LOVE YOU

Some photos are just so special they deserve their own layout - like these pictures here. I'm not big on taking selfies, but if I do, it's usually me with one of the kids or Jim. I'm definitely the family photographer, and I love taking pictures, but I want to make sure the kids have me in their scrapbooks too!

I took these pictures in May 2018. Caleb had just come through a rough season - he was six months out from his spinal fusion surgery, and had recently started getting chemo infusions to harden his bones. He was pretty uncomfortable - all while adjusting to his first year of Middle School. This kid was amazing! He hardly every complained, and tolerated his pain so well. My heart broke not being able to take the pain from him or share his burden in that way.

During this time Caleb needed a lot of extra help and as a result we were spending lots of time together. I snapped these photos when we both were in a silly mood! These pictures make me smile every time I look at them and when I remember that season of our lives, I'm reminded of how strong Caleb truly is . . . he's my hero!

Scrapbooking Tips

Whenever there are pictures of the the boy and me, I try to blend a feminine and masculine look. I don't want it to look too girly, so I will blend more traditionally feminine elements such as hearts and flowers in bolder colors. When I pulled these pictures to scrapbook, I went right to my stash of Coco Vanilla papers.

Coco Vanilla is an amazing paper line and I really love everything they put out! It's quickly becoming my go-to manufacturer because of their beautiful designs. Everything I used on this layout, with the exception of the journaling spot and embroidery floss, is from them.

I was following a sketch to create this layout and chose floral and vine die cuts to create a border. I worked with an odd number of flowers, alternating red and blue. I did start in the middle and worked towards the edges. I accented the flowers with epoxy hearts that match the colors of the hearts on the pattern paper.

I created the title using foam phrase stickers that came with another Coco Vanilla Collection. I thought the "Love You" fit the theme with the hearts and photos of me kissing Caleb's cheek. I also placed a phrase stickers on top of the title, and it functions as a subtitle and says, "This made me smile."

This layout was relatively quick and easy, but still has some really fun elements. I will definitely be using this design again in the future.

Supplies:

Cardstock - American Crafts

Pattern Paper, flowers, foam title and epoxy hearts - Coco Vanilla

Embroidery Floss - DMC