3Muskateers

I know I declare this regularly, but I'm serious when I say this is my latest favorite page. Maybe even my most favorite page ever!

I had so much fun putting this together and I'm so glad I decided to film the process. Here's a process video of how it all came together =)

Products used: [Acrylic Sunglasses] [Marie Alphabet Stamps] [Jonah Alphabet Stamps] [May Kit] [Thankful Paper Collection] [Little Moments Paper Collection] [Little Moments Paper Stack] [Letters & Numbers--White] [Letters & Numbers--Light Gray] [Letters & Numbers--Teal] [Tim Holtz Distress Stain--Peacock Feather] [Color Theory Inkpad--Pink Lemonade] [Color Theory Inkpad--Inky Black]

Here's the original sketch which was a bit hard to see in the video:

And the original inspiration!

cheers & besos,

September 26, 2015

In September, I decided I would do a [Week in the Life] type project in the week leading up to my birthday. Each day I'd tell a story about a different aspect of my life: work, family, friends, home, etc. 

I took all the photos, printed them, put them in pocket pages....and then nothing. Well, not completely nothing, I did do [one spread] using a Scrapbook Circle kit and another as my [31 facts at 31] post for the year. The rest of the pages have just been hanging out in the album unfinished. 

Until I received the Elle's Studio Documented products which just seemed perfect for a few of the pages! I used the [Documented Stamp] [Documented Journaling Tags] [Basic Journaling Tags-Gray] [May Monthly Kit] [Marie Alphabet Stamp] and [Little Moments Bits & Pieces] for this page. You can read more about it on the [Elle's Studio Blog] today!

cheers & besos,

Don't Forget

It's the little things that we tend to forget. I think we can all agree on that. Life can change slowly or quickly. Sometimes you don't see it coming. Sometimes you plan for it to change. 

For me, it's always so odd to plan for a change. I find myself going back and forth, weighing options and also just deciding in a flash. Hoping and praying that I've made the right choice.

This page is all about documenting life on the precipce of a change. It's not a huge change, but it's one that's definitely going to change our everyday lives. We've decided to adopt a kitten! New pets always make life exciting. And current pets meeting new pets is going to make for an interesting experiment for sure. Here's hoping that it's changing our family for the better!

I used the new Elle's Studio [Documented] items for this page, which is about five things I don't want to forget about what life was like as a family of three--mama, papa and puppy. There are [Journaling Tags] and [Stamps] and also [Acrylic Words] but I didn't use those here.

My favorite detail and really the start of this whole page are the little "don't forget" tabs. I wanted them to be reminiscent of an old idea. In order to remember something, people would [tie a string around their finger]. You know, in the days long before we had phones to alert and remind us of everything. So I stamped [don't forget] on a strip of patterned paper and tied a string around it.

Here's to hoping that I've made the right decision for my family! Can't wait to share more about the little creature that will soon be coming to our home.

cheers & besos,

Inspiration Inventoried: My Sweetheart

I decided to go ahead and put together a quick Inspiration Inventoried video for this page, which was my favorite from the weekend.

Here are a few of the links I mentioned in the video:

[InkieQuill]

[ScrapStream No. 3]

InkieQuill [Heart Embellishments]

Jen Schow's [A Little Piece of my Heart] layout

Elle's Studio [Heart Digital Cut File]

And here are the still images from the page!

cheers & besos,

ScrapStream

I had so much freakin fun participating in Adele aka InkieQuill's ScrapStream No. 3! It was like cropping with a friend. I got up to my own scrapbook mischief and made five pages. I created with no rhyme or reason. Just went through some of my latest photos, printed them in sizes I thought would work (some didn't) and made pages without kits or parameters. Like I said, so much fun! 

If you're interested in watching the not live ScrapStream you can see it here [Part 1] [Part 2] I'm definitely planning to re-watch the parts I was asleep for.

