Merry and Bright: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

Last year was my niece Riley's first Christmas. Her and my nephew had some adorable Christmas pictures made together. I finally got around to scrapping a few of them. 

The background paper is just a piece from a paper pad that I bought at Michael's. The paper that I cut the banner strips from is an Illustrated Faith paper from their newest Christmas release from this year. 

The "Merry and Bright" is a card from a Simple Stories Christmas collection from a few years back. It was the perfect title for this layout and it was an easy option as well. 

I added this beautiful gold stitching around the layout in three different places. I love the added sparkle and texture. 

I stamped the date on this layout using the awesome Dated Stamp Set from Elle's Studio. I've been wanting the Mega Date Stamp from Studio Calico for some time now but I can never catch it when it's in stock. This stamp set will work exactly the way that date stamp would have. 

My Heart: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

Do you use mixed media on your scrapbook pages? I don't use it often but I love the way it looks when I do. 

I used my watercolor paints on the background of this layout. I just made the colors I wanted to use, placed the paint on a piece of plastic packaging and "smooshed" the color on my paper.  I repeated that process until I was satisfied with the way the paint looked. I also used some mists and paint to make splatters around my layout. 

All of the bits and pieces that you see scattered around the layout are from Elle's Studio. I bought a few of Elle's grab bags that she had on sale on Black Friday. Her grab bags are awesome and so very cheap.

The blue letters that spell "Ethan" are from Pinkfresh Studio and are their Indigo Puffy Alpha Stickers. I used my Tim Holtz tiny attacher to add some extra detail. I also did my journaling right above those alphas. 

The black word 'my' and the stars and hearts around the layout are from the Dear Lizzy  Hello Thickers. 

The star stamp that is seen around the layout is from Felicity Jane stamp set called Emeline. I used my Wink of Stella clear glitter pen to give them some sparkle as well. 

I finished off my layout with some black doodling around the edges and some enamel dots. 

I hope this layout will inspire you to break out those mixed media products and create something unique and beautiful.

Snapchat is his fave: An 11 x 8.5 Scrapbook Layout

Yes, me and Snapchat again!!  I just can't help it--the filters are just so much fun. And then there is my 8 year old nephew who thinks Snapchat is hilarious!! He's at the age where he doesn't want me to take his picture, but he's always ready to play on Snapchat. 

I've never done a layout in this orientation before but I have to say it was a lot of fun. All of the papers and most of the bits and pieces are from the Bella Blvd. collection called Alex. 

I added some hand stitching in a few places around the layout just to add some texture and interest. I love the look of stitching on paper projects.  

I love all of these word stickers and die cuts that I found on the sticker sheets of the Alex and Addison collections from Bella Blvd. I thought they added just the right touch above my strip of photos. 

My title was created using some really old Making Memories stickers and Dear Lizzy Snapshot Thickers. The star chipboard is from Pinkfresh Studio and I added in some enamel dots. The star stamp and the "Now What" stamp are from the Emeline  stamp set from Felicity Jane. 

Break out those funny and silly pictures and record those moments. 

Just Wonderful: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

What is your favorite season? I love fall. I love the beautiful changing leaves, the cooler temperatures, Thanksgiving and all things pumpkin. Do you know another great thing about fall? Most of the time I can still wear my flip flops! (Flip flops are my favorite shoes!!)

This layout documents just that--wearing my oh so comfy flip flops in the fall. I used a cut file on this layout from the Just Nick store. That store has some awesome cut files that you should check out. The cut file was all one piece, but I cut it up so I could use it in several places on my layout. I used water color, markers and some spray mists on my leaves and greenery. I also backed them with patterned paper.

I mainly used the new fall collection from Simple Stories called Hello Fall. 

The word wonderful that I used in my title is a chipboard piece with a gold coating from Studio Calico.

I love the dimension that the cut file leaves give my layout. I layered in some other leaves and some flowers and brads from Hello Fall as well.

I hope you enjoyed this layout and that it inspires you to scrapbook a layout about your favorite season.

Halloween: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

Do you and your family celebrate Halloween? 

I've always loved the fun side of Halloween, not the spooky, creepy side. I loved dressing up as a kid and going trick-or-treating. I'll skip the haunted house though. 

I recently purchased a package of  those glitter Thicker  words like the one that spells out "Halloween" on this layout and they inspired me to dig out some Halloween pictures. This photo of my boys is from 2008. They were so cute and adorable in their costumes. 

I don't have a big stash of Halloween themed papers or embellishments so most of the items on my layout have been around for a long time. The strip of paper on the left is from a 2008 collection by Imaginisce called Eeks and Shrieks. The photo mat in the very back is from Me and My Big Ideas and the skull paper is from The Paper Studio, found at Hobby Lobby and it's called Skull and Crossbones. The purple patterned paper has been in my scrap bin for a long time and I'm not sure who made it. The orange paper is just the back side of the Imaginisce paper that I mentioned before. 

