Around Here




Around here: there are lots of outdoor walks and bike rides.  Little girls wearing dresses, tutus and cowboy boots, of course.  Sweet little boys playing dinosaurs and throwing chalk all over our driveway.  Date nights with friends, giggles and pajama parties.  Cookie making, doughnut eating and tea parties.  Bounce houses and lazy Sunday mornings.  Changing leaves, pumpkins, apples and everything warm and cozy.  Quiet reading, snuggles and lots of hugs and kisses.  It sure feels like fall and we love it.

Something Fun Is Here


Hey hey!  It's October and I'm so excited to finally share this little bit of "fun" with you!!  If you follow me on Instagram you will have noticed a little countdown. Well... a partial countdown. If you also follow Marcy Penner you will have noticed the complete countdown.
And today's the day we can finally spill the beans.
Both Marcy and myself have been consistently hosting challenges on our blogs. We both love challenging ourselves creatively and figured what could be more fun than collaborating and challenging each other too?
And why stop there? Maybe you guys would all want to play as well, right?
And so Creative Jumpstarts was born.
creative jumpstarts
Here's how it's going to work.
On the first and third Monday of each month there will be a new challenge posted on our blogs. Don't worry... we'll sneak it on Instagram to remind you to come check it out. Both Marcy and myself will interpret the challenge in our own way and share a project on our blogs that day.
The challenges will be one of four categories... PAPER, POCKET, RECIPE or PHOTO.

paper
PAPER // These challenges will be the typical scrapbook challenges that you are used too. We'll be challenging each other to try new techniques and supplies, color combinations and more.
pocket
POCKET // Both Stephanie and I are avid pocket page lovers. These challenges will be similar to the Paper challenges but with a Project Life twist.
recipe
RECIPE // These challenges will be based on product combinations. The idea here is to step outside the box a little bit.
photo
PHOTO // Photos are the cornerstone of our pages. These challenges will bring us back to basics and focus on photo prompts.
And really, it's as simple as that!

Our first challenge will start October 6th. (We may or may not also have a fun giveaway for you all that day!)

Here's a little breakdown at how the rest of 2014 looks.

October 6 – Paper challenge
October 20 – Pocket challenge
November 3 – Recipe challenge
November 17 – Photo challenge
December 1 – Paper challenge
December 15 – Pocket challenge

We hope all will play along too! Just use the hashtag #creativejumpstarts on Instagram (and tag us so we can see) to share your projects and be a part of this little community. We'll be regularly checking in to see how you guys approach these challenges. We can't wait!
Be sure to follow us on Instagram so you don't miss anything.  You can find me (@stephaniebryan) here and Marcy (@helloforeverpaperco) here.
We have been so excited about this and can't to start! Thank you for sharing our excitement and coming along for the ride. We can't wait to inspire and be inspired!  



Life Is A Beautiful Ride

There are so many rewarding things about being a momma.  Seeing your child accomplish something so awesome and watching them stare at you with pride is one of the best things ever.  Anna was beaming with pride as she learned to ride her bike in about 10 minutes flat and I was about three seconds away from tears.  She needed a little bit of help with balancing initially, but she was off and running after a few tries.  We've had her training wheels off for months, but she just wasn't ready.  We would ask her every so often if she wanted to go practice, but she was always a little too scared.  That's her personality, though.  She's not going to do something until she's able to do it 100%.  I love that about her.  I love her determination and drive when she wants to do something.  And I love that I got to help her and watch her accomplish this awesome milestone.  I'm so proud of you, baby girl. 





And if you want to join in on this magical milestone, just watch the quick video below!


Little Talks


YOU: Are tracked out of school right now and are my little shadow all day long.  You love shopping and could shop for clothes, shoes, accessories and toys for hours.  You love picking out the "perfect" outfits, which always include some pretty shoes and a matching headband.  You can easily rock red, pink and orange all together, no problem at all.  You are obsessed with filling up your "marble jar" and will do just about anything to get another marble.  You are an awesome listener and a rule follower.  You always eat your fruit and veggies first, ask politely for seconds and clean up your own plate.  You love being wherever I am, and shine when I ask you to be my helper.  You still suck that thumb when you are tired, but we are working on that (slowly, obviously). You are sweet as pie and as cute as they come.  You love to cuddle with momma, which just melts my heart. 

