Such a Dude

Boy layouts. Boy layouts are fun, but sometimes a bit challenging, as I love the flowers and pink and have lots of them in my stash.

That’s why, when an amazing boy line comes along, I purchase a TON of it and use it for years. Like this Crate Paper collection called Boys Rule. I bought All.The.Things and I still love it.

The frame around the photo was the starting point, believe it or not… it’s from Project Life and I recently purchased them. I am trying to use everything I buy at least once before I forget about it, so these were on my desk.

That photo didn’t hurt either… :D The chipboard is from Sassafras Lass, and there is a bit of mixed media and stamping too.

Thanks for taking a peek! If you’d like to see more, you can find me on YouTube here. See you around!

Back to School

While I was on blogging hiatus, there was a fun YouTube hop that happened, full of back to school layouts and inspiration. I pre-filmed so I could participate, and this is what I came up with! Scroll down for the video, and then make sure to view the video description for a full list of the other AMAZING ladies that participated. ;)

Two Awesome!

Cool Kid from Crate Paper is a classic, in my opinion! Just like every boy line CP puts out… and I think it’s about time for another, don’t you?? ;)

This layout uses a Jillibean Soup background paper, and the rest is straight up Cool Kid! Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. I hope you are inspired.

Silly Boy: Process Video

Oh, this boy. And a new camera.

And some lovely, lovely mixed media experimenting. That’s how this layout came about, and it was my first layout using my kit for July from How to Kill A Kit With Style! I shared my kit in fill HERE in this video, but in today’s video I’m showcasing the mixed media technique that I tried for the first time. And it turned out really well!

The stencils are from Ranger/Tim Holtz, the mists are from Studio Calico, Tattered Angels, and Heidi Swapp. And those super fun stickers are from BasicGrey (sigh, sob!).

The video is below, you you can go straight to my YouTube channel HERE. See you there!

New Friend: Using Older Supplies

Ya’ll. Dill Blossom from SEI. Remember that one?

It was practically a classic from the moment it was released, and yet, it never was mine until last year. Funny how that works! In my new Age Before Beauty series on YouTube, I pull out some of the oldest products in my stash and give them a fresh spin.

So, Dill Blossom it is. And an amazing retro cut file from Paige Evans (Silhouette design ID 294465). Somehow, we end up with a retro modern layout that I love. AND… it’s for the boys. :)
You can see the video HERE on my channel, or down below. If you enjoy it, I’d love a thumbs up or for you to subscribe. See you there!

Gerber Baby

When my 3rd baby was little, one of our favorite stores held a contest for a new model for their line of baby products. I ALMOST entered him. I wish I had, because you never know. This photo I took on the day I was discussing with my husband his chances of winning… hence the title. :)

This layout uses some really OLD Sassafras chipboard numbers, some Pink Paislee Wild Child, and a background paper from Webster’s Pages. I love a good page that mixes lines together! I also love me some fun color combos!

Hope you enjoy!

Mom said NO!

This is indeed what happens (sometimes, anyway!) when mom says no. The pouts were too cute not to capture, especially the little one mimicking the older!

I made this page using some really old papers from goodwill and some Project Life cards. I have a TON of PL cards and I need to used more of them, so I challenged myself to use mostly PL cards on this page. Even the small flowers are cut from the cards.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Sisters

We live in Texas, where Blue Bonnet season is a thing. This is new to me since we have only been in Indiana for a year, so of COURSE I needed Blue Bonnet kid pictures! My brother took them, and they turned out amazing.

This is the first one of those photos to make it into an album, and this background paper from the Horizon collection by Paige Evans and Pink Paislee was the absolute PERFECT color. I used lots of the Floral Ephemera from the same collection and a Silhouette Cut File (also by Paige Evans) called Dipped Leaves.

I did lots of mixed media on the background and then covered it up… LOL! But, oh well. I love how it turned out in the end. Thanks for taking a peek, and be sure to check out Horizon!

This IS My Real Smile!

Oh, life with boys. Always a riot, never a dull moment.

These photos are from a moment when we were all eating together on the deck, and the sun was setting. I asked my 11-yo for a photo… and these are what I got.

I suppose at least he lets me take his picture.

This is also my very first Pinkfresh layout EVER. Gasp! How did that happen? I can’t believe I haven’t dug in before. This definitely won’t be the last. :) This is mostly Case of the Blahs.

I used some Silhouette cut file leaves that I cut AGES ago and saved for some future use. The color wasn’t quite right, so I toned them down with a bit of the same paint I used on the background. I love cutting bits and bobs when my Silhouette is out and having them available for the perfect moment. I do the same with doilies, arrows, gears, etc… though it’s definitely time to replenish my stash!

Thanks for taking a peek! If you would like to see more of my layouts, you can check out my YouTube Channel HERE.

See you there!

Scraproom Tour!

