Halloween Murder Mystery

Wow, I can't believe that October is here already!! In someways it seems like January was just yesterday. With all of the family stuff that has gone on this year, I feel like I have missed out on 2018.  Oh well, I will just have to make it my mission to enjoy the remainder of the year!

Each year, for the past five years, I have hosted a Halloween Murder Mystery Party at my house (I have briefly mentioned it before) and each year I make a scrapbook layout for the previous years photos as a way to remember foods served, costumes worn and the overall theme. So, since I have not yet blogged about each layout, I thought that this month would be a perfect time to share all of the layouts that I have made so far. 

I have been trying to make the plans for this years party for about a month now but between a couple of people who have to work, family who wont give you an answer and friends who won't call back, it has been pretty exhausting and as of right now I am not even sure that there will BE a party this year, which makes me incredibly sad and frustrated!! (But, I am trying not to rant two weeks in a row so lets move on).

Ok Ashley, enough of the melancholy, let's talk about the first page of my Halloween Murder Mystery scrapbook. I choose to go with more 'traditional' Halloween colors (at least the colors that I think of when it comes to Halloween- Black, Purple, Orange, and Green). Since a murder mystery party is kind of like a mini play I decided to go with a theater/cinema look for the title page. 

As I was designing this layout, I wanted a way that I could incorporate each players name on the page, similar to a playbill or credit screen but initially I was stumped about how to do it. After I found the movie marquee on the Cricut Art Deco Cartridge the idea for putting the names on popcorn buckets suddenly 'popped' (see what I did there ☺) into my head. I found the popcorn buckets that I wanted on the Cricut When I Was a Kid Cartridge and cut one out for each of the adults that played the game and used some small alphabet stickers that I found in my craftroom to add the names. 

Lastly, I wanted to add my 'nieces' names to the page, because they also come every year even though they are to young to play. I will admit that I was stumped on what to use and where to put whatever element I choose. Finally (after what seems like DAYS) I decided that the PERFECT nameplate was a ticket and let me tell ya, I felt like an idiot for not thinking of a ticket sooner. I cut the flourished ticket from the Cricut Wall Decor and More Cartridge and the smaller tickets came from a ticket die strip that I have. 

I am EXTREMELY proud of how this layout turned out. And, It would be easy to replicate now that the design part is done. Which is my not so suttle way of saying that if you would like to purchase a page similar to this one (there will be some minor differences in sticker and background papers) I would be happy to make more! If you are interested please email me at thesweetscrapper@gmail.com. 

Bakery Window (plus a Rant)

I have a really bad habit of letting other peoples thoughts, opinions and actions adversely effect my personal feelings.  I shut down and internalize it all to the extent that it changes my mental and physical feelings. Do any of you suffer from this same affliction? I frequently ask myself 'how do I stop caring what other people say and do'? I have yet to find the solution.

I have been in a funk since Friday. Everything either makes me mad or makes me want to cry. I HATE it when I get like this. It also makes me start doubting everything I do, such as projects, blog posts, etc. It makes me shut down and become completely unmotivated.

*Rant* I am so sick of people not having my back but expecting me to always have theirs. It is not friendship to always put other people (aka men) ahead of the person who has stood by you through the difficult situations. And, when you finally pluck up the courage to ask your family (who have told you countless times that you need to start asking for help) for help with something, your family shouldn't make you feel like you are just a waste of their time and that everything you have already done is wrong, just because it is different from the way that THEY would do it.  *End of rant....hopefully*

I am trying to overcome my own self because that is all I can control. So,  last night I laid in bed with my eyes closed and prayed. I prayed until I cried that I could shut out the negativity and start caring about myself, for the first time in a long time. When I woke up this morning, a little voice inside my head (God, was that you?) was telling me that sometimes it's okay to be selfish and to put your self first, heck everyone else seems to have no problem with that. Now I just have to figure out how to do that. ☺

I know that my little rant has nothing to do with today's project but it was something that I needed to say and I am too...shy? Weak? Chicken? To say it to the people actually involved. Heck, maybe one of them will surprise me (and themselves) and read my blog because it's "never going to amount to anything or make me any money, so I should just give up". My goal is to prove them WRONG!!

Anyway, today I thought that I would share this cute bakery window scrapbook page that I made. It is another layout that was completely inspired by the pattern already printed on the background paper. I added a couple of 4 x 6 inch photo mats and then turned to my Cricut to find the awning to make it look like a window in a bakery. FYI, the awning was cut using the Cricut Family Album Cartridge. I added some foam dimension to the awning so that a photo can still be slipped under it and into the clear photo corner on the photo mats. 

