TRICK OR TREAT

This is my latest layout for Sketches in Thyme.  In my true seasonal scrapbook form, I decided to go Halloween for my October 20th reveal.  I'm a pushover for Halloween paper, especially anything Doodlebug.  I liked how this sketch allowed for different types of patterned paper to be used.  For me, this was PERFECT since I have accumulated quite a bit of Doodlebug Halloween paper over the years.  I decided to feature pictures of my daughters, what feels like many moons ago, getting ready for Trick or Treat.  I blinked and one became a high schooler and the other became entrenched in "tweenhood."  Overall, I was pleased at how this sketch layout came together, Although these pictures sure did tug at my heartstrings....I sure do miss my little witch and Corpse Bride...

HOMECOMING 2015

This is my latest project for "Let's Scrap" using the design found below.  My daughter recently attended her first semi-formal dance proving to her Mom and Dad that time is marching a little too quick for our liking!  Instead of going with dates, my daughter and her friends decided to go together as a group.  And despite going dateless, the lead up to the dance didn't go without hitches...First was the "I hate my dress" mishap.  (That was until her Dad bought her what she called "Kardashian" heels, and then the dress was fine!)  And of course, the day of the dance, Mother Nature decided to drop the temperature and rain an annoying cold, constant rain the majority of the day.  (Thank goodness for the gallon of hairspray we applied!)  As for the sketch, I decided to go with muted, natural colors to make the pictures the centerpiece.  I followed the left side of the sketch as it was presented, but decided to take some liberties with the right.  I loved the "Polaroid" pictures in the original sketch, however, what I had on hand from the dance did not fit this.  So I decided to make my vertical stretch of pictures showing my daughter getting ready for the dance in "Polaroid" form; notice the white space along the bottom of the picture?  And instead of using hot air balloons, I used gold, sparkly flowers I recently found in my favorite $1 section of Michael's.  Overall, I was pleased with how this sketch came together; I just am not pleased that my baby is growing up so fast!

HAPPY

This is my latest creation for Let's Scrap based on the sketch below.  The month of September has been a blur.  This layout is half the reason why; volleyball!  My older daughter has played volleyball for five years.  She absolutely loves the sport.  Last year was her first year on the school team.  This year, she has been a starter for her Freshman team since the beginning of the season.  She has transformed from a timid back line hitter to an all around utility player with one heck of a serve.  Not to mention, her team is absolutely fabulous!  Each girl seems to know subconsciously what the other girls are going to do therefore they play beautifully together.  It has been a joy watching them grow this season.  So when I saw the stars on this layout, I thought of my daughter's volleyball team and decided they would be a perfect subject matter for this layout since they have all had a stellar season.  In addition, I used Teresa Collins' "Urban Market" collection not only because many of the papers are my daughter's school colors, but the circle glitter paper reminded me of volleyballs.

SOCCER

This is my latest creation for Sketches in Thyme using the following sketch.  My husband and I are in the depths of soccer season right now with our youngest daughter.  As a result, I saw the circle on this sketch and thought "soccer ball." She has been completely obsessed this past summer with the Women's World Cup Soccer team.  She can tell you every player's name, jersey number, birthday...She's a little obsessed.  Over the course of three months, she has traveled to New Jersey and Pennsylvania to see the women play.  This past trip she got to see the actual trophy the women won in Canada over the summer; she said it was worth the hour wait to get her picture with the trophy. I'm sure this won't be the last soccer layout I do for a DT this year...but for this particular sketch, I thought the pictures of my daughter in soccer heaven fit the bill perfectly!

SENOIA

 This is my latest double page sketch for Let's Scrap based on the design below.  I'm in seasonal scrapbook mode again.  This past weekend a chill was in the air, sweatshirts were being worn...The calendar may say it's still summer, but it definitely felt like fall.  So I decided to dip into some of my favorite fall pictures I took two years ago in Senoia, Georgia where AMC films my favorite TV show The Walking Dead.  My older daughter and I took a tour with Atlanta Movie Tours and went to several places featured in Season 3 of the show; namely "Woodbury." "Woodbury" is actually the town of Senoia, Georgia.  This town truly is one of the loveliest, most picturesque places I've ever seen.  So much in fact that LOTS of movies have been filmed here.  The day of our tour was an absolutely perfect fall day; not a cloud in the sky.  To accent these fall pictures, I used paper from Carta Bella's "Fall Blessings" line, namely the "Arrows" which I purposefully used as a shout out to my favorite crossbowmen Daryl Dixon.  :)  The Walking Dead fans will know what I'm talking about...

NEW YORK CITY

This is my latest double page spread for Let's Scrap.  This particular layout was also used for our most recent DT call.  When I saw all the various shapes for pictures for this sketch, I immediately thought of pictures my husband took while in New York City with my daughter.  One day they spent watching the Women's World Cup Soccer team play in New Jersey.  The next day they checked out New York City.  My husband is a firefighter/paramedic who I swear knows every firefighter between here and the Atlantic Ocean. He had acquaintances who died on 9/11 therefore he really wanted to see the new World Trade Center and the memorial for those who died during the attack.  After paying their respects at the World Trade Center, my daughter insisted that her Dad take her to Dash.  (She loves the Kardashians, and really wanted to see their store).  Once she left Dash, it was off to Chanel, and then Starbucks.  And along the way, he took tons of pictures that I positioned into the sketch.  I took a few liberties with the design, but overall was pleased with my interpretation of it.  I chose to use various shades of grey, black, and white to resemble the colors of the skyscrapers and signs along with a "dash" of red to symbolize "The Big Apple."

JOY TO THE WORLD

This is my latest creation for Sketches in Thyme based on the sketch found below.  What struck me when I initially looked at the sketch were the triangles.  And despite being the first of August when I created this project, I instantly thought of Christmas Trees when I saw this sketch.  I decided to rotate some of the triangles to make colored paper Christmas Trees throughout this layout.  The pictures I chose were simply fun shots I took this past Christmas morning.  My husband and I love to do funny things on Christmas such as posing the Elf on the Shelf on a gift we think the girls will like best or putting little hints on the tags on what is inside the package.  This past Christmas, we adopted a puppy who thoroughly enjoyed the mess on Christmas morning.  And I kept finding her in strange spots such as between a pizza and hamburger pillow with an ornament on her head. Across the top of the layout is a quote from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas that reads, "Maybe Christmas, he thought...doesn't come from a store.  Maybe Christmas, perhaps...means a little bit more!"  As much as my children do enjoy opening presents, I certainly hope it will be moments like these that are the most memorable to them about Christmases when they were little.