First Day of VPK

I used the Kraft Girl Kits April Sketch for the left page of this layout and just made up something for the right side that kinda of matched the flow. Papers and Stickers are all from K & Co "Sparkly Sweet" Paper Pad and Paisley Grand Adhesions. Ribbon is mostly CTMH and a little from my stash. I also used my Quikutz 12" Border Die for the scalloped edge paper, Blossom Classic and the Nesting Circles for the title block, a little machine stitching, andCTMH White Daisy Textured CS for the background and inked it with CTMH Orchid Bouquet Ink.

My Journaling and date are hidden under the photo on the second pape that has the ribbons tied on the corner. I just cut my mat to 4.25" x 8.5" and folded it down the center. When I put it in the page protector, I will just slit my pp and slide it out from inside.

Whoo loves you?

This layout has such a funny story behind it! Not that my dd isn't adorable and funny, but I'm not talking about her and when the pics were taken... I am talking about when I sat down to start this layout! I will be the first to admit that I love to scrap-lift and very few of my most prized layouts are originals Shocking, I know ;o) But, I knew I wanted I wanted to do a layout using that adorable owl paper in the background, so I went searching on google for owl layout and came across this amazingly perfect layout! It had the right number of photos, orienation, and sizing even! You can see the original here. I immediately starting working on all the pattern paper strips, getting the bones of the layout down and then it all came to a halt when I got to that owl and branch.
Lucky for me, granny is a pretty amazing artist! She can free hand just about any thing that I throw at her! So, I emailed her a link to the layout I was lifting along with size and color guidelines. A day or two later, opened my mailbox to find this adorable little guy and perched him atop my layout just where I had envisioned! Awesome!

Or so, I thought! In the mean time, I started noticing other adorable scrapbook layouts using owls and came across one that used... H-E-L-L-O a Quickutz Revolution OWL! Duh, I didn't even think to see if QK made a die in the exact size and cuteness of this one! What's worse, is that I was telling my scrappin buddies at the crop on Friday about my goof, and one of the girls chimes in "oh, I have that owl!" Of course! So, if you love my layout or more importantly my owl... go buy the owl die-cut and save yourself some time! Too Funny!

On a different note, I took my layout to the crop on Friday to finish up the title and journaling, and was able to use my friend's Cricut... a first for me! It was alot of fun. My favorite thing about using it, was that after I programed in my title, I could go work on something else while it cut all by itself! And, after it was all done and I realized I wanted the words on the right to be a hair smaller, I just had to reload the paper and dial down the size! Easy Peasy! I did have to hand touch the center of the L, E, and Y... but all in all a nice cut!

Supplies:
K & Co "Berry Sweet" Paper Pad and "Words and Icons" Adhesive Chipboard
Cricut Machine and Cursive 101 cartridge.
CTMH: Watermelon, Bubblegum, Clover Meadow, Cocoa, and Chocolate CS
CTMH Desert Sand Ink
Background is very old CTMH Heavenly Blue B&T
CTMH Sweet Leaf RicRac

Little Witch... and a little suprise!

Okay, this is one of those layouts that looks all wonky in photos... the layout really does match in real life :o) I promise! Anywhoo, I loved the Rusty Pickle Pirate Princess paper for this layout, pair that with the Die Cuts that match and it was sooo easy.

I used the Quickutz Nesting Heart on the right side over the file-folder and the Merry & Bright font for the title, all with Black and Bubblegum Pink Cardstock. I also used a few ribbons from my stash, the CTMH Dimensional Elements flourishes from the Fresh Shapes set, and some retired CTMH Bubblegum Buttons.



On an exciting side note: I just got an email that Accucut gave me little shout-out on their blog for a layout I posted as an entry into their Spring Design Challenge, here's how you can enter too:

You have until this Friday, April 17 to submit a photo of a spring project you are working on. All who enter will have a chance to win the new Dragonfly #2 die! Here are the details again:

• Post a photo on your blog or website and give us the link by posting a comment here. Be sure to provide a way we can contact you. Or, if you don't have a blog, simply email a photo to blog@accucut.com. If you send an e-mail, use the subject line "Think Spring" and include a photo of the project (less than 150k please!). Make sure to include the item numbers of the die(s) used.

• You must use at least one AccuCut die (steel-rule).

• Be creative! Use any shapes or colors that shout "spring." From flowers, birds and bugs to Easter bunnies and eggs, the possibilities are endless.

Ice, Ice, Baby!

I couldn't help myself with the title... a little blast from the past! :o) It was the first thing that popped into my head when I started thinking of titles for this layout, and now I can't get the song out of my head! It was dd's second time on the ice, but the first time she actually enjoyed it! At first she used a stack of 5-gallon buckets to lean on, then once she got the hang of it, she held onto the wall, and finally she got really brave and started skating on her own out in the middle. All I can say is, its a good thing it was mostly kids that were skating that day because there was no rhyme or reason to anyone's direction! LOL!

A quickie little layout and all my own sketch, just started laying the pictures in order, and voila! The paper is all scraps from last years Cmas layouts, chipboard pieces are all CTMH Dimensional Elements, snowflake eyelets are really old from my stash, then I machine sewed around the photos and some random flourish shapes and topped that with some stickles!


Journaling tag pulls out from behind the far right top photo, where you see the ribbon. Date and place are framed with the CTMH Slide Frame (retired).

Cotton fields and Pinwheel PopUp Flowers

This layout was a scraplift of my dear friend Tara's, and she scrap-lifted it from the Feb 2008 PageMaps... thanks for the inspiration girl! I really like this close-up because you can see how I popped the flower with some foam tape, then used a brad to adhere through the background so that it pulls the center of the flower down and the petals lift up, espically on the layered ones! Cool, huh?
I love these pictures, the cotton fields were so beautiful and unexpected. We were driving through Alabama on our way to a conference and stumbled upon a handful of these fields... I finally decided to stop and check them out... stunning! I had never seen this in person and we all really enjoyed getting out to stretch our legs.


Patterned Paper: Three Bugs in a Rug "Happy Bird-Day"
Quickutz: Stardust Grand, Pinwheel Flowers (various sizes)
Cardstock, Brads, Bigger Brads, and Buttons: CTMH Juniper and Vineyard Berry
Floss and Ribbon: from my stash

Here is Tara's layout that I scraplifted, thanks for letting me post :O)


CS and Inking: CTMH Autumn Terracotta and Orchid Bouquet (retired)
Quickutz: Moxie Classic, Uptown Girl Classic, 2x2 layered Pumpkin
Heidi Swapp Orange Bling Rectangles
American Crafts Ribbon
PP: Unknown