Stars & Stripes Forever

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  Ryan and I are very excited that it's July--today we'll have our FINAL monthly ice cream date and we can count down the days until our reunion with the hubs on ONE HAND.  So today's layout is a celebration too!

We were allowed to have fireworks at our house in North Carolina, so the hubs bought some and we had a little fireworks show in our driveway in 2020.  This time the hubs gave Ryan some headphones to cut down on the noise so he wasn't scared like he had been the year before--he loved it!  And I had fun choosing fireworks and stars images for this layout.

Today's patriotic palette:  Real Red, Pool Party, Blueberry Bushel, Night of Navy, and Whisper White.

Have a great day, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Red White & Blue, July Fourth, Simply Stars, Christmas Star
Ink:  Real Red, Blueberry Bushel, Night of Navy marker
Paper:  Real Red, Blueberry Bushel, Pool Party, Night of Navy, Thick Basic White, Pool Party DSP
Accessories:  Large Star punch, circle punches

Howloween Heroes

Scrappy Monday and HEYYYY it's my favorite month of the year!  Fall foliage, sweater weather, pumpkin everything...what's not to love?  And then we cap it all off with Halloween!

Oh, how I miss my fur babies.  My mom bought the costumes for them as we were in Japan that year (way back in 2009), so Sadie was Wonder Woman and Vader was Spider-Pup.  That's my dad's dog Ginger up next to the page title; she test-drove the Wonder Woman costume before my mom mailed it to me for Say-Say.  Superhero costumes gave me an excuse for a bold, bright color palette:

Yoyo Yellow (how's that for a blast from the past?!), Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Blueberry Bushel, Basic Black, and Whisper White.

Hope your week is off to a great start, peeps.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Taffy Alphabet, Simply Stars
Ink:  Blueberry Bushel, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black marker
Paper:  Yoyo Yellow, Blueberry Bushel, Real Red, Thick Whisper White, Big Top Birthday DSP
Accessories:  Large star punch

July 4, 2018

Scrappy Monday and do I have the *perfect* layout to share ON July 4th!

Pics are from when Ryan was nearly a year and a half old; we set up a sprinkler in the backyard and he had a ball playing in the water.  I had a ball taking pictures of him, so I'm glad I was able to squish LOTS of the photos on my layout!  In the evening, we set off some small fireworks we'd bought and that scared poor lil Ryan, that's why he's unhappy in the pic with me.  But then he ate some of Dad's apple pie and that made it all better : )  And that's why I used the apple pattern from the old, old Summer Picnic DSP on this page--American as apple pie!

Today's color palette:  Brilliant Blue (I don't have much cardstock left in this color, I've gone into hoarding mode), Real Red, Coastal Cabana, and Whisper White.

If you're celebrating for the 4th, I hope you have a happy and safe celebration, and I recommend that it include apple pie.  And maybe a sprinkler to play in when you're done eating pie.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Red White & Blue, Simply Stars, One Smart Cookie, Tart & Tangy
Ink:  Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Garden Green, Early Espresso
Paper:  Brilliant Blue textured, Coastal Cabana, Thick Whisper White, Summer Picnic DSP
Accessories:  star punch, 1 3/8" square punch, hexagon punch 

Ryan: July

Hey hey, it's Saturday!  And we're trucking right along with Ryan's baby book layouts here.

We had both sets of grandparents visit at the end of June/beginning of July so I had lots of pictures from that; I was able to crop pictures down so I could squeeze in more photos on the layout.  I love the two that I left full-size though; on the left is Ryan's "finger in the light socket" look (which is what happened every time we washed his hair and dried it with the hairdryer), and on the right is Ryan trying to reach the light fixture in the living area, he loved that thing.  The hubs used to hold him up to touch it and then yell "ZAP!" when he did and Ryan thought that was HILARIOUS.

Today's happy Superman color palette includes Daffodil Delight, Riding Hood Red (still probably my favorite red ever), Blueberry Bushel, Balmy Blue, and Whisper White.

Have a good weekend, y'all!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Letters for You, Simply Stars, Twinkle Twinkle by Verve
Ink:  Blueberry Bushel, Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso marker
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Balmy Blue, Blueberry Bushel, Whisper White, Rockabilly DSP
Accessories:  Large Letters Framelits, Layering Circles Framelits, star punches

United States Capitol, Part 2

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  Man, it's July ALREADY!  As promised last week, today I've got more scrapbook pages from the US Capitol to share.  Perfect since we're so close to the 4th of July!

Ahh, Ryan was such a wee babe!  He was 4 months old when we did this.  After we toured the Capitol, we had more time so we ate lunch there in the underground cafeteria and then we walked to the Library of Congress (pics on the right).