I think I'll blog about one of these each day this week! So check back to find out more :)

cheers & besos,

Weekends at No. 1152

I’m so excited to share this page! It’s one of my favorites from the year. I love the design and the color scheme (so not my usual). The moments that were captured (me helping Matt cook!). And all of the fun Elle’s Studio products I used (puffy stickers!!).

Can I just say that I love the dash of purple Elle included in the Little Moments collection. Dear manufacturers, more purple please! I think adding it in small doses helped make this mage so much more fun!

I started out by making the 12x12 layout, using a Simple Scrapper sketch (due out in May!). It was originally a double page layout. But I decided to shrink all of the elements down and overlap them a bit to make a single page.

One of my favorite parts is the bisected background. I love that angle! It isn’t very harsh, but definitely adds some visual interest. I die cut the title from the white cardstock and backed it with an ombre pattern from the Little Moments paper stack. 

This page is actually an update to one I did last year. It was called Saturdays at No. 1152. Back then we had a cat and no dog. Now we have a dog and no cat. I think it’s so important to document these kinds of things, because you never know how much can change in a years time!

Having the other layout in mind, I decided to print my photos to look like the instax photos I had used before. I stamped labels below each photo and then “Perfect Weekend” (a stamp from this month’s Elle’s Studio release) below each. Then I added a simple note describing each of our perfect weekends.

The embellishing was simple, a tag from the monthly kit, Sat and Sun acrylic pieces and three wee puffy stickers (swoon!). I dropped just a tiny bit of teal and purple mist to finish the page.

And I thought I was done. I thought what I’d made was enough. But then I started flipping through the stack of journaling cards in the monthly kit and I saw that “Notes from the Weekend” one and knew I needed to use it!

I decided to add a 6x12 divided page protector alongside my main layout. I started with the notes from the weekend card, this time I journaled about this specific weekend which happened to be Easter.

We didn’t do much in the way of celebrating. The only way we marked the occasion was by making and eating Matt’s Grandma’s wedding soup. The top photo is of the two of us rolling tiny meatballs for the soup.

I journaled on the “File this Under:” card and made my own 3x4 card using paper from the Little Moment’s paper stack and a few puffy stickers.

cheers & besos,

Dreaming of Sunshine

It's the 10th today!! Which means, the latest Elle's Studio monthly kit is out! Along with a few fun goodies and the new design team projects!! Head over there to nab your loot, while the kit is on sale for $9.99. After midnight PST, the prices increase to $11.99. So save some pennies while you have the chance :)

Here's a divided page protector spread I put together using the kit. I don’t use divided page protectors in the traditional sense i.e. Project Life. Really, they’re just another tool in my creative arsenal. If it makes sense to tell the story in this format, then I will! I don’t think too much about it.

I chose a divided page protector because I really loved so many of the cards in this month’s kit. Four of them fit went really well with the story I was wanting to tell, and I threw a fifth in for fun and color!

Lately, I’ve been going through a bit of a hard time. I’ve dealt with anxiety and a bit of depression since I hit puberty. It fortunately, has not been a daily issue for much of my life. There have been months and years when it hasn’t been part of my life. But the older I get, the more these issues seem to decide to make themselves known. This last round of anxiety has lasted longer than any before. Obviously, it’s weighing heavy on my mind, so I can’t help but document it.

I thought the “dreaming of sunshine” card was such a great metaphor for my current situation. I’m truly dreaming of more sunshine, or in this case, a happier and more calming state of mind. I love that Elle included a card that highlights that not every day is “happy” or “the best!” The “This was not my day” card was great for adding my journaling. And I thought the “Weather Report” went really well with the set, continuing on with the weather metaphor.

One of my favorite products from this month’s release were the puffy stickers!!! The “real life” one was perfect for this page. It’s kind of hard to tell from the photo, but the “true story” is an acrylic word. This is one of the truest stories I’ve told in awhile, so I had to use it.

I added some thought bubbles directly onto my photo in white ink. It’s kind of hard to see them but I like that. It’s just some texture, and a bit of a visual cue as to what my head looks like right now. Crowded!