ME: I'm loving our "girl" time together when Drew is in school.  I'm trying to find a love for shopping so I can keep up with you, but that doesn't look like it's happening any time soon!  I'm taking a much needed social media break and I'm loving every minute of my "free" time.  I'm working on "just being", which is actually really hard for me.  I'm trying to remind myself to slow down and enjoy these little moments...not to rush through to the next planned activity, meal, etc.  I'm reading books like the library is getting ready to close.  I'm wearing kimonos and sweaters all day everyday and I can't get enough of apple almond butter cookies.  

Working for the Weekend

I spent a few hours in this pretty room this weekend.  I've got some fun things coming to the shop next week and I can't wait to share more with you!!  You can see most of the new products over in the shop right now!  The shop will open back up and open on October 1st!!  Fall is in the air....can you feel it??  Yay!















Around Here

For the most part, I completely unplugged this past week and just enjoyed being a momma.  It was pretty awesome and I will definitely be making some changes to my "online" presence over the next few weeks.  Don't get me wrong....I love social media and consider myself an "instagram-aholic".  I love the online friends I have met and the little glimpses of their lives I get through Instagram and their blogs.  But I kind like just hanging out better.  Being with family.  Being with friends.  Just being.  Life is busy enough as it is and to add in more stressors with social media just makes everything one big cluster.  And I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I do love blogging.  I love this blog.  I love that it's all mine and I especially love that I don't have a running list of people who "liked" my post.  Comments are pretty few here, as it seems they are on most small blogs, and I'm okay with that.  I love the readers who do take the time to leave me a small note, and I'm making it a goal to leave more notes here and there on the inter-web.

I'll continue to post my design team projects and other fun crafty adventures here on this blog, but I plan on adding in more "real life" stuff.  I want to add more of "me" and my personality.  I want to break out of my shell and share more of our life, my feelings and our everyday adventures.  Photography has always been a passion and picking up my camera has never felt so good.  So, with that...here's what we have been up to this week!


Thank you so much to those who take the time to read my little blog.  Lots of hugs and kisses to you!!  Happy weekend!  I hope it's full of hugs and happiness!!
xoxo






Little Talks


YOU: You started preschool last week and are slowly adjusting.  You cling to my leg every single time I drop you off, but never cry.  You love being at home and always want to play for "just a few more minutes".  You are obsessed with the words poop, bottom and butt and have frequently found yourself in a time out for saying them repeatedly.  You love fiercely and give the best kisses.   You tell us all you love us at least a zillion times each day.  You love dinosaurs, eggos and legos.  You are awesome and I love you so very much....and yes...I even love your butt. 

ME: I'm struggling to find my "purpose" while you kiddos are in school.  I'm filling my days with exercise, books, lunch duty and Pinterest perusing.  But I miss you all more than you know.  I struggle with wanting to be "the best" mom to you both, whatever that means... and hope that I'm doing an okay job. I'm dreaming of school track out, fall, changing leaves, cooler weather and yummy pumpkin spice lattes. 

Little Talks is a new series I am introducing here on my blog.  I have a strong desire to tell more stories and to write more letters to my children.  I document our happenings and memories, but often find that I leave out "the heartfelt" stories in the rush.  Little Talks will share the "here and now" of my children, as well as myself. 

The Right Now

A little glimpse of our life right now.  We are busy....and in the thick of it all.  Life is crazy, but awesome.  I'm loving the time I get to spend with Drew when Anna is in school, and I'm so looking forward to Anna's school track out (which is for an awesome three weeks)!  I've missed her way more than I thought possible and I can't wait for some good girl time, shopping and manicures.  They keep me busy...that's for sure.  It's a good busy and being their momma is still the best job ever created.

