Latest Layouts

December's been a bit slow due to holiday preparations, but I expect to get quite a lot of scrapping done this week now that Christmas is over with. In the meantime, enjoy a look at my latest layouts!

A simple and classy layout for one of Julianne's baptisms:



Lots of Space Template Trio by Andilynn Designs
Night Music by Andilynn Designs
fonts: Missed Your Exit, American Typewriter

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I liked these pictures of Julianne saying "good-bye" to her coat; I thought they deserved a page of their own.



ScrapMatters Tuesday Template 12/8/09 by Trixie Scraps Designs
Let's Polka by Andilynn Designs
Simply Stamped Alpha: Red by Andilynn Designs
fonts: An Accidental Kiss, American Typewriter

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This new kit is packed full of tons of cooking-with-kids fun! The flour splatter is my favorite. Now my page totally matches my kitchen counter!



Homemade by Chelle's Creations
Homemade: Christmas Add-On by Chelle's Creations
fonts: Stays In The Cave!, Century Gothic

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I love how this frosty page turned out. In my album, it'll go next to a previous page I did that used the same template but featured pictures of the kids in leaves ... I took these snowy pictures only a week later!



9-29-09 Tuesday Template by Purple Tulip Designs
Winter Frost by Andilynn Designs
fonts: Tan Patty, Thinking of You, Traveling Typewriter

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And one more page for Julianne! I had this beauty salon kit that I thought would be fun for these pictures. The one trick was that her smock in that center picture was a very vibrant red ... I used the color replace tool in Photoshop to change it to pink so it'd match a little better!



ScrapMatters Tuesday Template 12/1 by Designs by Li
Alvean's Beauty Parlor by Andilynn Designs
font: American Typewriter

Scrapping Streak

I've been in a scrapping mood lately and have consequently got a lot of pages done this past week or so. Wanna see??

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This was for a challenge at ScrapMatters to use a slogan as a title. I found a few lists of slogans online for inspiration, and the slogan for "Cotton" fit some pictures of Julianne I'd been meaning to scrap. The template I used helped bring this page together fast and really showed off the rich, textured papers in this kit.



Paper Pieces Template Set by Plum Dumpling Designs
On the Front Porch by Plum Dumpling Designs
fonts: Zapfino, American Typewriter

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This page was a TON of fun! When I saw these pictures of Julianne's, I was so excited to scrap them because of the Disney connection she'd made in the captions ... finally I could use some of the cute Mickey-themed stuff I'd downloaded months ago! Plus I got to dig into some of my new Black Friday purchases. Very fun.

Yeah, I just love how this one turned out.



lift of abcmomof4's always so happy
Mouse in the House by Britt-ish Designs
Refreshing Paper Pack by Stacy's Back Door Designs
Glitzy Spills and Thrills by Britt-ish Designs
Sparkle and Shine by Jennifer Barrette
All Stitched Up Vol. II by Tracie Stroud
SO Useful Doodles Vol. 4 by Designs by Sine
String Along by Designs by Julie Bullock
Button It Up Sample Pack by Sarah Morgan Designs
Clear View frames by Armina
rectangle scallop frame from Natural Wonders collab by ScrapMatters Designers
fonts: Times and Times Again, Tanya Script, American Typewriter

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I was so excited when I saw this space-themed kit for only a dollar on Black Friday! My boys love space so I was anxious to use it.

Besides, I've been realizing that while I need to keep plowing through Julianne's album, I also need to take the time to scrap some current stuff for my own family or it won't be scrapped at all (even when I do go back to "catch up"). This is such a page -- the photos are not anything special but the memory is something that is fleeting. I'm glad I made the time to record it.



credits:
Into Space by Faith True
Sparkle and Shine by Jennifer Barrette
speech bubbles from Jokes on You by Sweet Digi Scraps
fonts: Year Supply of Fairy Cakes, smiley monster

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I usually avoid daytime speed scraps but I parked the kids in front of Curious George and shrunk my scrapping time to an hour (you are allotted two) to get this quickie done! Britt (from Britt-ish Designs) was hosting (love her style and her stuff), and I was just dinking around on the computer at that time anyway. I figured it I was going to let the TV babysit my kids I might as well do something productive.

