Last Stop

I  DID  IT !!!    This is the last page of my album for our July family road trip.   I think this is the first vacation I have totally scrapped from beginning to end.   Not a single thing else I could add to it.
I've covered every important stop that I had pictures for,  some fun food pages and even a title page.

With only hours to spare I used the single page sketch at "STICK IT DOWN"   I usually get to the double page sketch here too, but this month was just full of other activities and projects I had to complete.

Here is the sketch below and go to "STICK IT DOWN" to see what everyone else did.

Now to back track to old vacation pictures again and also some more grandkid layouts.   I'll never run out of things to scrap.   Which is a good thing since I'm addicted.

A back to school card

The challenge at the "FANTABULOUS CRICUT CHALLENGE BLOG" was perfect timing.

I had planned to make a card for my grandkids to send to them after their first week back to school and a little money for Mom to take them out for a treat.    So when I saw the challenge #259 - Back to School, it  gave me the idea to make a school themed card along with what I was going to write on the inside.   Both my grandkids love to read so I thought that this die-cut was perfect for the card.

Just click   HERE   to read all the details.

Favorites

Another fun surprise stop for Dad on our July road trip.   He use to love Maid-Rite sandwiches growing up but they are hard to find anymore.   But in Iowa there are several Maid-Rite shops so we stopped there to take Dad to lunch.   He loved it, just like he remembered.   Then later in the day we found a great ice cream shop, another favorite of Dads and we all had a great ice cream treat.

Nothing like getting down to the wire but I was finally able to use the week 1 sketch #129 at
"LET'S CAPTURE OUR MEMORIES"    You can see the sketch below and just click   HERE
for all the details and maybe you can enter to at the last minute.     Plus be sure and check out the first sketch challenge for September that was announced today.

First day of school.

So glad to get some new pictures of my granddaughter Avery from Orlando.   We don't see her but about once a year so was so happy to have school pictures.   I had to laugh though as she was the last of the grandkids families to start school this year.   First was my stepson's kids and they posted 1st day pictures of each of the kids, but no signs or anything.  Then my daughter-in-law had pics of her two kids and just like everyday, handwritten signs with the date and the grade just like she has done every year.   Then we get to Avery and we have this sign.   But knowing my step-daughter I'm not surprised at all.   Don't get me wrong, not being negative but she is the one that always steps everything up a few notches.    But it will be fun in the years ahead to read how the likes and ambitions change with age.

I used the great sketch by Brenda Ragsdale for week 4 at "SKETCHES IN THYME" for this layout.   I don't have any school papers left just some scraps so used what I could to add some extra school look to it.  Then had this great title I had saved from a swap.

Check out the sketch below and then click on "SKETCHES IN THYME"  to see all the details and check out the other weekly challenges till they close on August 31st.

Bike Ride

I made this layout of my stepson David and grandson Gibson for the "PICTURE THIS" challenge from August 1st.   The challenge was to have black background, use one picture and two patterned papers.    I used a bicycle patterned paper and a yellow dotted paper.  I picked the yellow to go with Davids shirt so it would stand out.

Check out the details here at "PICTURE THIS" there are still a couple day to enter.

Baseball - Field of Dreams

I just loved this stop on the 2nd day of our road trip in July.    All stops were to be a surprise for Dad but as soon as he found out we were driving through Dyersville, IA, he said, "thats where they did Field of Dreams" so he was thrilled we were stopping there.

I went to "STUCK?! SKETCHES" to see their latest sketch challenge and it was perfect for these pictures.   Luckily I had just right amount of baseball paper left to work with the sketch.  The grass paper was a scrap too that I cut down into 3 pieces to make it work behind the pictures and my title.

Check out the sketch below and all the details of the challenge    HERE.      You have until midnight on the 29th to enter, so a little over 3 days.    There are 2 great sponsors this month.   "A Flair for Buttons" will give a set of flair to two lucky winners and "Scrap Much" is giving a $20 GC for one of their great project kits.

Touring

My daughter and son-in-law are in London this week and in Oxford for the weekend for one of her college friend's wedding.   They have been posting a few pictures on Facebook and they will bring back lots of memorabilia back with them as they know I will scrap everything for them.   But I wanted to have this one selfie picture already scrapped for them when I pick them up at the airport.
They flew out of KC so I got to see them on both sides of their trip before they go home.   Always a good time for me.