Photographing our everyday will always be one of my very favorite things to do, and honestly...I haven't been the best about capturing the ins and outs this year.  I'm so thankful for my 12 on the Twelfth series, even though it often feels like a lot of work and concentration.  I love having random little bits of our day captured.  I love photographing the small stuff, the toys, the messes, the hugs and the tears.  It's "us" and it's our story.  It's what matters most.  These photographs are moments frozen in time....they are frozen in a time where everything seems to move and change so quickly.  While I can't seem to make time stop, I can do my best to enjoy every single minute.  


And just so you know...I'm planning on taking a little bloggie (and Instagram) break over the next few weeks, but will pop in with some DT assignments here and there.  I really want to focus on my sweet babies, cooking, reading, a beach vacation and the lovely Fall weather.  Sometimes it's hard to squeeze it all in (as I'm sure most of you know)!!  I'll be around, though, and will be back soon!

Happy Monday!

12 on the Twelfth: September Pictures

Oh where is this year going?  I can't believe it's already the middle of September.  This month has been jam-packed, but I was actually really looking forward to documenting our day this month.  So much has changed just since August, so it was nice to get a look at our "right now".  I spent a while looking back through our photos from this project (all the way back to January) and I am just so grateful for this project.  I love the moments that were captured and I love looking at how our days have changed.

Here is a look at our September day:


If you played along, I'd love for you to link up your day in the comments below!!
Happy Saturday!


Cozy

Today, I'm sharing another page using Shimelle's lovely new collection.  The pinks and creams just won me over big time and I seriously can't stop playing around!

For this page, I wanted to use this cream paper with the pink sunbursts as my background.  I attempted to use the entire sheet, but....you know that goes.  I just couldn't make it work for me.  I was missing all of my white space!  So, instead of using the entire sheet, I trimmed part of it down and added it as a vertical band down my page.  


To add a little bit of interest to the white part of my paper, I used a few of Shimelle's gold rub-ons, some paint platters and a little bit of pink paint.  It's subtle, and kind of hard to tell from the photo above, but in person, you can totally see it.  I like that it adds just a little pop to that side of the page. 


Next, I layered on my photo, some lace and a few papers.  And again....those gold thickers.  Just can't get enough (you'll be seeing them again!!).


A simple handmade embellishment and some journaling along the vertical band were the finishing touches to the page!  This page seems rather simple now that I'm typing out how it came together, but I swear, this one took me a while to finish for some crazy reason.  Does that happen to anyone else???  Everything always seems easier when you explain it, right?


Oh...and believe it or not, tomorrow is the 12th of the month!  I'll be snapping away, so if you would love to join me, that would be awesome!!  




You & Me

Hi friends!  Happy Monday to you!!  It's dreary and rainy here and I am slowly getting out of a fog from traveling to the West Coast and back over the weekend.  It was a whirlwind trip, but I attending the Be Crafty Workshop with Amanda and Maggie was totally worth it!  I'll share more photos soon!!  It was dreamy!

But first...this week on my blog is dedicated to the lovely Shimelle!  
Just kidding....kinda...  But, I did manage to get a little carried away with her new collection and created quite a bit, so I figured I could share them here this week!  I have a few other design team posts that will go live, but for the most part, I'll be sharing four layouts and one mini album I put together with her awesome products!  You can also see a bit of her collection sprinkled throughout my Summer Mini Album. 

The layout I'm sharing today was totally inspired by the patterned paper, which is really unusual for my style and process.  I typically always start with a photo, but this pink/gold/red diagonal paper was just calling my name so I knew I had to make it work!


I pieced this layout together in a few different ways before I was finally pleased.  I originally started with the diagonals taking up one half of my page, but I couldn't make the photo and paper layers mesh with the paper for some reason.  In the end, I trimmed down the triangles and adhered them to a piece of white card stock.  I kind of like how it sits on the page.  I also decided to use a black and white photo so the pink/red/gold colors could pop from the page and I think it turned out perfectly!