Rather like this page. I wouldn't have thought to journal onto strips, but that was the instruction, and I really like the result.

Also, I did not do the amazing shadow on those butterflies. They come like that in the kit (as well as non-shadowed versions).



credits:
Bright Sunshiny Day by Andilynn Designs
alpha from Thanksgiving Greetings by Andilynn Designs
fonts: American Typewriter, Pea Carslisle

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This page came together nicely. Julianne didn't caption any of these photos or write about this excursion in her weekly email so I took the liberty of copying some blurb from the Internet about it!



credits:
lift of *Kelly*'s *Playground Pals*
On the Front Porch by Plum Dumpling Designs
fonts: Mutlu, American Typewriter, Pea Paula Pepin

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Whipped up this plain-jane two-pager while my oldest was at preschool. I am trying to allow myself to do this style more in this album -- minimal elements with plenty of pictures to make up for it. I mean, the pictures is why I'm doing this album in the first place!! Does it work? (I suppose at this point I was just glad to knock off this layout at last -- there were 50 pictures I had to narrow down from!)



credits:
Template 158 by Yin Designs (slightly altered)
Truly Yours by Amanda Heimann
fonts: Poplar Std, Pea Stacy's Doodle Script, American Typewriter

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I started a guest CT spot for Chelle's Creations! I had a great time working with her new release this week, a template set called Scrap Like Liz (inspired by one of her full-time creative team members). I struggle some with layering and clustering, but these made it easy -- plus, most of the set is for multiphoto layouts (which is practically the only kind of layout I bother with!) ;-)



credits:
Scrap Like Liz templates by Chelle's Creations
Half Moon Bay by Chelle's Creations
ricrac, brown papers, twine, and brown ribbon from Let's Camp S'more by Chelle's Creations
fonts: Perpetua Titling MT, Pea XOXO from Karen, American Typewriter

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Today I took a break from Julianne's album (again) to scrap with my own pictures.

Some people say that fifteen pictures might be too much for a layout, especially a single-page layout. But I say it can be done, and it can still look good! I'm proud of this one; can you tell? (I sort of scraplifted a previous layout I'd done for Julianne here. There were seventeen pictures on that one!)

I didn't really want to include pictures of myself (these aren't particularly flattering, I thought) but I also didn't want to be excluded just because I was the photographer. I would hate to be totally absent from my own scrapbooks. And now that I look at them, they're not too bad (it's great what some cropping and Photoshop actions will do).



Let's Camp S'more by Chelle's Creations
fonts: Pea Yar Yar, Pea Seelekish

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Thanks for looking!

Catching Up!

I've been scrapping! Not as much as I was this summer, but I'm still plugging away! Wanna see??

This was for a NSD speed scrap. Is it weird to use ladybugs on a boy page? How 'bout a winter-coat page?? I really like how it turned out; speed scraps always push my creativity.



credits:
Lil' Lovebug by Golden Girls Digital Designs
frame and alpha from Where the Heart Grows by Golden Girls Digital Designs
star doodles from Everyday Memories by Chelle's Creations and Juno Designs
paperclips and dots from SO SUNny collab
fonts: Pea Lindsay Unicase, Pea Ninh

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A quick layout for Julianne, using a template and a new kit from my NSD spoils!



credits:
ScrapMatters Tuesday Template 11-10-09 by WM [squared] Designs
Breezy Holiday by Britt-ish Designs
Bursting with Joy: Fall paper pack by Britt-ish Designs
Weathered Fall paper pack by Erica Zane
My Ribbon Jar by Britt-ish Designs
Give It to Me Straight by Amanda Heimann
Stitching by Golden Girls Digital Designs
fonts: Heather Marie, American Typewriter