Pumpkin Patch

The layout for today is similar to the one that I posted last Friday. They have the same paper and embellishments, only laid out in a different way. I could give you some speech about doing it so that you could see that with only a few minor changes you can get a vastly different look to any page opening up a world of endless possibilities....but let's face it, the real reason they are so similar is that today I was feeling uninspired and genuinely not in the mood to craft. I have mentioned before that lately I can't seem to get myself out of my own head when the people that I love and care about are going through stuff, my tendencies are to completely immerse myself into their problem so that I feel like the same thing is happening to me. I don't know why I do this!!

Anywho, I did make some small changes to the layout today. I used some pumpkins that I made (using the same technique that I used last Friday, only this time I used circle punches instead of oval) that are quite a bit smaller than before and made using patterned paper instead of a solid color. I also added a journaling space to this one to help fill out and balance the bottom of the page.

Thankful For You

Happy Fall Y'all. It is officially November so in my book that means that fall is settling in. It is time to start a new blog series since our month of Halloween is over. As I mentioned in Tuesday's post I will be spending the month of November sharing different fall related projects and decor.

The layout for today is titled 'Thankful for You'. Once again I found a piece of patterned cardstock that I wanted to showcase by just adding photo mats, but the star of the page (in my opinion) is the pumpkins that I made to fill in around the photos. I found a tutorial on YouTube quite a while ago (if you are interested, try searching for pumpkin punch art.)

Who are you most thankful for?

For me, It is my mom. She is my rock and my best friend. Tomorrow is our annual Halloween Murder Mystery Party and I have spent the day setting up for it and making some desserts to share with my guests (posts about all decor and food will be coming but not until after the new year). My mom, bless her heart has been trying to help me where she can even though she hasn't been feeling very well since her colonoscopy.

Witch Cauldron Party

Today's scrapbook layout is another example of layout in WITCH (yes, I know that I spelled it wrong but I couldn't resist) the patterned paper does most, if not all, of the work. I have been super busy lately trying to get my party details planned out and decorations made that I also forgot about making a layout today. I try to have most of my projects made a week or two in advance so that I'm not scrambling for ideas at the last minute. I don't know about you, but when I know something has to be done quickly, that is when I tend to blank out and get uninspired. But, since I have been so busy I nearly forgot that I needed to make a new layout. So, I decided to once again flip through my countless paper pads and see if something inspired me. I stumbled across this cute witch paper and knew that it would make a cute and FAST layout. I adhered two 4 x 6 inch horizontal photo mats and was about to call the layout done when I remembered that I have several sheets of stickers that I am trying to use up. I pulled them out to see what stickers if any would be fitting and found this great "The Witch's Night Party" sticker that I felt finishes the page. I also found several bat stickers that I added to the moon for a spooky effect, although they are slightly too large. I made three copies of this layout, like I have done with several other layouts this month, because there were three identical sheets of this witch paper. I kept them all the same except that for two of them I went through my stamp sets and found a small bat that I stamped in black ink on the moon instead of using the stickers. I actually like the stamped bats better than the stickers. What do you all think? Only four more days until Halloween, have you finalized your plans yet? How many of you are going to your Halloween party this weekend instead?

Beary Witchy Cauldron

Hey ghouls and goblins, I know, super cheesy greeting right but it was my mom's suggestion so I thought what the heck, there are only 11 more days until Halloween, why not be a little cheesy.

I have been living in my head a lot lately and it puts me in a rather depressed and anxious state. I don't know why I allow other peoples thoughts and opinions effect me so much but they do and I am trying my hardest to work through it. I just can't make myself understand why no one wants to be around or understand when I am going through hard times but they sure expect me to be there for them when they need a shoulder. Isn't it supposed to go both ways?

Anyway, enough angst so let's move on. I want to share with you another scrapbook layout that I made and I am totally in love with!  The giant bear was cut out using my all time favorite Cricut cartridge, Teddy Bear Parade. She is super adorable and for a little added pizzazz I added some shimmer to her outfit, her broom and the acidic vapor rising up out of her bubbling cauldron. To me this layout just screams HALLOWEEN!

I Only Have Eyes For You

Happy Friday the Thirteenth.  Do you guys have any scary plans? Because I sure don't. My life tends to be pretty boring. Maybe one of these days I will surprise myself and step out of my comfort zone and do something unexpected. Maybe it is the theme of the day but I woke up, after a night of being plagued with bad dreams, and have just been feeling very blah today. Hopefully I will snap out of it soon and salvage the rest of the day.

Anyway, enough with my whining, let's get to talking about this cute scrapbook layout. I was inspired to make this layout when I found these cute 'monster googly eyes' at the dollar store. I cut the gumball, or in this case the eyeball machine, out with my Cricut as well as the scalloped squares behind the photo mats. This layout can hold two 4 x 4 inch photos. I love how this layout turned out, kind of a cute scary.

By the way guys, there are only 18 days left until Halloween.