I didn't have any more of the star paper I used for the first layout, but I did have a few pages of a similar star paper made by the same company.  It's a different color, more brown than yellow, but it worked well with the photos anyway.

My color palette photo is off, it should be Baked Brown Sugar instead of Tip Top Taupe.  Guess I wasn't paying enough attention while I was taking pictures of all those layouts :) And then yesterday I didn't get around to re-taking the picture of this palette.

Okay, time to get my kiddo up and get ready to go.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Land That I Love, Simply Stars
Ink:  Midnight Muse, Early Espresso marker
Paper:  Midnight Muse, Riding Hood Red, Baked Brown Sugar, Thick Whisper White, K & Company patterned paper
Accessories:  flag die cut by Li'l Davis Designs

China: Marathon, Hard Rock, & Tiananment Square

Mornin', y'all!  I've got some muffins in the oven right now and some China layouts to share!  As it happens, all four of today's layouts have been shared here before, but we're truckin' right through my China albums and it won't be long before we're at the end.  I hope you've enjoyed China Sundays as much as I have!

First up is the Great Wall Marathon...

See my original post on these pages here.  "Marfon" and "Chompuns" are how our idiot tour guide said "marathon" and "champions".  (For the record, I don't say he's an idiot because of how he pronounced these words, he did a lot better in English than I would in Chinese.  I say he was an idiot because he never had a clue what was going on or where we were supposed to be going, and he was the tour guide.  Duh!)

Next up, when you're like 11 days into a two-week trip to China and you really want American food...

You find the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing.  We actually went twice.  See my original post on these pages here; this was one of the very first layouts I did for my China books.

And finally, a visit to Tiananmen Square:

Original post here.   I never used Bravo Burgundy much even when it was a current color, but every once in a while it's just perfect on a scrapbook layout.

So there's my four China layouts for today.  Looking forward to getting back in the normal posting routine this week, so I'll be seeing ya, peeps!

Supply lists for each layout are on the links above.  Cheers!

Scrappy Showcase, Part 3

Mornin, kids!  While everyone else is New Years resolution-ing, I made scones for breakfast.  With a sugary glaze on top because of course.  I'm 8 months pregnant and I want to bake ALL THE THINGS.

But now that I've made (and eaten) the scones, it's time to get some things done today.  Aside from the giant pile o' dishes I washed this morning and the load of baby laundry in the washer (ooh, I should go switch that out).  But right now we're talking the last of the 2016 Scrappy Showcase!

I actually made this layout more like at least two years ago but it only showed up on the blog last October.  This was from Halloween in 2004 and was the first time hubs and I carved pumpkins.  Then we didn't do it again until last year ;)  Anyway, I love this layout and I still miss my little Chewie and he's been gone for over 10 years now.

Next up is this Tokyo Disney Sea layout, which I dearly love and maybe I should buy more of that patterned paper before it retires.  (Or maybe not, I have a giant stash of paper.)

And here's a fun Thanksgiving layout for you, I love the contrast of the dark blue page base with all the warm colors in the patterned paper.

And my last layout for the 2016 Scrappy Showcase is this simple one from the Great Wall Marfon.  Partially because I'm just tickled that I got the words "marfon" and "chompuns" immortalized in my scrapbooks since hubs and I still say them (and so do Missy and Bennet, for that matter).

So there you have it!  The 2016 Scrappy Showcase is now concluded.  And I need to get in my craft room today and see what new goodness I can whip up.  Cheers, y'all!

Bear Book: July

I was so busy going to see Rogue One twice in two days that I forgot to get this post up yesterday!  :) So Baby Book Saturday is Baby Book Sunday this week.  And while we've been having wintry weather lately, today's layout is all about summer:

Okay so it's a lot of blues but it's for the 4th of July.

I've had this patriotic bear stamp for years and I still love him, he's adorable.  And I discovered that the way the star is designed on the retired large star punch is a little different than the star Framelits, but I liked the effect.

And there's a decoration for the journaling block.  I think I shoulda done the firecracker in red instead.

Today's color palette:  Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Summer Sun, and Whisper White.  I'm off to my craft room to go work on some projects, so cheers y'all!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Patriotic Bear from Whipper Snapper, Simply Stars, July Fourth
Ink:  Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise
Paper:  Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Thick Whisper White, Real Red DSP
Accessories:  Sizzix alphabet, large star punch, Stars Framelits, Prismacolor Pencils

Marfon Chompuns

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  Seems like it's all Christmas stuff all the time right now and I'm contrary so I'm posting a non-Christmas layout even though I have three Christmas ones in the queue.  But these are the two most recent pages I've completed and so that's what I'm putting up today.

