Will & Kate

You can tell how far behind I am seeing as the royal couple will be celebrating their 2 year anniversary in a couple of months! Ooops!

First off I want to say that I did not go to the royal wedding and that these are not my pictures. My hubby and I got up at 4 am to watch the happy couple get married on television. For us, it was one of those moments in time you would look back on and say I remember that! My hubby and I were just in the early stages of dating when Princess Diana tragically passed away and to this day we still remember that day well. So when we were watching the wedding we thought this will be another one of those moments in time that we will look back on and remember (hence why we got up so early to watch it!). And because of that I wanted to do a layout about it. Of course, at 4 am my mind was still half asleep and I never thought to take any pictures of us watching the wedding on TV in our PJs! So instead, I went the wonderful world wide web and Googled the wedding and found some pictures I really liked. I sent them off to the printer and viola ... I had something to scrapbook!

Have any of you ever done something like that? Or scrapbooked important events that maybe you weren't there for but thought the were impactful in some way?

As I was scrapbooking these photos I found myself wondering if Kate would be scrapbooking them too.  If so I would love to see what she had done!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket - Everafter Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: October Afternoon Mini Market and American Crafts Thickers; Embellishments: Cosmo Cricket - Everafter Die Cuts, Flowers, Brads, and 7 Gypsies 97% Complete Stickers; Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking.

A&W Caravan 4 MS

Hello out there! I know it has been awhile since you have heard a peep out of me. Life seemed to get a little hectic for me the last couple of months and like most other people, I had to let some things go temporarily so that I could focus on other things. Unfortunately, that meant my blog went quiet and so did my scrapbooking! And even though life is still pretty busy right now, I thought I might be able to manage coming back to the blog world! So without further ado, I have a layout to share with you today!

After taking a break from scrapbooking, I always find sketches a great way to get back into it!  So as I eased myself back behind my craft table, grabbed my Sketches for Scrapbooking books (a real awesome resource you can find here) and started flipping through the sketches to find one I could use.  I stuck very close to the sketch only altering small details.  You have to start out slow right!?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Echo Park - Enjoy the Ride Mini Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: Amercian Crafts Thickers, Chipboard Alphas, and Cricut George Cartridge; Embellishments: Echo Park - Enjoy the Ride Stickers; Inks: ColorBox Chalk Ink; Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking; Tools: Cricut.

Home for the Holidays

The hubs and I always do our own little Christmas on Christmas day before heading to see family for the day.  I always enjoy this quiet time just the two of us, sharing the gifts we bought for each other and of course spoil the dog too!

This was a quick and easy sketch to work with.  I love that it allowed me to fit so many pictures on the layout as well as use several different styles of patterned paper!  Instead of following the sketch exactly which called for three vertical pictures side by side, I replaced the far left one with a journalling spot from the collection that was the same size as a 4x6 photo.  Looks great if you ask me!  Plus it saved me from having to do a title ... bonus!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket ; Cardstock: Bazzills; Embellishments: Chipboard Trees covered in Patterned Paper, Cosmo Cricket Stickers, and Basic Grey Stickers; Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking; Tools: EK Success Edge Border Punch.

Spoiled Rotten Again

Chevrons have been a huge trend this year! I remember when they first came out about 2 years ago I thought to myself I wonder if they will catch. Well they did! Not only in scrapbooking but in Fabric, Fashion and Home Decor. I am addicted to them and am even thinking about painting my bedroom wall in a chevron pattern.   When I saw this paper I instantly had to buy it ... come on ... isn't it the cutest!  It is almost as cute as my Sister-In-Laws pup Bella asleep on top of the presents!

I love this little elf!  In fact there aren't many elves that I don't love!  They are just so cute and cheery!  This little guy came in a whole sticker set of Christmas themed items and I will be honest to in saying I bought the while thing for just this guy!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Sorry I can't remember and google is no help; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts Thickers; Embellishments: ;Bling and Holiday Trends Chipboard Stickers and Embellishments.

Good Day 2 Be Rescued

Under water patterned paper is always so colourful and playful.  It's probably why I gravitate to them so much in the scrapbook store!  And being able to mix several of the patterns together on one layout makes me super happy and cheerful!

Because the background paper was so busy my title had a hard time standing out.  By simply running a few strips of washi tape in behind the title, the title was finally able to pop off the background paper.  I also added a little bit of Glossy Accents to the blue vinyl letters to give them a little more dimension.

