Wild Rumpus and Let Them Eat Cake...

Two layouts from Ben's birthday a long time ago. The first one is from CSI's Case 15:

Here's my take on it:

It was a wild day with a bunch of 3/4 year olds at Planet Kids. Lots of fun.

The second layout from the party is from their time in the "party room". It's for the challenge at Artastic to scrap something food related with this art prompt:

I've got tables and chairs (and a bunch of kids) and some orange and blue in my layout, along with the pizza and cake. And the sweet smile of my Ben as he's presented with his birthday cake. Here's my layout:

I have so much fun playing along with these challenge sites! They inspire me to get some of these old photos scrapped!

Got Milk?

My Ben Baby - when he really was LOL.

Based on a sketch from Pretty Little Studio.

Bookends

This layout was done for the CSI Case File 14 and the PLS Sketch Challenge #40.

The colors are much more subtle that I normally use -- I had a hard time finding some paper to work. The striped pp on top is from an RAK from Erika at Club CK. The banner pp, the journal spot, innocence and the paper behind the song lyrics are downloads from CSI (love their downloads), so they helped a GREAT deal to get this done.

The sketch from PLS was perfect for these three photos -- fairly random shots. Don't remember if they're all from the same event (I think they are), but definitely from same time period. Those years of going places with Grandma and Scott -- not always quite sure which needed me more, grateful for a fairly easy toddler/preschooler who was content to ride on Grandma's lap while I pushed the wheel chair. It was a special relationship between them.

My journaling, which was prompted by CSI reads:

They were my bookends -- the generation before and after me. Days of innocence when I believed my mom would always be there and I could always "fix" my son's hurts.

The lyrics to the song, Bookends, by Paul Simon: (a song I've always loved, since I was a teen, and which popped into my head as I read the journal prompts "time, innoncence")

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was

A time of innocence, a time of confidences

Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph

Preserve your memories, they're all that's you

Part of why I scrapbook is because of that last line --

So grateful to CSI for the prompt that took these obscure, random, not-really-great photos and turned them into a meaningful page. And to PLS for the sketch that brought it together.

Birthday at Sunday School

These photos were taken by my mom, I think. I miss Miss Sharon (a mentor to me as well as Scott's Sunday School teacher). I don't recognize many of the kids -- besides Scott -- but think that's Ryan on my lap and Kayla with the braids.

What's Forever For?

I had these photos of our family through the years that I wanted to scrap and Screen2Scrap's April challenge gave me the opportunity. The inspiration this month is the movie poster from Ever After -- and the layout needs some bling (the glitter paper), a fairytale title (I started thinking about "ever after" and the song popped into my head, which lead to my journaling tweak), and journaling about my "Cinderella Story". My journaling talks about how David and I met and how quickly we got engaged and married. And quotes a song from the year we were married -- 30 years ago this August. So many people we know (and knew back when) have divorced, remarried, or lost spouses -- hardly anyone we know has been married as long as we have. And yes, in the "ever after", it's not all sweetness and light, we've had rough spots. But we've made it through them. And our "ever after" story includes the two boys -- we wouldn't be complete without them.

Watercolors

Love this photo of Scott and Lexi working hard on their paintings. Super easy/simple layout, but love the pop of red with it. From the inspiration at Pretty Little Studio.

Jeanette Victoria

I used the sketch from Let's Get Sketchy. I also used the colors (red, brown, white) from the March color challenge at Club CK, but didn't get it done in time. I added lots of pink, too.

This is my grandparents with their first child, my aunt, circa 1928 (maybe early '29).

The background and pp is K and Co. The mat is new textured cardstock from Recollections -- I'm loving the colors and feel of it.

Jackie's Birthday -- altered book/album

Here are some shots of the altered book/album I made for my cousin's daughter's birthday:

This is one of my favorite pages -- pics of Jackie and Scott at the family dinner after the birthday party at the pet store. Ben wasn't there, so these two were the only "kids" -- 21 and 7. They had fun together and got silly with the camera -- loved watching them interact.

This is the cover of the book/album

Cousins -- CSI #11

This is a layout of two old photos of my cousins -- Debbie and Steve. The tag has journaling on the back about how they were two of my first friends and how and what I loved to play with each of them. So many of my childhood memories are wrapped up with them.

I used CSI Case No. 12's color scheme and inspiration:

I used a kite, string, and pp with a vintage image and my journaling is about family ties and childhood memories.

