Bookworm

Hello friends!! Back today with you to share a new layout...this one is a little outside the box for me. I used a few different items/elements that I wouldn't normally use, but I am SO in love with this layout, I think I need to step out of that comfort zone more often!

First though, I want to give you a little back story on the layout. This was taken over summer break, and it was a normal sight all summer long. Our oldest daughter is a true lover of books...most times you can find her with her nose right in the middle of a book, and I LOVE this! I am a reader ( well, I was before I had children! lol), and the fact that she is embracing that same love ( and our middle daughter is following right along in those footsteps behind her!!) just makes me excited! I am loving sharing with her books that I loved at that age, and am so looking forward to the time when I can read some of my classic favorites with her, and know that she will fall in love with and appreciate that world as much as I do/did!

I so wanted to share all of this in the journaling on this layout, but for some reason in that moment, the words just would not come to paper. Does that ever happen to you??




When collecting supplies for this layout, I was rifling through my stash, looking for an old book that I knew I had somewhere..I found it, and by a happy accident, saw this along the spine, where I had tore pages out previously. I LOVED the look, and knew it would be perfect for this layout, not only in theme, but to add dimension and texture.

I had received the chipboard from the "I am" collection from Simple Stories in a Gossamer Blue kit, I had had it for quite awhile, and not used anything but the smaller elements. Again, this was the perfect layout to put some of those to use. I loved that there was a stack of books, and to me the globe just made sense. These are items that I would never normally use...I don't even buy chipboard often, but I really had fun incorporating these onto my layout.

I had this bookplate from the ephemera from a Maggie Holmes collection, and I thought it would be a fun embellishment, and I was able to fill it with some of that pink/red paper to bring that over to the left of the layout. Some simple, messy stamping, and a few ink splatters later, this one is done and in the books. LOVE the way it turned out, and that I was able to stretch my creativity and open up to using some unusual ( for me) items!



I am linking this layout up to Paper Issues and their new Fan-atics challenge, because this girl is one of the biggest book fans I have ever met...she might even give my old self a run for the money! ;)

Details for the linky part are here! :)

Paw Patrol

Hello crafty friends! I have a super fun layout to share with you today. If you have a toddler, chances are you know all about Paw Patrol...well a few weeks back, we went to the state fair and had a chance to do a little meet and greet with some of the characters. To say we had one excited little boy would definitely be an understatement.

I knew that I wanted to do bright, bold primary colors on this one...because Paw Patrol is bright, and also because said excited little boy also very much loves the color red.

How fun is this layout..I mean seriously, it just makes you smile! :) For the photo "mat", I did a few paper layers, but I really had fun using stencils and stamps behind that. I love all the added interest and texture that it adds, all the while drawing your eye into the photo.

Then for the title, I knew I wanted to do it in a bright bold red, and when I saw this Tall Type font from The Cut Shoppe, I knew it was perfect. I cut this out on white cardstock, with the intention of using watercolors...but I just couldn't get them to be bold enough, so I actually ended up coloring over my watercolor with a red copic. LOVE how bold this turned out, perfect for the look I wanted.

Then to finish it off, I went looking through my stash for anything bright, and fun. I kept embellishing pretty light, but these little bits were the perfect touches!

Thanks for stopping in today, have a good one, and take time to create something you love!

Feels like Home to me

Hello friends! Happy hump day! ;) I have another layout to share with you today using some more goodies from my stash. I have done so good this summer of really using what I have, and I am loving how it is making me really think and stretch my supplies!

For this one, I was inspired by a photo that popped up on Pinterest...and I can't find it now for the life of me. I was scrolling through and it was there, and I LOVED the idea of the little house so much, that I immediately went to create...and know I can't find the photo! 

I went really light with this one..and while it is not my norm..I really love how soft and light it is. This is mainly Crate Paper, with a little bit of the Simple Stories "I am" collection through in...love how they had the same tones and could be used together but weren't too matchy matchy.

These sentiments were just perfect for this page. I really just let all the word stickers and elements speak for themselves on this one...I didn't feel any journaling was necessary. I added in a little stamping for some interest, since so much of that background was kept plain and white.

This element was fussy cut from a Crate Paper...I think Confetti line. It had a 5, and it was close on colors, so it had to go on there. I added in some of those puffy gold stickers, for added dimension and fun.

