Fake it

...til you make it. That's what I've been repeating to myself these past few weeks.

I'm sorry I've been so absent here. We had a personal tragedy happen a few weeks ago. I lived through every pet parents worst nightmare. At the age of 2.5 and with little to no warning Mac got very very sick. We were at various vets and animal hospitals for a few days and then we decided it was time to let her go. I'm still shocked by it all. I'm still crying every day. I'm crying as I type this. Because she was my little girl and we loved each other very much.

There's a 6.8 lb hole in this apartment. Even though she wasn't very big, she's left a very huge hole in our hearts.

So I'm going through the motions and trying to make the most of the holiday season. But I'm still very sad. Please excuse my absence here. I promise to start posting again when my heart is a bit more healed.

cheers & besos,

Quarterly Giveaway

Hiya! I've been doing a bit of fall cleaning which includes my quarterly scrapbook purge. I went back through my old Scrapbook Circle kits to un-kit them and disperse things amongst my stash. I also set aside some of the little used goodies for a giveaway for one of you! 

Comment below for the chance to win this crop of goodies.  I'd love to know, what's your favorite: Thanksgiving (USA), Christmas or NYE?? Also, please include a way to get in contact with you!

Giveaway is open to international participants. Comment before 11:59 CST on 20 November. I'll announce the winner shortly after.

cheers & besos,

Penguin

I had so much fun playing with the November Scrapbook Circle kit. It definitely has a Christmas vibe to it, but I made a few pages this month that didn't really have anything to do with Christmas. This page is all about the time I met a penguin. 

I really wasn't intending to scrap about this experience. But after seeing the great penguin die cut in the Pinkfresh Studio die cut pack, I thought this would be the perfect story to share this month!

For the page itself, I channeled my inner Jennifer Larson. Using an enlarged black and white photo with journaling strips on top is definitely something I've picked up from her.

I love that scrapbooking helps me remember these random but fun moments. I'd nearly forgotten I'd met this penguin until I saw that die cut. I love it when good products spark memories too!

cheers & besos,

Bullet Journal

Oh man, I've fallen down a well. The planner/journal well. I just live there now. I have all kinds of fun binders and notebooks, expensive and inexpensive ones; large, small. I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me. So I'm paring up multiple approaches all at the same time. 

I love using my Simple Scrapper 2016 planner for keeping all of my creative team and scrapbook assignments and lists straight.

But I'm using a bullet journal for everything else! I discovered this via Kara from Boho Berry. She shared her bullet journal. And I was so hooked! I went to Amazon, bought myself a dot Leuchtturm1917 and impatiently waited for it to arrive.

I'm sharing just a few of my pages below. Everything is pretty simple and easy going. I like that whatever page or tracking I need, I can just create it!

I'm using a few different stamp sets [KP Check it Off][KP Planners gonna Plan][Waffle Flower Calendar][Neat & Tangled Blog Planner][KP/Hero Arts Special Occassion Planner][SC Alyra Alpha] some wash tape and my trusty Pilot FriXion erasable pen. The ink bleeds a bit through the thin paper, but I'm not bothered by it. I think it looks like I'm using this journal! Which is the whole point =)

It's only been a few weeks with the system. But I'm loving it so far. This is the first planner that's been portable enough for me to throw in my bag. So it's super helpful when I'm out shopping or running errands.

If you're interested in seeing more of this, just lemme know! Also, search Bullet Journal (or BuJo) on Pintersest for more inspiration. There's also a great Facebook page that I'm getting a ton of inspiration from: Bullet Journal Junkies! And of course, I drool over Kara's pages and her Boho Berry instagram.

cheers & besos,

From Paris to Today

Matt and I have traveled together dozens of times. But the first ever trip we took together was to Paris in 2009. We were living in London at the time, so it was a quick weekend getaway. It was his first visit, so we got in all of the highlights: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame. 

These few photos are pretty much the only ones we took. I was more intent on spending time with him than taking tons of photos. And I think that's totally ok sometimes! And I love these photos so much too, they feel very touristy and old school European holiday.

The story here is all about how far we've come in the seven years that we've been together. When we were in Paris in 2009, neither one of us had any clue what the future held or even when we'd next be seeing each other. It was a very uncertain time. Fast forward to today, when we definitely have much more security about our careers, lives and each other.

I used a Simple Scrapper sketch from the November collection as the starting point for this page. I love the look of a double page 8 1/2 x 11 and was so excited to see this sketch in the collection. For my fellow Simple Scrappers, this is sketch No. 276.

I recently purchased Ashli Oliver's The Softer Side class. I'm such a fan of Ashli's work and her amazing style. This page was my interpretation of her style, with the softer color scheme (all papers Gramercy Road from Gossamer Blue). I will definitely be incorporating more of her techniques into (or should it be onto....) my pages. Check it out if you haven't already! 

cheers & besos,