Aaron's Favorites @9

I have made great strides this year to do three things:

1. journal at least 3 stories every month.

2. create pages with the photos I had printed earlier this year

3. use up my stash by creating kits for the photos in step #2

So far I have been really happy with each of these. I have found there is definitely times that I am more focused on one step over the others but they are all happening.

Step 1 lets me know which photos to print next round, and then that allows steps 2 and 3 to happen.

For the page I am sharing today, I journaled this information in real time, when he actually turned 9.  That prompted me to print the photos and then was able to create the page.

My son will be turning 11 next month and it is super cool to see the things that have changed and which have stayed the same.

With photos in hand, I went through my stash in search for product to tell the story. Initially I didn't intend to use birthday themed products, but since the photos I printed were of his party, I dipped into my birthday stash. 

What I found was an old Basic Grey kit. This was not of the KOTM variety, where a ton of product was given as well as an example layout and instructions that I subscribed to from my then local store. This was one of their kits that a 2-pg and two 1-pg layouts were included. Most of the pieces were punched out die cuts and pre-printed layers.

As you can see, I stuck to the original page design. This kit doesn't offer much freedom in creating it your own but there are quite a few bonus pieces in the kit that allow for some customization.

Instead of creating a panel of embellishments, I used the card to journal and add my own title. I also added the balloon chipboard piece at the top with some star pieces from the kit. I used more stars as bullet points for the journaling.

 I used an Ali Edwards "favorite" stamp from one of the story stamps as well as stickers from the BG collection this kit was from.

Was happy to use up the last of this kit, since I created the other pages in the kit already, but even more happy to have these photos and words together on a page.

Thanks for stopping by to check it out!

Before I Die

I have had the photo for this layout printed for a long time. It was time to put the page together!

Now this may seem like an odd page to make, kinda morbid. This was a prompt I used from Ali Edwards' Hello Story class. I used the digital word art from the class on the photo prior from printing.

I thought this was a cool photo of me silhouetted in front of a window. 

Ali's page used a smaller photo, and I struggled on how I was going to design it, since I couldn't just scrap lift hers. 

I kept it quite minimal using stamped labels and punched using a coordinating punch. Used papers from Maggie Holmes Bloom collection. 

Used border punches to create the scallop borders to the photo.

Added a few enamel hearts and called this one done. Love the tape look to the paper in the corner. Had to show that off!

Glad to be finally crossing some layouts off my Hello Story layout list.

Thanks for stopping by.

Maddie's Baby Album - First Visitors

Here is a page I recently completed from Maddie's baby album.

I used this page to document photos of all the people that came out to California in the first few months of her birth. There was a pocket with the journaling cards "choosing your name", "First Visitors" and Adjusting to Life in a Family" and thought these photos would work with these journaling prompts.

The paper I used for this layout as well as the pocket and journaling cards were from the Becky Higgins' Baby kit .

I created a grid with 2x2 photos, mounting it all on white card stock. I layered some washi under the white mat as well as a border sticker found in the Becky Higgins kit.

I created a banner at the top of this layout using stickers from a recent Photo Play baby collection. I used some white twine I had in my stash and popped the stickers up with a bit of foam adhesive. I layered in a few other stickers as well as stamping a sentiment from an old Ali Edwards baby stamp set.

On each of the photos I stamped a number using a Heidi Swapp stamp set and punched it out. I then used the number to correspond to the journaling on the First Visitors journaling card.

I also found created some banners from the Photo Play cut-apart sheet to embellish the photo grid. 

I created an embellishment cluster on the lower left corner of the photo grid with a few stickers from the Photo Play sticker sheet. 

I used rub-ons included in the BH baby kit as well as some alpha stickers from Simple Stories for a subtitle. Squeezed in another stamped sentiment from Ali Edwards above the subtitle.

On the pocket, I covered the original image with another sticker from the Photo Play sticker sheet after using a bit of foam tape to pop it up a bit. 

Here is a look at the journaling cards out of the pocket. Love that there was so much room for so much information. A plus since I am so wordy!

This page will sit on the left side of the album. On the right, there is a paper that has a tab, "You're Official" and I plan on sticking a copy of her birth certificate on it and keep it pretty simple. I thought the "choosing your name" card worked with that.

Few more pages to work on in Maddie's album and this project will be complete! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Maddie's Baby Album - 12 Months

Here is the last monthly page I have to share with you of Maddie's Baby Album.

For this page I made a bit of a grid with the photos and a once 4x6 cut-a-part card. I mounted it on a sheet of pearlescent embossed vellum. I have no idea how long this velum has been in my stash, but it was time to use it! I am always amazed how Inkie Quill uses these specialty papers with ease as layers, so she was the inspiration to use it. All of this is layered on top of a piece of patterned paper from the Becky Higgins baby kit.

At the bottom of the photo grid, I used a banner sticker from a PhotoPlay baby collection sticker sheet. I used some washi to ground each of my embellishment clusters and used a stamped Ali Edwards circle stamp on cream paper with brown ink to tie in those colors from the monthly number title that was in the Becky Higgins baby kit.

The cut-a-part was also from PhotoPlay.  The colors worked nicely with the Becky Higgins kit that I have been using and thought this card was a perfect match for this page.

I used another Ali Edwards stamp and embellished this cluster with more washi, a sticker popped up on foam adhesive, and some sequins and enamel dots. This added touch is thanks to Shimelle. Most of her pages these days have a ton of enamel dots, rhinestones, and more. Now my pages don't feel done without a sprinkling of something.

The last cluster has more washi, a sticker from Photo Play as well as another stamp from Ali Edwards. All topped off with some sequins and enamel dots.

Love how this one turned out. And this is the last of the monthly pages! I am nearing the finish line with this project!

Hope to share more from the final stages of this project soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Maddie's Baby Album- 10 Months

Loving that Maddie's Baby Album project is wrapping up. Only a handful of pages left to design, just a lot of finishing up of the pocket pages and journaling and hopefully I can show you the completed album soon.

Kept this layout pretty simple. I really like how the Photo Play baby collection's color scheme matches well with the color scheme of Becky Higgins really old Baby kit.

The challenge with the old baby kit is the cream and brown. Especially since it is in the numbers that are featured on every page. I tied the cream in with border stickers in the kit that were the same color.

Used another doily to frame the chipboard frame and month number. Filled in some of the trapped space between the number and the paper with some stickers from the PhotoPlay baby collection.

Had some fabric stickers from Hey Girl Pebbles collection and place three around the layout. Used sequins from 28 Lilac Lane. They were a in prize I won from May Flaum.

Third cluster at the bottom right of the photo. Another fabric sticker, some sequins and a flower sticker. 

There you have it! More to share from this album soon as I wrap it up!

Thanks for visiting!

Maddie's Baby Album - 7 months

Here is another layout from Maddie's baby album.

For Shimelle's Design Decisions class, prompt #14 was starting without a plan. I created this layout without a plan!

As I started to look at the "kit" of supplies that I have been using for this album, mainly the Becky Higgins baby kit, among many other things from my stash, I came across a package of paper buttons from Stampin' Up! that I had used on Maddie's Favorites @ 5 layout. The pinks and yellows were a good match to the kit, I decided to use those.

I don't tend to create layouts on an angle, but after seeing Shimelle on Facebook Live the week before, I was inspired to give it a try, but modify it a bit for my comfort level. The photo is not at an angle like hers were.

I went with a solid color for the background, knowing the buttons were going to busy. 

The floral pattern paper is from the baby kit and was a great place to line the buttons up. The holes on the buttons are quite large, so I found some white fibers from my stash (I forgot I had so many fibers of all colors!) that worked better than twine or string.

I found some white button brads in my stash that worked to hold the title chipboard layers together. They work nicely with all of the other buttons on the layout. 

Used a doily again under the title as well as under the patterned paper at the corners.

Used some green sequins from 28 Lilac Lane, a prize from May Flaum's blog, the designer of the product from Buttons Galore. Love the slight variation in color and size.

Matted the photo in cream and a yellow pattern from the kit and layered in another doily as well as a few more buttons and sequins.

Amazingly enough, I still have quite a few of the paper Stampin' Up! buttons left, but loved that I used so many up. Loving the sequins these days as well.

Here's to using up old stash and loving the results!

Maddie's Baby Album- 5 months

Here is month 5 for Maddie's Baby Album. Happy to be finishing her baby album up! Hopefully it will be finished before she turns 9 years old!

The only thing on this layout that came from the Becky Higgins Baby kit is the 5 month chipboard frame title. Everything else I got from my stash. 

Isn't that ombre ruffle paper adorable. This is from Photoplay, another purchase from the local store that I recently found. 

So the layout was inspired from a sketch in Shimelle's Design Decisions class for prompt #13. I thought this sketch was perfect to be able to show off that paper.

I used a Dear Lizzy floral as well as a Crate Paper/Maggie Holmes Project Life card.

The circle love die cut was from an Amy Tangerine die cut pack, just gave it a doodley border. Found some plastic star bursts and star that came in an Ali Edwards December Daily kit that matched the colors I was using. Stapled them using my tiny attacher.

Found some Maggie Holmes phrase stickers that worked. Liked how they were cream base to coordinate the title. I also stamped the onesie from Ali Edwards baby stamp set and punched it out. 

On the other side of the layout, I repeated the starbursts, phrase stickers and I used some other Ali Edwards stamp sets to create the embellishment and die cut it with a sizzix label die set from Tim Holtz.

I really love this one. So fun to find all the little bits to pull this one together. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Maddie's Baby Album- 2 months

I struggled with this baby album page for quite a while. The size of the photos and the circle chipboard title didn't leave a lot of real estate for much more and I struggled on how to embellish it and make it feel finished.

Paper is from the Becky Higgins Baby kit from ages ago as well as the chipboard frame and month number.

 I used a Dear Lizzy floral paper but gave it a bit of a frame with a pink paper from the kit as well.

The pink bow sticker came from a baby collection from Photo Play. I have never purchased supplies from them before, but when I stopped in a local stamp/scrapbook store (that I had never knew was there) recently, they had a few baby lines I thought would work with the kit and were super cute, this one from Photoplay being one of them.

I layered the frame over a doily. I have been doing this on most of the monthly layouts, I have realized. I think it just softens the look and separation from the other layers.

I also went through my baby girl stash and found some metal charms. When I was pregnant, not sure if it was the first or second, my mom hooked me up with tons of baby crafting products. I figure it is time to use it or lose it! 

I also used a few blue pearls and sequins from a 28 Lilac Lane kit that I won from May Flaum's blog. She designs the kits with Buttons Galore and they are super fun!

In the kit there were these border stickers but they are cut to these short lengths. Thought they would work for layering pieces. Used another cute charm from the same set as well as some puffy stickers from Amy Tangerine.

At the top of the page, to create a triangle of embellishments, I created similar layers with the border stickers and repeated the same embellishments. Love that peek-a-boo bunny charm!

So there you go. A relatively simple layout but I love how it turned out. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Maddie's Baby Album - First Thanksgiving

Here is another layout I created for Maddie's Baby Album. This one is for her first Thanksgiving. I worked on this one at the crop as well so I used another kit my friend Tami designed.  She has a Etsy store here.

Unlike the last layout kit I used from her, I stuck pretty true to the kit. I only added a title, some enamel stars and some extra stamping.

Loved the little banner on this page as well as the leaves die cut from burlap. Adds great texture!

Added a bit of stamping above the banner. This is from a Technique Tuesday/Ali Edwards Thanksgiving stamp set. Love how the words were just the right length to fit over the banner.

I struggled to find a place to put all of my words. I actually had to edit quite a bit out for it to fit in this space!

Used some more of Ali Edward Stamps for this side as well, the banner, hearts, and "Thanksgiving."

Love how this turned out and happy to have another layout checked off my list to complete Maddie's Baby Album.

Thanks for stopping by!