color combos galore: springtime pleasures

happy friday!

there is a new challenge up at color combos galore today!  wonderful and fun spring colors!!  

here is a look at the inspiration board....



and here is my layout...


my main inspiration was "washi tape" so i decided to create a background of washi tape strips.  after i had laid the tape down, i thought the overall colors were a little too bright, so i lightly coated them with some gesso to give them a little more muted look.  i layered my photo onto several different layers of patterned paper and used pop dots to add a little dimension to my page.  then i embellished with some wood veneers, journaling strips and stamps.  

it's such a fun page, to me!  i love the colors...and they definitely scream spring!

hope spring has come your way by now!  

xoxoxo



celebrating my mother...


i'm sharing another layout on the glitz design blog today dedicated all to my mother.

i lost my mom about 16 years ago to a battle with cancer.  not a single day goes by that i don't think about her or long to talk to her.

and she's one of the main reasons i began the whole "scrapbooking" process through project life initially, and now with traditional layouts.  

there are so many things i wish i knew about her, or i wish i would have thought to ask her....  i cherish every.single.photo i find of her.  and it is true.....i don't care what she looks like, what she wore, how her hair was that day, or even if it's an awful picture.  all i know is that those are memories captured, and you really can't beat that!  




happy thursday everyone!

xoxo

project life: week 18


our week 18 is in the books.  and it was quite an interesting and busy week.  it started off with princess day at preschool and ended up with a trip to the ER for a dislocated elbow.  i thought i would have lots of words this week, but i think the busy-ness of the week just wore on me and i kinda just winged it here.  i might regret just flying through to have it finished one day, but right now, i'm just glad that it's done and i can turn the page.  

this week was completely captured with my iphone.  and it was a pretty basic capture.  i didn't do my typical "interesting angle" shots like where i get down on the floor and people think i'm crazy.  so maybe that's why i wasn't "feeling it" this week.  something to remember from now on.  but...being busy is just that....busy.  i'm glad i captured the memories i did.  and i think the overall look of the week tells "our story".

my goal is to be a little more "aware" this week.  i kinda like where i think about the week and plan in my head prior to just sitting down to put the week together.

ok...enough rambling from me!!  

here is a look at the whole spread...


and here is a closer look at each side and some detail shots.  definitely nothing fancy this week!!





yep...that's it!  hope i didn't disappoint anyone!  :)
have a great wednesday! hopefully i will find my "mojo" and be more inspiring next week!

xoxo

little black dress kit club: miss maggie kit

it's reveal day at little black dress kit club!

the kit this month is so appropriately named "miss maggie".  and it's beyond amazing!  i'm still in my "love everything pink" phase, so the beautiful papers, rhinestone pins, fabric frames, clothespins, etc... were perfect for me.  but don't get me wrong...it's not all girlie!  there is some lovely glitz design and american crafts goodies too!  you seriously don't want to miss this wonderful kit!!

here's a peek at what's included in the may kit...


and here are a few of the layouts i made using this awesome kit...




you can tell that i went totally "girlie" on this layouts and used lots of the pinks, as well as some feminine cut files i cut with my silhouette.  

i'll be sharing more of what i created using this kit later in the week!!  be sure to stop by the little black dress kit club blog for more inspiration, videos and to pick up your own "miss maggie" kit!

happy tuesday everyone!
xoxo




celebrating women at glitz design..


this week glitz design is celebrating all the amazing women in our lives.  for me, celebrating women is all about celebrating mothers and being a mother.  i used this chance to write little love notes to my kiddos.  stop by the glitz design blog today for more of my layout and the other amazing layouts from the design team.  and be sure to check in all week for more inspiration and ideas!!


i hope this will inspire you to celebrate and document the amazing women in your life!

happy monday, everyone!

xoxo


happy news: part two



and it just keeps getting better and better....

that's my theme for this week!!  :)

today, i am so excited to announce that i was asked to be a part of the glitz design team.  even though i have had a month or so to digest all this "amazing news", i still find myself in shock and awe when i think about all that has happened since january.  you know...when i started this whole "scrapbooking" journey.  pretty crazy!

i love documenting our life, there's no doubt about it.  but what i really love is the creativity that playing with paper allows me.  it's my little happy place.  it's my comfort zone.  it's my sanity.  

and i'm so thankful to the design teams who have asked me to come along for this fun ride!  

 and i love glitz.  who doesn't?  

the amazing women behind glitz design are just as amazing as their products.  and so are all of the other design team members.  

today i thought i would share some of layouts using the awesome glitz design products!
the current product lines are just amazing! 


