Beam Signing - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 This is probably one of the most unique layouts I've done. A little background is necessary...Before the lock down the company we work for was in the midst of a huge building expansion project. Each time we've added onto our building, they've had an official beam signing ceremony where all employees are invited to sign the main cross beam for all posterity. Kind of fun! Normally, we would have all been there together signing it, and eating ice cream outside together in celebration. Then Covid entered the scene, so the greater majority of us were all working from home. My husband and I made a trip to the office to sign the beam and check out the progress on the building as the sun was going down. It was fun to see so many of my coworker's names, even though we didn't get to see them in person.

You will probably have to click on the pic to see all the names. Kind of a cool to be part of this, even under these circumstances. I now work in this new building and I have a window view. :) I love that.

The title, crane, safety cones, etc were made with my Cricut. The intricate cut of the crane came out pretty clean, thankfully. I added some paper strips and chipboard ephemera from the Covid paper pack that I had from the other layouts. It is a fun memory during the weird lockdown period.

The top pic on the left next to the title shows the view of the construction from the highway on the way home, showing the size of the addition!

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy your week.

Stay Home - Two Page Layout

 Covid is something that, unfortunately, changed our world in many ways. I took some pictures during lockdown and, of course, decided to scrapbook them. I scrap most events...good, bad, ugly. Funerals, pandemics, etc. There were so many negatives. I'm not dwelling on the negatives, so here are the positives for me:

    1) Working from home (my happy place) for several months!

    2) More time with my husband as he worked from home too! Our pup couldn't have been happier.

    3) More cooking and a bit of deep cleaning.

    4) Caring for and checking in on others.

    5) Overall a more relaxed pace of life.

The Zoom meetings were usually fun! Sometimes we Zoomed just to keep in touch with people at work. I was so thankful we had this tool. We were proud to be able to keep the company going strong while working from home. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. Our company of 500+ employees announced that most everybody would be working from home and to pick up another monitor on our way out that day. Boom! Just like that. So thankful they were prepared. I did have to go to the office a few times to mail out some checks, but it was very minimal.

We also zoomed with our extended family members to keep in touch. It was great! I hadn't talked with many of them in years!

The paper is super cute with all the toilet paper rolls! Remember when we couldn't find it in the stores? Don't tell me you weren't hoarding a couple jumbo packs when you could find them. There were a few times we had to settle for a generic brand and that was NOT my favorite, but we made it work! 

I hope that you have some good stories to tell from your time in lock down. It will definitely be a crazy time to remember, so try to remember the good things too! Tell me your favorite stories!

Thanks for stopping by! I have a few more Covid layouts to share, so please stop back.

    

Family - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 Oh how we miss our siblings! It seems like it has been forever since we've been together. We have such a tight bond and really enjoy each other's company.

This layout is from 3 years ago and I'm not sure why I haven't posted it before. It was a pretty simple layout. Really nothing special about the layout, except that I love these humans. :)

I am pretty excited about the title. This is a draw and cut image from Design Space. Love the extra detail of the drawing. 

And the little foxy. I love foxes. They are so cute. The banner at the upper left corner is a sticker from a paper pack. I don't love using stickers, but sometimes they make sense for a quick easy layout. 

This would be a time that the Cricut journaling would have been handy. My writing is so bad! Hopefully somebody will be able to read this when they look back at it. 

I'm my own worst critique, but in hindsight, I would have carried the horizontal banner all the way across the layout. But it's fine...it's all fine. And the beautiful memories of family fun are being preserved for future generations.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Happy Halloween - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 How are we almost through October already! I can't even handle how time is flying, but here we are only a few days before Halloween. 

Here's a Halloween layout from a few years back. I love purple and orange together, but only for Halloween layouts. 😀

I will always remember these fun Reece's eyeball candies. They were so much fun and I haven't seen them since. Look how little my grandbabies were here! This was from 2018, so much has changed in the last four years. 

For this layout I used a mix of pics of my fall decor, along with pics of the family celebrating. I also used a mix of tags and plaid Halloween themed paper. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Enjoy your week! May you have enjoy your treats with hopefully no tricks!!

Explore - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

Today I'm sharing another layout from the sunflower field photo shoot a few years ago. This one features my sweet, and super smart grandson! This little man is such a blessing!

Just look at him! What a little stinker. They were both enjoying all the attention. 

This is one for his album. He enjoys looking at his book almost as much as his Sissy. I really need to add to it more often!! Slacker Grandma. 

The paper, journaling card and zip strip are from Close to My Heart "Dream Big" collection. I cut the title with my Cricut. I added some little banners and woodgrain pieces from my scraps and the buttons and markers are StampinUp! I added a little bit of narrow sunflower washi tape to attach the journaling card on the side. 

This is a really simple layout, but I absolutely love it, mainly because my favorite people are gracing the pages with smiles.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Enjoy this amazing fall weather!
 

