Is anyone else ready for summer? I know I am! It’s not like we have the worst winters here in Indiana, but by the middle of February I have had enough of cold toes, the chance of icy roads, and wearing a coat. So when I saw the grid sketch in the Ready, Sketch, Go class, I knew exactly what I was going to do.

Doesn’t this layout make you feel warm and sunny? One of my favorite things all summer long is the Indiana State Fair. What’s not to love? Ice cold milk from the Dairy Bar for only .50 cents, roasted corn dipped in melted butter and the piglets. Don’t even get me started on how cute those little babies are! When I saw the I Love Summer collection from Simple Stories, I knew the bright and fun colors were perfect for this layout.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Simple Stories. There’s just something so happy about the iconic images they choose and the clear tone of the colors. This title was made by using a 4×4 card from one of the cut apart sheets. I backed it with some green paper, added the wood veneer hello, and used some flair from Lawn Fawn.

I never leave the Fair without a goldfish. You know the game- toss ping pong balls at a tower of goldfish bowls, hoping one bounces in. I am ashamed to admit the amount of money I have spent to win a single goldfish. The same kind you can buy at the pet store for pennies. It’s absolutely ridiculous, but I refuse to leave empty handed. Of course, after all that, I’m lucky if they make it through the night. How are these fish traveling from city to city with a fair, yet one night at my house is too stressful to live?

But I digress… Both the “so cool” sticker and fun arrow brad are part of the I Love Summer collection. It’s these little details that make the kit so much fun and easy to use. For years, one of my favorite stamp sets from Stamping’ Up has been Circle Circle. This stamp reminded me of bubbles, so I stamped it onto matching paper and filled the bubbles with Stickles for some shine.

Another sticker and brad from the collection, along with a heart I punched out with one of my Stampin’ Up punch. A tried and true design rule is to create a visual triangle with your embellishment clusters. This gives your eyes a path to follow and keeps things from “floating” aimlessly about the page.

I haven’t done much stitching on my layouts, but I wanted to echo the the strings of hearts in the title . I punched the hearts out of matching paper and used embroidery thread to mimic the black stitching on the card. For journaling, I just made a list of my favorite things about the fair.

Usually I buy paper collections that I like, knowing I will find a use for them. But I had this layout in mind the moment I laid eyes on those sunny papers.  How often do you buy papers and embellishments with something specific in mind? Or do you buy first and plan later?