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Miles of Smiles,

Cherish

This is by far my favorite photo from Savannah. This  little girl angel holding the bowl to feed the birds was just exquisite. The lighting on her face gave her such an ethereal feel, I remember I couldn't take my eyes off her. I used the close up photo as the background pic on my phone for a while. I used DCWV and My Minds Eye papers and embellishments that I distressed. Some watch faces, bird puffy stickers, bling, paper flowers, and pom-pom ribbon complete the layout.

Miles of Smiles,

Savannah Collage

I created this layout as a little collage of our trip to Savannah. The photos depict the old Inn where we spent a few nights, the clock tower that I woke up and took a photo of from the other hotel we stayed at, me sitting on a park bench in Monterey Square, and a mug from the cafe we had breakfast at. Sweet Melissa's was also a restaurant there but we didn't eat there. It was just a cool logo which bears my name so I took a photo. I cut out the logo and used it as an embellishment for the page. The background cardstock is Keiser Kraft and the scrap of aqua patterned paper is K&Co. (I think). The layout was embellished with lace, chipboard birds, feathers, bling, Prima flowers with fancy brad centers, Graphic 45 elements, and wooden buttons.

Miles of Smiles,

 

 

 

Hanging Tree

This is a wee bit of a creepy photo, but you wouldn't know it. In walking around Savannah I noticed this wonderful old tree, stretching it's limbs far and wide. I took my photo during the day as we walked by, but later that night on our tour, we were told it is called the "Hanging Tree" and is a historical landmark tree more than 300 years old! At one point, people were hung to their deaths from this tree. It was eerie at night! But night is the most fantastic time to wander around the city. I started this layout with Graphic 45 cardstock and some scraps of black, striped, and newsprint papers. I cut out the boy, moon and stars from an old decoupage sheet I had, and pop dotted the stars. I used polka dot washi tape for borders, and ruffled it in some places for a nice effect. I also created a washi tape rose for the tag. This layout was finished off with some paper lace, bling, ribbons, Stickles, and another handmade loopy flower (see video here), this one created from brown felt spritzed with gold Perfect Pearls mist.

Miles of Smiles,

Fountain in Light

I wish the photos could express how lovely this fountain was at night. We were on a tour of Savannah and I wasn't sure if we were stopping in the square, so I took the far away shots first, but then had the opportunity to get a close up. I love fountains and water features (if you haven't noticed), but there's something genuinely romantic about a fountain lit up at night. I used Graphic 45 cardstock for the backgrounds and a small scrap of Kay&Co. map patterned paper. I cut out the middle of the Graphic 45 leaving only the butterfly border, but then using another Graphic 45 pattern behind it. I had some old raffle tickets in my bag, so I distressed them and used them as a divider between the top and bottom left photos. I embellished the layout with paper lace, bling, a butterfly puffy sticker, quote sticker, and the piece de resistance: the loopy ribbon flower (see video here), which I handmade.

Miles of Smiles,

Lighten Up

Heehee! This photo of the hub makes me smile. At the Marriott in Savannah there were these large lamps that formed a sort of runway. Hub stood by one and pretended to be turning it on. He cracks me up! I used Graphic 45 paper and elements, and Teresa Collins shaped cardstock. I cut a slit around the bird on the paper and slid the corner of a photo behind it. I added "manly" embellishments of metal gears and brads, and a few swirly stickers which I thought resembled wire. A few word stickers top it all off. I had to use the sticker that says "favorite" because I always tell the hub he's "my favorite person in the whole world...and it's a big world."

Miles of Smiles, 

Sitting Lady

This lovely lady is a life size statue from the cemetery. As you can see in the photo, she's been sitting here all prim and proper since 1877. Lookin' good, ma'am. I started this layout with a chocolate cardstock, topped with a border punched K&Co. patterned paper. The flowers are layers of silk, velvet, metal filigree, and pale green velvet brads. The metal filigree flowers are actually gawdy earrings that I disassembled to use in my crafting. I added a doily chipboard frame topped with gold rhinestones to draw attention to this miss. I kept this layout fairly simple and pretty.

Miles of Smiles,

Angels of Savannah

This layout contains various photos I took of angels throughout the city of Savannah. I started with My Mind's Eye paper for the background, and added Teresa Collins and Kay&Co. papers, all distressed. I trimmed part of the background paper to slide a photo beneath. I loved this part of the paper because it says "Great Southern" and refers to travel, and how much more southern can you get than Savannah? I used a scallop border punch, washi tape, and tassle ribbon to highlight the top photo. Other embellishments used are paper flowers, foam glitter scrolls, puffy flowers, flower jewels, teenie beenie pearls, and handmade washi flower centers.

Miles of Smiles,

Fountain in the Garden

Another fountain in Savannah. They were so pretty, how could I resist taking photos? I started this layout  with DCWV cardstock and topped it with K&Co. patterned paper and Graphic 45 embellishments. The rubies in the flower centers are from Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby). 

Miles of Smiles,

Always

Here I am at one of the many squares in Savannah. This was the middle of November (for my birthday) so it was a little cool, but a lovely day. While walking around we found a really cool flower/gift shop called Madame Chrysanthemum. I bought some really pretty paper items from Papaya Art. This layout I started with a Graphic 45 background, topped with My Mind's Eye and Kaiser Kraft patterned papers. Lots of Prima flowers, some felt flowers, Brides confetti flowers, and acetate butterflies. I tied twine through wooden buttons and used them as flower centers. Gold Stickles were dotted between the flowers. The "Always" heart is a journal tag. I topped it all off with a chipboard heart and birdcage.

Miles of Smiles,

True Beauty

 

Here's another layout of an angel at the cemetery in Savannah. This lovely statue is terra cotta unlike many of the other statues. I chose the Graphic 45 paper in the background to complement this unique color. I used an xacto blade to cut into the paper to slide my photos under. I added several acetate butterflies attached in the middle with their wings bent up. Several layered silk, paper, tulle, and velvet flowers with metal brad centers accent the page. I finished it off with several printed die-cuts, paper lace, stickers, and bling.

Miles of Smiles,