(glitz design: love you madly collection: ampersand 12x12 paper, 6x6 paper pack, peek a boos, giant rhinestones, hearts washi; uncharted waters collection: rubber stamps)


(glitz design: color me happy collection: chalkboard 12x12 paper, happy stripe 12x12 paper, woodgrain 12x12 paper; love you madly collection: title stickers; uncharted waters collection: peek a boos)


(glitz design: color me happy collection: chalkboard 12x12 paper)


(glitz design: color me happy collection: happy polka 12x12 paper)

thanks so much for stopping by and sharing in my great news!  i truly am honored to be a part of glitz!!

happy tuesday everyone!







for the love of pink....


i was never really much of a pink fan as a child.  i think it has something to do with having red hair.  pink clothes + red hair = massive fail (for me).

but then i had my sweet little daughter and all of that changed.  i still can't wear pink, but oh do i love everything else pink.

recently, pink has been my inspiration.  i love how dreamy and soft and delicate it looks on paper.  

and today, i thought i would share my "pink obsession" with you!


love...
this layout was inspired by the ever talented wilna furstenberg.  her recent video at two peas and a bucket shared how she uses rub-ons and gelatos to create an amazing effect.  for my layout i used rub-ons and watercolors and the result really is dreamy.  i wish you could see this one in person!  :)



sparkle...
another "pink" layout inspired by wilna's art class at two peas and janna werner's "in the mood to scrap" video posted a few weeks ago at two peas.  the use of tulle really makes a soft and delicate look to a page, i think....ahhh


happy day, my love...
yep...another layout inspired by wilna (and yep....i want to be her when i grow up). one of the lessons in her art class is about using stencils and paint to create a fun, textured background. i love this look.  (and that cutie little girl).


what color is inspiring you recently?
and i wonder how many pink layouts i can complete???  ha!

thanks so much for stopping by my little blog!

hope you have a super duper friday!

xoxo



inspired by....

there is so much inspiration out there in the world wide web.
i love perusing galleries and pinterest and seeing all of the awesome ideas.

here are some beautiful things that seriously make me drool...

smile, by wilna furstenberg

oh wilna.  she steals my heart every time.  i love everything she does.  the butterflies here are just breathtaking.  and if you need more inspiration, i couldn't recommend her art class workshop as two peas and a bucket any higher.  it is the most inspiring and insightful class i.have.ever.taken.  so much goodness!


awesome, by lilith eeckels

again, so much inspiration from this talented little lady!  i love how she used gelatos to give a watercolor effect to this page.  and the paint splatters....mmmmm.  love everything about this!


23 mini album, by portable michelle

i love mini albums.  and this one might be my favorite ever.  there is just something about holding a little book of memories that's so amazing.  i love how detailed, yet soft and sweet michelle's mini album is.  stop what you are doing now and go right to her blog to see more awesome pictures.


right now (march), by corrie jones

i love that corrie does a layout about HERSELF each month.  i totally need to do this.  i love her style. i love her designs. yep....you guessed it...i love everything.


what about you?  what's inspiring you right now?  i would loooooove to see!  if you stop by and have time, link up your favorites in the comment section, or a similar post if you have one!  can't wait to see!

happy wednesday everyone!

xoxo








project life: week 16

already on to week 16.

it was really weird not posting my spread from week 15.  but.....if you wanna see it, you just have to sign up for the pop it off the page 2 class at studio calico!  my week is featured, as well as soooo many other awesome projects and layouts.  seriously....you need to sign up!!

ok...

week 16....
here is a look at the week together.  nothing too exciting from us.  pretty much the same as most weeks.  outdoor play time, park visits, playing at home, painting, crafting...typical week.



the die cut with confetti is a "peek-a-boo" window from last weeks page.  i love how you can see through to the previous/next week.  that's probably one of my favorite things to add...


i added a little more journaling this week, i think.  i wanted to include something about the boston bombings (so so sad), so i typed up my reflection on a little 3x4 card from the studio calico snippets collection.  the "make something today" transparency card is from tina aszmus at life.love.paper. i grabbed a pack of her cards at christmas and i have been hoarding it since!!  