I used a Me and My Big Ideas project life style card to add beside the photo. Although it's hard to see in the photos, the word "up" is purple foil. The word label stickers above the title are from Me and My Big Ideas as well. The foam glitter stars and the bat came from the same Thickers pack as the title. 

I used a Heidi Swapp stamp to add some extra embellishing in the top and bottom corners. The washi tape seen on the layout is just from my stash. Along with some Black Velvet Heidi Swapp Color Shine, some ink and doodling on the edges of the layout, I also added a few enamel dots in various colors. 

No matter how old your scrapbooking supplies are, get them out and use them. Get those memories documented. 

Make A Wish: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

Have you ever used a gelli plate? What did you do with the prints you made?


I recently purchased a gelli plate and I love the prints I've made so far. I made some using black, pink, purple and teal paint, with a specific goal in mind. I wanted to use them on a layout about my niece's first birthday. 


On this layout, I used the gelli prints under my photos and for the fringe on the right side of the layout. 

For most of the goodies on this layout, I used the new collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studios called Make-A-Wish.  The pink patterned paper along with the embellishments that are placed on each photo are from that collection. The embellishment cluster at the top of the page contains more pieces from that collection along with some clear stickers from Me and My Big Ideas. The Make-A-Wish collection has some adorable puffy stickers and a bits and pieces type embellishment pack. 

I made my title using a stamp from Studio Calico and I colored it using some Zig Clean Color Brush Markers. Layered under my title are more of those bits and pieces from Cocoa Vanilla Studios.  

I finished up the layout by adding some enamel dots and some clear sequins that I picked up at my local Michael's store. 


If you ever get the chance to play with a gelli plate, do it. It's so much fun and you can make awesome prints to use in scrapbooking, art journaling, card making, etc. Check out YouTube for some awesome gelli printing videos as well. 

Snaps with dad: A 12 x 12 Layout

What kind of fun, social media apps do you use? Have you ever tried Snapchat?

I really don't use Snapchat for the social media aspect. I just love taking pictures with the fun filters. A few months back, my sister and I took some pictures with my dad after a Father's Day breakfast. We did some 'normal' pictures and then took a few using Snapchat. My dad thought the ones using Snapchat were hilarious. I can still see him laughing at the pictures.

Mind you, my dad is almost sixty and his version of a 'smart phone' is a Trac phone from Wal-Mart. He really has no clue about modern technology and such, so he thinks this 'new-fangled' stuff that my sister and I can do via our phones, is awesome. 

Several weeks later, my dad and I were out and about by ourselves. Before dropping him off at home, I suggested we take some pictures using Snapchat. So these adorable pictures happened and I knew I needed to document them. 

All of these patterned papers have been in my scrappy stash for a long time. I've been on a mission to try to use up all these older scraps of paper. 

I've had those speech bubbles forever as well. They were a free printable that I found online and I just printed and cut them out. I thought the speech bubbles were a nice touch to this layout and relayed some fun sentiments. I also printed out the Snapchat logo and added it to one of the bubbles. I carried the papers and speech bubbles down to the lower right corner of the layout as well. 

The title is composed of some old Thickers and some alphas from Studio Calico. I used a few small puffy stickers from Amy Tangerine as well as some Me and My Big Ideas Chipboard. Finishing off the layout are some word label stickers by Tim Holtz, enamel dots and some mists from Heidi Swapp in black and teal. 

Take some funny pictures of yourself and your family and document them. Just think how much fun it will be to look back on those silly photos in years to come. 

Homemade: An 8.5 x 11 Layout

Do you have a favorite season or a favorite time of the year? For me, that's autumn. I love the cooler temperatures, the beautiful changing leaves and mostly, all things pumpkin. I also enjoy cooking the 'comfort food' that is often associated with autumn. 

Recently on a really cool, autumn day, I cooked a pot of beef stew in my crock-pot. I wanted to document how cooler temperatures make me crave comfort food. 

 When I received the new Warm and Cozy collection from Pebbles and saw those amazing word stickers, I was in love. It just so happened that one of the words was 'homemade' and would work perfectly as my title for this layout. My photo is layered with patterned paper from Warm and Cozy as well. The other elements on my layout are all from the Hello Fall collection from Simple Stories. The two collections pair well together. 




I wanted to give my background a little added dimension, so I used some Artist Loft modeling paste, which can be found at your local Michael's store. I  put the modeling paste through a Heidi Swapp polka dot stencil. The circles on the background are made with a top of a container that we were throwing away and some Tim Holtz Distress ink in walnut stain. 

For my finishing touches, I added some hand stitching using some metallic gold thread that I also bought from Michael's. I love the texture and sparkle that the gold thread adds. I also used a few spritzes of some Heidi Swapp Color shine in Gold Lame and some Shimmerz Spritz in copper. 

