Soak up the Sun - a musical challenge

I love music. I often listen - and sing along - while I create, so it seems only natural that sometimes I create layouts inspired by songs. This particular one was inspired by Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up The Sun".

left page

right page

The bright, sunny colors of the Dream Pop paper were the perfect with the photos and the title - Sheryl’s title - soak up the sun. 

I stamped the title using two different sizes of letters from the Trinity alphabet set. This is my current favorite alphabet because the three sizes make it so flexible. I don't usually use many themed embellishments, but the wooden sun burst was just the right touch. The round sun was also just the right balance to other very linear elements on the page. I decided to accent with buttons to add a few more round elements. 

This is the park nearest our house. We go there regularly. Every summer. I have already created other pages from this year (and other years) that told the story about going to the park. This time I decided to tell a slightly different story by listing the necessities of the trip. I borrowed (and modified) a line from the song- “we’ve got our 45 on” - to include it in my list-style journaling.

*Tip - If you have multiple sets of photos of very similar events, create a layout that tells a different part of the story.

*Tip - Create a visual triangle with similar embellishments. I used the washi tape and buttons in three different places.


What about the challenge, you ask? Create your own layout inspired by "Soak up the Sun"! You might choose to focus on the title, the lyrics, a memory of the song - whatever inspires you! Why not play along? Link to your layout in a comment on this post sometime this month. I'd love to see how this song inspires you. Also, this is the challenge I created for all of my friends who attend  Crop N Time events. If you're around here, why not join us on September 21?

Dreaming of Dream Pop - Part 2

I'm continuing my attempts to share some of what I've created lately with a few more Dream Pop creations.

First Visit
The colors in this pack seemed perfect with a sunburst. They also looked nice with the colors of my daughter's shirt and the dentists' chair!

I added a few punched and cut out embellishments to this one. Additionally, I included baker's twine and Durables Round Studs.

The real story, however, happened after I took these photographs. My daughter say the layout displayed in our family room and told me she didn't want anyone to see it. I was surprised because I thought the photos were cute and my journaling told how well she had done on her first dentist visit. When I probed a bit more, she explained that she didn't want everyone to know what she was feeling at the time. It was too good to be true - a memory keepers' dream. After I explained that people couldn't tell what she was feeling from the photos, I encouraged her to write it out. She created a tag for her side of the story and we hid the journaling on the page.



Tea Time
I pulled in some plain light blue cardstock to complement the colors in the kit this time. I couldn't believe how perfectly each color matched my daughter's tea set!

Two-page layouts are tricky to photograph, so here is a closer shot of each page:

Again on this layout I used washi tape to embellish. I think the designs with the printed "tape" make it the perfect choice for embellishment.

Pearls also seemed an appropriate choice for a layout about afternoon tea (as long as you don't look at the attire of the kids in the photos, that is.)


I am having a lot of fun playing with the papers in this pack. In case you haven't been counting, I've created 6 pages so far (and only added two sheets of cardstock.) I have created a few cards as well as two pages that are in progress on my desk right now - and there is still paper in the pack - full sheets of paper!

Remember, the Dream Pop special paper pack is only available through May (as supplies last). The pack which includes 12 cardstock sheets and 12 B&T duos can be yours for just $10 with a $35 order. Let me know if you want to get your hands on these fun colors!

Dreaming of Dream Pop - Part 1

I've been busy creating with CTMH's May special paper pack - Dream Pop. I love the bright colors, the fun patterns, the trendy banners and pennants. I've been creating much more than I've been blogging, so I plan to use this last week in May to catch up a bit by sharing many of my Dream Pop creations.

This first layout is simple and really focuses on the details of the paper.

In addition to my photos, I added a mat, a journaling spot, Slate polka dot washi tape and a few flowers.

The yellow "tape", the multicolored geometric pattern and the "Beautiful" pennant are all printed on the paper! The page came together quickly and the simple paper helped me to keep the attention where I wanted it - on my daughter's photo!

I used the details on the paper for my second layout as well.  This time I chose to accentuate two features - the left hand banner and the flower cluster in the bottom right corner.

Here are some details:


I fussy cut some of the flowers from the second sheet of the matching paper. I used foam adhesive to add some dimension and then accented them with Liquid Glass. I added a bit of washi tape to make the corner feel more finished.

I added more paper strips, some washi tape and a few fussy cut flowers to the left had banner. I also included my title and journaling directly on the paper.

















The first colors I noticed in this pack were the Raspberry, Strawberry and Tangerine.  I liked those colors, but I wanted to stretch so that I could focus on Banana, Grey and Mint as well.

I loved the glossy resist pattern on the cardstock. I liked the tone on tone effect of the glossy for the background of my page. I decided to play with the glossy resist a bit around the edges. I used a sponge and applied the ink directly to the paper. When the whole border was inked, I used a tissue to wipe the excess ink off of the resist pattern.

I was inspired by the May Stamp of the Month to add a few pinwheels as accents. Rather than stamping them, I cut them out so that I could show off more of the patterns.

The title and journaling block is from another sheet in the pack.

Although I did use the Banana, Grey and Mint that I set out to use, I also used a quite bit of the other colors. They work well together, so I'll go with it!










Remember, the Dream Pop special paper pack is only available through May (as supplies last). The pack which includes 12 cardstock sheets and 12 B&T duos can be yours for just $10 with a $35 order. Let me know if you want to get your hands on these fun colors!