Rough Water- Two Page Vacation Layout

 Pointe Betsie Lighthouse on Lake Michigan used to be one of my old hangouts with the guy I dated previously to my husband. His family had a lake cottage near here and the whole family would come and watch the sunset.  My husband and I stopped there a few years ago when we were passing through the area. The water was crazy!! I love watching it crash in on the breakers! It was surprising how much of the beach had eroded in the last 35 years or so. 

I used three different strips of coordinating patterned paper across the page. Oh...I see my little strip of ruler paper on the right has slipped. Ooops! Why don't I see those things when I'm taking my pics. I wanted the little Frankfort MI tag to be at an angle but not the ruler piece. You'll have to use your imagination.

I matted all the pics in light blue to pop them off the green. I created the title and welded it all together on my Cricut. I cut a lighthouse similar to the one at Pointe Betsie and wrapped some black and white Baker's twine around it. I added some washi and some patterned Kraft flowers from my stash and used  my Cricut to journal the story.

I hope you are inspired to do something crafty!! I've had ZERO motivation over here lately. I'm going to be scrapping for 5 whole days with my friends next week so I need to find my creative juices soon!! Hope you all have a great weekend.

Wander - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 We were able to blend business and pleasure with this trip to Michigan in summer of 2020. Each year, I need to update one of my insurance designations and when I see the class offered in northern Michigan, it's a no-brainer! The conference was at a quaint resort in Boyne Highland. My husband was able to go explore, while I was in class all day. Lucky guy not having to endure the classes.

I had a fun new pack of paper to use from Simple Stories called "Simple Vintage - Great Escape". It's chock-full of mushrooms, ferns and other woodsy type paper and stickers.

I love how realistic the artwork is and the beautiful natural color scheme. I just kept layering things up using the map side as a strip along the outside edges and flipping the paper to make banners from the woodsy plant side. This set of paper is gorgeous and if you take pictures outdoors, you must have it!

I used a few pops of red to accent the red roofline of the conference center and a title made of Kraft paper.  

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I always love to hear your comments if you have anything to share with me. Happy crafting! 

Never Grow Up - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 It's always a treat to get one-on-one time with the grandkids, one at a time. They are fun together, but it's great to be able to concentrate on each of them separately in a way that makes them feel extra special. These pictures are of our grandson enjoying time with us at the park. It won't be long and they won't want to spend that much time with their "old" grandparents. 😢 This layout is from a few years back.

I love these two fun papers together. They're all boy just like he is.

The numbered washi tape is perfect for a kids layout, and the arrow washi tape plays nicely with the arrowed paper at the bottom of the layout. I added some black and white baker's twine on the date tag and one of the photos for extra texture.

Do you put titles on your scrapbook layouts? It's one of my favorite parts of designing the layout. All of the options in Design Space are so fun to put together and mix and match in my own way. I create and lay it out in Design Space so that I can see what it will look like together and get the sizing correct for the space on my page.

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy your weekend!

Play the Day Away - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 Here's a fun little summertime layout that I'd like to share with you. These pictures are from a playdate with our grandkids. We try to cherish every moment, because the years fly by so fast. Some day soon, they won't want to spend time with their Grandparents anymore. I can't believe two years have flown by since these pictures were taken. How does this happen? (Besides the obvious...it takes me forever to post my layouts!) 💁

I used some paper from a vintage pack to bring out the blues and greens in the photos. The strip of whimsical grass was cut with my Cricut along with the layered title.

I love this layout for multiple reasons....the faces of my grandbabies, multiple wallet size photos, and the colors that bring out the photos. A simple grid style layout pulls it all together simply.

Hope your summer has been full of great memory making!! 

Waiting for Sunset - Two Page Lake Michigan scrapbook layout

 Time for another Lake Michigan sunset? It's always time for a good sunset...no matter where you are when the sun says it's final goodbye for the evening. These are great memories from a family trip we took a few years back. 

The kids were clowning around in the sand as we waited for the magic to happen on the horizon. We were taking selfies together and enjoying each others' company. 

Both patterned papers and journaling tags are from a stack of beachy paper from We R Memory Keepers. I added some miscellaneous flowers and a Heidi Swapp scalloped paper banner. Using a few wallets helps to work in more pictures. 

Hope you are all enjoying your summer!! I haven't scrapped in awhile. I could use a little crafty time to ease my mind. How about you? Do you get much crafting done in the summer weeks? 

Pirate Golf - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 It's been awhile since I've posted. I was struggling with a health issue and then away on a work trip in Colorado...more future scrapbook material!! Back at the blogging today! 

This is a fun layout of our sibling getaway weekend from a few years back. We are so blessed that our family gets along, and actually enjoys each other's company! I know it's not like that for everybody. On this day, we were playing some competitive miniature golf. Well, I'm not very competitive at this game, but everybody else is way better at it than I am. 

