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8/31/13

write.click.scrapbook: september gallery


can you believe september is in one day?  one day???  seriously? where did the summer go??

and since it's "almost" the beginning of the month, it's time for a new gallery over at write.click.scrapbook.


here is my layout for this month, as well as my color palette (my favorite colors!!).



be sure to visit the gallery at w.c.s. for more awesome inspiration!!

happy saturday everyone!  hope you are having a great weekend!
xoxo

8/30/13

jot magazine: issue 2


issue 2 of jot magazine is being revealed tomorrow!  happy dance, happy dance!!  issue 1 was just fabulous, but issue 2 is even better than you can imagine!!  kim archer has done an amazing job!!  i have a few projects featured in this issue and i am so excited to share them with you!  i will have a link to the magazine tomorrow!!  see you then!! 

xoxo

currently: august edition

august is wrapping up and i'm quite torn.
i love the relaxing part of summer, but i also crave schedule and structure.  i think my "everyday" right now is all about trying to get that structure back into swing.


lots of planning and simplifying going on right now.  i like it when things are simple.  i have a new filofax on it's way to me so i'm hoping that helps with the planning part.  as for simplifying, i am trying to go through each part of "my" day to figure out where i can make things easier.  (usually that involves more planning, right?).

i'm calling it "project simplify"!
trying to simplify...
our weekly meals
our daily schedule
our "stuff"

it's a work in progress....and honestly...it probably always will be.  i'm ok with that.


lots of cleaning and organizing. (goes along with simplifying).  i painted these jar tops this past weekend to spruce up my craft room.  it was feeling a little too "sterile" for me.  i'm loving the colors in the room now.  just need to add a few more touches and i'm calling it done. 


lots of preschool prep going on too.  haircuts, doctor's appointments, shopping for lunch boxes.  it's a busy time, but i know that the "schedule" part of my life will be back soon.

is your summer wrapping up?  are you wanting to simplify anything?  simple is always better, right?

happy friday!
xoxo


8/29/13

glitz design blog hop: dapper dan collection


happy thursday and welcome to this month's edition of the glitz design blog hop!!  it's all about the fabulous dapper dan collection today!  i hope you have enjoyed all of the lovely projects along the blog hop today!!  you are probably stopping by from noel's amazing blog.  so glad you are here!!

i'm sharing a few of the layouts i created for CHA using this awesome collection!  i love the colors and patterns of these papers!

let's have a look, shall we??

"i'm with awesome"
i was immediately drawn to the triangles on a few of the papers, as well as a few of the triangle accent stickers.  i added a few, cut a few more out, and kept adding them until i had the majority of my page covered.  then i added a few more accent and title stickers, as well as two of the large rhinestones!!  such a fun page!


"hey good lookin'"
that's my sweet husband right there!!
this collection was perfect for this photo!
i started my background by painting a thin layer of gesso to act as a frame.  then i hot glued a small sized clipboard to the page and "clipped" on my layers.  i love the look of the clipboard on the woodgrain paper!


"just stay cool"
for this layout, i wanted to use this photo strip of my son and decided to keep everything mostly vertical on the page.  i layered several of the dapper dan papers underneath my photo, as well as a few stickers and a large rhinestone.  to maintain balance on my layout, i added a vertical strip of the chevron paper down the right side and then used the "hello" roller over the top of the paper for some interest.

and that's it from me today!!

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

glitz is giving away one prize pack to a lucky winner so be sure to leave comments along with the way to be entered to win!  the more comments you leave, the greater the chance you have of winning!!  good luck!!






8/28/13

chic tags: road trip mini album


yep....another mini!

once i got started, i just couldn't stop!  

xoxo

8/27/13

paislee press: guest project life contributor


i am so excited to be sharing my week 32 of project life on the paislee press blog today!!

here's a little peek..


beach mini album: a collection of treasures


i know i say this about every single project, but i love this mini album.  i love all mini albums, really, but this one is pretty special to me.  

we just got back from a week at the beach on sunday.  i knew i wanted to create a small mini album prior to going, but i didn't want to try to keep up with it while i was away.  my week at the beach was all about relaxing, enjoying my family and just "being".  i debated taking some simple supplies, but then opted to throw in a book and my journal instead.  best.idea.ever.

before leaving for the trip, i created a few "pockets" using some trimmed page protectors and the beautiful frames from the new dear lizzy polka dot party collection.  the frames were included in the studio calico marks & co. kit and i used a few on another project last week, but i had a lot left over.  when i got home, all i had to do was print out my photos, add some goodies from our trip and call it done.

