Another winter layout completed with Inspired Inc Top Page Layout kit: Part 4, Mixing & Matching w/ kits by 3 Birds, & LAKE MICHIGAN ICE.

     Last winter the Ludington area received 110"... yes, that's ONE HUNDRED TEN INCHES of snow!  This year, it seems we are getting more wind than snow, at least they are in town.  Wesley & Michael went to the State Park to take part in an evening snow shoe walk on Saturday, with the path lit by mini Coleman lanterns.  Unfortunately, there was so little snow that the snow shoe walk turned into a regular snow BOOT walk to the beach. There was a bonfire before hand, and Wesley & Michael also continued their own walk within the park later in the evening..
      Friday, they were going to head out to 'look for snow', in anticipation of the potential snow shoe walk....  they ended up going down to the beach and bringing back 3" thick pieces of beautifully clear LAKE MICHIGAN ICE.

     On their way home, Wesley told Michael "Let's see mom scrapbook THAT!"  You can BET I will.
  
     Before they left for one of their adventures, Wesley & Dakota were playing outdoors.  I asked Michael to take a few photos for me (I was in the middle of another project downstairs) because I had a layout I wanted to create.  They were still playing a few minutes later, so I took some more.....you can never have TOO many photos to scrap, right?

      I used the Winter Wonderland layout kit by Inspired Inc, using all but 2 pieces of the kit. 

      I ADDED one piece of 3 Birds Sticky Sparkly Glitter & Foil Set, part of their GRACEFUL SEASONS COLLECTION.  The foiled red "Smile" which sits beside the two 2.5 inch photos near the center of the two pages fits those photos and the mood of their activity that afternoon.  I like that the foil not only catches your eye, drawing your attention to the 2 smaller photos, but I like that the foil also helps liven up the page, since there are so many other dark colors within it.  I also layered some pieces cut from banners from an earlier 3 Birds border kit and placed them below the chipboard "winter".  I LOVE to sort through my stash and find things that match the colors in my photos. 
     I also LOVE to mix and match kits as well as collections, so to any of you who are purists in terms of using kits or working with only one company's products, I apologize.  BEWARE:  I DO THIS QUITE OFTEN... You've been warned lol.

Using Inspired Inc Top Page Layout Kits... installment 3.

     Today's installment covers a different type of walk than Wesley, Dakota and I usually take.  This particular day I decided to take Dakota to our local dog park, 'Bark in the Park'.  Rather than merely going inside the doggy park to roam around and play with others dogs if present AND well behaved, we decided to explore part of the adjacent walking path which winds through the woods between the dog park, local cemetery and the Lincoln River.

    This is another situation where I needed to create a companion page in order to include all or at least most of the photos that I wanted to use.  I searched my stash of papers, cropped corners to match those of the kit pieces, and used some of the remaining kit items to pull the pages together.
     I also had to adapt the layout to fit the number, sizes, and orientation (vertical vs horizontal) of the photos I wanted to work with.
     I'm not crazy with the outcome, due to the fact that the blue camera pattern paper is busier than I usually use, and more of it is exposed therefore making it more visible, but the theme works well with this story, and the blue and black coordinate with Wesley's clothing and Dakota's coat.
    

Creating more layouts by utilizing Top Page Layout kits by Inspired Inc: Part 2

     Hello friends and family.  This will take a while for me complete, but I am working diligently to play 'catch up' on postings of my projects from 2014-2015.
     Below are 2 pages completed with one of the Inspired Inc Top Page layout kits, followed by a companion page that I created in order to include more of the fun photos from an afternoon of family play time in our home town.  The colors of this kit fit really well with the colors of our clothing as well as the BEAUTIFUL blooming tree which is part of the mini golf course.  I used part of another Top Page Layout kit, specifically the rainbow portions, to pull the colors from the prior two pages into the companion page.

     As you can see, I had to alter the layout suggested to fit my photo orientations, number and sizes, but the colors really helped to pull the pages together.
          

       Wesley joined Cub Scouts this year, and their only fund raiser is their annual popcorn sale which takes place in front of the local hardware store where the scout leader works...brilliant!  When combined with the fees each cub scout pays annually, this fund raiser covers the expenses of some of their activities.   Our favorite popcorn that they sold is the dark and white chocolate popcorn which Wesley is holding in one of the photos... a very popular seller.

    This layout kit featured brown tones along with orange and green accents, which worked well with our annual outdoor chores or activities.  Wesley has been learning to drive our lawn mower on his own, actually enjoying some of the outdoor chores since he's been allowed to drive.  Sometimes Michael lets him just zoom around the yard for fun.... typical kid at this age range.