My Daughter the Photographer

My daughter just loves to take photos! I think she is the pretty good for being 12 years old. We all went out this weekend to have lunch and she had the camera in hand the entire time. In fact, she kept the camera for most the evening and had a little photo shoot with her brother. And as usual, my son wouldn't stop making silly faces for the camera. They even set up a little photo backdrop with Toy Story as the theme. I especially love my son's two missing teeth!

Enjoy the Journey Card

In case you haven't guessed, Cosmo Cricket is one of my favorite go-to for scrapbooking. This card was made from the Joy Ride line. It's so cute - full of travel graphics and fun patterned paper. This card is my attempt at making a roadway going through the winding hills. I love how the little puppy is enjoying the wind in his face - reminds me of our puppy! I added the sentiment with a little bit of curves to reflect the breeze blowing by. 


I think this card would be perfect for a student heading off to college or someone celebrating a milestone. Now, I am going to HAVE to make a mini album with this Joy Ride set to showcase our family road trips. 

Vintage Inspired Card

Today, I was feeling a little vintagy (yes, I just made up my own word!) and decided to make this vintage-inspired card, complete with lace, bows, and pearls. I started by using kraft paper to make the card, layered with Pinecone Press Papers in Buttercup. I used a simple border punch for the edge and layered with a lace doily. 

I used a Jenni Bowlin heart and added stitches and a bow. Then, applied flowers from Prima and soft-pink pearls. Last, I used the heat emboss tool to create the "for you" sentiment. Hope you enjoyed it!

Bubble Gum Alley

Ever heard of this fun little place called Bubble Gum Alley in San Luis Obispo? It's this small little alley way sandwiched between two little shops in the downtown area. Since the 1960's people started sticking their bubble gum onto the walls. The city tried to keep it clean but the gum kept appearing. Eventually the city gave in and the trend to stick gum on the wall followed. I took my kids and my sister there one year on this fun little road trip along the California Coast. We stopped at the Winchester Houser in San Jose, the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, the Monteray Bay Aquarium, and of course, this little wall full of bubble gum. 

It was a blast! I bought a few packs of gum and let the kids have at it! They had so much fun making artwork out of their gum and sticking it to the walls. Plus, it was a great photo op! While it may sound gross, it was well worth the sticky fingers! This is one of the scrapbook layouts I used to remember this day - hope you enjoyed it!

And in honor of bubble gum, here are some cute vintage ads - I just love the artwork!

Cosmo Cricket Card - Material Girl

After making a Thank You card the other day, I decided to keep up the creativity. I just love Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl line and wanted to make a card to save in my "rainy day" stash. I used Cosmo's journaling cards, which are the perfect size for quick cut and paste (that's scissors and glue) onto some cardstock. Then, I added a simple backstitch for the leaves and stem of the flower. I wish all projects were this simple! No muss - no fuss. 

"Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl." ~ Madonna

Cosmo Cricket Thank You Card

I needed to make a special Thank You card for our uncle and his wife. After years of having the same sofa in our living room, it had finally met its life expectancy. Although I did not have enough motivation to buy a new one because of my strict budget, we got THE phone call that we just couldn't pass up. Our uncle had purchased a sofa set that ended up being too big for their living room. So they called us up and asked if we would like it. (Uh, yea!) So, we picked the new set up and couldn't be happier! For this, I am so thankful for their generosity. The bonus was that it fit in our living room perfectly and it matches our decor too. It can't get any better than that!

I decided to create and send them this Thank You card with a special note inside and a photo of us enjoying their gift. We truly are grateful! Thank you, Uncle Fred and Nancy!

For this card I used Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird line and found my inspiration from Debbie Olson. She is the "go-to-gal" when you need to make a quick card design. Thanks, Debbie!

Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety Layout

I wanted to try something today that was a little more third dimensional. I found a layout that I liked from Nancola's gallery at Scrapbook.com and wanted to try this out for myself. I used papers from my favorite, Cosmo Cricket. First I drew a circle and cut out "pie slices" starting from the center and working my way out. Then gently folded over each section. 

I used glue dots to keep each section from rolling up and added a button to each end. Then, I attached my background paper - like so...

For the photo, I cut frayed edges and a pinwheel style flower then added more buttons to represent the flower stem. 

Here is a close up of the finished layout. This photo of my son was taken after a fun day at the park. After taking about a dozen too many photos, he finally had enough and this expression was all I could get out of him. It's one of those photos that makes me laugh at his honesty!

Road Trip Mini Album

I am so craving a road trip! Luckily, summer is not over yet and there is still time left to hit the road [jack]. To quench my craving for the open road, I created this mini album of our family's past road trips. I used my ol' reliable cricut machine to cut out the chipboard album and attached a single binder ring. I used K & Company's Road Trip All-in-One scrap pad for everything else. 

