The Bee’s Knees Meets Cape Cod Meets Dream Maker

Although this card does not include any of the Dream Maker paper, I used a sketch from the Dream Maker card making workshop, and I LOVE how it turned out.  (I hope you do too!)

Each of the triangles is half of a 2“ x 4 1/2“ rectangle, cut on the diagonal. I ended up adding some really old, retired paper from my stash that happened to be out on my work table, and matches the Lagoon in Cape Cod. I had a lot of fun using an onion bag, sponge, and periwinkle ink to make the pretty textured background at the top of the card front.

I stamped the crab in Periwinkle and the coral in Toffee (from the Cape Cod Scrapbooking stamp set & Thin Cuts). I love the sentiment from the July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees, so I stamped Hi in Bluebird on a Stitched Rectangle Thin Cut panel.  A little acrylic "sea glass" shell from the Cape Cod embellishments finished off this card perfectly (if I do say so myself). 

Hope you're all having a great summer!

The Bee’s Knees Meets Cape Cod

This card is a CASE from the Cape Cod cardmaking Workshop, but with several twists, including the addition of the soon to retire, close to my heart color of the year, Melon.

I splattered the card front with Toffee shimmer brush.  Then, I stamped the Hi sentiment (from the July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees) in Lagoon and the rope in Toffee from the Cape Cod Scrapboking stamp set.  Using the Thin Cuts from that collection, I also stamped coral in Toffee and the seahorse and shells in Melon. The faux washi tape is a piece of one of the zip strips from the Cape Cod collection.

I really love this color combination of Glacier, Lagoon, Toffee, and Melon. Be sure to grab our color of the year before it is gone!

The Bee’s Knees Just Bee-cause Card

This card is a total CASE (copy & steal exactly- or almost exactly) of theCTMH Corp featured artwork!

I used Raspberry, Flamingo, and Honey Butter in lieu of the featured artwork colors.  I created a "wash" behind the sentiment of Flamingo shimmer brush prior to stamping the sentiment in Black.  (If you "wash" after stamping, your stamping won't be as clear.  Be sure to clean your stamp before reinking and stamping again.)

I also used Honey Butter shimmer brush on the flower centers and the bee abdomen, but that didn't photograph well.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so don't be afraid to CASE something you like!  It's even better when you add your own twist.

The Bee’s Knees Banner Card

This card uses the pretty July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees, and a sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 4.  

After stamping the bee on the White Daisy panel, I colored it with a yellow and Alpine Green Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend marker then added shimmer with a clear shimmer brush.  The banners are from the Bring Back My Pack For Always collection plus Honey Butter cardstock. 

I wish that you could see this shimmer and sparkle in real life!

Dream Maker Anniversary Layout

When I bought the National Scrapbooking Month special collection, Dream Maker, I was planning to use it for some of our travel photos (and I still plan to do that), but it seemed just perfect with the pictures we took of our recent anniversary.

My layout was inspired by the Dream Maker Scrapbooking Workshop, but of course I had to make it my own to fit my photos. As you can see by the 4 x 4 photo mat, I forgot to order a picture of the beautiful orchid he gave me, so I’ve added it to my desktop "To Print" folder and will get it printed in my next batch.

Most of the embellishments are from the Cardstock Carnival die cuts (a special offer earlier this year) with some acrylic shapes thrown in for more color and dimension.

Part of me thinks I might need a few more black accents, but I think I am going to leave it as is.  I don't want to "gild the lily" for sure!

Do not be afraid to mix old and new products together!

Flower Shoppe Wedding Layouts

Our daughter’s best friend got married earlier this year, with only the parents and my two girls in attendance, so I had to make layouts for us of this beautiful ceremony, using the Flower Shoppe collection that I used for the mini albums I made as gifts for the bride and her parents.

This first layout is for my older daughter, so you’ll notice I chose Sage to match her dress and the pink floral because she is my pink girl.  (She was originally asked to be the Maid of Honor, but then actually officiated the ceremony.)  The lack of journaling is because this layout is for my daughter, and it’s her story to tell, not mine.

Daughter number two loves blue, so I had fun with the blue prints from flower shop for her layout.  Again, I left space for journaling, because it is her story to tell, not mine.  (She was the photographer and unofficial flower girl!)

I chose to include a photo with the parents because the bride’s parents are our very dear friends.  Even though we were not able to attend, I want this moment preserved in my family's scrapbooks, because they are so dear to us.

Each layout used a different Make It From Your Heart sketch, and I love how they turned out!

If you love the Flower Shoppe collection as much as I do, be sure to grab what's left while supplies last (through the end of August)!  If you're a scrapper (or wannabe scrapper), be sure to check out the Start Up Savings on Cut Above starter kits.

Flower Shoppe Wedding Mini Album

Our daughter’s best friend got married earlier this year, so I made both her and my dear friend her mother almost identical 6x8 wedding scrapbooks.  I used the Flower Shoppe collection.  It was so fun to play with the paper and stickers!

