Layout Love Linky - May 2013

Here we are at the end of May and that means it's time for another Layout Love Linky!

So, if you have been hanging around The Purple Mailbox for a bit, then you know what this is all about so... feel free to scroll on down and get the party started!
But, if you are new here and have no idea what this LLL is that I speak of...

Read on...

LLL is a bit like a virtual craft club... A show and tell of sorts.
We all (well, most of us) upload our projects to online galleries and/or blog about them.
But, they do tend to get lost in the shuffle sometimes, don't they?

One of my favorite parts of blogging is the sense of community within the scrapbooking world. I love this network of sharing ideas and inspiration, documenting our successes and failures, and commiserating with one another through our hobby.

One of the best ways to get to know a crafter is through what she is most proud of, yes?

Perhaps you did that one layout that just blew your socks off and you can't stop smiling at it.
Or maybe you tried something new and your project survived the process!
What if you only had time to scrapbook 1 page last month, but that is 1 more than usual?

So, you uploaded said project to an online gallery, or your blog, or both. And then....
Well....
Not much happened?

That doesn't mean anything, really!
There are SO many scrappers sharing their work every minute of the day.
This really is a great thing.
A good "problem" to have.
But, there are only so many hours in a day and well, things just get lost in the shuffle of cyberspace.

What am I getting at here?

It's show and tell time, that's what!!!!

THAT is the heart and soul behind Layout Love Linky.

Sharing, inspiring, learning, and growing our little scrappy cyberspace community. I just love it when I click on a link-up to leave some love and I see a comment that says, "I came over here from Layout Love and really enjoyed your layout!"

See? A virtual craft club!

Every month, a winner is drawn at random and will receive a fun scrappy prize and a little tag made by yours truly :)

Now, let's get this party under way! Here are some of my unblogged layouts:

This month, I continued working my way through my "kits" ....

And actually finished them up! You can see more about that in my last post.

I am in LOVE with the papers from Elle's Studio!

 See? Down to the last bits...

Lots of fun working some older stuff in with the newer goodies:

 And a broken earring even made it on the page! (That feather there:) )

 More Elle's Studio fabulousness:

Telling some fun stories:

 Scrapping last summer before this one gets underway:

 Layering up lots of the last little pieces:

 And finally had the perfect photo for this fun heart and stripe paper:

We had some amazing link-ups last time - I just love seeing all of your creations! The lucky winner is... Gilma!

I love the way you used that colorful paper and your lovely packet of layers, Gilma! Please email me at soaphouse at gmail dot com with your address so I can send you some fun goodies. The Pier Ephemera Pack and The Pebbles Lakeside Tags:

And this fun woven tag :)

Congrats to Gilma!!!

Alrighty!

So, now it's your turn.
Anything goes here!
Layouts, cards, altered art, art journals, mini books.
If you love it and want to show it off to a few more like-minded crafty peeps, link-it-up!

Oh yeah, and if you want to be entered into the giveaway, all you have to do is be sure to mention in your post or gallery entry that you are linking up here.
Also, please link up the direct URL to your post so that when people click the thumbnail to view your fabulousness, they can find it.
That's it!
Easy peasy!

What's the prize for the next winner? It's a surprise. But I have a feeling it will be lovely!

Oh, yeah - don't forget to check back all month long to leave comment love for our scrappy friends. Remember, just click the Layout Love Linky button up there on the right hand side bar and it will take you right to this month's post!

And if you tweet or share on Instagram, use #LLL for all things Layout Love :)

Let's get this party started!

Down To the Very Last Scrap...

Just under three months ago, after receiving all of my lovely goodies from CHA Winter 2013, I set about matching up my papers with some of the older goodies still in my stash.

I have been happily scrapping through these "kits." 

This is all that's left:

 I decided to combine the above scraps with some more neutral papers...

 Then, I grabbed all of my picked over tiny letters...

And packed up my Disney Albums...

Off we all went for a lovely vacation.
While away, in addition to using all of those goodies to fill up my trip journal (more on that soon), I also had the goal of putting all of those left overs to good use and finishing my Disney Albums. Notice I said Albums? Plural? Yes, that is true. We were there for 4 whole days and I have 2 completely packed 12x12 albums! GAH! 

