BE YOU (TIFUL)

One of my favorite photo sessions with my grand daughter to date was on this warm fall afternoon as we took her for a walk in our vintage radio flyer wagon. She was wearing little denim bib overalls and she was so happy being pulled around and taking it all in with her big wide eyes.

I used the retired Flower Patch stamp set and dies along with Painted Autumn DSP.

These photos are so cute I didn't want to crop them or add too much to them. They are just matted to fit into the pockets and a bit of the DSP was added to the corner of one photo. I plan to create a two page 12x12 layout in the future using these same photos. That way I can add more embellishments and some journaling to the pages.

Thanks for visiting.

Spooky Cat and a Bootiful Baby

Here we are on another Monday...and I have a four new scrapbook pages to share. The first two are from Maddy's 1st year album using Project Life pocket pages and the next two are traditional 12x12 pages. All four pages use items from the Spooky Night Suite of products that were in the Holiday Catalog.

I love the pop of Berry Burst used in this layout! While the Spooky Cat stamp set and the coordinating Spooky Night papers are no longer available, the Cat Punch is. I'm wondering if there is going to be another cat set in the next catalog that it will coordinate with?

Here's a look at the two pages in the album. I used the Labeler Alphabet to create titles for these pages and the next pages as well. For her 1st Halloween, Maddy couldn't have just one outfit! She was stinkin' cute dressed as a skunk, bootiful in her black cat jumper and even the cutest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch!

The scallop along the bottom was created by punching out circles of Spooky Night DSP with a 1" Circle Punch. I loved how the layered "bootiful baby" turned out for the first 8x6 page so I duplicated it for this page as well. I used the Stitched Shapes and Layering Ovals Framelits with the spiderweb label stamp included in the Spooky Cat set. Here's a closer look.

The pumpkin shown in the above photo was one I decorated several years ago using Black Flourish Designer Jewels.  All the details can be found in this post. You may also recognize this next page that I shared here back in October before I had any photos. Along with the sweet photo of Maddy, I also added a bat punched from Black Glimmer Paper to coordinate with the other page.

Here's a look at these two pages together. Make sure to click on these photos for a better look.

Thanks for joining me on another "Maddy Monday"!

You Make Me Smile

It's Monday again already! Also know as Maddy Monday at our house! Here are a couple more pages from Maddy's 1st year album. I just love the photos from this shoot. She looked so cute in her black lace tutu and she was in such a giggly mood that day. Her mama was off to the side making her laugh.

The "you make me smile" sentiment from Colorful Seasons was perfect for these pics as was the black lace trim which was from the holiday catalog a couple years back.

A couple more simple pages. I did fussy cut the little banner on the bottom left photo. It was cropped from another photo. Here's a closer look...

You may recognize the items used to create the canvas banner? Most of the supplies are all retired now. I loved those blank canvas banners! This one spells out Madelyn. I made it to hang in her room, but used it in a couple photo shoots first. I will share more when I scrapbook those photos.

Have a HAPPY Monday!

Pool Party Panda

Here we are on another Maddy Monday! I've got a few more pages to share from her 1st year album. This first page features one of my favorite photos I have taken of her so far. It was right after getting out of the pool and she had on an adorable panda towel...so I'm sure you can guess, without even seeing the page, which stamp set I used...

I used Layering Circle and Stitched Shape Framelits along with the Party Pandas stamp set to create this simple, yet cute page.  The page opposite of this in the album is a Father's Day page. I used Vintage Leaves and Thoughtful Banners stamp sets for that page. Here's a look at those two pages in the album.

The previous two pages feature Mother's Day photos. Here's a look at those pages as well.

I created a tone on tone paper for the background using the Flourishing Phrases stamp set and then die cut the pretty coordinating flourish using the Flourish Thinlits. I just love the pretty lilacs shown in the background...I sure am looking forward to Spring and all those blooms!

Maddy Monday - Baby's 1st Christmas Pages

Last week I shared a couple pages from the scrapbook album I made for my sweet granddaughter Madelyn. I think in the coming weeks, each Monday I will share another page or two and call it "Maddy Monday". Most people dread Mondays but I actually look forward to them because I usually have my Madelyn for the day.

I used mostly all retired Stampin' Up! products to create these pages. I'm so glad I still had some of the adorable Snow Festival Christmas paper left. The Primrose Petals color used ties in perfectly with the pink album...and of course the ornament print and Cherry Cobbler color work well with the photos. I used the Christmas Bliss set to create the title and the Labeler Alphabet for the month tag.

She loved being inside the big "present" I created for these photos. She would crouch down and then pop her little head up, playing peek-a-boo like the cutest little jack in the box ever! It sure is fun having a little one around again! (Especially one that goes home at the end of the day when Grandma is tired! ;-)

The adorable little reindeer tag adds the perfect playful touch...the DSP had a whole sheet of different tags...each one cuter than the next. Here's a look at the two pages together. I wish I would have photographed some of the elements before slipping them into the page protectors...hate the glare. Oh well...you get the idea.