I love, love, love my current scrapbook room. I am blessed to have a dedicated space (except for some other home office type uses) that I can use for my creative endeavors. I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy seeing other’s creative spaces, because it inspires me!

I learn a lot from seeing how other crafters organize, display, and of course create on a budget! So, since I have watched like a million craft room tours, I am super excited to share mine with you. I hope it inspires you as I have been inspired.

If you enjoy the video, I’d love for you to subscribe to my channel, and pin the graphic above so others can find it too! Thanks!

Here is the video! 

Scraproom Tour Video on YouTube

(I’m working on embedding, I’ll update it as soon as possible)

A Chilly Easter

It was a cold and snowy night…

Just kidding.  Ha. 

But it was Easter, and it was freezing.  Life winter coats and see-your-breath freezing.

So this presented me with a dilemma.  Bright red coat dominating Easter photos.  What’s a scrapper to do??

Create an Easter page with Christmas flowers, of course.

Since the photos were fighting back with any traditional Easter themed products, I dug deep in my stash and found some Christmas papers (The Paper Studio) that had colors that worked with my photos but weren’t too holiday looking.  Proving, of course, that there is an answer to every scrapbook challenge. 

I decided on the white background, then used gesso and a stripe stencil to add some texture and a graphic element to the page.

While the result isn’t overly Easter-y, it does work for the photos and I’m happy with the final result.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Bless This Mess (Cute)

Oh that face!  There;s something about that expression on his face that just has me…  all wrapped up.  I couldn’t NOT go girly with this page.  It just didn’t fit that sweet face to pair it with all rough and tumble papers.

So, Maggie Holmes for the win!  I did, however, keep to more masculine colors, and anchoring the page with that buffalo check really helps.

I derived partial inspiration from Shimelle’s Layer On Layer class.  There’s a video where she shows taking a sticker book and just layering things up, one on top of the other.  I did this with the Maggie Holmes sticker book- almost everything here that isn’t paper of enamel accents is from that book.

I actually started this layout with a full circle of enamel accent dots, and then most of them got covered up.  That’s just how it seems to go sometimes!  Because of that, though, I ended up adding a few more as embellishment at the end.

Thanks for taking a peek!

24 Yards

(This post may contain affiliate links.  I only link things I use, and the links cost you nothing extra.  I just get a small commission.  TIA!)

You know how sometimes you start something, convinced it’s a really good thing… then 3245 hours later, you’re wondering why on earth you ever decided to do that thing? 

Me either.  Ahem. 

Except, there was this once when I ordered 24 yards of amazing fabric to make drapes for 3 very large windows.  Thankfully, I finished them, and when we moved a year later, they worked in the new house too.

I scraplifted myself for this layout.  The original, From 4 to 5, is from all the way back to 2010, and featured Cosmo Cricket.  Sadly, Cosmo is no more, but the style of this layout is still perfect.

The new version tells the story of those 24 yards of fabric.  Ironically, I used supplies from BasicGrey, another company that is no more.  I mourn. 

The collection is called Clippings, and I used the chipboard, the 4x6 journaling stack, and the 12x12 sticker sheet to create this layout.  Oh, and that red polka dot?  Totally a My Mind’s Eye Christmas paper!  You never know what might come in handy!

Mist spatters are Heidi Swap Color Shine, the numbers are BasicGrey’s Milk & Honey Collection, and the Thickers are Rockabye Foam in blue (my fave font ever!).

We Live In a City

(This post may contain affiliate links.  I only link things I use, and the links cost you nothing extra.  I just get a small commission.  TIA!)

We recently moved across country and we’re adjusting to living in the city again.  So, when we were visiting the Alamo and a squirrel willingly came within a few feet of my daughter’s stroller, it reminded me again that we’re city folk again. 

She loved it, and I got this cool photo!  I used the Maggie Holmes Open Book Collection for several of the papers, and then turned to my currently most-used stash of Elle’s Studio Labels and amazingly versatile alphapbets (I need them ALL!) for the finishing touches.

I started with a few layered banner pieces matted my photo, and then of course fussy cut pieces.  I jazzed up the background a bit with a bit of mist in my current favorite mist, Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Tea.


Thanks for coming by!

Let’s Just Play All Day

So back in April 2016 (which just happens to be where I am currently scrapbooking. Ahem.), we were in the middle of a major home renovation.  There was dust, and dumpsters, and wallpaper to strip (it had GOLFERS on it!).  There was also shopping!

This layout uses mostly the 6x6 paper pad from Echo Park, called Happy Camper.  I passed over the line when it first came out, but when I found the 6x6 locally a few months later, I decided I NEEDED it.

And apparently I did, as I have used it a ton since then.

The photo is of my 3 checking out the tractors in Lowes, while we shopped for light fixtures.  They were bored, other than this 5 minute interlude.  Still need to write in my journaling though!

I mixed in some October Afternoon Farm Girl ephemera and some random bits I had out, as this layout was made while we were in temporary housing and I was limited to 2 Iris cases and a box.  It’s amazing what you can do with a little, right?