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The novelty of scrapping with PINK hasn't worn off. I went all-out for this strawberry milkshake page! The photos were fantastic (love the angles -- good job, Julianne) and I think this layout shows them off nicely.



credits:
Tuesday Template Oct 27 by Loribear
Visions of Sugarplums and Visions of Sugarplums Newsletter kit by Andilynn Designs and Haynay Designs
font: American Typewriter

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A simple page packed with pictures. Every once in awhile I just have to do pages like this! It's a good way to make some quick progress on a project. And I really do love that wordart; it made for a quick-and-easy title.



credits:
Cut It Out word art templates by Plum Dumpling Designs
Adventures in Reading by Plum Dumpling Designs
fonts: American Typewriter, Pea Alisha

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This page was created mostly because I wanted to play with this kit! That and, every once in awhile, I have to just scrap for myself.



credits:
Thanksgiving Greetings by Andilynn Designs
Heartland action by Pioneer Woman
fonts: Wish I Were Taller, Mr. and Mrs. Popsicle

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And one more. This page was prompted by the alpha. I know -- weird! When I got it as a show-off gift from Britt-ish Designs, I thought I would never have a reason to use it ... my subconscious must have taken that as a challenge and has been busy thinking of pages I could do with it ever since. When I saw the picture of Julianne with the snake, I knew I could play on the "wild" theme!



credits:
lift of Disneyland Exit by BriarRose59
Peppermint Bliss by Studio mgl
Cheetalpha by Britt-ish Designs
fonts: Will, Wanda's Write, American Typewriter

The Last Julianne Layouts...

... before she gets home, that is! Of course I am not anywhere close to being done with her album. But I have made progress this week, which is more than I can say for, oh, the entire month of October! Julianne gets home from her mission tomorrow afternoon!! Wow!

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Okay, first up. This layout is supposed to be in that cool, clean graphic style. It was kind of fun to play around with but I'm not entirely pleased with the end result. Some of the problem is that the pictures themselves are blurry (looks like it was dusk when they were taken). The rest of the problem is that I'm not exactly pro at this graphic-style-thing.

I do like my "20 min" with the "20" in blue. I do like that. :-)



credits:
fonts: Lucinda Calligraphy, American Typewriter

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This layout was a lot of fun to put together. I love the kit I used (Everyday by Sahlin Studios -- a freebie in the latest issue of DigiScrapAddicts' newsletter) and the template was a lot of fun, too (so much so that I used it again -- stay tuned).



credits:
Pixie Plate #190 by Neverland Scraps
Everyday by Sahlin Studio
alphabeads by Ziggle Designs
font: American Typewriter

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The previous page is all about an investigator Julianne had; I thought it would be fun to make the opposing page match, since the theme here is that investigator's baptism. I toned down a few of the colors but kept many of the elements and papers the same ... and used that template again, too. This page came together pretty fast since I'd done most of the work already.



credits:
Pixie Plate #190 by Neverland Scraps
Everyday (some recolored) by Sahlin Studio
Sunshine in My Soul by Britt-ish Designs
alphabeads by Ziggle Designs
font: American Typewriter

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I've been looking forward to scrapping these photos, but was a little daunted by them, too. So many fun pictures, and with stories attached, too -- I thought for sure I'd have to do a two-pager to fit it all in. To my surprise, I squeezed it down to a single page! A lot of the credit goes to this great template pack I won over at DSA a month or two ago.

Also, I never have the nerve to do titles like this -- vertically. Not horizontal-turned-ninety-degrees (I do that a lot), but with the letters aligned up-and-down. I try it out all the time and then decide it looks hokey (is that weird?). But I like it here! I was glad to do something simple with my titlework this time while still making it look unique.



credits:
For Ali Templates (slightly altered) by Amy M Designs
Seasonal Sampler - Winter by Shabby Princess
Seasonal Sampler - Holiday 2006 by Shabby Princess
Holiday Magic by Shabby Princess
Moody Blues by Shabby Princess
Crinkled Up alpha by Danielle Corbitt
font: American Typewriter

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Thanks for looking! And welcome home, Julianne!

