color combos galore: a bit of americana


there's a new inspiration board up at color combos galore.  it's called "a bit of americana" and it's the perfect mix of red white and blues.  i love how the light blue and gray is included!  



the main inspiration for my layout was photo #1 and the framed background.  i took more inspiration from photo #1 and decided to create a "patchwork" pattern for my background (inspired by the checkerboard and pieces).  i usually place my photo off to the left or right on my layout, but i felt to get the "framed effect" my photo needed to be front and center.  

here's a closer look...


thanks so much for stopping by today!  i hope your week is off to a great start!

xoxo



sweet little baby hands...


summer is just busy, that's for sure.
i loving visiting all our local museums and bouncy houses, but i bet i will miss our "routine" in a month or so.  looking forward to spending next week on the lake for the fourth with family.

i've still managed to find an hour or so to have some "me time" while the kids nap or rest.  thankfully.  i decided to play along with this weeks designer challenge at studio calico yesterday and created this soft and dreamy layout below.  i feel like i have been using LOTS of color and patterns lately, so i wanted to try to use as much white space as possible with the main focus being on the photo.  i love the vellum stars.  and i love vellum on white card stock.  it adds such a beautiful effect.




happy tuesday everyone!!

xoxo


glitz design: magic is something that you make and a cut file


i'm sharing a fun way to use some of the chalkboard papers at glitz design today! 

i love this photo of my two laying on the floor talking together.  their relationship is truly magical to me.  i thought these words went perfect with the photo so i decided to use my silhouette to cut the title "magic is something that you make", as well as some stars from the chalkboard paper. 

i trimmed my chalkboard paper down to 6x12 so i could back it with a piece of white card stock.  i love how the white makes the title and stars pop.  i layered my photo onto several monochromatic papers from the glitz design paper pads and i finished off the layout the "color me happy" peek a boo to add a little pop onto the page, as well as some star garland (i basically just sewed together the cut out stars from the chalkboard paper and adhered them to my page).

the font i used for the silhouette cut is called oil can and it is my absolute favorite!!  i've saved the title and star cut file and it's available for download here.

find a magical photo and create away!!  i hope you enjoy it!  let me know if you end up using it!  i'd love to see what you create!

happy wednesday!
xoxo



project life: week 24

i think i was wrong with my week number this past weekend.  i "think" we are on week 25 currently, so last week would be 24.  it really doesn't matter much.....i only keep up with the dates.  regardless, we are almost half way through this year.  wow!!!

here's a look at week "24"....


the most exciting thing for us this past week was my two and half year old son deciding he was ready to be "potty trained".  he's been amazing with the whole process and i think we are on the road to be diaper-free FOREVER!!  yippee!  other than that, it was just a typical summer vacation week for us.  playing outside, ice cream, fires, cousins....


here is a better look at each side...




and that's it.
as always, let me know if you have any questions about anything and i'll try to answer them for ya!

happy tuesday (which also happens to be my 36th birthday.  happy birthday to me!!)

xoxo


project life: week 22

we are settling into summer here and i'm trying to get into a good routine with my project life album.  i felt like i had it down to a science during the school year, but now with lazy days and pool time, i'm having a hard time getting back into a good rhythm.  i'm also finding that i am picking up my camera less and less since we are out and about so much!  i need to remember to document our "everyday" moments more.

anyhoo....onto week 23.  this is the last week of may.  another busy week with lots of friends, neighbors, outings and lazy days. 



here is a closer look at each side...





(sorry about the glare on the page protectors....  my batch of page protectors were quite wrinkly and it makes it hard to photograph.)



i'm linking up to the mom creative this week.  stop on over for more awesome inspiration!!

and that's a wrap.  another week in the books.
my album is pretty full so i think i will start a new book next week.  

xoxo

little black dress kit club: amazing boy


hi and happy friday!!

today is reveal day for the june kit from the little black dress kit club.  this months kit is beyond amazing. i was instantly drawn to the "black and white" papers, especially this lovely paper from crate paper.  the gold dear lizzy thickers were perfect for adding a shiny pop to the this layout.  at first, i just had my photo and paper layers on this page, but i felt like the left side needed something for balance, so i added a few paper strips and some handwritten journaling.  




thanks so much for stopping by!!  i have more layouts from this awesome kit to post, as well as a fun little mini album i created.

have a great day!!

xoxo













hello summer....


