Brotherly Love

I cannot tell you how much I love photos like this! My boys slept in the same bed for years - by their choice. It started when Dave died, and I think they just needed to know they were not alone. I

would go in to check on them before I went to bed, and they would be all cuddled up together. Or I'd go in the morning and they would be huddled over their iPad laughing as they watched Netflix or played Angry Birds.

I'm sure that the loss they experienced at such a young age and Caleb's disability has created an environment where these two are not only brothers but are truly best friends. I am so grateful they have each other! After Caleb's diagnosis, Dave and I were counseled not to have any more children, and we were heartbroken because we wanted a big family. I am so grateful that Zach was already here because I cannot imagine my life without these two.

When I got home from the hospital after having COVID, Zach was sitting with me and talking. I'll never forget what he said to me: "Mom, I am so glad you are ok. I don't want anything to ever happen to you. But if anything ever happened to Caleb, my life would never be the same." As a mother, I love knowing that my boys have an unbreakable bond. I pray that it always stays that way.

Scrapbooking Tip:

I created this layout after seeing Allison Davis do something like this on her blog. I fell in love with the idea of a large border framing the photos and journaling - and my head started running with all the possible shapes I can use to create the backdrop.

For the topic of this page, a heart border was a no-brainer! I had this awesome pattern paper of colorful hearts from a Simple Stories 6x6 paper pad and used that as a mat for my title. I then pulled my color scheme from that and die cut a ton of hearts using all sorts of The Stamps of Life dies. I used my favorite dotted die to cut hearts that I stitched on.

To create the border of hearts between the title and photo, I fussy cut hearts out of the 12x12 piece of the same patterned paper. The hearts were larger on the 12x12 sheet of paper and I love how it coordinated perfectly and helped fill the space.

I added Nuvo Drop hearts to incorporate some texture and learned how to do that watching an Allison Davis YouTube video.

Same Design, Multiple Layouts

I loved this design so much, I used it to make another layout! Here I took two photos of Zach getting his teeth cleaned by Aunt Dana and created a tooth themed layout.

Using my Silhouette, I cut multiple size molars out of white card stock scraps. Before I adhered them to the page, I free hand drew a loopy border and punched holes to stitch in. I was envisioning it looking like a piece of dental floss. I then glued down the teeth - some directly on the page and others I attached with foam tape to give a little dimension. I then went and added pearl Nuvo Drops just to add a little extra sparkle to the page.

For my border between the photos and title, I die cut a large toothbrush. That glob of toothpaste on the brush was my favorite part of the layout!

If you have a design you love - try using it multiple times and in different ways! It will not only stretch your creativity, but you most likely will end up with layouts you love.

Brotherly Love Supplies Used:

Solid Cardstock - Bazzill (Navy) The Stamps of Life (Red)

Pattern Paper & Letter Stickers - Simple Stories

Embroidery Floss - DMC

Extra - Nuvo Drops

Let's Clean Those Pearly Whites Supplies Used:

Solid Cardstock - Bazzill (Blue base page) The Stamps of Life (all other)

Letter Stickers - Doddlebug Designs

Silhouette Cut Files - Toothbrush and teeth

Embroidery Floss - DMC

Extra - Nuvo Drops