Scrapbook Saturday: Always & Forever Layout

If you've followed me for a bit, then you'll know that our family attended the gorgeous wedding of dear friends recently.  I was so inspired to scrapbook our photos and memories from this special event!

You can see how the photos and wedding decor absolutely drove the colors and design of this scrapbook layout!  I used the palette of Basic White, Cloud Clover, Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon, and Blueberry Bushel with touches of Old Olive.

The bridge & groom, the venue, and the flowers were absolutely breathtaking!

Now that you've seen the pages, I want to get technical about how this spread came together.  Sometimes I am able to find a sketch that fits my photos, but that was not the case this time.  When I'm not using a sketch, I grab two pieces of 12"x12" white cardstock and lay them on my workspace.  Then, I place (and rearrange) my photos until I have a design that I like.

I started adding the different die cut elements to see how they might work together.  Then, I snapped a quick picture so that I wouldn't lose my ideas.

The next step was to die cut a bunch of the Forever Florals dies in Basic White & Azure Afternoon.  (I ended up using 13 of the large floral cluster die cuts!)  I colored the leaves with my Old Olive Stamp & Write marker (retired), but of course a Stampin' Blend would work.  I new that I wanted a green background for the bottom row of flowers, so I used a blending brush to blend Old Olive and a little Mossy Meadow ink.

Here is the left page's border.  Once everything was secured, I cut off the edges hanging off and then completed the process on the right page.  

If you look closely, you can see that I also blended Cloud Cover and Balmy Blue ink on some of the die cuts to try to mimic the hydrangeas in the aisle flowers and arch.

When I created the monogram frame, I didn't like the look of solid Cloud Cover cardstock and wanted more of the glimmer paper to show, so I layered the white frame on the Cloud Cover cardstock and lightly traced the "oval" foliage and then cut out the center.  

It took several trims to get it just right, but I love how it turned out!  I colored the leaves and then added a few extra die cuts.

The G is a retired CTMH/Cricut cut.

Thank you for letting me share this special event and layout with you!  Please let me know if you'd like help scrapbooking your photos and stories!  It's what I LOVE to do!

Supplies used:

• Basic White, Cloud Cover, Azure Afternoon, Blueberry Bushel cardstock
• Blueberry Bushel glimmer specialty paper
• Forever Florals bundle (stamp set & dies)
• Fern & Floral bundle
• Basic Gray, Cloud Cover, Balmy Blue, & Blueberry Bushel inks
• Old Olive marker
• Watercolor pencils (Balmy Blue and Old Olive)
• blending brushes
• Cricut

August Paper Pumpkin Now Available

The window for ordering the August Paper Pumpkin box, Kindred Greetings, is now open!

AUGUST: Kindred GreetingsSubscribe July 11–August 10

Send timeless, understated cards with heartfelt messages of comfort and appreciation.

 • Makes 9 cards: 3 each of 3 designs with 9 coordinating envelopes

 • Precut paper pieces and intricate precut card fronts

 • Gray and white twine

 • Coordinating colors: Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, Gray Granite (Stampin’ Spot), Lost Lagoon, Petal Pink, Pool Party

If you aren't a Paper Pumpkin subscriber yet and want to month's kit, be sure to sign up HERE by August 10.  NEW subscribers can get 25% off their first kit, this month only (though Aug. 10)!

(If you are a subscriber and want to pause to not receive this kit, go into your account and pause before August 10.)

Thursday Live: Double Easel Fun Fold Card

Last Thursday's Facebook Live (each Thursday at 7:30 PM) card creation was this double easel fun fold card.  (You can also find YouTube instructions HERE.)

The pretty vase and polka dot paper are from the gorgeous black & white DSP, Artisan Garden, quickly colored with Stampin' Blends.

I'd love to see what you make!  Get inky, friends!  Catch me tonight for my next Facebook Live at 7:30 PM!

Supplies Used:

• Basic White, Basic Black, and Golden Glow cardstock
• Artisan Garden DSP
• Scalloped Blooms stamp set
• Golden Glow and Black ink
• Golden Glow, Old Olive, Balmy Blue, Basic Black, and Gray Granite Stampin' Blends
• Everyday Arches dies
• 26-28 In Color Pearls
• Blending brush

Hot Foil Coming Soon!

Have you heard of hot foil?  It is coming soon to a demonstrator near you!  If you love the magic of heat embossing, then you are doing to be WOWed by hot foil!  (If you don't know what I'm writing about and want to know more, let me show you how!)

My hot foil system is expected to arrive Friday, AND it will be available to everyone at midnight on Friday, July 10!  I cannot wait to play and share with you!  You can read more about it HERE.

Which hot foil dies would you start with?

Happy 250th Birthday, America!

 Happy 250th Birthday, America!  God bless the USA, land that I love!

I'm "upcycling" a card that I made last year because I think it's still perfect for today.  (You can find the original post HERE!) 

250 Home Decor

A fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator shared this adorable "candle" decor and generously shared instructions with me.  Here is my version.

I think this will be a fun fall and holiday project!  What season would you like to create these for?
 

Wedding Gift Card Holder

Last week we were blessed as a family to attend the wedding of a dear friend (and our girls were bridal attendants).  I made this gift card holder because it was much easier to travel with a gift of this size.

This is a really fun fold!  I loved using the white and gold DSP from the Lovely & Beautiful DSP.

I used the Forever Florals bundle and heat embossed the sentiment in gold.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding:

The Four of Us

The gorgeous bride & groom (& venue)

July Stampin' Up! News

Today is an exciting day in the Stampin' Up! Universe!  A whole "mini catalog" of July online exclusives have launched, along with two new kits, and a really great JOIN offer.  You can find out more HERE!

Floral Spray Embossed Card

The third and final card for my recent Saturday card gathering had a bit of a WOW factor because I taught the ladies how to use an embossing folder with the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine.

We used a Soft Sea Foam cardstock base and then embossed a Petal Pink panel.

As of writing this post, this embossing folder wasn't available, but did you know that you can opt to get a notification when it (or any unavailable items that will be returning) is available?  Just click the box to be notified!

Here are some details of the cards we made.

We highlighted some of the flowers with Wink of Stella.  The shimmer is so pretty in real life!

I look forward to card making with this great group of ladies again in the fall!
 

Cutest Crew Card Trio

For the Saturday card class that I mentioned recently, the second card actually had three choices with the Cutest Crew stamp set and colored pencils.

 Do you prefer the birds, dogs, or cats?

Happy Birthday Sunset Card

Happy birthday to my friend and longtime customer, Ann!  I hope you like the water vibes of this card!

I paired a pretty piece of Scenic Coast DSP with the Balloon Festoon bundle to celebrate her.  

Remember that it's not a mistake, but rather an opportunity to embellish like I did here because I scored my card base at the wrong measurement.  That pretty DSP strip covers up my booboo pretty well.  That's a sign of being handmade, right?

Happy birthday, Ann! 

Old + New = Birthday Cards

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of leading a card class to a lovely group of ladies!  This was my second event with them, and setting up card making stations was the way to go.  One station had these options:

The card uses a favorite (old) Close To My Heart sketch, retired (old) Floral Impressions DSP, and (new) Scalloped Blooms bundle (stamp set & dies).  

I have to give a huge shout out to my amazing helpers, Lynn and Ann!

Which card do you prefer?