Scrapbooking for the "Over 50 Crowd"

I wanted to participate in Little Yellow Bicycle's most recent challenge.  I just love their new line of paper . . . so of course I chose to use the paper and elements from Sweet Summertime! 

And then came the hard part . . . finding photos!  I dragged out the old picture box.  These were from the summer of 1989, and I have some advice for you. 

Our Trip to Treasure Lake in Pennsylvania (not Papoose Pond in Maine).

When you hit 50 years old (which I recently have) . . .

    and when your photos are more than 20 years old (which they are) . . .

         you may want to: 

                      A - Check the notes on the back of the photo for information . . .

                      B - Have an "innocent" discussion with someone else on the trip (without revealing your reason is because you are a moron and likely have mixed up your locations) . . . 

                      C - Question yourself on whether your details are accurate . . .

And you would want to do this BEFORE you journal on your layout. 

Do this to avoid your husband saying to you . . . "Papoose Pond?  Papoose Pond?  Your grandmother was never at Papoose Pond." 

And then you won't have to say, "Oh Sh*t!" 

Lesson learned. 

Lovely Layers Blog Hop

I am super excited to be a stop on the Denami Designs Lovely Layers Blog Hop this weekend!  You should have just arrived here from Dana's blog. (I love the way she layered her ink!)  

If you are looking to start at the beginning of the hop, you can click here to get to the Denami Designs Blog where the fun and creativity begins.  It is also link you can click if you get lost along the way.  You have until 11:59 p.m. PST July 11th to leave comments on the blogs to be eligible for prizes.  They are giving away three $20 gift certificates to their website.  

So . . . it was a tough choice for me to decide what stamp I would use for my design.  I am so attached to all those little chick stamps (they just make me smile).  But in the end I went with the Playful Puppies set and the doghouse.  I have four dogs living under my roof, so it seemed like the right thing to do.  

I never make a flat scrapbook layout, and cards are no different for me.  I always start with card stock and build layers.  My card started as any regular folded card, but then I decided to add some folded layers so I could bring my little puppies to life.  So I did some accordion folding on the right side.  Trust me . . . it looks harder than it is (I included the measurements on the cutting and folds further below in the yellow highlight).   

I am in love with the new We R Memories Friends Furever line and had picked some up from my local LSS, New England Scrapbook Co.  The 6 x 6" pad of pattern paper was perfect.  I used green card stock for my card base, as I wanted it to have an "outdoor" feel to it.  I added layers of the pattern paper over the green on parts of the card, and also layered strips of a second pattern paper (love those diagonal stripes).  And then I added more layers with my stamped images.  I used cream and brown card stock for my puppies and dog houses, and I colored some parts with my Copic markers.  I then added some Denami ribbon and a few sentiments from Pink by Design.  

A close up of the pups!

I should mention that the piece of blue card stock was yet another layer onto my last accordion fold, to give me a backdrop.  

Here is the card flat.  So this would be how it will look coming out of the envelope before it springs to life and hopefully causes the recipient to smile!     

The next stop on the hop is the creative Pam Wendt.  Prepare to be inspired!  Don't forget to leave your comments to be eligible for the prizes, and I welcome you to become a follower of my blog.  

Keep hopping toward creativity!  Thanks for stopping by,



Debbie

 

Cutting/Scoring Instructions:  Start with a 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of card stock, and place in your cutter lengthwise.  Decide how much of the card you want folded, versus how much you want to remain flat.  For mine, I left about 2 1/2" flat on the left, but you can change it up any way you'd like, making the folds on the left instead of the right.  Once you decide where you want the cut, you will cut from the 1" to the 7 1/2" mark - so you're basically leaving the bottom inch of each edge intact without a cut. Once you've cut, you'll want to score one side at 4 1/4" (the regular score for a card).  On the side you want to have the pleated folds, you'll score at 1", 2", 3 1/4" 4 1/2" and 6 1/2". 

Sun & Fun - Unity Challenge

Another fabulous Unity Stamp challenge:  Sun and Fun!  Summer was the theme and it was perfect for my leftover paper from Simple Stories.  From my summer layouts, to a really cute card that will cheer someone up down the road.  I'm all from taking my scraps from layouts and using them on cards so they don't sit in a box or plastic tote of years.  I know it's not recycling, but I think there is a Girl Scout motto in there somewhere about "using resources wisely."  I have that one covered here! 

We get caught up with stamping on cardstock or plain paper, when sometimes pattern paper is just perfect for a particular stamp.  Case in point . . . the bathing suit from "It Suits You" which is a Jillibean Soup design.  Stamping it on pattern paper and cutting it out gives a really neat dimension, and while I used black ink in the design below, I'm thinking a blue would have been even nicer (hindsight).  I punched holes and fed my ribbon through so it looks like the suit is just hanging there. 

 

Clothing designs are perfect for pattern paper, and there are other stamp designs that would also get a boost of charm from pattern paper.  Don't be afraid to play around with it!  The results can be fun!

100 Days of Summer!

Summer layouts are so fun, and while I don't have a lot of pictures, I can never resist layouts with sun and fun.  The layout below is for an upcoming class I am teaching at my LSS, New England Scrapbook Co. in Canton, Connecticut.  It's a sketch class where everyone will get enough product to make at least two layouts in class, but they'll have enough leftover pattern paper so that with some additional cardstock, they can make a third layout and perhaps fourth . . . or maybe some cards!  The product is absolutely adorable . . . it is Simple Stories - 100 Days of Summer!  I fell in love with it and had so much fun. 

And whenever I teach a class I use some of my own stamps and die cuts.  On this one I used the Lemonade Stand from Cottage Cutz.  Love their die cuts, and this one is amazing.  Nothing better than dressing up die cuts!