Insecurities

Hi there! If you're here for the Blog Hop please scroll down!

Or you can stay awhile...whichever you prefer :)

My Insecurity

Eek! No one likes to talk about those! Let alone scrap them. But my friend Jessica asked me to be the first Guest DT member over at Who's That Girl? and I couldn't say no!

Who's That Girl? is an awesome All About Me Challenge blog with some fabulously great prompts. It's run by a fellow Young Scrapper, Jessica Bree. I love Jessica's unique prompts. They force you to think deeper about yourself and then to express that in a creative way.

My assignment: create a page about insecurities. Now this was a challenge, I have to admit. At the risk of sounding narcissistic, I really am a very secure person. There's not much that I get down on myself about. So I had to dig a little deeper to come up with something that's been worrying me for months and months.

And that is this economy! And the unemployment rate! And my student loans piling up! And the fact that I still don't have a job! I could go on and on. And while I may be a secure individual, all of this turmoil is sure to take a toll on one's psyche. Thus this layout was created. A visual catharsis for what's going on in my life currently.

About the page: I LOVE this 7 Gypsies patterned tape! I've never used tape before and let me tell you, I'm hooked. It's so pretty and versatile and already sticky! Can't beat that. Beyond the tape, I stuck some letter stickers on a sheet of Kraft and hit it with some Orange Maya Mist. Peeled them away to reveal the mask and amped them up a bit with some pen work. I cut the little butterflies out of 7 Gypsies patterned paper using my Slice and the Basics 2 Design Card. Viola! A pretty visual representation of something that ain't so pretty.

Head on over to Who's That Girl? to see what the rest of the design team cooked up. These ladies are definitely talented! Thanks for stopping by :)

xxbesos

j.leija

NSD Blog Hop

Well hello there! Welcome to the Scrapbook Challenge's NSD Blog Hop and the paper heART project! I'm happy to have you and happy to be hopping this fine NSD weekend.

If you're new to my blog, hiya! Glad to have you visit. And if you're a current bleeder (as stolen from Julia Powell) this was part of the surprises for May. Not the blog hop part, yall knew about that. Its this next part that has me excited!! [Announcement] I'm now a happy member of the Scrapbook Challenges design team! I'm so excited to be working with these talented ladies and happy that they've asked me along for the ride.

So down to the blog hop nitty gritty:

If you've found me first, I'm #16 on the list. Jump back to Pamela's blog to start at the beginning.

Below is the sketch for this hippity hoppity challenge. I'd highly encourage you to join in on this one and there's plenty of ways to participate. You could create a take on the sketch below and link it up at the Hop On section. Or you could become a member of Scrapbook Challenges. Or even simply leaving a comment on Pamela's blog. All for the chance to win some amazing prizes! Like seriously, top notch stuff. There's a Scarlet Lime kit and some Prima up for grabs, among a few other goodies. You can see all the prizes over at Pamela's blog as well.

So here's my take on this too fun sketch. [Yall know how much I enjoy a good sketch.] It's a bit different than my usual style, in that the colors are more saturated than what I usually go for, but I think that they work for these photos. I was saving that My Mind's Eye grid paper for a special layout, what better than a page about scorpions!

The journaling reads: Fried scorpion! Never in a million years did I think that I'd add that to my checked list of exotics foods I've eaten. But hey, when in China... How'd it taste? Not half badly, like fried bits. My tongue was a bit numb afterwards. A last "take that!" for the little bugger I suppose!

Why was I in China, you might ask? I haven't really told my story on here in awhile so in case anyone's been wondering, here's the scoop again. I use to live in Bangkok, Thailand. It was where I was finishing up my MBA. And as part of my senior thesis, which was about the health care system in China, I got to actually visit China and get some on the ground research. But hey, while I was there I couldn't not enjoy all of the touristy aspects!

Well, there's my take on the blog hop sketch, that's my story, and I sure am glad you dropped by to hang out. Next on this journey, my fellow Texan, Debi! So head on her way and enjoy the rest of your NSD weekend! Happy Scrapping!

xxbesos

j.leija

TV Top 5

TV Top 5

Seems in all of the hubbub of the last few weeks I forgot to share this layout! Shame too, because it's one of my latest faves. I used a Sketchy Thursday sketch and the prompt from the co-challenge they were doing with my friend Jessica's Who's that Girl? all about me challenge blog.

I LOVE this American Crafts line. The colors are absolutely fantastic, if you ask me. And come on, can you really beat a tiny felt TV embellie?! I think not.