I love the "realistic" looking and grungy cloud paper as a backdrop to our outdoor fun. The outside paper strips came from the same paper stack, so of course, match perfectly. I cut the title and hat with my Cricut. The hat was a fairly close match to our statue friend's hat. I slightly overlapped the title with the hat to give it a layered and whimsical look.

I think my favorite part, aside from the pictures of our beloved family, is how the red and black pennants set off the colors of the page and ground the layout.

I also used a patterned paper to add a narrow matt around each picture. Wallet size photos help me tell the story with even more pictures, because there is never enough room. The journal tag adds to the graphic look with the black and white stripes.

Hope you enjoy your Independence Day!! May God continue to bless America, the land of the free because of the brave!

You Rock - Two Page School Layout

 My grandkids make me so proud!! 😍 Since school is drawing to a close for this year, here's a double layout of my granddaughter's school program for you to check out.

The coolest part of this layout is the back story. As you may be able to read from the journaling (or maybe not because my writing stinks), my oldest son had Mrs. Ruble for 1st grade, and our granddaughter got the same teacher. She is a fabulous teacher, so Scarlet had a great year! How cool to have the same teacher that your Dad had?? She was Mrs. Ruble's first 2nd generation student. I hope that didn't make her feel old!

I loved using this patterned paper for my baby girl! She used to have owls in her nursery, so I became obsessed with them. I still love them, and she is probably over them and more into unicorns and mermaids. Owls represent wisdom to me because of the phrase "wise old owl". I love the colors, the owls, and the mix of patterns. 

Pictured above is a few of her classmates, her little brother (her biggest fan), and one of her besties. Looking back on this now, I feel like the banner needs something else? What does it need...Help a girl out!

I hope this inspires you in some way and will give you a boost to make it through the rest of the school year!! Have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I will be sharing more posts from one of our trips to Michigan next week. 

Eat This - Two Page Maui Scrapbook Layout

 Here's a little two page Hawaii inspiration for you. This is my second to last layout to share from my completed Hawaii album of our trip in 2019. 

Hungry? You might be after checking out my layout. 

I must admit this is the first time making a burger on my Cricut. Right down to the sesame seeds on the bun. Pretty cute, but I wish I could eat it. Right now...

I created my title to look like the menu. Did you notice that? 

The journaling was written with my Cricut. I should really do this with every layout, because it is so much more legible than my writing...But...it takes so much longer to get it the way I want it on the Cricut and sometimes, I just want to get the layout done. 

The woodgrain tape helps ground the page. I added a cute orange button with an arrow and few little pennants made from scraps to accentuate the photo of us. 

Hope you are inspired by the design! Now...go get yourself a good burger!!! 

Have a great weekend and make sure to stop by for my very last 2019 Hawaii trip layout. I promise it won't be food. It will be a lovely sunset layout from our lanai. 

Bubba Gump - Two Page Scrapbook Layout

 I'm winding down to the last three Maui layouts from our 2019 trip. It's been so fun reliving this fantastic getaway!! Food is a small, but yummy, part of our memories. Do you ever scrapbook your dining experiences? 

Bubba Gump is one of our favorites. I don't really like much seafood, but we do love their food and the atmosphere. Add that to the edge of the ocean and it just doesn't get much better! 

A scrappy friend of mind downloaded their logo and printed it for me and I used several layers, popping up the little shrimp. I cut a few circles of some scrap paper to make him pop more off the white page.

It was a windy day and the sea was a little rough, but so fun to watch all the action from our dinner table. I used some additional scrap cut into pennants for below the logo and layered up the same patterns around the center, overlapping both pages. The red cardstock matting really set it off on the woodgrain paper.

The upper right picture (above) shows the restaurant from just down the shoreline. Isn't it cute??? The bottom right picture (above) tells another sideline story to our experience. While we were all sitting there eating dinner, a HUGE wave came and slammed up against the side of the restaurant, and a bunch of water came right in through the window onto the couple who had been sitting there. Their food and drinks were full of sea water! I felt bad for them, but they'll always remember their dinner at Bubba Gumps. I'm glad we weren't any closer to the window at that point. We definitely got some of the splash, though.

Hope you are feeling inspired today!! Have a great rest of the week. 

Scenic View - Two Page Maui Scrapbook Layout

 Time for some more sunshine? 

One of our daily explorations led us to this amazing site! We had no idea what we'd find as we drove along the beautiful coastline, taking in all the sites, and hoping to find a restroom. I was getting a little worried about the restroom since we were in the middle of an extraordinarily beautiful "nowhere".

Then we came upon a beautiful little gift shop with the most gorgeous view of the mountains. Truly amazing. We took a bunch of pictures and shared a smoothie, soaking up the beauty around us.

I combined two bold prints for this layout. Too crazy? I like how the black and white accents pop off the page and the simple white flowers were just enough. I added some decorative tape with arrows and used the Cricut to write my journaling and create the title.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hope your week is going well!