Like many of you, Minnesota residents saw an early Spring this year. And with it, came warm weather, ranging from the 60's to the 70's. Now, to some of you, that might not seem like a big deal, but to Minnesotans, it's pure paradise. Laugh. Very rarely do we have the good fortune of such temperatures this early in the year. Normally, we experience them around Mid-May or so, but it looks like we got lucky! Already, Ethan's enjoyed the sprinkler, the leaky bubble maker, the disorganized sandbox, the new big-boy bike, and the usual Summer treats, like popsicles and watermelon! We've even taken to walks around the block a dozen or so times...love the warm weather. Yes, we do.
I snapped a couple shots of Ethan nibbling on a popsicle a few weeks ago during a warm afternoon heatwave. His friends had been over and on the front porch after a long play session in the sprinkler. I brought them towels to dry off with, and strawberry popsicles to nibble on! They were a very happy group of kiddo's that afternoon. And, for a minute there, it almost felt like Summer!
Last week, while out at Archivers with a friend, I started working on a layout with the photos I had captured. Since then, I've been slowly adding to it. My schedule is so random these days. I do most of my scrapbooking at night, when all is quiet and peaceful. Last night, I finally finished the layout and couldn't be happier about the outcome - it's a beautiful rendition of lazy Summer Days and all it's coinciding simple pleasures like biking, kite flying, butterflies, sunshine, flowers, and delicious Summer treats.
Butterflies {Martha Stewart} take on a little bit of sparkle via the addition of shiny pink sequins and yellow antiqued brads. Surrounding them are chipboard clouds {Cosmo Cricket}, an animated sun {Bella Blvd. - THANK-YOU Stephanie!!}, a sprinkling of punched yellow chevron dots, red floral buttons {Bella Blvd.}, and large red/pink ornate journal spots {Anna Griffin}.
Tucked beneath an array of layers is this cute "Spring" tag from We R' Memory Makers. I'm a huge fan of their die-cut tags! They're well designed, and very affordable.
In the right, lower corner of the layout is a mini shadow box. It's filled with B/W chevron patterned paper, a lt. turquoise journal spot {Cosmo Cricket}, an Ampersand sticker {October Afternoon}, and other misc. phrase stickers {Bella Blvd., American Crafts}. I propped the surrounding frame on strips of foam core pop dot material {leftovers trimmed into strips}. The frame is from an old K & Company collection - it's cheery and bright.
Snippets, Snippets, and more Snippets. I can't say that I'm very good at using them. Personally, I find random pieces of hand-trimmed papers difficult to work with. Still, I see everyone playing them up with a dissaray of paint drops/mist., stitching, fabrics, white space, etc. I have yet to figure out how they do it, but I envy their ability to see outside the box of everyday traditional scrapbooking. I'm still stuck in "grid format", but it's what ultimately works best for my style. White space has never really been my friend...neither has paint. Laugh. Kuddo's to those that can make magic from both!
I'm still obsessed with American Craft's double stick tape. It's the best adhesive for adding strips of glitter to one's project! Here, I applied gold glitter to a 1' wide strip of double stick tape, and then set it underneath a punched border strip {Martha Stewart}.
Anyone care to take a guess as to the owner of this red bike? That's right, Crate Paper! It's a brand new design from the Story Teller collection chipboard set. I've been looking for an excuse to use it, and finally, it has a home! Makes me want to go out and buy a bright red bike to take on trips to the lake and other bike-friendly locations...currently, I'm without one, but it's on my "to-buy" list.
Not sure if you noticed, but I added a "Pin It' button to the bottom and sidebar of my blog. Please do "follow" me at Pinterest if you're someone that adores color and eclectic designs as much as myself. I'm also a big food lover..Pinterest has me cooking, finally! Yeah!