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Echo Park - Sunshine Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts Thickers; Embellishments: Echo Park - Sunshine Die Cuts and Stickers and Washi tape; Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking.

Ring Pops

And the cuties are back! This time the layout is all about the Ring Pops we got them at the campground store. They were a huge hit, blue tongues and all, if you couldn't tell from the photos!

My local Scrapbook store usually has some really neat finds.  The owner always brings in things that are not usually used for scrapbooking and I love to rifle through them to see what I can use.  The last time I went in she had these really cute chevron treat bags in a bunch of different colours!  I swooned and bought two of every colour!  Overboard maybe but I couldn't help it.  So the next layout I did, this one, had to use one.  I thought it would be perfect seeing as the layout was about Ring Pop candies and it would be a great place to slide in my journalling card!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: American Crafts - Amy Tangerine Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts Thickers and Cosmo Cricket Tiny Types; Embellishments: Bakers Twine, Treat Bags, My Minds Eye Tickets, Washi Tape, and Resin Flowers; Inks: ;  Tools: EK Success Border Punch.

M & MMM

Another camping season has come and gone and that means another round of camping layouts for your viewing pleasure.

I thought I was being quite sneaky with my title!  Both of my friend's cute kiddos names start with M, so M & M seemed appropriate but by adding a couple more Ms on the second one it made the appropriate S'mores noise MMMMM!  Pretty sneaky no?!  I added Glossy Accents to the letters to make them pop better.

Like my border strip?  EK Success makes these border punches that make 3D flowers that are really cool.  When I was looking for a border punch to use on this layout I looked at this punch and thought it would look cool as flames!  Sometimes you just have to look at something in a different light to see a different use.

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny - Camp-A-Lot Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: Basic Grey - Alphs; Embellishments: Bo Bunny - Camp-A-Lot Charms, GCD Studios - Camping, 7 Gypsies 97% Complete; Tools: EK Success 3D Flower Punch.

Now That's One Sweet Birthday Gift

This is the best series of birthday photos I have ever seen!  My brother bought his wife a new Jeep for her birthday and we got to be there when he surprised her with it!  It was the best reaction I have ever seen!  I won't lie, there was colourful language and maybe some tears but all in all she was so excited!

Coordinating die cuts make pulling a completed look together super easy!  Simply layering them in clusters gives it a finished look.  Plus it saves me from hunting through my stash of mismatched stuff to find items to embellish with.  Although I will admit that I still do that ... case in point the Happy Life, Happy Wife sticker ... it was just too perfect for this layout not to use!

I couldn't resist adding Steph's most popular saying of the day to the layout too!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Basic Grey - What's Up Collection; Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts Thickers and October Afternoon Mini Market Alphas; Embellishments: Basic Grey - What's Up Die Cuts, My Minds Eye Journalling Spot, Jillibean Sayings, and Washi Tape.

34 In Jamaica

I know I did a layout already on here for my birthday that I celebrated in Jamaica but I had so many photos that it warranted another layout.  I had so many photos of the dinner that our favorite server pulled all the stops out for that I needed to use a Flip Flap in order to get all my favorite photos in!  This a a photo of the layout with the Flip Flap closed.

And this is what the layout looks like with the Flip Flap open!  I love how many more photos I can get on a layout with them.  If you have tried them, seriously get some!  You won't regret it!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee -  Soiree Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers:;American Crafts Thickers Embellishments:  Pink Paislee - Soiree Chipboard Elements and Penants and Flags, Washi Tape, and Bakers Twine; Tools: Fiskars Scalloped Edger Punch, Dymo Label Maker, and Creative Memories Flip Flaps.

Hangin' Out @ Rick's

What a popular place Rick's Cafe was! There were so many people there you could barely move! It is a really popular spot to watch the sunsets so that is why we decided to go and I am so glad we did. The views were beautiful, which was great for a little photo bug like me.

My Sister-In-Law went into the gift shop and when she came out she handed me this cute little button that said Rick's Cafe on it.  "For when you scrapbook these pictures" she said.  What a sweetheart!

When the sun started to set, I perched myself in a perfect little spot and started to take pictures.  I knew I wanted to capture the sunset at different points so that I could scrapbook them in sequence and it be just like watching the sunset ... almost!  The problem after I printed my photos was that there were several other photos I wanted to scrapbook with these photos but it was just too much.  Then it dawned on me to crop the sunset photos to a smaller size and use them like a film strip under my other photos.  I think it turned out fantastic, if I do say so myself.

