Peek-a-boo {CSI Case File No. 65}

Case File No. 65 is open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration, and what a happy Case File it is!

This week, I made a page for my friend, Kathy. She lost her mom recently, so I'm making her an album. I think these photos are just precious and perfect for this happy Case File.

Clues I used: Evidence...stripes, cage, something spiral (inside the red flowers), mini brads, ribbon (sort of--I ribbon-cut the paper strips) and white space (sort of, LOL...I used a sketch by Michele Singh that had more white space than what my layout ended up with..so hard to get a lot of white space on an 8 x 8 page); Testimony - I'm going to find an appropriate personality quiz that she can complete for her mom so that her great-grandchildren can read it some day.  Here's Michele's sketch:

The yellow on my page isn't quite so green in real life. Not sure why the camera plays such tricks--probably because the sun was playing hide and seek behind the clouds when I was photographing my page.

Here are some details. I used a lot of old stuff on my page, along with a couple of newer things, which I love to do. The yellow paper is super old. I don't remember who made it. The other patterns on the strips, from top to bottom are by SEI (blue/white stripe), Echo Park (yellow/white), Luxe Designs (polka dots), Teresa Collins (red stripe), Scenic Route (mutli-color stripe), Imaginisce, blue with white designs). The birdcage was cut out with the Silhouette Cameo. I tore the ring when I was tying the Twine on. :(

This doily is also a Silhouette cut file. I hadn't planned on doing all that outlining, but it wasn't showing up well against the yellow. I like how it turned out. That red flower is an old Technique Teusday stamp (really old--the packaging says 2005). I picked it out because of the spiral center, spirals being a piece of Evidence in the Case File). The leaves are from an old We R Memory Keepers paper. I outlined them too.

The red letters are by Jillibean Soup. There are the tiny brads I included from the Evidence list.Old Queen & Company brads. They are tiny!

The blue flower is also from that same stamp set. I love the stamp pads I used for them--Ingvild Bolme. They are wonderful, and I will definitely be buying some more! The border punch below is by EK Success.

The reveal, as always, is just beautiful and makes me smile. Go check out what the rest of the Detectives and guest designers made.

Like a Princess {CSI Case File No. 43}

We just opened Case File No. 43 for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration:

I decided to scrap this photo from my junior prom from 32 years ago. The photo was discolored and dark, so I decided to use a diffuse glow on it. That's my husband, Farzad, who took me to my prom.

Clues I used to solve this Case File...Evidence: damask, frames, something transparent, foliage, patterned brad, black and white patterned paper, and rub-ons; Testimony: Document a special event, tie the past to the present.

(Pardon the bad picture of my layout. Cloudy skies and no time to re-take it.

I had no space for my journaling because I scrap 8 x 8, so I added my journaling to the back of my page, which reads:

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Farzad and me. We look so young and joyful and beautiful. I remember every detail of that special night, and the days leading up to it, as Farzad took me in search of the perfect prom dress. We found my gown at Lord & Taylor in Bethesda, and I knew the moment I saw it that it was the dress I had to wear. It still hangs in my closet though I have no delusions that I will ever be able to fit in that size five dress, even if I ever do reach my Weight Watchers goal.

Farzad rented a tux that went just perfect with my dress, and he took me to dinner at Rive Gauche, a fancy-schmancy, expensive restaurant in Georgetown. Afterwards, as we walked to the car, I remember there were people wanting to snap our picture. 

Walking into the hotel ballroom where our prom was held, I felt just like a princess with my prince charming, and we danced the night away--fast dancing to Kool & the Gang and the Gap Band and slow dancing to Air Supply and Styx. Whereas I felt invisible in high school, I felt like a glowing light was on me that night. I felt just like a princess that night back in 1981, and you know what? Farzad still knows how to make me feel just like a princess 31 years later.

I used this beautiful sketch by Michele Singh as inspiration for my page:

I love that fluffy, sparkly yellow flower. It's by Prima, and I need to get some more of those. I wonder if they come in other colors? They're nice and small and perfect for my 8 x 8 pages.