For anyone who’s concerned, I appreciate it. But truly I’m doing ok. Taking a lot of steps to get better. And really just moving forward and working towards a brighter April.

I’m still here. I’m still scrapbooking. I’m still making time to be creative!

cheers & besos,

Battle for the Chair

This was one of the first pages I made with the new Elle's Studio Little Moments collection. Which is rapidly becoming my most favorite ever! It's so perfect for so many stories, big and small. 

The page captures a truly tiny moment, one where my nephew and my puppy are doing battle for their favorite chair in our apartment. It's a tiny silly story that makes me smile :)

You can read more about how the page came together over on the Elle's Studio blog!

Journaling Reads:

I don't know what it is about this chair but beasts and children alike seem to love it. Mac claimed it when she first came to live with us. It's in taters thanks to her claws. Urijah loves to hang out on it whenever he comes to visit. There are orange cheeto stains that can attest to that. And Dixie has now taken a liking to it. I don't know if it is because it's close to the window or just comfy, but there was a puppy nephew battle for chair supremacy when Urijah was last over. Dixie was even more interested in it than she usually is! She'd sneak over to sniff Urijah, then she'd place her paws on a corner until finally making the leap up to try to edge him out. He fell out of it once or twice as they were both struggling to gain control. I'm not sure who won in the end but it was funny to watch them duke it out. February 13, 2016

cheers & besos,

Photo of the Year

How many of you, my fellow scrapbookers, have felt thankful for this hobby? Have felt so blessed for taking the time to capture everyday moments? The mundane parts of life. The simple parts of life. 

I could not be more thankful for this photo, a seemingly boring photo. It's the only photo I have of my family of four--me, my partner, our cat and dog. We lost my cat just a few weeks later. So there's no chance of ever capturing our life like that again.

It isn't the greatest of images, but I don't really care. It's the idea behind it that matters the most. And that is why I consider it the best photo of the year.

For the page, I used the March Scrapbook Circle kit and this cut file from The Cut Shoppe. I manipulated it a bit in the Silhouette software and chose to only cut out the outer two "negative" rings. The patterns are from 4 sheets of patterned paper but I used the A and B sides of 3 of them, so lots of variety!

I kept my journaling and the embellishing really simple. Just a few typed lines and a smattering of foam hearts + the title and die cut. I wanted to include that Pinkfresh Studio house die cut because this is what life was like for us at home.

I'm so happy I set the timer and actually took this photo. I'm glad that I bothered to do it! Because there was ample opportunity and I just never got around to it. I'm making a resolution here and now. Get one everyday shot with the three of us in it, every month. Adding it to the bujo right now!

cheers & besos,

Uber Puppy

The other day, I was inspired to tell the story of how we came home with Dixie. She just happens to be an Uber puppy. Uber was running a puppy promo: request a puppy driver and they'll show up with puppies! Leah (my boss) thought it would be fun so she spent most of the 3 hour window trying to get them to come. There was a lot of demand and finally she confirmed one of the last visits!

Our office is notoriously pet friendly and everyone was so excited for them to show up. We got 3 tiny visitors who were so cute and a little tired. I sent Matt a photo of one of the dogs and was so surprised to hear he thought one was cute and would consider adopting her. I left the decision with him. In the end, we came home with the sister of the puppy I met. But man do they look similar!

For whatever reason I decided to scrap this 9x12 size in a pocket page. I think I went in this direction because of the number of photos I wanted to include. (I'm thinking I should assess this 9x12 album. Right now it has 3 really random stories in it from 2 different years...)

I had a ton of journaling for this. It's her gotcha story after all! I filled 3-3x4 journaling cards front and back so decided to tape them together into a flip book. The top one is sticking out over the plastic page protector.

And the decorated card is made up of stuff from my scrap drawer and way deep in my stash. This rainbow paper was in a Studio Calico kit from 2010 I think. The heart is old Freckled Fawn and the "Heart You" is from an Ali Edwards Story Stamp.

I used my favorite white ink to stamp directly of my favorite photo of Dixie. Just look at her sweet smiling face!

cheers & besos,