For this layout I used the Week 4 sketch at "Let's Get Sketchy"   that means I've complete 3 or the 4 sketches for August and still a few days left to get to the last one I hope.     I've added the sketch below and just    HERE     to see all the details.

1st Day

Another school year has begun.  Kai started 4th grade yesterday.   I was there at the hospital waiting for my first grandchild to be born.   It seems just like yesterday.   He looks so grown up here.

His favorite color is orange and so I chose these papers and colors because of that and then the green to go with the shirt he has on.   I got to use all the great patterns and colors because I chose the sketch from Week 2, made by Brenshevia at "LET'S GET SKETCHY"    It was really fun going through my 6x6 pads and finding all these different papers,  all from different collections but I think they all work together well.   Plus I don't always remember to look at my 6x6 papers and use all the great papers I have, so that was a bonus on this layout.

Check out the sketch below and then click on "LET'S GET SKETCHY" to see what the great DT came up with and see the details on the challenge.   Then be sure and check out all 4 weeks of challenges for August.

Vacation

I love it when I can complete the 3 Scrappy Friends Challenge.   I got it done again this month with another vacation layout from our road trip in July.    This was a little side trip I had found to take on day 1.  We drove through Wildcat Den State Park and stopped at this 2nd oldest Grist Mill and walked around to see the sites there.  It was really beautiful.     But besides that I also get to enter this layout in a 4th challenge.    Frosted Designs is to use metal on your project and I have the staples.

First off I used the sketch by Brenda Ragsdale at "GRAND DIVA'S CREATIVE CORNER".  It was a real fun and different sketch to work with.  Angles and squares and circles, it covered it all.
Check out the sketch below, it is great.

Next I use the tic-tac-toe challenge  that Rochelle has posted on her blog "THROUGH THE EYES OF ROCHELLE SPEARS"   I went diagonally with a travel theme, camera and metal.   The layout is from our vacation as I said earlier so that is travel,  I used a 3D camera embellishment and for the metal I have a row of staples below the top angle of patterned paper and then 3 more on the left side.

Here is the full tic-tac-toe board below.

Now for the trifecta of challenges I was also able to combine my layout with the word challenge at 

"CREATING WITH PAPER AND MORE"      See the whole list of words below to chose from.

I chose "Vacation" and used it as my title.   It's a Chipboard piece from K&Company.

My final challenge entry is with "FROSTED DESIGNS".   This is their August challenge and they are challenging you to use "Metal or Metalics" on your project.  You can use metal embellishments or you can use metallic colors like Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.    My metal work on my layout is my staples that I used.    Again this was fun as haven't used staples on anything in quite awhile.

Each site has there own prize if you choose to do just a single challenge but if you combine all three challenges with one layout then you are entered in for a bonus prize.

Click on each challenge link above and it will take you to each site to read about the challenges and see inspiration from all of them.

Lakers Fan

Just like her Mom, Mylan is turning into a Lakers Fan and shows it in her true colors with the alternating purple and yellow finger nail polish she selected for this home manicure.

Sorry about the picture.   The background is really a piece of purple card stock.   Just didn't photograph well.   I didn't have any purple alphas to make the title, but had these white corrugated alphas so just ran some purple ink on top of them and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I used the week 1 challenge for August at "LET'S GET SKETCHY"    I'm so far behind on my challenges that I usually do for this month but want to try and get more done.   The month is just flying by and I've had a couple of out of town trips during the month, one long and one short and then with my daughter in town a few days too just hasn't been a lot of scrapping time.

See the great sketch below by Jennessa Franco and click on "LET'S GET SKETCHY"  to see the DT take on this sketch and then also check out the other challenges there for the month.   Scrap Much is the sponsor for August and the prize is a $25 GC to their store.  An awesome prize.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Another layout made of the grandkids.   They were out to dinner with Dad and chose a place featuring Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.   I told them this is where Grandma needs to go with them, I love a grilled cheese sandwich.    So  pulled some good cheddar cheese colored card stock and went to work on this layout.    I used the sketch #160 at "SKETCHES IN THYME" for this layout and I think it worked out great to showcase my sweetheart grandkids.   The little picture at the top i used instead of a embellishment and its a picture of their menu.

