"cool!!"

The Story:

We had our pool put in about three years ago and I have to say it was a terrific investment. The boys are in it constantly during the summer. They swim morning, noon, and night. It is a wonder that they don't get sick of being waterlogged. Each year they all turn a golden brown as the make up games and contests in the water. They do not tire of it. As they grow up, I know their stongest memories of summers will center on that pool.

The Layout:

I used BoBunny Popsicle line for this layout. As soon as I saw the paper I envisioned this layout. I loved the feel of movement created by the waves, but I had a bit of a dilemma because I would have really liked to have had two sheets and the store only had one. After dealing with the disappointment I chose another paper in the same line to use as the background.

I precision cut the waves and used Stickles to glitter the white lines.

The lettering is from the same BoBunny line. At the last book club meeting one of the members shared some stickers that she used Glossy Accents on. They were adorable. I found some Glossy Accents in my stash that I had gotten at a crop and I didn't realize I had. I decided to break it out. I covered the lettering with Stickles and then used Glossy Accents over it.

The bubbles are tiny seed beads. I glued them into place and then put Glossy Accents over them to seal them into place. I am not sure how I feel about the bubbles. I think they are a little too much, but I'll learn to live with it!

"Wildlife"

The Story:

Dale and Nancy's boys spent last week with us. You may wonder what our house was like with six boys running around. . . Noisy? -- At times. Wild? -- In the pool. Chaotic? -- Nope, because we ran it like school. There was a strictly followed schedule and rules for the good of the group. Everyone behaved well. They didn't even argue. . .much. Vacation Bible School kept us busy in the mornings which helped. On crazy hair day I glued everyone's hair straight up and added green gel to match their shirts. They looked like wildlife just let out of the zoo. I am just glad they didn't act like it!

The Layout:

At Anna's encouragement, I joined Book Club at Simply Scrapbooks. I have been to two meetings and have discovered that it is a wonderful gathering of extremely talented scrapbookers who have a great time sharing their work. I am humbled to be sitting with women who have such diverse knowledge and ideas. I received my first kit this month and found it to be very challenging. I wasn't feeling the paper, it just wasn't speaking to me until I shot the photo then everything fell into place.

The paper was cardstock and an embossed dotted sheet. We were also given a Die Cuts With a View sheet of safari paper which I chose not to use.

The gal (I wish I knew her name so I could give her credit!) who put the kits together cut out all sorts of words out of cardstock on her Cricut for us and I chose Wildlife. I inked the edges so that it would stand out. I layered Die Cuts With a View Chipboard letters over the Cricut title These letters were from the same line as the safari paper I didn't use.

The journaling is done on a 7 Gypsies journaling card that I cut and inked heavily to match the layout. The clear embellishment on the top is an old, old border from My Mind's Eye Bohemian line. I found the little wooden tag at JoAnn's in the notions section. I needed a Tim Holtz brad to fasten it to the paper because he has the extra long brads.

The little lion and monkey chipboard pieces are from the Die Cuts With a View safari line.

The boys names are attached to the paper with the new Making Memories Vintage line pins. I stitched them to the page to hold them in place.

I wasn't too sure about the kit when I got it, but I really did enjoy the challenge. It pushed me outside my comfortable little bubble in which I select only paper that draws my eye and speaks to my style. I used something that I would not have given a second glance and made it my own!