BLAKE

This is my latest design for Sketches in Thyme.  So I did something way out of my comfort zone...I went to a concert.  I know that doesn't sound like a "comfort zone" issue, but when you have a chronic illness and have never heard a Blake Shelton song, saying yes to a Blake Shelton concert is a big deal.  So I decided to document this event for this month's project.  Since Blake is a country boy, I wanted to have a western vibe to this page but also since it was a girl's night out, I wanted that reflected as well.  I dipped into my stash of We R Memory Keepers "Indian Summer" collection, which I thought was the perfect blend of western and feminine, and created this layout. I'm happy to report that not only did I have a great time at the concert, I did actually know a Blake Shelton song!  "PS this is Austin, and I still love you..." And also since attending this concert, I'm officially a Blake Shelton fan.  It was definitely worth getting out of my comfort zone!

SPRING

This is my latest creation for Let Scrap using the following sketch.  In typical Ohio fashion, our March weather has been in mid 60's.  That means next week we will be under a blizzard warning.  I love Spring.  Which is why I'm not a fan of March; it teases way too much!  But with all the spring weather, I decided to dip into my picture archives when my youngest daughter had a fun day at the park on a gorgeous spring day.  I used Echo Park's Spring Collection & my square punch to create the diamonds. And suddenly springtime in March that will last forever!

SOMETIMES BEST FRIENDS ARE FURRY

This is my latest layout for The Memory Nest.  For this sketch, I decided that my dog should be the focus.  I must admit, for the majority of my adult life, I was a cat person.  There was nothing more I wanted than a house full of kitties.  Then I read the book The Lovely Bones.  With two small daughters, I was scared to death.  At that moment, I decided that our family needed a dog.  Immediately. The bigger and more ferocious the dog, the better!  As fate would have it, my daughter's friend's family were fostering a litter of puppies who were abandoned near Dayton, Ohio.  While visiting their house, I got to hold a fuzzy, muscular tan boy with giant white paws. That was all she wrote.  I was madly in love with him.  We adopted the puppy the minute he became available and named him Aro Volturri after the mean vampire in the Twilight series because I was convinced he would be our ferocious guard dog.  Well, the only thing ferocious about him is his bark.  He does a super job protecting us from stray leaves blowing across the street, the UPS man, other dogs taking walks in our neighborhood... Otherwise he's a giant teddy bear.  He puts up with so much living with three girls like silly Halloween costumes...But he's happiest curled up in a fuzzy blanket taking a snooze with his favorite humans.  And I'm happy to report that I'm a full on dog lover courtesy of Mr. Volturri.

FRAMED

This is my latest creation for The Memory Nest using the below sketch.  I was inspired by the circle in the middle of the sketch, but decided to approach it differently for my layout.  My older daughter has become quite the scrooge about allowing me to take her picture.  If I try to take any snapshot of her, I'm met with her face buried in her arm and strong protesting...(The worst thing that could happen to an avid scrapping Mom is her daughter saying, "NO MORE PICTURES!)  Well, fortunately for me, her iCloud is hooked up to my iPhone.  And in a selfie photo shoot she took, I found this one using a circle mirror as a frame.  With the green of the mirror and the mischief she makes when I try to take her picture, I thought to myself, "Perfect St. Patrick's Day layout!"  I dipped into my stash of St. Patrick's Day papers and used my Cricut "Basic Shapes" cartridge to cut out the giant scalloped circle in the middle.  And voila; my favorite stink weed has been permanently "framed" in her Mom's scrapbook album!  

USA LAND THAT I LOVE

Good news!  Let's Scrap has invited me back to be a designer for another term!  I love this group of scrappers; so supportive and creative.  This was my submission for the design team call.  This sketch has wonderful ideas for secret compartments to add pictures, journaling, ephemera from a trip.  However, for this sketch, I decided to go simple and highlighted my daughter's 8th grade trip to Washington DC.  I teach 8th grade at my daughter's school, so I got to go as well.  Let me tell you, one has not lived until they have navigated a group of ninety fourteen years olds, including your sassy daughter, through a major city.  The trip was not without its hangups, but overall, we had a great time.  I used Doodlebug's Patriotic Parade and Patriotic Picnic papers to accent the pictures.  And since this layout was all about the US capital, I tried to recreate the feel of an American flag when placing my pictures and papers on this layout.

HER LOVES

This is my latest creation for Sketches in Thyme.  I've said a gazillion times that I'm a seasonal scrapbooker.  And in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I went full out hearts for this creation.  I don't take a lot of pictures of my girls on Valentine's Day, but what I decided to focus on for this layout are my younger daughter's favorite things in the whole wide world.  She loves the beach, the Ohio State Buckeyes & her best friend, her dog, Speedway Speedy Freezes, soccer, and wrapping presents. So that is what this layout is all about; the things in life that make her the happiest.  To play up the love theme, I used Pink Paislee's "Bella Rouge" collection throughout this project.

FRANCE TRIP

This is my final creation for this term for Let's Scrap using the below sketch.  For this sketch, I decided to do something I hardly ever do; I scrapped me.  This is pre-children, pre-marriage Stephanie.  During my second year teaching, I had the opportunity to travel to France & Spain with the school I worked for at the time.  It was an experience of a lifetime.  And since this was in 1998, I neither had a digital camera nor scrapbooked like I do now.  Long story short, I didn't take as many pictures as I wish I would have.  When the terrorist attack happened in November, I was looking through my travel album and realized that the pages were becoming yellow.  That was my cue; get the pictures out of there immediately AND scrap them!  To play up the "France" theme of layout, I used Carta Bella's "Amour" collection to accent the pictures.