The search was then on for the perfect mini album format to pull it all together. Kaisercrafts's Beyond the Page MDF Long Ticket Album was just the "ticket" since I knew I could easily expand the album to fit my needs.
The Kaisercraft's four 4-1/8"x9-1/8" MDF pages came without rings. I knew I'd be able to add pages as needed and use whatever size rings necessary to accomodate my project. This was an album without limits. 
To make sure I had enough supplies for this project, I ordered two of each double-sided paper in the line, a sheet of alphabet stickers (who different colors!), adn the element sticker sheet from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. The double-sided papers made an excellent option for adding pages into the album. My final project had 17 pages! (And I had plenty of supplies left over!)
To start this project, I edited my photos into 4x6 photo collages so I would have smaller photos in varying sizes to work with.
The first spread in my album includes a Maya Road envelope that holds the "driving itinerary" we printed out for our adventure. I also journaled about our plan and included the first photos from the day. I accented the pages with the Element Stickers, Alpha, and a random Scenic Route chipboard accent I had in a bowl on my desk.
One of my favorite stops that day was to the Rebecca Ruth candy factory. This stop is documented with a "flower" I made using the red liner from one of the bourbon balls I purchased that day. :)
The next stop included more photos and didn't allow much room for journaling. I added a journaling card (Studio Calico) from my stash in between the pages to include a story from this stop.
For the full-sized pages I added to the album, I trimmed them all to 4-1/8"x9-1/8". Then I traced the corners from one of the MDF pages. I could have cut out the corners, but instead lined up a 1" circle punch to punch out the section I had drawn in. For the extra insert cards, I also trimmed the corner.
The next photos didn't require much journaling. The banner stickers from the Elements Sticker Sheet provided just enough space.
The ledger pattern on the backside of one of the patterned papers was the perfect clean backdrop for these photos from a stop at one of the memorials.
Our next stop at a museum provided several stories I wanted to tell. To allow more space for journaling, I added an envelope from my stash (Making Memories). I used it as a mini page for a photo and journaling on each side.
The double alphas with this line made making titles simple.
For our lunch stop at at a little dive, this "menu" journaling card from Studio Calico was a perfect addition.
Our next stop was one of the most fun and required some additional journaling space. For that, I used a scrap left over from cutting the 4-1/8" x 9-1/8" pieces of paper. The ledger side made great journaling space!
The back of my journaling card was perfect for adding a sticker strip and another photo. We had tickets from this stop, so I included another Maya Road album to hold them.
The backside of the envelope was great for another photo and story. 
I was even able to add a brochure from our stop. 
Having the brochure punched and in the album makes it easy to read all sides without having to remove it from the album. 
A white ink pen was great for journaling on the darker papers. 
When an additional journaling card (made from scraps!) was needed for another partial page, an Elements Sticker made a great accent along with a decorative border punch. 
Finally...the project is complete!
To make sure I had enough supplies for this project, I ordered two of each double-sided paper in the line, a sheet of alphabet stickers (who different colors!), adn the element sticker sheet from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. The double-sided papers made an excellent option for adding pages into the album. My final project had 17 pages! (And I had plenty of supplies left over!)
To start this project, I edited my photos into 4x6 photo collages so I would have smaller photos in varying sizes to work with.
The first spread in my album includes a Maya Road envelope that holds the "driving itinerary" we printed out for our adventure. I also journaled about our plan and included the first photos from the day. I accented the pages with the Element Stickers, Alpha, and a random Scenic Route chipboard accent I had in a bowl on my desk.
One of my favorite stops that day was to the Rebecca Ruth candy factory. This stop is documented with a "flower" I made using the red liner from one of the bourbon balls I purchased that day. :)
The next stop included more photos and didn't allow much room for journaling. I added a journaling card (Studio Calico) from my stash in between the pages to include a story from this stop.For the full-sized pages I added to the album, I trimmed them all to 4-1/8"x9-1/8". Then I traced the corners from one of the MDF pages. I could have cut out the corners, but instead lined up a 1" circle punch to punch out the section I had drawn in. For the extra insert cards, I also trimmed the corner.
