Two Page Scrapbook Layout - "Bike Hike"

This is the second to the last layout from our California trip last summer. We hosted a bike tour on Coronado Island with a few of the agents who were on the agent trip.

 What a beautiful day we had! I picked a cruiser bike and it was a pretty comfortable 10 miles with only a few hills here and there. We took some great pictures along the way, and had great fellowship with our agent friends.

 Beautiful sites to see at every stop. The paper, paper clip embellishment, and letter stickers are Fancy Pants "Down by the Shore". The title font is from Lyrical Letters 2 and the bike is cut from Going Places.

Hope you are enjoying looking at my California trip album as much as I've enjoyed sharing this trip of a lifetime with you! There's one final "sweet" layout to share...Stop back tomorrow.

Two Page Layout - "Downtown"

Holland, MI is one of our new faves on the coast of Lake Michigan! It has a little something for everybody. My husband joined me while I was there a few years back for educational credits.

 We especially love the beautiful downtown area with the great restaurants, coffee, and local color.

The pretty patterned paper is Creative Memories. The flowers are punched with the StampinUp! five petal flower punch and topped with a brad. The leaves were also cut with the same punch, and then cut apart. Haha...sometimes I'm just lazy like that. The title is Cricut's Art Philosophy.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!! See you again soon.

Two page layout - "Mini Golf"

Who likes to paly mini golf or "putt putt" golf as we used to refer to it. I totally stink at this game, but it's always a good time with friends and family if I can set aside my competitive nature.

Last summer when we were in Traverse City, we stopped at our favorite course and had a little bit of fun. I should have saved the score card. Ha...I probably would have thought to save it, had I won? =)

 Our son was with us too, which always makes our time extra special! The paper is StampinUp. Have you ever tried using your "real dial size" feature on your Cricut so that your letters are exactly the same size? I used it here and it gives the title a more unique look. It also helps you fit all of your letters neatly into a certain space on your page.

 I'm just now noticing my cute shoes! My silly dog decided to use one as a chew toy shortly after this trip. =( I miss having these shoes to wear. I look at these pictures of myself and cringe a little bit. I've lost 45 pounds since then (actually, since June 2013).

I had fun with the banner going horizontally across the page. Add a length of ribbon and a few buttons and there you have it!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!! Our weather is beautiful. I think it's time to walk the dog. =)

Two page layout - "Pentwater Pier"

It's official! Summer is here for real. We have the hot, muggy temps to prove it. My husband and son are out working on the house. Dinner is in the oven so we can all eat something yummy and healthy when they come in. I definitely have time to post a layout before folding the laundry. =)

With summer in mind, here is a layout from a quick weekend getaway last summer. Our first stop when heading up the west coast of Michigan is usually Pentwater or Ludington.

I punched flowers with StampinUp! five petal flower punch. The leaves are punched from Kraft and helped add to the beachy look.




  This burlap ribbon is my favorite. I can't remember where I purchased it. The burlap is held together by a plastic mesh to keep it nice and neat and a little see-through. The patterned paper strips and some of the flower layers are "Down on the Boardwalk" by We R Memory Keepers.

I've scrapped Pentwater pictures before, and they probably look similar to these....What can I say, we really like Pentwater and always take pictures. They're too cute not to scrap, even though the day was a little overcast.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Stay cool!

Two Page Layout - "Ludington"

It's been a rough week, hasn't it? It's so hard to even watch the news with evil running rampant in our world. I don't think we are meant to understand the evil, what triggers it, or what kind of person it takes to carry it out. This is one of those weeks where I pray hard and keep trusting my father in Heaven who is still in control. My heart goes out to the families of the Boston Marathon victims. I felt like I couldn't just start a new post without sharing a little bit of my heart with you today.

