Birthday Cards

Hello! I have some cards to share with you today and they are all for birthdays! For my first card, I used the card sketch from Stick It Down:

I was also inspired by the color from this Card Concept inspiration:

I found cardstock to match the first three colors and cut strips of it and placed those on my card front. Then I stamped the little birthday items in the pink and fussy cut them. I added them to the card with foam tape for dimension. I finished off the card with some coordinating sequins.

This next card I made during Justin Adkins's class during SBC Fest last month.

I didn't buy the kit for his class, so I used what I had. I really love how this card turned out!

When we made the background for that card, we made multiple backgrounds. I pulled one of those out this week to make this card for my niece. The inking on the background was done with Distress Oxide inks, so I took a background stamp and sprayed it with water and stamped on the background. You can see the subtle circle pattern on the background that adds some fun and interest. I used my Cricut to cut the sentiment. I used the centers of the stars in the sentiment cut, along with some paper sequins to embellish the card. 

My final card is for my sister-in-law. I used a background mask set. I love this set, it is such a fun pattern! I used three ink colors and Versamark and silver embossing powder for the fourth mask. I cut this sentiment with my Cricut as well. The background was so busy, that I decided to do an offset layer from vellum to make it stand out a bit more. I finished off this card with a thin strip of foil paper.

 

Soccer Layouts

Hello! I have two soccer layouts to share today. We missed the day that the kids had team photos this year, so I just took a photo of the kids and my husband (who helped coach their teams) together and then took individual photos of the kids. 

First up is my oldest daughter. I started with this sketch from Scrap a Sketch: 

I started with some splatters of grey ink. Then I cut some patterned papers into banners in colors that matched the photos. I found the title cut in Cricut Design Space. To embellish the page, I used some paper sequins, washi tape, and an enamel flair.

For my other daughter's page, I pulled out a couple of sheets of patterned paper and made two large blocks behind my photos. I once again found the title on Cricut Design Space, as well as the silhouette. I embellished the page with some fussy cut soccer balls, washi tape, an enamel flair, and green gems. 

Finally, we have my son's page. I used this Page Maps sketch for his:

 I rotated the sketch 90 degreesto make it work with my photos. This was a pretty quick layout to make- patterned papers, photos, sticker letters and die cut word for title and die cuts and homemade enamel dots for embellishment.

Dance Layouts- Lasting Memories Guest Designer

Hello! I'm back with my layout for this week's challenge at Lasting Memories: THIS: Use alphabet stickers for your title OR THAT: Create your own title using die-cuts or stamps.

I chose THAT and used my Cricut to die cut my title. I also used my Cricut to cut the backgroud. I used scraps of gold glitter cardstock to back some of the holes in the background. The leaves are a stamp and matching die. The flowers are a die.

 I just finished another dance layout, so I figured I would include it in this post as well. I used this month's single page sketch from Stick It Down:

The brick wall in the sketch went well with the photos I was going to use, so I kept that. I cut a piece of kraft card stock and ran it through a brick embossing folder. I then took a couple of ink pads and rubbed them over the texture to add depth. I used my Cricut for the background circle cut and the title. To add further texture to the layout, I used some old mulberry paper to mat my photos. I really like all the texture on this layout!

A Week in Illinois- Lasting Memories Guest Designer

Hello! I'm here to share exciting news today! I am guest designing for Lasting Memories for the month of April! This month's challenge theme is "This or That." This week's challenge is THIS: Use a sketch OR THAT: Scraplift one of the Design Team's layouts. I decided to use this sketch from the March PageMaps:

I started with two different colored sheets of cardstock and went to work finding patterned papers that went with my photos. I adjusted the photo spots a bit from the sketch to work with the photos I was working with. I also moved the journaling area because my photo on the bottom right was bigger than the one in the sketch. I used my Cricut to cut the title, large blue train, the tracks and the railroad crossing sign. I also used some stickers, die cuts, and dimensional embellishments from various collections to embellish the page. To bring the dark blue to the right hand page, I used a couple of pieces of blue washi tape in the embellishment clusters.

I hope you play along with this challenge and the rest of the challenges throughout the month!
 

Scrapbooking Retreat- First Communion

Hello! I have another layout to share from my scrapbooking retreat last month. This one had lots of photos, I so had to figure out a design to include them all. I love a grid when I have lots of photo that are the same size and orientation, so that is what I did on the right side of my layout. I clustered the other photos on the left hand page. I brought a block of patterned paper across both pages to tie the pages together. I also punched a cardstock border to run across both pages. The title was cut on the Cricut and adhered with foam tape for a bit of dimension. To embellish the page, I stamped a couple of scrolls, and used stickers, washi tape, and gold paper sequins. 

 

Scrapbooking Retreat- It's Just a Phase

I have another layout to share today from my scrapbook retreat last month. I lifted the design from this layout on the Paper Issues page:

At the retreat, I received a celestial paper pack as a prize. The browns, oranges, and blues went so well with these photos of my son sleeping in random places, I had to use it! I started with a blue patterned paper that faded from dark at the bottom to light at the top. I tore a couple of strips of the brown paper and attached them at the top and the bottom of the layout. I then tore both sides of the star paper that I ran across the center of the page. I put a mat behind my photo collage at an angle. I added an outline to the mat for some interest. The paper pack came with some die cuts, which I used to embellish the page. I loved the "It's just a phase..." phrase die cut and decided to use that as my title since it fit the subject. I added a few gold foil stars to finish off the page.

 

Water Park Layouts

Hello, today I have a couple of water park vacation layouts to share. My first layout was based on this PageMaps sketch:

I found some fun patterned papers and got to work laying them out. I used several Cricut cuts to embellish the page- the word "Splash," the water gun, and the tube and splash. The rest of the embellishments are stickers, puffy stickers, and a chipboard piece.

My second layout started with this sketch from Sketches In Thyme:

I took this single page sketch and stretched it across two pages by keeping the line of banners going. I used my Cricut for this layout as well, for the words "Water Park" and for the giant beach ball. I used a white gel pen and a letter template for "MEA" and hand wrote "at the" to finish off the title. I embellished the page with buttons, a couple of stickers, and some canvas flair.