A day with the animals (SS Topaz #2)

 This is the second ScrapbookSteals layout of year 2!

As I was flipping through my pictures, deciding what to scrap, I found these pictures from a couple of months ago and had the exact right number of pictures - so I decided to go for it based on that! The papers seemed obvious for a zoo layout, but I still had a hard time deciding which of the My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup papers to use. It feels a little plain, and isn't my favorite page ever, but I'm happy to have another completed layout!

Your Smile [makes me smile] - ScrapbookSteals MWM 45

It was guest sketcher week again at ScrapbookSteals! This time, the sketch was from Lisa Zubritsky, who has only been scrapbooking for about a year! All of her layouts are gorgeous! I love how different this sketch is!

These papers are technically part of a girl kit from My Mind's Eye (Delightful), but I think they're great for boys too! Sure, there is a little bit of pink, but that doesn't bother me! This picture is from 2006, and every time I see it, it brings a smile to my face! I knew I wanted to scrap it, and was so happy when I found that I already had it printed so I could get to work right away! I've been loving all of the pinwheels lately, and thought they'd be a great alternative to stars and buttons for boy layouts (since cute embellishments for boy pages are so hard to come by) - they were SO easy to make! You just cut a square (my biggest is 3x3, the medium is 2.5x2.5, and the small is 2x2), then cut from each corner diagonally toward the center (but not all the way to the center), and then fold one side of each cut in to the middle and glue the middles down! I used some of my Twinery twine, some thickers with distressing crackle paint on them, & my We R Memory Keepers heart attack distressing tool on all of the paper pieces! I really love how this layout turned out! Thanks for such a fun sketch, Lisa!

Dream BIG, little boy! (midweek mojo #39)

I've been so busy training at the new job, I've hardly had time to scrapbook! But I found a few minutes today, and was anxious to tackle this sketch - midweek mojo 39! 

I seem to do so many layouts about my little girl - probably because girl pages are so much more fun - the paper selection is endless, embellishments are so easy to find, and they come together so much more easily than boy pages for me! But, I have lots of cute pictures and memories of my boys that need to be preserved, too! So I'm trying to do as many layouts featuring my boys as I do of my daughter.

I love the embossed background paper - it adds dimension, texture, and interest without having to find a bunch of embellishments!

The papers, title letters, chip board pieces, and journaling block are from KI Memories: Love, Elsie/Cody. The arrow chip board piece is from Fancy Pants Design, and I sprayed it with Chalkboard Glimmer Mist: Decadence color. After I glued down all my pictures, letters, everything, I decided to use my We R Memory Keepers Heart Attack tool to sand & distress the cardstock a little to make those embossed stars really pop... not sure I love the outcome, but it is what it is! :)

I often struggle with boy pages, but I'm happy with how this turned out!

MWM 37

Midweek Mojo 37 brought another guest sketcher! Another Utah friend, Staci Jones, came up with this sketch:

My layout:

I used papers from two Echo Park collections - Sweet Summertime & A Walk In The Park! I really LOVE Echo Park! The title, journaling block, and ticket on the far left side are all also from EP AWITP.

MWM 35

Here is the sketch:

And my layout:

The papers (just like last week's layout) are from My Mind's Eye- Dreamy 2/Brilliant collection.