The prompt from Jessica's end was to make a list of 5 things about yourself. And once I saw that tiny TV, I knew what I was going to scrap about. And yeah, maybe it's a little more "our relationship" than "all about me" but those still really are my 5 fave shows (oh and Project Runway too! But its a tough sell to get him to watch it with me)

The sketch was from one of my faves, Sketchy Thursday, and I made it work for my TV theme. I liked the frame within a frame aspect of this layout. [There's 5 layers of frames!] Oh, and I was picked as one of their faves for the week so I get to put this up on my blog now :)

xxbesos

j.leija

(365) Days: Music

So this is the very last of what I've dubbed The Urijah Project. It's what I used for the little window in the front cover of his album, and for the cover of a DVD I made for his parents and grandparents. And also, it's my take on this week's challenge over at Handmade Love! It's Music Challenge time and the lads came up with some great inspiration. So head on that aways to check it out.

This may look like a tricky project, but it only took me about half an hour. Want to know my secret? I used a free program called Shape Collage. I downloaded the tool, uploaded my photos and clicked create. Simple as that! The rest was done in Microsoft Word, (my skills with Photoshop Elements weren't quite up for this challenge yet) playing around with text boxes and the emboss character feature.

For not a lot of time and some free programs, I was able to create a high impact design. Thanks for stopping by!

xxbesos

j.leija

Coming Soon!

So I hate cheesy vague blog posts soliciting future returns, but it must be done. I'll make it quick. Promise!!

Fun things are coming this May! I'm very excited about the upcoming month and what it means for my scrapbooking and this blog. Let's just say it involves a few things Minis, Basic Grey and a fun RAK! Maybe a sketch or 2...

Also in the looming future, National Scrapbook Day!! If you didn't already know May 1st is my beloved hobby's day of reckoning. Tons of my favorite places around the interweb are hosting some great events, fun challenges with the promises of sweet prizes.

Two places you'll find me (if I don't end up going to the beach house) are Two Peas and Studio Calico's online forums. Check them out if you're interested in some fun and loads of inspiration!

And I'll also be playing along in the Scrapbook Challenges blog hop! I participated in their New Year one, had a blast, and found a new online home! Jump on if you get the chance :)

xxbesos

j.leija

My Wish: Sketch

My Wish

This is the last and final page of Urijah's 0-12 month baby album. It feels so good to have it done! I wasn't really sure what to do on the last page, but since I'd made it through 40 pages and countless hours, I figured I was in a position to write him a note. The sketch over at Handmade Love, had the perfect spot for some lengthy journaling. Product from October Afternoon's Report Card line did the rest.

So here's the breakdown of Urijah's album:

Over 12 months, I amassed appoxamately 1487 photos of my favorite little dude.

Of those 1487 photos, 112 made it into a 40 page 8x8 scrapbook.

Just goes to show, that you don't have to scrap every photo, in order to make a memorable book. I'm so proud to have this book completed. It's the first project of its kind that I can officially call done.

Here's a glimpse at the completed project.

Thank you for coming on this scrappy journey with me!

xxbesos

j.leija

Little Star

Twinkle Twinkle

This is one of my favorite photos of Urijah and has papa. He was so tiny and adorable, all curled up on John's chest. I suppose that's why I was slightly intimidated by the thought of scrapping it. I so very much wanted to create something special.

The below layout is what I initially came up with. But something about it was bugging me. The colors were just to bright and energetic for the mellow layout I was hoping for. Thus, the second layout was born. I almost never do this, create an entire other layout if I'm not happy with the first. But I found some inspiration from AllieH over at the Studio Calico member's gallery, and I just had to go for it.

I loved the simplicity of the inspiration layout and all of the white space. I moved the elements around slightly, but the basics are there. And I have to say I'm much happier with the second results.

The moral of the story: color really is an key element in creating and setting the tone of a layout. Louder, brighter colors can convey energy and activity. Softer, mellower colors can convey a more toned down and calmer visual space. Keep this in mind as you're scrapping!

xxbesos

j.leija

Hodge Podge

I'm so very close to being done!! I can taste it! These are nearly the last of Urijah's 0-12 months album. As you can see, I'm not a chronological scrapper. I pick and choose which photos "move" me at the time, as artsy fartsy as it sounds. It's the only way I can get pages done. I've found that if I try to force it, my pages don't turn out as well.

Another approach I take is if I have some great product I'm itching to use, I'll find photos to use with it. It keeps me happy and my pages more interesting. There's no rhyme or reason to these three pages, but that's what I like about my scrapping. No two pages look the same!