White Christmas

This is for the "From Screen to Scrap" March challenge -- based on this movie poster:

I used white letters and the white monochromatic with a touch of blue color scheme, but I used 2 photos instead of 1. So I won't get all the points possible.

Here's my take on it:

I used white paint on white cardstock to give some texture. It's slightly pearlized, although you can barely tell in the photo. Then I tore the edge of one of the tissue/glitter papers I made a while back. I added ribbon from Debi Clark (she sent an RAK for last month's S2S) and a glittery snowflake. I used a CK outline font for the title. Nice and easy, but I think it came out looking kind of cool -- different. In sunny So Cal, this is as close to a white Christmas as I'll get :-)

Christmas Story

I was inspired by the colors of this wreath from Pretty Little Studio's Inspiration Challenge #30:

I used the non-traditional colors (including the background) for this non-traditional Christmas layout from our Christmas Day trip to Santa Monica:

Birthday Card

I needed a birthday card for my mil, so I used a technique I found on Pinterest (the scrap stripes) and made this spring card (CK Challenge) with the Pretty Little Studio color palette. Hope she likes it!

The Name Game

This layout is about how the boys got their names. It's based on the weekly challenge at Club CK (create a layout about names) and a sketch at Pretty Little Studio. I'll add newborn pics of the boys once I dig them out.

Here's my layout:

The right page comes from this sketch at PLS:

1st Grade Friends

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Pictures of my son and one of his classmates from first grade. Semi-private journaling on back talks about how the relationship between the two of them -- we carpooled and they were so funny together. Much more like siblings than boyfriend/girlfriend, that's for sure. They were both only children who were suddenly going to have baby brothers, both intelligent and social, both with parents who talked to them and read to them and had varied experiences as young children. I loved the give and take of the relationship and the easy friendship they had. And they were so cute together LOL.

I took my color palette from CSI Case # 8 --

And I used the friendship theme for Erika's Issue Challenge over at Club CK.

Giveaway -- holy moly

A friend is re-doing her scrap room and giving away a TON of stuff! Check it out here.

Such a sweet thing to do!

VAAS Grand Opening

This layout is for the February challenge at From Screen to Scrap -- so happy I found this site! The inspiration was the movie poster from Valentine's Day. And this is my contribution:

My YDS is attending a high school that just opened this year -- and these photos are from the official Grand Opening community celebration they had. I'm working on a companion page to finish off the photos I have from the event and give a little more journaling.

I thought -- We'd always be like this -- Load Day 7

This layout was kind of sad for me. The journaling on the back of the tag is fairly private and talks about some of the people and what's going on in their lives. The couple getting married (I was maid of honor) is now separated, the bride's little sister (the jr. bridesmaid) died of cancer several years ago, another couple in the picture (groom's family) is divorced. And I haven't seen my friend in years -- we just drifted apart after we were married and we moved away.

I used a sketch from Let's Scrap and the prompt from Load Day 7 (I'm not caught up and not getting them done and posted in order -- but oh, well -- I figure if I end up with 29 by the end of the month, I'm good :-)

Death by Chocolate Cake -- CSI 5

I'm late with this one, but wanted to show it any way. I used the sketch from a new site, Let's Get Sketchy with the CSI color, embellishment, and journaling inspiration.

My evidence is the punched circles that I used to form a border and the photo corners. My journaling is like an advertisement (The bottom line on green velum says "Available only at Rick's Dessert Diner...until the Crime Scene Crew gets here...". This was a wonderful piece of cake that my DH and DSs brought home for me when they'd made a trip to Sacramento and stopped in at Rick's Dessert Diner. And it really is called "Death by Chocolate Cake". Too rich to eat all in one setting, but what a way to go :-D

Just Beachy -- Load Day 12

The left side is a photo of my grandparents circa 1920 -- I believe from before they were married, possibly at Newport Beach. The right side is my DH and YDS, Christmas day, 2011 at Santa Monica.

I used Graphic 45 paper for the background on the left and the two "pin ups" on the right. K & Co "Sea Glass" on the right background. The colors were similar enough, but gave different feels for time periods. I added the more modern umbrella on the left and the older "photos" on the right to embellish each photo(s) with trappings of the other time period.

Updated "Ladyofthelake" -- with photos

Finally got the printer cart for the printer and got the pics printed off to finish this layout. I love the art work of these pics.