Love how this one turned out..and just look at that photo...love my family! :)

Hope you all have a great day, and take time to create something you love!

Super Duper Cool

Hello friends!! Happy Monday!! We are gearing up for back to school/work here...this summer has FLOWN by...not quite ready to head back, but will be nice to get back onto somewhat of a normal schedule.

Today I have a layout to share with you..I love the way this one came together. I started with a half sheet of the Pink Paislee circle paper, and just built from there, adding in with colors and patterns that coordinated, or just that I liked they way they looked together! lol

I really had no rhyme or reason with this one, I just put stuff down where I liked it...and I must say, I had so much fun creating this layout, and its probably one of my favorites out of my recent ones. Probably one of my favorite things is how well my journaling lined up on those diagonal lines, and then how the " this was amazing" stamp framed that in on the top perfectly! Love it.

Here I used a tag punch from Stampin Up to layer some tags in that same Pink Paislee paper, then I layered them under my paper layers, and added embellishments..both under the layers and on top...love the added dimension it gave!

Here are some more layers to build up the photo. Then I added my title right on to the photo, love the way everything seemed to fit so well in area, but isn't lined up perfectly. Oh, and the torn paper..I think it has been awhile since I have added torn paper onto a layout...but I have to say, I really liked it on here, I might have to use that look more often!

I'm also linking this layout up to Paper Issues and there new Monday issue " It's All About The Face" You can find all the detail, and link up your own project here!

Thanks for hopping by today, have a good one, and take time to create something you love.

New Layout and a WINNER

Hello friends! We are gearing up for the end of summer/back to school time here. So to help me get my mindset a little more around that, I decided to scrap this photo from our middle daughters preschool graduation...hard to believe that she will be starting first grade next week!! Where does the time go??

For this layout, I didn't want to do any traditional "school" colors, but I did want to use a few items that related back to the school theme. So..I used a fun number pattern, some lined paper, and apple wood veneer...again, using what I have, and trying to make my way through my stash.

I went for a messy/uneven grid design on this layout, I really just had fun with layering papers and embellishments, and didn't think too much about any type of design principals, I just did what I liked!

For the title, I knew two things...I wanted it to be Hello Kindergarten, and I wanted to use this Heidi Swapp wood veneer. The Hello lined up perfectly, and I loved the way it looked. I really struggled with fitting in the kindergarten...do I love this part of the finished layout, no, but it is what it is...I have realized on this journey through my stash that I need more of a variety of alphas..I have a pretty limited selection.

Now...on to the winner from the mini album blog hop! I truly appreciate everyone that too the time to follow along our hop, comment, and become followers! I hope that you were inspired along the way.

The randomly selected winner from my blog is......Heather Sweet

Heather, email me with your contact info and I will get your goodies out to you asap!

Enjoy the day, and take time to create something you love!

Mischievous Little Leprechan

Hello friends! I have another fun layout to share with you today. Around St. Paddy's day, my mom found all these fun little green beards and mustaches for the kiddos. I managed to snap this cute little shot of the boy. I had a little trouble with this one...I really wanted to play off of the green/orange combo from the photo..but I didn't have much in my stash, so this made for a more simple layout, but I must say, I really love the way the photo pops against that white background!

I really wanted to do a fun layered title. Different fonts, colors, etc. I love the way the "little" fits in there so perfectly, and the pop of orange it gave. With the differing words though, I was left with some awkward spaces..I added in a little stamping, and a few more small paper layers to fill those spots, and bring more interest to my page.

I loved these strips going up the side, but hindsight, I wish I would have made the orange one a little smaller; to try and fill in some of that space, I layered in a few tags. I used two blank orange ones from Chic Tags, and some of my Simple Stories clear stickers to customize them for this layout...seriously, how perfect is that mustache!

I am still loving these challenges of using what I have...though, I am DYING to go shopping!! All of these sneak peeks aren't helping either! lol.

Thanks for hopping in today, have a good one, and take time to create something you love!

Selfie time

Hello friends!! I have a layout to share with you today using some of the Simple Stories Life Documented collection.

 Let me start off with saying how much I love the colors in this collection! Lovely, saturated, navy, red, yellow, gorgeous! Now, with that being said, let me tell you how hard of a time I had with this paper when I originally got it. I was not a huge fan of the floral on the b side, but I really struggle with those sunburst patterns! I finally decided, to challenge myself, and just go with it, and see what happened.

