Door County Layout

This layout was a lot of fun to make to showcase highlights of our two-night stay in Door County, Wisconsin.  With so many photos, I find that a grid-style layout works well.

I love how well the Country Woods stamp set and dies coordinate so nicely with the Lake Life collection!  I used the negative of the Lake Life cattails die cut and a blending brush with Acorn ink to get the cattails and grass on the title.  I blended a little Seabrook ink to soften the stark white and then stamped my title with Pine ink.  Again, I love the die cut additions for interest and texture.

{Layout 38/52}

Chicago Layout

Earlier this summer, my husband and I took off to visit my cousin in Wisconsin and to drive around Lake Michigan.  (See the first layout of our adventure HERE.)  Beth & I spent our first full day together touring Chicago.

I had so much fun making this layout with the SU!/CTMH Lake Life collection.  I decided to add accents of silver to match The Bean and used a retired Cricut collection to create the skyline out of Pine and silver cardstock.

We had a great day, and I'm so glad I've already made this page to remember our fun time together in Chicago!

{Layout 36/52}

Away We Go! Layout

My husband and I had the opportunity to go to Wisconsin to see my cousin and to travel around Lake Michigan this summer, so I am busy scrapbooking our adventures!  I am using the CTMH Lake Life collection, available to former CTMH customers through Stampin' Up!

This first layout uses a sketch from the final Make It From Your Heart sketchbook.  I added the states we traveled through on the left page with a retired stamp set.  I've also covered up most of the journaling and photos because we had a bit of an incident the first night of our vacation.  Everything is fine!  I didn't want to publicly share all the details, but I definitely wanted the story and photos in our scrapbook.

Don't be afraid to document the "bumps in the road" of your life in your scrapbooks!  You get to choose who views what you share.  (You can also write journaling to be pulled out of pockets or behind the pages so that the casual viewer doesn't read all the nitty gritty details.)

{Layout 35/52}

Adventures in Food Layout

Here is my final Lisbon layout which again uses the retired CTMH Let's Go Anywhere collection and die cuts.  Don't feel like you have to scrapbook your memories in the order that they happened!  It made more sense to me to combine some of our food experiences on one layout rather than when they actually happened.  YOU get to tell YOUR story! 

Also, please include your handwriting in your scrapbooks (at least occasionally), even if you hate it.  Your family will treasure your handwritten recollections.  (I do type and print longer stories but usually just jot out my thoughts for my layouts.  Life is short!)

{Layout 32/52}

The Monument to the Discoveries and Jéronimos Monastery Layout

For this layout, I continued to add Stampin' Up!'s Take to the Sky paper to the retired Close To My Heart Let's Go Anywhere suite.  I also used CTMH's two-tone cardstock with white core for the technique.

Again, I was able to add more photos with the addition of a pocket page between the two main pages.

Do you like how I highlighted Portugal on the map with the arrows?  A subtle but fun addition to the layout/story!

{Layout 31/52}

Lisbon Churches

Because I had so many pictures, I used a free photo collage app to add two photos to one 4"x6" frame to be able to print multiple 3"x4" photos easily.

I continue to use the Let's Go Anywhere collection from Close To My Heart, but this time I added some of Stampin' Up!'s Take to the Sky paper.  I love how well products from both companies are working together!

If you look carefully, you can see that I used a page protector from my stash to add extra 3"x4" photos/mats between the two pages.  I really hope that SU! will be picking up some of these products!

{Layout 30/52}

Lisbon Layout #1

It was so fun to add more color to the Let’s Go Anywhere kit! I added Honey Butter & Grape to help me create a rainbow because those tones worked well with the original kit colors and help complement the pinks and purples in my photos.

Tearing the cardstock to expose its white core and using both sides (dark and light) add a lot of interest.

{Layout 29/52}

I’d Go Anywhere with You Card

Here’s a fun corner fold card using the let’s go anywhere collection! I used a combination of both the card and scrapbooking stamp sets with coordinating thin cuts.

I hope you’ll continue to follow me as I transition from Close To My Heart as they close their doors to Stampin’ Up!  I’m really excited about their commitment to expanding scrapbooking and the pieces of CTMH that they are bringing into their line of products.

