All Aboard layout

 Happy Monday!  Who's ready for spring?  We had 70 degree weather....then it snowed.  Again.  But second spring is coming this week, lol!  Last week was good though, enjoying having my younger two sons home from college for spring break.  

I had fun making this train layout for my scrapbook for pictures of the family riding the Amtrak from KC to Chicago in December.  We had never taken the train before and it was actually a very pleasant way to travel!  Less stressful than flying.  The train is from the CTMH You Are Here collection and the titles are all from Boys Will Be Boys.  My sons (who were all obsessed with trains as toddlers) were thrilled like little kids when the train conductor actually said All Aboard as we pulled out of the station, so that HAD to be the title, lol.  I hope everyone has a good week ahead!

Cricut:

CTMH You Are Here-train

Boys Will Be Boys-All Aboard, Boys Will Be Boys block font

Just the Guys layout

Happy Monday!  Did you have a good Valentine's Day?  Or perhaps celebrate by shopping the after Valentine excellent candy sales?  (Gotta appreciate a good candy sale!  Stock up for those chocolate emergency days, lol).  The challenge theme for the next two weeks over at BBTB2 is "for the men in our life".  While I find cards for men exceptionally difficult to make, most of my scrapbook layouts lean more masculine as I have three boys and no girls.  This one is explicitly about just the guys, as I snapped some shots one day where they were horsing around in a parking lot.  I dug out one of my old favorite cartridges, Boys Will Be Boys, for the cricut cuts.  Hope you will join us with a masculine themed project and you can see all the great design team projects over at the BBTB2 site.

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-all cuts
Paper-Carta Bella Boys Will Be Boys print, Bo Bunny blue bg paper, CTMH yellow
brown chalk ink for edging

Silly Pop Up birthday card

Happy Monday!  It's looking a little sunnier at my house-the teens have survived finals and only have two more days of school!  I'm hoping life will slow down a bit and leave more time for crafting, lol!

Our BBTB2 challenge is a birthday theme this week.  There is a story behind my card-I recently made a pop up birthday card for my niece, who loves to knit.  Her gift was a funny t-shirt with lines from the Dr. Seuss book altered to feature knitting, such as "I will knit on a train, on a boat, on a plane".  It was hilarious!  So for my pop up card to go with the gift, I added things that were mentioned on the shirt, using a couple of cartridges.  It came out really fun and she loved it.  I made my pop up card using this tutorial from split coast stampers.  There are cute birthday projects to see over at BBTB2 and you can link your project up there this week as well.

Cricut:
Create A Critter-animals
Artistry-font, yarn
Boys Will Be Boys-train, boat
Stamp-Cricut bundle with the Flower Market cartridge

Around the World-travel theme

Happy Monday!   Our BBTB2 challenge this week is Around the World, a travel theme.  Since I just got back from vacay driving to Colorado, I thought what could be more nostalgia inducing than a Route 66 road trip layout for those snapshots along the way?  I used the Nifty Fifties cartridge and some map paper from the stash to make this layout.  The stamps on the the journal box are from a CTMH stamp set called The Long Way Home.  The design team has some fabulous travel themed projects over at BBTB2 and you can link your project up using the linky at the bottom there.

Route 66 layout

Cricut:
Nifty Fifties-all cuts
Paper-The Paper Studio map paper, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink
Stamps-CTMH The Long Way Home June 2016 stamp of the month set
Ink-Memento Tuxedo Black

It's a Spring Thing! layout (for BBTB2)

Happy Monday!  It's back to real life after my cruise, so there is going to have to be A LOT of diet Coke flowing today to keep me chipper.  On the bright side, I now have lots of fun tropical pictures to scrap, as my hubby and I had a fabulous time with many adventures, including rock climbing, riding the surf simulator, seeing Mayan ruins, cave tubing, zip lining, and just plain ol' hanging out in some deck chairs watching the ocean go by!  We kept so busy I didn't even put on any extra pounds, which is saying something after eating the fantastic cruise ship dining room food.

This is what I'm talking about….deck chair bliss!

Our BBTB2 challenge this week is to use a sun and cloud, so I have a happy spring layout to share, using a couple of cartridges.  The sun, cloud, butterflies, grass, and flowers are from Create A Critter.  The cute little dog, plane, caterpillar, and kite are from Boys will Be Boys.  The font is from the CM Stork's Delivery cartridge.  I LOVE this fun springy paper from Doodlebug-it makes me feel happy and spring-like just looking at it!  Take a look at our sunny projects over at BBTB2 for some inspiration for this week's challenge!