What are your favorite things to document during the different seasons? 

Weekend Vibes: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

Teenagers. Gotta love them, right?

I have one. He's 15 and he's a complete homebody. I mean I can't even get this kid to ride to the next town over and grab some dinner via the drive-thru! Seriously!!??!!

I'll admit that his 'homebody-ish' tendencies drive me crazy sometimes. But then I realize that one day way too soon, he will be graduated from high school and be off on a new adventure. Then, I will wish his homebody self was still stuck in his room, lounging the days away.

I wanted to document Jaden's idea of a perfect weekend, so I used my ninja picture taking skills to sneak these few photos.(Moms of teenagers, especially teenaged boys, will totally understand this!)  Of course, he caught on at the end, but the damage was already done!! Score one for mom!! :)

I had recently  purchased the new Alex collection by Bella Blvd. and I knew it was the perfect collection to document these pictures. The 'Namaste (in bed)' card was also a perfect fit. That card comes from the new Whatever
 collection from Simple Stories.

I wanted to be able to showcase a variety of the patterned papers on the layout so I decided upon this grid style design. I kept the photos and the papers all square and then used circles and other shapes to add interest to the layout.

I cut my title using my Silhouette Portrait using a font called Lemon Tuesday. You can find that font for free at dafont.com.

All of the tabs and a lot of the stickers on the layout are from the Alex collection as well. It's such a great collection for boys, especially for teenagers.

I wanted to give the layout a grungy type feel, so added some stamping using Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black. The plus sign stamp is actually from a Christmas collection from Simon Says Stamp. The stamp set is called Big Holiday Wishes. The cute star stamp is from the Emeline stamp set from Felicity Jane.

Also included on the layout are the So Rad photo stickers from Simple Stories and some Me and My Big Ideas chipboard.

I used my computer along with a font named Mom's Typewriter to do my journaling. That font is found at dafont.com as well.

I hope you have enjoyed this layout. What quirks or fun things have you documented about your teenagers? Leave me comment so we can commiserate together. :)

Happy Birthday: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

My sweet and adorable niece, Riley, just celebrated her first birthday back in August (only 13 days after her favorite aunts birthday!!).  I couldn't wait to scrap some of the many photos I took at her party.  It's so nice to have a girl to scrapbook about. I mean I love the boys in my life, but most of them aren't too fond of pink, purple, glitz and glam on their scrapbook pages. 

The design of this layout is not my original idea. I drew inspiration from the fabulous Missy Whidden. She is one of my all-time favorite scrappers. Check out her amazing work at littlenuggets.blogspot.com. Missy's layout was titled Adventure and it is so beautiful. As soon as I saw it, I knew I  wanted to make a scraplift. I used some letter templates that I picked up in the Target dollar spot to trace the alphas on to my designated papers. The papers are mostly older patterns from my stash.         The little scallop borders were cut from the new Crate Paper Cute Girl Collection. Most of the chipboard on this layout came from that same collection. The wood veneer is from Heidi Swapp and I used my gelatos to give it that ombre effect. That adorable cupcake is many years old and is a Martha Stewart brand embellishment. The washi tape around the photos is from Me and My Big Ideas as is the clear 'remember' sticker and a few of the chipboard pieces. MAMBI makes great sticker packs for use on your scrapbook and planner layouts. The enamel hearts seen on the layout are from Bella Blvd. and they are such a nice added touch. I finished off the layout with a few sequins and some black Heidi Swapp Color Shine.


Do you ever scraplift from your favorite designers? Let me know in the comments below. Let me know who you admire in the scrappy world as well. Maybe I will find some new inspiration too!

First Day of 9th Grade: A 12 x 12 Scrapbook Layout

It's hard to believe that I'm old enough to have a kid in 9th grade. Wasn't I just in 9th grade?

But alas, it's true. Jaden started his high school career in August of this year. I'm thankful that we live in a small town, where everybody knows everybody, because it helps to make these transitions easier. It's also helpful that his school holds grades 6-12, so he's just in a different building for his classes this year but most everything else stays the same. 

For the main background patterned papers in this layout, I used the Echo Park School Days collection. The photos are matted with various scraps from my stash. I used my Canon Selphy to print these pictures at home. Most of the embellishments are various items that I've had for quite some time and decided to finally  put them to use. 

The title is composed of some glitter Thickers and some Making Memories Tiny Alphas. The stickers on the photos and the numbers on the side are the Simple Stories So Rad photo stickers. 

 The tab is from Bella Blvd. and I used a Heidi Swapp Roller Date Stamp to stamp the date. A Fiskars note edge punch was used to punch that card that the tab is attached to. That small detail helps to give the title another 'school vibe'. I added some Heidi Swapp Color Shine in black to give the layout that final touch.

I hope this layout inspires you to scrap those school memories.