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ~ St. Augustine

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money.  ~Susan Heller

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.  ~Lao Tzu

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. 

~Lin Yutang

Wall Art

I have been redecorating my daughter's room and have been creating artwork for her bare walls. During my lunch time at work, I stopped at the thrift store and found three white picture frames. Each was only $1.00, so I couldn't pass them up. I decided to make tags for each frame and hang them in her bedroom. First, I used my Cricut machine to cut out the tags. Then I added gold stitching around the edges. 

Next, I used an EK border punch on a pale pink Bazzill Basics cardstock.

Then cut out rectangles from three patterned papers. 

I glued everything together and attached them onto the tags and stamped all the edges. 

I then added different embellishments to each tag like pearls, rhinestones, flowers, and stick pins.

Last, I glued each tag onto embossed cardstock and placed them inside the frames. Now I can hang them in my daughter's room! These tags were inspired by Wendy McKee - who makes everything look so simple and pretty!

Click image to enlarge

Another Summer Layout

This photo is one of those rare moments of my children caught arm in arm. It didn't last long as I was trying to get them to hold still for the photo. It ended when they finally told me, "mommmm, can we stop now?" Hey, at least I got a few photos out of it! I used Photoshop CS3 to remove them from the original photo and created this layout using the Hello Sunshine kit from After Five Designs. 

Below is the original photo snapped under this neat little hut that was constructed at one of our local beaches in California. I have no idea who made this hut, but I think it's so clever!

Butterfly Kisses Layout

Sometimes the simplest layouts take me the most time to create. But then, I can do a mini album or digital layout and it takes me no time at all. Go figure! For this layout, I wanted to create handmade paper flowers and lots of sparkle. Here is a close up...

I am currently working on another layout with the same paper flowers and will provide a tutorial very soon. For products used, visit my gallery at Scrapbook.com.

Scrapbook Pocket Layout

I really wanted to try adding a pocket to my layout - boy, was that a challenge! For whatever reason, I just couldn't figure how to make it so the items tucked inside the pocket wouldn't fall out from the bottom. The solution was easy - embroidered stitches!


I used a rubber ruler to trace out the curve of my pocket and reattached with embroidery thread. Then journaled onto the tags the date and all the important stuff and simply tucked them into the pocket. Now that I've figured out how to create a pocket, I will definitely be trying this style again.


For products used, visit my gallery at Scrapbook.com.

Summer Time and the Living Is Easy

It's summer time and I am craving some good ol' fashion sunshine. I created these scrapbooks of my children last year. Seeing them again makes me want to head to the beach and feel the sand in my toes, the warm sun on my skin and the wind in my hair (but only if I have a brush with me cause I can't stand my hair in knots). 

Thinking back on this day last year, I remember taking my kids to the beach and bringing along my camera. I ended up taking over 200 photos that day - just sitting on the sand, capturing every moment of them as they played in the waves and I soaked up the sun.

I love the summer time. It's a time to slow down, relax, enjoy the freedom of an open schedule. It's a break from the day-to-day, that rush to school, that stop at the grocery store after a long day at work, that "kids, it's time for homework" or "brush your teeth cause it's time for bed!" 

That's why the song goes....summer time and the living is easy. And I'm enjoying every minute!

My Lil Man Mini Album

For me, mini albums are the most fun to create. I love how I can use one theme and rearrange the elements to create  little versions of the same page - very easy and very forgiving! I have been wanting to create a mini album of my son for some time now, and I finally found the perfect paper from who else but Cosmo Cricket! 

The Lil' Man collection was the perfect way to capture my son and his many silly faces! If you're in the need for some ideas for your own mini album, a good read is Create: Mini Albums from Scrapbook Trends. Once I was done reading it, I couldn't wait to get started making my own.

Enlarge Photo

One Photo = Two Layouts

Sometimes I can't decide on a color theme for a photo. In this case, I wanted to bring out the lovely green landscape behind my family, but I also noticed that all happened to be wearing black (I don't think they planned that). When this indecisiveness strikes me, what else is there to do? Create two layouts! Hey, why not!


Here is my take using green as my color theme. Products used from After Five Designs: Creation 23 by Catherine Designs.

And because black doesn't sound like it would be a fun, appealing color choice, I added bright pink with polka dots. 

Testing the Water

Have you ever just wanted to try something but weren't sure you could make the commitment? Well that's me - unsure if I'm ready to commit to blogging. So, for now, I am going to test the waters before jumping in.

My decision to blog comes from the joy I get when reading other blogs. Especially those who craft, scrapbook, or create. I have provided a list to some of my favorite blogs (located in the right column) - where the water is sweet and inspiration flows. There is some real talent out there! When I grow up, I hope to be as inspiring.

For now, I will leave you with my own scrapbook layout of yours truly. Enjoy! Products used from Lorie Davison from Scrapbook Graphics: Fall Faeries and Rough to the Touch.