Coolness!

Hello everyone! First, so sorry about my radio silence- LOTS has been going on lately! I'll share some projects with you soon (quilting, knitting, AND scrapbooking) but first let me send you over to Paper Crafter's Library where I've got a page up! They do a lot of great articles like featuring scrapbookers, themes, and of course, giveaways!

I'll leave you with a little sneak.

 

Until next time!

Pickin' Pumpkins

Today I have a page I made for Simple Stories using non-fall themed product to create a very fall themed page!

I used a lot of Sn@p! Basics paper to help lay out a color theme. The pumpkins were cut with my silhouette and I used some glossy accents on the black sections.

I also used some Kiwi Lane Designer Templates for this green divider. I added a bit of jute (I can't help it on fall pages!) and the layered look adds just a bit more interest.

My title was cut with the silhouette again (you can tell from the bits of stray paper) and was placed on another Kiwi Lane template.
The pumpkin patch visit is our official kick off to fall, my very favorite season!

Watercolor cards - Simon Says Stamp

I have a few watercolor cards made with Derwent Inktense Pencils over at the Simon Says Stamp blog...

Check them out here!

Nearing Summer's End

Typically, I don't do a Project Life type album. I tried it and lasted only a few months- we just don't get out enough to need to scrapbook weekly. However, I do like to really try and get a good snapshot of life every so often so this page is just that- a little snipped about Luke and what we've done this summer.

I used I Heart Summer from Simple Stories for this one- cutting out 3x4 journaling cards to set up a grid. I like to fussy cut little elements from full sized sheets too- the 'love' portion is from something else, the cloud and heart balloon chipboard shape has a banner from a dimensional sticker and the label for my title was attached to a journaling card. Mixing things around is a great way to make things work better for your particular page.

I also looooove to add dimension so I've really piled it on here! The heart shape card is from their diecut elements. I like it so much better when this stuff is already cut- getting things cut on my Silhouette is just too much work sometimes. =)

I also tucked in some journaling into a Sn@p! pocket.
And, since I neglected to do so, here the other Simple Stories page I snuck earlier for Simon Says Stamp.

These pages look so different but came from the same line. I love that!

Guest Designer - Simon Says Stamp

Hello friends; long time no see!
I dropped in today to let you know that I'll be the Featured Designer over at the Simon Says Stamp blog, showcasing Simple Stories' new line, I {HEART} Summer! I love this line so much- it's so cheerful! And, as I told the rest of the design team when I got my first peek, those Boardwalk papers are definitely my new favorites!
Here's a little sneak peak at the layout I did:

Be sure to check it out here! Thanks for dropping in!

Double Layouts

Hi all! Today I have two of my favorite pages EVER that I made with two different Simple Stories lines. The first one features their Vintage Bliss line, which is absolutely perfect for pictures of my son coloring with chalk.

We have finally had some good weather and have been spending every single day outside. Luke loves to pull the chalk out and write his name or fill in some of the bricks in the driveway!

I really love this paper with the outlined butterflies. I used the coordinating 'filled' butterflies to include as a reference to coloring. It helps support the title and adds a lot of interest. I also have a big thing for brads right now so I found a cute way to incorporate them on this page.
My next scrapbook page highlights one of my favorite daily activities- story time. What you don't get from seeing these photos is the way my husband narrates stories. It's usually in the voice of someone famous, like Seinfeld or Harry Caray. Hilarious to listen to, cute to watch.

Luke also loves this ritual, because after Dad reads to him, he gets to read it himself. We love listening to him making up the story as he goes as he's a very creative guy!
This page came together really quickly. I just pulled some bits from the 12x12 papers and the 4x6 Sn@p! journaling cards to frame the picture. I cut the title with my silhouette and used dimensional adhesive to give the page some depth.

I also used brads on this page, but a lot more heavily. I created a line of colored brads to help echo the direction of my main patterned paper strip, but also here in the arrow brad. I really love 'spinners'!
That's all for today, I really appreciate all who stop by to check out my projects!

Thinking of You

Hi all!
I'm here really quick today to share a card I made for some relatives that I'm doing really bad keeping in touch with.

The stamp set is from Papertrey Ink- it is called Mini Blooms. I just love the typography in this set- it's beautifully hand drawn and perfectly casual.

I think I'll be making up a big batch of these so every time I think about writing someone I don't have to pull out my supplies too!

Urban Traveler

Hello everyone!
Today I've got a fun travel page to share with you using Simple Stories' Urban Traveler line.

My sister and I spent a weekend in Rome and it was amazing! I've been waiting to scrapbook the photos because I didn't have anything quite right- until Urban Traveler came along that is.

This page came together really quickly as I used the border strip as my main focus, building everything else up around it. I layered a few elements and even broke out my ink for the edges to help them stand out a little bit.

I added some jute to this cute luggage tag to bring in some texture and I love how it looks!
Well, that's all I've got today, thanks for checking in!

Year In Review

Hello friends! I'm here today with a two-pager, one inspired by a lot of great year in review pages I've been seeing lately.

I used Simple Stories SN@P! as a starting point, choosing black and white photos so the colors really pop!

I created little month banners by cutting them out of month flash cards, then I added number stickers, also from this collection. I even used washi tape here which I hardly ever think to pull out of my drawer!

I added just a bit of dimension with a few SN@P! stickers here and there.

And, I snuck in some journaling by putting a SN@P! pocket behind my title.
It was a fairly quick spread for a two-pager but has a lot of fun, bold colors- just my style!