I used the ampersand as part of my title and added the "you, me" in gold thickers on either side of it (I kind of went overboard with those thickers, so be prepared to see much more of them this week!).


I added a few simple embellishments and paint splatter on my page, trying to keep them clustered around my photo and paper layers.


I stitched the triangle piece onto my card stock, added my journaling along the outside edge and then backed it with a piece of music note paper from Webster's Pages.  I tried to back this page with several different papers of various colors, but the neutral black and white seemed to work the best with my photo.  

So...have you played around with Shimelle's collection??  The embellishments of a collection are usually what draw me in, but in this case, her papers have won my heart!!  The embellishments are a super close second, though!!  

Happy Monday!!

Summer Mini 2014


If you're bored and wanting to spend a few hours here with me, then settle in and I'll take you on a journey through my Summer 2014 mini album!  I didn't realize I had completed so many pages until I started to upload them here to my blog.  Wow!  Sorry about that, but I was just so inspired by Marcy's mini book workshop at Studio Calico that I couldn't stop!!  


This little book is the We R Memories Keepers 4x4 album and it is just soooooo cute.  I'm going to order a few more because, seriously, they are just so cute!  And I love 2x2 photos!  They are fun and easy and are so small that you really don't have to worry about embellishing them or even journaling!

Ok...here we go...all 24 pages!  I won't walk you through the whole album, but let me know if you have any questions about products or process or what not!


Eeeeeek!  I just can't stop looking at it!!  I love all of the layers and different elements!  And Marcy, well...she is the bees knees to me.  I swear she makes magic!

Happy Friday!
xoxo

Project Life: How I photograph my pages


As I was photographing this spread in my Project Life album (and staring at my toes), I decided to play around with my camera and show you how I take my completed Project Life photos AND also why I take my photos in manual mode. 

Before I get started, though, I just wanted to share that I definitely DO NOT consider myself a photographer.  I take pictures.  Usually of my kids and pretty papers.  That's about it.  I do, however, really love taking photos, setting up shots and finding pretty light.  Everything I know about my camera and photography, I taught myself by trial and error.  

MY CAMERA
I have a Canon T1i. I purchased it as a kit camera from Costco about 4 years ago and have greatly enjoyed it!  It gives me the freedom to shoot in manual mode, and that's what I love most.  I might upgrade one day, but we shall see.  


For the most part, I set my photos up as you see in the above two pictures.  I use a large white foam board (that I ordered from Amazon, but you can find them at Target or office supply stores), a stool to stand on, some pretty light and my camera.  I've really paid close attention to my room and know when it gets the best light.  Morning light isn't good because it's too harsh and anything after 4:00 p.m. gives a blueish-tint to my photos that drives me batty.  Anytime between 11-3:30 is pretty perfect in this room.  To the right in the photo above, I have two large windows, and you can see how I set my white board up a few feet from my wall.  I always make sure that my board is outside of any direct sun rays.  And I also try to position my board so I don't see any harsh shadows on my projects (this applies more to scrapbook pages where you have lots of layers and depth).

I then lay my spread down on the white board trying to center it in the middle.  I always stand behind my board (to not cast a shadow on my project), and I always photograph my spreads (or any project, really) with them facing the sun (so it's usually upside down to me).  By facing them towards my windows, I'm (hopefully) eliminating any shadows or overcasts on my project. 

Then I focus and take my photos.  
I use the lens that came with my camera.  While I love my 50mm lens, I have a difficult time getting a good focus inside.  My kit lens is usually pretty good as long as I have good light.  


MANUAL MODE
So I mentioned previously that I only shoot in manual mode.  It took me a while to feel comfortable enough to do that because it does require me to pay attention to details and settings (ISO, shutter speed, aperture, exposure...).  BUT...I wouldn't have it any other way.  You probably know that I like my photos bright and light, and shooting in manual mode is the only way I've found to do that (without having to do lots of post processing). 

