Schmoopey

Sunset at Bird Island

I don't really know where that crazy nickname came from, but for whatever reason, I'm the only one who still calls her "Schmoopey"...or "Schmoop" if I'm feeling lazy. She's my favorite person in the whole wide world and the one person I'd pick to be stranded on a desert island with. Granted, she'd be absolutely hopeless in that kind of situation but she'd be good for some comic relief. :)

My lil mama is my best friend and the one person I trust totally and completely. I can tell her anything and even things in mid thought. Somehow we always know what the other is talking about, no matter how crazy and not at all relevant to the current conversation. I've laughed as hard as I've ever laughed with another person with her and cried as hard as I've ever cried with anyone before. She's my constant support structure and I don't want to ever know what I would do without her.

Papi snapped this picture of the two of us with his iPhone, one day as we were watching the sun set off of Bird Island. It literally feels like it's the end of the world out there. And sunset is just one of those mind blowing experiences that help you remember that there is a God. I'm grateful for this picture of the two of us and for every day of the 25 wonderful years I've had with this little lady. I hope I get, at the very least, 25 more!!

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketchy Thursday

Besties

If you're a scrapper and haven't heard of Sketchy Thursday, you have to check it out! Every week this challenge blog features a new sketch and invites its readers to contribute their take. Last week's sketch made its way into not just one but 2 of my latest pages. That's the beauty of a sketch! You can use it over and over again and still get different results.

As crazy as this may sound, I don't think I've ever done a page (for myself) of me and my bestie, Tara Fay. I love this girl! We've done a million and one crazy things together and giggled almost the whole way. That photo of us laughing has to be one of my hands down favorite photos of the two of us, and believe me there's a million to choose from. It's just so quintessentially us!

I busted out my favorite new line for this page honoring my bestie, American Crafts' Dear Lizzy. Which was, in my opinion (and according to my informal survey ;), the hottest new line out this season. It's sweet and girly and what better used for, than a page about 2 girls who have a blast just being together.

A note on Tara: no, she is not my sister. No, we were never room mates. And I can neither confirm nor deny that she once completed a crush calculator. [Love you TFay!]

2 Halves of a Whole

It seems I couldn't get over this sketch. So much so that I was up late that night contemplating my next victim. Since Matt and I had just drove down from Ohio, our trip was fresh on my mind. I took one photo of the two of us, the day before we left, and cropped it in two. Using my trusty Mists, I crafted this ordinary sheet of white cardstock, into my mini masterpiece. Muahaha!

xxbesos

j.leija

Winterfest 2010

Counting

As per usual, 2Ps is hosting their quarterly amazing event! This go around, it has to do with stamps. Winterfest (see also Stamptoberfest) is winding down and thus my inky fingers are getting a good scrub. What makes 2Ps amazing is the community of creative individuals who continue to inspire and push me and my creative synapses further and further. For this, I am eternally grateful. So without further adieu, here are a few of my Winterfest creations.

Using Orange Maya Mist, I created the journaling space for the above layout with some older Sassafras Lass patterned paper and photos of Urijah. I say older, only because he was a tinier baby than he is now. Actually, I don't even know if he's a baby anymore. At what point do they become little boys?!

Asia

Now this was a doozy of a layout, even though it seems fairly straight forward. Don't let those misted stripes deceive you. This is my second stab at this effect, the first one having failed horribly! I masked off the lines using post-it notes (my favorite new technique!) and hit it first with red mist, moved the post-its over, and then with blue. Since I was going for a vintage airmail envelope look, I used my Slice to cut out the "postage stamps" and my trusty Epson Dash did the rest. I love that that thing prints tiny photos!! And, these were actually the last 2 sheets of 4x6 photo paper and the very last remnants of my ink pack and I think the photos turned out just as well as the first ones I printed. [Epson Sell Complete]. Back to the layout: Oh Asia, how I do and do not miss thee!

3Johns

I almost made my mama "cry [her] make up off," with this layout. Seems like these are her favorite Johns as well. Lots of stamping, lots of misting, lots of tiny details. Mainly, I'm just happy to have 3 generations in a few pics!

xxbesos

j.leija

Anne Frank Huis: Color

Anne Frank Huis

Have you ever had a group of photos that you felt were so important you were actually intimidated to scrap them? Or had an absolutely brilliant idea for a group of photos that you were almost scared that it wouldn't turn out how you imagined in your head. These photos, from my trip to the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam, fall into both of those categories.

It's almost impossible to describe my visit to the Anne Frank Huis, to have walked where she walked and to see where she lived. It's one of my most memorable places to have visited and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to see it. And ok, so maybe I cheated a bit with this layout. I'll admit that most of these "photos" aren't mine, but rather postcards I picked up from the bookstore. They do the space much better justice than Kori's point and shoot ever could. (Did I mention that my camera had just been stolen while in transit to A-dam?!)

