Discover

My computer crashed. Yes, we saw the dreaded blue screen that signifies the death of all things Dell. And, although Sal has been able to perform CPR in the past, this time our hard drive could not be saved. For me, being without the Internet is almost as bad as being without chocolate or reality tv. But, I'm finally back, typing on a new keyboard and seeing the world on a wide-screen monitor.

Since you've had to wait for nearly a month for a post, I thought I would start with one of my favorite new layouts. Did you ever have a day where everything just went right? Well that's how I felt about creating this layout. It didn't hurt to have adorable pictures of my grandnephew for the subject. And, a recently organized scrap space (which was necessitated by excessive shopping at CKC) meant that so many embellishments found their way to the page instead of staying hidden in a bag for months until the glue on this layout had dried and I could declare, "This would have been perfect, if I just had remembered that I bought it!" LOL! Anyway, here is my layout.

I am so proud of myself for using five (you can count them!) different patterned papers and on this layout. (for those of you who are counting, the green dot is actually part a stripe on the ruler paper.) Talk about using up my stash!

Okay. Let me walk you through the layout. I featured papers and embellishments from the Chloe's Closet line from Making Memories which I had scored on clearance at Michael's this summer. I inked the edges of the papers on my main photo block. I made my own custom die-cut piece by tracing the scalloped edge of another piece of patterned paper which didn't match my layout onto the blue grid paper. I then added a subhead using tiny alphas.

Next, I cut out my title using my Cricut. For extra texture, I "pleated" my ribbon using staples to hold down the first fold and glue dots to hold down the top one.

I wanted to to emphasize Thomas' age (5 months) with the ruler paper. After a few trials and a little help from a friend, I punched the number five out of the paper, glued it on a button and affixed that to the center of my flower. My adoration of the Martha Stewart butterfly punch continues, but I wanted to change it up a bit. I had some floss left on my craft table from another project so I wrapped that around the butterfly to form the body and antennae. Oh, and one more thing for you to notice: I used my Janome Sew Mini on a layout for the first time. I love the extra texture the stitches give to the layout!

To finish up my visual triangle, I added a cluster of flowers and and chipboard buttons, the date, a stick pin with beads and, for a touch of whimsy, the acetate frog.

Supplies: Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper, buttons, flowers, stickers: Making Memories (Chloe's Closet); Punches: Stampin Up! Circle and Scallop; Chipboard: K&Company (Wild Saffron); Acetate frog: Colorbok (Friendly Forest); Paper Pin: Around the Block; Ink: Colorbox chalk ink; misc beads from stash.