Let’s Go Anywhere Aqueduct Layout

Here is my final layout of our stay in Evora.   Thanks for letting me share this part of our trip with you!  Seeing the Roman aqueduct and following it into town (as it seemed to get lower and lower) was a really neat experience.  I continue to marvel at how old structures in Europe can be and how young our country is by comparison.

Once again, I let my photos drive my design.  I was really happy to be able to add the picture of the wall with the pretty bougainvillea onto this page (even though it was across from the Cathedral).  

Let your pictures guide your design and you tell your stories!  As always, please let me know if I can assist you in any way.

{Layout 24/52}

Let’s Go Anywhere Church & Chapel Layouts

Hopefully you aren't sick of my travel layouts yet!  I've only got a few left to share of our time in quaint Evora.  We visited the Church of St. Francis. 

We actually visited the Chapel of the Bones first, but I’m adding this layout second because I like the flow better.  I really love how the neutrals work with my photos, so I kept the color pop of the passports to a minimum.  

Both of these layouts are a little plain, but I think it's important to highlight the photos, especially of sacred places and spaces.

{Layouts 22 & 23/52}

Let's Go Anywhere Workshop Layout 3: Évora

Don’t worry if your photos need to be different sizes than the suggested photos in a sketch or kit. I used five 4 x 4 photos instead of the recommended 3 x 3, and I think my layout is lovely.

Don’t forget my team’s motto, “ A mistake is an opportunity to embellish!” Don’t look too closely to find my stamping mistakes!  Your layouts don't have to be perfect to be worthy!

{Layout 21/52; halfway to my yearly goal!}

Let’s Go Anywhere: Évora Cathedral Layouts

Because I took and printed way too many photos, I narrowed them down to create three layouts of the beautiful cathedral. These all use the same paper suite, Let's Go Anywhere, and my own layout designs.  I used a retired set of thin cut arrows to help add some embellishments that coordinate throughout the layouts.   (I am planning to go back and add a few embellishments now that I found the coordinating die cuts in my stash.)

To unify these pages together, I used the light side of Shortbread card stock as my page bases.

I use more of the green city map print to highlight the cloister  garden.

For the interior photos, I decided to stencil a brick pattern with Toffee and Espresso ink to help mimic the inside of the cathedral.

The heart is from the Let’s Go Anywhere cardmaking stamp set and coordinating thin cuts.  (When I last checked, these are still available.)

{Layout 18-20/52}

Let's Go Anywhere Workshop Layout 2: Évora

After we visited the temple, we stumbled upon the gorgeous public library.

I love how the busy patterned paper complements the whimsy of the children’s section of the library.

This layout is the second featured in the now unavailable Let’s Go Anywhere scrapbooking workshop kit.  (Spoiler! Stampin' Up will start carrying some of our workshop kits in the near future!)

{Layout 17/52}

Let’s Go Anywhere Workshop Layout 1: Évora

When I saw the Let’s Go Anywhere collection, I knew I wanted at least one of almost everything because it’s perfect for my photos from my trip to Portugal a few years ago that haven’t yet been scrapbooked. (Hopefully you won’t get tired of this collection!)

Unfortunately, the scrapbooking workshop is no longer available, but I wanted to share my layouts with you anyway, because (in my opinion) they are so beautiful.  Almost everything else is still available, so be sure to check out this collection before the end of the month.

I used my alphabet Thin Cuts to add the towns name. I also added some extra photos with a 3 x 4 flip-flap that I had in my stash.  (I am super excited to announce that Stampin' Up! will be starting to carry flip-flaps at some point in the future!)

The arrows on the bottom right are pointing to my dad! That gives a lot of perspective on the size of the temple.

{Layout 16/52}

Cozy Up Scrapbook Layouts

Even though the July-August catalog has retired, you can still find the Cozy Up and Cape Cod collections on my website while supplies last.  I used the Cozy Up collection, including the Cozy Up scrapbooking stamp set and Thin Cuts, to create three layouts about a trip we took to the Biltmore Estate.