here's a look at my finished album...


i used a piece of transparency for the cover and added the amy tan aqua alpha as my title.  i wanted to stick with the "transparent" feel of the album and loved the look of the umbrella peeking through the title.  (and if you look closely....my kiddos and husband are those tiny little dots on the left hand side.)


i kept the album relatively simple.  pictures and memorabilia. 
both of my kids are notorious for "collecting things at the beach" and that was my whole thought process by including the transparent pockets.  i wanted to include all of those "little things" they found.



i love how you can still see the pictures around the shells.  it's kind of like being back at the beach....




i also included a few smaller photos (2.5 square) in a few of the framed pockets.  again...i loved the transparency feel of the book and wanted to continue it throughout.








the only journaling in this book is on the tag in the pocket.  it was easier for me to get everything down on one card rather than including it with each picture in the album.  plus...the pocket from the studio calico marks & co. kit is pretty rad.



and that's it.  
memories recorded.
the perfect album....to me, at least!!

thanks so much for stopping by today!!  i hope this little album will inspire you to keep some of those "random little treasures" from your vacation or even everyday life.

happy tuesday!!

xoxo




8/24/13

guest designer: pink paislee

i am so honored to be a guest designer at pink paislee today!!  i got to play around with the awesome new "hey kid" collection and let me tell you....it is just awesome!!  the colors are vibrant and all of the little bits and pieces to the collection are amazing!!

here are a few sneaks of my projects....be sure to hop on over to the pink paislee blog to see more!!





8/23/13

glitz design: back to school...

 hello friday!  where did you come from? '
does it seem like summer is passing us by or is that just me??

preschool is on our mind here and that's perfect for glitz design this week!
it's all about "back to school" at glitz and there is nothing more that i love than my children's artwork.  my daughter is an avid drawer and she either paints or draws me awesome pictures each week.  it's usually a picture of mermaids or a family of mermaids, which is her favorite right now!!!

so...in honor of "back to school" week at glitz, i decided to document a few of her favorite drawings!!  
here is a look at my layout using the newly released finnley collection from glitz!!!




8/22/13

just a few more days....




in paradise.
with no schedule,
and lots of reading.
with early afternoon cocktails,
and yummy steamed seafood.
with family sleepovers,
and early morning snuggles.

hope you are enjoying your week as much as we are enjoying ours.
xoxo

8/21/13

craft dash with pretty pink posh: a 9 minute layout



this week gossamer blue is teaming up with pretty pink posh for their weekly "craft dash".  a craft dash is where you create a project using a particular color scheme in 10 minutes.  10 minutes people.  did you hear that???

now i don't think i'm a super fast scrapper, although i've been known to crank out a few projects with deadlines looming, but 10 minutes?  wow!

i did it though.  in exactly 9 minutes and 41 seconds.  here is my layout.  


i started by lightly misting my layout and trimming out papers from the gossamer blue august kits that coordinated with this week's color scheme.  then i layered on my photo and a few stickers and typed up my journaling.  10 minutes goes by reeeeeeallllllllly fast when you aren't used to paying attention to a clock!!  it was fun, though!  i always like a good challenge!!

here is a better look at my journaling...


hope you can play along with this fun challenge!!  stop by pretty pink posh for more details of how to participate!  gossamer blue is giving away an august bits & pieces kit to one lucky winner!!  





8/20/13

project life: week 30


today i wanted to share a few more images from my week 30 of my project life album.  this week i used the wonderful august kit from elle's studio.  all of the cards and sentiments were so perfect for our fun and relaxing week!!

in my usual style, i used a few layered digital templates and brushes before printing out my photos.  i have found that i really like this process and it seems to save me a little time when putting my weeks together.

here is a look at my week 30...



and a closer peek at each side...



on friday of this week, i took a day trip with my two kids and my best friend in the whole wide world to the beach.  it was pretty awesome and i got a few fun photos of the kids together.  of course, i just had to include them all.  

some weeks i have pictures from each day, and others have a few from one day.  i try to keep it plain and simple and not too complicated.  trying to remember to document our days and that there is no set process for doing so!!




hope you are enjoying your last few days of summer.  we sure are.  school starts back all too soon.  although i'm kind of ready for a schedule again!!  

xoxoxo

8/19/13

my lovely new blog....

hello and happy monday!!

