Challenge 8b - Two Cute

Tina just posted ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 12 today, but I'm just now getting around to Challenge 8!! A liiiiiiittle behind.

But that's OK. I'm scrapping, and that's what counts. And what ALSO counts is that by completing this layout, I have finished Owen's birthday album!! Well, at least through birthday number 4. He turns 5 in April at which time I will scrap his 5th birthday and immediately add it to his birthday album. This layout is from his second birthday (more on that later).

Birthday album 1 of 3 complete - Goal 1 of 3 accomplished. I have until Agust to finish Liam's Birthday album, and until December to finish Jordyn's. I can do eeeeeeet!

Two Cute (single layout):

Two Cute (with journaling card removed from behind Owen's Photo....you know I LOVE me some journaling!):

Some observations about the process and the products used:

1. Even though I'm a circle girl, I used my scallop punch instead of my circle punch because I already had a bunch of green and yellow scallops punched out (when I have odd shaped scraps at the end of a project, I often get out my punches and punch shapes to be used at a later date...and today was that date!)
2. How fun to use almost ALL scraps for this layout...save for the background piece of white cardstock. Now THAT is SCRAPbooking!
3. Assembling the layout took longer than I expected it to. hmmm.
4. I don't use buttons very often, and while I like the product, I don't like the process of using them. Too time consuming for me. I'm a wam bam thank you ma'am kind of girl...when it comes to scrapping, anyway. geesh.
5. The title font for the word "Two" comes from my Cricut via the Don Juan cartridge gone awry. Another Cricut lesson learned...move it away from the wall before use (yes, I know it says that in the instruction manual, but I didn't actually retain the instructions).
6. The "Cute" part of the title are chipboard alphas.
7. Yes, I know that it really should be "Too Cute", but using the title "Two Cute" is a play on words since this is a picture of him on his Two birthday. (yes, I know that was grammatically incorrect as well).
8. I love Owen dearly, but we have always jokingly referred to him as our ugly duckling (which I can say, because he is the spitting image of me when I was a baby, but no one else can say that he's the ugly duckling because he's not the spitting image of any of them...well, except for my mom). Anyway, while I do truly seriously think he's a cutie, I really honestly do, he looks like a special needs child in this particular photo.
9. So, then, you might ask, why did I use THIS picture of him since he looks like a SPED?!?! (sorry, Amy!) Well, it's because I have VERY few pictures of this birthday, and the few that I DO have are all very blurry. Very blurry indeed. Kind of like my memory, or lack thereof, for this event. How pathetic is that?! Mother of the year. If I wouldn't have had those blurry photos to refer back to, I would have NO idea what we did to celebrate his second birthday. Fortunately the photos sparked some "memories", even though I really don't remember this party. And no, I wasn't drinking. I just don't remember it. Weird.
10. And no, I wasn't drinking when I scrapped tonight, either, despite the fact that I scallop punched through my first pass at the journaling card (which I liked better than the neon green I ended up with). It was originally printed on double sided patterned paper, and it was on my table with the text side facing down. So, I picked it up and scallop punched it, not realizing it was my journaling card. Kind of hard to use a journaling tag when you've punched out a big portion of the story.

And with that, I'll call it a night.

Challenge 8b Inspiration Layout: