EMS Sketch Challenge #124 + The Good Stuff Layout

I didn't do a scrapbook sketch last month, so I decided it was time. We took a bunch of photos at the car show, and I managed to put some of them into a pocket page, but I needed to squeeze the remaining five onto a layout without it looking overcrowded. That was the intent behind the sketch, so let me know if I succeeded! As always, feel free to change up the sketch to suit your needs, and please leave a link to your completed layout in the comments below.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

Recipe:
You're a Classic Stamp set
Wood Grain & White Pines patterned papers
Cranberry & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Ocean, Desert Sand & Black ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Charmalong key charm (Bead Landing)
Cranberry baker's twine
Puppy Love Shape Sprinkles - hearts (Doodlebug)
Magic Mesh (Creative Imaginations)
Chipboard (I know it's from CTMH but can't remember the name of the kit)
Cricut Art philosophy cartridge: photo corners
Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #76 Anything Goes with a red heart; Little Red Wagon #818 Masculine (it's a car show, but hopefully the hearts didn't wreck the masculine vibe!); The Neglected Stuff Challenge - my neglected stuff is the nameless chipboard and the Magic Mesh, plus I used Ocean ink which has been discontinued and unused by me for many years.

Luncheon Layout for Lasting Memories #762

I love shopping my stash, so I was really excited when I saw that fellow Lasting Memories designer Wendy had decided to do a stash busting challenge this month. The first week, she has asked us to use any or all of the following: ribbons, lace, fibers. I chose to use some ribbon to make two big bows on my layout. Hopefully you decide to join us over at Lasting Memories this month to use some of the items that are piling up in your stash!

Recipe:
Hawthorne papers
Vanilla Cream, Sangria & New England Ivy cardstock
Saffron, Toffee, Sage, New England Ivy, Vineyard Berry & Sapphire ink
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Wild Wheat ribbon (SU)
Cork Color-Ready Alphabet Stickers
Mocha Opaques pearls
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #14

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #7 - used the scissors to trim my ribbon ends and to fussy cut the hexagon paper; Love Those Pretty Papers - I had lots of fun fussy cutting the hexagon paper and creating the journaling pocket with folded over paper; Colorful Options - this rich color palette worked perfectly for my photos and paper!

One Fine Day in La Verne Layout

I had lived in Southern California almost my entire life when these photos were taken, and I had never seen an icon for snow in the weather app, so this was an exciting moment! I forgot to write about it in my journaling, but one weird thing about this weather was that when I went outside and looked left, the skies were bright blue with fluffy clouds, while looking to the right I only saw grey, dark skies. Hard to believe the two vertical photos below were taken within seconds of each other. 

The sparkles and Stickles are hard to see in my scan, so I took some photos with my photo to try to show them off more. Not sure if that's any better, but I tried!

Here's my journaling card that will go in the facing pocket page with five more photos.

Recipe:
Documenting the Day stamp set (SU)
Lights Aglow papers (SU)
Ponderosa Pine & White Daisy cardstock
Ponderosa Pine & Juniper ink
Sap Green fineliner pen (iBayam)
Snowflake Sticker (Recollections)
Sparkles
Star Dust Stickles (Ranger)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: snowflakes
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: title
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #109 (rotated to the right)

Challenges: Cut It Up #335 Monochromatic plus a die-cut; Color My Heart Color Dare #662 - my extra color is green.

I'd Be Lost Without You Layout

The title of this hiking-themed layout is partially figurative and mostly literal. Since I am not a hiker and am totally directionally challenged, without my hubby, I would have been lost in the wilderness!

Recipe:
Beautiful Things stamp set
Roughing It stamp set (SU)
Rustic Trail, Wood Grain & September/October 2023 Mix-In papers
Pomegranate, Toffee & White Daisy cardstock
Pomegranate, Toffee, Espresso & Pine ink
Sap Green fineliner pen (iBayam)
Mahogany ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Irresistibles Eclectic Die-Cuts
Let's Wander stickers (American Crafts)
Everyday Moments Pocket cards (Scrapbook.com)
True Colors Floral Bits (Simple Stories)
Celebrating Freedom Noteworthy ephemera (BoBunny)
Green organdy ribbon (Offray)
Embroidery floss
Halloween epoxy stars (Bella Blvd)
Top Dog Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug)
Stripe embossing folder
Burlap layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Cricut Design Space: title using A Childs Life font, birds
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: scraplift from Scrapbook.com
Challenges: Time Out Challenges #294 Pick two - I chose stars and stripes (embossed on green circle); The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card-Free Zone; Double Trouble #196 Keep Us in Stitches - my title is definitely a play on words but not sure if it counts as a pun for the optional twist.

Hooray for Today Layout

Today's layout is a birthday one, so I dug into my stash and found some fun birthday themed papers to use along with one of my sketches. It came together pretty quickly, but then my scanner malfunctioned so I had to take photos with my phone and stitch the layout together, which is why the page on the right looks greyer than the left hand page.

Recipe:
State of Mind stamp set
It's Your Birthday papers (Echo Park)
Raven textured cardstock (Bazzill)
White Daisy cardstock
Vellum
Candy Apple, Clover Meadow & Black ink
Rainbow Acrylic Shapes - hearts
Cranberry brads
It's Your Birthday ephemera (Echo Park)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #117

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #76 Orange or red hearts; Little Red Wagon #817 F is for Food (birthday cupcakes); Love Those Pretty Papers (4 fun patterned papers); The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card-Free Zone

Golden Shrine Layout

After enjoying a relaxing week's vacation, I am back to the old routine, including finishing up a scrapbook layout that I started a couple of weeks ago but set aside because I couldn't figure out how to finish it. I had the papers selected and the pictures adhered, but hadn't managed to progress beyond that when my mojo deserted me! I pulled it out this morning and checked out some challenges, and that gave me the impetus to finish it. The photos were taken at the King Tut exhibit in L.A. several years ago and feature his golden shrine, decorated with images of everyday life for the pharaoh and his queen.