And I'm SO far behind in posting these (yeah, I know, one is Christmas related) but better late than never.

I used a cut file from Ormolu as my starting point and pulled bits and pieces from various kits to build around it. It's got a bit more on it than I usually do but I love this red and aqua combination!

And this one is made entirely from a kit (Cocoa Daisy, maybe?). I brought the kit in to work on the off-chance that I would get to use it during some free time. Well, I got my free time, but didn't bring a lick of other supplies so this was made with ONLY the kit. I didn't even have a proper paper trimmer. AND, I made it in less than 20 minutes which has to be some kind of record for me. I'm not entirely in love with it but it was really nice to just let go and get something made- at work even!
Thanks for stopping by today!

CHA Goodness

Hi friends! I meant to post some pages weeks ago but have been waiting for a sunny day to snap pictures. Well, the sun has not really made much of an appearance here since then! So, in the meantime, I wanted to share some really awesome things coming out from Simple Stories at CHA!

Are you doing a year in review album? Simple Stories has added a whole new product line to make it really easy- new, beautiful leather bound albums and 12x12 divided page protectors in some really creative arrangements that you've never seen before!

 

This one is my favorite- I love that long strip for patterned paper on the side!

And they're extending their Sn@p! journaling cards:

 

AND they're releasing three BEAUTIFUL new lines! I can NOT wait to get my hands on these, especially Urban Traveler. 

 

And there's EVEN MORE! They've also added chipboard, layered stickers and brads to their line up! I'm always so excited to see what they're going to come up with next and this release just blew me out of the water. Head over to the Simple Stories blog to see the full release!

I'm always really glad when I can prove to my husband that I take a million photos for a reason, and this is one of those examples. Each year, Luke 'helps' Josh put the star on top of the tree and I have them hold the pose until I can snap a photo. I had forgotten about them until we put the tree up this year and then it clicked- I definitely needed to scrap them!

I don't have Luke's first Christmas because Josh was deployed- we spent the holidays with our extended family and didn't have our own tree. I love these photos, and it is so cool to see how much Luke has grown from year to year!

I used Simple Stories Handmade Holiday- the traditional color scheme works perfectly and it matches my tree decorations. =)
I have another page to share this week about my love of Starbucks, I just have to find some daylight to take photos!

Christmas Countdown

So I'm a little late getting this up here, like I am with most things lately, but here is a fun way to count down to Christmas using Simple Stories' Handmade Holiday.

I had a set of these wooden trees that I picked up at a Hobby Lobby three years ago. I had started this project then but with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I ended up not having time. I'm so glad I unearthed them again last month because I can always use more Christmas decorations!
I started by adhering patterned paper with gesso, then cutting around the edges with my craft knife. I wrapped the tree with some jute and then filled in the space with button stickers, ornament stickers, and gems.

The countdown portion was done using a journaling tag as a base, then I added my "title" with letter stickers from the same collection. That snowflake is from American Crafts' holiday collection from last year- it was originally silver. I just dipped it onto an embossing ink pad, then sprinkled the gold glitter embossing powder right on top. It worked perfectly!
The numbers are also stickers but I layered them on top of a sturdy piece of cardboard and then cut them out, that way I can be sure they last a long time.

By popping the ornament stickers up with dimensional adhesive, I was able to make them appear to hang on the jute. I love that little detail!

I also created a little box with my Silhouette to house the other numbers, and it looks like a cute little present sitting under the tree when not in use.
Hope you enjoyed my post today- I'll be back soon with some pages!

Reunited and it feeeeeels so goooooooood

Sorry friends. Blogging, apparently, is not my strong suit. But I'm back. And I've got some goods to share.

First up, my favorite scrapbook page to date. I love how bright and cheery it is and the cute kid on it isn't too shabby either. I used lots of SN@P here and if you don't have this collection yet- GO GET IT! It's on sale at Two Peas right now!!

This page was really quick and easy to pull together. I started with the photo strip and tilted it, then started filling in the right side.

I used a couple transparencies and decided they'd take the place of a typical alpha-based title. I really love how it pulls out the blue in the page and adds a fun, slick texture!

Next up, my SN@P album. Seriously, this was the easiest mini I've EVER done. It's not exactly finished, but I know that when I get a few minutes here and there I can easily add to it, no pressure. Because Simple Stories has created this awesomely coordinated, perfectly easy paper line that really does all of the work. I'm finding that I'm spending so much less time trying to find things that coordinate and more time making progress. And I promise, I'm not just saying that because I'm on the design team- I really feel like SS has created this completely original concept and have made the process of scrapbooking so accessible and easy. I LOVE working with everything they do!!

Here's my cover. I stamped asterisks in craft white ink (even though I almost had a heart attack while doing it- didn't want to ruin it), layered a few journaling cards and the dotted paper cut with my Silhouette, and then added some little bits and bobs.

I love how graphic it turned out- it is totally a "me" design.
This album is for my son- so he can flip through and remember different places we've been, family members we don't see often, and to be reminded how much he is loved. I kept everything pretty simple because of it, not wanting to layer too much or get too involved.

I included some "fun facts" about him right now- I love that this journaling card already had some great prompts.

And that's as far as I am so far but am hoping to get some more done this week. I can't wait to give it to Luke and help him read through it- I know he'll be excited that I actually let him touch an album for once! =)
Well that's it for today! Have a great week!