Need to go child proof the living room before Maddy gets here...have a GREAT day!

Baby's First Birthday Pages

In January our darling little granddaughter turned a year old. This past year watching her grow and hit each milestone has brought such tremendous joy into our lives! Grandbabies really are the BEST!

I've been working on an 8x6 Project Life style album to keep track of her first year. Each month I would set up at least one photo shoot to capture her monthly photo and then I would add them to her album. My goal was to have it finished and ready to give her in January, so I spent a large chunk of my stamping time this past month finishing her album. Here are the last few pages.

No party is complete without balloons and the super cute Party Pandas! I used the little confetti stamp to add interest to the background of my page, stamping it in both Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose (retired).

I used papers from Echo Park's Bundle of Joy throughout the album and Regal Rose is a good match to those, so I also used some prints from the retired SU! Brights Pattern Stack from many years ago...I had about 1/2 sheet of each pattern in the Regal Rose so I used it sparingly...here on the balloon and also on the 12 month circle. I used the Labeler Alphabet a lot throughout this album, it's perfect for little titles. Speaking of titles, the "birthday girl" title is a stamp from the retired Hello stamp set. I keep anything I know that I can use in my scrapbooks.

Here's how the page looks in the album. To the left are a couple pocket pages, one is for journaling...I left that for Maddy's Mom to write and the other shows a photo of her beginning to walk. Now just a short month later she's everywhere! I used the Balloon Bouquet Punch to punch out various patterns of paper. 

The last page of her album shows her enjoying her birthday cake in a hot pink tutu. I used some retired SU! products to create this page...including Pretty In Pink cardstock and the Banner Blast and Party Pants stamp sets. Those were both free Sale-A-Bration sets from a few years ago. You can still get current Sale-A-Bration products right now...including the fun Party Panda set!

If you would like to see more pages from this album check back in the next couple weeks...I plan to share more. I also did a post a while back sharing many of the pages before the photos were added. You can see that here. 

Delightful Daisy So Very Loved

I think that the Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper is my favorite paper from this years catalog (at least right now!)  When I first saw these papers I knew I had to scrap the photos I had taken of my sweet granddaughter just a month before the catalog came out. She was wearing an outfit that matched the colors in the paper and she was even holding a daisy!

I cut eight 3-1/2" squares of DSP to create the background for my page.. A 2007 Sale-A-Bration set, So Very was used to create a title, which is embossed in white on Night of Navy. I used the very handy Labeler Alphabet set to stamp the words on my list next to the largest photo. I used the tiny daisy image in the Daisy Delight set to create the bullets for my list and the largest daisy image with coordinating Daisy Punch for the large daisy embellishment. The center is one of the pretty Gold Faceted Gems. Here's a closer look.

Originally I had planned to use just one photo on this layout, but couldn't decide between two of the photos...so I ended up cutting 3 photos down into small squares using the Stitched Shape Framelits, and placed those photos along the bottom. 

Can you spot "something Stampin' Up!" in the photos themselves? I made little Maddy a bunch of headbands when she was only a month or so old using felt and the Spiral Flower Die. You cannot see in the photo, but there is a large Iced Rhinestone jewel in the center. Babies need bling too! (Both the die and the rhinestones have been retired, so they are no longer available)

After I was finished with my layout I realized I hadn't included the date or age of Maddy, so I used the Tiny Tag set with it's coordinating punch (both retired) and wrote her name and age on the tags which are hung from the bow created using Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon.

I used pretty much the same layout for a Halloween page using the Spooky Night DSP shown here.

If you too love these papers...you can get them for FREE!

But hurry...the Buy 3 Get 1 FREE Sale ends tomorrow!

Spooky Cat on a Spooky Night Layout

This is a great layout to showcase all the different patterns in a collection of paper. This page is all ready for a photo of my grand daughter on Halloween...who I'm sure will be more cute than spooky. I used the Spooky Cat Bundle (stamp set and cat punch) along with the coordinating Spooky Night papers.

The paper includes a sheet of squares with the spooky tree and full moon, all ready to stamp the owl if you choose. I cut all the other pieces the same size as this square.

I used the Labeler Alphabet to create my title and to make the BOO banner. I stamped the title strips with the pattern stamp from the Spooky Cat set...love that little stamp to add a little texture. The pumpkins and witch's hat were fussy cut from the Spooky Night DSP.

The little rat running across the pumpkins is a stamp included in the Spooky Cat stamp set as well...this set really is versatile and as you can see, works spooktacularly well with the DSP. The cat is punched out from the Spooky Nights paper and all I had to do was color the details on his face. The black Vintage Crochet Trim is part of the Spooky Night Suite which can all be found on pages 52 & 53 in the Holiday Catalog.

If you order 3 packs of Designer Series Paper right now, you can receive this pack (or any of the others offered) for FREE!

Thanks for visiting! Have a spooktacular weekend!

