Four Years Old

Well, that absence wasn't too long. I realized when I was going through my piles of post-it notes that I made a layout based on an Authentique color challenge, but I forgot to post about it. Oops. So, I'm taking a break from taking a break to show you what I made.

I love Authentique's papers. They are so, so pretty. And really great quality too. I hear they are selling 6x6 sheets of paper separately, which is an excellent idea.

Onto the challenge.

The color palette we needed to use is:

Here is my layout:

When I saw this picture of my niece I knew it would be perfect for this challenge. Her dress has all the colors in it! I punched a bunch of circles from papers in the Blissful and Uncommon collections. I then layered them all to create this great base for the photo. Where to put the title and journaling was a bit tricky with this design, because I didn't want to disrupt the flow, so I added them to the sides, which I think worked out well. This is one of my favorite layouts in a long time. I love when what I am envisioning actually comes out on the page.

Supplies:
Authentique| Uncommon and Blissful (paper), Diction (word fetti), Petite Type Circle (letter stickers), Tabloids (cardstock elements).
Studio Calico| Memoir (paper)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Now, back to getting healthy.

Under The Weather

I was hit hard by a run of the mill cold on Sunday. I'm starving it with green tea, juice, warm showers and rest. It has awful timing, as my birthday festivities are coming up. I'm determined to get rid of it as fast as it invaded.

I will be back soon!

{How do you get rid of a nasty cold?}

Fresh Face Designer | Echo Park

Hello Friday! I have a lunch meeting and this afternoon, my sister and I getting together to walk in the fall sunshine. Lovely. This weekend is jam packed with mostly volunteer stuff, but I'm sneaking a bit of other fun in there too.

Today, I'm sharing three projects I made with Echo Park products in the hopes that I am chosen as one of their fresh face designers. I love Echo Park. I've never come across a collection I didn't like.

First up is My Buds, Plus One.

This page uses primarily Country Drive. I love the soft colors in this collection. They worked perfectly with this photo of me with my nieces and nephew at the park.

I used a bunch of stickers from the collection. Each of Echo Park's collections come with a 12x12 sticker sheet and it's always full of very versatile stickers. I first decided to frame the photo using the yellow postage stamp frame sticker. Secondly, I used several word stickers along the side of the photo to aid in my journaling. Lastly, I used the alpha stickers to create the title.

To add some interest, I added a strip of the Birds on the Wire paper. I love those birds. They're so cute. I made a bow with some orange twine. On the top, I created a tag with some of the paper and a corner rounder. I added an Elle's Studio tag atop of that. I placed several buttons randomly about the page to add some whimsy and finished it off with the journaling.

Supplies|
Paper| Echo Park Country Drive{Little Ladies and Bird on a Wire}
Stickers| Echo Park Country Drive
Buttons| Basic Grey
Tag| Elle's Studio Lil' Snippets Date
Twine| My Mind's Eye

The second page is A Glorious Place.

I started this page by using mist to mask out six spots for photos and paper. I love using grids on my pages. I printed three photos and cut out three pieces of patterned papers slightly larger than the masked area to fill each of the spots.

Next, I cut a few strips of paper and tore the ends and added them to the paper and photos to mimic washi tape. I like how that turned out and it's much cheaper!

I created the title using stickers from the Country Drive collection. I also used a couple of stickers, (the pink banner and the scalloped tag) from the Dots and Stripes collection. I told you I loved their stickers. I use them on everything!

I punched a few butterflies, added an Elle's Studio tag, and typed up my journaling and called it done. I really love how this page turned out. I'm thinking about framing it.

Supplies|
Paper| Echo Park Country Drive{Petunia, Raspberry and Clover, Border Strip, Little Ladies, Sundress}
Stickers| Echo Park Country Drive and Dots and Stripes
Tag| Elle's Studio blank pennants

The third is a home decor project. I have a frame that I have by my bed that I change out quite frequently. I've been making these little tags for another project and I love them so much that I decided to make a few and put into this frame.

I used Victoria Gardens for this project. These papers are so, so pretty and perfect for this project. This was super simple to make. I used a tag from an office supply store, punched a small circle and butterfly and layered each piece together. I typed out several inspiring words on my typewriter and added a pearl brad as the finishing touch. I chose two element stickers from the collection to frame two of the corners. I am really happy with how this turned out.

Supplies|
Paper| Echo Park Victoria Gardens{Cheerful Words, Rose Garden, Garden Trellis, Windchime, Picket Fence, Delightful Doilies}
Stickers| Echo Park Victoria Gardens
Brads| American Crafts

If you made it through all of that, thank you so much! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and that you're able to do something creative.