The opening page uses stickers, a piece of retired Ballerina paper from the Hillside Cottage collection, and several embellishments from my stash.

There's no journaling because I want them to be able to write their story.

Didn't the papers work well for their photos?

Here are my girls, the only other guests at the wedding.

Again, the journaling spots were left blank on purpose.

The left page will look better when they add more information.

They had lots of fun getting photos together around campus.

It's a UGA tradition to ring the chapel bell when you are celebrating something special, and I'd say getting married on the front steps of the chapel is definitely special!

This beautiful floral collection is still available through the end of August, while supplies last.  Thanks for letting me share the pages of this sweet 6x8 album with you!

UGA Graduation Layout #2

 Once again, I used the For Always collection with Candy Apple to document our daughter's UGA graduation.  This layout is for her album and includes pictures from our dinner the night before, of her on the jumbotron at the ceremony, and afterwards at the Arch.

I decided to write the journaling under the dinner photo on scrap cardstock and attach it to the layout so that if she wants to say/write something different, it will be easy to take that off and write either directly on the layout or on another piece to then adhere.

If you scrapbook, please make sure to journal, especially mentioning the non-family members because you may or may not remember their names (and future generations definitely will not know without our help).

UGA Graduation Layout #1

Our younger daughter earned her BA from the University of Georgia in December, and the Bring Back My Pack For Always collection was perfect- with a pop of Candy Apple red.

I used two of her graduation announcements and photos from her graduation photo shoot to make a collage on the left page.

The right page uses the Make It From Your Heart, Volume 5, Pattern 2 and a retired graduation stamp set.

I love the fun of the shaker window!  (In hindsight, I probably should have used gold star confetti, but silver is fine too.)

We are so proud of our girl!  This layout is going in my family scrapbook, and I will be making layouts for her scrapbook.

Mother’s Day Layout

When I saw the CSI Case File No. 414, it inspired me to scrapbook our Mother’s Day pictures from this year.  I used the Close To My Heart Flower Shoppe and Hello Darlin’ collections.  

Can you tell how the case file inspired me?

I loved the color scheme, the dresses, and the florals especially.  (Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to add a little bird to my layout.)

The white and sapphire floral paper is from the Flower Shoppe collection, and it added interest without overpowering my photos.  I absolutely love the Candy Apple, Periwinkle, Sage, and Sapphire floral from Hello Darlin', so I was able to use one of my last scraps on the left page.  All of the Sapphire and Candy Apple embellishments are from the retired Hello Darlin' embellishments (with the addition of clear sparkles).

The top and bottom Sapphire strips are also from Flower Shoppe.  To make the thin Candy Apple polka dot strips, I cut a zip strip carefully in half.

My journaling is pretty simple because this layout is part of our family album, and it would be obvious who is who based on the larger context.  I'm not yet ready to journal about how this was our first Mother's Day without BJ (and I may not ever be), but I have a few extra photos just in case I decide to do that.

Thanks for letting me share my Mother's Day layout and take on the CSI Case File No. 414!

The Bee’s Knees Meets Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #531

The Close To My Heart July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees, has so many possibilities!  When I saw Sketch #531 at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, I wanted to give it a try.  (I love using sketches to help me create pretty projects, and this one is no exception.)

I decided to use the current Bring Back My Pack special, For Always, with its beautiful black and white designs.  I paired it with Honey Butter to fit the bee theme.  After fussy cutting the bee, I colored it with the Spectrum Noir TriBlend darkest Citrus Blend and lightest Alpine Green.  After adhering the bee to my card, I colored its bum (technically its abdomen) again with my Honey Butter shimmer brush and then brushed Clear shimmer brush over the wings.  See that pretty sparkle?

Here's the actual sketch for reference:

You've only got a day left to join this particular sketch challenge, but the July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees, is available all month long.  (If you're interested, you can learn more HERE.)  Thanks for buzzing by!

July CTMH Specials

How in the world can the year be half over already?!?  We have moved into the dog days of summer as July begins.  Here are peeks at this month's Close To My Heart specials.  (You can find everything HERE.)

First, we have a brand new Idea Book with exclusive products for July and August!

The Bee's Knees is July's stamp of the month, and this set of 15 stamps is only available through the end of the month for $5 with a minimum $50 purchase (or FREE if you're a VIP with a $50 purchase) or for $18.95 if you'd prefer not to spend $50 to get the discounted price.

The Bring Back My Pack special is featuring the beautiful For Always collection, and is available while supplies last until the end of July.

We have a new special collection called Memory Lane with its own beautiful paper pack, stamp set, and scrapbooking and cardmaking workshops.  Again, these items are available while supplies last, but through the end of August.

Again, you can find all this (and more!) right HERE!
 

For Always Wedding Card

Close To My Heart has decided to bring back my pack with the four always collection. I still have a good bit of this beautiful paper laughed, and I think it was a perfect choice for a wedding card.

It uses one of my favorite retired stamp sets, Sentiments by Melissa Esplin, and a pretty sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Volume 4, Pattern 1.