and look at that little baby bottom....seriously.....

let me know if you have any questions!!  i'm happy to answer them!  thanks so much for stopping by!  have a great tuesday!

linking up with the mom creative.

color combos galore: love, always

it's the 22nd, which means there is a new challenge at color combos galore today.

i love love love these challenges!  it's so fun to have a color inspiration board, as well as layout inspiration ideas.  the colors for this challenge were great!  and for some reason, i knew exactly what i wanted to do as soon as i saw the inspiration board.  that's pretty unlike me....i usually print it out and leave it on my desk for a few days until an idea comes to mind.  sometimes it takes fooooorever for me to commit to something, but not this time!  

here is the inspiration board "love, always" for this challenge

the reds popped right out at me so i knew i wanted my reds to do the same....

and here is my layout for this challenge...


Main Inspiration: Focus on Trend (clothes pinned photos)
Other Inspiration:
Photo #4: Focus on Photography (blurred background)
Photo #2: Focus on Design (repetition of hearts on background; repetition of layered photos)
Photo#4: Focus on Photography (heart on picture inspired heart background)


i love this picture of my two cuties.  and i love the "me+you=family" card from crate paper.  the hearts background is a cut file from envisages and can be found here.  i made it a little smaller so it would fit behind my photo and papers.  i love how this layout turned out!  

be sure to hop on over to color combos galore and check out the challenge, as well as the amazing inspiration from the design team.

if you aren't already a member, shoot me an email and i will send you an invite!  it's a great challenge and i'd love for you to play along!!  

happy monday, everyone!

more loveliness from the little black dress kit...


i just can't say enough wonderful things about the little black dress april kit don't worry be happy.  it just screams happiness and fun.  the colors are vibrant and beautiful.  and they just make you want to play around with paper.  

here are a few more of my layouts from this month's kit.


a...
i built this layout around the pebbles "hello" pocket and card.  i loved how it went with the other papers and really wanted to try to highlight that card.  i used some of my leftover papers from the kit to create a grid on this page.  the little extras (alphabet card, freckled fawn 'you' arrow and the vintage 'happy' tag) finish this page off lovely, i think!




hello beautiful...
for this layout, i wanted to play around with a starburst shape and decided to use the pink ombre paper from dear lizzy's lucky charm collection.  i misted some studio calico taxi and boss lady onto my background to give the effect of "sunshine".  i added my photo onto top of my paper layers and added the freckled fawn "hello" speech bubble and the word beautiful cut with my silhouette as my title.



love always...
i was totally drawn to the glitz design "color me happy" dots paper and wanted to make this page colorful and fun.  for my background, i splatter different colors of watercolor paint all over my paper to give the look of confetti. then i decided to create some circle garland using my 1" circle punch on the glitz design paper and the yummy vintage book paper.  i sewed them all together with my sewing machine and layered them down on my background.  i layered my photo onto more glitz design papers, as well as some dear lizzy lucky charm papers.  love love love all the colors!!




what are you waiting for???  hop on over to the little black dress kit club and sign up today to receive this awesome kit!!  







color combos galore: boudoir fantasies

it's the 15th, which means there is a new awesome challenge up at color combos galore today!  

and i have to admit....these colors scared me just a little.  i don't think i have ever scrapped purple before....nor did i have anything in my stash that was purple.  uh oh!

i finally found a piece of lavendar cardstock and a "purplish" ombre tag and decided i would run with it.  i ended up recoloring some journaling cards and quote cards in photoshop to finish off my layout.


here is the inspiration board...



here is my layout and inspiration for this challenge...


