Never Bored

I've had this idea in my head for a bit now, and I'm so glad I got it into the scrapbook! This was the fourth page I made during the [InkieQuill] [ScrapStream] this past weekend. It's a super simple page using some of my newest stash: [Pink Paislee C'est la Vie 6x6 Paper Pad] [Pink Paislee C'est la Vie Washi Sheet with Foil Accents] [Pink Paislee C'est la Vie Printed Chipboard] [Illustrated Faith Created to Create kit]

I was inspired by Adele's art journaling, so I decided to use a stencil and some modeling paste just under where I knew the photos would go. It adds this great tone on tone texture and is just what this fairly flat and simple layout needed.

Pops of color, gold, enamel dots, patterned paper...check. check. check and check! All of my favorites in one super simple page.

cheers & besos,

Christmas Markets

December means its Christmas market time in Europe! They are seriously some of the most magical places to wander and explore. Last year, I visited the one in Basel, Switzerland. 

I instagrammed the heck out of it! So when I was making the layout, I decided to keep my photos square. The design is based of a Simple Scrapper sketch (No. 258 for the members).

I love when a group of products so perfectly matches photos. For me, the Good Cheer kit from Scrapbook Circle + two shades of blue cardstock, just so perfectly encapsulated the vibe of the market.

I blogged about this over on the Scrapbook Circle blog last month. If you want to check it out there and take a look at the kit, click here.

This is honestly one of my most favorite Christmas pages ever! I just love how it all came together =)

cheers & besos,

On a Grid

I love a good grid! So much so, I didn't even realize all the grid layouts I've been making lately. Every last one of my January Scrapbook Circle pages ended up with a grid design; grids within grids, a grid of photos, embellishments in a loose grid. 

I made sketches of each of the pages and it totally emphasizes the point. I'm also now noticing how small I've been printing photos lately….But that's a story for a different post.

cheers & besos,

Elephant Trek

Thanks Camp Scrap for getting pumped to scrapbook this summer! I went digging through my photo box to see what photos I wanted to use. 

These were two 4x6's that I knew I wanted to scrapbook. 

I loved this sheet from Crate Paper and thought it brought out the best colors in the photos and also added in some great accent colors as well. It's how I pulled in the different colored scraps that I stamped those ellies on.

I dug into a whole slue of new goodies that just arrived with my last (for the next few months!) Two Peas order. Like those great Crate Paper plastic alphas. I also think it's the first time I've ever used that Amy Tangerine stamp set. For shame! 

But seriously, this is one of the biggest reasons why I decide to stop buying new product. It really forces me to use what I have.

I also initially decided that I wanted to write my journaling directly on the photo. But it turned out horrible! Not to worry, re-printing took only a few minutes and my problems were solved. But as I was going back through my files to find this photo in particular, I realized there were so many more photos I wanted to include.

Hence this second page:

I pulled a whole smatter of photos and cropped them into 2x2 in squares, knowing I wanted to create a grid layout. I also pulled out my Acorn Avenue 6x6 paper pad and some scraps of that great kraft Elle's Studio polka dot.

To decorate some of the squares I used my new Travel Girl stamps (LOVE THESE!!!) and that line's die cut pack. I also busted into the Simple Stories brad pack and added one of those fun cork medallions. I opened up a lot of new packages for this page and I love that.

The cardstock background is this amazing-in-person gray orange peel texture. When I saw it in the store I immediately thought, it looks like elephant skin!! So I definitely wanted to use it here. It cools down the whole page & that's ok. I'm just really glad that patterned paper sheet I decided on in the first place included some gray as well.

Since I didn't like how the journaling on my photo looked, I decided I wanted to add an insert page but with a twist!

I've had this idea to print a photo onto a full 12x12 sheet of vellum for awhile now. I'm so glad I did it! It's how I decided to incorporate the journaling and was a fun "technique". The photo wasn't that great of quality and the printing not exactly perfect, but I love the look and feel of it so much!

So here's how my loose double pager looks next to each other. I pulled a lot of the same elements onto both pages and made sure to repeat the patterned paper and tape on both, as well as the little stamped ellies.

And here's the vellum page with the next page peeking under it. I think it looks awesome!!

Wow, that turned into a big share! And I think that's perfectly ok.

But seriously yall, this is why I'm so excited about Camp Scrap! For me, it's been about just working on projects & getting my stories told. I can use any supplies I have and any photos that I want. This doesn't look like anything May has shared and everything goes! I'm quickly realizing, that's my kind of class =) So check it out if you have the chance. Registration closes on the 12th.

cheers & besos,

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

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

Notting Hill Carnival: Sketch

Notting Hill Carnival

Ah, the Dear Lizzy line. I swoon. I drool. I love! This was my first time playing with this fabulous new line from American Crafts. I literally went looking for photos so I could use it! Then the Handmade Love girls posted this week's challenge sketch and I was excited to put all these gorgeous papers in one layout. Bliss! And a pendant banner...{sigh} Pure Joy!

But enough about the scrapping part, I'm just happy to have scrapped these photos of my first weekend in London. Back in the days when I barely knew my roommates, when I was still hopelessly lost getting around the city, and so blissfully unaware that I'd started the most amazing time of my life.

The fun to be had that first weekend was definitely an indication of the year to come. As fate would have it, Notting Hill Carnival was in full swing. If we wanted an introduction into the culture of the city, we definitely got it. You basically just walked the streets of Notting Hill drink and b-b-q in hand, beads around your neck. Britt, Bex and I didn't really partake. But we stumbled upon Tallini in full celebration mode (That's my girl!) and got the only photo of the four of us ever taken. Seriously, the odds of that happening are slim to none if you see the massive crowds that were milling the streets.

Oh how I miss London. Even worse, I miss Miss MISS those girls!

xxbesos

j.leija

Year 1

Year 1 Highlights

Here's my latest. I little recap for Matt's and my 1 year anniversary. I adored this beautiful Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper and I'm glad that I got to finally use it. It's a light light blue, red ruled and flocked with white flowers! I started this project before the weekend, left it for the beach house, and came back with a fresh take and a much better idea. I played off the xoxo's and made it a makeshift tic-tac-toe board. Used my fave lil Slice die-cutter to make the x's and o's and created the little calendars in Excel. I really liked how this turned out and even better that I actually had 1 year anniversary to highlight. Who'd have thought? :)

xxbesos

j.leija