The Bubble Boy of Summer

This layout is another summer one. Can you tell that I am so, so, so ready for the warn weather. Shorts, Flip-Flops and Lazy days by the Pool can not came soon enough. But enough about my Summer Envy. This Picture was taken by me in July of 2002, I came out of the room and my brother was standing there blowing bubbles...Have you ever seen something and just know that it is a moment you need to capture on film?? Still to this day it is one of my favorite Jacob Pictures (That and the one from Splish Splash which I will be photographing in the coming week...hopefully)

I am not big on the big Anchor trend...while I do think it is a versatile shape I can not for the life of me put it on a page that is not about the beach or boating, even swimming would do but I thought it worked well here. (of course this is a beach photo).

The Good Ol' Cabana Inn. That place was like a second home to us in the summer...Oh, how I miss the beach!!

The Squirrel and Cheese story will have to wait for another day I'm sorry to say. Again I did my journaling on Vellum because I am just terrified to destroy my pages with a spelling error. I think I need to work on that.

As for the Materials: The background paper is an older October Afternoon Paper, the Yellow Wood-grain is an Amy Tangerine and the Orange Paper and White Tile Letters are both from Echo Park Paper Co. This and That. The Thickers were given to me so I don't know exactly who they are from, and of course the Today and Anchor are both from the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm Line.

That is all from me tonight but Chloe wishes you all a Great Week!!!

That is her Have a Great Week Face!!!

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!!

Bright Sunshiney Day

It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright sunshiny day. I need some little music note emoticons. This page was created for the Scrap Your Stash Challenge over at Two Peas in a Bucket. If you haven't checked them out yet you should. (The link is above) Every year one of their free classes gets me and this year it's Scrap Your Stash. (Not that i have much of a "Stash" to scrap) 

Last Thursdays Video was all about using your stamps on a layout. I am not a big stamper, mainly because stamps intimidate me. I can never get a good impression OR once I put it on it doesn't look right. Unfortunately ink is permanent and once it is there...It's There! So, I took a step outside of my comfort zone and gave it a try. Lilith Eeckels...You really got me going and I have to say I am happy with the results.

Sorry for the dim photos but it had started getting cloudy.

That "Summer" banner you see there under the flower is a Pink Paislee Stamp, Stamped onto Vellum and then stapled to some card stock that I Printed a chevron pattern onto. It is actually a bit brighter in person but the wind was blowing and it would not stay down.

 So the hearts all around the page were stamped using a reverse mask. I simply cut my shape out of a piece of scrap paper and then taped it to the page with washi tape so that it wouldn't slide around and then stamped through it. All of the hearts were done with the same stamp I just moved it around a bit so that the pattern wouldn't be the same.

For the rest there is: Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic, Amy Tangerine Sketchbook, October Afternoon Mini Market Alphas, Basic Grey Fact or Fiction Snippets and a Smash Journal Tag.

In Other News:

It was 60 degrees and sunny last Friday and it snowed Saturday. Granted it wasn't a lot of snow and it was gone in like 3 hrs but man did it leave us soggy!! Chloe did not like the snow...nope...not one bit!!! As evidenced by these next pictures. 

Mad because it was wet and she wanted in the front door.

 And nervous on the car ride because she didn't know what was going on when I let her stick her head out the window.

Let me know what you think. Do you like to stamp on your layouts? Have you ever tried stamping on vellum? Have you been inspired by a video on 2 peas lately? Let me know in the comments below. I love comments. 

~Ashley Crafty~

Then and Now

THEN

Yesterday I sat down with one of my oldest scrapbooks and flipped through a couple of pages. I guess everyone has to start somewhere. I started with one of those "1,000 pcs!!" kits that they sell at Wal-Mart shortly after I found my first LSS (Local Scrapbook Store).I bought a few items and a pair of decorative scissors and I sat down to record history, My history. 

Those first few pages are not what I would call my "best work". Far from it actually and even though I am one of those people who will take the photos off of a layout and re-do it I just can't seem to do that to those first pages. Today I took one of them outside with me while I was photographing my latest layouts and took a picture. 