State Fair

At Scrapfest, I purchased a few Mister Hueys from Studio Calico. I've had fun misting on every project since then! The colors are really rich. I'm very happy with the quality.

On one of the projects, I decided to play along with the Elle's Studio sketch.

On the original sketch, I liked how Waleska used different patterned papers together and how she clustered several tags, so that's what I did too. I used several papers from the Studio Calico Memoir collection. I used a butterfly mask on the left side and journaled my favorite foods from the State Fair around the edges of the butterfly. I like how that turned out. 

Elle's Studio tags used {Handmade Layer Circle Tags, Vintage Month Strips, Date and Place Strips}

In an attempt to be more present in my everyday, I'm starting to write in a thankful journal again. Today I'm thankful for the moonlight shining through my bedroom window. I find comfort in it somehow. I hope you have a great Wednesday. 

Ten on Tuesday

1| I had a great time at Scrapfest. I took Amy Tan's class and made this very cute mini book. We bound it using crochet thread, which I've never done before. Worked brilliantly. Amy signed the back too. Very fun. I can't wait to fill it up.

2| Studio Calico was in the Archiver's workroom, demoing Mister Huey. They also brought along their new collections. Swoon. I picked up some Memoir paper and a few Mister Hueys. I went on a misting frenzy that night. Will share soon.

3| My niece and I braved the lines at the Scrapfest vendor booths. It has become a fun tradition for the two of us to do together. While the line waiting is not very much fun, catching up with what's going on with my niece definitely is. We ate lunch at Johnny Rocket's and talked about books and boys, which is a new topic, and movies, and music and we got crafty. Hanging out with her makes my heart full.

4| I'm regrouping. Big time. I'm still struggling to be in the present lately. But I'm figuring out what to do. It seems to be going around. I've read several blogs as of late of people who are going through difficult times and we're all dealing with it in brave and inspiring ways. I hope these difficult times pass for us very soon.

5| My niece got me hooked on a young adult series. The first book is called Shiver. It's very similar to the Twilight series, but only werewolves...so far anyway.

6| I'm going to check out New Girl tonight. I watched Up All Night and thought it was pretty funny. I realized I don't watch any comedies, so trying to remedy that.

7| As part of my regroup, I'm getting out all my favorite fall/winter recipes. Most of them are soups. I love a piping hot bowl of soup with crusty bread and a glass of wine. Hmm....tasty. I need to get back into nourishing myself by making healthy meals. I'd love to hear what your favorite fall meals are. Leave me a comment!

8| Is anyone else concerned that a huge defunct satellite is hurling itself at Earth and no one knows where it's going to land? Keep your eyes to the skies people.

9| I've been craving all things pumpkin lately. I want pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I want pumpkin pancakes slathered in syrup and topped with blueberries. If I drank coffee, I'd want a pumpkin spice latte, but these cupcakes will do.

10| I'll leave you with this quote.
"And above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Ronald Dahl

The Power Of Now

I fell in love with the Authentique line when I first saw it. Gray and yellow is one of my favorite color combinations, so I especially love the Blissful collection. I picked up the 6x6 paper pad and went to town cutting up little strips of paper to create this layout.

I love this photo of my Dad, so I enlarged it to 5x7. Since it's a favorite photo, I wanted to keep the focus on it, so I kept the rest of the page fairly simple.

Journaling| My dad is a big fan of Eckhart Tolle and his philosophy of the power of now. Even though I tease him about it, I totally agree. Life is fleeting. Soak in the now. Life will be richer for it. Also, I love this photo. A perfect example of enjoying the moment, enjoying the beauty. May 2011

I've been struggling with embracing this philosophy lately. I don't feel like I'm doing anything well right now. And I hate that feeling. I'm not sure if it's the changing of the seasons and so I'm feeling restless and a bit in mourning to see the warmth go. I do love fall, but winter is so close behind. It may be that another birthday is approaching and I'm just not where I want to be in life.

I want to love the now, but lately the daily grind of applying for jobs and worrying about money and worrying about making the wrong decision and missing an opportunity and missing my family and friends is wearing me down. I hope a trip up north to breathe in the wonderful Lake Superior air will get me out of this funk.

Until then, I will take a warm shower and do my best to make it a good day today.

Ten on Tuesday

1| My go to lunch lately: A grilled cheese sandwich with red onion and avocado. There's no going back to a regular grilled cheese after this.

2| I'm planning a trip up north to view the fall colors. I can't wait. I really need this time away.

3| I had my first day at an internship yesterday. It was like the first day of school. Feels good to be back in the workplace. Hopefully, a full-time position is very near.

4| The Parenthood season premiere is on tonight. Hooray! I do love good TV.

