Summer Layout Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my blog! If you are following the Summer Layout Blog Hop you should have arrived here after visiting Lynn Bisset's blog.

I don't really think I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to participate in this blog hop. It's my first blog hop and at first I thought it would be a piece of cake .... until I started stressing over what pictures I would use and then over the layout itself. I don't remember how many times I changed the elements on this layout! I knew that I wanted to use pool pictures and the Look on the Bright Side paper pack for my layout but I had an awful time deciding which pool pictures and what paper to use. I finally decided to use some of my favorite pool pictures from the summer of 2008. The little boy featured in this layout is now 3 or 4 inches taller than I am and his younger sister is not far behind. She's not quite taller than I am yet but soon will be. I really wish my grand-kids would stay young longer but I don't think that's going to happen!! Anyway, here is my blog hop layout:

Life is Totally Fantastic Two Page Layout

I chose the Look on the Bright Side paper pack not only because it is perfect for summer pictures but also because I wanted to use this cool border sheet that comes with it. You simply use your trimmer to cut a border, add it to your page and walla ... you have a simple border! I used the flag border for my layout and used scissors to cut the v shapes away. Easy peasy borders!
By-the-way, I took this picture with my new smart phone. After years of practically everyone in my family trying to convince my husband to get me a smart phone, he FINALLY broke down and did it. And only because my nephew told him about Republic Wireless ($20 a month for 2 phones!!). Oh my gosh! Now I know why everyone I know is always glued to their smart phones!!

Ingredients:

• Creative Memories Look on the Bright Side paper pack
• Creative Memories Look on the Bright Side slide in pack
• Green cardstock - I used discontinued Creative Memories Apple Green
• Amber or Orange cardstock - I used discontinued Creative Memories Tangerine 
• Pink Dual-Tip Pen
• Foam Squares 
• small sharp scissors
• Creative Memories Postage Stamp Place 'n' Punch (no longer available through Creative Memories)
• Creative Memories Rotary Trimmer and Postage Stamp blade (no longer available through Creative Memories)

Instructions:

1. Use the multicolored dotted paper from the Look on the Bright Side paper pack as the base of your layout.
2. Using the Rotary Trimmer and the Postage Stamp blade, cut four 1/2 x 12 inch strips from amber cardstock.  
3. Cut green cardstock to two 8 5/8 x 12 inch sheets. Adhere amber strips to the inside edge of green cardstock as shown. Adhere cardstock to layout. 
4. Trim "Love This" slide in card to 3 1/8 x 4 inches. Keeping a consistent margin, group together on the right page along with two 4 x 6 horizontal photos and one vertical 4 x 4 5/8 photo. Adhere group to page.
5. Keeping a consistent margin, group two 4 x 4 inch photos, two 1 7/8 x 5 1/4 inch photos, and one    2 5/8 x 2 5/8 inch photo to the left page as shown. Adhere group to page.
6. Trim one vertical "cameras" journal card from the slide in pack to 3 inches wide and adhere to page. Using sharp scissors, cut out the green camera from your trimmings. Adhere to the journaling box with foam square.
7. Cut one 3 x 1 1/2 inch rectangle from yellow slide in card trimmings. Adhere below journaling box. 
8. Using the Postage Stamp Place 'n' Punch cut one shape from amber scrap cardstock and one shape from bright pink scrap paper. Adhere to page as shown.
9. Using sharp scissors, cut Life is Totally Fantastic banner from horizontal slide in card. Adhere to page with foam squares. 
10. Cut flag border from borders paper and use sharp scissors to cut away the white background from flags. Trim border to 8 1/4 inches long and adhere to right page. 
11. Use the bright pink Dual-Tip pen to complete your journaling. 

Don't forget to visit my link at www.creativememories.com/user/dbrinsley to purchase Creative Memories products or to just take a look around. Creative Memories Look on the Bright Side paper pack and slide in packs are available for purchase at my link.

