Sting in Pop Life Smashed - Red/Orange Pocket Style

The second concert I attended in my life was Sting in 1988 (the first was Whitney Houston, but that's too embarrassing to smash about). Here is a layout I did using the ticket stub, some images from an old magazine, and journaling about the event.

Inside the pocket is a section I cut out of my teenage diary from that night. I'm so glad I hung on to the mementos from this time of my life - it is hilarious to remember what was so important to me at that time.

Birthday Cards Using Old Photos

My mom and brother both have birthdays in the same week and since I have resolved to make all greeting cards from now on I got to work. I had recently been organizing my old photos and was inspired to use these of my mom partying back in the day:

I used the online photo editing site BeFunky to create a collage of the two pictures. I layered a striped journaling card behind the collage and embellished with washi tape and some homemade enamel dots. I used the instructions found here to make them. The inside reads "Party like it's 1969!".

After that I was inspired to do a similar card for my brother, who is turning 38. I looked through my photos again and found this one of him as a kid holding the hand of a cardboard cutout of Ronald Regan:

I cut down some striped scrapbook paper for the mat and added Basic Gray embellishments. Simple and fun!

Nail Art - Pastel Polka Dots

I love this pale seafoam color for spring (Revlon's Minted #85). I added white polka dot accents to two different nails on each hand as shown.

Mother's Day Card

I made this simple Mother's Day card with paper and a tag from Crate Paper, stickers from Basic Grey, and some washi tape.

Harry Connick, Jr. in Pop Life Smashed - Red/Orange Pocket Style

When I was in high school my friends and I all loved Harry Connick, Jr. With his cute, non-threatening looks and freakish musical talent he was the perfect heartthrob for band geeks like us. I had saved a few magazine photos from those days (I think they actually hung in my locker!), and they made a nice layout with some washi and alphas.

That's the tag from a 12x12 sheet of "Serenade" collection Basic Grey paper used as an embellishment. I love incorporating packaging from scrapbook supplies in my layouts.

C'est Chic Smashed - Couture Style

In smashing, as in life, I am a planner. I like to know where I'm heading before I embark. I am learning, however, that it can be really good for me to step outside of my comfort zone sometimes and just jump in. I purchased the couture smash bundle on clearance and wasn't really sure what I would do with it, but the pages are so stylish and cool I was inspired to just start gluing things in. This has been so freeing and I'm finding some interesting, darker themes emerging.

Memories of Dad Smashed - Orange Simple Style

My father died in 2000 and I have often thought about documenting the memories I have of him. One of his most defining characteristics was his sense of humor, and I have many funny stories I plan to capture in this book. While I am not a big fan of the current mustache craze, my father had one for most of his adult life so I placed this envelope on the first page to hold photos.

I chose this page for the story of how I got my name because the plaid background was ideal for these 70s-era photos.

I am lucky to have some examples of my dad's machine-like handwriting. He worked in the field of computers from the days of punch cards and was very analytical. This chart he drew of our stereo system hookup is just mind-boggling.