Easter Bunny

Cabbage Patch Doll

Quality Time

xxbesos

j.leija

Dear Urijah

Love, Grandma

Getting people involved in my scrapbooking has been a little experiment I've been conducting since Christmas. It all started when I asked Matt to make a scrapbook page for our album. Then I asked him to do the journaling for another layout. And now, I've moved on to bugging my parents.

I've been working on this album of Urijah for nearly a year now and I've been struggling with creator's voice. Whether the journaling should be from my perspective, his mom's, some omniscient super being! Only in the last few layouts have I really narrowed down what I'm trying to say and how I'm trying to say it.

Writing directly to Urijah seems like such a simple concept, but it took me months and months to figure out! If he looks at these pages one day, he'll have a book not only of him, but written to him.

And with that in mind, I approached my parents about doing some journaling for me. I wanted to hear from the grandparent perspective. And I really wanted to include their handwriting. It's such a lost art, actual handwriting. We've taken it for granted for so long but during this age of technology, I've come to realize how important it is to preserve something so simple yet so entirely personal.

Love, Grandpa

These pages are very simple because I wanted their writing, their words to be the true focus of the layouts. While I had to conceal a bit of my mama's (such a wordy girl!) journaling, it's still a prominent feature on the page. And while my papa didn't have much to write, his message is still poignant. (I love that he calls himself "Grampa")

I'm so glad that I included something personal from both of them. I also think they were happy to share in what's become a deeply personal hobby of mine. And what better way for them to be involved than in their grandson's album. It was something so simple for them to do, but makes for an even more special treasure.

Maybe you'll ask someone to contribute towards a future page of your own. I'd love to see it if you do! Happy scrapping

xxbesos

j.leija

Sweet Pea: Random Prompt

Sweet Pea

The Story:

This is one of my most favorite photos of Urijah, even though it isn't the best quality. We just adored that little nightgown of his and how his perfect tiny feet peeked out from the bottom. Made you just want to eat him up!

The Page:

The second I saw the latest release from Cosmo Cricket, I knew I had to have some of their Garden Variety line! The colors are fabulous and the chipboards too cute! Since we've been calling Urijah "sweet pea" I just had to use that adorable little pea pod!

I used a sketch from the Studio Calico blog and love the effect of the circle. One, it kind of looks like a bottle cap to me, which helped with the whole farm fresh theme I was going for [thinking milk bottles with that one]. And second, the circle is slightly reminiscent of a pea!

To add some dimension and a bit of layering, I hand stitched tiny "x's" along the side for a bit of embellishment. Which is the challenge this week, at Handmade Love! Pop on over to play along with me and the rest of the girls :)

xxbesos

j.leija

Not another sketch!!

You'd think I'd be tired of them by now, but indeed I am not. If you read my blog, I'm sure by now you've discovered how much I appreciate a good sketch. Sketches have got me through many a page, and they're the first place I go when I'm in need of a bit of inspiration. Here are two recent layouts, created with the use of a sketch. Both are from the ever inspiring Sketchy Thursdays Challenge Blog.

Each sketch is open to a variety of interpretation, which is what makes them so versatile. You can add or subtract as much or as little as you want. You can rotate, flip, or mirror it any way you like. I suppose this is why they appeal to me, I can take an initial idea and run with it. Plus, when sketches incorporate elements I don't typically work with, such as circles, it really helps me to push my scrapbooking further than its gone before.

Long and Lean

This layout very clearly mimics but does not necessarily copy the original. I layered a sheet of cardstock, on top of a piece of patterned paper just the same as in the sketch. Then I started playing around with an element or two. The pennant banner in sketch became a ruffled, rumpled ruler on the bottom of my page. The title, which was more than 5 characters, took a longer more meandering space towards the top. And the 2 circular elements was combined into 1 for space. I also added that multi-colored strip on the left to give it more balance.

Monkey Belly

Isn't this the cutest picture? Urijah looks so adorable in his little monkey pjs. His belly is all plump and round. Which is what inspired the title as well as the theme. I've had this great monkey paper sitting in Urijah's box of goodies (I seriously have an entire box full of stuff just for Urijah's scrapbook. It's a problem, I know!) for awhile now. I've always been a bit intimidated by it, because of its busy patterned. But combining it, with the Sketchy Thursday sketch really made for a perfect match.