If you are blog hopping today this would be your final destination. Go here to start the hop from the top.
Here is a list of the previous blog hop participants just in case you missed any: 

1. Becki Adams - www.beckiadams.blogspot.com
2. Debbie Hodge - www.debbiehodge.typepad.com
3. Sarah Fitzgerald - www.clickwriteshare.com
4. Linda Norman - www.scrappytherapy.com
5. Lynn Bisset - www.phototrippingwithmamalynn.blogspot.com
6. Diana Brinsley - you are here

So there you have it. I hope today's blog hop gives you lots of ideas for your summer album pages. And, thanks so much for visiting today!

Two Sketches and a Layout

Happy Thursday Everyone! I love sketches and today I'm going to share a sketch, an alternative sketch, and an example layout with you. I've been thinking about creating sketches for quite awhile and finally decided to take the plunge and just do it.  Here is the first of what I hope to continue to create for my blog. 

Sketch 1 

Sketch 1a

Here is the Cutting Guide used for both Sketch 1 and Sketch 1a. The idea is to use both sides of  one sheet of double-sided designer paper for a two page layout. You'll not only use less paper, you'll save yourself time looking for coordinating papers .... and cutting that paper! That's a win, win, win as far as I'm concerned. :)

My husband and I and my sister-in-law travel to Florida every year to visit my husband's mom and step-dad. One of the things we all enjoy doing together is taking a long, leisurely stroll through Sholom Park in Ocala. The pictures that I used for my example layout were taken during one of those long walks way back in 2007. I created a digital album with these photos years ago but back then I would also print my digital photos .... whether they were used in a scrapbook or not. After going through tons of ink, I decided a long time ago that I didn't really need to print every photo I took. But, at least I have a large library of photos to choose from when creating example layouts for my blog and workshops! Anyway,  I used the Strut Your Stuff Paper Pack and the Peacock Designer Stickers for my example layout. I love the Strut Your Stuff line for outdoor pages.

How to Create Layout

1. Using the Strut Your Stuff Paper Pack cut a 1/2 x 12 inch strip from each of two sheets of the solid green paper. Set aside the half inch strips and use what's left as the base for the layout. Adhere the base to the album page right up to the inside edge as shown.
2. Cut the blue stripe paper according to the cutting guide. Adhere two 3 x 12 inch pieces to the bottom edge of each page - stripe side up.
3. Adhere paper ribbon to the top edge of the stripe paper as shown above. I used adhesive backed paper ribbon from an discontinued Creative Memories kit.
4. Reverse the 4 x 12 inch piece and adhere to the left edge of the left page. Adhere the reversed 2 x 12 inch piece to the right edge of the right page (blue side up).
5. Adhere green strips to the blue patterned paper as shown in my example.
6. Use ABC stickers to create a vertical title on top of the left border. 
7. Adhere your photos.
8. Cut a journal card from the Strut Your Stuff Slide-in Pack to fit and adhere.
9. Add embellishments.

And that's it! I hope today's post gives you some ideas for your own album pages. Don't forget to visit my link at www.creativememories.com/user/dbrinsley to purchase any of the products featured today .... or just to take a look around.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Traditional Pretty in Pastel Layouts

I'm not a one photo a page scrapbooker. I take a lot of photos - usually at family events. If I only created one picture per page albums I'd have to find space to store 500 photo albums (okay, that's an exaggeration but .... ). 500 scrapbook albums would make the scrapbooking industry happy but it wouldn't make my husband very happy! That being said, every once in a while a special photo demands a page of it's own. Such is the case with the photo I took a few years ago of my granddaughter in her beloved boots. I already created a digital page with this photo but I wanted to use it again for a Pretty in Pastel layout so I printed a copy to use.

Lexie's Beautiful Boots Layout

Here are pictures of the process I used to create this page along with instructions:

Base of layout created on a 12 x 12 white scrapbook page

Cut elements as instructed and adhere as shown in layout above

Cut oval from slide in card as instructed & adhere as shown in layout. Add paper flower and bling to journal box if desired. You can also doodle around the journal box and pink stripe if you like.

One final piece of advice - if you look closely you'll notice that I dot lettered my journaling. Once I started I wished I hadn't but had to finish the way I started. By the time I finished dotting every single letter my hand was sore! Dot lettering is cute but I don't advise it for a long journaled story. It's not fun!!