Cricut:
Create A Critter-sun, cloud, butterflies, grass, flowers
Boys Will Be Boys-plane, caterpillar, dog, kite
CM Stork's Delivery-font
Paper-Doodlebug Springtime collection prints, CTMH solids

On the Go at Universal layout

Happy New Year's!  I've been reflecting on all the fun things we did this last year-vacation trips to Disney and Universal, going to Estes Park and exploring Rocky Mountain National Park were the two standouts but there were many fun smaller moments like day trips to the lake and zoo and just hanging in our pool with my boys last summer.  One of my favorite things about scrapbooking is that it vividly reminds me of all the highlights and special moments of the past when I browse through my albums.  It also reminds that experiences, not stuff, are what makes the year special.

I'm excited for 2015!  We have already planned our next vacation, because having something fun to look forward to increases my happiness factor (seriously, I read somewhere that anticipation makes an experience even better).  But I'm also looking forward to the good things about winter (ignoring the cold, ignoring the cold, ignoring the cold…), like throwing snowballs, reading while drinking hot chocolate, and movie night in the basement with a nice toasty fire!  I also am trying to remember to enjoy the little things that make life sweet each day, like hearing my cat purr, having my boys snuggling up with me, and holding hands with my hubby.  I'm not really one to make resolutions for New Year's, but I AM going to strive for daily doses of happy, whether it comes big or small!

My layout I'm sharing today is from our trip to Universal Studios last February (when it was cold and gray in Kansas City and we ran away to Florida for three days of happy therapy on the spur of the moment).  I used the Boys Will Be Boys cartridge for the titles, big circles, and all the fun arrows.  The cute bg paper is from Carta Bella, but I don't remember the line.  Love all the crazy arrows to choose from on this cartridge!  This design would work with pictures from almost any big event, just change up the title at the bottom to reflect where you are at.

May 2015 bring some wonderful things for all of you!!!!

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-all cuts
Paper-Carta Bella prints, CTMH solids

Boys Will Be Boys layout

 While I have been busy working on Christmas projects, I needed a little change of pace creatively yesterday.  Since Fantabulous Cricut is having an anything goes challenge, I made a boy themed layout for some pics of my boys using some fun Echo Park paper from the stash in non-Christmas colors!  I was in a creative rut with Christmas red and pine green, so some bright primary colors made me happy!  The adorable dino and rocket are from the CM This and That cartridge and the title from one of my faces, Boys Will Be Boys.

Cricut:
CM This and That-dinosaur, stars
Boys Will Be Boys-title, rocket

Paper-Echo Park Little Boy prints, photo mats Echo Park Paper and Glue, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink

Friday Night Lights layout (for BBTB2)

Happy Monday!  Our BBTB2 challenge this week is football-I had to mentally change gears!  We've been obsessed with baseball here in Kansas City this October, watching our Royals in the World Series last week, so I had to get back in the football groove.  Friday nights in the fall means high school football in our neck of the woods, so I have a football layout for pics of Son#2 and the marching band at our high school football game.

I used the Artbooking cartridge for the football, banner, and the word football.  The narrow font is Boys Will Be Boys and the wide chunky font is from the Robotz cartridge.  I used a green background to get the football field look, along with the school colors of purple and gold for the accents.  The funny thing is  that my high school colors were also purple and gold, just like the high school my sons attend.  It's very nostalgic being at the games surrounded by a sea of purple and gold!  Hope you will join us with a football themed project this week over at BBTB2!

Cricut:
Artbooking-football, the word football, banner
Robotz-big chunky font
Boys Will Be Boys-narrow font
Paper-CM yellow solid, Hobby Lobby purple solid, CTMH green solid
Versamark Jumbo Java brown chalk ink, Stampin Up Early Espresso ink
Stamps-My Pink Stamper

Genuine Trouble layout

I have a boy themed layout today for pics of my three fellas, using the Boys Will Be Boys cartridge for the rocket and title.  The Genuine Trouble title could not be more apt for boys!  The print paper is from the awesome Carta Bella That's My Boy collection.  I'm going to link this up to the Fantabulous Cricut Kid themed challenge this week.