Since the sketch had only touches of what I interpreted to be strips of patterned paper (it could also easily have been ribbon or decorative tape) it allowed me to highlight the patterned paper, without overpowering this too cute photo. I didn't have much in the way of journaling for this one, but by using a larger size font for the title, it filled in that space. I also wanted to give the page a bit more balance, which is why I extended "belly" across the bottom of the page.

So that's my little PSA on the benefits of scrapping with sketches. There are tons of sources for free sketches available across the web. Some of my personal favorites are, of course, Sketchy Thursday which offers a new sketch every Thursday. The Studio Calico blog, where every Sunday a new sketch is released. You have a week to create a layout, based on their sketch, for the chance to win a $5 SC gift certificate. Another good place is Pencil Lines. I'm fairly new to this blog but I'm liking what I've seen so far.

In closing I challenge you, fellow scrapbooker, to create a layout based on a sketch. Especially if you haven't already. You might just find yourself addicted! Happy Scrapping :)

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketchbook Days 11 & 12

So the Sketchbook class that had me so inspired has finally come to an end. I'm so thankful to have been given the opportunity to participate. I truly believe that I would be nowhere near as close to completing Urijah's 0-12 month scrapbook, otherwise. So without further adieu, here are my final pages.

Proud Mama

The Story:

I love these photo of Christin with Urijah. He was so tiny and so adorable all curled up on his mama. He still so brand new, only 5 days old! These are just a few of photos of him sleeping as a newborn. Like I might have mentioned in a previous post, he was always awake!

The Page:

All the patterned paper is October Afternoon, from their Ducks in a Row line! My absolute favorite baby themed line. It has great colors and fun patterns, not mention the ducks (not on this layout). I added a lot of faux stitching to this page in order to give it a more quilted homey mommy feel.

Not So Wild Child

The Story:

This is one of my favorite photos of Urijah as a baby. He looks so much like my brother! He's just a tiny Johnny staring back at me. He was very relaxed and mellowed out when I took the photo. Tia Jamie and Grandma had just given him a bath.

The Page:

The title is a play off of that awesome K&Co 3D sticker, and the sticker is meant to reflect Urijah's little onesie. They're all intertwined together. It's also where I got the color palette for this layout. I really liked the orange and that seafoam green together. I mimicked Kelly Purkey with my tone on tone strips and cut the title with my Slice.

Thanks KP for putting together a truly inspiring class! 12 sketches prompted 15 layouts! In just over 2 weeks, I doubled all of the pages I'd done of Urijah's first year. Like I said, nearly finished with this year long project of mine. All thanks to a handful of sketches.

xxbesos

j.leija

Mad Dash

Urijah John

I feel as though I'm in a mad dash to the finish line of completing Project Urijah. And if you're wondering about the mass influx of baby boy pages, or even who the baby boy is, here's the explanation. My baby nephew is turning one on the 20th of this month and I challenged myself to complete his 0-12 month album before his first birthday. I know! I know! I've set a pretty lofty goal for myself but I honestly feel as though I can get it done!

The first layout alone helped me tackle 10 random photos that might otherwise not have made it into his album. [Thanks to 2p's Weekly Challenge] These are some of my favorite photos of my favorite little guy. They just had to make it into his album! And now I think they're going to be used as his title page.

Pool

The American Crafts new Heat Wave line is just so fun and festive! Perfect for these photos of Urijah's first time in the pool. The background patterned paper, the typed journaling and the horizontal lines under the photo are all from the same sheet of 12x12 paper. Since they're double-sided they have a whole lot of milage! I didn't need much, beyond that sheet, to finish this layout.

Since the beginning of April, I've completed 10 layouts for Urijah's album. If I can create half that amount before the end of the week, I think I would consider his album complete. Here's wishing me luck!

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketchbook Days 8, 9, & 10

Scrapbookers talk a lot about defining one's own style. From the layouts below, you can probably tell that I don't really have a handle on mine. And I think that's okay. I like how different and eclectic these pages turned out. How each has it's own unique flow but still my point of view. Kelly Purkey's class has really helped me see that about my "style". How all of my pages can look totally different and still maintain a happy harmony together.

These three layouts were created using Days 8-10 prompts. They're all fairly basic, with cardstock bases, splashes of patterned paper (or literally ink splatters), and a few dimensional embellishments to give the pages more depth. I love all of these photos and I'm so happy to be able to include them in Urijah's album. 5 days and counting, to have his 0-12 month album complete!

