Thodes

Right now, under the title of this post, there is a squiggly red line under the word Thodes. Aptly so, because it isn't a word!

Hey dearies! I was posting fast and furious there for awhile. Now work has descended on me and so I'm stepping back for the next few weeks.

But I wanted to share this fun page I made using only stamps and sequins, my new favorite thing!

Have you ever played bananagrams? It's like scrabble but more cut throat? ;) Kim tried to play Thodes as a word. Yeah, it didn't work out for her. But the word just makes me smile :)

This layout is so so simple. Instagrams + Project Life stamps + Charcoal chalk ink + smattering of sequins! I love that it's simple. I'm so not even bothered by how the stamps didn't stamp perfectly on the textured cardstock.

Did you know my favorite color is yellow? I'd think you might after reading this blog for a bit. Love the pops of my fave color on this page!

Thanks yall for your patience with me and this blog. I will be posting again soon!

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No. 6

Today I want to share a totally Jamie but not at all Jamie layout. It's for Shimelle's Mixing Styles challenge.

What's me about it? The color combo & how I use paper and embellishments that coordinate nay I say match the colors in the photo.

What's not me about it? The sweet & simple design. I used Sketch No. 6 for this page and followed it nearly to a T. No extra embellishing and really not much moving around of the sketch elements.

I so totally love this quirky color combo. The orangey pink of my dress goes great with the SC/Sassafras patterned paper. I used the teal of the pool for my journaling block and got to utilize that great washi as well. The floor boards from the deck were mimicked in the wood veneer frame. And I used yellow, the color of my straw, as an accent color.

Have I mentioned how great the City of Lights kit goes with my favorite instagram filter? It's the Walden filter by the way.

I just have to say, although not my usual style, I do love the calming effect of this page. Or maybe I'm just reminded of the wonderful relaxing time I had that weekend. Was it only a few weekends ago?!

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No. 5

Ok, so I'm back to sharing Sketchbook pages. This one was just fun to make. I love the design of Sketch No. 5.

I used the Sorbonne add-on & the City of Lights kit for this fun page. I loved all of the bright colors in the add-on and a little went a long way on this page.

They gray squares with white pen ink look like mini chalkboards to me. Which is totally what I was going for ;)

The journaling is scattered, the design is scattered, the sequins is scattered and the photos don't all match. But I still really love how this page turned out!

cheers & besos,

Smile

I'm officially in sharing mode. And totally killing the photos in my "To Scrap-Urijah" folder. I'll definitely be done with his 2 year old pages by the end of the month.

Oh man, I can't believe my little guy is already going to be 3 on Friday!

Here's another Shimelle Challenge + Urijah + Studio Calico kit page. I busted into Paper Moon. I've been hoarding all this time. Not even realizing that I'd been hoarding it because although its' box was hidden in plain sight, I didn't know it was in there!! For shame, I'll sheepishly admit it.

It was a lucky coincidence I found this kit, since I'd pulled these photos for a page about Urijah's smile! The Amy Tangerine tag was the perfect touch. I absolutely adore that it's done in orange thread!

This was for Shimelle's Scraplift Wilna Challenge aka No. 5. It was perfect for this already printed large photo. Loved her tone on tone punched elements and the rounded banner. I replaced it for circle photos of Urijah instead.

Journaling Reads: "U have the best one dimpled smile. It's at times sweet and others cheeky. Sometimes U have a mischievous look in your eyes. I love when you're just happy and your joy is written all over your face, but most especially in your smile."

cheers & besos,

Car Seat Kid

Hiya! Two posts in one day, I'm on a roll! But really just trying to get all of these pages blogged by the end of the week.

This was for Shimelle's Scraplift Jamie Warren challenge. I loved the central design of Jamie's page and all of the fun details and clusters. I had assembled the page kit for this layout months ago and had a general idea of what I wanted to do. Jamie's page just brought it all together for me.

It also works for the From one to Another challenge. The featured pages were both very girl and had very bold colors. This one is boy inspired and has a much softer feel to it.

I used some Dear Lizzy Neapolitan, old Studio Calico & Sassafras. Plus some bling & wooden buttons thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the background was misted just along the sides with Dewey Mister Huey.

cheers & besos,

Bro-ing Out

I had an absolute blast crafting up a storm this weekend. First with some friends, then once I got home for a quick half day at work yesterday. Yup, I had to get some work in yesterday. It's our craziest time of year!

But to reward myself, I came home, relaxed and parked myself at my scrap table for the rest of the day. My mojo was really flowing! So it was hard for me to pick which page to share with you first, I have so many that are my "favorite".

This I think is the winner. It combines a whole host of challenges, both real and ones that I put on myself. Two from Shimelle's scrapbooking weekend, the gray + yellow + [insert color] challenge, and the put it in a pocket challenge. It's based off of KP's sketch No. 6. (I'll share my official Sketch No. 6 layout later this week.) It was also created using only my City of Lights + Sorbonne add-on, the 4th I've made with this kit!

I had fun with the bright colors in the Sorbonne add-on kit. I love gray and yellow together, and teal was one of the dominant colors in the add-on.

I have to admit, I was very intimidated by those little ziplock bags. I had no idea how I was going to use them or what to put in there. The frame on this one was perfect for the 5th photo I printed for the page. I threw in a tangle of baker's twine and a few sequins, viola!

