Not just Special

Have you guys been watching the 2Peas videos? Man do they have some awesome content! I'm loving the daily uploads. 

If I wasn't on a procurement freeze, I'd totally spend all my money there. They just market their products so well! So buy from them since I'm not. They're awesome!

But anyway, this page was directly inspired by Kristina Nicolai-White's In the Mood to Scrap video. Her prompt was to use punched circles but I drew inspiration from other places.

I hand wrote my journaling and added some hand drawn lines.

I liked the look of her title and even though it isn't exactly the same as hers, it's still reminiscent.

And the backing paper for the cut title had a little confetti vibe to it. Too bad you can't see much of it. 

I used stars and even hand cut one for a more organic look, like Kristina did with her heart. 

And as to the journaling, I was inspired by Glitter Girl's latest adventure. This is a favorite photo from Urijah's birthday last year, but the journaling is about his special needs. It's the first time I've ever scrapbooked about his autism diagnosis. Obviously it's a big part of his life and I think it deserves to be documented in his scrapbook.

cheers & besos,

Starter Trip

Guys, I know we all say this from time to time. And I know I do it often. But I seriously think this is one of my most favorite pages I've ever made! It came together so quickly thanks to a Shimelle sketch and my stash diving.

Actually Shimelle was really influential for both the design and concept of the layout. 

Sunday, I was super tired and completely lacking in mojo. Around 5:00pm I finished up a page I'd been waffling over since Saturday and didn't know what to work on next nor was I inspired to try. So instead, I sat in the living room and organized a box of printed photos. 

As I was going through the box, I pulled a few vertical photos that I thought could work for this sketch. And then I came across these photos from my first trip abroad. 

I knew instantly what I wanted to do thanks to this week's Glitter Girl Adventure. I often write more than the what/when/how but after watching the video, that idea was still percolating in my brain. When I came across the photos, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about.

Journaling Reads:

"Whenever people ask about the places I’ve visited, they always want to know where it started. I was blessed with an awesome travel experience when I was just 16, a wonderful adventure in France with Mama and our friend Karen. That first trip completely expanded my worldview. Literally! I loved the feel of the unfamiliar city, was intrigued by the Parisians' lifestyle and their unhurried pace. I loved exploring this city, so very different from my own. Most of all, I loved that I could be anyone I wanted in this new city, a newer and better version of myself. I still love that about traveling. It’s what keeps me discovering, more of the world and more about myself."

I went stash diving for these supplies & have to say, I think this is why I love the page so much. I've loved these products for forever and am so glad they made their way onto my page & into my scrapbook.

Absolutely everything is from several releases ago. Well except for those green letter stickers but we'll let that slide.

I pulled in a lot of Studio Calico Abroad, some original Amy Tangerine, Basic Grey Wanderer and a sheet of the new defunct Girls' Paperie.

I also pulled a few of my favorite travel quotes (compiled courtesy of my Pinterest craft inspiration board) for this page, something I've been wanting to do for awhile.

Can I gush again about how much I love this page? Because I seriously do!

Happy Monday yall!

cheers & besos,

Best Great Wall Memory

Hiya! Sharing a Shimelle sketch page today. I got to use an enlarged print with this one. It was my first time using my large format at home printer. Over Christmas, I got a Pixma iX6520 for super cheap. I like it so far, but learned that I need to print on glossy paper vs matte.

I also made this page for Simon Says Stamps "what are you known for" challenge. 

Here's how it's my style:

I love to mix pattern paper.

And also different size prints. 

Almost all of my pages have some kind of mist. 

For this one I used a mask and a mix of brown & gold ink. 

Lately, I've been using a ton of metallic. Love these as neutrals.

And speaking of neutrals, gray is undoubtedly my favorite neutral these days.

I also print my journaling on vellum a ton.

But I think the biggest component of my "style" is that I use color in my pages. Lots of color! And I pick my color choices based on my photos.

I love this page and it's story. It was an amazing experience in and of itself to visit the Great Wall. But for it to then start snowing! That just made it magical.

Here's a video I took when it started. I heard that a high school classmate used it in her middle school classroom. And that the kids thought it was very cool. =) Maybe I inspired one of them to travel the world!

cheers & besos,

Iconic NYC

Happy Hump Day! Thanks to Monday's holiday, it's been a short week for me. But I'm already ready for the weekend it seems. Mainly because I want to get back to my scrap desk and play!

Here's my latest creation, a recap page of my trip to NYC in November. I used five instagrams and some watercolors + general sparkle to make this page.