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-rocket, title
Paper/stickers-Carta Bella That's My Boy collection prints, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink
Stamp-My Pink Stamper

Happy Birthday Cool Dude layout (for BBTB2)

Happy Monday!  Yesterday was full of gray skies and violent thunderstorms with the weather radio sounding alerts all day, so I'm looking forward to a little sunshine today!  I am extremely grateful that the tornadoes that hit parts of the midwest did not hit in our area.  The sky looked scary, so I was uneasy all day Sunday.  So I'm really glad it's Monday!!!

Our BBTB2 challenge this week is to use a cricut birthday cake on a project, so I have a birthday layout for you.  I've got a couple of birthdays needing to get in the scrapbook, so this was a great challenge for me!  I used two cartridges, Boys Will Be Boys for the title and Birthday Bash for the cake.  The print papers are from the Echo Park Scoot collection.

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-title cut at 3 1/2 inches
Birthday Bash-cake cut at 4 1/2 inches
Paper-Echo Park Scoot collection print papers/stickers, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink

Go check out all the DT birthday cake projects at BBTB2 and link up with a project-perfect chance to get that birthday card you'll need soon made or get some b-day party pics scrapbooked!

All Aboard layout

It's my day for the daily project at Exploring Cricut!  So who's up for a train layout?  Boys and a fascination for trains seem to go together-when my guys were little, they were all obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine.  I never left the house without at least a few engines for emergency entertainment in my purse.  Even as big guys they still like trains, so when we saw the spectacular train layout while at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry last summer they were mesmerized.  We must have spent 30 minutes looking at it.  (It has an enormous model railroad that "runs" from the city of Chicago to Seattle, complete with all the skyscrapers.)

I'm finally getting around to making a layout for those pictures.  I used the Boys Will Be Boys cartridge for the title and train and the My World cartridge for the railroad signs.  The fun and colorful paper and stickers are from the Echo Park Scoot collection, which I have been hoarding for just this layout!  The bright colors just make me happy.

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-title cut at 3 inches, train cut at 2 1/2 inches
My World-railroad signs cut at 1 1/2 and 2 inches
Paper-Echo Park Scoot collection prints and stickers, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink

Hope you enjoyed the railroad moment here and check out Exploring Cricut every day for a new project!

U R 2 Cool Dude! layout (for Exploring Cricut)

Today is my day for the daily project at Exploring Cricut!  I took some great pictures of my guys gaming with some of their friends, which inspired my U R 2 Cool Dude layout.  They have been having so much fun this summer playing!  (We are kind of addicted to Lego Rock Band and the Wii Sports!)  I used the Robotz font for the title and the game controller is from Boys Will Be Boys (it kind of looked like the Wii game controller...).  The paper and stickers are some leftovers from the awesome My Mind's Eye Boy Crazy collection.

Cricut:
Robotz-font
Boys Will Be Boys-game controller
Paper-My Mind's Eye Boy Crazy collection prints, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink

Hope you check out all the great stuff at Exploring Cricut every day and get inspired to create!  Diane has also created an Exploring Cricut Facebook page, so you can see the daily projects there as well.

Honk Honk gift bag (for BBTB2)

My DT sister Jayne has picked an interesting challenge this week at BBTB2-make a masculine themed bag, container, or box.  This was a hard one for me, as I don't have many carts with 3D options (Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2 is on my wish list!).  Good old Plaintain Schoolbook to the rescue!  I made a bag from Plaintain Schoolbook and decorated it using one of my favorite carts, Boys Will Be Boys.  My bag holds several toy cars, which should make any little boy smile!  In fact, one of my big boys appropriated the bag and cars immediately and filled it with Lego action figures and cars!

Cricut:
Plaintain Schoolbook-bag
Boys Will Be Boys-all other cuts
Paper-Nana's kids stack prints, CM solids

So we'd love for you to join us with a new masculine cricut bag/box/etc. and link up to inspire us with what you've made!

For the Boys layout (for PDE challenges)

It's time for a new Pause Dream Enjoy challenge!  This one is perfect for me-since I've got boy action going on all the time with my three sons!!!!