Main Inspiration Photo#2: Focus on product (frames…I framed my layout onto a lavender piece of card stock)
Inspiration Photo#1: Focus on trends (wood pieces)
Inspiration Photo #1: Focus on trends (flowers…reminded me of my daughter's lavender tutu)
Inspiration Photo #4: Focus on accents (jeweled charms)
Inspiration Photo #3: Focus on pattern (stamping above cards)




the colors are a little hard to discern after photographing.  i did decide to go with more of a "muted" color scheme with little pops of the teal, plum and lime green.  i used my typewriter to type my journaling at the bottom of my page and the awesome amy tangerine remarks stamp to stamp some sentiments along the top part of my picture.  

the amy tangerine rub-ons add the perfect amount of detail to the page without being overwhelming to me.  

and funny enough....this is maybe my favorite page ever.  and it's purple.  who would have thought!!


this week...


this week has been pretty crazy.

tuesday, i had two sick kids with that awful stomach bug.
wednesday, my little man ran into the corner of a table and slashed his head open.  dermabond to the rescue...
thursday, my little lady woke up lethargic from dehydration.  (by far the scariest of them all).

right now, both are resting on the couch watching a movie.  i'm forcing popsicles and liquids like it's my job.  my heart has done flip flops this week watching the two of them be sick.  we don't get sick, usually, so this is waaaaay out of the ordinary for us.  so thankful for our health and our fighting immune systems.  praying for a speedy recovery for them both!

hoping the rest of this week and the weekend are sunshiny happy for us!!  





have a happy weekend everyone!!

color combos galore: 239


there is a new challenge up at color combos galore today and the colors are just lovely!  yellow, cream and pinks....so perfect for this lovely spring weather we are (finally) having!

and here is my take on this challenge....


i started my layout by misting a pale yellow and dusty pink onto my background.
i was inspired by the cascading flowers on the cake and wanted to try to include that on my page.  i also chose to add some fabric with my paper layers (inspiration photo #4) to add a little more texture to the layout.


and here is the inspiration board!

be sure to stop by color combos galore and check out all the inspiration from the design team.  if you aren't already a member....leave me a comment with your email address or send me an email and i will be happy to send you an invite!  


pop off the page v2 at studio calico


i am so excited to be a part of studio calico's pop off the page v2 with jen jockish.  jen jockish is super amazing and the first pop off the page class was awesome!  i'll be featuring my project life album and how i incorporate layering into my weekly spreads.

here's a little more info about the class from the studio calico site:

"Feeling a little flat? Join layering expert Jen Jockisch for this sequel to last year’s popular class and learn how to layer your paper and embellishments to add detail, dimension and visual interest to any project. We’ll be kicking off the class with a refresher PDF to discuss ideas shared in the first class, and will follow that up with four PDFs discussing even more concepts in layering. In the end, you’ll have access to 5 PDFs filled with 28 new projects, 2 videos (one from Jen and one from Celine) and oodles of Pop Off The Page tips and tricks.
Jen is joined by a talented group of contributors - they have a diverse range of styles, but they all know how to rock the layers. Becky Novacek, Celine Navarro, Dawn McVey, Debee Campos, Emily Branch, Jill Sprott, Kim Stewart, Lilith Eeckels, Lisa Spangler, Marcy Penner, Patricia Roebuck, Sasha Farina, Shanna Noel, Stephanie Bryan and Stephanie Dagan will each be sharing a project and their own personal layering tips.
While supplies last, students will receive an embellishment kit of layering essentials, including an exclusive stamp set. This kit will ship free to you, no matter where you are! We will update this page when the class kit is sold out. The class also comes with exclusive downloads - printables from In A Creative Bubble and Blinks of Life and die cut files in .svg, .png and .studio from Kinsey Wilson.
In addition, you'll have access to a private message board where you can ask Jen all of your layering questions! Here's a look at the class syllabus :
May 1 : Layering refresher – layouts from Jen, Marcy, Becky, Lilith and Sasha
May 6 : Layering with mixed media – layouts from Jen, Jill, Celine and Shanna, card from Lisa
May 13 : Layering with paper techniques – layouts from Jen, Patricia, and Kim, card from Dawn, Project Life spread from Stephanie Bryan
May 20 : Layering in other projects – 3 tags from Jen, mini album from Stephanie Dagan, art piece from Debee Campos, 3 cards from Emily
May 27 : Jen’s layering tips and tricks – 4 layouts and 1 card from Jen"


registration is open now and continues until april 30.  while supplies last, you will receive a bonus class kit including all the yummy goodies you see in the picture above!  

hurry over and sign up!  you don't want to miss this class!


color combos galore: orange crush

a new challenge at color combos galore is up!  

the colors had me stumped when i first saw them.  typically, i don't add too much orange or green to my layouts.  but....i love a challenge.  and i loved digging through my stash to find the perfect papers.  and in the end, i love the layout.  and i actually like the orange and green.  it's always fun to play around.  and i try to remember...that there is no "wrong".  if i'm having fun and creating, then that's all that matters.