 

I have no idea how to transition into scrapbooking from here, but I think some sunshine and peaceful pictures could do us all a little good. These pictures were taken in a beautiful little town on the shore of Lake Michigan. If I could live anywhere and money was not an issue, I would probably choose to live somewhere on Lake Michigan. =)



 The flowers are made from scraps of denim that I saved. I'm 5'11" and I am pretty sure that this is the first time I've ever had to shorten the hem of any piece of clothing. The jeans were "talls" and apparently there are some who are taller than me. I threw the scraps in with my scrappy treasures. I started with a Gluber circle, laying the denim around the outside edge and working my way to the middle. It looked a little messy in the center because the denim was so stiff, so I used a button to cover it.

 The picture grid is bordered on the top and bottom with scraps of paper cut with several different border punches. To keep the clean look of the page, I journalled along the bottom edge. I didn't feel like much journalling was really necessary because I've used other pictures from this destination in my layouts. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Anybody scrapping this weekend??? I AM!!! Can't wait. I'm hoping to get lots of pages done. Have a great weekend no matter how you choose to spend it. =)

Two Page Layout - "U R Here"

The sunshine today has been beautiful. I just took a quick walk with my dog and it's deceivngly chilly out there still. I have faith that spring is coming, and I'm ready.

We took a trip to Lake Placid, New York, in September 2011. You must go and check it out sometime. I was there on business, but we extended a few days to see all the sights. Unfortunately my husband was behind the camera and I was the focus of attention. I much prefer it the other way around.



I do love the colors in this layout. I splurged on a pack of pretty flowers and went to town with them.

We were actually checking out the ski slopes where the olympics were once held. Gorgeous views!! The title is from Graphically Speaking (Cricut)....One of my favorite "go to" cartridges, especially for a quick title.

You can't see it here, but the lacy border strip is actually fuzzy. Wish you could feel it. =) I broke my own rule and didn't really journal, except for the date and place. The view kind of say it all, and this was one of several layouts from the same area.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Have a great weekend!!

Two Summer Layouts - "South Haven" and "Enjoy"

Oh man, I could handle weather in the 70's for the next four months or so. It's breezy and beautiful! Where is the hammock?

I have a couple more Lake Michigan getaway layouts to share with you today. My youngest boy is back at college, and I'm missing him already. He's the good looking one in these layouts.

 Lovin the red white and blue distressed nautical look to this layout.

 I used my Fiskars postage stamp border punch around the edge. The banner is from Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. It punches the holes and everything. That makes it really easy to string it up with baker's twine. If you are looking for an excellent jam-packed cartridge that you will use all the time...Art Philosophy (from Close to My Heart) is it!! I use it every time I scrap.

The stamped tags are StampinUp! I love the distressed, nautical look when stamped in this pretty blue.

This paper was pretty fitting for the pictures we took on the boardwalk at Pentwater. I grouped my pictures in the center of the two page layout so the design on the paper remained visible. There were several cute little gears, tags and stamps on the paper for me to journal on. The August 12 tag is from Close to My Heart. I also added several red circular stamps on the layout to bring some red over from the the right side of the layout.

This paper already had the red distressing on it. I added some more random red stamps and sentiments around the pictures. When I'm at a loss for a title, I turn to Cricut's Graphically Speaking cartridge. There are so many great options to choose from.

 Here are the pages side-by-side. I love it when I can find papers from two different brands that work together. =)

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and have a blessed week!

Two Double Layouts: "Sunny Outlook" and "You & Me"

What a great Sunday I'm having. Our youngest son sang on the worship team at church, and our oldest son, his wife, and our new grandbaby surprised us by showing up!!! I love those kinds of surprises!!! He works Sundays, but took the day off so he could be at church for his brother's last day to serve on the worship team before heading back to BSU. We are so blessed by our kids, especially now that they are young adults. They never cease to amaze me!! It has to be God's doing, because Mark and I couldn't have raised them to be so awesome by ourselves...Trust me on that!

We haven't had much of a chance to get away together this year. This layout is from a long weekend getaway to Lake Michigan last summer. This is our youngest son who will be a sophomore at BSU this year. We took turns behind the camera.