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants - Beach Bum Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts Thickers; Embellishments: Rick's Cafe Button and Fancy Pants - Beach Bum Die Cut Stickers and Journalling spot.

Happy Birthday

Ok maybe I went a little overboard with stickers on this one. I had a sticker sheet of birthday stickers from Bo Bunny and there were so many to choose from that I like. I honestly couldn't pick just one. So instead of doing my usual title in letter stickers, I opted to use the Happy Birthday sticker from the set.  And from there it was down hill and there was no stopping me!

I am really loving the trend right now where manufactures are creating a sheet of journalling spots to coordinate with each of their collections.  It makes journalling so easy!  Whenever I see these sheets I make sure to pick one up and if on a lucky break they are in the sale section, I have been known to pick up several!  When I get them home I normally cut them up into the journalling squares so that they are easy to flip through and ready for me to use on any layout.  Most of these little babies can be used with other lines/manufacturers cause the colours are so similar.  Like on this layout, the patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye but the journalling spot is from Jillibean.  Most people wouldn't even notice they coordinate so nicely!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye - Lime Twist Collection; Cardstock: Bazzills; Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts Thickers; Embellishments: Bo Bunny Birthday Stickers, Jillibean journalling spot; Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking; Tools: Creative Memories Corner Rounder.

This is the Life

When I saw this background paper by Pink Paislee I fell in love!  I love the whimsy of it and the colour was perfect for water pictures!  I did a lot of fussy cutting on this layout.  It starts out as something as simple as cutting out the bunting at the bottom and then it moved to would a pretty  flower from another paper pattern look nice.  Next thing I knew I had spent 20 minutes fussy cutting!  I don't think it was a waste though cause it really works for this layout.

I love how manufacturers give you die cut border stickers that coordinate with their lines but sometimes I really wish they gave you two of each pattern.  Most of my layouts are horizontal in nature so unless I buy two sets, I find them difficult to use.  For this layout, I decided to step out of my usual use border strips as border strips mentality and just used them to jazz up the title area.  I think it turned out ok, just next time I think I will stagger them more.

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee - Hometown Summer Collection and Cosmo Cricket - Clementine Collection; Alphabet Stickers: Making Memories - Felt Stickers and American Crafts - Thickers; Embellishments: Cosmo Cricket - Clementine Die Cut Stickers, Smashbook Tabs, Baker's Twine, and Pink Paislee Journalling Spot.

Happy Birthday

How lucky was I that I got to celebrate my birthday in Jamaica this year.  Well technical, my birthday was the day I left but we still celebrated it the night before.  The resort gave me a birthday card that day and I thought it was the sweetest thing.

So I brought it home with the expectation that I would use it on my layout.  Now the outside of the cards was a little plain but the inside was so pretty so I thought why not use it open.  In fact, why not make it my title!  So I cut some coordinating paper to fit on either side of it to fill the whole top of my layout and to act as an anchor on my layout.  I think it turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!  And in order to not distract from it I kept my photos and remaining paper pieces very linear.  So cute and it was so quick to do!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee - Soiree Collection; Embellishments: Basic Grey - Fort Lauderdale Chipboard Elements, My Minds Eye - Die Cut Ticket, Pink Paislee - Hometown Summer Die Cut Strips and Journalling Spot.

Soon Come Back Party

Because this was our second visit to Jamaica and we went back to the same resort, we got invited to the Soon Come Back Party.  It's a special party for all the returning guest where you get to dine and hang with some of the staff and are given gifts.  It was fun and was a great way to meet more of the friendly staff from behind the scenes.

When we arrived at the resort there was an invitation sitting on our bed for us and I just thought it was so cute with the sand dollar so I brought it home with me and decided it needed to be in my scrapbook.  Incorporating things like this are so easy!  Just think of items like cards, postcards, logos, pamphlets, tickets, etc. as another photo on your layout.  It's that easy!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Basic Grey - Konnichiwa Collection; Alphabet Stickers: Basic Grey - Konnichiwa Die Cut Letters and October Afternoon - Mini Market Letters; Embellishments: Basic Grey - Konnichiwa Die Cuts and Build a Flower, Basic Grey - Take Note Journalling Spot, and Pearls; Sketch:Sketches for Scrapbooking ; Tools: Creative Memories Corner Rounder.