Pizza and Beer Layout

 Today's layout celebrates some of the finer things in life; Pizza and Beer.

Whenever we travel, we like to find a mom and pop pizza joint and indulge in some homemade pizza. This was from a little hole in the wall we found in Munich. We also like to try as many different beers as possible, and try to remember to photograph each different kind. It's always fun to see which beers we can get our hands on when we're back in the States. 

I used a bit of color blocking to create this layout. Usually I use a multicolored patterned paper as the background to pull everything together. However, for this layout it seemed a bit busy, so instead I used that paper just to mat one set of photos. The multi-color sheet still serves its purpose of pulling all the colors together. 

 

These were also the last photos I had of that particular day in Germany, so I also used the layout to wrap up my journaling about the events of that day.

What food traditions do you and your family have?

At 11 Layout

If you saw my "At 13" layout about my oldest, this is its counterpart. This is my youngest At 11 layout.

I used up what was left of my stash of My Mind's Eye Happy Camper paper for this layout. I still have a ton of embellishments left, so those may be popping up on a future layout.

Due to some health issues (that we have much more under control now), 11 was not the best year for this kiddo. I don't gloss over that on these layouts, but I do like to focus on who they are and what they love when I journal about who they are at a specific age.

He turned 12 recently, so it felt a bit cathartic to put 11 behind us "in the book" so to speak. We're thankful that 12 seems to be shaping up to be a much better year health wise.

These years are so important and I love seeing how their interest grow and change.

At 13 Layout

Every year I take my boys' photos and then scrap one of the photos. I use that layout to tell all about who they are at that age. Today, I have my oldest's At 13 Layout.

I am continuing to try to work through my stash before I buy any new paper. I uncovered this older collection from My Mind's Eye called Happy Camper. I have my wall of paper in my craft room sorted a few different ways. What I had left of this collection was hiding out with a bunch of camping themed papers.

I love the different shades of blue, and thought they set the photo off nicely.

I cut a journaling card from a piece of wood grain paper in the collection. I used chipboard and diecut embellishments from the collection, and then did some stash diving for a few extra embellishments (like some of the word stickers and the arrow die cut framing the picture).

13 has been a pretty great age for this kid! 

Scrapping Maps

I'm working on more travel scrapping. Often, I like scrapping maps and memorabilia from my travels as part of my layouts. The layout I'm sharing today is one way I do that.

I keep lots of maps, tickets, and the like when I'm traveling. Some things I know for sure I want to include in my layouts and some things I keep because I might want to use them. This map was definitely a piece I knew I would include. What I wasn't expecting to include was the great snippet about the history of the city of Rothenburg that was also in the map.

I had some paper and embellishments left over from the Scrapbooking Store's May kit (featuring My Mind's Eye Happy Days). In fact, I used up the last of my paper left overs from the kit on this layout.

Sometimes my memorabilia is an accent, and sometimes (like in this layout) it's more of a focal point. Either way, I'm always glad I saved the little bits and pieces I pick up when traveling.

I wrote this post while participating on the Scrapbooking Store Design Team.

Happy Camper Layout

We've done a lot of camping this summer...which is why I've been a bit bad about blogging this summer. While I'm not looking forward to school starting (we just have waaay too much fun in the summer), I am looking forward to a little more time in my craft room. I did get a chance to scrap a few photos from our first trip out camping this summer. Here's my Happy Camper Layout.

In a strange twist, I'm actually in these photos and my husband isn't. Usually it's the other way around! I'm not sure who loves camping more; the kids or the dog!

I'm always looking for good camping lines, so months ago I snapped up My Mind's Eye Happy Camper when it hit the shelves. Besides the gorgeous, rich colors and fun patterns, there are a ton of fabulous embellishments. I used a lot of them by bunching them up in little clusters, but I hardly made a dent in my stash. Which is okay, because you'll be seeing many more layouts using this collection soon.

As you can see, there's everything from chip stickers, to enamel shapes, to die cuts. There are even some fun brads that I didn't get a chance to use on this layout. 

If you like to camp, or even just go on some fun hiking adventures, Happy Camper is a fantastic collection. What's the best adventure you've been on so far this summer?

