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Just a quick and easy layout to get back into the swing of scrapbooking again! I've been busy helping the owner of my lss close up her store for good (and losing my job there in the process), so I haven't been in the mood to scrap - but I have been buying up lots of goodies to tide me over since there are no local stores near me anymore. Sometimes when I'm in "buy" mode, I just get too overwhelmed to create anything. I have to put everything away and let things sit before the creative juices start flowing again. So, I used a bit from my new September Studio Calico kit, with some bits and pieces I bought from my lss, and some bits I had laying on my desk and created this simple layout which took 30 minutes to make! Really a record for me since it usually takes a whole day of deliberation just for one layout! I used several pieces from The Pier Crate Paper line - love the colors and designs so much from this!

I had the diecut anchor piece sitting on my table for over a month and was glad to use it here after spraying it with some gold Heidi Swapp mist. I also used the mist to splatter across my page. I could easily use at least one of those chipboard frames on every layout I make - thank goodness I ended up up with three packs of them!! ;) That little yellow shiny button like piece is a brad sticker from a fabulous website called Pinkfresh Studio - you need to go check out all her cool items she has for sale! I'll be uploading some layouts and cards I designed for Kinnari using her products tomorrow. She is having a great giveaway every day this week on the Pinkfresh blogpot so go try and win some of her goodies!! The giveaway today is a couple of sets of these brad stickers!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!! :)

Lots of changes in my life documented.....

I haven't blogged in a while because we've been trying to get our youngest off to college  - leaving me with quite a big hole in my life now. I feel very adrift. There's been quite a few major changes going on in my life at this moment and I'm feeling kind of shaky about them, so I documented my feelings in my scrapbook page!

I used bits and pieces from my August Studio Calico kit. I had several sequins left, so I decided to layer them all under a diecut feather that I cut with my Silhouette machine. The cut is an Amy Tangerine diecut and it's my favorite feather cut I've found. I love the way this looks! And I used up all of my sequins from this kit!! YAY! I do have several thousand leftover sequins from other kits and purchases, so I felt safe in stash busting these!! ;)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!! :)

4 Girls & a Baby Boy....

Love this photo of my daughters, Mom, niece and her baby boy that I took while we were sitting at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans!! We all had a whirlwind fun 24 hours in New Orleans and crammed lots of stuff into that time!!

I used products from my August Studio Calico kit that I received on Wednesday. I got the idea to have the threads match the color strips of the paper as soon as I saw all the contents of my kit on Wednesday, which included such a fun fun AT sewing template kit, but I didn't have all the colors of threads to match. So, I had to wait until the next day to go buy the threads. Then when I got to the store (Hobby Lobby), I realized that I forgot to bring the paper with me to match the colors. The store was closing in 20 minutes so I couldn't come back and I REALLY wanted to start creating, so I grabbed about 12 different aquas (I already had my cream color - Buttercream from some Sew Easy threads I had) and hoped they would match close enough. And they do match - close enough. Maybe not perfectly, but perfect enough for me!! :)\

After all the stitching, I just layered using things from both the SC scrapbook kit and the SC PL kit too. I love to cut the PL cards apart and layer with them. I filled the vellum envie with some turquoise sequins that I had in my stash and cut my title using my Silhouette Cameo. I thought about stitching the tag too, but I really wanted the stitching down the side to be the star, so I took my Distress marker and colored the & on the tag to bring out the shape more and to match the cut title. After scattering a few sequins and attaching a stray cut that I had on my desk (the scrolly stars) I was done!

Thanks so much for stopping by!! :)

A Ghost Adventure....

While visiting New Orleans last month, we took a walking Haunted History ghost tour one evening. My youngest daughter has always wanted to go on one, so for her senior trip we planned a girls week of fun! We didn't go late at night - too scary - but at dusk - perfect twilight time!! It was fun and very informative. I love learning about the history of old buildings! My daughter new about most of the legends from watching TV, so she was excited to see them in person - and try to catch a glimpse of a ghost. I never saw anything unusual.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut a double layer large title - one gray cardstock and one vellum, which I offset layered. I then layered on several photos and my smaller title. For the "ghost" and "N.O." letters, I painted some cork Thickers using some crackle paint in picket fence. I love the effect it gave to the letters! I actually used my borders punch here - I haven't used them in ages!! I'm still into typing my journaling onto vellum. I used products from my July Studio Calico scrapbook and project life kits, plus bits and pieces from my stash.