Want to create a similar page for multiple photos? Here is an alternate layout for 5 photos:

Sweet Baby Layout

 

Here are pictures & instructions to help you complete the above layout:

* Use the same base as Lexie's Beautiful Boots without the 1 1/4 x 12 inch border.

* Adhere the 4 3/4 x 12 inch multicolored stripe paper - same as for Lexie's Beautiful Boots Layout

* Layer one 4 3/8 x 11 1/2 inch floral paper then one 3 7/8 x 11 inch white cardstock on top of multicolored

    stripe paper. Adhere three 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch photos as shown

* Follow the instructions below to mat two 4 x 6 inch photos and adhere to page as shown in layout:

* Cut oval from slide in card same as for Lexie's Beautiful Boots layout. Then follow the instructions below  

   to create the Sweet Baby embellishment and adhere to page as shown. 

Here's a list of supplies used for the above layouts:

12 x 12 white refill pages and page protectors

Pretty in Pastel Decorative Paper Pack

Pretty in Pastel Slide In Pack

To purchase any of the above products, please visit my link at www.creativememories.com/user/dbrinsley 

and type the name of the product you are interested in into the search bar.

I also used left over white cardstock from my Creative Memories days and paper flowers and bling that are no longer available (I do hope we do get more in some time soon!).

 I really do hope these layouts encourage you to create an album with your own pictures. And thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Three Ways to Preserve Your Beautiful Moments

I love it that I have options with the new CM! When I'm in a hurry to complete an album, I might choose our 11 x 14 Pocket Album or a Fast2Fab Album. If I'm in a creative mood and want to take more time with an album or even just a two page layout, I have scrapbooking options available. Here are 3 different ways to preserve one Beautiful Moment:

1. 11 x 14 Pocket Album:

 I love this quick and easy album! When I just want to get it done, all I have to do is slide my pictures into the pockets and that's it. I don't even have to use cropping tools or adhesives if I don't want to! For this layout, I added a title and journaling box from the Sunshine Getaway slide in pack...just slide them in and walla!! It's done!

2. Fast2Fab Album

 The Fast2Fab album is another favorite when I just want to get it done without a lot of fuss. I created this layout using predesigned pages from the Sunshine Getaway Fast2Fab album. All I did was adhere my photos to the page, add a cropped and matted title from the Sunshine Getaway Slide In pack, and add my journaling. I also added a vellum quote to enhance the page. Again, this layout took me very little time to create .... and no fuss!!

3. Scrapbook Album

Of course, this layout took me more time to create. This time I used papers from the Sunshine Getaway paper pack as well as Sunshine Getaway Slide In cards to enhance my layout. In addition to the cropped and matted title, I also used scissors to cut my journaling box from a slide in card. I skipped the vellum quote this time ... by the time I got to this layout that piece of vellum was in pretty poor shape. Since I didn't have another to replace it with, I simply left it off.

There you have it .... three different ways to preserve your memories. Here is a list of supplies used to create my layouts:
11 x 14 Pocket Album
Sunshine Getaway 12 x 12 Fast2Fab Album
Sunshine Getaway Paper Pack
Sunshine Getaway Slide In Pack
12 x 12 Plain White Refills & Page Protectors

For more information about CM products or to purchase products, please visit my link at www.creativememories.com/user/dbrinsley. You can either click the shop tab or type the name of the product you're interest in into the search bar.

Hope this post inspires you to get your photos into an album .... and thanks so much for visiting my blog!

If You're Happy & You Know It Fast2Fab Album

I love, love, love the beautiful  "If You're Happy & You Know It" Fast2Fab Album! I'm using it to preserve photos I took during the first half of 2013. My album will include pictures I took at 2 weddings, Easter, 2 wedding showers, and a few birthdays. I love the way the album colors compliment all the events I will be recording in my album. Today I'm going to share with you 3 layouts that I created with pictures I took at my nephews wedding. 

Enjoy the Celebration

I added that little green square you see on the left page to hide a mistake! I changed my mind about which photo I was going to use here and wasn't very careful when I removed the original. I ended up with a small rip on the page. So I just added a small square and walla ... can't see the rip!