Pause Dream Enjoy (PDE) Ch# 5 For the BOYS

Begins: Monday, Mar 4

Ends: Sunday, Mar 17

Winner announced in the WINNERS Page Tab

Guess which cartridge I used for this challenge?  Boys Will Be Boys!  (I know, you're shocked...lol!)  My layout is titled "100% Boy, Built Tough".   I cut some tennis shoes, a robot, and spaceship to represent boys and their toys.  I have pictures of my guys playing with lego blocks that will go on here (hence the "Under Construction" stamp on the journal box).  The photo corners were made using my square punch and cut in half for super quick accent.

Cricut:

Boys Will Be Boys-all cuts

Paper-The Paper Studio for the prints, solids CTMH and CM

brown chalk ink

Stamp-My Pink Stamper set

This is a two week challenge, so join us and put up a project!  (Perfect for moms and grandmas of boys!!!!!)

Lights, Motors, Action! layout (Disney)

We saw the coolest stunt car show at Disney's Hollywood Studios!  One of the stunt cars in the show was Lightning McQueen.  I had so much fun cutting the road sign for the title and the flames and lightning bolts from the Cars cartridge.  The font on the road sign is the block font on Boys Will Be Boys and the font for the "stunt show" is Learning Curve.

Cricut:
Cars-road sign, flames, lightning bolt
Boys Will Be Boys-block font
Learning Curve-font
Paper-Disney pack bought at Archievers, plus solid CM card stock

Too Cool Layout

This layout is all from the Boys Will Be Boys cartridge.  The pics are from a birthday party where my niece got a new bike and my nephew got a Lego vehicle set.  I love the fun layered titles on Boys Will Be Boys-one of the kids kept saying "this is too cool!" when opening gifts.  I added some buttons and brads to make the truck and bike look more cool.  Although, what could possibly be more cool than your own new purple bike with gears?  My niece was SOO excited!  

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-all cuts
Paper-Basic Grey Shine On collection
Brads and buttons
I'm going to link this to the very timely SOUS challenge this week-die cut vehicles!  Love it when a challenge lines up with the pics I'm trying to scrap :) 

On the Go layout

The Fantabulous Cricut challenge this week is On the Go (use a car, train, bike, etc), which helped me decide how to scrap a mis-mash pictures of us walking around the science fair held at a former train station,.  (It now holds an antique fire truck, model trains, and all kinds of fun things to do.)  I added a fire truck and rocket, plus title from the Boys Will Be Boys cartridge.  Paper is Echo Park A Boy's Life Collection.

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-all cuts
Paper/stickers-Echo Park A Boy's Life collection

Have a Blast card

Made this for Son#3, for a lunchbox card for him.  He loves to build rockets and spaceships with his legos, so he will really like this one, I think.  The rocket is from Boys Will Be Boys and the sentiments are from a My Pink Stamper set called Lunchbox Thoughts.  I'm linking it to the Paper Playtime challenge to make a guy card with a sentiment.

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-rocket
Stamps-My Pink Stamper Lunchbox Thougts set
Paper-CM cardstock

All Aboard layout

Riding the ferry boat from our hotel to Downtown Disney was much more fun than taking the bus!  When I saw the sailboat paper in my Echo Park pack, I was ready to tackle these pics.  The paper is from the Echo Park Little Boy collection, with some stickers from their It's a Boy's Life added on.  The title is from Boys Will Be Boys-a must have cart if you have boys.

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-title
Paper-Echo Park Little Boys collection, stickers from It's a Boy's Life collection
Twine, blue and brown chalk ink,
Stampin Up button

I'm going to link this to Amanda's Getting Scrappy challenge to "Color Me Lucky" and use green on the layout.

Time Flies layout

You are going to be seeing some Disney layouts for the next few days, because I'm going to a crop this weekend (I am planning to stay up VERY late and eat LOTS of chocolate and scrap with my best friend!) and scrapping some pictures from our trip last summer.  I did this yesterday, however.  It will have a bunch of pictures of us walking around Hollywood Studios, marveling at all the movie set streets.  I used Boys Will Be Boys for the lettering.  The plane and cloud are stickers from this Echo Park paper pack. 

Be sure to comment on the 50 followers post with your favorite cart for a chance at blog candy!

Cricut:
Boys Will Be Boys-font
Paper-Echo Park Little Boy
square punch for the photo corners, which I then cut in half

I'm going to link this to the Clean and Scentscible weekly creative sparks!