Simple 2 Page Layout

I took a bit of a break from blogging for the past week or so. Honestly, it wasn't on purpose, summer just got the better of me. I've been creating a bit still, but I just haven't gotten around to sharing it. Today, I'm getting back into blogging with this simple 2 page layout.

I needed a 2 page layout for my photos from Belfast. I decided on the super pretty My Mind's Eye Hello Gorgeous collection. There are pretty florals grounded with jade greens and soft sages. There are even pops of glitter on some of the patterns.

I layered up a few large squares of the patterned paper. To add some interest and pops of color, I added some large triangles in the corners made up of a glittery floral from Hello Gorgeous.

I had some memorabilia to scrap from the day as well. I wanted to save my map of Belfast. I added it in a pocket that has been Fused to my page protector. You can see a tutorial for how to make a memorabilia pocket with the Photo Fuse here.

 I finished up by adding a few titles on some enamel shapes to my simple 2 page layout.

Doors of Dublin Layout

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Taylor Stamped. I do receive financial compensation and material product from  A Walk Down Memory Lane to develop my craft posts, but all ideas and opinions are my own. Some links are affiliate links.

Today I have a layout that feels nice and spring-y. I think it's the mix of bright colors that makes it feel like spring to me. Today's Doors of Dublin layout mixes some fun patterns with some minimal embellishments. 

There are these really amazing, bright, Georgian doors all over Dublin. There are parts of the city where they're a bit more concentrated, but you can really see them anywhere. I snapped a photo of these while we were just out driving around the city. 

Bright doors needed some fun, bright paper so I reached for my stash of My Mind's Eye Jubilee Tangerine paper. There are so many fun patterns in this collection, that I really had a hard time choosing just a few. I ended up using as many as I could by layering up quite a few papers on top of each other. Since there's a lot going on in this layout color and pattern wise, I kept the embellishments fairly simple. I clustered some enamel dots from my stash and a few heart enamel dots from Bella Blvd.

Bright doors and some bright My Mind's Eye paper make for a fun spring layout about the doors of Dublin.

Disney Cruise Album

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Taylor Stamped. I do receive financial compensation and material product from  A Walk Down Memory Lane to develop my craft posts, but all ideas and opinions are my own. Some links are affiliate links.
I'm almost done getting all my photos from vacation uploaded and edited. and now it's time to get an album decorated and start scrapping some of those photos. Today I'm sharing how I decorated my Disney cruise album.

We have lots and lots of photos from this fun trip, and I want a way to quickly scrap them, so I decided on a Simple Stories 6 x 8 Snap Album. I've found that Snap albums are a great way to scrap photos from a trip or holiday quickly without sacrificing style. 

I decided on My Mind's Eye new nautical collection, By the Sea for the cover. For a Disney cruise the red and blue just seemed perfect. I couldn't neglect the Disney part, thought, so I hid a little Mickey shape inside the 0 of my title. By the sea has pops of silver metallic paper in it, so I mirrored that in the title by cutting it with my Silhouette Cameo from silver foil cardstock.

Now that I've got the cover done, I can start scrapping some pages for the inside!

You at 9

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Taylor Stamped. Some links are affiliate links.
Last week I shared a layout with my youngest's annual photo, and today I'm sharing a similar one of my oldest child. This layout is all about who my son is at 9.

The trendy colors and simple but playful patterns from My Mind's Eye Jubilee Tangerine are perfect for scrapping this fun photo of my son. 

I like to keep the journaling close to the photo, as the journaling about who my son is and what he likes at this age is just as important to the layout as the photo. The, "you amaze me" flair was the perfect piece to finish off the journaling.

Honestly, I can't believe this kiddo is 9. I'm so glad I'll be able to jot down memories about him, so as he gets older and older I'll be able to remember all his favorites and see how much he's changed and how much he's stayed the same. 

You at 7 Layout

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Taylor Stamped. Some links are affiliate links. 
Every year I take photos of my kids. Every year I like to take one of my favorite photos from that session and scrap it with some notes about who they are at that age. Today I have a You at 7 layout from one of those sessions.

I usually like to wait for just the right paper to come along to scrap these types of photos, so I usually jot down some thoughts about their personality around their birthday, and then stash those notes with the photos until I find the right paper. 
 

