Goldenrod March 2022

Continuing documenting our 2020 vacation to Lake Placid, NY. I made my husband pull over on the side of the road so I could take this photo. My late friend and mentor loved Lake Placid and constantly talked about this beautiful area of the country, and when I saw this field, I immediately thought of him. I had to stop and honor him for a few minutes in my memory. I'm so grateful that we got to finally explore this region.

Challenge Inspiration:

Color Scheme Inspiration: My Little Scrapbook Store (MLSS)

March 2022 Online Lucky Crop Challenge 16.

Sketch Inspiration: Scrap Our Stash March 2022 sketch challenge

Design inspiration: Lasting Memories March 2022 challenge #591 Finishing Touches. Nuvo drops and Enamel Dots.

Three paper collections: CM Meadow, Amy Tangerine Picnic in the Park from MLSS, and Doodlebug Land that I Love Petite Prints.

Alphas and Crushed Pineapple Powdered Pigment: Vicki Boutin Let's Wander.

Acrylic Flowers: Recollections.

Button/Ribbon: Unknown.

Flower Stamp: Hero Arts.

Date Stamp: Staples.

Nuvo Drops: Belgium Bluestone Stone Drops and Simply White Crystal Drops from MLSS.

Enamel Flower: AT Picnic in the Park from MLSS.

Enamel Dots: Pink & Main from MLSS.

Picket Fence Paper Glitz: Lime Christmas from MLSS.

Matte Acrylic Gel: Vicki Boutin.

Fineline Red Top Glue from Paper Issues.

Distress Oxide: Stormy Sky.

Quick Quotes Powderpuff Feather Gray Chalking Ink.

DCWV Green Page Tabs from HSN.

CM Circle Templates and straight trimmer.

Process photo: I struggled finding the right color and paper combinations for this project, and even ripped it apart and put it together several times. I was trying to force a lovely peacock blue paper and vicki Boutin stencil into the design, and in the end, once I let them go and introduced the better shade of lilac from the doodlebug collection, everything fell into place successfully.

I've put this hobby on hold for the last 8 months, but am so relieved to be back! sdm-

 

Sigma “Nu” Years Eve June 2021

I had the idea of using the two “zeros” in 2020 for a New Year’s Eve layout. This challenge from Lasting Memories provided the opportunity to get this yearly event documented.

Our college friends have been celebrating New Year’s Eve together for 25 years, so this Paper Issues was a great challenge to document our friendship. I purchased a great chevron stamp set at Paper Issues that I used for this layout.

I did a deep dive into my old stash and used some vintage StampinUp! paper, glitter cardstock and drops; combined with a small new CM New Years paper and sticker collection. Additional old supplies used were an old border sticker I got on HSN a decade ago and two washi tapes I've had for years. Some fun new items I used were silver Paper Glaze over a stencil, Vicki Boutin Let's Wander metal embellishments, crystal dots, and some foam alphas.

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Delaware Canal St Park May 2021

 

We had so much family quality time last year during Covid, it’s something I’m going to really miss as

my oldest leaves for college soon. We explored the PA side of the Delaware River canal tow path, an area we often explore, but this was the first time we saw this specific area together. We walked, ran, hiked and biked, admired the wildflowers and the amazing historic covered bridge.

Sketch inspiration: Stick it Down.

 

Photo inspiration: I had this subject for a layout in mind for a while, but couldn’t edit down all the great photos from the day. This challenge from Lasting Memories reminded me I don’t have to edit out my favorite pics all the time.

Paper and ephemera inspiration: My Little Scrapbook Store monthly challenge. I really love this botanical paper from Dare2bArtzy I’ve been saving since last year with this event in mind. The soft floral patterns reminded me of the day. I combined them with ephemera from Vicki Boutin’s Kaleidoscope and Wildflower and Honey collections... because whenever u need a butterfly you can always count on finding one in Vicki’s collections!

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Mirror Lake Supper May 2021

Continuing documenting our summer vacation to Lake Placid last year. I used Amy Tangerine Picnic in the Park and Vicki Boutin Let’s Wander collections, as well as a sheet of Creative Memories Meadow paper.

MLSS Sketch Inspiration: We had so many lovely photos to choose from of our evening supper overlooking misty Mirror Lake, I knew I needed a double page layout.

Lasting Memories color inspiration: I love this mood board and colors. The blurry flowers reminded me of a lot of the photos we took that night.

Additional supplies not mentioned above:

Hero Arts stamp Daisy Border F2270.

Eyelet outlet brads Stitched Flowers.

Little Birdie Juicy Jugs.

CM 12” Straight Trimmer.

Distress Embossing Pen and Powder: Peeled Paint.

Staples Date Stamp.

Dina Wakley Leafy Stencil.