Recipe:
Land of Pharaohs paper (Stamperia)
Desert Sand, Carolina, Garnet & Colonial White cardstock
Desert Sand & Carolina ink
Ancient Egypt Ephemera book (Ruth Harding - purchased on Amazon)
Gold Shimmer Trim
Teal enamel dots
Star Punch (EK Success)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: sunburst border
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, postage stamp frames
Challenges: A Cut Above Anything Goes including a die-cut; Let's Craft and Create #221 Anything Goes with optional twist to use a hand punch and/or die-cut (I did both!); Paper Rocks Scissors #6 - used the scissors to cut the ends of the gold shimmer trim banners.

SVK Layout for Lasting Memories #760

Today's Lasting Memories challenge gave me a chance to get nostalgic about a much loved but now defunct scrapbooking company: Close to My Heart. Jill was asking us to create a layout using a favorite brand or designer, and CTMH has long been a favorite for me. I was so sad when they went out of business a couple of years ago, but fortunately, I have enough of their products to last me for the next ten years! What about you?  If you have a favorite designer or brand or company, feel free to hop on over to Lasting Memories and share a layout using lots of their products.

Recipe (unless noted, all products are from CTMH):
Connections, Washi Wonder, Chantilly, Take Note & Picture Perfect stamp sets
Splendor papers
Canary, Candy Apple & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Canary, Candy Apple, Topiary & Black ink
Black marker
Ruby Red fineliner pen (iBayam)
DE Monograms chipboard S, V, K
Red enamel hearts
Dot Fade layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: notepaper
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch17Mar

Challenges: Heart's Quest #75 Anything Goes with red or blue heart); Can You Handle the Pressure? Anything goes with an embossing folder - I used one to add dots to the red circles; Colorful Options July - I used the four suggested colors, although my green is a little darker like in the photo.

Pre-Historic Days Layout

There has been a definite downturn in my scrapping mojo over the past week, but I finally decided to temporarily shelve the layout I was working on and move on to something that would inspire me more! Dinosaurs and rocks - who knew that would do the trick? LOL. These photos from the Natural History Museum were taken on the same day and location as the ones on the butterflies layout I posted last week, but with a vastly different theme. Mixed media is a bit of a challenge for me, but I tried to create a scene that look vaguely ancient, then added the die-cut frame and dinosaurs to it. The stamped "trees" on the right are actually flower silhouettes, but hopefully they came across as savanna-type trees when used in conjunction with  the dinosaurs.

Here's the background. I used a really old (but not pre-historic!) stencil for the hills, with a little bit of extra stenciling for texture, and then I stamped the trees and sun.

Recipe:
Treasure Life stamp set
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media Stamps - Circles (American Crafts)
Heavenly Blue, Topiary, Kraft, Goldrush, Pewter, Espresso, Pine & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Desert Sand, Brown Bag, Sweet Leaf Fern & Topiary ink
Goldrush pigment ink
Dot Fade layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Scenic Borders stencils (Puzzle Mates)
Cricut Design Space: dinosaurs (from Erika Digital Design and GlamSVG by Emylia), grass, title (using A Child's Year font)
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap #318 (adapted for my mixed media-background, but I promise the sketch is where I started!)

Challenges: Neglected Stuff July 2025 - my stuff is the hills stencil that I haven't used since I started blogging in 2009, and the flower stamp;  NBUS #76 - my never before used item is the Vicki Boutin stamp set I used for the sun, the circle spots, and the adventure sentiment.

Blissful, Beautiful Butterflies Layout

My hubby took two sets of photos during our family visit to the Natural History Museum in 2018: the butterfly enclosure and then everything else. I decided to scrap the butterfly photos first since I had the title idea and wanted to run (fly!) with it.

The sentiment at the bottom left is a little washed out in my scan, so here's a close up of it.

Recipe:
Alphabet Solos "B," Pen Pal Alphabet, Bugs & Hugs, Smiles From the Garden & Diverse Backgrounds stamp sets
Goldrush, Thistle, Garden Green, New England Ivy & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Thistle, Garden Green & New England Ivy ink
Thistle Diagonal Striped ribbon
Smiles From the Garden Thin Cuts
Messy Circles layering stencil (Amazon)
Challenges: Triple B July challenge - I included lots of butterflies and a few blooms; The Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge - I used all the colors.

Double Trouble #195 - my three colors are Goldrush, Thistle, and Green, my two stamped images are the butterflies, and my sentiment is down at the bottom left. I stamped some splatters on the background cardstock but it's not shiny, so not sure if it counts for the twist!

Graven Images Layout

I'm back to scrapping my King Tut exhibit photos, so here is another one featuring some of the statues we saw. I was running out of creative titles already, but the thought that these might be the types of "graven images" the Hebrews were forbidden to worship gave me the idea for the title and the journaling. Still loving the Stamperia papers and my Ancient Egypt ephemera book!

Recipe:
Land of Pharaohs paper (Stamperia)
Goldrush & Colonial White cardstock
Goldrush, Outdoor Denim & Vineyard Berry ink
Merlot gel pen (Cricut)
Goldrush marker
Ancient Egypt Ephemera book (Ruth Harding - purchased on Amazon)
Honey Triangles washi tape
Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altenew)
Cricut Design Space: ring and title using Tempus Sans ITC font
Pattern: Inspired Blueprints sketch (turned upside down)

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #6 - I used my scissors to fussy cut the statue and obelisk out.