Life is Good

To create this 2 page layout, I stacked two 4x4 photos over the original vertical photo box on the left page. I also cut the Life Is Good title from a vertical slide in card and matted it with red cardstock. I reversed the trimmings from the same slide in card to use as journal boxes below the 4x4 photos on the right page. I then used my square maker to cut a red square for the center of the right page. By the way, this layout and the layout above it took me no time at all to create. The photo boxes and the background design is already pre-printed ..... just add your photos and your stories and you're done! It's just that easy!

This Kid Is So Much Fun

This layout took me a little bit more than just a few minutes to create. I like it that I can take a little bit more time if I want ....or not! Anyway, the Fast2Fab page on the right had two photo boxes in the middle of the page ... usable as is but it just made the left page look too heavy. I wanted to make some changes without covering the motif in the upper left corner of the page. So I covered the photo boxes with paper from the Bright Paper Pack, added a photo box for 2 photos and repositioned my photos closer to the left page. The title was cut from another slide in card and matted with the same blue paper from the Bright Paper Pack that I used for my photo box. I used sticker letters to complete my title. Again, I added a square from my trimmings for added color.

Here is a list of supplies I used for the above layouts:
12x12 If You're Happy & You Know It Fast2Fab Album
If You're Happy & You Know It Slide In Pack
Bright Paper Pack
To purchase any of the above products, please visit my link at www.creativememories.com/user/dbrinsley 
and type the name of the product into the search bar.

I really do hope these layouts encourage you to create an album with your own pictures. And thanks so much for visiting my blog!

2002 Caribbean Cruise Album

Hello and Happy Thursday everyone! Today I'm going to share a couple of layouts from my 2002 Caribbean Cruise Album. I actually completed this album in 2013 ...... can't believe that it took me 11 years to get around to getting these photos in an album! In fact, those photos would probably still be in a Power Sort Box if one of my customers hadn't gotten on my case about not having them in an album!!

I used the original Sunshine Getaway Stack Pack for this album. Although the original Stack Pack is no longer available, the new CM has brought the line back as the new Sunshine Getaway paper pack and slide in pack. I love the Sunshine Getaway stuff!! So much so that I have the new Sunshine Getaway Fast2Fab album sitting in my workshop right now just waiting for pictures that are being printed at Costco. Can't wait to start that album.

Anyway ... these are two of my favorite layouts from my 2002 Caribbean Cruise Album:

I used my Creative Memories border maker and rotary trimmer for the borders on these pages. I really, really hope the new CM brings these tools back ... I need a new rotary trimmer!

If you like, you can check out our Sunshine Getaway 12x12 Fast2Fab Album, Sunshine Getaway paper pack, or the Sunshine Getaway slide in pack by visiting my link at  www.creativememories.com/user/dbrinsley. Be sure to type the name of the product you are interested in into the search bar.  I've included pictures of the paper and slide-in packs below. 

Sunshine Getaway Paper Pack

Sunshine Getaway Slide-In Pack

I hope this post inspires you to get your vacation photos in an album ..... and that you don't wait 11 years to do that! Thanks for visiting my blog!

Throwback Thursday - Sequoia National Park, 1999

I pulled an album out of my bookcase this morning just for fun and was suddenly taken back to 1999. My adult and teenage grandchildren were still just little kids and toddlers then. Still wonder how that time went by so fast! Seems like I just blinked and they were adults and teenagers. While looking at the pages that I'm going to share with you today I thought to myself this is why I scrapbook. 

While I do enjoy the process of adding paper and embellishments to my album pages, most of the albums on my shelves are simple, simple, simple! Seriously, there is nothing wrong with a plain white background (in fact I like a plain white background). And, yes, I sometimes add more than just a few decorative elements to my pages. But, quite frankly, it's not about the papers and the embellishments, is it? At least not for me. For me scrapbooking is about the photos and the stories that go with those photos. It's about preserving those memories and being able to relive them every time I open my books.

Anyway, here are a few pages from my 1999/2000 Family Album .... a little blast from the past.

There you have it. I hope these pages inspire you to create your own family album ..... and to keep it simple!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!