When I take my photos, the main thing I change is my light meter, or exposure.  I'm basically "over-exposing" my photos.  BUT...the thing you have to remember about exposure is that it's totally dependent on your light source.  If I'm outside on a pretty day, or even on a cloudy day, I'm less likely to play around with my exposure (maybe just a little).  If I'm indoors and am trying to get as much light as possible, I'm definitely playing around with my exposure.  My goal isn't to over-expose or make my photos seem unnatural.  My goal is to make them look like they do to the naked eye (and I have really good eyesight, so maybe I see things naturally a little over-exposed. Who knows?).

Below are a few examples of what I'm talking about and why I choose to play with my light meter as I photograph. 

This photo was taken at "0", or basically the setting my camera would be on if I used the automatic settings and let my camera do all of the work.  It's so dark.  Like really dark.  My room was so bright and light, and this is just not what I was looking down on. 

Ok...so let's bump it up a little.
(Get out your manual and play around to see how to do this...)

The light meter is divided into thirds, so I increased my exposure by 1/3.  
Nope.  Can't do it.  It's still way too dark.

And another increase...
It's a little lighter, but still not the same as what I'm seeing with my naked eye. 


Now I'm at +1 on my light meter.
My white board is actually looking white, instead of grey and the colors on my project are starting to pop a little.  

Let's go up a little more to see what happens...

I've increased my exposure a little more and you see the board is brighter and whiter.   It looks pretty decent from this photo, but when I uploaded it to my computer, it was actually a little too blown out for my liking. 

So...I went with the +1 exposure photo, cropped my image, removed the color cast (that's the grey undertones you see in the above photo...I can share more about this if anyone is interested) and tweaked my exposure just a wee bit in Aperture and then uploaded it to my blog.  

Here is a look at my cropped spread...


That's why I shoot in manual mode.  Because I want to have the control over the light and brightness of my photos.  I want them to look like I see them, not like how my camera thinks they should look. 
If you have never ventured out of automatic, I highly recommend it!  Get out your manual and read about your settings.  Play around with your camera and take a million photos just to see what happens.  I suggest starting out with still objects.  Busy kids make for blurry photos, and that can be frustrating when you are trying to learn.  Starting with objects around your house, or even your projects would be the perfect place to begin!!  Good luck!  Let me know how it goes!

Project Life: July 2014

I'm moving right along in our year trying to stay "some what" caught up.  I know I've said it a zillion times before, but going monthly with Project Life has been a saving grace.  I reeeeeally stressed myself out last year about being behind and taking daily photos, but those two thoughts haven't even crossed my mind this year.  And I love that.  I love that I can pick this up whenever I want and play around with a spread or two, then leave it where it is and pick it up again later.  My 12 on the 12th photos have been an awesome way to make sure our "everyday" is documented, so I don't really worry that much about photos either.  I like taking photos, so it's obviously something I do on a daily basis, but I definitely don't want to feel like it's a chore or a stressor in my life.  I've got enough of those already! :)

Like most of my Project Life spreads this year, this one is also very simple.  Lots of photos and words of our day.  I do want to be better about including my kids funny phrases and comments.  They both make me laugh so much and I need to remember to write those moments down.  I usually "think" I will remember them, but we all know how that goes...

On to the spread...


Lots of summer-ish photos here...being lazy, playing, sleeping.  Ordinary days.


On the far left card, I did add a quote from my sweet boy ("precious blueberries" who says that?).  I typed my top and bottom text with my typewriter and then used my alpha stamps to add in his quote.  The rest of the middle cards are either filler or journaling cards.  I know the page protectors were designed for that and I'm really loving that look....rather than trying to squeeze in more photos. 





Same kind of deal with the right hand size.  More words and photos.  Most of these journaling cards are from One Little Bird over at The Lilypad.  I love that I could just print out what I needed when I was ready to create my spread.  Peppermint's designs are my favorite.  Her clean, pretty style makes my heart go pitter-patter! 



And another spread is in the books!  Thanks so much stopping by today!!  Come on by tomorrow too!  I'll be sharing my process for photographing my Project Life spreads!