Finally ... Some Layouts to Share!

At long last, I have some new pages to share! Technically this first one is from a couple weeks ago:



credits:
Terrible Twos by Plum Dumpling Designs
Scribble Scrabble Alpha by Plum Dumpling Designs
alpha-bits by Plum Dumpling Designs
fonts: eight-fifteen, American Typewriter, Courier

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Then I fell into a scrapping slump for a week or two, and when that happens, I usually just have to pick some photos I really want to scrap and use a template to pull me out of it. Here are some recent pictures of my kids playing in our fall leaves (you know, before winter came! We've got probably a foot of snow on the ground still from our last storm!)



credits:
9-29-09 Tuesday Template by Purple Tulip Designs
Fall Frolic by Andilynn Designs
fonts: Tan Patty, Thinking of You, Traveling Typewriter

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I really like this page. It came together really fast (which always influences my feelings toward a layout -- the longer I spend on it, the less I like it). The colors are fun and I like the "minimal" design. I only used ONE element -- but I think any more would distract from the photos here.



credits:
Way to Be: The Works by Andilynn Designs
Simply Stamped Alpha: Charcoal by Andilynn Designs
fonts: Thinking of You, American Typewriter

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I ended up having so much fun with this last layout. I think it has a lot to do with the fun pictures! I ended up piecing together the elements and papers from a bunch of different sources (all from Britt-ish Designs) and it turned out fabulous, if I do say so myself. And who would have ever thought a mom of two boys would scrap with so much hot pink?? I can't believe I found any in my stash.



credits:
heart paper from Sisters for Life add-on by Britt-ish Designs
pink paper, pink gem, and light blue string from The Bright Side add-on by Britt-ish Designs
blue paper from Glam-O-Rama: Weathered paper pack by Britt-ish Designs
dark blue string from Tale As Old As Time add-on by Britt-ish Designs
blue jewels, white frame, and circle stitches (recolored) from Sunshine in My Soul by Britt-ish Designs
pink circle mat is from a paper in Monstrosity add-on (recolored) by Britt-ish Designs
blue burst from Land of Fantasy add-on by Britt-ish Designs
acrylic burst from Galactic Alliance add-on by Britt-ish Designs
fonts: Oh Photo Shoot!, American Typewriter

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Thanks for looking!

Fall Frolic!

Andilynn Designs has a new kit at ScrapMatters today! It's called Fall Frolic and it's perfect for all those fall foliage pics, but versatile enough for your everyday pictures, too. That's what I scrapped with it -- some "everyday" pics from Julianne's mission:



credits:
Fall Foliage by Andilynn Designs
fonts: Sandee Script, American Typewriter, Courier

New at ScrapMatters Today...

I love the new kit that Plum Dumpling Designs released today! It's called "Everyday Thanks", but it's so much more than just a Thanksgiving kit -- it's versatile enough for any of your fall (or whenever) pics! Take a look:



There are so many great papers to choose from in this kit, a wide assortment of fun patterns with some rich solids to match. The elements were the perfect complement to the kit; I especially loved the unique ribbons (always love ribbons) and messy stitches. I just had so much fun working with it; take a look what I came up with:



Everyday Thanks by Plum Dumpling Designs
fonts: My Own Topher, Pea Biggio, American Typewriter

There's a freebie add-on over on Mary's blog -- AND you even have a chance to win the full kit for free! Can't beat that!! Check out this thread over at Digishoptalk.

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Also new in the shop today (and on sale to boot) is a 2010 calendar from Andilynn Designs! It's perfect for a personalized calendar for yourself and your family; take a look:



And see that? It's a "creative team collab" -- that's me! I was assigned to the August page; here's a close up look of the spread I did (my first experience at making a quickpage -- a lot of fun, actually!) Here is the top; it comes with two versions, with and without the wordart:



So Long to Summer by Andilynn Designs
grid and "August" wordart courtesy Emilee Moore
2010 calendar quickpages available from Andilynn Designs

Head on over to ScrapMatters today to see even more great new products!