5| I'm finishing up the mini for Rick Fest. I'm making it all from scratch, which has been really fun. I will share very soon.

6| Zumba. To do or not to do? Have others tried it? Liked it?

7| ScrapFest is this weekend. I'm very excited to be taking Amy Tan's class. Shall be quite fun.

8| I'm running a 5k in a few weeks. I'm so not ready. I rapidly need to get into a last minute training routine.

9| I was looking back at an October album I made last year. I had a really fun month, full of amazing experiences. Will need to do some thinking about ways to make this October just as amazing and then make it happen.

10| As I write this, I'm watching the men's US Open final. (I pre-plan my posts.) A thoroughly enjoyable match. Amazing tennis being played by these two, Nadal and Djokovic. The rallies are outstanding. Their athleticism is inspiring. I'm at the edge of my seat, so must get back to it.

Plum Tired

Hello Friday! You came around again quickly. My creative mojo had been absent as of late, but last night it came back. Hooray! Here's one of the pages I made. More to come next week!

I was playing around with paint on another project and I didn't want to waste any of it, so I created the yellow background frame that I knew I'd use later. Later came last night. I used, not surprisingly, Amy Tangerine and Elle's Studio tags.

I love scrapping my Instax photos. They're so fun. And this shot of my nieces makes me smile. They collapsed after a long day of walking at the arboretum, following a previous long day of walking at the State Fair. I almost joined them. They popped back up after hearing we were close to the fun maze they like to go through.

A couple close-ups.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

1| I finally got to the arboretum over the weekend. It's one of my favorite places in the metro area, but I don't get there as often as I'd like. We had a few sprinkles to start, but after a bit the clouds cleared and left us a beautiful day. I love meandering the paths and taking in all the amazing color.

2| I've been watching the U.S. Open. Oh, how I wish I could be in the stands. I'm watching a great match between Djokovic and Dolgopolov. First set: {6, 6} {12, 12 in the tiebreak.} Simply amazing tennis.

3| I saw a Ted video featuring Sheryl Sandberg, an executive at Facebook and it really resonated with me. She talked about why there are so few women leaders. My ears perked up when she said not enough women sit at the table, both literally and figuratively. Too many times women are on the sidelines, (yes!) even when invited to sit at the table (yes!) and we are often underestimating our abilities (yes!). We also have difficulty accepting praise for our achievements, instead saying it was a team effort or it was luck (yes! and yes!). I need to keep reminding myself of my accomplishments and my abilities and that I have a lot to offer the world. To not shy away from opportunities to grow. Such a hard lesson to learn and just live.

4| I recently had dinner with a friend and we decided to start a book club. I love when great ideas are cooked up over a good meal.

5| Some not so fun news. My credit card number was stolen. I only used the card for online purchases, so I'm very unsure about shopping online now. Thankfully, the company caught the fraud immediately, but no word on where the number was stolen from.

6| School starts tomorrow for my nieces. My nephew has been in school for a couple of weeks already. I'm wishing all of them a fabulous year of learning and growing and meeting new people and having fun. I can't wait to hear about all of their adventures.

7| I made a blueberry crisp yesterday. It's already half gone. Quite tasty if I do say so myself. I've been tempted to lick my plate clean. Instead I take another piece.

8| I enjoyed reading this interview with Kal Barteski. An amazing blogger and artist. She is one of a handful of blogs I read everyday.

9| I'm sad to see the long weekend end. I enjoyed letting myself relax and breathe evenly. I have a week ahead full of new experiences and opportunities to shine. I'm definitely putting #3 into practice.

10| I made my annual trip to the State Fair this year. Along with my parents, my sister and her family and my brother-in-law's family were all there too. Trying to coordinate what everyone wanted to do was a bit challenging, but it was fun to have my nieces there. They've never been. Shocker! I will leave you with a picture of me with food in both hands. A common sight from the day.

These Two

Today, I have a quick post to show you a page I did for Studio Calico's weekly challenge. Kelly Purkey challenged us to create a rainbow. Her page is one of my favorites from the gallery this month, so I was definitely in.

Here is my take.

I cut strips of paper from the State Fair and Countryside collections and created a rainbow mat for the photo. Then I added a little tag with some twine and flair. I, of course, needed to include some Amy Tangerine and Elle's tags too. I sprinkled some mist for fun and added my journaling and I was done. This is one of my favorite pages in a long time. Thanks Kelly for the inspiration!

I am so looking forward to the long weekend. We're supposed to have beautiful weather here. Will definitely need to soak up the last few days of summer. The State Fair is first up, followed hopefully, by a visit to the arboretum.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!