We Will Always Have Paris

Layout: JacPeas

Every August my best friend and her hubby fly out from wherever they are living at the time to spend a week with us.  We spend our days eating great food, playing games and sight-seeing.  It is a great way to end the summer.  I snapped these shots last year during their visit.  I love the big picture.  That open-mouthed laugh just sums up my best friend.  She brings joy & laughter to everything.  

The 2009 visit was the first year with their beautiful new baby.  She's expecting another this month (!) and I can't wait to have four little ones running around during next summer's visit.  Too much fun!
 

Layout: Thank Heaven

 
 

Man, I love me my Basic Grey papers...

More layouts coming soon!

Layout: Mama

A couple of weeks ago, I ran away from home to scrapbook with some girlfriends.  I was able to complete seven (I KNOW, SEVEN!) layouts in one weekend.  That's virtually unheard of for me.  Unfortunately, I've only printed a handful of pics since Baby A. was born, so all of her layouts are from August of 2009.  There are some disadvantages of going digital... I never seem to have time to print my pics now.  I need to get better at that.

I love this LO b/c Baby A. no longer says "Mama".  It's "Mommy" now.  Actually, it's "Mommeeeeeeee".  But there's something bittersweet about remembering when she could only say "Mama".   Time flies...
 

Layout: Metamorphosis

 
Oh, how I love a good Fall festival!  I finally got around to printing more pictures from last Fall this week.  I loved these pics of Baby G. getting her face painted.  She was so serious about the whole thing!!

I was really happy with this layout.  To make my own butterfly embellishments, I punched out the butterflies (love that Martha Stewart punch), distressed them with chalk ink, added glitter using Diamond Glaze, and then stacked one on top of another.  I bent the wings up on the top layer to give it some depth.  It doesn't look so great in the scan, but in person it's beautiful (if I do say so myself!).

The scan cut off the top & bottom of the second page.  It is actually framed in the brown patterned paper that is on the first page.

Supplies:  Wild Asparagus patterned papers by My Minds Eye, Wishblade die cut title in Duality font, Martha Stewart butterly punch, Martha Stewart glitter, EK Success Border scalloped punch, ColorBox Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan, Stampin' Up! tag punch, button, Prima flowers & Prima leaves.
 

Layout: Tradition

Once upon a very long time ago, long before Basic Grey was readily available in my studio, I had a mad passion for Anna Griffin.  I bought every sheet of paper she released.  In stacks of 10 or 20.  For a good year, every layout I completed had the signature look of Anna Griffin.  And then the papers were tucked away in the cupboards of my studio & I focused on what was new & trendy.  Hello, My Mind's Eye!  Very, very nice to meet you Cosmo Cricket!

I was looking for the perfect papers to go with these pictures of my beautiful babies in our family christening gown and I stumbled upon these old Anna Griffin papers.  It was like running into an old friend.  They were just perfect!

I machine-stitched vintage lace and hand-sewed buttons onto the layout.  The banners with the names are die cut using Tim Holtz' new "Regal Crest" Sizzix die (rumor has it that you can find them at AC Moore).  The "Tradition" title was cut using a Wishblade.

I can really tell the difference in my photography skills from 2006 to 2009.  What a difference three years of practice makes!

The story behind the gown and our religious traditions (and a picture of my niece in the same gown) are tucked behind the second page for my kids to read as they grow up.  I'm really trying to focus on story telling, but I didn't want to distract from the pictures.

Whew!  One more in the albums!
  

Layout: Ferry Ride

 
I've been holding on to these Making Memories papers forever.  I was thrilled to finally put them to use this weekend!

Papers:  Making Memories
Stickers:  Making Memories
Rub-Ons:  American Crafts
Cording:  Offray
Font:  Tahoma

I still have about 400 photos left to scrap from last August.  I've made peace with the fact that I'm never going to "catch up", but if I can just get some of these memories into albums I've made progress... right?
 

Layout: Baltimore

I love re-living vacations through scrapbooking.  Good times!

Specs:
Patterned Papers - My Minds Eye
Border Punch - Martha Stewart
Font:  Futura Bk
Title:  Cut from my Wishblade (including the crab)
Inspiration:  March 2009 Becky Higgins sketch
 

Layout: 2009 Lucketts

The Lucketts Fair is an annual tradition in our household.  Our best friends, the JacPeas, fly out & join us for the fair (and a week of sight-seeing, game-playing and over-eating).  I can't wait until August rolls around this year.  I'm dreaming of funnel cake tonight!

Specs:
Red gingham paper - Karen Foster Designs
White eyelet paper - Making Memories
Red cardstock - Stampin' Up!
Border punch - Fiskars
Font - Ali's Handwriting by Creating Keepsakes

Layout: Playing In The Ocean

As an alumni member of Big Picture Scrapbooking's Library of Memories class, I get to take this year's session for free.  I'm hoping that it will kick me into gear because I really miss sitting down with paper, ink & photos.  I finally sat down this weekend & worked on some photos from last summer.  Oh, the beach!  How I miss the beach!

Specs: 
Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterned Paper - Christine Adolph by Creative Imaginations
Cardstock Embellishments - Christine Adolph by Creative Imaginations
Sand Dollar Stamp - Club Scrap
Ink - Chalk Inks by Clearsnap
Photo Corner Punch - EK Success
Font - Ali's Handwriting by Creating Keepsakes
Inspiration - PageMaps by Becky Fleck (January 2010)

Let's see if I can keep this momentum going...

Layout: Carefree

I've been trying to find some balance between kids & errands & friends & housework & everything else.  I've declared Saturday nights to be my "creative" time.  A date with myself.  Just me & my collection of bad DVDs (This week's choice was "The Wedding Singer" starring Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore).  This Saturday I was able to crank out this layout.  I think I'm inspired to create even more!

Products:  Basic Grey Urban Prarie patterned paper, Fancy Pants chipboard swirl, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Maya Road chipboard alphabet, McGill tab punch, Tahoma font, Making Memories paints, Autumn Leaves Rhonna Farrer stamps, unknown brads.