grandpa's tractor

Happy Tuesday everyone! I have a quick layout to share today. This one I did for Noel's 'I Gotta Be Me' challenge (you can check it out here). I always have trouble defining my style since, in some ways, I don't really feel like I have one. But I do have certain characteristics that seem to crop up in my layouts. You can read about it over at the challenge blog along with the other design team members' fabulous creations.

My kids love to go visit their grandparents but they especially look forward to riding on grandpa's 'tractor'. Yes, my kids call my dad's riding lawn mower a tractor. And yes, my dad is wearing a Geek Squad t-shirt! hehe The papers & embellishments in the Sweet Sue kit (7 left!) were perfect for these photos. I love to print my photos with white edge because I feel it makes them pop a bit against the patterned papers (and I just like how it looks!). I also added a dictionary page on this layout for interest...notice the word 'grandchild' is peeking out :)

I pulled the alphas from past kits - the brown glitter thickers from the Sonoma County kit (sold out) and the tiny blue alphas from the Sunkissed kit (sold out).  I love the Sassafras banners that came with this kit. So many possibilities!

You might notice that the paper is a little roughed up. I accidentally spelled grandpa wrong. They really should have a spell check included with every set of alphas ;) Anyway, I glue my thickers down (to keep them from coming loose later on) and they ripped the paper when I pulled them back up. But I actually like how it turned out which goes to show you that a mistake isn't always a mistake!

I also used an edge distresser & inked up the edges of the papers (something I often do) and added a few brads in the cloud. One thing I also almost always do is hand journal on my pages, usually in an open spot at the bottom somewhere. I never used to do this because I didn't like my handwriting . But I've found that I really like the look it gives on layouts. It personalizes your pages even more because a piece of you is on there!

This layout really makes me smile and reminds me of why this hobby is so important to me. This is a time to remember in my kids' lives. And now it's down on paper for them to look at for years to come :)