Apparently I forgot to write down the supplies that are used here, but I know the yellow paper and the paper with the large polk-a-dots is StampinUp. I cut a circle for the sun with my Circut, but cut my own freehand triangles for the rays.

The title was cut on my Circut and I used matching buttons on the "o's". I dated it with my new Smashbox date stamp.

Then it was our son's turn behind the camera and he shot some of me and my hubby. The papers here are Bazill cardstock and StampinUp "Sweet Pea" stack.The orange tape is "Great Escape" from We R Memory keepers.

 The "Fabulous" tag is from Smashbox and the layered up flowers were cut with Art Philosophy cartridge, plus a few fabric flowers I bought at the store.

 I added some additional journalling around the edge of the mat.

 Here's a couple close ups of the flowers.

Thanks for looking at my blog!! Have a happy Monday.

Double layout - Exploring

I'm so excited that we are finally getting some long overdue RAIN!!! Not sure how many of you are experiencing drought conditions, but everything is dry and scorched here. Thank you, Lord!!! It even smells like rain. =)

Today, I'm sharing another layout from our upstate New York trip last fall. I tore Authentique paper diagonally and placed it on solid khaki paper from The Paper Company to represent the mountains. The edges are inked along the tear with Tim Holtz distress ink (pumice) I love the distressed look of the Authentique paper!! Can't get enough.

The compass is from Graphically Speaking, along with the Scenic Route tag. I used Kraft paper for the background on both, as well as the tree trunks. All of the photos are matted on white and distressed.

Loving the picture that I took through the window into the side mirror, showing the great view behind us!! My husband's idea. =) The mountain diecut with the tree cutout is from the Going Places cartridge. The gingham print paper is Pebbles "Fresh Goods". It made a cute title along with a twine bow and button.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great FRIDAY (yes!) and weekend.

"Beacon"

Howdy! I had set this this one to post while I was cruising the Caribbean with my hubby, but it never posted....So here you go!

This layout is of a beautiful lighthouse near Hart, MI. We had so many great pics and memories from our summer vacation to Lake Michigan. It's kind of nice to see a sunny and warm beachy layout when the weather is freezing. I'm missing the balmy breezes already. Again, you can click to enlarge it and hit your back button to come back.

Supplies: Deja View Sharon Ann collection in dark pumpkin scroll; Tim Holz dry embossing plate for the brick look under the title; EK Suyccess punch to edge the brochure holder; orange wave tape; and Label Maker for journalling.

Thanks so much for following my blog!!! I thorouhly enjoyed being part of Paper Secrets blog hop. Hope you did too! Click here if you missed the post announcing the winner.

"Ludington Pier"

Hello!!! I'm squeezing in one last post before I get away with my hubs for our 25th wedding anniversary. We'll be cruising for the first time ever!! I am so looking forward to our time together....We feel very blessed for the 25 years God has given to us and even more blessed to have the opportunity to take a really nice vacation to celebrate together.

I decided to post a layout with a nautical theme in honor of our cruise. These pics are from our summer vacation. It was a super foggy day in Ludington. If you double click it you can enlarge for the details. Just hit your back button to come back to the blog again.
I thought it was very "I" catching (sorry, I couldn't help myself) to use the lighthouse die cut (Life is a Beach) as my "I" in the title. The strip of patterned paper in the middle is from SU Sweet Pea collection. It has a dotted circle which kind of echoes the dots and circle windows on the lighthouse. I used the SU punch to cut the penant flags for the side borders. I cut each punch in half to look like a flag. We were a little chilly but had a great time walking the pier.

Be sure to check back in a few days. Even though I will be out of the country, I've saved a few posts to publish while I'm out. AND don't forget the giveaway coming with the Paper Secrets Blog Hop. See the banner on the side bar. You will not want to miss the chance to win the "Just Because Cards" cricut cartridge. =) Don't forget to tell your friends that you scrap with...If one of you wins, you can all share the cartridge when you scrap together.