The next photos didn't require much journaling. The banner stickers from the Elements Sticker Sheet provided just enough space.
The ledger pattern on the backside of one of the patterned papers was the perfect clean backdrop for these photos from a stop at one of the memorials.
Our next stop at a museum provided several stories I wanted to tell. To allow more space for journaling, I added an envelope from my stash (Making Memories). I used it as a mini page for a photo and journaling on each side.
The double alphas with this line made making titles simple.
For our lunch stop at at a little dive, this "menu" journaling card from Studio Calico was a perfect addition.
Our next stop was one of the most fun and required some additional journaling space. For that, I used a scrap left over from cutting the 4-1/8" x 9-1/8" pieces of paper. The ledger side made great journaling space!
The back of my journaling card was perfect for adding a sticker strip and another photo. We had tickets from this stop, so I included another Maya Road album to hold them.
The backside of the envelope was great for another photo and story. 
I was even able to add a brochure from our stop. Having the brochure punched and in the album makes it easy to read all sides without having to remove it from the album. A white ink pen was great for journaling on the darker papers. When an additional journaling card (made from scraps!) was needed for another partial page, an Elements Sticker made a great accent along with a decorative border punch. Finally...the project is complete!I debated adding ribbons to the rings, but really liked the simplicity of it without them.
I was able to complete this project in just a few hours, spread out over a few days.
Thanks Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff for providing me with the products to tackle this project and make it manageable!
A challenge for an online crop at PersonalScrapper.com inspired me to scrap these photos from Father's Day '09 of the boys with my dad. I used new papers from American Crafts' Abode line. I just added a tag for journaling, a scrap of Fancy Pants ribbon and a couple different alphas. Simple is good. 
Finally, I have another layout that uses the Pink Paislee "Starlight" line that I received in my designer kit from 
Speaking of Blake and Boy Scouts...my boy is finally home. We picked him up at camp on Friday night. I missed him! I spent most of yesterday hugging on him!
This layout also completed a challenge for an online crop at PersonalScrapper.com to use 3 patterned papers, 3 ribbons, and 3 additional embellishments. 
I really think the cool embellishments pull it all together and make me happy with this layout.
Background story: My sister's bathroom was being renovated and yes, there was a toilet on her deck. Blake couldn't resist goofing off with it when we were over there swimming. I thought it was appropriate to use yellow Spritz to spray the background cardstock. ;)
I fell in love with the drink umbrellas that were included in the kit!
But, I do love it. The Fancy Pants "Rusted Sun" line is one of my favorite Fancy Pants releases ever. I am in love with the color scheme.
"Super Dad" used a sketch by 
The photos for "Me & My Dad" are from October '08 when Blake turned 10. I am glad I had them printed out in b/w already. I love how they look against these patterns/colors. This is probably my favorite page using this line. 
I have lost count of the number of times I've attempted to scrap these photos, but put them away. They don't really tell a story other than the fact that we were going to a wedding. (I forgot to take my camera to the wedding!) But, I think my family cleaned up pretty nice for the event, so I wanted to scrap it. With LFLS, I finally found a color scheme and patterns that worked with these pictures! I just kept my layout really clean and simple. Simple is good. 
Happy Scrappin'! 
Kevin has been taking swim lessons three days a week with the American Red Cross in town. Blake and I really enjoyed his diving "skills." Either he'd do a canonball or belly flop! It didn't matter how well his technique was going in, he'd somehow manage to go in a completely different way!
3/4 of our family went swimming on Friday afternoon at my sister's pool. 
It's been miserable here lately! Temps are in the mid-90s with a heat index of over 100 almost every day. The pool felt REALLY nice.
Blake worked with Kevin on his swimming. And they played around a fair amount, too.
Although Sunday was Father's Day, our family spent the day going in separate directions. Tom took Blake to Camp McKee (2-1/2 hours from here) for Boy Scout Camp. He'll be gone until we pick him up on Friday night. 
(It's been 36 hours since I've seen him and I miss him terribly!)
Once again, the team went 2-0. Yay!!! We brought home hardware!
Today Kevin wrapped up his swim lessons. I am so proud of him. 