I believe...in challenges - two of them!

What do I believe? That seemed like a heavy question to deal with in the summer - a time I associate with light-hearted fun. Still, I love a challenge. When I saw the word "believe" at Use Your Words, I decided to play along. As I started thinking about this layout, I remembered something that I have said to my kids many times - so many times that they now repeat it to me: 

I found a fun photo of my two kids and me and then I found this sketch at Let's Get Sketchy 

And it clicked.

I kept the embellishments simple using chipboard and coordinating ink.

Thanks for the challenges!

Joy - Two layouts for Two different challenges

I love challenge blogs. There. I said it. I follow them. I check them. Once in a while I even create layouts to go with the challenges. I'm often inspired by sketches and product challenges. But many times the inspiration has to ferment. I tuck ideas away for the right day, the right photo, the right layout.

The August 5th challenge at Stuck?! was not like that. I liked the sketch and thought I could work with it, but it was the extra challenge of a quote by Abraham Lincoln that sucked me in. "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." I read the quote and knew that I was going to create a layout for this challenge.

I have already created a layout about the day on the bounce pillow. I've told that story. Still, this photo drew me in. I can see the life in my daughter's face. It seemed perfect with Lincoln's quote.

As I created the layout, the word that was constantly on my mind was joy. Joy is what I can see in her eyes. So I decided to add another quote (this one by Wagner) and use the word "joy" as my title. 

 

I included the Lincoln quote on a journaling tag to cover some distracting images in thebackground of the photo. I used the "m" monogram for my daughter's name.

And last but not least, some joyful embellishments for the page. (These pinwheels are fun and easy!)

The first joy layout, the first challenge.

It was such fun creating a layout about my daughter's joy, when I found this joy-filled photo of my son from the same summer, I was inspired to do a layout with a similar theme.

This one is based on  the August 1 sketch at Let's Get Sketchy:

The background strips caught my attention immediately. (Especially since I had been cleaning off my desk and discovered many long and narrow scraps of paper.) I used blue and green paper to bring out the colors in the photo rather than compete with it since I was using lots of different pattern papers.

I chose the same title, but for this one I paraphrased the Wagner quote as my journaling to include some of the things that my son finds joyful.

I decided to include a monogram as I had on the first layout (even from the same set of Thickers) and stamped onto chipboard stars for a bit more whimsy.

Creating two layouts that were thematically connected was a new challenge for me. I'm glad I've captured the joy of both of my kiddos in the summer of 2011. Thanks for the challenges, Stuck?! and Let's Get Sketchy! These two layouts were a joy to create!

On the Porch at Home

Sometimes I look through an idea book and see the products - the papers, stamps, tools etc. Other times, I see the projects. That is the reason that I have CTMH idea books going back many years. This layout was inspired by the project on page 19 of the Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book.

 

I loved the photo block balanced by the grid design with pattern paper and embellishments. I used an old special paper pack - Dotty for You.

This layout let me showcase many of the fun patterns and the bright colors were perfect for the sunny summer theme of my layout. I kept the embellishments simple - washi tape and some hearts cut from the pattern papers - because there was so much going on with the patterns.  Foam squares gave a bit of dimension and texture.

 

I used the tag for both title and journaling - again, because there was so much going on elsewhere on the page. It did occur to me when I had the page all laid out that I had included bright white cardstock and an off white tag, but I decided I liked the tag enough to include it anyway. 

That is how the an idea book inspired me. What is inspiring you lately?

More fun with Laughing Lola

I love playing with new papers, and Laughing Lola is one of my favorites! I created a blank one page layout as a prize for my recent new catalog open house. This layout is based on one page of a two page design featured in Make it From Your Heart Volume 2.

Creating a blank layout poses different challenges to me. I enjoy trying to keep it interesting and fun without getting too specific or themed. I find working with photo spots instead of actual photos can be a relief. I always wonder if there will be enough room for journaling, but I do have some hidden journaling tricks that I can use. 

I used to be nervous about  adding embellishments to blank layouts, but when I use a visual triangle I am happy with the results.

For this layout I decided to go with bling. I used clear sparkle flourishes, clear sparkles, floral accents, and  teal jewels. The floral accents and teal jewels are featured in the wearable art section the new CTMH idea book, but they also work very well on layouts and cards. They are self adhesive and can give any project a bit of dimension and sparkle.


I hope the lucky lady who one this layout will be laughing, too!

Check it out!

Look who was featured from the Scrapping Everyday Miracles July challenge!

Thanks, ladies! You can read more about my page in the original post. Why don't you play along for August? 

Paper Trail is Laughing with Lola!

Welcome to the Paper Trail blog hop! It is August so we are sharing creations from the new Fall/Winter 2013 Idea Book! If you're here from Amy's blog, you're on the right track. If this is your first stop, I do hope you'll continue on through our loop to see all of the inspiring projects.

This month we're featuring the  Laughing Lola paper pack. The rich colors in this pack are perfect for fall, Halloween or, if you have a kids like mine who love purple, just about any day! I used Pattern 8 from the new Make it From Your Heart Volume 2  as the basis for my layout.

I was thrilled to get the new Make it from Your Heart because love using patterns to build the base of layout and then modifying to fit the specific situation. I chose a layout that would feature the purple pattern of this paper since it was the focal color for my daughter's birthday party and then modified the layout design to fit my photos (more on the left page, fewer on the right).

Here is a closer look at the left page.

I used the featured color Gypsy for most of the stamping and accented with Black and Bamboo (not in the suggested colors, but my current favorite neutral!)










 And a closer look at the right page.

Because I used different sized photos than the pattern called for, I played some with areas of embellishment. I used a visual triangle as my guiding principle and made an effort to include similar elements in each cluster.



 




In addition to the Cocktail Alphabet for the title, I used three different stamp sets for this layout. The flourishes are from an old favorite - Love Life.

I did some careful masking to include only the portions of the flourishes I wanted (and only on the papers I wanted.)
 The cupcake is from A Chocolate Affair - the August Stamp of the Month. If you have a sweet tooth, this is the stamp set for you!

 The round embellishments and the ombre text on the right hand page were created using Perfect Fit - Birthday. Seven of the stamps in this themed set are sized to fit perfectly on 1 1/4" circles. I simply cut circles in each color using my Cricut and the Art Philosophy cartridge and I had perfect canvases to create my own layered embellishments!

 

 Celebrating with my girl was fun and documenting it with Lola was a blast!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you'll check back next week to see some more things I've created using papers and products from the new catalog!

Now, hop on over to Karen's blog, Inky Fingers. I'm sure you'll love what she created!