Giveaway -- lots of great prizes

Check out this blog for a big giveaway. The author wrote a book about a scrapbook and is celebrating by giving away lots of scrappy goodies! Good luck!

Home -- Load 9

Coming off a LOAD at "Let's Scrap" in January, I went right into Lain's LOAD for February. I'm a bit behind and haven't done them completely in order, but this is for Day 9. I used the sketch at "Pretty Little Studio" for inspiration.

These are photos from our Christmas Day trip to Santa Monica. The journaling talks about how much I missed being near the ocean while we were up north and how moving back down to So Cal, being near the beach just feels like Home.

Taking some of Erika's visual hierarchy concepts -- my journaling begins with (Title) and ends with the central concept -- Home. The photos were the primary focus for me -- and they stand on their own. I kept the embellishment to the barest minimum to emphasize the beauty.

Love this line of paper from K & Co -- Sea Glass. Have used it for several "beachy" layouts.

I'm feeling a trip to the beach coming on ---- gotta love this great spring weather we're having here in sunny So Cal :-) even if it is February. While others are still building snowmen, I'm turning my a/c on.

Chip City -- My TV debut

These are photos from "my" episode of How I Met Your Mother. We pulled them from the online videos and they're not the best, but they're all I have :-)

I used a sketch from Let's Scrap -- and I love how it worked for these photos.

I'll also be submitting it to Erika's Challenge at Club CK to make the title pop by using visual hierarchy techniques (color and size -- it does matter). And also to FD for their clusteirng challenge.

Bathing Beauty

This is another CSI case -- #4 -- and the last of the Alice challenges. Here's the inspiration:

And here is mine:

It's a photo of my grandmother at the shore on Long Island (where she grew up).

My evidence: stripes on the bottom border and the rhinestone in the center of the flower (hard to see). My journaling -- my reflections on this photo and how there are aspects of my grandmother I didn't know or realize as I was growing up. And perhaps my love of the ocean is in my genes -- and goes all the way back to Long Island.

The photo above shows the colors better, but the photo below shows off the photo better.

This is also for Erica's Issue Challenge (I snuck some purple in there -- but I do love it). And also for Day 2 of the LOAD class (scrap a favorite photo).

A Thing of Beauty -- CSI 3

A couple photos from a trip to the Getty Museum and a quote from John Keats and inspiration from CSI.

Here's the inspiration photo and color scheme:

The evidence I used are the circular elements (buttons), gold metallic elements (buttons and some of the paper elements) and the journal tag. My journaling choice was to journal (my quote) on a tag. This is one layout from the trip, so the details of who, where and when have already been covered.

Here is mine:

Action!

This is a quick layout of some photos I snapped from our balcony. The journaling explains how some students used our pool area for a film location. We're right across from CSUN, which has a film dept., and students are often filming all over. CSUN has also been the location for several feature films or TV shows since we've been here.

This is for the Pretty Little Studio inspiration challenge. Here's the inspiration:

Here in So. Cal, it's hard to find photos to use snowflakes on LOL. But I took some of the darker colors -- the medium blue and lavendery-gray as my color inspiration -- and used a border that was inspired by the doily snowflakes.

Here's mine:

Lady of the Lake

This layout is for the CSI case file 2. Here is the inspiration photo:

I've included a jade heart (an old necklace) as something "stone like", sheer ribbons on the banner, flourishes and the embossed gold garden gate as an architectural detail. And I may add some flowers once I get the pictures on.

My colors are as close as I could get -- although the background paper that I created didn't blend as much as I'd hoped. But the cardstock colors are pretty close. I'm finishing this at dusk and need to get it submitted NOW, so I can't wait for better light to take pics.

My journaling is about my choice of id, Ladyofthelake, when I began my online adventure. I may add some more to it as well, but it will be hidden and private.

The pictures that will be included on this layout are all artworks -- not photos. And I need a new color ink cart. The Title and journaling came out a bit variegated, but I kind of like it. Here are the picts that I will be adding:

The paper I made using modified instructions from a tutorial on Scraps of Darkness (I think).

It's tissue ModPodged on to cardstock with lavender Fairy Dust Glitter sprinkled on, then spray misted. And I want to experiment with different colors of tissue vs. white with mist.

Love trying new things and loving the CSI challenges!

A few cards I made

from a sketch from Pretty Little Studio. Love this sketch and I'll have to do a layout with it one of these days...

Here are my cards -- they started off close to the sketch and then took off :-D