Not Christmas, but still red :)  Pictures are from the Great Wall Marathon in China (duh), don't let my hubs or Missy tell you we did the marathon (marfon) because we only did the 5K.  We had a terminally stupid tour guide in Beijing whom we dubbed You Don't Know Jack (his "American name" was Jack) and YDKJ would talk about the "marfon" and how "we are the chompuns" (champions) and those two words have entered into our permanent vocabulary.  And now they're immortalized on scrapbook pages too.

I discovered I only had four pictures from marfon day, so since I was ordering prints anyway I got an 8x10 of the four of us post-race (we only ran, like, the last 100 yards).  Sometimes you just need a giant print on your scrapbook layout.

Today's color palette is Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Tip Top Taupe, Basic Black, and Whisper White.  I like a nice strong red page base every so often on my scrapbook layouts.  So this week I have to get Christmas letters written and cards mailed out so I can concentrate on scrappin' again for at least a little bit :)  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Rough Type, Simply Stars
Ink:  Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise
Paper:  Real Red, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Tip Top Taupe DSP
Accessories: large star punch, postage stamp punch, lettering template

Friday Flashback: Simply Stars

Happy Friday, peeps!  I hope lots of you have this Friday off to make for a long Independence Day holiday weekend.  Today's Friday Flashback is themed appropriately:  I grabbed a whole handful of stamp set names for the next 20 Flashbacks or so, and I was happy that Simply Stars was one of them so we get to be starrily festive today!  My sister-in-law and both my parents have July birthdays, and they all love stars and stripes, so this just worked out all around :D  Let's get started!

Also features Perfectly Penned

Uh, you know you're going to see a whole lot of red, white, and blue today.

Also features July Fourth

And some turquoise!  Because fun.  This was a layout from the last set of baby books I made, which was two years ago.  I'm about to start another set, which is also for twin boys.

Also features Perfect Pennants

 I love bright orange and blue together :)

Also features Banner Greetings

Pretty sure this was for a sketch, and I like using the negative shape from the circle Framelit so the patterned paper peeks out.  I should do that more often.

Also features Words of Courage

One more stars and stripes card...

Also features Perfect Pennants, Positively Chevron

And last (and probably also least), this one that has way too much Soft Sky.  I dunno, Soft Sky just kinda looks dirty to me sometimes.  So are you ready for today's new creation?  Here it is!

Now I just need to decide which of my July birthdays gets this card, I think it would work for all three of them :)  Oh, see the striped paper?  Originally it was horizontal stripes (or vertical, depending on how you hold the paper) but I wanted angled stripes, so I did a little creative paper trimming.  Just what I was looking for!

I used this week's monochromatic color combo from Colour Me...!

And I used last Saturday's Retro Sketch:

Though of course I replaced the bow on the sketch with my star element.  Oops, I just noticed that the ribbon was supposed to extend to the edges of the card.  Too late now...

That's it for me this week, peeps.  Have a wonderful holiday!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Simply Stars, Word Play
Ink:  Real Red, Early Espresso, Tip Top Taupe
Paper:  Real Red, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Cherry on Top DSP Stack (what?  It's the only current DSP I have)
Accessories:  large star punch (retired), Early Espresso taffeta ribbon (retired), rhinestone, Dimensionals

Wish Upon a Star

I don't know what the deal is lately, but I've been having a hard time making cards that I really, really like.  Except I did like yesterday's card.  But anyway, here's a new one for today:

I used a Splitcoast color challenge--Soft Sky, Bermuda Bay, and Midnight Muse--and I can't help thinking that Soft Sky looks kinda dishwatery and this card would be better with Baja Breeze.  Because everything is better with Baja Breeze.

I'm afraid I didn't quite do justice to the Seize the Sketch challenge:

Well, I gave it a shot.  And the only way to get my mojo back is to keep trying, and since I post here five days a week I don't get any time to slack off (especially since that stupid exam used up almost all of my draft posts while I was too busy studying to create stuff).

Thanks for stopping by.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Simply Stars, Perfect Pennants, Positively Chevron
Ink:  Soft Sky, Bermuda Bay, Midnight Muse
Paper:  Soft Sky, Midnight Muse, Whisper White, retired Bermuda Bay DSP because I'm still using up scraps
Accessories:  retired star punches, Dimensionals, corner rounder punch

Nachos: Make a Wish

Are you ready for another hot Nacho sketch challenge?  'Cause here it is!

I admit, I was stumped by this one for quite a while, but eventually I came up with this:

Weirdly, I think this one looks better IRL than it does on your computer screen.  It just looks kind of plain in the photo and I thought it was kinda cute when I was looking at the actual card, hmm. 