Crazily, we didn't take photos outside of the house (nor inside) but Christian and I felt it was too important to not have a record. So we hiked it back the few miles down the canal while Kori went shopping. I got two shots outside the building, one from across the canal and one right in front of the building. The little silver plaque says Anne Frank Huis but it was too shiny to photograph well. And being the perpetual ticket hoarder that I am, I couldn't not keep this one, written in Dutch no less!

So I had an idea about masking and patterned paper, and I wasn't quite sure how it was going to turn out. As scrapbookers, we all have these ideas of what we want our layouts to look like. Sometimes we're disappointed and frustrated with the outcome. But surprisingly, this layout ended up looking almost exactly as I'd imagined it in my head.

I also had so much to say about these photos, that I wanted my journaling to be a big part of this layout and one of the major focal points. I decided to hand write it to get a more "diary-esque" feel. I even scratched out a few words and added a few in, when re-reading the whole thing. I'm not upset that it's perfect, I think it just adds to the charm.

Prima has these awesome felt stems that are meant for embellishing. But the second I saw them, they screamed "use me as a mask!" I balanced them on the edges of this layout and hit them with Gold Metallic and then Brown Maya Mist. Using a craft knife, I carefully cut out the relief and then traced around the edge with a black pen, to give it more definition. Then, using strips of patterned paper I had in my scrap pile, I adhered them to the back of the layout, to add some color and dimension. I'm so happy with how they look! It was an idea I had in my head that actually played out how I wanted it to. When does that ever happen?!

I finished the layout with some Dymo labels, these amazing new Thickers, and a few handmade flower embellishments. [I wrote up a tutorial on these a few posts back: Paper Posies]. Not only am I happy to have scrapped these photos, but I'm also relieved to feel that I did them justice. Thanks Handmade Love for posting a truly inspiring Color Challenge. I don't think this layout would have turned out half as nicely, otherwise!

xxbesos

j.leija

Christmas Markets

Christmas Markets

I'm happy that I'm finally taping into all of my Europe pics. With a London, Amsterdam, and now a Belgium layout done, I'm well on my way to working through the 1000s of photos I have! For whatever reason, I was in the mood to scrap something that utilized a bright blue color. Who knows why that was my inspiration, but this is what I came up with.

The words magical, enchanting, whimsical perfectly describe the atmosphere of walking around these Christmas markets at night time. The buildings were lit beautifully. A blue and teal light show was playing on the building in the main square, one church was totally lit in pink and red, and the ferris wheel was glamorously done up in purple. I remember it being cold and a bit rainy but that only added to the charming feel. Oh to be back in Europe!

xxbesos

j.leija

Skype Valentine

Skype Valentine

So I've had this screenshot for a year, the idea for this layout for months, these photos printed out weeks ago, and just when I wanted to sit down and work on this a few days ago, I didn't have this paper that I'd somehow imagined I'd purchased! And I mean, c'mon this paper makes the page! If you know anything about Skype and its logos, this Sassafras Lass piece is the perfect match. Thus, a shopping I did go and returned triumphant with the absolutely most essential piece of paper in the history of my scrapbooking!

I know I talk (and scrap) a lot about Matt's and my relationship, all of the amazing places we've got to travel to together, the silly things we do, and a lot about the time we've spent apart. This one falls into the latter category. This screenshot is how we spent last Valentine's Day "together", chatting miles and countries apart via Skype. It isn't the easiest way of doing things, in fact I think I've seen my boyfriend's face more on my computer screen than in real life, but I'm happy to report Skype will not be essential much longer!

That's right fellow interwebbers, Matt's moving his Ohio bum down to Texas, to live it up in the Lone Star state! Next week, I'm flying to Ohio and we're road tripping our way back to Texas. 24 hours in the car. If we can survive a year+ of Skyping and then a 24 hour car ride, I'm pretty sure our relationship can handle anything.

I'm thinking it was probably a good thing I didn't have that piece of paper last week. Because there's no way I could have been as excited then, as I am now, about being this close to getting out of the long distance madness we found ourselves in! And since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, what better way to celebrate than to remember where we were then and to see how very far we've come in "just" a year!

About this page, yeah...that patterned paper really did most of the work. With a few snips of my scissors I had a boatload of color and an awesome border to add to this layout. I'd printed out the Skype logo as well, and it meshed perfectly with the mushrooms and snails. I also wanted to replicate the pattern found in the clouds, so I turned to my trusty Excel to create the grid background for the journaling block. Some letter stickers, my trusty thickers, and a few choice embellishments later, this layout was complete. Oh, and a note about the word "relationships": I hand wrote it several times with differing pen widths to achieve the ombre effect. Loving it!

