by!  Ever stare at your scrapbook stuff and wonder where to begin or what you're going to work on?  It happens to me and I find the getting started part sometimes the most difficult (and time consuming) part.  Now, as many of you know, I have a lot of stuff and I have this new goal to use more of it before I keep buying more (even though, that part is so much fun, lol!).  So I grabbed one of my many stacks and picked out some paper, but that wasn't really working for me.  So I dug a little deeper and found this whole line of "Life is Good" from Echo Park that I had never touched and decided to do something with it (not even sure of what pictures would eventually go on it).  Of course, the juices started flowing in the wee hours of the night, or some of you might call it the morning (when I seem to do my best work).  As I was building the layout, I figured the story I wanted to tell, from a recent mini vacation that we took and as I found those pictures, they worked perfectly with the layout and the title "Life is Good".  I used the entire right side border (you can barely see it in the picture, but its the whole pink border on the right) to journal and document my story (one of my favorite parts of scrapbooking).  For me, the fact that the memory is now recorded and scrapped gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment, a way to make it last.  So now, I just look at the layout and smile.  I hope you do, too!  Here it is...

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a great start of your week!

Favorite Season - Summer - FCCB DT Project

This week at Fantabulous Cricut we are having a favorite weather forecast challenge, where we were supposed to create a project featuring our favorite season and its seasonal weather.  Since I live in Miami, we really only have 2 seasons and my favorite is summer!  So for this challenge, I created a summer layout (and I have a thousand pictures to be able to add to it later!) and I used Life's a Beach for the title and embellishment...

To my large flower (think sun, that's what I was going for!), I added buttons and to give it a little more interest, I also added wire and beads.

Aren't these flip flops cute?!  I added little flowers and stickles.  They are of course, popped!

I hope you can join in on the fun at Fantabulous Cricut this week and create a project featuring your favorite seasonal weather.  

This past weekend was my son's birthday party and I will share some pics with you all soon, so be sure to come back to check them out!

See you then!

Thanks for stopping by!

We Shore Had Fun & Awards

Cherry On Top Award

Thank you so much Sarah from Simply Sarah for this surprise and honor! 

The rules for this award are:

1. Thank the person who gave it to you. 

2. Copy the award to your blog. 

3. List 3 things you like about yourself.

4. Post a picture that you love.

5. Tag 5 people you would like to give this award to.

Three things I like about myself are that I am truly committed in everything I take on, very energetic and I'm all about my family, which I adore.

I absolutely LOVE everything about this photo!  

Tagging 5 people is also hard (so much inspiration out there) but in no particular order, here goes...

1. Stacy from Simply Us

2. Joanna at Scrap-Making

3. Dorcas from 4 Crafty Angels

4. Charlotte from Vanilla Bean Creations

5. Kristy from Craftin on my Door

I also won a challenge at My Sheri Crafts this week for my Family Vacation layout and I received this...

Finally, I wanted to post a quick layout that I hadn't posted yet.  I hope to print out the photos from 4th of July at Naples to put on this layout this week (although, it's a busy week ahead with all the preparations for my daughter's 2nd birthday next weekend, so it may be a little longer).  It has a lot of embossing and the sun is made from ribbon.  I particularly love the title, which I found online (can't remember where)...

Family "Summer Vacation"

Here is a new layout that I created using the Summer Vacation cartridge.  I loved these cuts on the cartridge and when we went to this amusement park in Myrtle Beach with the same looking wooden roller coaster and ferris wheel, I was ecstatic (because I would get to use my cartridge...you scrapbookers out there understand, right?!).  I knew I wanted to use these images cut large.  This was another gypsy designed layout that I designed during our road trip.  I also knew that I wanted to use tons of pictures because I took A LOT, but I'm not all about making 30 layouts for a single event in most cases (exceptions of course are Disney, Christmas and my kids' birthdays which end up getting their own album).  So I planned it to fit my collages, with focal point photos on the left page.  I also used a ticket as an embellishment/journaling block.

I made most all of the cuts in white to stand out against the background paper and to match the real thing.  I also added TONS of stickles to replicate the look of the rides as we saw them.  Here are some closeups of the stickle (and pop!)...

Thanks for stopping by!

Water Boy - Sketch Challenge

I'm really getting into doing these challenges on some of my favorite blogs - its really gotten me into scrapping some pics that would otherwise not be scrapped yet!  I am also getting into using sketches, which I normally don't use.  I love them, have a folder with hundreds of ideas, but I usually just start from scratch.  So I'm excited to get into using these sketches, like the one over at Sketches in Thyme this week...

I've had this amazing picture of MJ underwater from last year with intentions to scrap it, but no inspiration until this sketch.  So I got my new Imaginisce papers that I recently bought and came up with this...

I used George to cut out circles from the paper.

I was stuck as to what to do with my title, but I finally decided to use up some of my supplies that I've had forever like my Cloud 9 foil chipboard letters (which I have tons, in practically every color, but haven't really used - more like collected) and American Craft Thickers (which I found at Big Lots for $1 bargain forever ago!).  But to give it a water feel, I added some Diamond Glaze...

I decided to add a little flair by twisting ribbon for the border (you know, think seaweed)...

and of course, stickle and pop...

But after I finished this, I had scraps left over and a bunch of pictures from the swim lessons of him in the water.  So instead of putting them away, I decided to create a companion page, instead.  I wanted to use a lot of photos, but I didn't want to make it look to cluttered.  So I cropped them in circles and the second page turned out like this...

I had bought these clear and blue skittles at Michael's a long time ago for just this kind of idea, to use it as water bubbles, so I added them throughout the layout and even made a border with them on this second page.

There's a lot I want to remember from these swim lessons, but not a lot of room to journal, so I decided to write my journaling around each of the pictures...

And so what started out as a one pager developed into a double page layout...

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a fabulous day!