My Thumb Sucker


Happy Monday!  I have a pretty new layout to share with you today!  I've really been on a mixed media, embossing kick lately for some reason. I really enjoy adding different elements and textures to my pages, but for some reason all of my mixed media supplies are the last thing I think about when I sit down to create.  I need to change that...

This page was inspired by this layout I put together for Wilna's blog a few weeks ago.  I used a similar technique for embossing the die cut in the video, so if you are curious about how I managed to make the hearts so pretty, be sure to check out that video.


The heart die cut is a file from Wilna's shop.  I love how it's so intricate and feminine.  And the shiny pink/peach color just makes it pop off of the white background.


The cut file is sized at 12x12, but I reduced mine slightly so it wouldn't take up my whole page. 


After it was embossed and adhered, I layered on my photo and a few pretty embellishments.




It may seem like a complicated page because there is so much going on, but it really was so easy to put together!  Sometimes a beautiful background and spark the beginnings of a beautiful page!!


12 on the Twelfth: August Pictures


I'm finally sharing my 12 on the Twelfth photos today!!  The 12th definitely caught me off guard this month.  It feels like it sneaks up on me every month, but especially this month.  I guess it's because my little man was sick and my sweet girl was in school all day.  I didn't even remember until about 5:00 that it was the 12th, but luckily I had captured various points of our day (because I'm a photo-a-holic, apparently).  

Here's a look at our day....

If you played along this month, I'd love for you to link up your day!!  Follow the link below:

12 on the Twelfth: August


The 12th came and went yesterday and I just barely remembered to take pictures.  I was a little bit preoccupied with a sweet little boy who has that awful stomach bug.  I did manage to get quite a few photos, ironically....not really because I was trying to document 12 photos from our day, but I guess just because I document our days (on a regular basis...and because my husband is out of town and I kept sending him pictures of our sweet little guy...thank you iPhone.).  I remembered around 5:00pm while baking some yummy blueberry muffins that it was actually the 12th of the month, and when I flipped through my phone and camera, I managed to find photos that represented our day.  Sometimes you don't even have to try to get those photos.....and sometimes, it feels like 12 should be a zillion.



So....I'll have my photos up later this week because I already have a Project Life post planned for today (see, I the 12th really did sneak up on me this month)!!  If you played along, feel free to link up your photos here or on my August photos post.  Either will work!!

Tell Your Story...

I'm guilty of not always adding tons of journaling to my pages.  It's usually a sentence or two about the photo, and I'm actually totally fine with that.  My mood and wordiness fluctuate, so I try to go with whatever works at that moment.  I definitely use traditional scrapbooking as a creative outlet, not necessarily as my primary story-telling mode.  Project Life has a lot more of our stories, quotes, thoughts, etc....  

But when I sat down to create this page, I had a story to tell and I couldn't wait to get it onto the page.  I started this page with a piece of 12x12 card stock that I had embossed and watercolored.  I had originally planned to use it for another page, but I couldn't make the background work with my photo/papers, etc.  I typically keep any 12x12 paper that I've tried a mixed media technique out and didn't quite love it at that moment.  I find that if I let it sit for a while, I will eventually find the right photo for it!     


I really wanted to use this black and white striped paper from Shanna Noel as my base page, so I trimmed down my watercolored card stock.  Before I adhered it to my background, I ran the card stock through my typewriter and added my journaling.  


Next, I layered together some papers, journaling cards, fabric, die cuts, etc to create a nice base for my photo.  


I added a pop of color with several "burnt-orangish" embellishments and a (hoarded) "D" from Crate Paper's The Pier collection.


My journaling talks about my sweet boy and his obsession with the words "poop" and "butt".  If you have a boy, I'm assuming you know how awesome these words are too!!  ;)


My last detail was to add in a few wooden embellishments and adhere my card stock to my background paper.


I'm so super happy with this page!!  I'm really digging orange right now for some reason (which is super strange because I usually avoid it like the plague).  It works with the black and white, and that pop of blue too, I think!!