it's slowly warming up here, which is a little crazy for a north carolina spring.  it's usually super hot and steamy by this time in june.  regardless, the beach is on my mind.  constantly.  i was looking back through some pictures of our beach trip last year and found this adorable picture of my son on the beach.  and i knew it just had to be on a layout.  and i knew that The Pier collection from crate paper just had to be my collection!!

so i created this layout for the creative weekly challenge at crate paper.  and i won..............what???  totally shocked and in awe.  paper and the companies who make paper are just amazingly awesome.

take a look....








thank you to crate paper for the awesome challenge and for featuring my layout on their blog.  seriously so honored and humbled.  i love this creative outlet and i'm just so thankful for all the doors and opportunities it has opened up for me.  never in a million years would i have imagined....

thank you to everyone who stops by my silly little blog.  you all are awesome and i can't thank you enough for your support and kind words.

as always,
xoxo

studio calico: project life week 19 and 20


i'm all caught up through week 22 of project life, but i never got around to sharing the weeks i made using the studio calico roundabout project life kit and cumberland gap project life add on.

like always, the project life kits are pretty awesome.  the colors are amazing and just so fun.

here is a look at week 19....


the "awesome" card in the top left was actually on a 3x4 card.  i cut out all of the letters and sewed them together to make a little title card fort his page!  i love how it turned out and i love the colors!


i cut the "rain rain go away" with my silhouette.  it rained ALOT this week and my little man loved walking around with the umbrella.  such a cutie!


i used the fun frame stamp from the roundabout project life kit to create a little picture window.  after i cut it out i lightly painted the white cardstock with my watercolors to give it a little color.


i also added a flip up card to include a recipe of our homemade granola.  i would love it if my mom would have recorded our favorite meals and foods.  how fun would that be!!!  :)


and this is week 20...

i used a mix of the cumberland gap project life kit, savannah shore add on and outer banks add on for this spread.  they all go together so well and i love throwing everything together!!




(that picture of my son on the top is how he prays at dinner time.  how cute is that???? hee hee)





and that's it!!  thanks so much for stopping by today!!  happy happy tuesday!  i'll be back later in the week to share my week 22.  

xoxoxo


glitz design: peek a boo




happy monday!  i hope you had an awesome weekend!  our sweet girl was in her first dance recital this past weekend and she was amazing!  so cute to see those little girls up on a big stage.  other than that, we were pretty lazy and played around in the backyard.  gotta love summer.

anyway....
i'm up on the glitz design blog today with a layout i created using their fun peek a boos.  i've been waiting to make a garland for a while and the peek a boos worked perfectly!  hop on over and check it out if you get a chance!!

xoxo



studio calico: june's guest designer


i loved being a guest designer at studio calico this month.  i always love their kits and this month was definitely no exception!  i literally couldn't stop creating!  thankfully there was a deadline.  otherwise, i'm sure i would still be playing away.

today, i thought i would share the layouts i created using the roundabout scrapbook kit, the savannah shore scrapbook add-on and the outer banks scrapbook add-on.

since there are so many to peruse, i'll just add the pictures here.  if you'd like to know more about how i created a page or have any questions, please leave me a comment.  you can also check out my guest designer gallery at studio calico for more details about how and why i created each layout.












if you made it alllllllll the way to the bottom, i am giving you a great big "blog" hug!! xoxoxoxo
thanks for stopping by today!  and a super big thanks to studio calico for allowing me to be a guest designer this month!  such an honor!!!  

happy friday!
xoxo







glitz design: 8x8 and 6x6 paper pad BLOG HOP



happy happy thursday everyone!!  thank you so much for stopping by!!  you probably are stopping over from noel's blog, or from the glitz design blog! welcome!!

today is the monthly blog hop for glitz design!  it's all about those awesome 8x8 and 6x6 paper pads!  all of the design team have created amazing projects showcasing the paper pads so get ready to be inspired!!

i love the 6x6 and 8x8 paper pads from glitz design.  i use them all. the. time.  i love using them as layers on my traditional layouts and i especially love using them in my project life album.



for this blog hop, i wanted to use them in a new and creative way so i decided to make mini layouts for my project life album.  i took some super cute pictures of my daughter a few weeks ago and wanted to try to include them all together.  i basically used each 6x6 paper as it's own background and then built my layers from there!  i'm adding these into my project life album using becky higgins design d page protector!  the 6x6 papers fit perfectly into the slots!


