Top 12 of 2012

Hello friends! And happy almost New Year! Blogging today as I'm coming back from the dead. I caught a virus a few days before Christmas and am still suffering from it. It's frustrating, because all I've wanted to do with my days off is run errands and clean house, but I haven't had much energy for either of those things. I'm hoping to start feeling better soon though. Especially as my sweet boyfriend planned a lovely NYE dinner out and about.

I had a fairly productive year in scrapbooking terms. I made 120 layouts and 90 cards, 2 mini books and 6 altered art pieces. Not bad for a crazy busy year.

But seeing as we're at the end of 2012, I wanted to share my 12 favorite layouts from the year. Here are some stats on them:

There are five 12x12 layouts and seven 8 1/2 x 11. 

One is from Lisbon. 

One is from Bangkok. 

One is from Cambodia. 

One is from Japan. 

Three are for Urijah's album. 

Two feature Sketchbook sketches. 

Two are scraplifts.

Five instagram shots were used.

Seven were made using Studio Calico kits.

Matt made it into three.

Paint and mist were used on five layout each.

I stamped on nearly all of them.

But surprisingly washi was used on just a few.

I love each and every one of these, most especially because of their vibrant colors. This is my life, these are my loves =)

Without further adieu and in no particular order. Here are my 12 favorite layouts of 2012:

And that's all folks! Until next year, I hope you all have a sparkling night full of light and love.

cheers & besos,

Addicted to Learning

I'm in a class taking frenzy right now. I don't know what's gotten into me really. And it seems to all have started with Kelly Purkey's April Sketchbook 4 class. 

This year I made 13 layouts with the 12 prompts. Not bad for just getting started. What I love about the sketches and the pdfs is that even though the class is over, I can still use & refer to them as often as I want. It's a constant source of inspiration. I'm still using Sketchbook 3 prompts (it's been my absolute favorite so far)! Now, after having taken 3 Sketchbooks and 1 Sketchpad I have several hundred sketches to peruse.

Who else am I learning from? How to Find Photo Flow with Kayla Lamoreaux at Jessica Sprague.com. Getting some pointers on 2 page layouts with Nic Howard & May Flaum at Big Picture Classes. Also, at BPC, Ali's helping me craft my writing skills about my everyday life in her 31 class. Let's not forget the Washi Workshop going on at Studio Calico. The first prompt just came out today!!

When I'm not going through this myriad of classes, I'm also diving into e-books. Here are two that I purchased recently, that I'm loving and have to share! 365 by Campfire Chic & Simplify 101's The Happy Scrapper.

What's next? A photo editing workshop with Elisha Snow at Big Picture Classes. Can't wait!

Are you taking any classes this summer, scrapbook or otherwise? I'd love to hear about the what and where. I'm (clearly) always on the hunt for a good learning opportunity. 

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No.12

And just like that I've finished Sketchbook 4. I'll post my usual wrap-up but first, I have to share my final page :) 

I used the my May Studio Calico kit and went to town, filling in the squares and rectangles the sketch called for with patterned papers and photos. I did some shifting around, but the essence of the sketch is still there.

Once again color was the driving force behind my choosing these photos. I took the teal from the domes and the statues and used strips of patterned paper that highlighted the color. I made sure to throw in some green  to accent the bits of greenery.

For this page, I journaled in a list.

1. Travel Buddies: Kori was(is?) one of my favorite travel buddies. We went to Belgium, Morocco, Spain & of course Germany together.

2 & 3. Museum Island & Fernsenturm: This area was gorgeous and so picturesque. We didn't go into the museum but instead soaked it all in from afar.

4. Brandenburg Gate: We had to see this famous landmark. There was no way around it. The square was busy and full of history.

5. Berlin Wall: The famous wall was no less impressive. I think I was most captivated by graffiti all over the walls. And there's something about this area of the city. Although not very far from the bustling Brandenburg area & Check Point Charlie, it was much more subdued.

I played with both color and texture on this page, roughed up and distress inked the edges of each of these patterned paper blocks. And even attempted to do some sewing. I will never get the settings on my machine right!!!

Sketchbook 4 completed: check!
12 pages done: yay!

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No. 09

Have I told you what Urijah got for his 3rd birthday? A puppy. Grandma and Grandpa just had to give their favorite little boy a puppy with a bow delivered in a box.

Meet Cadie (kinda like Katie). She's the cutest little thing! 100% puppy from what I'm hearing from my parents. She just loves to play!

Naturally, being an energetic little puppy she was attracted to the ball of motion that is Urijah. But what did Urijah think of his birthday present?

Meh, not so much....

He couldn't figure out why the thing kept following him! Or why it wouldn't leave him alone?! Truth be told he was more interested in Cadie's newly made big sister Hazel, whom he's never cared for a day in his life. But eventually, I think he'll come around.

The page came together quickly with the help of Sketchbook 4 Sketch No. 09, 2Peas Color Combo Challenge and the Studio Calico Paper Moon kit. The kit even came with that cute lil puppy dog stamp. Too perfect!

We're happy to welcome Ms. Cadie to the family. She's got some big puppy shoes to fill. No one will ever come close to our beloved Maddie.

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No. 10

I interrupt my orderly and sequential posting to bring you this Sketchbook layout. That would be Sketch No.10. Ack, my OCD is going crazy at posting these out of order! But I wanted to get it up in time to upload it to the 2Peas gallery to get another Glitter Girl badge. I'm devious that way... and a collector of shiny things, be they virtual or otherwise.

But anyways, back to my post. Pretend this is in order!

Here's my take on Sketchbook 4's No. 10 sketch. Love that I got to feature all of those lovely instagrams. 

It's a travel page, my favorite of course! But it's not overtly travel which I like. It's also fairly simple. I used Chap paper  & a badge (LOVE), some Studio Calico travel stamps, a wood veneer airplane (which btw, I wish the whole abroad pack had been planes and nothing more!) and some letter stickers.

[PHOTO]

I definitely picked the better route this go around, i.e. holiday first, business trip second. Priorities! And at least I wasn't sick, as the UK is want to leave me. I didn't want a repeat of Istanbul, which I still managed to make the most of, but was no where near 100%.

[PHOTO]

Oh Lisbon, I can scarcely believe I was drinking in your sunny goodness only mere months ago. I want to go back!

cheers & besos,

Sketchbook 4| No. 07

This was the little scrapbook page that could...have been fabulous. I loved the colors and the large circle, but I couldn't get the white space together!

The basis of this page is a Sketchbook sketch. It's fairly close the original sketch, I think I just moved the title down a bit.

Urijah spent the afternoon tearing up my J.Crew catalogue. He was quite content to do this for a good part of the afternoon.

To fill in the right side, I went to town with my circle punch and some vellum. It's for the Go Graphic Challenge at Studio Calico.  I used some odd and end paper but also a sheet from another J. Crew. I think this is an image of some pencil skirts.

This is also for 2Peas Final Stretch Challenge. This page has been sitting on my desk unfinished for a good 2 weeks. I ended up restarting on a fresh sheet of white cardstock, as I had previously done some mist splatters that just didn't look right. I really like the left side panel, with it's quirky color combo. The other 2/3 of the page might grow on me...

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,

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,