Haunted House

A haunting we will go, a haunting we will go, in 25 days its Halloween and a haunting we will go. Hey guys, do you like my song? I thought of it an hour ago and haven't been able to get it out of my head since. I hate it when a song gets stuck in your head because it makes it hard to focus on the things that need to be done, like writing a blog post. I have to stop after every other sentence to sing it to myself, thankfully no one is home or they would think I have gone insane.

Speaking of insane, (nice segue Ashley) that is what I think of people who enjoy going to Haunted houses. I think that I briefly mentioned in Tuesday's post how much I HATE haunted houses, but today I thought that I would drive the point home by mentioning again. Plus, it fits in with today's scrapbook layout.

When I was about 5 or 6 years old I went with my parents to the zoo for a Halloween Spooktacular that was held every year. You got to walk around and see the animals at night and they lit the pathways with jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows. At one point along the trail they had a haunted house where employee's were dressed up and had some bloody objects. I don't know if the employee just didn't see me or if he was showing off for the teenagers that were in front of us but he jumped out in front of us with a chainsaw and scared me to death. I ran away bawling and it took my parents quite a while to calm me down. To make matters worse (at least for me) the employee felt so bad that he had scared me so much, he chased after us to apologize and to give me a sucker. Thus my hatred of haunted houses began.

When I was trying to figure out what kind of layout to make for today I decided to simply flip through the numerous paper pads that I have to see if anything spoke to me and I came across three sheets of this spooky/graveyard/haunted house paper and thought, I can work with that. Since the background paper provides most of the work for the layout, all that was needed was a 4 x 6 inch photo mat and some added embellishments. I decided to go ahead and make all three pages into layouts so that I can sell some or give them away to family. I had a lot of these cute dimensional monsters that I had bought in a pack after Halloween last year. I am not exactly sure where I bought them but I thought that they would look cute next to the tall dark house.

So, what do you think? Do you have a favorite out of the three? My favorite changes each time I look at them.

Wedding Album Final- Just Married

Happy Friday! Today, as the title states, will be the final page in the wedding album that I am making for the family member of a friend of mine.

So, for the last time, here is the disclaimer, this album is HEAVILY inspired by a series of layouts that I saw on YouTube awhile back by an extremely talented scrapbooker named Faith Abigail. I fell in love with her work and wanted to adapt her layouts to fit with my needs and my supplies. I kept some of the same elements but changed it up where needed.

The final page is really similar to that of the first page in this album. They both feature a large die cut frame that fills the background and helps the 4 x 6 photo to stand out. Once again this page could easily be customizable by changing the color of the hearts as well as putting a custom message in the frame instead of the happily ever after sentiment.

This album is beautiful and classic and provides the perfect location for all of those treasured wedding photos. I hope that you have all enjoyed seeing it as much as I have enjoyed making it. 

Wedding Album Day 1- Title Page

Hey guys, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I have been asked to make a Wedding Scrapbook for a family friend. I am super excited so today I sat down and made the first page. First a brief disclaimer just in case one is needed, this album is HEAVILY inspired by a series of layouts that I saw on YouTube awhile back by an extremely talented scrapbooker named Faith Abigail. I fell in love with her work and wanted to adapt her layouts to fit with my needs and my supplies. I kept some of the same elements but changed it up where needed.

This page was designed for a 4 x 6 photo to be placed in the center of the page and features a large die cut frame which fills the background and creates a focal point for the photo. A large filigree heart adorns the top as a symbol of love and a lined journal card is included below the photo for the date/time/location of the wedding to be recorded as a title for the album and pages to follow. 

Letter to Santa

It's here! The final day of Christmas in July. I'm sad but at the same time I am so glad to finally be able to embrace SUMMER. Enough of the fake cold weather and listening to Christmas music to get me in the mood to craft. So without further ado, let's dive into this layout.

As a kid I believed in Santa! It was a big reason why the season was alway so joyous and magical. One of my fondest memories of Christmas is the year that I swore I saw Rudolph flying through the sky pulling Santa's sleigh, and I couldn't wait to tell everyone I knew. Now as an adult a lot of the mystery and magic of Christmas has faded away and I realize what I saw that night was probably an airplane, but every time I think about it a large smile still appears on my face and I still get the feeling of wonder and happiness. When I sit down each year to make a wish list of what I want for Christmas I remember back to those days when making a list for Santa took an entire month with new things getting added every day. I wish that I had kept all of those letters to Santa that I wrote a child so that I could look back on them today. That was my inspiration for this layout. 

I was going through some of my Christmas themed paper when I came across this beautiful sheet of cardstock from DCWV stack and it spoke to me. Although the layout is simplistic I think it says a lot. I added a spot for a 4 x 6 photo since that is what scrapbooking is all about, showing off your photos. But, I think the true star of the page is the Santa envelope in the top right corner. It is a great place to tuck a letter to Santa so that it can be kept next to the picture forever. I left a space above the photo mat for journaling so that none of the important details would be forgotten.