here's a look at how they will be in my album.  


i love the way they are all so different, but coordinate so well!  (and i'm so obsessed with the grey/white strip paper from the sunshine in my soul collection!).  


and here's a closer peek at each one...

for this "mini" layout, i chose to use a 6x6 photo and the "you" peek-a-boo from the love you madly collection.  i stitched some of the love you madly paper garland down the right side of my page to balance out the words and photo.


isn't this paper fabulous??? i hated to cover it all up!!
for this little "mini", i painted the grey/white paper with some white paint to mute it slightly and then i stitched my typed journaling and photo on top.  i finished this little page with some loose thread, a die cut butterfly, paint splatters and a love you madly giant rhinestone!

i love how the greys from sunshine in my soul and the pinks from the love you madly collection go together!  so soft and lovely!


for this little layout, i used this 6x6 paper from the love you madly collection as my background.  i added two small photos on top of some cut out frames from a dear lizzy paper and layered those onto a piece of stitched tulle.  i decided to add the ribbon around the paper to soften the overall feel of the layout and to direct your eyes at the two cute photos!


and finally....my favorite!
for this "mini" page, i layered a heart cut file on a piece of ivory paper from the uncharted waters 6x6 paper pad.  i cut a few pieces of the love you madly paper layers and tucked them underneath my photo for a little texture.  i finished this page with the "hugs & kisses" stamp from the uncharted waters collection.

glitz design products used:
love you madly 6x6 paper pad
uncharted waters 6x6 paper pad
sunshine in my soul 6x6 paper pad
love you madly paper layers
love you madly giant rhinestones
love you madly paper garland
uncharted waters rubber stamp set


i hope i have inspired you to try to create "mini" layouts using the 6x6 or 8x8 paper pads!  it's really fun to mix things up a bit and work on a smaller scale sometimes!!

thanks so much for stopping by on the blog hop today!!  glitz design will be choosing one lucky commenter to send a glitz prize pack to so be sure to leave a comment!!  the winner is picked randomly from one of the blogs included on the blog hop so the more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win some goodies!!  please comment only once per blog!

official blog hop order:

Stephanie Bryan - http://www.stephaniemakes.blogspot.com/  ***YOU ARE HERE***

Glitz Design Blog - http://glitzitnow.com/blog/

your next stop is the glitz design blog!!







studio calico roundabout sneaks and more....

i am truly honored to be the guest designer at studio calico this month.  i've been subscribing to their kits since october 2010, but i pretty much just hoarded everything until january of this year when i made a vow that i would create 52 layouts in 2013.  i have no idea how many layouts i have created this year, but i know that i've been able to fill three 12x12 binders to the brim.  it's been awesome!  and i've had so many awesome opportunities just in the past six months.  i love this hobby.  i love creating. and i love having something that's "all mine".  sure, i do it to remember our memories, but it's my outlet, my place to get away, my place to be "just me".  and i needed that place.

the kits this month are amazing.  i was so fortunate to get my hands on the roundabout scrapbook kit, savannah shore scrapbook add-on, outer banks scrapbook add-on, roundabout project life kit, cumberland gap project life add-on and the project life 4x6 stamps.  

and boy did i use these kits!  i created 10 layouts and was able to complete two project life spreads.  and i could have kept going if there wasn't a deadline to meet!  seriously....everything is just that awesome.

so here are some of my "sneaks" for the june kits....

cannot wait for reveal!  hope to see you there!!






color combos galore: 244 and 245





 there are two new challenges up at color combos galore right now!!  the colors and inspiration boards are amazing, as always!  
my main inspiration for this photo was a "nautical" theme.  this is a picture of my daughter on a boat trip several years ago.  the sun was so bright and she insisted on putting on my glasses.  of course, i just had to capture this precious moment.  i layered my photo on top of some of the lovely papers from the studio calico atlantic collection to continue to "nautical" them.  the paper layers at the top of the page were inspired by the photos and colors in the inspiration board.





my focus for this challenge was journaling.  i initially thought about including my typed text on the diagonal, but then i saw my dear lizzy roller stamp sitting on my desk and i thought the sentiments would look awesome stamped along the the page.  i finished my page with the coordinating colors of the inspiration board as my paper layers.  that boy is such a cutie!!


be sure to stop by the color combos galore page for more awesome inspiration from the design team!  if you aren't already a member, email or message me your email address and i will send you out an invite!!

happy thursday!

xoxo