here are the colors and inspiration board for this challenge...

here's my take on "orange crush"

Inspiration Photo #2/Focus on Patterns: Dots or Stripes
Other Inspiration:
Inspiration Photo #3: burlap (idea: container)

i misted the background using a circle mask from prima that i love.  it adds just "a little" to the background without being too overwhelming for me.  then i layered my photos on the right side of the page with a manilla office tag and lots of fun orange and green from the bow ties collection from basic grey.  for my bottom layer, i added a piece of burlap from my fabric stash (inspiration from photo #3).  i decided to add my journaling on another office tag on the left hand side of the page, with some more layering.  i liked the way that the tags add a little more dimension to my page rather than placing everything on one side (or the middle), like i typically do.  

thanks so much for stopping by!  be sure to head on over to color combos galore to check out all the other awesome inspiration from the design team!!  and play along!  it's super fun!!


for you, darling mini album

my daughter turned the big 4 this past weekend...sigh.

we had a small little tea party with some of her friends and it was a fabulous time.  it's the first time that i haven't gone "way overboard" with the decorations, food, presents, etc.  i threw everything together the day before.  and believe it or not....it was wonderful.  no stress (other than the "day of" kind of stuff). no worry. no endless nights spent perusing pinterest for the perfect cupcake topper.  nope.  just a simple little party.

my husband and i wrapped her presents the night before the party and he mentioned to me that "next year, we should have some tags on the gifts".  well....guess what i went and did for the next hour?  made tags.  which was awesome, by the way!  :)

as soon as my daughter saw the presents (and bypassed the tags without a glance), i grabbed them up and decided to put them in our project life album.  but then i decided that they looked so awesome together that creating a mini album remembering her fourth birthday would be perfect.  

so, i made a few more tags and turned them all into a little mini.  i tried to use my scraps and things on my table rather than dragging out every little bit that i have.  for the tags....i mainly used plain office supply tags, some dear lizzy tags and these large white tags from studio calico.  for the embellishments, i used some wood veneers from studio calico and freckled fawn, doilies, dear lizzy stickers, buttons and enamel dots.

check it out...


i couldn't quite figure out how i wanted to include the journaling.  the tags are a little small to include a picture and lots of words, so i opted to type the majority of my journaling on the front and back of the first tag.  

i created a little confetti tag using some cellophane wrapper (from a packaging).  i just sewed three sides of the wrapper onto the tag, added my confetti and then sewed up the remaining side.  easy peasy. (ps...i think i will make all of my gift tags like this from now on!)




i created a couple of "fabric" tags using fabric scraps that i had in my scrap pile.  i love how they turned out and i think fabric adds so much to a paper book.








super simple.  and super sweet.  hoping the little misses will enjoy "the tags" i made for her one day.  

thanks for stopping by!!  

xoxo

project life: week 13


week 13 was a busy week for us!  lots of celebrating going on with a sweet girl turning four and easter.
i ended up with so many photos of our birthday celebration and easter fun, and less of the "everyday" moments.  and i'm ok with that.  this week was all about my daughter, anna, and this week spread shows that.  i actually ended up making an insert documenting her birthday party, and i will share that next week with the little black dress kit club reveal.


here is the whole week together.

this week has a mix of papers and embellishments.  several of the cards ("you make me happy", butterfly card and the card with the pink triangles at the top and bottom) are from dearest someday.  i love her cards so so much!  the little bits and pieces are from the studio calico neverland printables, glitz design and freckled fawn (both of which are some sneak peeks of the april little black dress kit). 


here's a closer look at each side...

(from left to right....grocery shopping, dinner date, flower card from anna's teacher, preschool birthday party, flowers, calendar card from studio calico, swinging at the playground and my little bunny).


from left to right...silly family shot, ice cream sundae for a special four year old, a silly boy on a sunny day, our weekly recap, lots of fingernail polish and the colors of the week, birthday cupcakes and family easter photo).


this is a little sneak peek of the birthday insert from this week.  and you got it....more confetti!  i'll share this next week after the april reveal for the little black dress kit club.  (ps....the top card with the diamonds and triangles is a layered template from studio calico.  and yep...it rocks).

linking up to the mom creative