welcome, welcome to my brand new blog!  my sweet sweet friend magda mizera designed it for me and did such an amazing job, didn't she??  i am just in love!!  i hope this format is a little easier for navigating around!  and if not, well....then, at least it sure does look pretty!!  :)



i cannot even begin to tell you how sweet magda is!  and talented!!  stop by her amazing blog and leave her some love for me, okay??  and if anyone is in the need of a blog update i couldn't recommend her more!!

xoxo magda!  you know i love you!!





write.click.scrapbook: documenting a vacation




8/16/13

too cool....*elle's studio*


the august design team gallery went live over the weekend at elle's studio!  it's pretty awesome!  and i've been dying to share this adorable layout of my sweet son!!  there is nothing i love more than a banner of tags.  and that was the inspiration for this page....that and my cutie pie son!!


too cool...

i started this page with the idea of creating a sewn banner along side my photo.  i originally used the full 12x12 photo, but opted to trim off part of the photo in the end to help the vertical banner stand out a little more!!  i stamped a few sentiments onto vellum and sewed everything together using the regular settings on my sewing machine.  once i had a pretty garland, i hot glued the whole thing into place!!  so fun!!

here are a few detail shots...



have you tried sewing your own garland or banner???  you should!  it totally adds so much to a page!!

happy thursday!

xoxo



8/15/13

jot magazine: mood board #7

there is an awesome new mood board up at jot magazine now!!  it's sultry and gorgeous!!  check it out...

and here is my layout....






stop on by jot magazine and submit your project!!  we would love to see what you create!! 

happy thursday!!

xoxo


8/14/13

for the love of watercolors...


it's no surprise that i love a white background.  i love that every page starts as a clean slate.  and of course, i love to add beautiful patterned paper to my backgrounds, but most of the time a good portion of white can be found somewhere.  

white backgrounds are really a blank canvas to me.  i love adding splatters of paint and mists, and now my new favorite is watercolor paints.  i love the effect watercolors leave on the paper.  hoping to find some time soon to play around a little more, but for now, i wanted to share two of my favorite layouts created using watercolors as my background base.


right now...
for this layout, i used a little bit of gesso first and then added my watercolors once the gesso dried.  the gesso acts like a barrier so the color doesn't absorb into the cardstock.


happy...
this layout was inspired by wilna's recent "in the mood to scrap" video at two peas in a bucket.  and believe it or not, this background actually started as a "mistake".  i love to play around with watercolors, but sometimes i feel like it just doesn't work out right.  for this page, i was adding water to my background and then ended up sticking the whole thing under the faucet.  my first reaction was to just toss the way too saturated paper, but then i added my color and watched it spread out across my paper to the corner.  and once it dried.....sigh...it was so pretty!!  

what about you??  do you love watercolors??  

xoxo



8/10/13

elle's studio: limited edition august kit & lots more...

it's a great big day over at elle's studio today!!  not only is the limited edition august kit now on sale, but saltwater is marked 20% off TODAY only and the august design team gallery is now live!!  wooooooo!

first up!
you just have to check out the awesome august kit!  it is jammed packed with cards, tags and such!  and the colors are oh so summery!  and remember....the kit is discounted at $9.99 until midnight tonight when it will be priced at it's regular price of $11.99!  don't miss out!!  i just had so much fun playing around with the kit this month and i know you will too!  check out the goodies....



amazing, right???
i used the kit for my project life spread. the kit has everything you need for a few weeks of project life, that's for sure!  here is a look at how i used this month's kit....



putting this week together was so easy.  i printed out my photos, popped my cards into place, did a little bit of journaling and i was done!  so fun, so easy!!


and more awesome news from elle's studio!!
the lovely saltwater collection is 20% off!  this collection screams "summer" and is so perfect for documenting your everyday, whether that's with traditional scrapbooking or project life!  don't miss out on this sale!  it's this weekend ONLY!!  click here to check out the entire saltwater collection!



and....this is something totally new at elle's studio!!  layout kits!!  say what???  
how fun is that??  all you need are your photos and you are ready to go!  the kit comes with everything you need, including step-by-step directions to assemble the layout.  stop by the elle's studio shop for more details!!


alrighty....that's about it from me today!!  thanks so much for stopping by!  i have a few more layouts and a fun mini summer book that i created for this month's design team gallery.  i'll be back to share those with you later in the week!!  for now....you can check out my projects, as well as the amazing design team projects over at the elle's studio design team gallery!

happy saturday!

xoxo