Trip to Santa's

When I think back on Christmas as a child, the one thing that stands out the most is probably my parents taking me every year to Bass Pro to sit on Santa's lap. It was perfect for me because I got to tell a jolly fat man in a red suit everything I wanted for Christmas and then leave with a sugary sweet candy cane that made a mess all over the car. My parents loved it because it made for a great photo. Now as I've gotten older and the presents and candy canes seem less important the photos from back then have become a treasured keepsake.

For today's layout I decided to go with something pretty, simple and classic that would make the photo the star of the show. I saw a similar layout on Pinterest I knew I just had to make it. I decided to make two different styles of this layout depending on whether the photo was taken portrait or landscape. I also made it a double photo mat so that either a 4 x 6 or a 5 x 7 photo would fit. 

Christmas Countdown

Today marks day two of our Christmas in July series and the first of our Christmas themed layouts.  And, what better way to start out than with a countdown layout that would be great as the first page in any Christmas Album.

OK, so full disclosure, I actually put this layout together back in January of this year. It came from an awesome kit that I got at the end of last year's Christmas season. I've tried to find the name or company for this kit to include with this post but I haven't been able to. My goal is actually to try and re-create a layout similar to this using items from my stash, so keep an eye out for that sometime in December.

The kit included everything seen in the photo except for the holly photo mat. Each of the numbered squares opens up so you can hide images or words representing each day. This December I plan to do  an activity where each day is a new winter or holiday inspired event to get me into the Christmas spirit. It will be both cute and interactive.

I hope you like it and I will see you on Tuesday with another Christmas card.

Valentine Cupid Layout

KHey guys, here it is my layout from Friday. I decided to stick with the Valentine's Day theme, mostly because the stuff is scattered all across my desk. 

I use pattern paper from two different 12 x 12 paper pads. The first was from Pebbles and the second from Recollections. I punched out to border strips from white card stock using the Martha Stuart lace heart punch, I seem to use this one a lot around Valentine's Day, it's one of my favorites. 

Next, I grabbed my favorite Cricut cartridge, Teddy Bear Parade, and cut the Cupid bear out at 4 1/4 inches. I ran the white piece for the "dress" through my Xyron create a sticker upside down in order to apply glue to the front of the dress, then I glittered the entire thing so it has some sparkle and shine. It took me a while to figure out what else I wanted on this layout until I "rediscovered" that I have the Victorian Romance cartridge that I have yet to use. This cartridge has some great images on it, the only negative that I can say is that it doesn't come with any cutting guide or handbook to tell you how to layer each image or even which cuts belong to which images. But, all in all I'm definitely going to be reaching for this cartridge again. Btw, I cut Love at 2 inches. 

My photo much are the standard 4.25 x 6.25 for the red mat and 4 x 6 for the photo mat. In case I've never stated it, because let's face it my brain isn't working properly this week, I like to use photo corners on all of my scrapbook layouts. It makes it so much easier weather I keep the way out for myself or give it to someone else. I started doing this when I made albums for family members, as gifts, because none of them had photo safe adhesive on hand. I wanted them to be able to use the layout without having to go out and buy glue to adhere the photos. 

I don't really know what else I can say about this layout except for I really like the way that it turned out and hope you all do as well. If you have any questions, comments or feedback feel free to leave it in the comment section below. 

Sweet Memories Layout

Hey peeps, it's finally Friday! That means it's time for another scrapbook layout. Before we dive in to the project for this week let me first tell you about the epiphany I had about an hour ago. Are you ready for it? Just because I upload a project for a specific day does NOT mean that the entire project must be completed solely on that day. I know most of you probably realize this along time ago, I guess I'm a little slow. But, as I was ripping my hair out trying to finish this layout in time to upload it for the Friday layout day I realized that maybe I should've actually started working on it before 3 PM today LOL. Hey will learn something new every day (even if it's something we should've learned a long time ago). 

For this weeks layout I once again was inspired by something I found on Pinterest (Man I love that website and app). Instead of putting the direct link here on my blog, I have it saved on my scrapbooks board on Pinterest, you can find me under Ashley Jestes. 

I am truly in love with this weeks layout! It has a boatload of candy what more could a girl ask for! For this layout I used primarily the Cricut Lite Sweet Shop cartridge, one of my personal favorites because it is loaded with sweet treats. The clouds once again came from my favorite Fiskar's punch, I have it in three different sizes (I believe they are medium, large and extra-large). For the title I used a phrase from the Winter Frolic cartridge, because I felt like it best describes the layout, and it is something anyone can use for just about any picture.

I hope you all like the layout just as much as I do! And I will see you back on Monday to continue with part three in the Christmas cards of 2015 series. And I give myself some homework for next week, Start my darn layouts earlier than Friday afternoon!

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them. I love hearing people's thoughts.