See ya soon!

Boys Will Climb

(This post may contain affiliate links.  I only link things I use, and the links cost you nothing extra.  I just get a small commission if you choose to purchase.  TIA!)

Hey!  Welcome back.  Thanks for stopping over to take a peek. 

I’m a mom of 4, 2 of them boys, and I can tell you for sure that my boys have been climbers.  Like, climb the library shelves to the ceiling climbers (true story).

So…

The fact that my boys love climbing walls should be no surprise.  Ha.  This layout is documenting my son’s recent climb.  Thankfully, this one involved a helmet..

I used a couple of practically ancient American Crafts papers for the background.  Then I made “bricks” with my distress oxides, a stencil, and some water.  I LOVE Oxides and all the fun affects you can create.  Next time I do this technique, I’ll whip up a quick tutorial for ya!

There’s another theme to this layout… ancient supplies.  There are some leaves from Prima Marketing, some clock rub-ons from Maya Road, and some stickers from 7gypsies (remember them?!).  I love using up old stuff to make room for the new!

Thanks for coming by!

Happy Birthday!

(This post may contain affiliate links.  I only link things I use, and the links cost you nothing extra.  I just get a small commission.  TIA!)

Anyone else buy something because you love it… then realize that you have nothing else in your stash that coordinated with it?  Yeah.  Me neither.  HA.

Except, of course for these journaling cards from Studio Calico.

It’s possible, you know… in theory… that I’ve had these for about 5 years and never used them.  So I decided it was way.past.time.  So I picked another oldie (remember Double Dot from BoBunny??) as a background and layered on the cards for the majority of my patterns.

I also use some October Afternoon punch-out tabs from October Afternoon, and some woodgrain alphas from Studio Calico.

My biggest challenge with this page was the complete lack of coordinating embellishments.  So, I ended up cutting out some bits from the cards themselves, like the bottlecap style images and layering them up.  Sometimes you just gotta work with what you’ve got! 

Thanks for taking a peek!

Heeyy!! I’m Back.

(This post may contain affiliate links.  I only link things I use, and the links cost you nothing extra.  I just get a small commission.  TIA!)

I have missed this blog!!  There’s a reason I’ve been gone, but it’s boring (moved across country, no space, things packed, new business, etc.).  Instead of boring you with the why, let’s just get to the fun stuff.  I’m creating again!

This is a layout I made recently to try to document the special bond between my girls.  They are 11 years apart, and they love each other to pieces.  In fact, I think the little would be quite fine without me as long as her sister was there for her.

The papers in this layout are from Jen Hadfield’s collection called Everyday. (for sale now at Scrapbook.com).  I adore the bright colors and fresh patterns in this collection!  I fussy cut a bunch of lemons and layered them along the horizon line.  I don’t think I’ve use lemons before so this was kinda fun!



On the white cardstock, I covered it with gesso, then some Distress Oxides in Fossilized Amber and Bundled Sage.  I smudged the inks on with my distress tool… but it didn’t quite turn out the way I was hoping… so yeah.  I need to work on that some more. 



The other bits on the page came from here and there… mostly really old stuff!  I love getting some of the oldies out and used up.

Thanks for taking a peek!  See you soon.

Around the World, and Back to IKEA

When we lived in Eastern Europe, we went to IKEA a LOT.  We would have meetings with teammates in the cafe, hang out there for some air conditioning, stop for a quick meal, and we even walked laps around the store in an effort to get baby #3 to make his appearance. It was a familiar place for us while living in an unfamiliar country.

So when we returned to the US, we were all eager to make the 100-mile trek to IKEA to help furnish our new home stateside.  We made it there only a few weeks after our return, and did indeed find some great deals for the new place.

I used a lot of paper here from the BasicGrey Carte Postale line.  Remember that one? Me neither.  Apparently, it completely slipped under my radar until it showed up at Tuesday Morning.  I picked it up because it was full of colors that I didn’t have much of in my stash.  Mixed with a bit of October Afternoon’s Saturday Morning line, it was perfect.  I really like how this one turned out. 

Thanks for taking a peek!

DC Walking Tour

Last fall we mad a treck across the USA to attend a very special wedding.  While we were in Richmond, it seemed just too close to leave without going to visit Washington DC, since many of us had never been.  So we hopped on a train and off we went. 

We only had one afternoon, so we walked through as much as possible and caught the highlights- Washington monument, Lincoln Memorial, the White House.  The kids were old enough to appreciate the experience, I think (I hope), and it’s likely we won’t be back for quite a long time, so I took lots of photos.

I used a background paper from Basic Grey (Carte Postale) as well as a few BG embellishments.  I also used some giant chipboard letters from Seven Paper with my Distress Stains- a favorite technique of mine because it’s so very easy.  Some stamping, some tickets (Maya Road) and some thread add texture to the layers. 

Go have a crafty weekend.