What can I say? Disney is just too scrappable :)

Anyhooo - the only things that remain are photos that I have divvied out into pocketed page protectors. As well as some 6x12 divider pages.

It was so fun just pulling little bits here and there while on vacation!

Here is what I came up with:

The first of the divider pages - this one for Hollywood Studios. I simply took a plain glassine envelope and tucked the brochure inside. I folded the brochure to have the more decorative map showing instead of the flashy design that was on the original "front." Then, I simply embellished the top of the glassine bag and added the title. Those tags I made a while ago certainly came in handy too!

I didn't have too much to say on the back since all the pages that document this day are immediately following. So, just a bit of misting and a few embellishments finish that off:

I could NOT stop taking pictures of the castle! Too many picts = good opportunity for a divided page protector:

 It is the little things that make a trip like this so special:

 This might actually have been the best day ever:

 Happy, Happy!

Clearly, there is a trick to taking photos of divided page protector layouts and I have yet to master that! Oh well... I am not a Project Lifer, although Scarlett sure has me thinking about it! But, until I bite that bullet, these picts will have to do :)

 That Jungle Safari is too amusing not to scrap!

Ah yes - nice digs:

It was so great having some of the Echo Park and Simple Stories 4x6 cards already placed about:

The last of the puffy paint embellishments were also put to use!
And here we are at the Magic Kingdom Divider page:

 Disney Life...

 Is worth celebrating!

 What's not to love about a place where parades seem to spontaneously break out in the street?

 Smile!

And with all of those, the Disney Albums are complete! Whoot!

I still had some papers left, so I went ahead and worked up some page bases:

 Making sure not to waste any alphas:

 And 4 page starters:

With all of that used up and scrapped, I headed back to my stash and counted just over 100 sheets of paper (not counting kraft and white card stock). I immediately started pulling photos and papers and came up with a stack consisting of 30 papers with coordinating photos for 20 layouts:

That leaves only 70 sheets of paper in my stash. Not too bad, huh? Just in time to do some mid-season release shopping!

Into the Driftwood...

We are taking a trip into the woods this week at the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge Blog.

Whether you’re a rugged lumberjack or out for a casual stroll in the woods, are inspired by adorable woodland creatures or want the chance to play with wood grain products this week we invite you to join us on a creative walk into the woods. Create something inspired by a mountain wildflower meadow, in a forest friendly color palette, or perhaps something whimsical with fairies or wood sprites! There is a lot of room for creative interpretation this week from using a wood grain patterned paper to an owl stamp and anything in between - have fun! 

The theme of this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to scrapbook about my family's favorite place... Driftwood Beach! It is this little slice of gorgeousness on Jekyll Island, GA. There is tree-sized driftwood all along the coast. Pictures never really do it justice. It is truly amazing!

To get started, I pulled some woodsy papers from my stash, as well as my photos:

I really love that wood pattern from Alison Kreft and Webster's Pages, so I decide to leave it as one long piece and align my photos accordingly. Next up... fussy cut!

Now, before I add that to the page, I would like a bit more texture. I love the way hand stitching looks and I think that the rustic texture of that would be perfect for this page. Thing is, I can't stand the time it takes. I can be patient with a lot of things. Hand stitching is not one of them. So... what if I use some raffia and do a bit of a messy approach to the stitching and throw precision out the window? I think that might be one reason I don't have the patience for all that stitching. Precision and I do not get a long...

 Here we go! First, I just staple it to the top of the page...

 I leave it a bit curled and set about stitching...

 I like that!

 A bit more embroidery thread... 

 With that added, I set about working on my layers and title: 

 And brads. Look at that brand new pack! Yay!

 A doodley doo...

And there we have it!

A page about our little slice of the Good Life :)

Alrighty! Now it's your turn to play. I can't wait to see your interpretation of this fun challenge. Don't forget to link-up with us!

Remember... one lucky winner is chosen at random each week to win a $50 shopping spree from SimonSaysStamp.com
:
Oh, and if you would like to try something like the above, a complete supply list is below: (affiliate links used)

InLinkz.com