The First Five Spots

Chicken Pox starts with just a few little spots.  The little guy was the last of my 3 to get it, and it started on the day of his brother’s birthday party.  Of course.  The photos of what he looked like 2 days later are painful, so I chose to scrap this one, with just the first 5 spots visible (and a spaghetti face ;).

Most the papers here are American Crafts, with a smidge of Pink Paislee.  There’s a little bit of everything thrown in for good measure, including some cuts from my new Silhouette (yay Christmas!).
Thanks for taking a peek!

First Smile

Hi there!  I’m just popping in for a sec to share a layout that I created a few months ago.  This one shows my baby’s first smile.  :)  It was inspired by the talented Christine Middlecamp. 

I promise to be around more soon!  We’re finally feeling settled in the new house, and I have a desk/workspace (finally!) as of 3 days ago.  So, bring on the creating.  :)

 

~Alyssa~

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~

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~

Three Boys in a Fort

I really enjoy a bold background!  Especially when I find one that fits the photo perfectly.  In this case, the photo is of Elijah and some friends, building a tree fort, and they are peering through the branches.  It fit the striped background exactly.

I also enjoy the opportunity to challenge the “rules” a little and use flowers on a boys page.  Outdoor photos seem to be the best choices for that, and in the case, I think they blend in well with the overall look. 

I traced the twigs from some really old die cuts onto the back of this grey woodgrain paper, and cut them out. I used them to ground the layout and reinforce the outdoor theme.  I think it comes through even on a bold striped paper.

All the papers here are from My Mind’s Eye, though all from different lines.

Go build a fort… or something.  :)

~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~

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~