Lift Me Up Balloon Glow

I'm so happy to see that one of my favorite stamp sets from the Occasions Catalog will be in the upcoming Annual Catalog! Every year the town I live in has a huge Balloon Festival where balloonists come from all over to compete. It really is a treat for the eyes to see all the gorgeous colors as dozens of balloons inflate and take launch! In the evening many of the balloons return to the launch site to do a balloon glow. It really is quite spectacular!

When I purchased the Lift Me Up stamp set and the Up & Away Thinlits, I knew that I was going to use them to scrap some of the photos I took at last years festival. Here's one of the pages.

I used the Cupcakes & Carousels DSP, which is still available in the Occasions Catalog. I love this paper, but it's 6x6 size presented a little bit of a challenge to use on this 12x12 page. I had to get a little creative to hide seams and also used a larger piece of retired DSP from the Best Year Ever paper pack (retired SAB paper) for the main background.

The title was cut using the retired Little Letters Thinlits. Here's a closer look at the die cut balloon detail of my page.

I used a mix of both patterned paper and coordinating card stock for my balloon. The little pennant banner was fussy cut from one of the patterns in the Cupcakes & Carousels stack.

Thanks for visiting today!

Flower Patch Blooms Pages

I scrapped some photos of my family from this past Mother's Day this week. I used a sketch challenge from the Stampin' Up Scrapbooking Global group in Facebook. It's a very inspiring group, and if you like to scrapbook with SU! products...then you should join! Here's my two page layout...

Here's the sketch...

I didn't follow the sketch exactly because I did not want to crop down my photos too much, but this sketch really helped me get started with my layout.

I knew I wanted to use Sweet Sugar Plum 12x12 as my base along with Blooms & Bliss DSP to compliment the flowering crabapple tree in the background of my photos. I cut my title using my Silhouette Cameo and printed my journaling from the computer. This ended up being a royal PITA! **insert terribly angry face here**. After numerous attempts I finally got it cut out and like the end result, BUT it shouldn't have been that difficult and time consuming! I need to get a new sticky mat, so that should help save my sanity next time!

I used the Flower Patch stamp set and the coordinating Flower Fair Framelits to create some simple embellishments for my pages. The Flower Patch set and it's framelits are on the Retiring List along with my favorite DSP...Blooms & Bliss, so if these are items you would like please place your order soon.

Everyone who places an order with me this month and uses the Hostess Code: ZMUUCXE6 will receive a card kit with supplies to create 3 cards.

Special Reason Sweet Baby Girl Page

I've been busy doing a little scrapbooking this past week. Why is it that every time I get busy with a project (especially scrapbooking!) it looks like a tornado went through my studio!?

I swear....every flat surface is covered with a pile of supplies. Because I just have to pull out everything that could possibly work on my pages, and then decide nope, don't need that! I even had to drag in an extra table for my DSP!

Look at my messy desk...I end up with just enough space to barely work. Then I spend way too much of my precious stampin' time searching for things that I misplaced. It drives me nuts!  Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this! OK...rant over, and my space has been cleaned, so time to share my page.


I had a  "special reason" in mind when I purchased the Special Reason Bundle...creating some pages featuring our new grand daughter. I decided to use one of my favorite photos I took of her during our first official photo shoot for my first page. She was wearing a little purple headband...so I wanted to use purple on my layout...off to a good start!

I thought so...until I searched through stacks and stacks of beautiful paper (part of the reason for mess!) looking for the perfect print to use with the photo...only to realize I'm seriously lacking in DSP featuring a shade of purple anywhere near close to the headband! How could that be? Purple is one of my favorite colors, and I have enough pretty patterned paper to open a scrapbook store! (Don't tell my husband!) So I decided I needed to make my own Designer Series Paper.

Right now the closest shade that Stampin' Up! carries to the headband is Wisteria Wonder. I like the way it looks with Sahara Sand...which is featured in the lace printed paper from the Falling In Love pack, so I went with those two colors for this page.

In addition to the Special Reason stamp set I used Timeless Textures, Gorgous Grunge and Jar of Love (tiny flower and leaves) to create my own patterned paper. The tiny flower from Jar of Love is a smooth, solid image so I used the kissing technique with the burlap image in Timeless Textures to add some texture so they better coordinated with the flowers in the Special Reason stamp set. I die cut some of the leaves from the Mint Macaron Glimmer Paper that was available during SAB to add a little sparkle. I love that this set has a stamp and framelits to create layered labels, used here to record her name & age.

I used the retired Pennent Punch to create part of the title. I stamped the word "sweet" using the retired Occasions Alphabet set and punched them out with 1/2" Circle Punch. I made the bow using Wisteria Wonder Seam Binding Ribbon. I miss having the seam binding ribbon in the catalog...sure glad I stocked up on that before it retired.

Speaking of retiring...today is the day we find out which items in the current catalog will be retiring. Even after so many years as a SU! demo, I still have a hard time saying goodbye to my favorites. That's why I end up keeping most of my old sets!