Swim Cap Tricks

Yes, I have a swimmer. And because so many of our activities revolve around his swimming, I take TONS of photos around swimming pools. This in turn leads me to the never-ending search for blue scrapbook papers. Many times an aqua or pastel blue will do, but a true blue is the one I most relish. Both of Kevin's swim teams (USS and High School) have royal blue in their logo, so caps, T-shirts, swim suits and other paraphernalia often bring this color to my pictures.

The June Wipeout kit from Scraptastic Club just so happened to have a couple of fabulous royal blue papers, and I couldn't wait to use them on the layout below: 

This was a really easy page to assemble. I quadruple-matted the photo, added journaling, then used three different shades of blue for the title. 

The story behind the photo is this. Before every event, he warms up. After every event, he cools down. This one particular day, all of his events were over, and it was time to hit the road. I waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, I went to see what was going on and found him with two of his teammates playing around in the warm down pool, performing silly swim cap tricks. Of course I had to snap a picture before shooing them out of the water!

Yep, I love how the royal blue papers compliment the swim caps in my photo!

Circle of Friends

Here's another page created with Scraptastic's Wipeout scrapbook kit. The Cut Shoppe's "Fresh Squeezed" cut file creates the perfect backdrop for this photo of Kevin and his swim team friends as they hang out between events at their summertime "away" meet.

Circles of pastel color, most from a single floral patterned paper in the Wipeout add-on, fill in the "citrus slices" of the large cut file background, but on the left side only. The right is left white on white, better for my layered embellishments and a stand-out title:

Gosh, I've created four swim team layouts and one beach vacation page with this kit, fast becoming one of my favorites. 'Til next time...happy scrapping!

Beach Days

A few weeks ago I used Scraptastic Club's Wipeout kit to create two bold layouts for the "Scraplift a Subscriber" challenge. These pages used patterned papers in primary colors: orange, blue, red, yellow, and green. Now I'm shifting gears, and have created a page that focuses on the softer colors in the kit. 

Beach Days sticks to a sun and sea color palette of orange, yellow, aqua and white:

After layering patterned papers on a plain white background, I used a die-cut frame to highlight my photo. More die-cuts and fun stickers line up vertically on the edges of the frame. 

I love the vellum hibiscus die-cut! It's quite beachy isn't it? 

Check back tomorrow, when I'll be sharing another page from the Wipeout kit, along with a cut file from The Cut Shoppe.

Biloxi Lighthouse

According to Wikipedia, the Biloxi lighthouse was erected in 1858 and has the distinction of being tended by female lightkeepers for more years than any other lighthouse in the U. S. One such keeper assumed the role after her husband died, tending the light for 53 years! Having survived scores of hurricanes, this lighthouse today is a Mississippi landmark and tourist attraction. 

I created the layout below  with a photo of the historic lighthouse and an awesome digitally cut lighthouse from The Cut Shoppe. Their Land Ho cut file set also includes an anchor as well as a few jolly good phrases.

Cut from a grey print paper, my lighthouse was inked for dimension: black ink for shadows, white for highlights. A washi tape banner picks up the yellow, red, and navy of my papers:

Layers of patterned paper, an anchor-print string envelope, postcard journal card, anchor pin, and coordinating enamel dots complete the page.

Who can resist anchors? Not me, that's for sure! ;)

Catching Waves & Rays

It's Throwback Thursday! The photo on the layout below was taken several summers ago, and I can't believe how much those three have changed. The two on the right passed me up in height quite a while ago. The one on the left is getting ready to head off to college! But on this day, the three cousins were getting ready for a day on the water, "Catching Waves & Rays".

Patterned papers are from October Afternoon's Summertime collection.

I'd love to have the three cousins recreate this photo one day. In fact, I'm going to put it on my to-do list for next time we all go to the beach!

Birthday Cards from Kit Scraps

Today I'm sharing a couple of simple birthday cards created from kit scraps. The first uses cardstock, patterned papers, vellum balloons, and a sticker from Scraptastic Club's Cherry Pie kit. The little yellow bag is from my stash.

The next card uses an older Scraptastic cut file heart. I backed it with patterned papers from their Cake By The Ocean main kit, and topped it off with a transparency die-cut.

Now I'm ready for the next birthday. Good thing, because they're going to come fast and furious now. It's birthday season in my family!

Go Catch A Wave

I love the action photo I captured on the page below! The three cousins were going out to ride their boards on the first day of our beach vacation, jumping up over the swells as they head out in search of even bigger waves.

The beautifully vivid patterned papers are solely from the Carta Bella Beach Day collection.

Banners are still a favorite embellishment, and on the layout below I created an oversized one, cutting out flags, phrases, sunglasses and a swimsuit from Beach Day papers.

The large acrylic word, GO, is an exclusive from a Scraptastic kit. I completed the title with colorfully printed Thickers chipboard letters.

They caught many a wave that day, the day after, and the day after that. What fun it was!

From The Dog House To The White House

No matter which "side" you're on, I think you'll appreciate the tongue-in-cheek humor of the page I'm sharing today, using papers from Pebbles' America The Beautiful collection.

The title of my page was this year's theme for the Krewe of Barkus, a Mardi Gras pet parade in New Orleans. Pretty funny! 

Politics has definitely gone to the dogs! ;)