Since this year, same as last, I'll be Skyping my boyfriend for the big day, I hope you'll all give your significant others a cuddle just for me. I may not get to tomorrow but there's always the promise of next year! Happy Valentine's Day!

xxbesos

j.leija

Oddball: All About Me

Oddball

It's up! It's up! My first layout contribution to a design team :) This makes me very happy! I've never done a "10 things/All About Me" page, so when the girls proposed it, I was so excited to participate. Since I would consider myself a lame duck, I figured I'd share some of my personal oddities and quirks. They really are the crazy things that make me, me!

1. I didn't dress up for Halloween as a kid. (This picture is from college and actually the first time I'd ever dressed up!)
2. I'm not too into music. (Gasp! I know...)
3. I eat to live rather than live to eat, and sometimes forget to even do that. (Just ask all of my roomates! They were constantly checking to see if I remembered to eat!)
4. I hate jeans. (Seriously, they're the bane of my existence)
5. I may not know what I want to eat, but I always know what I want to drink. (XXX Vitamin Water at the moment)
6. I've never believed in Santa Claus. (Yeah, my parents just never told us about him)
7. I've never been comfortable relaxing on couches. (I have no idea why!)
8. I don't drink coffee. (Bleck! I also don't consume anything coffee flavored, i.e. ice cream, tiramasu, etc.)
9. I've always been a little odd. (Hey! You try being one of the only Mexican girls at an all Caucasian school! Did I mention I grew up in a city with the largest population of Mexican Americans? Something just doesn't quite add up there...)
10. I like being different. (It's true!)

[Photo]

For this layout, I went for a monochromatic color scheme. I have no idea why I wanted to do this but I'm very happy with how it turned out! Whites, creams, khakis, and browns were the color scheme I went with. I even added a neutral paint sample behind my photos for some extra emphasis. I picked these two photos because they were a fun way to incorporate images from my list. Can I also point out another oddity? My favorite Jew getting kiss crushed into a Christmas sandwich! Miss you Tashy! You too Hale Storm!

I also went with mainly neutral embellishments, even attacking a Starbucks cup holder with my scallop punch! I may not like coffee but I love Starbucks and their fun product packaging. (Check back later for more on this :) I'm finding that my style is evolving to include a lot of found objects in my scrapbooking. Transforming every day products into embellishments and details in my pages. Loving how they're turning out!

[Photo]

So there you have my inaugural contribution to the Handmade Love Challenge Blog. Click on over to participate and join in on the fun!

xxbesos

j.leija

Sneak Peek

Handmade Love: Challenge Blog

Tomorrow's the big day! Are you excited as I am?! Probably not...most of you might actually wonder what I'm even talking about. Well, last week I announced the launch of the new Handmade Love: Challenge Blog. Tomorrow, our inaugural challenge will be posted! Here's a sneak peek of my take on the challenge. Visit tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week to participate in the challenge (for the chance to win a My Little Shoebox prize pack) and to see what else the design team has cooked up!

xxbesos

j.leija

Vote! Vote! Vote!

This is Why I Scrapbook

It's time to vote! The contest I entered a few weeks ago is finally opening its polls to the voting public. You can vote once a day until the end of February. Go to this link at Shimelle.com, scroll down to the poll, and I'm Jamie at Paper Heart Project if you'd like to vote for me :) Which I'd very greatly appreciate! Just a reminder of what my project looks like! You can visit the original blog post here for the full showcase of photos! Vote for me and I'll love you forever!

xxbesos

j.leija

Two Pages

Blue Aprons

Two page layouts. Who would have thought that they could be so intimidating and turn so many scrapbookers off! When I first started scrapping, I mainly did two page layouts. It's a great way to use tons of photos, especially 4x6 ones. I rarely use photos so large (ha, who'd have though) in my scrapbooking since switching to the smaller 8x8 albums. My journaling also tends to be longer on a two page layout. There's just so much space to play with!

This layout was giving me so much grief yesterday. I actually had to stop and sleep on it, which is something I never do. I think the two conflicting shades of blue the twins were wearing was throwing me off! I hope I finally got it right with some October Afternoon patterned papers, Basic Grey woolies, and a bit of ribbon.

We had so much fun that day! As my journaling reads, "for the twins 4th birthday I wanted to give them an experience instead of just a gift. So they came over for an afternoon of cookie making. They were so cute in their aprons and about not wanting to get their hands dirty! Eventually, they got really into it and were excited to feed Uncle John as many cookies as he could stomach. A total of six!"