My husband in in his chubbiest of times. SHH!! Don't tell him, he hates that picture.

So, what do we have here. A very lopsided decorative circle in the corner with some vellum stickers and silver flourishes. A glassine type envelope with a quote on it. Very crooked plastic letter stickers and My handwriting because I ran out of letters. Oh yeah, Those squares on the side over there, Mirrored Mosaic Tiles...I don't even know where those came from. So despite my tendency to tear my pages apart and start from scratch this page will remain safely hidden safe.

NOW

Now, onto things of a more current nature. I have gotten Three layouts done in four days. I know, Right!?! That's Crazy for Me. This one here is one of me and Jack last summer while we were walking Chloe. (You can find her (Chloe) about two posts back, if you want to know her story.) So I started with a little inspiration in the form of this Layout by Marcy Penner.

And then I jumped in with both feet. I am still getting the hang of mists. Can't seem to make them look right but still use them all the time. Before I go through all the details, I guess I can show you the layout. ;)

Yes, Those are Jesus Jones Lyrics for the title!!                                 

So, I used some Amy Tangerine Sketchbook Thickers, Some paper from a Basic Grey that I have had for at least two years, October Afternoon Mini Market Alpha and a Mistable Camera sent to me in a swap from Ising.

The little green strip on the side is from a SMASH Pad.
It says Coolness Rating 1-10.

I tried to keep the same photo grid concept that Marcy used in her layout. I also added the heart tag in the corner so that the page wouldn't seem so blank. I wish I could have found some washi in one of the greens or close so that I could have added a border around the page *(top and bottom).

Stamping under the tag at the top made me realize that I need some new ink. Something that will leave a sharp image. I think someone said Versa Mark was good for leaving a crisp image. I am going to be sad when I run out of those Thickers. I think they are my favorite alpha EVER!!! 

Have you kept any of your first pages? Do you still have any of those old supplies in you "Scrap Pantry"? Do you know of an Ink that leaves a crisp clear image?
Leave me a comment below. 

Thats all for today Folks, and I hope you will tune in next week for the newest edition of Paper for People. ::Smile:: 

~Ashley Crafty~

The Mess, Oh Me, Oh My The Mess I Make

I am what you would call a very messy scrapper. Organizational Challenged if you will. I truly admire these people who can sit down with a picture in their mind and say "Okay, I am going to use these pieces to make this page" and them they do just that. I can not. I have to have everything around me spread out and go through and try each item next to every piece of paper. It makes a very messy picture. To top it all off I don't have a  place in my house where I can scrap. My "Scrap Room" is my living room floor.

Here I'll show you:

Like This 

And This...

All of This for one Layout. Crazy Right? I Know. Sometimes I think that if I had a craft room I wouldn't be so messy, but I know that is not true.

This doesn't show the half of it, you can only imagine the mess that is behind me. 

I have heard it called a "Chaotic Scrapper". And that is exactly what it is--CHAOS. Now-That being said, The Layout that came from this giant mess is one of my favorites. I used products from 6 different companies (I think), since I have been trying to work through my stash. That shouldn't be too hard as I don't have very much compared to some. 

So, Do you want to see the final product that came from this GIANT MESS? I Do....

I think I am getting more confident with my spraying/misting. 

Pooh-Butt is my childhood nickname, I loved Whinnie the Pooh and so they
Called me Pooh Butt Marie

That Green Flower. I made it from Vellum and then Sprayed it with Mr. Huey's
It came out better than I expected. 

So, I used Amy Tangerine's Sketchbook Die Cuts and Dimensional Stickers, Basic Greys Fact or Fiction Snippets and the Orange and Blue Papers are from the Sweet Threads -OR- Kyoshi{?} Page Kit, October Afternoon Mini Market Alphas, Hobby Lobby Brand Flowers, Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic Chipboard, Studio Calico's Mister Huey's in Bookworm Green and A Vellum Flower that I made.

So, I think I am finally getting this using multiple lines per page thing down. Tell me what you think? Are you a "Chaotic Scrapper" too? Leave me a comment below.

~Ashley Crafty~

P.S.- Stay tuned I will be doing a tutorial on the vellum flower next week.