I couldn't figure out the best placement for 5 4x4 shots on 1 12x12 canvas so arranging them around the page was the best I could come up with. But then that made for a bunch of awkward leftover spaces. So I decided to draw boxes in each of them and then fill them in with watercolor. Problem solved!

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I used a ton of stars for this page. These chipboard ones I embossed with silver metallic zing. I pulled every one of those tiny 3D ones from my last SC kit and then I added some sequins to each cluster.

I even busted out my old label maker and labeled each photo/iconic site.

[PHOTO]

The colors in this middle instagram were throwing me off, so I added vellum over top. But first I stamped this awesome Kelly Purkey stamp over top and embossed it with white Zing!

[PHOTO]

I used some glitter Thickers from Amy Tangerine's Sketchbook line. I love this font! And I thought the glittery letters were perfect for this page about NYC.

[PHOTO]

I even did some painting with my mists. This bottom box was painted with silver metallic mist. It looks so much like concrete it's not even funny. The picture doesn't really let you see the shine but it's there I promise.

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And finally, I inaugurated this cityscape stamp into my scrapbook. It's been sitting in my drawer 'o stamps for at least a year and has never seen the light of a layout. Well, today it's day has come =)

[PHOTO]

Guys, I can't tell you how much fun I'm having digging through my stash. It's liberating! And I'm wondering how in the world I wasn't doing this before.

Later this week I'll update yall on how how Product Free 2013 is going. I have to make 1 tiny confession and ask your thoughts on another. Check back for that!

Until tomorrow, enjoy hump day yall!

cheers & besos,

Playing the Trends

Heyo! I hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did. My bestie drove in from Austin and we had a much needed girls weekend. We did just enough activities, worked in some relaxation and chatted a ton. I slept in until 11am this morning. I can't remember the last time I did that. Plus, the weather was gorgeous and on our side. And bonus, I scrapped! I'm telling you, this weekend was absolute perfection!

Sneaking one last challenge page in at the eleventh hour. Here's my final 2Peas CHA Challenge layout! I had fun playing around with some of the latest trends.

Trend No. 01-Glitter
Trend No. 02-Feathers

I glittered up a wood veneer feather. I also made my own feather out of vellum. I think it turned out really cute!

Trend No. 03-Washi tape
Trend No. 04-Gold metallic

If you don't own washi and are wondering where to start, I totally recommend getting some metallics. I love my gold and silver tapes.

Trend No. 05-Silhouette cuts
Trend No. 06-Confetti/glitter pockets

Finally! My Cameo cut something correctly. The insides of the B's were perfect for a little confetti pocket.

And that's all she wrote. I've loved playing along with these challenges. They always help me stretch my creativity and usually seem to be my most favorite pages.

What about you? Do you like to create from challenges? I'd love to see some of your challenge creations!

cheers & besos,

Sock Hop Thank You's

Thank you cards are always in season. Here's what I sent as my Christmas thank you's this year.

I put these together with my SC Sock Hop card kit. 

2Peas Challenge No. 08, the materials challenge, was my inspiration.

Here are my 8 materials: 

1. Stapled ticket

2. Twine

3. Patterned ticket

4. Jewels

5. Punched kraft "thank"

6. Stamped cardstock base

7. Washi tape

8. Vellum sentiment

I had fun mixing all of these textures! I also had fun making this design spill over from the cover to the inside. I wasn't so sure about that stamp set initially but I'm loving it now =)

Thank you for visiting. Have a happy Saturday yall!

cheers & besos,

Boy & Girl Cards

We celebrate two birthday's in my family this week. My Aunt on the 14th and her Papa, my Grandpa on the 16th. I made them each a card. I used my Block Party Card Kit and basically the same papers & supplies to make both a masculine and a feminine card.

I challenged myself to create a centered design. I feel like my designs are always off of a corner for some reason. This time, they're front and center.

For the lady version, I mixed patterned paper -- both strips and punched out shapes-- washi tape and a stamped sentiment. I added a glitter brad, used that beautiful flower stamp and finished off with some baker's twine.

For the manly version, I used some of those same patterned papers & my ticket and circle punches to punch out a few shapes. Which I again centered on the card base. After that I stamped my sentiment, using the numbers stamp from this collection and adhered it with foam adhesive.

For some reason, this reminds me of the front grill of a car. Perhaps it's why I think it looks manly :)

Both cards got splatters of silver mist.
Both use the same monochromatic color scheme with red thrown in!
Both were pretty quick and simple to make.