Don't Forget...

...the ScrapMatters Daily Download is still going on! The kit is Get a Move On, and while it's great for your moving and remodeling layouts, it's also versatile enough for non-themed pages, too. Take a look at this fun page I did for my sister-in-law Julianne:



credits:
October Daily Download kit (Get a Move On) by ScrapMatters Designers
fonts: Big Caslon, Engravers MT, Bickham Script Pro, American Typewriter

(So I've never actually seen Karate Kid. Does the quote I used for the title even make sense??)

That super-cool blue background paper by WM2 Designs (which I used in both this layout and my "Painting the Bathroom" layout) is what's up for today -- don't miss it!

Plum Dumpling Designs and the SM Daily Download

So guess what -- I've been accepted to another creative team! Mary of Plum Dumpling Designs won ScrapMatters' design contest last spring and I'm on her first ever CT. Yay!!

I jumped in just in time to scrap with a new collab from Plum Dumpling Designs and several other ScrapMatters designers -- and guess what? You can download this kit for FREE! New pieces will be available each day at this thread in ScrapMatters ... but don't delay, each part will only be available for twenty-four hours! It began today (the alpha is already up for downloading) so hurry on over there!

This kit works great for moving pictures, of course, but I found it works great for those remodeling projects around the house. I especially loved the paint swatches included in the kit -- Mary included the templates so you can drop in your own colors or even your own photos (like I did in this layout below):



credits:
Get a Move On (October's Daily Download) by the ScrapMatters Design Team
fonts: Elephants in Cherry Trees, Century Gothic

When I showed this layout to my husband, he especially liked the staples. Take a close look -- they're those heavy-duty cardboard ones, just like you'd use for moving boxes! Cool, huh?

Christmas in Redcar

So I didn't leave the house today, but I finished up the last of Julianne's Christmas pictures (at least, I think they're the last ones ... I should double-check). Here they are!

These pictures crack me up:



Holly Jolly by Andilynn Designs
black background paper, paperclip, and chain from Let's Go Bowling by Andilynn Designs
eyelets from Holly Jolly make your own tags by Andilynn Designs
black bow from So Long to Summer by Andilynn Designs
We're Just Dating v. 3 by Britt-ish Designs
Icy Blue Alpha by Andilynn Designs
font: Pea Stacy

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This page might look familiar to some of you. I scrapped this for my own 2008 album! Since it had Julianne's pajama-pictures in it, I thought it would be fine to reuse the layout. I adjusted some of the journaling and added a frame to her main picture.



credits:
Template 63 by Simply Yin
Papers and most elements from Whoville by Ginger Scraps
Glittery alpha and a staple from Fancy Pants by Pineapple Plantation Designs
Alpha beads by Ziggle Designs
Fonts: Stamp Act (”the”), Zapfino (”traditional”), PAss the CheX (”photo shoot”), Pea Yar Yar, and American Typewriter

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And then one more...



credits:
lift of rxdawg97's Cool in the Pool
Be Merry by Andilynn Designs
Paper Shapers by Britt-ish Designs
fonts: Love Ya Like a Sister, American Typewriter

Off to Redcar!

After about a week-long hiatus from Julianne's album, I'm back with two new pages today!

This page turned out prettier than I thought it would. That's always pleasant! I was lifting from a layout which had so many great elements placed in with the pictures, but that's not my style (mainly because I'm really not so good at the element placement) so I went with a cleaner, simpler approach. I'm really pleased with it!



lift of Let Her Eat Cake by panders77
Boys of Summer by ScrapOrchard Seedlings
She's Got Curves by Britt-ish Designs
Embroidered Monogram Alpha by Danielle Young
fonts are Pea Jenny Script and American Typewriter

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And this layout, in a way, is long overdue. My friend Amy has been digiscrapping for longer than I have and yet I've never lifted one of her layouts. Well, it's about time I did! Technically mine is actually a lift of a lift, but I loved Amy's version better than the original (even if she didn't). She managed to take a single-photo layout that I would have passed by in the gallery (because, as a rule, I don't do single-photo layouts) ... and she turned it into a multi-photo one that looked just beautiful.

