OUR LIFE

Life in a 34 foot 5th wheel is not for everyone, but we have loved it over the past year.  Although as this layout shows, we were not too sure as it seemed we spent more time fixing the RV than enjoying and relaxing.  You can see my scrapping space at the dining room table.

Click on image to view full size

OUR LIFE - April 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: We spent our first month relaxing & repairing the RV.  We were sorry to leave the beach. 

SUPPLIES USED:  Crimper, Tahiti Stack by DCWV, Foam stamps, Inkadinkado Coastal stamps,

TECHNIQUE TIP:  I love all the bold papers in DCWV's Tahiti Stack but I wanted a little texture to my background but had to be careful not to overwhelm the layout.  I started out with a couple sheets of DCWV's Neutral cardstock in off white and proceeded to stamp all sorts of travel related stamps with an off white paint around the edges where they would peak out from under my bold paper strips.  The overall effect is a great texture without adding lots of detail that distracts from the photos.

For 80+ examples of using foam and rubber stamps on your scrapbook layouts, visit my Stamping Technique Gallery here.

Here are closeups of both pages:

Grapefruit (South Texas Style)

This double page layout is actually one of my favorites and not just because it features my adorable hubby...  Don't be afraid to get close to your subjects for a close up of the "action" as I did with with the grapefruit in the juicer.

Click on image to see it full size

GRAPEFRUIT - April 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: South Padre Island, Texas.  We discovered the farmer's market on Saturday mornings.  Our favorite purchase was a huge bag of grapefruit for only $5.  We would squeeze them for the most delicious juice. 

SUPPLIES USED: Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge, Tags Bags Boxes & More Cricut cartridge, Travel papers by Me & My Big Ideas

TECHNIQUE TIP:  I love patterned paper (who doesn't), but I do sometimes struggle with mixing and matching the more bold and vibrant colors.  In this layout, I knew that I needed to add some color as my photos were pretty bland and what better color than orange since my subjects are grapefruits.  I used a great bold pattern from My Mind Eye and then gave it additional color with a bright orange strip of paper.  The bold colors work as the underlying patterned paper ties it all together.  A punched border gives some relief from all the straight lines of the layout to create some movement and softness.

Here are the close ups of both pages:

Page 1 of 2 - Click on image for full size

Page 2 of 2 - click on image for full size

Camp More Work Less

Camp More Work Less - Wow, this was definitely our theme as we left a very hectic month of packing all our belongings into storage, finishing up work, renting our homes and stocking an RV for a two+ year trip.



Camp More Work Less - April 3, 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: We arrived on South Padre Island on April 3. We would spend the next 4 weeks relaxing on the beach & kiteboarding.

SUPPLIES USED: Travel Stack by DCWV, K&Company paper ribbon, Cricut Stamped Cartridge, K&Company dimensional stickers

TECHNIQUE TIP:  I love using tags on my layouts for journaling (as you can see), but I wanted to start using them in different ways so I created this title using layered tags.  The tags and their bottom layers were cut on my Cricut Expression using the Stamped cartridge.  I love this cartridge and the irregular lines that it gives to the letters.  For more examples of layouts using tags in various ways, please visit my techniques for tags online gallery.

Another tip is that even though this is not a double page layout, when I open my scrapbook, this pages faces the one I posted yesterday (see post below).  I wanted some sense of congruency between the pages so I utilized the same patterned paper in both to unify the two single page layouts and complete the mood.

Our Trip

Sorry that I have been MIA for a bit, but we've been traveling quite a bit over the past few weeks. We have made the drive from South Padre Island, Texas, all the way to Asheville, North Carolina so I haven't had any scrapping time at all! :-(

The following is a layout from our time last year on South Padre Island in Texas.  To see more layouts from the Texas areas, visit my online gallery here.

Click on image for full size viewing

Our Trip - April 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: April 3 arrive.  April 29-30 Ted's visit.  May 1 Depart

SUPPLIES USED:  Travel Stack by DCWV, K&Company embellishments, Tim Holtz Distress Ink

TECHNIQUE TIP:  I wanted to convey the overall beach and palm tree theme throughout this layout, but didn't have one set of papers or embellishments that I thought worked.  I combined both DCWV and K&Company to come up with the perfect themed layout.  Don't be afraid to mix and match manufacturers.

FileKutz SVG Challenge with Free SVG

This weekend's challenge from LisaJane at FileKutz revolves around TIME.   LisaJane has created an absolute treasure of a file that includes clock faces, hands and numbers, even roman numerals.  There are so many options in this file, you will be able to use it over and over and get a different look each time.

The challenge to you is to simply create a layout/card/project that includes this file AND the word "time" somewhere on your project.  The way you decide to use the file is entirely up to you...use it as a background, an embellishment or part of a saying or title.  Time may be used in any form on your layout also....borrow from a song, a saying, or by itself.  (I am sure you can think of millions but just in case, you can find some "time" songs and sayings HERE and HERE .)

You will have the rest of the week and weekend to create your layout as the submission deadline will be May 23rd at 12:00pm EST and winners will be announced here on this blog soon after.  A random winner will be chosen from the submissions to receive an additional free file of your choice from FILEKUTZ.  To enter, be sure to link your challenge entry by visiting the FileKutz blog HERE.

Sharon's layout below is a great example of one use of the file.

 

 

 

I hope you get a chance to play with this really great file and enter the challenge.  And don't forget to subscribe to this blog so that you can be notified of upcoming file challenges to get you inspired and motivated to complete those layouts. 

DOWNLOAD FILE HERE (password is clockiagreetou).