I kept this layout fairly simple, I really wanted the challenge of using that paper as is, no cutting allowed! lol. It was a struggle for me though, so I chose to try and centralize everything into the wood grain circle in the middle. Light layers and embellishing.

The came the time to put a title on...I was lost at first as to where to put it. I knew that I wanted to use these fun Crate Paper alphas..I have had them forever, and NEVER used them! I really like the fun vibe they added to the layout!

Way different style for me...and honestly, I am undecided if I like it, but I LOVE the fact that I challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone, and use up some more of my stash!!


Thanks for stopping in, and take time to create something you love!

I love you

Hello friends!! On my mission to get "caught up" on some of my photos that have been sitting there waiting, I came across this older one and me and the little guy. It was just us this day, the girls were both at school, and we were just having a good time and being silly taking pictures. I happened to get lucky and snap this gem. It quickly turned into one of my favorites, and has stayed at the top of the list.

I really had fun with this one, pulling out some more loved, but unused/unopened goodies from my stash! For the circles behind my photo...I pulled out the embroidery hoop wood veneer from Crate Paper! They were the perfect shape and size for what I had in mind...a little color shine, and mister huey's, and they were the perfect color too!

Then for my title...I really wanted to use this large wood veneer "I love you" from Fancy Pants...adhered it my page, and went to put those finishing touched of mist splatters, and wouldn't you know I got mist all over it...instead of pulling it off, and trying to find something new, I embraced it. I covered up the area, as best I could, and began splattering right on my title. Love the look, and it added more of that green into the layout!

For this layout, I am using this fabulous sketch from Clique Kits:



I am also linking up to their fun Anything Goes July Challenge! Get all the details here!

Take time to create something you love!!

11 years

Hello friends! This weekend, my husband and I will be celebrating our 12th anniversary. Hard to believe!
 Last year for our anniversary, we had a nice relaxing day spent mostly out exploring, and just enjoying each other. I didn't get many photos that day, but I did manage to get this one taken, selfie style.

I have held on to this paper from Jillibean Soup for awhile, I knew I wanted to use it with this photo, I just wasn't quite sure the direction I wanted it to take. Finally I just decided to go for it...I pulled out some papers and built from there. Love the way it turned out!

I always seem to struggle with where to place my journaling, so I decided to use one of the open spots to my advantage. Bring in some more embellishing and color, and make a perfect place for my journaling.

I tried to keep some symmetry with the color on this layout. I used the arrow paper as my starting point for the colors I wanted to bring in, then by picking a theme of hearts for my embellishments, I was able to easily go through my stash and find coordinating colored items to spread out.

Then, for this last cluster on the photo, I wanted to build more up on the sentiments, since I had kept my journaling so simple, and really just told about what we did. I found items in that same color scheme, that helped to convey my feelings both for that day, and for my husband, and layered them up for a kind of second journaling section.

Not a lot of paper layers on this layout...a little different for me...but I don't think that I could have made a more perfect layout to celebrate the memory of this day!

Thanks for stopping in today, have a good one, and take time to create something you love!

Halloween in...July

Hello friends!! I'm sure you have all heard of Christmas in July...but have you heard of Halloween in July?? That's the theme of my layout today! I was going through photos, trying to get "caught up", and found these from Halloween 2013, and decided it was time to get them scrapped.

I knew I wanted to play on some of the "traditional" Halloween colors...so I went with orange, green, and black..with a little gray thrown in for good measure. I had a lot of fun digging through my stash on this one.

I have found that when it comes time to purge out some supplies, I have no trouble getting rid of patterned papers, embellishments are another story..I hold on to them FOREVER!! So for this layout, I wanted to challenge myself to use some of those embellies that have been laying around, and make them work for what I needed!
I started with pulling these goodies out:

The flair were the perfect color, and I really wanted to get some circular elements onto this page...the sentiments/designs on the flair however, were not what I needed for this. So I grabbed some stickers, and went to work...very simple changes, but with a little tweaking, I was able to finally use up some of my stash, while making custom embellishments that were perfect for my layout. Here are some pics of the finished flair:

Thanks for stopping in today..be on the lookout for a fun announcement coming soon!!

Have a great day, and take time to create something you love!

Life...live it&love it

Happy Hump day! A few weeks back some friends and I got together for a crop day. It was such a fun, and laid back time...I even managed to get one and a half layouts done in the 5 hours we were there! lol.