Check out the challenge info here at "SKETCHES IN THYME"  and check out the sketch below.

HAPPY

As soon as I saw this collage picture my DIL posted on Facebook I knew I would be scrapping it.
Love all these pictures of Mylan hamming it up for the camera.    She was dressed and ready to go to a meet and greet with her Kindergarten teacher before classes start next week.

I saw the sketch #87 at "SKETCH-N-SCRAP" and saw that it used a 5x7 picture and knew it would be perfect for this collage of pics to print it out in that size.   I found the perfect paper too in the
We R Memory Keepers - Hello Life collection.

Here is the sketch and check out the details on this challenge and then look at all the August challenges   HERE.

SNAKE ALLEY

Glad to be back scrapping.  It's been 13 days since I made a layout, that is a long time for me.   I had a couple of Design Team posts during this off period that were pre scheduled for my blog, but the layouts were made well more than a month ago.   So finally today, I knew I had to get back to work and be creative instead of just sitting at my desk and shuffling papers and sketches.  

With this layout of more pictures from our July Road trip, I used  the Aug. 1st sketch at "STUCK ?! SKETCHES"   I also used for the first time some of the papers from the Fancy Pants - Meology collection.    Snake Alley was just a little side trip stop on our road trip of seeing many varied places. This street doesn't have as many turns as Lombard Street in San Fransisco, but there the turns are tighter at 1100 deg. compared to 1000 deg.   We found it and drove down it once,  and then circled around and drove down again.   There were even two little cottages on the street, what neat place that would have been to live.

Check out the sketch below and go to "STUCK ?! SKETCHES"  to read the details on this challenge and while there also check out the new sketch by Laura Whitaker from Aug. 15th.  I love her sketches and I know you will too.

KC Royals

When I first saw this sketch for the DT at "Let's Scrap" to work on, I wasn't sure at all how I was going to use it.   There were so many ways to go with.   Could use multiple pictures in places or just a few and different places for the pics and embellishments to trade between.    I hadn't been to a Royals game in probably 15 years even though I was living in KC most of the time.   But if you follow baseball up until last year there wasn't much reason to go to a Royals game during those years.
son-in-law asked us to go with them to this game, they were bringing his parents in town for the game while they were visiting from upstate NY.   So we got our tickets and we all went together and had a blast.   Plus the Royals beat the Yankees 6-0 and we are still in first place in our division.

I hope you'll will try this sketch at "Let's Scrap", I'm really looking forward to seeing how everyone interrupts it.      Here is the sketch below and go   HERE   to see what the other Design Team did to inspire you.    Now "Let's Scrap"     :)

Let's Bowl

I lucked out on making this layout.   I had these 2 pics of my stepson and grandsons bowling that I knew I would scrap but had no idea on how.       Since I'm on the Design Team at "Scrap Much?!"
we get the sketches early to work with and I had not scrapped this one yet, so I decided to use it with these two pictures.   I pulled out some paper for my background and by side border and then the two patterned papers to frame my pictures in.   Next stop was, how to embellish and and title.   I pulled out the drawer for all my sports papers and swap items, hoping that I was remembering right that I had a couple of bowling items.   YIPPEE I even had 4 6x6 pieces of bowling paper,   So back to the drawing board.  I taped all 4 together to make my background paper.   I kept the paper that I had framed the pictures in, because I thought I needed something a little brighter against my background paper and then I saw all the other swap bowling items I had kept for years and never used.   A new border for my layout, stickers and handmade bowling items including the pins and blue ball together and the 3 X deco squares, representing strikes.    I now had everything,  I just pulled the blue from the title sticker and added the blue doily for the circle in the sketch.

I hope you play along with this latest sketch at "Scrap Much"  maybe you will find old things you have been hoarding to use too.    Check out all the details    HERE.

Witches Gultch

Another layout from our latest road trip.    This was such an awesome stop that we found out about at the last minute.   We were going thru the Wisconsin Dells and we had heard about Witches Gultch, we missed this little dirt road to it twice out in the middle of no where but we were persistent and found it.  I'm so glad we did because it was such an awesome walk through this.    We walked all the way down to the river and back.