Thanks so much for looking!! I hope you have a wonderful day!! :)

Working with Watercolors....

It's taken me a while to work up the confidence to use watercolors directly on my layout, but I LOVE the way this turned out!! It was just cardstock, so I knew I could throw it away if it didn't turn out like I liked it - but I like it a lot!! :) I've been watching lots of Wilna Furstenburg videos for pointers - then I just dove right in!

I diecut the pebble shaped background piece with my Silhouette Cameo and white cardstock and then layered the cut piece on top of another piece of white cardstock. I was just going to fill a few of the open spots with different embellies to give it a "collected beach shells" look, but then I thought it might look cool if all the spots were filled to look like sea glass. I worked up my nerve and just started filling in the hole with different shades of aqua and yellow. I even backed my vellum sun (cut on my Silhouette) with watercolor. I then did the unthinkable (at least to me) and smudged some on my patterned paper (under the photo spot). I definitely got the feel that I wanted on this layout with my photo I took on the beach while on vacation a little over a week ago!!

Give watercolors a try - it's easier than you think!! Have a great day!! :)

Guesting for Pinkfresh Studio....

I was recently contacted by Kinnari Zaveri, the owner of Pinkfresh Studio to create some projects using some her gorgeous products and I was thrilled to work with some of her fab and fresh washi tapes, resin shapes, and  Fresh Press cards.

The beautiful title card was my jumping off point for this layout. I wanted a kind of rainbow effect to my layout and the resin hearts were the perfect touch!

You can see some of the washi tape peeking out the left side of the layers - I covered a tag with the grey and yellow ombre tape then layered a piece of the plano circle tape down the center of it.

 Again, the beautiful title pressed card was the starting point for my layout - perfect for my daughter and her roller derby photo! I layered the ombre and plano washi tapes down the center of a piece of white cardstock then layered the rest of my products and photo on the top of it. I just love that ombre tape!!

I used some of the "finger snapping kind of day" washi tape as an accent under all my layering on this layout.

The saying is just precious and the color is stunning, and the perfect pop for my layout!

 I couldn't resist making one more project - a card using one of the Fresh Press cards and the Triangle rows washi down the side. This came together so fast with the ready made sentiment and the matching tape!

I had so much fun using these lovely products!! Make sure you go and check out Pinkfresh Studio Shop.

Thanks for stopping by!! Have a wonderful day!! :)

My first Colorbok/Making Memories blogpost!

I'm so excited to show you a layout that I created using some very fun products that have a bright and summery feel to them.

I love lots of layers on my projects (yes all of my albums are very lumpy!) and there are so many products you can choose from that mix and match so well using Colorbok products!

I used a piece of the pink Primary Pizazz Textured Cardstock as a base piece for my layout and then layered a piece of the neon yellow diagonal Craft Paper Neon Pop on top of that. Whenever I layer one piece of paper on top of the other I always cut out the center piece of the bottom piece (the part that doesn't show) so I haven't wasted a whole piece of paper where you only see around the edge. I used that bottom center cut piece (the pink cardstock) to cut out my title using my Silhouette Cameo and let me just say that the cardstock cuts like butter on my Silhouette!

I continued to layer some pieces from the Heidi Grace Sunshowers Collection. I used a page from the chipboard album (the aqua page) and started layering on top of that. I always seem to have an extra page or two when I make a mini album (too chunky if I use all of them!) but I hate to just waste the one page that I may have leftover, so I try and incorporate them into a layout or card. I threaded a piece of ribbon through the side holes and then started layering some paper from the 6x6 paper pad, a photo mat, a file folder frame which houses a photo of my daughter and some journaling inside which I tied shut with some twine, some layered fabric flowers with a brad center, and some stickers and a button scattered around to complete my project!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the fun way you can mix and match Colorbok products to create bright summer project! You can find the Textured Cardstock and Neon Pop Craft Paper pads at Walmart and the Heidi Grace products are available at Joann's.

Have fun creating!! :)