Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Hello Summer!

School let out at the end of May, but the hot and humid temperatures of the area were signaling summer even earlier. Still, it wasn't until our week at the beach that it really felt like summer was here. And hello summer! This little boy can't get enough of the water. Boogie boarding in the gulf or goofing off at the pool; it's all good. Back home we had a few more weeks of swim team, but things are beginning to wind down...too quickly. I just wish it didn't have to end. School starts back up in the middle of August. Boo. Hiss. He will not be a happy camper.

I simply love these Paradise Beach papers by Echo Park...the perfect papers to scrap Kevin's perfect day at the beach. The surfboard silhouette on the fussy cut paper and "postcard" remind me so much of the boy and HIS board...inseparable.


Did you know that you can change the color of foam Thickers with ink? The letters that spell "summer" were originally a brighter blue. By using a bit of distress ink on my blending tool (with most of the ink rubbed off on a scrap sheet of paper), they were dulled sufficiently to match my papers.


I love the tropical feel these hibiscus flowers add to my page. I used my die-cutting machine with Susan Stringfellow's cut file found on her SketchSavvy Blog HERE. After cutting out the flowers, I inked the edges and rolled the petals slightly up and under. Their centers were handcut, inked and pop-dotted for even more dimension. Leaves were also cut randomly and folded with ink applied to the edges and to define the center vein. 


It would be nice to scrap more of my beach vacation photos, but I've had them printed TWICE at Sam's Photo Center and every single one that has a bit of blue sky has vertical streaks from the machine. Seriously? I'm going to try one more time and hope they get it right. The photo department manager asked me to call her before I send my pictures and she'll make sure the machine is cleaned just prior to my order. Shouldn't it always be cleaned sufficiently for streak-free pictures?!

11 comments:

Fawn said...

I love the tropical feel of your layout! Great job.

Lisa Rukin Swift said...

Everything on here complements your photo so well. Awesome layering and embellishing too!

Mary Pat Siehl said...

just beautiful love all the embellies!

Mary Jo said...

This is so pretty!!!
The papers are a perfect choice as well as the embellishments.
I agree about the photo printing.
You have to wonder how many people are getting streaks in their photos if the machine is not being cleaned properly.

holly* said...

bummer on the photos. hopefully they get them right. i love your layout. those flowers are lovely!

Amy said...

This is a beautiful layout, you should definitely look to submit it! I don't have any luck with Sam's photo center either which is such a bummer because I have one super close. I hope your order comes out the third time around!

angie gutshall said...

Such a fun beach layout! Love the summer feel it has!

laura said...

Love all the papers. That is a good tip on coloring thickers. I love paper flowers, I am so bad at not taking the time to make them. I've tried to make them from scraps, but then they don't always go with the future layouts or papers I am using. Thanks for sharing.

Susan Stringfellow said...

totally one of my very fave layouts! ok I seem to say that alot about your pages lol! Really gorgeous though.

Anonymous said...

gorgeous! Love what you did with those flowers!

scrappymo! said...

What a wonderful payout. Love all the embellishment details. They really finish off this layout beautifully.