Social Media?

This page, seen on The Cut Shop blog a few days ago, pokes fun at my son and four of his cousins, cousins close in age, who see each other fairly often, spend vacations together, and generally like each other! So why are they not interacting? Two words: Social Media. An obsession with it, on phones, ipads, etc. seems to have had an unintended consequence!

It's Christmas day and there they are sitting side by side, totally engrossed in what is on the devices in front of them. Maybe they are communicating by text?! ;)

I've used a favorite background from The Cut Shoppe Etsy store, the Very Squarey cut file in 12x12:

I figured that the squares could represent the many screens (laptops, smart phones, ipads, etc.) that have seemingly taken the place of face-to-face conversations. Adding snippets of text was an afterthought, but totally appropos.

Patterned papers (all except the small grey stripe) are from the Just A Girl kit from Scraptastic Club. My favorite is the blue-green star print from Seven Paper Co.!

So what do you think? When we get together with family and friends, should we put a basket by the door with a sign that says "Deposit all phones HERE!"?

Let's Dance

Sorting through the papers of the Just A Girl kit from ScraptasticClub, I was struck by the beauty of the sheet with white and yellow flowers on a grey background, and knew just the photo I'd scrap. This is Kevin picking up his date, a swim friend, for his first high school boy-girl dance.

Once I decided on that sheet from the kit, I went through my stash and pulled out everything I could find in a coordinating yellow. So while it began with the kit, it ended somewhere else completely! ;)

The title was a given, especially since this layout was put together the week that David Bowie passed away. I'd forgotten just how many great songs he had graced us with throughout the years. Let's Dance was one of the best.

This Moment, This Place

This time of year, when temps dip and summer clothes are relegated to the back of my closet, I like to reminisce about my favorite season and favorite place. I look forward to our beach vacation all year long. It might only be a week, but those seven days are sustaining. Here I am enjoying the warm air, sea breeze, and most of all, time with extended family.

This page is part of the Scraptastic Subscriber's Challenge for January. I was tasked with using two or more different sized photos. I chose a large photo of the beach and a smaller photo of myself. Actually the smaller photo is strategically placed to cover up a distracting part of the larger picture! 

Patterned paper rays radiate from the center of the page:

Stitching details were added around the larger photo and die-cut flower. Notice how the rays of patterned paper mimic the colorful heart flair!

Everything here (paper, cardstock, Thickers, flair, enamel heart, vellum shape, and die-cuts) are from January's Just A Girl kit and add-on from Scraptastic.

And To All A Good Night

This page, created with Scraptastic's All I Want For Christmas Is You kit and add-on, celebrates getting it all done on that long and hectic night before Christmas. After a fun party with relatives, all "Santa" wants to do is hit the hay, yet somehow he fills stockings, sets out gifts, and arranges goodies for all to enjoy. There's chocolate, sometimes a gingerbread house, and always a puzzle...1000 pieces of course! ;)

A couple of closeups:

Whew. "Santa's work is done!"

Christmas Scrapbook Pages

Christmas scrapping has been happening, and I have THREE layouts to share today. 

For my first page, I repurposed leftover paper scraps from a couple of older Christmas collections to create a "star-studded" background, using the versatile Quirky Quilt cut file from The Cut Shoppe. This cut file includes three variations, each one great for mixing patterns/colors and using up those bits and pieces. 

A few close-ups:

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My second scrapbook page uses a reindeer from the Misc. Mistletoe cut file, a December freebie from The Cut Shoppe  Aren't they the cutest?!

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This third and final page uses the All I Want For Christmas Is You kit from Scraptastic Club, along with vellum from my stash. The title was created from a luscious gold chevron paper by Pebbles, using the Good Tidings cut file from The Cut Shoppe. 

The elegant "Silent Night" title was quite difficult to photograph but looks beautiful on the actual page!

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I'm on a roll with Christmas themed pages. And yes, I have more to go, so check back next week! ;)