I am going to share one of them with you today. I created this one with the intention of linking up to the current ( at that time) issue at Paper Issues...it was something about stars. I, obviously, missed that date, lol, but still finished with a layout that I love!

I love this die cut background paper from KI Memories...and knew it was perfect for this page. I wanted to stars to still be open, and really make a statement, so instead of using another patterned paper or cardstock, I backed it with this acetate sheet from Webster's Pages...Love the look...even though I wasn't really sure how to photograph it!
Here's a close up that gives a better idea, that woodgrain is my from deck ( or my photo spot! lol)

Ahh...look at those cuties!! ;) And that tree...I hope it's always there, it has been such a huge part of our lives, and capturing all those first and other special shots like this one! Do any of you have a special spot that is always a go to for these type of photos?? :)

Have a good one, and take time to create something you love!!

Picture Perfect

Today I have a new layout to share with you using up some bits and pieces from my stash. I decided its past time to keep holding on to all those items I just "had to have" and start using them!

I wanted to keep this layout bright and fun, my daughter had been so excited about the camera she had got for Christmas, that she wanted to take a picture of me...taking a picture of her! lol.

For the background, I used this horizontal striped paper from Simple Stories, but I wanted to liven it up a bit, by layering a transparency from Crate Paper over it, I was able to bring in some more of that bright pink, but still let the stripes shine through. This layout started out all pink, black, and white, but I just wasn't feeling it, so I layered in that rainbow heart paper from Bella Blvb, and then was able to build off of those colors with some of my embellishments!

Hoping to have some more layouts to share soon, have many in the works! In the meantime, keep creating projects you love!! :)

Ignore the mess and a new layout

Hello friends! I don't know if you noticed all the chaos going on here on the blog, but I somehow lost all my photos. I am slowly working on getting everything straightened out, but in the meantime, bare with me! :)

To (hopefully) make up for it a little, I have a fun new layout to share with you today! I loved this Max collection from Bella Blvd, and knew it was perfect for these photos of my boy.

I wasn't sure about this background paper at first, but love the way everything pops off of the stark black and white. A few layers and embellishments help to all draw the focus in on the photos, loved the little studio calico clip to work as a holder for my journal card!

Check back in later this week for another layout...and hopefully a little cleaner of a blog!

Have a great week, and take time to create something you love!

Creative Scrappers Reveal # 268

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms and mamaws out there!! Hope you are enjoying your day. Hopefully I can help that with a little inspiration for you with the newest sketch from Creative Scrappers!! :)

Circles are so not my thing, but once I got started with this sketch, it came together so easy, and I actually really love the finished layout. I used the fun and bright DIY collection from Simple Stories...I had been waiting to dig into this collection, and I am so happy I waited for this layout, was perfect!!!

Make sure you head over to the Creative Scrappers blog to see inspiration from the rest of the team, and to play along for your chance at a prize from our fabulous sponsor:

Have a fabulous day, and take time to create something you love!!

Whimsical Twist layouts

Hi everyone! Happy Hump day! :)I'm hopping on today to share a layout that I had go live on the Whimsical Twist blog over the last few days.

This one from our trip to the pumpkin patch last year. It's using the yummy persimmon collection from Basic Grey, and was an inspiration piece for the new texture challenge over at WT! Head over here to read a little about this layout, and to enter for your chance at a $15 gift certificate to the shop!

 Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great week, and take time to create something you love!

***Linking to Paper Issues***

Summer Fun

Hi all!! Happy Saturday!! I am hopping on real quick to share another layout from the Summer Camp with Noel Mignon!

This one was the "Trail Mix" challenge, and it was basically a recipe challenge. We were given a list of items that we had to use on our layout.

Ever since I got this Elle's Studio paper, I had this idea in my mind. This challenge was just the push to finally get it to paper. Love the final product!! :)

Keeping it pretty short and sweet today, heading out for some adventures with the family! :)

Have a great weekend, and take time to create something you love!

Pre-K Graduation

***Whimsical Twist blog hop and giveaway still open. Go here to play along!***

Hi all!! Happy Wednesday! It has been a quiet day around here. Our oldest went back to school today, and me and the two little ones are missing her pretty bad. Tomorrow will be even harder...Miss K will have school in the afternoon.

