Meet Me In The Sunshine

In case you haven't noticed I have been going through and scrapping a lot of my childhood photos. This one here is of me and my parents (see those two in the background laying on the bench) at Walt Disney World a whooping 15 yrs. ago. It really does not seem like it was that long ago. I used mostly Amy Tangerine's Ready Set Go line for this one with a few touches of Sketchbook. 

The letters down the side are from Echo Parks Sweet Day line and the Pink Alphas are October Afternoon Mini Market Alphas.

My albums are the furthest thing from cohesive. This layout goes right in front of the Tea for Two layout from my last post-Then and Now.  The vellum hearts from that line really didn't catch my eye when I first saw them but after seeing them in real life and not through a computer screen I find them quite appealing.

I really liked this sticker. It was the only thing that I knew I wanted to put on this layout from the beginning.

So that is it. Now if I could only get the 500 other pictures from my childhood done I would be in good shape.

In Other News:

This past weekend was my Mother-In-Laws 55th birthday. We went, We ate..I took to few pictures. (I always do) 

Happy B-Day Robbin!!

I did manage to get a picture of my husband, his brother and their Pepa together right before we left.

Left to Right-My Brother in Law Micheal, My Hubby and their Pepa Jack

And the most exciting news--I finally got a place to put my scrap stuff. It's not a room and it is still in my living room but it is soo much better than shoe boxes!!! More on that to come later this week.

Have a Crafty Friday-

~Ashley Crafty~

Then and Now #2

I'm back with another "THEN and NOW". (I say in my best game show host voice)

THEN

 This one is from my first trip to a scrapbook store. I didn't even know there was such a thing.  Ahh, to be so naive! I stumbled in there and found such a magical world. Big rolls of stickers and bins full of tiny things that you could put in tiny glassine bags. So I bought these stickers and brads and went home and did the one thing that I still regret today....I took my decorative stickers to my pictures and I made a Layout. I think this may have been the second or third layout I ever made. And now in all it's Decorative edges Glory: 2 Peas in a Pod.

The yellow corduroy fabric brads were the first thing I knew I had to have. I really wish I could find some more of them now. I cut these pictures down so that I could fit three to a page. I really wish I hadn't done that now because these are the originals.  These pictures of me and my hubs were taken just weeks after we started dating. Oh, so happy!!

NOW

This layout was done last week while I was squirreled away in a hotel for work. I worked 100 hrs. in 8 days and I still brought my supplies with me. Dedicated Huh? Anyway this is a layout that I really, really, really like. Me & You-Tea for Two

The picture is from Walt Disney World in 1998. That is me waving with my brother tailing me. I saw these papers and this photo and normally I  am not big on the whole "your photos colors have to match the papers" thing but with this I just couldn't resist. The background paper is from Echo Parks-Sweet Day and the other paper are My Minds Eye-The Sweetest Thing. (That makes this layout SWEET!!) :)

The triangles were "Fussy Cut" from the Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic 6x6 paper pad, which took a lot longer than I thought it would. Then I put them on pop dots to make them stand out a little. Since the overall color scheme is very muted I thought they would just become part of the background if I left them flat.

The camera is from Amy Tangerine's Ready Set Go line and the banner is from Pink Paislee's Cottage Farms. (I won some from 2peas before its release date)

Dear Lizzy Foam Thickers in turquoise/green...I don't know what you would call that color. I love the pink teapot in the photo and how it really stands out with the pink in the papers. 

This is the top right corner. Most people (that I have noticed anyway) tend to put their clusters in the top left but it looks off if I try to do it that way. The grey washi tape is from Recollections (Micheal's Brand). I love this Washi tape. It goes with everything!!

The last thing I did was add the pink measuring tape down the side. I don't know why so don't ask it just felt right. :)

So that's it for another episode of Then & Now...Tune in next time for another layout from way back when vs. the one I just made (Again in my best Game Show Voice)

Do you know where I can find some corduroy fabric brads? Do you now the name of that color on the Thickers? Did you ever cut your photos up with Decorative Scissors, and if so Do you regret it now? Leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!!

Hello Summer--Scrap You Story Challenge #3

I am so excited that I was chosen as a guest designer for the Scrap Your Story Challenge Blog for week #3. If you haven't checked them out yet you really should. Each week you will receive a new challenge to jump start you creativity. Another truly awesome thing about Scrap Your Story is that with each challenge you complete and upload to their blog you have the chance of being picked to receive a prize pack!! I know...Right! I have always found that a challenge really gets my "mojo a flowin' ". So this is week 3 and the challenge is to create a layout using this sketch created by Christy Skinner the founder of Scrap Your Story.

I draw doodle sketches when I have an idea that I can't seem to translate to the page. But, When it comes to  working from another persons sketch I always have trouble getting started. When Christy sent me this sketch I knew immediately what pictures I wanted to put with it. I have been going through and scrapping my childhood pictures and this just looked "Summer" to me. I have had these two photos pulled and put together intent on using them on a page together for months. I wanted to use this paper from Crate Papers Acorn Avenue collection. It seemed to fit the photos well

The top picture is of my mom, brother and me riding the trolley @ Myrtle Beach, SC. 

The first thing that really spoke to me on the layout was the banners so I decided to start with that. I placed the photos in the same position as the sketch and layered the first banner. Once I had that in there I decided to run with the banners theme.  

Awesome!!

I carried the banner theme down to the bottom of the page. I had just received some of the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm Tags and the Awesome was just to Awesome to not use it.

 The only big change I really made to the sketch was moving the title. I kept the band running through the center and found that it was a good place to let the title rest. I tore a long strip of silver washi tape in half and layered it on top of the border strip.

I have started journaling on vellum and then putting it on my layout. I really don't journal as much as I should because I am so scared I will make a mistake on the pattern paper and ruin all the hard work I have done.

This is a close up of the banners at the top. The banners felt like they needed to be softened up a bit so I layered some vellum on top of them. I have been using a lot of plain vellum on my layouts lately. 

For the top left corner I stamped a Dear Lizzy Stamp that has the definition of summer on a piece of....you guessed it...Vellum and layered that with some silver Washi tape that given to me a while back. The kraft banner at the top says "Life is what you make it". So True. 

The final thing I did was add a couple of loose rhinestones bling to the page at a few spots to draw a little more attention to those areas. S

So there you have it. Hello Summer for the Scrap Your Story Challenge Blog. Take the sketch and play along. Me and the girls over there would love to see what you come up with. 

~Ashley Crafty~