I'm not sure if it's the bright colors, the silly journaling or the fact that I used that plastic bag, that makes this page my favorite. But I'm definitely so happy with how it came out!

cheers & besos,

Chevron Birthday Card

I've been crafting up a storm! 7 layouts this weekend + this card that I wanted to share.

It's for MT's Grandma's 83rd birthday.

I used some scraps from my previous page, the butterflies & the letter stickers.

It's just a pretty card for a sweet little lady.

cheers & besos,

March Brunch

I woke up with a sore arm this morning. I think it's from lugging my scrapbook things around yesterday. But I scrapbooked!!

Had a lovely afternoon yesterday, hanging out with a few scrappy friends & doing what we do best. Pushing paper around aimlessly whilst chatting. Or as in D's case, ink the edge of 100's of Italy die cuts the entire time! Small price to pay for getting married in Italy I suppose :)

But I wanted to share a few of my crop pages. I'm spreading them out over the week so be sure to check back later, k?!

I've taken heaps of everyday life instagram photos this year. So I printed a bunch and took those along with me to the crop.

For this page I wanted to play around with creating my own chevron pattern, using all of the gorgeous patterned papers from Studio Calico's City of Lights kit. The colors in this kit are great for my instagram photos. My fave filter Walden, so perfectly matches the soft colors & feel of this kit!

I wasn't so worried about my chevron "joints". They over lapped & didn't perfectly line up, so I covered them up with the lovely butterfly stickers that came in the kit. Then I printed my journaling out on vellum and added it to my page. I love the soft feel that gives off as well!

2012 is and already has been a great year. Can't wait to see what else this year has in store!

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No. 4

I got to play with some divided page protectors yesterday. With all of the Project Life craziness still going on, I had to see what all of the fuss was about. But first, I want to share my take on Sketch No. 4.

The sketch called for circles, but I went for stars instead. It's a page of Urijah hanging out with his buddy Sid. No album of Urijah at 2 would be complete without a page including Sid the Science kid. He's his absolute favorite so Mama made sure he had a Sid cake for his birthday.

I played with stars in the red, blue & yellow color scheme. I also cut up one of the stars and used them to highlight the title.

And on to my stab at a divided page protector. I had so many photos of Urijah with his birthday cake, it was the perfect solution for showcasing all of these photos.

I'm usually intimidated by these tiny canvases. But with all of the great PL inspiration out there, these came together easily.

And I made sure to add some elements to the top of the page protector to add some texture. Who doesn't love foil stars?

While I was at it, I played with a different pocket page layout. It's just a fun layout. I love the green & orange color combo. This made me realize I don't use enough orange on my pages.

I recycled an old Studio Calico paper bag and printed my journaling out on it. I think it add some interesting texture.

I suppose that's enough for now. I'm off to pack my scrapbook bag. I'll be scrapping with some lovely ladies tomorrow & I'm really looking forward to it! Hopefully I'll have some more pages to share with you soon =)

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No. 3

I know I'm biased when I say this, but Urijah is one cute kiddo! These photos have to be some of my favorites from this year.

MT & I went to pick Yaya Bear aka Urijah up for a play date last summer. We got to the house & he walked out to come with us to the car. BUT, not before he picked up his Aunt Amber's cat to take with us.

It was THE cutest thing I've seen all year! Even the way he was holding this real life cat was too cute. Pudgy baby arms kinda struggling to put his arms around her.

And that cat! Let me tell you, is one of the most patient and sweet animals I've ever seen. Chill doesn't even begin to describe it. She literally didn't squirm or try to get away once. Even after he kept putting her down to try to get a better angle & pick her back up again.

Even though Urijah doesn't talk, his actions speak volumes! That day he was telling us, "Ok Tia, I'll go with you but not without my cat. Let me grab her & then I'm ready to go!"

I had fun playing around with the elements of Sketch No. 3. I think I came up with something very different, but still within the parameters of the sketch.

I used the new Echo Park This & That collection that I picked up from Archiver's a few weeks back. I love love love the colors in it!

As to the tilted and off the page design, I have to credit this pin of a gorgeous quilt as my inspiration.

And just for fun, I thought I'd take a page off of soapHOUSEmama's blog & share the step by step process of creating this page.

First I gathered some products I thought might work for the page: Echo Park paper, Mister Huey, Kraft Cardstock, Basic Grey animal stamps, etc.

Then, I stamped and cut out this wee little guy. I think he's meant to be a tiger but he works as plain old tom cat too :)

I dropped some Studio Calico Mister Huey in white on the kraft background.

Then cropped my photos.

I thought they needed a bit of a border, so I ran my Adarondack Paint Dauber in Brown, along the sides.
I cut strips of patterned paper from each of the sheets and cut them down into squares & rectangles to hang off of the page.

Then I glued them down.
And then added a similar grouping on the top corner.

Next came my title + date stamp.

And then I added my journaling strips, printed on green tinted vellum.

I threw just a few embellishments onto this page, 2 buttons and that cute lil "kitten".

But the top felt a little heavy to me, so I used a border stamp & Versamark ink to help the weight balance.
And tada it's done! Thank you so much for visiting. I'm sure I'll be back with more Sketchbook 4 pages soon :)

cheers & besos,