Grandpa & Goo

Hair

Newborn

xxbesos

j.leija

Shades of Gray: Color

Shades of Gray

The Story:

This is a photo of me standing in the middle of The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It's in Berlin and one of the most profound memorials that I have had the chance to visit. You can get lost in the grid of slabs and feel so entirely alone in the middle of this enormous city. The tour guide told us its a controversial piece and the artist gave next to no explanation concerning his work or its meaning. If you get the chance to visit Berlin, I'd highly recommend visiting it.

The Page:

I never would have achieved this color combo were it not for this week's Handmade Love color challenge. The prompt included a lot of purples and grays and immediately made me think of all the gray in this memorial. Everywhere you looked, one saw gray, and especially on that gray overcast day.

I picked an assortment of cardstock and a few patterned papers that I thought coordinated and tried to create an abstract of the memorial which was a tall grid of concrete slabs. The little bird and the word "remember" were cut using my Slice and the Vintage Findings Design Card. The title was done with American Crafts rub-ons and finished with Thickers.

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketchbook Day 7: Birth Day

Welcome Baby

The Story:

I wish I could even begin to tell the story of the day Urijah was born, but I know my writing skills would not be able to do it justice. He got here mid-morning, one April day nearly a year ago. We were so excited to meet him. He weighed 7 lbs 4.9 oz and was 19.5 in. long. He also came out with a full head of hair. Just like his papa!

My parents and I got to see him for the first time, while he was in the nursery getting his first little once over. He was so calm and serene. Didn't make a peep until the cold metal stethoscope was placed on his new little chest. He sounded like a kitten. An adorably hairy and sweet, brand new baby kitten.

First Sight

The Pages:

KP's Day 7 prompt was the basis for both of these layouts. It was the sketch I was having the most difficulty with and look how many pages I got out of it. It helped to visit the Studio Calico Member Gallery, to get some extra inspiration.

I never would have come up with that color scheme for my page, were it not for the awesome Sassafras border sticker. But I'm happy that I was able to add some purple to his scrapbook. I misted a gold rectangle and added a pretty yellow square of October Afternoon paper, behind the photo. The Thickers and printed journaling finished it off.

For the second layout, I used all October Afternoon patterned paper and added Thickers and a pop-dotted die-cut to give the page some depth. That little ducky line is too adorable! Glad I finally got around to using it.

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketchbook Day 6: Energy

Energy

The Story:

My journaling says it best. Urijah is a "crawling, walking, dancing, jumping, talking, laughing, clapping ball of [then] 11 month old energy". It's hard to keep up with this lil guy. He completely wore out both of his grandparents and his papa on this afternoon. All he wanted to do was walk and walk and walk... Good thing we have a big backyard! He was happy to explore everything and exceptionally curious to find out what was in the birdbath. (He checked twice.) He was following Maddie around and even trying to bite her. (Something he does when he's excited.) He's like the energizer bunny! He just keeps going and going and going. Alas, the old people did not and after taking him a bath (clever tactic to get him to take a nap), he fell asleep in his papa's arms.

The Page:

I finally got some mojo back! Thanks KP for timing this sketch perfectly :) I loved my layouts from days 1-3, felt so so about days 4 & 5, and am happily back on track with day 6! I wanted to mix a few patterned papers in and these three came together fairly quickly. Loved that the Ed Hardy-esque paper coordinated with the color of the fence and Urijah's adorable mini hoodie. Had to throw in some camo to boy it up and added that navy dotted swiss for some texture.

Then the energy happened. No idea why, but I knew I wanted to add some hits of orange to give it some extra oomph! I was concerned that the orange on the navy would make my eyes cross but I rather like it now, especially with the white pen shadows. The top felt unbalanced at that point so I turned to one of my trusty border punches and a few left over die cuts. Oh, and I'm loving my white gel pen! Never realized how well it writes. Somehow I'd imagined that it would be too opaque!

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketchbook Day 5: First Car Ride

First Car Ride

The Story:

John snapped these photos of Urijah in his car seat, before their ride home from the hospital. I was pretty impressed with his iPhone's capabilities. And with the fact that this little boy, at 2 days old was already awake and aware! I have next to no photos of him sleeping like a peaceful newborn. That's not to say that he was fussy. He was actually a peacefully awake newborn.

The Page:

KP's Day 5 prompt was the basis for this page and circles were a very big element. I was also very influenced by Urijah's little yellow baby skull cap ;) and somehow managed to successfully incorporate crochet flowers into a page about a little boy! High five for that one! It's fairly simple and straight forward and all around cutesy. Just couldn't resist!

xxbesos

j.leija

Can You Guess: AAM

Can You Guess?