I started with a sketch from the Gnomes for Autumn scrapbooking workshop but using Cozy Up instead.  On this close up of the left page, ignore the glare on the photos thanks to the flip flaps (my favorite way to add more pictures to my layouts).

Now here are the first two flip flaps opened up to reveal more photos and my journaling.  (Ignore the white strips that will be removed to adhere them to my page protector when I put the layout in my 2018 album.)

I used three 4x6 flip flaps (with two different orientations) to add five more photos and journaling to this page.

The right page isn't interactive.

My second layout is about the same trip but with a focus on cousins playing a fun game together.

The third layout is the final one from this trip when the exhibit was beautifully lit at night.

Be sure to grab the Cozy Up collection, flip flaps, new products, and more right HERE!

Cosette Scrapbooking Workshop: New Orleans

When I bought the Cosette Scrapbooking Workshop, papers, etc., I planned to use them with our photos from our trip to Paris, but that was a bigger undertaking than I was ready for.  Instead, I decided that they would be a good fit for our trip to New Orleans (Spring Break 2018).

My first layout will use 4"x6" flip flaps on the right page to add more photos of the beautiful cathedral and our visit to Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

After I started layout 2, I realized that I would like to add a photo of the Bourbon St. sign that I took but hadn't yet printed, so I just jotted a note on one of the included photo place holders, and I will add that photo when I get it printed.  (I also had a lot of fun journaling our dining experiences on this page on the various tags.)

Use your favorite photo collage app to make 3 x 4 photos!  Also, don’t be afraid to use those photo placeholders in the kit as photo mats. Just cut your pictures a quarter inch shorter on two adjacent sides.

I have one more layout to make of this trip of our stop to tour the USS Alabama and our visit to the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery.  Our scrapbooking workshops are such a fun way to create three related (or unrelated) gorgeous layouts!

Alcabaza de Málaga Layout

This layout is so striking because it uses black base pages to make the photos pop!  I also love the addition of white gel pen doodling details.  (This layout could also be recreated just with cardstock in celebration of this month's Cardstock Carnival special.)

The left page features three 4x4 photos (I like to order mine through Persnickety Prints) and paper tearing.

The scalloped border of the photo mat is a pretty feature. 

Flip flaps are probably my favorite way to add extra photos to my layouts, plus they make them extra fun by being interactive.

One tiny but fun detail is that I also added little dots of white gel pen in my embellishment clusters.  These pens are fabulous!

Change of Plans Layout

This last week has been my spring break, and I spent a lot of it on various cleaning projects around the house and scrapbooking my trip to Europe last year.  This simple layout features a lot of journaling- I had such a story to tell that I decided to type it then print it onto White Daisy cardstock.

I used Papaya and Sapphire cardstock and pieces of the Are We There Yet? recently retired paper suite.  I also stamped my title with a favorite retired alphabet stamp set.

Don't be afraid to mix a variety of old and new; and stamped, printed, and handwritten journaling.  There's no "right" way to preserve your stories, photos, and memories!  But please be sure to preserve them!  Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Let's Go: Sevilla Cathedral Layout Left Page (Post 2 of 3)

 Here is the left page in detail:

Fortunately, I had a pack of 4 x 4 flip-flaps, so I was able to add even more photos in the original layout called for.

And a few more…

The striped paper gave me perfect journaling lines to use! 

Come back tomorrow for the right and final page post.  How many photos do you think I was able to add?

Let's Go: Sevilla Cathedral Layout Preview (Post 1 of 3)

This layout is my absolute favorite so far from the February album retreat!  There is so much to share that I’m going to spread it out over three posts. Can you guess how many photos I was able to squeeze onto this layout?  Be sure to count carefully!  Leave your guesses in the comments!

The color scheme starts with a base of Charcoal cardstock (light side).  Each of the large squares measures 5".  You can see two light Peach, two light Honey Butter, two light Seabrook, and two Glacier (on the true/dark side), plus a pop of Papaya cardstock.  

The embellishments were from the February album retreat stamp set, some exclusive white acrylic shapes, and the lovely rainbow acrylic hearts collection.

So, what's your guess for how many photos are on this layout?