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!

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!

Brother-In-Training

Surprise!  After 7 years, we found out we were expecting a new little one in 2014.  This was unplanned and unexpected, but quickly became an exciting event we all looked forward to.  Perhaps no one was more excited then my 7 year old, who was happy to be the youngest no longer.

As the youngest, he had very little previous experience with babies, and so one day it came up in conversation that a baby’s head must be supported at all times.  We practiced with a baby doll, and so this photo came about. 

I used some ancient Webster’s pages paper on this layout.  I think I was saving those gorgeous flowers for a special layout.  Some subtle misting in the background,lots of layering, a few Thickers, and three black journaling spots fussy cut from some Echo Park Paper complete the page.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Say Cheese!

Confession time.  I actually created this page well over a year ago.  Because I took a rather long blogging break, this one never actually got photographed and published.  But I still love it!  Those photos are the bomb.  I mean, seriously. 

This was a big day for our family.  We were in Chicago for a few days on a mini vacation before boarding a plane to head to Bulgaria, where we then lived for the next 2-1/2 years.  I had read somewhere that is was a good idea to take a break between all the goodbyes and the actual move, to give everyone a chance to settle down and breathe.  It was great advice.

Anyway, these photos are from the Children’s Museum at Navy Pier.  There was a photo booth there, and though I am rarely one to spring for these types of things, I knew it was a momentous time in our lives and I decided to go for it.  I carried these photos around for quite a while before getting them in the scrapbook. 

These big numbers are one of my favorite products ever.  They’re from Pink Paislee, and I got my first set in a kit.  I loved them so much I bought a second set (which is something I rarely do).  But I’ve used them a lot and they’re still going strong! 

Most of these papers are from one of the older Dear Lizzy collections from American Crafts.  I think it was called 5th Avenue?  I don’t have any more to check! 

Have a craft week, friends!

Lego Festival

There are a few things in life that are very easy choices.  Having coffee every morning, for example.  Also, when the local mall puts on a free Lego Festival, you go!  Especially if you have Lego lovers in your home.  And I do!  As a mom of 4, I’ve been a member of the Lego injury-in-the-dark club for at least 8 years.  Ha!

Seriously, though, this festival was pretty cool.  Amazing life-sized Lego creations that took thousands of legos to build (and must have weighed a ton)!  We took a couple of trips there during the month-long event, and I use a few of my favorite photos on this layout.

I started with the idea of bold colors to accommodate the colors of my photos, and chose the background paper from Echo Park and the flowers from some ancient Jenni Bowlin that has been in my scrap drawer forever.  Some leftover arrows from a recent Silhouette cut brought everything together.  I like that it’s an unexpected combo.

I used some white acrylic paint on the background to highlight and soften, and a few droplets of mist just for fun. 

Thanks for taking a peek!

Dream Big!

Hi All!  It's been too long!  Today I have a dreamy layout to share.  I made it with a random assortment of products I unpacked from storage (finding things you forgot about- yay!).  First though, I layered up the foundation with some Crafter's Workshop stencils.

This leaf stencil has to be my favorite stencil to date.  So versatile!  And the arrows?  Well, it was a way to make a fairly feminine layout a little more masculine without detracting from the feel.  

I just adore this photo of my 3 from the days right after the Chicken Pox Haze of spring 2015.  Finally, all 3 feeling well enough for a pic!  You can still see some battle scars though.  :)

Thanks for having a look!

Brother & Sister

My daughter, now 10 (!) is the best big sister a little guy could ask for.  She is patient, kind, and always has time for Ezra.  They’re both much bigger now then they were in this photo, but the love remains the same. 


This layout uses Crate Paper’s DIY collection, alosng with some paint and some REALLY ancient Jillibean Soup letters.  I started by enhancing the background paper with some additional paint, then I stenciled circles all over the background and added some fussy cutting.  Simple but effective!
Thanks for taking a peek!
~Alyssa~

Ballet On Ice

One of the highlights of the past year happened just before Christmas, when my husband took Milena to see Ballet on Ice here in Sofia.  It was one of Milena’s Christmas gifts, and Don even grabbed a huge poster off the street the day of the event for her to keep.  Seeing her face made it worth every penny. 

This layout is old BasicGrey mixed with older BasicGrey.  I kept it fairly simple, but I was very pleased with how these papers highlighted my less-then-stellar nighttime photo.  :)  it’s nice when things work out.

Do something pretty today.  :)

~Alyssa~

Celebrate Family

You know how sometimes, being together is all that matters?  While we have been living overseas, we have had visitors from the US once.  My parents came to see us, shortly after baby Ezra was born last year.  While they were here, I was recovering, the weather was lousy, and we didn’t do much.  But they came, and that meant the world.  We loved every minute.  Also, I didn’t take enough photos. 

This layout uses a collection of random bits from KaiserCraft, My Mind’s Eye, and Glitz Design.

I still have to add the journaling.  That’s my weak spot, on every page!  I did leave a spot for it, though so it will be there.  Someday.  Soon-ish.  Ahem. 

See you on the crafty side,

~Alyssa~

Starting Fresh

It’s been so long since I blogged, that I’ve somehow lost access to my old blog.    Moving overseas caused problems with my accounts, and Google has been very slow to restore access, since they assume I’m a hacker (because clearly scrapping blogs are THE THING to hack).  Why the long absence?  Well, between the aforementioned move, having a baby, and now preparing to move back to the USA my time and motivation for scrapbooking and blogging has been at a 10 year low.  After years of being part of design teams, challenge blogs, and other scrapbook related activities, I needed time to recharge and find my scrapping groove again without the pressure of publically posting everything. 

And, it was great.  But I miss it, so here I am.

So, here is my first layout to share in over a year.  The papers are from Kaisercraft, and the photo is from one of our trips back to the US to visit friends. The lamppost is from the Curtsey Boutique, and the wood frame is an oldie-but-goodie I’ve been hoarding from Crate Paper (remember Story Teller?)

So, there you have it.  Hopefully, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me here in the near future, with inspiration to share. 

Thanks for coming by!

~Alyssa~

PS- My old blog, Alyssa’s Scraps, can be found here.