So c'mon and show me how it's done with this sketch, I wanna see what you can do with it!  Check out the other Nacho cards and then give it a shot yourself : )

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Perfect Pennants, Simply Stars
Ink:  Versamark, Pacific Point, Coastal Cabana, Tangerine Tango
Paper:  Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana DSP
Accessories:  Banners Framelits, White EP, Dimensionals

Starry Birthday

So, astrologically speaking, I'm an Aquarius, as is my husband.  Aside from other Aquarians, Aquarius is supposed to get along very well with Libra, which explains why I've got so many birthday cards to make in October for all my friends : )

I've kinda been enjoying this peekaboo thing with Framelits lately, haven't I?  This one went out to my little brother Mark, whose birthday was on Tuesday, so I hope it's non-girly enough.  I like the colors together--Pool Party, Island Indigo, and Crushed Curry.  Of course, Pool Party and Island Indigo always look good together so it's not hard to find a third to go with them.

I used this sketch from Clean & Simple Stamping:

It's been too long since I made a card with one of their sketches.  I quite like this one.

Anywha, I used SU's retired star punches to punch out all three stars, though it wouldn't be too hard to snip 'em with scissors.  I find it somewhat amusing they still come out with stamp sets that coordinate with retired punches, but I like that 'cause I've got the retires punches ; )

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Simply Stars, Banner Greetings
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Island Indigo
Paper:  Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Whisper White, Simply Sent DSP (retired)
Accessories:  Circle Framelits, retired star punches, Dimensionals

My Hero!

Happy Independence Day to all my American friends!  How about a stars & stripes card?

I got an idea in my head for this card and just had to put it on paper.  Simple layout, but I liked it.  And I always love using up little scraps of DSP.

Have a great holiday!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Simply Stars, Words of Courage
Ink:  Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red (retired)
Paper:  Night of Navy, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red DSP (retired), Champagne Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Star & large star punches (retired), Dimensionals

Stars & Stripes Forever

Howdy, folks!  Today is my mom's birthday, and she loves stars & stripes stuff, so I thought I'd share the July pages I made for Karyn's baby books.  Take a look:

I was going through all my old DSP for inspiration when I found that Real Red star pattern and voila!  Inspiration struck.  I put the layouts together quite a long time ago and then had to wait what seemed like forever to get the brand new Simply Stars stamp set to complete them.  All four stamps in the set coordinate with SU's retired star punches, which I love but I think it's funny that they're still making stamp sets to coordinate with retired punches.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy birthday to my mom!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Simply Stars, July Fourth (retired)
Ink:  Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise
Paper:  Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Big Top Birthday DSP
Accessories:  large star punch, old Sizzix alphabet

Starry Celebration

The bigger the deadline I have coming up, the better I am at procrastinating...and then running around with my hair on fire at the last minute.  I have several things left to do for the baby shower on Saturday, not to mention cleaning my house, and today I made a birthday card for my SIL.

Both my SIL and my mom have birthdays right around the 4th of July, which we will be spending in Normandy.  This card was actually a total pill to put together; I started out with a plain white background mounted on the Crumb Cake cardstock, still with the ribbon and the stars punched out, but all that white space seemed too Stark and not enough Tony (hey, I'm trying out an Iron Man joke).  So I tried to splatter on some Night of Navy ink and it did NOT work (why didn't I ever get that marker spritzer thing?) but I think it took me an entire sheet of Whisper White before I figured that out and went a less CAS route.  CAS cards look all simple and pretty but for me at least they generally take several tries and quite a lot of wasted cardstock.  And I started out with the two large red stars and a little blue star, but that looked like a mommy and daddy star with a baby star and my SIL doesn't have any babies so that just seemed weird to me but maybe I overthink things.

I got today's sketch from Sketch Frenzy Friday and I haven't played over there in a long time so yay:

So I didn't strictly adhere to the sketch, but all the elements are there if you pretend my stars are the same as that circle.  Ish.

The color combo is from the Color Throwdown, I always check out their challenges but for some reason rarely play along, so I'm happy I got the opportunity to do it this time!

And this also counts towards the current challenge at SUO Challenges, to make a patriotic project.  Triple challenge FTW!  So a few things on my card are retired, but it's going to take a while for me to acquire all that new DSP in every color and I can't help it if SU keeps making stamp sets that coordinate with retired punches.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Imma go work on my baby shower projects now...

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Simply Stars, Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Real Red, Night of Navy
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Real Red, Whisper White, retired Night of Navy DSP
Accessories:  large star punch (retired), Crumb Cake taffeta, Dimensionals