Quick Quotes Powderpuff Royal Blue chaulking ink.

Nuvo glitter marker Imperial Blue.

Ribbon, hole punch: unknown.

Crepe Paper Hey Santa Holly Jolly Thickers alphas.

DCWV textured cardstock Brights.

Scotch ATG and tacky glue.

Honey Bee precision scissors.

I ❤️ NY May 2021

 First page of a mini vacation winter weekend series. I usually don’t purchase themed paper collections often, but I thought the Echo Park Warm and Cozy and Winter Magic collections was so cute and perfect to document this short getaway trip to Gore Mountain, NY. We have been going to VT every year for over three decades, but Covid travel restrictions required us to reconsider our plans. We took some inspiration from our summer trip to Lake Placid and returned to the Adirondacks, and were so happy we did! We also made this ski trip earlier than years past, taking advantage that the kids had remote school and fewer December crowds. This much needed vacation was a perfect way to kick off the holidays for our family.

Scrap our Stash layout and travel theme inspiration:

MLSS Subject matter inspiration: I’m not me without him. It’s that simple. ❤️

Challenge YOUrself photo choice inspiration: I waited out in the cold for my husband to return from a rest stop to snap this cute photo with him... and had what seemed like lots of cold time to find a good pic of myself before he arrived!

Additional supplies:

CM trains and automobiles collections, On the road boarder maker cartridge.

Grommet, twine, corner and hole punch: unknown.

Simply white crystal and Belgium bluestone stone Nuvo drops.

Distress oxide rustic wilderness.

Date stamp: Staples.

Kiwi lane brackets 1 template.

Scotch ATG and tacky glue.

12” CM straight trimmer.

Clickit grommet tool.

Artist’s Loft Illustration Pen: 0.3 brown.

Prismacolor fine tip marker PM-6 Carmine red.

Honey Bee precision scissors.

Shades of Spring May 2021

I had so much fun learning a new technique (for me) on this page. I own very, very, few stamps, so incorporating stamps into a page is a challenge for me. I finally broke open a Heidi Swapp Honey & Spice stamp set last week that I bought specifically for a journaling box stamp. I have only used one other stamp in the collection. Since I needed to incorporate flowers into the Scrap our Stash challenge below, I decided to try the flower stamp, and ended up using several others on this page.

In addition, I’ve only used my heat embosser a handful of times, so I decided to try it again. I started with an Altenew flower medallion stencil on Vicki Boutin Enjoy Today mixed media paper. It was only then I read the fine print on the back of the embossing powder that I realized I could emboss stamps using oxide inks. Once I started embossing stamps, I didn’t want to stop. I even went back and added more embossed stamping the next morning after I thought I was done.

I’m not a fan of this paper pad, and decided to start using it more aggressively to use it up. Indeed I covered up most of the design, and then cut up another page with colors I liked to use as photo mats.

Then, I looked for yellow paper to use similar to the marigolds, and found an old Stampin up! mini kit I was gifted as an crop door prize I’ve been hoarding for years. I also found a coordinating sheet of Honey & Spice paper that reminded me of the camouflage pattern on my son’s shirt, and started layering other patterned paper from the mini kit to match the sketch below.

Sketch and flowers inspiration:

MLSS stamp inspiration:

I loved the vibe my son is giving off in this pic, wearing his “shades” and saying he’s getting older and too cool for mom to snap his pic, hence the title inspiration. We had a lovely Saturday afternoon together eating lunch while watching planes land and take off from our little local airfield, and then I picked some flowers from our yard to freshen up our bedroom.

Other supplies used:

Simple stories large alphas.

Cloud builder stencil.

Tag, grommet, small alphas, wood and paper flower ephemera: unknown

Simply white Nuvo drops.

Pink & Main enamel dots. Happy mail.

Distress oxide speckled egg and stormy sky.

Powder puff chaulking ink: Feather grey.

Embossing powders: Distress salvaged patina and peeling paint, Wow Manuela’s honey, Nuvo happy daze.

Date stamp: Staples.

Scotch ATG.

12” CM straight trimmer.

Artist’s Loft Illustration Pen: 0.3 brown.

Kingart fine tip pen: Grey.

 

Winter Time May 2021

 

Beautiful sunny winter day to walk around downtown Clinton, NJ enjoying the lovely architecture. After an unusually bad winter, this was the first day in a long time that we could feel and see the world starting to thaw, and although we still had another month of winter, the pretty day provided just enough hope that spring would soon be upon us. We need to start getting used to, and treasure days like these with our younger son, as our older son will be leaving for college soon. Bitter sweet.

I created my own two color background with splatters of Distress Oxides on 80# photoplay white cardstock, then layered strips of paper on the bottom half.

Featured collection: Echo Park Winter Magic.

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