With the new school year starting, I thought I probably better work on getting those school pictures from last year scrapped. I am still having tons of fun playing along with the Noel Mignon facebook challenges, and knew this layout was photo would be perfect for the "Star Gazing" challenge!

I am on a major layering kick, and I thought having this Pink Paislee die cut in the back of all the layers would be a fun look. Very happy with this one! :)

Hope you all have a great day, and take time to create something you love! :)

I Carry Your Heart

Happy Friday!! So happy for the lazy weekend ahead after the CRAZY week of running we just had!

I did, somehow, manage to get in a little crafty time, and I wanted to share this layout with you today.

Now, this is a little different look for me, but I had this picture in my mind, and I am so glad it worked like I planned.

 

I really love all the little geo tags around that use a heart for the center...then when my SC Project Life kit came in for July, there was the cue little card in there with tons of arrows pointing in at this little heart filled geo. It inspired me!

 

I used a cut file from Two Peas for the geo, I simply ungrouped it. then sized the "tag" part to what I wanted. Then I opened my photo in my Silhouette software and played around with sizing of that and the heart until I achieved the look I wanted.

 

I absolutely love this little quote from the poem by e.e. cummings, and that it tied in perfectly with both my photo and the geo marker.

 

Have some fun stuff to share next week, until then, have a great weekend, and take time to create something you love!

Squeeze Hard

Hi all!! Back again, and with another layout! Can you believe it?? :)

I am totally in love with all of the fun, bright colors in this month's kit from Gossamer Blue. I used the current sketch challenge that is up on the blog...thought I'm not sure you can tell anymore! lol.  I was looking for pictures that would go along with those fun colors and I found this hilarious one of Katlyn.

 

LOL!! I love it!! Here is what the journaling says:

 

You loved going around from booth to booth at the state fair this year. Your favorite place was the booth where they had they "stress brains" You squeezed and squeezed with all your might, and you kept asking us where all the stress went!

 

 

Thought I would also share how I did the background on this page. The orange started out as one of the solid patterns that Echo Park always has with their collections. If you follow me at all, then you know I rarely, if ever use cardstock as a background. All the other patterns were too busy for a background, though, and I loved the orange with this photo. So I grabbed a mask and some Mister Huey's sherbet, and went to work. I just started in one corner with the mask, I over lapped the edges with some scraps, to make the transitions more seamless, and just sprayed. When that one was finished I layered the mask over the edge, covered the sides with scraps, and just kept going until the paper was covered. I LOVE the way it turned out!! I don't normally use masks to this scale, and I was worried I would ruin the paper, not like the outcome, but I am so glad I took the plunge!! Will definitely be trying this more!!

 

I am off now to and end of the year kindergarten party! Can't believe school is already over! Swear this year has flown!!

 

Hope you all have a great weekend, and take time to create something you love!!! :)

Time to Relax

Hi all!! Happy Wednesday!! Its been awhile since I've posted, have been caught up in all the end of year hustle. Thankfully tomorrow is the last day of school, so hopefully things will be SLOWING down around here, I am more than ready for a nice, calm, relaxing summer.

Speaking of relaxing, I have a layout to share with you today! I am taking the Pop off the Page 2 class at Studio Calico, and this is a layout I made for one of the challenges.

The challenge was to be inspired by a layout for our first pdf, I chose this fabulous layout by Marcy Penner. I love her style, but it is very different from mine, so I thought it would be fun to really try and step out of my comfort zone and tackle her prompts.

I had more trouble with this layout than I thought I would, its hard to sit down and try and scrap totally opposite from normal. I even sewed on this layout, one of the first ones I have done that on. I love how it turned out in some places, other spots was horrible and I had to cover it up! lol. Any tips of sewing on layouts?? Please share if so! :)

Anyways, lol, when the layout was finally finished, I loved it. I think I managed to balance the prompts/style of Marcy and finally figure out how to keep "me" in the style.

So, here is my layout, using the FABULOUS May kit from Gossamer Blue.

 

I did journal inside that pocket, just forgot to get a picture of it. Its just talking about how extremely busy the day at the hospital had been with visitors in and out. Finally, we were able to relax. Daddy and baby got some cuddle time, and Mommy got a much needed nap. :)

 

 

Hard to believe that little guy will be 7 months old of Friday! Seriously, where does the time go??

 

Hope you all enjoy this holiday weekend, and take time to create something you love!