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!

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!

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!

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!

4 Months Old!

Hi All!  We’re back in the USA now, and working on getting settled in our new place.  Between here and there, though, is a trip to the East Coast to attend a special family wedding.  :)  So, more regular posting is on the horizon, but please bear with my for a few weeks.

Today I have a layout to share that is full of color!  I decided to play around with stencils and paint one night, and made these tags.  I decided to use them on this layout and go all-out color.  I used the white background to keep things from being too overwhelming.

With this much color, minimal was the best route for embellishing, so I used a few die cuts and enamel dots and went with it. 

Enjoy color today!

~Alyssa~

3 Amazing Boys

I posted last week with one of the last photos taken of my guys before Ezra arrived.  Now, here is my first layout featuring my 3 guys.  (I really need some new photos of Milena so I can do some girly layouts!)

I started here with some multi-colored misting, then dug into the scrap drawer for some Echo Park Paper.  There’s also some really old Studio Calico here (maybe their very first line?) and some Pink Paislee. 



I love those cork arrows.  They were the last thing I added and I think they really brought the whole page together.  I’m digging this cork trend (it is still a trend, right?  Please say yes)! 
~Alyssa~

2 of the Good Guys

This photo was taken just weeks before Ezra was born.  It was right before I went from have 2 main guys to 3 (layout coming soon of my 3 guys). 

This layout is a scrap-drawer layout.   I love those!   However, that means I’m not exactly sure who made this paper or where it can from.  The gears I cut for another project using an ooolllddd Ranger stencil.  

This page started as something completely different and morphed until it was this.  I’m good with that.  I like the end result.  Hope it brings a little inspiration to your day!

~Alyssa~

The Gang’s All Here

Today’s layout is the first family photo we’ve taken in 2 years (bad, I know!).  I’m not thrilled with it, as several of us were sick and no one was in the mood for a photo shoot, and it shows.  But there was a deadline for a family project, so a photo shoot we did.  I decided that the photo was a must-scrap simply because it exists (and includes the baby).

For this page, I chose the “September Skies” collection from Heidi Swapp.  I adore the colors in this collection, so much that I am basing the colors for our new home décor on them when we return to the USA next month.  The gold spatters are from Heidi Swapp mist.

I’ve been saving these gold Thickers for a while… I kinda love them too.

I created the background with a white Signo pen, and a Crafter’s Workshop stencil.  So easy to do, so much impact.  It’s also a high-impact layer with no bulk, which suits my style perfectly, and something I add to my pages whenever I can.

I hope you get some crafty time today!

~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.