They've been sent off to San Antonio. I wish both of them a Happy Birthday & a wonderful year!

cheers & besos,

Farmhouse Fun

Ick Winter! Ours here in Houston are rainy and right now, very cold. I wish I could stay bundled up and warm here at home, but alas to work I must go.

Before I do that, I wanted to share another Block Party/2Ps CHA Challenge/Studio Calico CHA Challenge page. And also point out how crazy busy my Fall was. From a weekend in NYC to a weekend in the Hill Country, I was all over the place. Here's a separate page of our bachelorette weekend of fun.

We stayed at the cutest little farmhouse in Johnson City. (Seriously, if anyone needs a recommendation on a place to stay in the Hill Country, I would totally recommend this place.)

It was cute.

It was quaint.

It was red & turquoise!

And the Block Party kit had the best red & turquoise in it. I loved this patterned background paper and thought it went really well with a farmhouse theme. And of course that pocket was another perfect red & turquoise accent. 

I played around with F's for my 4 word title. It's not really a coherent string but still descriptive =)

There's not any journaling on the page, because honestly I didn't know where to put it. But I'm confident I'll make a coordinating 2nd page to talk about our weekend and all of the craziness and fun we had in this sweet little house.

Until later, I hope you're staying warm & dry!

cheers & besos

NYC in November

I scrapped! I scrapped! I spent my entire Saturday holed up in my room, gloriously cutting paper and pasting photos. This was the first chance I've had to just play. Not make a present or card. Just having fun working on my own stuff. 

I'm watching the Golden Globes so this is gonna be brief but I wanted to share a few pages of my November in NYC. Well really it was a weekend ;) but a long one! 

I also made a play at some of the 2Ps CHA challenges. This was for the 5 photo challenge and I was directly inspired by Glitter Girl's post this week. I used my Studio Calico Block Party kit, my last kit for the year (which I purchased in 2012 mind you!). 

This page also works for a few of the Studio Calico Challenges, like Use Multiples of the Same Embellishment, More than 3 Patterned Papers, and create a 2 Page Layout. 

This next page is for 2Peas Challenge No. 6. I used 6 wood veneer banner pieces to finish off the page. It's also good for the Use Multiples of the Same Embellishment, More than 3 Patterned Papers, and Dress Up your Veneer Studio Calico challenges.

It's been awhile since I've made a page totally from my stash. I went to my paper bin, picked what I thought worked best, grabbed a set of Thickers and some embellishments and just played! Look for more pages like this, I'm scrapping my stash!

And that's all folks. Thanks for dropping by. I'll update later this week with more CHA challenge projects.

Back to Golden Globes watching I go.  Yay Lena!! Amy & Tina F, my girl crushes on you have just got bigger.

cheers & besos,

Bachelorette Mini

Morning! I'm up bright & early today because someone's phone kept buzzing for unknown reasons. It's somewhat close to the time I usually wake up so here I am, up and blogging at 6am on a Sunday =)

I have the winner of last week's RAK for you all, but first I wanted to share this mini book I put together for Kimberly. 

Did I tell yall I'm going to be a bridesmaid? First time in life! I'm excited but curious to see what this whole experience is going to be like. 

Well, now that I think about it, it's already started. Tara, Susie & I threw Kim a weekend long party in the Hill Country for her bachelorette. Ten girls spending the night in an adorable farmhouse, literally in the middle of nowhere. It was a blast! 

We also did a bit of wine touring in the local area. But for me, the silliness that went down in the evenings, the talking, the laughing, the relaxing and watching movies. That for me was the best part.

I put together this 6x6 mini book with just a few supplies: green and purple cardstocks (Kim's colors are green and purple, and handily fit with the wine tour theme), a package of purple flowers, pearl trim, purple lace trim, washi tapes in purple & green, and a package of Jolee's with a wine theme. 

I tucked into my stamp & Thicker stash, and embellished with a button or two. And of course, turned to my punches more than once for a circle or a bow. 

It took me some time to get it all together. And I remembered why I don't make mini books that much any more -- they take so long & I start to lose interest and zeal for the project. But I always love seeing them all put together. Scroll through for a quick recap of our girls weekend. I had a blast with these lovelies. Can't wait until February 16!

Oh, one more thing. I have to note that I did catch the misspelling in the title page. Working to fix it now!

And of course I didn't forget about the RAK winner! According to random.org it's commenter number 3. That would be you SamSam! I'm e-mailing you know for your address, so I can get these goodies off to you. If you haven't seen the e-mail, then please e-mail me at paperheart[dot]project[at]gmail[dot]com.

cheers & besos,