Meet Curious George

Isn't this little guy the cutest? I have had this photo on my desk for quite a while with no ideas on what to do with it. 

Last Sunday I went to a crop and I packed a very, very old Studio Calico kit (Promise you won't judge if I tell you it was HandPicked from April 2008?). The colors worked great with the photo. I find I get a little more creative at a crop because I make myself use just what I packed. In that kit is this crazy Sassafras paper with a big deer on it. I just have never liked that paper. It turned out to be a perfect mat behind the photo. The doodly clouds add a whimsical touch to the page. The Jenni Bowlin gold rub-ons, despite being 5 years old, went on smooth and easy. Definitely want to use some more of those on some cards.

I had used up some of the Sassafras letter stickers that came with the kit so I couldn't spell out George. Luckily, my friend Lynne shared some of her Echo Park letter stickers. That was the finishing touch for my page. 

I'm linking this layout up with Use Your Stuff (critter challenge), TwoPeas Pokey Peas and Shimelle (sketch).

Supplies: Studio Calico Hand-Picked Kit (April 2008), Echo Park Little Boy stickers, brown Slick Writer, CTMH chocolate ink

Paper Thrills Sketch Challenge

The challenge this week over at Paper Thrills is a sketch.

I love sketches because they are a terrific jumping off point for a card or layout. Sometimes my layouts closely follow the sketch and sometimes they don't.

For this layout, I used Jenni Bowlin bracket shaped ledger paper for my background instead of a circle. I added some strips of Crate Paper patterned paper behind the three photos and finished with some journaling and a big, bold title in the upper right hand corner to balance the photos.

Journaling reads: It's one of our favorite date places. We have a lot of fun walking around checking out new decor ideas. IKEA also sparks childhood memories for Joel. I love hearing about his summer visits to his grandparents' in Sweden. The meatballs and lingonberry jelly rock too.
I hope you'll play along with this week's challenge at Paper Thrills. Link me up to your layouts!