Bangkok Bowling Birthday

What can I say? I've had some pretty epic birthday parties these last few years! For my 24th, we went cosmic bowling at the mall in Bangkok. I have so many pictures from that day, because we had such a blast, that a 2 page layout was a total necessity. The crazy carpeting was the color inspiration for this layout and I didn't want it to get too boughed down, thus most of the photos were switched to black and white. For some whimsical embellishing, I punched circles out of black cardstock and used the back end of a paintbrush to add holes on mini "bowling balls". Then, I hand cut bowling pins out of white cardstock and finished with red lines. The finishing touches were the flowers and buttons along the circular edge of the border.

I have to say, I had way more fun than this mediocre layout let on. So much fun, our team was an entire game behind the others! I mean, we had an all MBA group dance to the YMCA and the Macarena for goodness sake! Something that probably endlessly entertained our Asian counterparts. It made me so happy that all of my fellow Moutbattens came out to celebrate with me!

What my room says about jaMiE

When I was planning this layout, I really wanted to emphasize all of the elements that make up my room and basically, what makes up me. "These are a few of my favorite things" kept replaying in my head as I was working on this. I love my room! It's so quintessentially me!

I took my inspiration from a few Orla Keily organizational bins that I've been using in my room. The entire layout was pretty much done with scraps and there's a lot of hidden journaling behind the photos, on this one.

What can you find in my room?

Art: Georgia O'Keeffe is my favorite artist. A girl after my own heart, I love her use of coor and the tremendous depth found in it. I remember laying on my bed in college, just starting at her poppies for hours!

Lemons: Since Matt's and my trip to Paris, lemons have been a little joke between us. I sent him a "Be Mine" lemon last year for Valentine's Day and started a mini collection. I smile every time I see them.

Travel Mementoes: I don't really "collect" one specific thing while I travel. Rather, I love bringing home unusual things or objects unique to a country. A bongo from Marrakech, Morocco. A slanting bottle of lemencello from Pisa, Italy. A wishing frog from Bangkok, Thailand. But perhaps my most cherished of mementos is the ticket I saved from my visit to the World Trade Center in 2001.

If you're a scrapbooker, I challenge you to attempt a two page layout sometime soon!

xxbesos

j.leija

Croptastic

Puppy Love

2Ps hosted another fun scrappy event tonight, an online crop. Which might sound weird to some, but is actually pretty fun and at the least, entertaining. Every hour, the site sponsors a challenge which members can participate in for the chance to win a prize. Sadly, I didn't win anything this time around. I did, however, walk away with three completed layouts done in a 3 1/2 hour block! That time might be my personal best.

The 7pm challenge had to do with Love. Anything about Love actually. Who you love. What you love. Didn't matter. Since I've never done a page about Hazy and I made a point to take these photos last week, I really wanted to do a HP layout. She's a beaut, ain't she?! Love my pet monster!

Pudgy Arms

The 8pm challenge had an odd supply list: paint, cardboard, staples, something that shines or glitters, and multiple photos. Even though the products were a bit hodge podge, this layout came together in about 30 mins (now that time IS my personal best!). These are photos of Urijah, when I went to visit him after Christmas. He's growing up to be the cutest little boy. He crawled his way over to the window and stood up using the ledge all by himself.

I wanted to use some punches of colors and Cosmo Cricket's Jack's World patterned paper worked out beautifully. I love how the painted corrugated scallops came out. Want a tip on free corrugated cardboard? They're are punched out of a Starbucks cup holder.

How Do I Love Thee?

The 9pm challenge was a Valentine's challenge. The catch? You had to use 14 hearts on your layout. I hand cut these out of scrap paper and clustered them on the corner of the photo of me and Steve Zissou (what I call Matt when he's wearing that hat!). Since I've done so much journaling about how much I love him, I went for some physical characteristics this go around. So don't think of me as shallow! Oh, and I created the journaling block in Excel and added my list and some number stickers.

All in all, it was a pretty successful scrapping day. And since I'm unemployed, lets face it, an all around successful day!

xxbesos

j.leija

P.S. Congratulations Matt on taking the lead on Making Memories. I know how long you've been waiting for this day ;)

New Adventures

Handmade Love: A Challenge Blog

It seems like this month is the beginning of many new adventures. Matt is moving here to Texas. Kimberly is moving to England. And I hope to move to Houston. Well, sometime in the foreseeable future {God willing}. So not only are there big life adventures going on, but also some smaller fun scrappy ones!

Tada! Introducing a new challenge blog, spearheaded by my fellow Young Scrappers over on the 2Ps boards. It's something we're all very excited about and anxious to kick off with a bang. If you're a scrapper, please check us out! Play along for a chance to win an awesome My Little Shoebox prize package!

xxbesos

j.leija