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

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!

Virtual Album Retreat 2026 Layout #6: The Highlands (Day 1)

What's not to love about this layout of our visit to Kilburn Castle, Inverary, and Loch Lomond.

The heart was super easy to make because all of the pieces were precut, but you could make your own by using quarters of 3 1/4" circles.

Flip flaps allow me to add multiple photos to one photo mat to help extend my story.

I also used flip flaps on the second page to add more photos and journaling.

The Virtual Album Retreat 2026 kit is still available, while supplies last, along with all of the training videos.  It is a gift you will not regret for your favorite scrapbooker or family memory keeper!
 

Virtual Album Retreat 2026 Layout #5: Northern Ireland

Being a "student" was another reason that Virtual Album Retreat 2026 was so fun for me!  The only decisions that I had to make were which photos I planned to use where and whether I followed the instructions or not.  (Spoiler: I did not exactly.)

I was really happy that this layout design used a lot of Garden Green so I used Emerald Isle photos on it.

It didn't photograph well, but we splattered NEW Golden Glow shimmer brush on the two base pages, and then stamped the star stripes in Pool Party.  Such fun techniques! 

Since rules are meant to be broken, I added the 3"x4" photo cascade and stretched the 3" square photos in the directions to 4"x3" photos.  I couldn't stand to crop them down any smaller.

Using the alphabet set included in the retreat kit, I stamped my Northern Ireland title on scrap white cardstock and then added to the base page.  (I was afraid I wouldn't stamp it perfectly, but it turned out nicely.)

I love the interactive elements of this page and will cut my page protectors to make them open easily.

Be sure to include journaling of at least the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, and why, as applicable).

 Remember, the Virtual Album Retreat kit is still available HERE, plus you'll receive a thank you gift from me!

Virtual Album Retreat 2026 Layout #4

Continuing our 30th anniversary cruise around the British Isles, our next stop was Cork & Cobh, Ireland.  I was so excited to visit Ireland for the first time, since one of my great-grandmothers and all four of my paternal great-greats had immigrated from Ireland.  It was an extra special trip traveling with my parents.

We had fun at a local pub in Cork and visiting Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral.

On the right page, I used several 3"x4" flip flaps to show some of my favorite photos.

In Cobh, we stopped at St. Colman's Cathedral.  (I definitely inherited my love of churches and cathedrals from my mom, and the rest of the family indulges us!)

On a the crafty side, there are so many different techniques used on this layout!  We curled up the flower petals with a bone folder and random stamped flowers on the Cloud Cover hexagons.  These subtle details really add to the pages while keeping the photos and journaling at the forefront.

I used a four flip flaps to show off all of the phots I wanted to share.

You can still purchase the 2026 Virtual Album Retreat, Happiness Is Here, and receive an extra $25 in Stampin' Rewards as a thank you gift from me?  Just click HERE!

Virtual Album Retreat 2026 Layout #3: Southampton, Portland, and Weymouth

To prepare for making the layouts in the 2026 Virtual Album Retreat, I sat down with the instructions (which included suggested photo sizes) and my phone.  I took note of which layout best matched my photos and what size photos I needed.  (I use a free app called Live Collage to resize my photos/print several to a 4"x6" canvas.). I'm sharing them with you how I created them, not necessarily the order of the instructions or the order in which they were taught live at Virtual Album Retreat.  (I didn't participate live.)

We took a train from London to board the Regal Princess in Southampton.  We absolutely loved having a balcony!

When we stopped in Portland, we took a little hike in the afternoon to the top of a hill for a spectacular view.  (I love that the included 4"x4" flip flaps helped me photo journal more of our trip.)

That morning, we visited the quaint town of Weymouth on the River Wey.  It was absolutely darling!

Again, a 4"x4" flip flap helped me tell more our story.

I love how this analogous color scheme of the blues and greens with the neutral browns helps my photos POP.  You don't have to match your photos exactly to create a lovely layout.

Did you know that you can still purchase the 2026 Virtual Album Retreat, Happiness Is Here, and receive $25 in Stampin' Rewards from me?  Just click HERE!

Virtual Album Retreat 2026 Layout #2: London

The first stop on our British Isles anniversary trip was London, and the 2026 Virtual Album Retreat is the perfect backdrop for our photos and memories.

Everything you need to complete this album is included except for ink, tools, adhesive, etc. (An additional supply list was provided, and I had most everything on it.)

To personalize the album, instead of using the precut tiles to stamp/spell SMILE, I cut my own to stamp London instead.  I also added 3"x3" flip flaps to be able to include my most important photos and my stories.  After all, the stories are the most important thing!

On the right page, I added 3"x4" flip flaps to incorporate more photos.

"Look, kids, Big Ben!" (Name that movie in the comments!)

The soft triadic scheme of red (Calypso Coral), yellow (Crushed Curry), and Blue (Hydrangea Hue) makes my photos POP, don't you think?

You know that you can still purchase the 2026 Virtual Album Retreat, Happiness Is Here, and receive $25 in Stampin' Rewards (only from yours truly, in addition to the $25 in Stampin' Rewards you'll receive from your purchase)!  Just click HERE!
 

Virtual Album Retreat 2026 Layout #1

This year's Virtual Album Retreat 2026, Happiness Is Here, was so good!  I treated myself to it to scrapbook our 30th anniversary British Isles cruise last year, and it has not disappointed!  Yes, it is an investment, but it is worth every penny.  (You can still get the kit HERE and watch the videos on replay like I've done.  Anyone who orders it from me will receive an extra $25 in Stampin' Rewards as a thank you.) 

Layout 1 can be used as a two-page spread or as a front title page and back closing page (which is what I've chosen to do.)

The journaling is in a pocket behind the smaller photo.  I will cut my page protector to be able to access that little gem.

Everything you see came in the Virtual Album kit except ink, journaling pen, and adhesive (plus tools like a paper trimmer).  It was really easy to create this page following the directions.

Remember, the Virtual Album Retreat kit is still available HERE, plus you'll receive a thank you gift from me!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!  You don't have to be a scrapbooker to take advantage of today's NSD flash sale: Two-Tone Cardstock is part of the 20% off sale today only (through midnight tonight).

Check the sale out HERE!

Monday Scrapbooking

A lovely group of ladies meets at a local library on the 3rd Monday of the month to craft, and I was able to join them yesterday since I had the day off.  It was a lot of fun, and I already knew most of them!

I brought my Weekend Adventures DSP and sticker sheet and was able to create another layout from our trip to Alaska last year (finishing the title at home).

I got most of my Thanksgiving layout put together there but then added the stamped sentiment and title at home.

If you're local and free, you should join them to craft on the third Mondays of the month!  Let me know if you need the details.