Craft Your Nest Post and a Mini Break!

A new school year is upon us, so I have a "back to school" layout and challenge up on the Craft Your Nest blog today.

It's an older layout created about a fun tradition my son and I started after my daughter was born. Each year before school starts, Evan and I take an overnight trip to an area about 30-45 minutes from our house that has hotels and tons of shopping. We call it our "Back to School" trip. We stay over night in a hotel, swim in the pool, shop for back to school supplies and a toy treat, go to see a movie and have lots of fun meals. Just the two of us :)
It is always good to have some one on one time together.
I even made a mini album from one of the trips.
Here are just a few pages:

The cover.

I had lots of fun putting this mini together and it is a great reminder of our trip! We look at it often :)

As for back to school, I am finding that I need to take the rest of the week off from any kind of blogging after today. Have lots to do! Also why I am not participating in WOYWW. So I will be back on Monday with a new layout and post.
Have a great weekend :)

Escape to the Lake!

I actually created a two page layout for Scrapbooking from the Inside Out this month!

I love that cloud vellum paper from the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan line and thought it would be perfect for this page. Lots of other fun Dear Lizzy product like the flower, polaroid frames cut from patterned paper and the banner. Also used a combination of Pink Paislee, Hambly and Prima for the rest.

What I love most about two page layouts, is the ability to use quite a few photos. And this layout was pretty simple since the design on each page was a mirror of the other.
Do you like to create two page layouts, or prefer to stick with one? A combination?

Chance to Win!

A rare Saturday post for me, but fun news
You could win the August Escape kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out
 

My Perfect Escape layout is featured along with one layout from each of the other design team members and guest design team member Ronda Palazzari. Just leave a comment on this post on the CK blog for a chance to win!

Five on Friday!

1. What can I say? I was so impressed  by our Women's Gymnastics team at the Olympics this year. What an amazing group of young women! Very professional and they represented our country so well.
I have to admit, I cried each time a girl won a medal. Especially Gabby and Aly's gold medals. I saw all of the competitions except the women's final. That was on Erin's actual birthday and we were out at Six Flags amusement park with a few friends and family. Unfortunately I forgot to set the DVR for that night. But I have never enjoyed the women's gymnastics competition more!

2. Erin has been wanting to create layouts lately. So I have given her some extra photos, scraps of paper and her own box of scrap supplies. Here is one of her creations.

And here is another. I think it's my favorite. Although I do love how she is practicing her handwriting on the top layout. And she wrote all of our names :) But this blue one she chose letter stickers to write her name and the number three because that is how old she was in these photos. I love how she framed her title :)

And here she is at work :)


3. Lots of bike riding this summer as a whole family or sometimes just me and the kids. I took a few photos one day when the kids were riding up and down our street. Although Evan can go around the block on his own now.

I love this photo of Evan :)

And as my friend Kelly likes to fondly say, "you are in so much trouble with this one!" This was a temper tantrum brewing, but I think we were able to head it off :)

4. Thanks to several of his friends, Evan has discovered a new favorite computer game called Minecraft. He loves the Creative play more than Survival mode for sure. And I think that is because he loves designing the buildings. He loved his Architecture for Kids class he took this summer and I am on the look out for similar classes!

5. And Back to School shopping is done! The kids don't start for two and a half more weeks, but I didn't want to be rushing around at the last minute. Erin and I made a trip to the uniform store to get her fitted for her new little Kindergarten jumpers. Can I just say adorable?! I cannot wait to take photos on her first day. Although it is a little bittersweet for me :)

So I am just going to enjoy the last few weeks of summer because I know it is going to go by fast! :)

WOYWW (not sure which one)

It's time for What's on Your Workspace Wednesday! I am linking up over at Julia's blog  today for our weekly peek into each others creative spaces. I have to say, mine is not very exciting this week.

Seriously being over run by my kids which I love! No really, I do. :) That is Erin's Angry Birds mask from her party. And a little journal page of her's on the right. Under the mask is a pile of Evan's drawings. And then some other pile there. Also some scraps and fall scrapbook product to put away.

I finished all of my current design team projects only to receive the September kit from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out today. The September kit!! Feels funny to be brainstorming ideas for September already :)

I also have a post up at the Craft Your Nest challenge blog today.
Talking about triangles and scrapbooking :)
Would love for you to take a peek if you have time.
If not, I will see you next Wednesday.
Have a great week!

Sweet Escape

Starting the week off with another layout I created with the August Escape kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out.

I knew I had to do a layout about this anniversary trip to a resort in Canada that Mike and I took last year.
It really was a "sweet escape" for the two of us. I hadn't felt that relaxed in a long time :)
I think sometimes it is a good think for a couple to get away and spend some quality time together. Our trip was just a few days, but it was enough time.

Now if I could only come up with a great anniversary idea since it's my year to plan. I think Mike is winning in that department, because another great anniversary surprise was the trip to New York Mike set up for us in 2003. Wasn't expecting that one at all :)
Any fun suggestions would be welcome!

To Have and To Hold

I have a wedding layout that was featured on the Crafting Ireland Magazine blog.
You can see a step by step tutorial there.
And here is the finished layout.

I took this photo of my brother-in-law and his wife on their wedding day. It's one of my favorites, and I thought it would be perfect for a layout! I have to say that I am not really into scrapping "traditional" photos lately. I love finding the photos that tell a different type of story. Ones with a more unique twist, and I love it :)

A big thanks to Timi and Nicole for putting my layout on their blog.
And a big thanks to John and Meredith for letting me share a piece of their story :)

WOYWW and My Perfect Escape!

It's What's On Your Work Space Wednesday, but at this time I can't show you what is on my work space. My current project is for a magazine and can't be seen until after it's published in September
But I really didn't want to miss out on visiting with everyone this week at WOYWW, so I decided I would share a layout that came about from the big mess I had on my counter last Wednesday.
It is the first of five layouts I created using the August Escape kit from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out.

What could be a better escape for me than books :) And that book paper in the kit by Cosmo Cricket is what inspired me. Plus the "once upon a time" piece I cut from another piece of paper in the kit. And those arrows are from this...

Dear Lizzy Neapolitan banner cut apart.
The rest of the design team gallery is here and inspiration for the kit can be found here. It really is such a pretty kit.

Since Wednesday is my day to post at the Craft Your Nest challenge blog, I decided to use this layout for my challenge as well. It's all about books and it was a fun one to come up with. I hope you will check it out. :)

 Keeping it short today, but I will be back this Friday with a wedding layout :)