Since I'm leaving tomorrow to be out of town for 9 days this will be the last layout you will be seeing from me for awhile.

I used the new Make It Monday - sketch #45 at "THE MEMORY NEST" that was just announced today.  I had so much fun working on this layout and putting my own spin on the sketch.   Plus got to use 3 great pictures from Witches Gultch.   All July and August challenges are open until September 1st and there is a great prize of a $20 GC.   The more sketches you enter the more chances you get to win.

Check out the sketch below and see all the details here at "THE MEMORY NEST"

Summer in Nauvoo, IL

One of the stops we made on day one of our road trip was Nauvoo, IL at the old Mormon Homestead.
I had been there before and gone through everything.   This day it was packed with 5 busloads of students so we just walked around a bit and got some pictures.   The flowers were beautiful so I wanted to make a layout with a couple of the pictures I took.

I used the latest sketch at "SKETCH-N-SCRAP" #85, it was perfect to also add a picture of one of the Homestead signs about where we were.

Check out the sketch below. and come back on the 5th, 15th and 20th for their  other great challenges during August.    Here is the link for this sketch challenge.   "SKETCH-N-SCRAP"

A lighthouse card

I had a scrappy friend in mind when I made this card as her birthday is coming up and she loves lighthouses.    "SKETCH FRENZY FRIDAY" had this great sketch posted on 7/31/15.   This is another sketch I think I'll be using more than once.   Also at "JO'S SCRAP SHACK" their Fun-Day Friday challenge #99 is 'Anything' goes and can make a layout or card. Always a fun challenge.

I'm going to be going out of town on Tuesday for 9 days so I'm trying to get a lot of scrapping in before I leave and having a chance to make this card and enter these two challenges was top on my list for today.

Here are the links for both Challenges:

"SKETCH FRENZY FRIDAY"

"JO'S SCRAP SHACK"

Ho Ho Ho - Just Believe

After completing a daily card for Christmas in July for two different yahoo groups I really thought I would  take a break from making Christmas cards.   But then I saw this sketch yesterday at
"52 CHRISTMAS CARD THROWDOWN"  and I couldn't resist it and make another card today.

Just click on the link above to get all the details and here is the sketch below.   You have just over 5 days left to enter and make a card using this awesome sketch.

There is one more great challenge going on that I'm going to enter with this card.  "THE PAPER PLAYERS"   Challenged #256 is 'It's Hip to be Square"   You just have to make a square card.
Easy peasy.   Also just over 5 days to enter this challenge so click on the link.

Cuteness

I had a couple of July challenges I still wanted to do before I got started with anything else.   So I combined the two of them together for this layout.   I spent so much time last month making all my Christmas cards I thought I might have forgotten how to do my true passion.....layouts.

For this layout I used the sketch at "MY CREATIVE SKETCHES"   and then used Tic-Tac-Toe challenge at "1-2-3 GET SCRAPPY".   I did the diagonal, lots of black, gray background and lots of yellow.    I really liked the sketch and the style worked well with how I like to mat everything, and that allowed me to use both yellow and black in my matting.   There are shades of grey lines in my background patterned paper but I cut it down and matted the whole layout on some solid grey card stock also.

Check out the links below to see the details for yourself.

MY CREATIVE SKETCHES     You have till August 14th to enter.

1-2-3 GET SKETCHY       You have till August 10th to enter.

TRAVEL

I have been trying to catch up on scrapping some older vacations.   So lately been working on our trip to Europe in 2006.   I was really glad to have this latest sketch from "Let's Scrap" to use for some vacation pictures.  I was lucky to get 9 pictures on this double page layout.    I had already made a layout a bit earlier on more standard stonehenge pictures, but here in this layout I tried and covered more of what we did during our day trip there.   It was so cold and windy that day with a storm coming in, one stop was at the Stonehenge concession stand for a cup of hot coffee, plus our stop inside at the souvenier shop, that is my Dad buying a book there.   Plus we went into the neighboring town of Averbury for lunch and I loved the look of the moss covered roofs of the homes there.

So take a look  HERE   at "Let's Scrap" and see what the other design team members did with this great sketch and then join us for the challenge.  There is a great prize this month too.   Our sponsor for August is "Eureka Stamps"    Now let's get scrapping and join the fun.