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.