I like how my version turned out, with the colors and the black and white photos and the simple title work running into the journaling ... but my element placement seems off. I spent some time messing with it but decided it was "good enough" to go on ... I'm doing that more and more lately.



credits:
lift of bahamagirls' Hard Being This Cute
Strawberry Kisses by Tracie Stroud
fonts are Pea Frankie and American Typewriter

Andilynn Designs!

Big news -- I'm now creating for Andilynn Designs! (Doesn't that sound fancy??) This is my first creative team (though I do have a guest spot with another designer coming up in December) and I'm really enjoying the experience so far!

I've done two layouts with Andilynn Designs products and I'm so excited with how they turned out. I used sort of a similar theme (yes, I took a break from Julianne's stuff and scrapped a few pages for myself -- it'd been more than a month!) and I used two different templates from the same template pack ... I've done something similar before and they looked so nice printed next to each other in my album! Not an official two-pager but still very complementary.

I love this template pack -- the blocking style is so fun but there's room for a nice BIG picture (or two or three).



I Love Templates by Andilynn Designs
So Long to Summer by Andilynn Designs
fonts: My Own Topher, Pea Alisha, Love Ya Like a Sister

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Technically this is a bowling kit, but you can see it's versatile enough to use with regular photos, too. I thought the bright bursts mimicked the flash from the camera.



I Love Templates by Andilynn Designs
Let's Go Bowling by Andilynn Designs
Tie One On by Amanda Heimann
Nifty Tile Alpha by Andilynn Designs
fonts: Love Ya Like a Sister, Pea Alisha

Thanks for looking!

Out of Bradford!

I bought Erica Zane's Hard Hat 101 kit a couple weeks ago when it was on sale with the intention of using it for pictures with my boys, but couldn't wait to scrap with it. Construction zone, missionary zone ... it works, right?



template 52 by Jill & Jack Scraps
Hard Hat 101 by Erica Zane
fonts: Guess What. and American Typewriter

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I was glad to have this layout be a little different from the last "home" one. The picture of Julianne pulling out the fish head from the freezer was a fun, unique focal point! :-)



lift of Stefanie's coffee time?
A Forever Family by GG Digital Designs
Stitching by GG Digital Designs
fonts: Cafe Rojo, Elephants in Cherry Trees (for the fish skeleton -- it's the hyphen character), American Typewriter

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I'm so proud of this layout! Seventeen pictures without (in my opinion) feeling overdone, and not even a template or a lift. Oh baby yeah.



papers from contest freebie by Digiscrap Addicts designers
elements from The Bright Side add-on by Britt-ish Designs
fonts: Light and Black, Missed Your Exit, American Typewriter

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For some reason this two-pager took me for-ev-er. I think I started it last Wednesday and finally finished it today. I loved laying out all the blocks and arranging the pictures (that just took me one afternoon) but it's just not that fun for me to put in the journaling, add the elements, and shadow everything ... still, I'm pleased with how it turned out.



lift of Life's a Beach by Plum Dumpling Designs (aka littlehiccup)
Natural Wonders by ScrapMatters Designers
A Little Spring in Your Step by Gone Scrappin' Designs by Lyndie
Yippee Skippee by Britt-ish Designs
Fairchild add-on by Britt-ish Designs
font is Pea Darlin' Deb and American Typewriter

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I won this kit, Hoo's My Boy, over at DigiScrapAddicts! I've had some good luck over there. This kit was very fun to work with!



GirlTalk July 09 challenge Template by Deanna Palmer
Hoo's My Boy by geniaBeana scraps and Kimi's Kreations
font: American Typewriter

And with that, I've gotten Jules OUT of Bradford! Now it's off to the sea ... Redcar!