My Mind's Eye Jubilee Tangerine has been out for a while, but I just stumbled across it a few weeks ago. I knew it would be perfect for scrapping by boys' most recent annual photos. It's a bold collection that has lots of whimsical prints mixed in.

The main focus of this layout is on the photo and the journaling, so I kept the embellishment groupings simple and close to the focal points. All of the paper layering, all of the embellishments, draw your eye in to the main pieces of the layout.

I love this snapshot of my youngest at seven. How do you capture milestones?

At 5

Tuesday I shared a layout of my oldest titled At 7.  Today I'm sharing a similar large photo layout of my youngest.  Here he is at 5.

 Just like my At 7 layout, I used my Cameo to cut "Love this Boy" into the photo.  I slipped some Pebbles Special Delivery paper underneath the cut out words.  I love those itty bitty white hearts on that gray paper. 

I layered the photo on some gold dot vellum from My Mind's Eye, which was then layered on a piece of patterned paper from Crate Paper's Notes & Things. 

 I finished up with some simple chipboard embellishments from Studio Calico.  I love those gold cameras, they're so much fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Oak Grove

I have one last layout to share using My Mind's Eye's Cut & Paste (at least for now!).  I went on a little Cut & Paste scrapping binge, so today I'm sharing my Oak Grove layout.  

We went camping one weekend, and it was so windy!  We couldn't have a fire, so we got silly and started taking goofy pictures.  I have some wonderful ones from that night.  I thought I'd start with this one of my goofy boys. 

 

All of the paper is MME Cut & Paste.  The greenish washi tape is also My Mind's Eye.  That fun camera washi tape (which I owned for all of about 5 minutes before I found a reason to use it), is made by Queen & Co. 

I wanted a little something more on this layout so I traced all of the letters on the "Love U Forever" tag with a clear Wink Of Stella pen.  I use my Wink of Stella Pens a lot.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but they add some really lovely shimmer to your projects. 

That's it for me today. Thanks for stopping by!

Bow & Arrows

With summer break getting close to the end, I'm starting to get a little nostalgic about our favorite activities this summer.  The day I saw PVC Bow & Arrows in a friend's Facebook news feed and decided we should drop everything and go to the hardware store so we could make them was definitely one of my favorite days! 

These were super fun to make.  My kids were especially impressed when I broke out the power tools!  We couldn't find some of the things listed on the supply list, so it was also a great exercise in problem solving.  For example, we couldn't find the foam we needed for the arrow tips (we live in a small town), so we figured out how to use sponges instead!

If you're looking to make some of these for yourself, I found the directions here at Skip to my Lou.
They're really easy to follow. 

Now, a little about the layout.  I used My Mind's Eye Cut & Paste.  I couldn't resist that cloud paper.  I haven't hand stitched on a layout for a while, so I decided to stitch around the outline of a few of the clouds. It adds a little extra cuteness. The arrow paper also seemed like a perfect choice for a Bow & Arrows layout.   I layered up a little bit of silver washi tape, added some journaling, and called it finished!

I hope you've been having some impromptu fun this summer, too!
Thanks for stopping by.

RAGBRAI Guests

Mid July we had a whole bunch of (75ish) cyclists camped overnight at our house and two of the neighbors' houses. It was the kick off to the big bike ride across Iowa.  I'm not crazy enough to bike across Iowa, but I am crazy enough to host lots of cyclists from the Chicago cycling club called CUBS...and it was a blast!  Here's a little 2 pager I did about our RAGBRAI Guests.

 I rarely forget I have paper (I have a pretty good system where I use my paper pretty soon after getting it if all goes well), but I totally forgot I had this paper!  It's Cut & Paste from My Mind's Eye.  It's a stunning collection, and the bike paper was perfect for what I was scrapping. I'm so glad I stumbled across it the other day!

We made signs and decorated our windows on the front and back of the house with window crayons welcoming the CUBS. We had a whole lot of tents in the back yard and bicycles in the front yard and garage!

 Did I mention the average age of the riders in the CUBS is something like 55?  Crazy, right?

 The boys especially loved checking out all of the cool bikes and accessories on the bikes (things like speakers, special water bottle holders, etc.).

Definitely an experience worth at least one scrapbook page!

Thanks for stopping by!