South Padre Is

Another layout inspired by the weekly challenges on the Cricut site! These are photos from our Thanksgiving break trip to South Padre Is, Tx. Our first day found us strolling the beach and enjoying the gulf waters. This is just the first of many layouts from this vacation; hopefully, there will be enough sketches to keep me inspired!

For those that scrapbook themselves, the cuts (title, waves, and coral) are all from Cricut's Life's a Beach. The waves were cut as boarders, sized at 1" and welded to make 12" lengths. The other embellishments were from a dementional sticker set by Me & My Big ideas. The paper is by Reminisce and called Seabreeze--the striped paper for the title is the backside.

Spy Gear

Woohoo! I got this layout done in one hour! That is what I love about sketches (from the challenge on the Cricut messageboard); they do make it faster. Anyhow, this one is out of my usual comfort zone. It is more graphic/cartoonish than I usually do, but the subject was perfect. In my earlier post today, I showed a Christmas LO. If you read the journaling for it, I mention my family's stocking tradition. Well, this layout shows an example. My brother took a job to help improve education in Pakistan. His role over there is completely peaceful, but he had to go through self defense training before going over. The training reminded me of spy movies, which is why he had spy gear in his stocking!


The title font (for my Cricut friends) is Plantin Schoolbook. The others are cuts that sort of reminded me of cartoon spys, and they are from Indy Art.

Under The Tree

This Christmas was special. Liam learned the true magic of Santa, and it changed everything--from the time we go to bed to what made this year special. We have a family tradition that Craig and I have honored since the year we married. Stocking are meant for fun, playful gifts--the kind that bring back memories or make you giggle. This time Liam got to participate, and I think it was his favorite part of the holiday.

To make it even more special, Micah was with us again this year. Like last year, he had to leave the day after Christmas, but it has been so wonderful to have him here for two Christmas celebrations in a row. Liam even calls the spare bedroom "Micah's room."

Anyhow, for my scrapbooking and Cricut friends, the paper is from DCWV from years back! The title font is Plantin Schoolbook. The holly is from Stretch Your Imagination. The quote was written in two computer fonts: Pristina and Scriptina. I got the idea for it from a book I bought a while ago but had yet to try until today. It is called Embellished Emotions for Scrapbookers by Trudy Sigurdson.

CTMH Card

Roxanna and Erin hosted a CTMH party this morning. I've loved their products for a while now, but this was my first "party." We made a Valentine's Day card, which I adore. The stamp set we used is on my want list now! What a great start to a creative day!

Walk for a Cure

My last LO post was a cancer walk my son did as part of his Honor Society civic involvement (the whole school's Honor Society walked). A week later, my school participated in a Breast Cancer Awareness walk. Our school has had its share of breast cancer surviors (thankfully) and losses (heartbreaking). We were the largest group of walkers! Made me proud to work at the school I am at.

Anyhow, I am most excited about getting to scrap with pink! I am the girl in my family. Most of my LOs are blues, greens, browns... I get excited when the holidays come, and I get to do other colors! LOL But pink!!! I got to do pink. Don't ask me what I will put on the facing page (usually do 2 pagers), but maybe I can figure out another pink one!

"Hope" came from Home Decor. The title is cut from Songbird. The ribbon is from Stand and Salute.

Cancer Walk

Liam's chapter of the Honor Society chose a local cancer walk as one of their civic projects. It was a 5k walk along the river and beneath beautiful cottonwoods. The balloon carries my dad's name. He died of cancer two weeks before Liam's first birthday, but through my stories, Liam knows quite a lot about him.

We were tired and sore when done, but it didn't stop us from doing another cancer walk the next weekend too, which is my next layout!

The striped paper is from My Minds Eye. The font is Alphalicious, and the tree is from stretch your imagination.

It is a snow day here in Northern NM. It started snowing early this morning, and it hasn't stopped in several hours. I ventured out onto our street for a few photos of the view and our yard. I can only imagine what it will look like when the "real" storm passes over, as we are being told this is just an early break off cell of it!

Thank goodness for my wonderful, warm home!

Purr-fect Christmas

A very simple layout, but these two kittens (yep, only 6 months old) are anything but simple. These are two of the kittens we fostered when their mother died. They were 5 days old. They have grown so much and are the delight of our days.

Glorious Autumn

This week, there were two layout sketches on the Cricut messageboard, a two page one and a one pager. I've already posted the two page, but since today was a holiday, I had time to do the other as well.

The font, flowers, and leaves are from Plantin Schoolbook. The journaling block and title backdrop are from Storybook. The paper is from My Minds Eye; Where the Heart Is, and the rub-on is daisy d's.

Mother Nature's Brushstroke

We usually spend Craig's mother's birthday with her up in Silverton. It falls just right after mine, and the leaves are usually turning. This year, it was breathtaking. The weekend was overcast and rainy, which is my favorite kind of weather. Everything had been washed clean and made colorful. Silverton is nestled in a valley between peaks of Colorado's southwestern Rocky Mnts. Ouray, which is just across Red Mnt Pass, is often called Little Switerland/The American Alps. Truly, it is a gorgeous location, and I know we are blessed to be able to enjoy it at whim.

The papers are are from a multitude of sources, and the background one is much greener than it looks in this photo. Actually, everything is more colorful than it appears here. We are preparing for another snowstorm, and the overcast sky isn't providing the rich light I love for photo taking. The cuts are all Cricut. Title and date are from Plantin Schoolbook. The swish is from Home Accents, and the leaves are from Accent Essentials. The coolest thing about the leaves is both the top piece and the bottom are from the same paper. I just chalked one or the other!

Thanks againt to the Cricut messageboard for a weekly sketch challenge!

Cricut Laying It Down Layout Challenge

Over at the Cricut message board, several members have decided to inspire and push each other by choosing one layout sketch a week and doing that layout. This it the first week and the first sketch, and here is what I made.

The photos were from this past Christmas season and one of our baking events. We made peppermint biscotti. Even Liam got involved, despite being a teen that often thinks his parents are weird.

The title was cut from Winter Woodland. The peppermints are from Very Merry Tags, and the snowflake punch along the bottom of the black and white photos is from Martha Stewart. The background paper is from Joann's called Peppermint Forest. (How perfect is that considering the subject of the layout?)

Here it is: my layout of the beautiful blue moon, sleigh ride my husband took me on for our 19th anniversary.

The shape cuts are all from Winter Woodland. The font on the title is from Storybook, and on the journaling, it is French Script. The background paper, which has a beautiful old-fashioned snowflake pattern to it, is from DCWV's Holiday Collection; The Christmas Stack. It actually has a row of houses at the bottom that I have covered with my snowy hills. I used charcoal to chalk the sleigh. The horse has alabaster chalking on its legs and chestnut on the saddle and body. The trees have indigo and charcoal, and the title has indigo. The journaling strips are colored by indigo, aqua, and sky blue. The "snow" is provided by frosted lace stickles.