The Story:

Can you guess where I'm from? Most people don't get it right on the first try. In fact, few rarely do when I'm outside of my hometown. I've got everything from Hawaiian, to Asian, to Persian, when I ask people to tell me what they think. Would it help if I told you my last name is Leija? Yeah, probably not. Or if I told you I've lived in Spain and also Thailand? Again, probably not. I've also never been to Mexico nor visited Japan (unless you count the airport).

When I traveled through China the people embraced me as their own. When I traveled through Southeast Asia, every country was convinced I was at least half. And when I lived in Spain, people welcomed me home.

It's wonderful to blend in in so many places. It makes me feel so not like a tourist and I think, it helps me gain a better perspective on the countries I get to travel to. Plus, it's just plain fun to keep people guessing. So what do you wager? Can you guess where I'm from?

The Page:

Thanks to this week's Handmade Love challenge, I was finally able to complete a project that's been rattling around in my head for months! I started out with the photos, purchased the cute little Jolee's embellishments and then was totally stuck. Until...I saw Gretchen Mac's "I Miss Spring Break" layout on 2Ps. My photos were already arranged like this, all that was left to do was add the patterned paper strips and to strategically place the embellies!

And can I just say that I love Jolee's Embellishments. I love how cute and tiny and perfect they are. But I've never quite known what to do with them. I'd never used them before because they always felt lost on my page. Clustering was definitely the solution. And strategically placing them amongst my journaling helped a lot to. They aren't just floating off in space!

[A note about my photos: I have officially dubbed myself the one handed wonder as I've nearly perfected snapping photos of myself (sans self-timer). This is how they fall into the Self-Portrait category, which is this week's challenge!]

If you've read the Story portion, you'll notice I didn't actually give the answer. First person to correctly guess my ethnicity (beyond being American which I am) gets a fun RAK! So leave me a comment with your guess! And if you know me and have been explicitly told what my ethnicity is can yall leave it for peeps to guess :) Thanks!

ETA: It's been fun to see everyone's guesses! I probably should have mentioned that I'm 100% of what I am. So no mixing! The #1 guess I get in life is Filipino. Saw that a few times. My name is supposedly Portuguese. But that's more family lore. I'll give yall a few more guesses or a chance to clarify. Someone might be close...

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a correct answer :) Mrs. Bann guessed correctly with Mexican. Both of my parents and all of my grandparents are Mexican Americans. While it may not be the most glamorous of heritages, it's where I'm from and what I am. Sad to say that I grew up in Texas but have never made it to the other side of the border! One of these days...

xxbesos

j.leija

Sketchbook Day 4: UJ

UJ

The Story:

Well I don't really know the story behind these photos, Urijah's mama took them and sent them on over to us. So I created my own story for these photos. I imagine that they'd just come from the park, that Urijah had a blast being outside and enjoying the sun. So much so he was plain pooped out. He obligingly let mama take a few snaps but enough was enough. He was ready to head on home.

He looks so calm and contemplative. As if he was pleased with how his day turned out. I love his bright healthy brown eyes. The sun did him well!

The Page:

Sketchbook Day 4 and fourth straight day of creating. Now I'm the one who's pooped! I love this class and I really am so inspired but I'm wondering if my mojo is running thin. Thus we come to today's page. Not gonna lie, it isn't my favorite. I wanted to try out centering elements. I love this look when it's pulled off well, but I don't think mine is quite there yet.

I used tons of Sassafras, all the patterned paper strips, stickers, felt embellishments and brads are from their monster line. I like that it added some color to the otherwise neutral photos. However, can't quite put my finger on it, just feel like something's off.

Maybe if I sleep on it, it'll look better in the morning. It also probably doesn't help that I'm not in my usual scrapping space and am working with a very limited amount of supplies. I'm missing my schtuff!

Despite my lack of mojo, I'm loving being part of the Studio Calico community! Popped into a bit of today's live chat. So fun! Can't wait to see what goodness will arrive in my inbox tomorrow!

xxbesos

j.leija

When it rains...

I was also published in the online Scrapbooking Magazine this month! They featured my Little Boy Frame, one of my all time favorite projects! You can view the article here. There's my project at the top of the Table of Contents! So fun!

xxbesos

j.leija

U-Turn

What a way to start off my April! I was published in ScrapStreet Magazine! Michelle McClung asked if she could write about my This is Why I Scrapbook project in her article U-Turn. Of course I said yes! Click here to see the article. And don't forget to hit Next Page (I almost did).

xxbesos

j.leija