My patterned papers are by My Mind's Eye (yellow), Paper Studio (light green), and Pink Paislee (darker green). The clocks are cut from a Teresa Collins transparency. The die-cut leaves are from a Cheery Lynn Designs die. I also cut a few leaves from a Webster's Pages paper and tucked them into the cluster.

I knew I wanted to put a crown on my layout. This one is a 7 Gypsies rub-on, rubbed onto a blank scrap of the transparency from the clocks. 

The fabric brad is by BasicGrey. I added those word stickers at the end, when I felt my page needed a little something more. I originally had a black-and-white patterned paper as the bottom layer of my page, but I decided to switch to plain cardstock. I wanted to use that clue, so I tucked a little black-and-white strip behind the green paper matting the photo. It's actually from the tear strip of a Teresa Collins paper. Her papers always have that lovely bit of decoration on the tear strips.

Here's a little closeup of the edge of my layout. I used an old Technique Tuesday stamp on the cardstock. The fancy borders on my page are cut from Cheery Lynn Designs dies. I'm not sure where I got those little tiny flowers--I had a little baggie of them, and they were just perfect for my page.

Thank you, Tracee for helping me decide where to put my title! The birdcage (or urn or whatever it is) is cut form a Webster's Pages paper. The frame is from a Teresa Colllins paper. The letter stickers are both by Webster's Pages.

As always, the design team and guest designers outdid themselves with this beautiful Case File. Come see, and play along for a chance to win an awesome kit from Scraps of Elegance.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and reading about my page!

Tiny Miracle {CSI Case File No. 41}

Case File No. 41 is open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

I made another page for Monica. I'm not sure if I ever told you this, but Monica is pregnant with James's baby. For those who don't know Monica's story, you'll want to read about why this is so exciting and such a miracle.

Monica is my best friend's daughter. Her husband was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was 17. They were married for six short years before James died at the age of 23 this past July. They had been trying to have a baby but were unsuccessful for several years. Two months before James died, they got pregnant.

James got to name the baby the day before he died. At the time they didn't know the gender, so Monica and James's little girl is going to have a boy's name: Ezra James. The name came from a song that James knew Monica always loved--"A Lifetime' by Better Than Ezra. In the song, a girl died in a car crash, and her boyfriend went to the wake and stole her ashes to sprinkle in the ocean.

Such a sad and beautiful story.

Such a sweet, tiny miracle.

I grabbed the sonogram photo of Ezra tiny inside her mommy, from a month or two ago, off of Monica's facebook page and made this layout.

Clues I used...Evidence: gold elements, tassel, layers, ombre, white-on-white textured element; Testimony: Inspiration Word: dream (I'm going to let Monica do journaling for her book).

I used this sketch by Michele Singh, who's on my CSI design team and has so-so many talents:

Here are a few details. The papers are from Teresa Collins's Tell Your Story collection.  The roses are by Recollections. That layered round flower is by K&Co. It's pretty old. I cut the little tassel out of this week's CSI Coordinates. The gold charm is form Michael's, and the resin pieces are by Melissa Francis. That big fabric brad is by Heidi Grace.

The only paper on my page that isn't by Teresa Collins is that green layer you can see in the next photo--It's by Autumn Leaves (Foofala)--really old. I lace in between the layers.

The butterflies were cut out of one of the Teresa Collins papers, and I added Cheery Lynn die-cut butterflies on top, along with some pearls. The sparkly letters are Thickers, and the smaller letter stickers are by October Afternoon, inked and mounted on pop dots. The ticket is from one of the Teresa Collins patterned papers. 

I found this sweet little ribbon rose in my stash, seeming to be waiting just for this layout.

As always, our design team and guest designers made some gorgeous layouts this week, so come take a peek and play with us! We have three sponsors this month--Scraps of Elegance, Flying Unicorn, and Scrapbook Fantasies.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and reading about my page!