The Scrapping Files

Currently

2012-03-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

eating Mojo Monkey donuts (No, not all of these!)
drinking water
listening to Josh Ritter's new CD, "Bringing in the Darlings"
watching the days get longer and longer
creating a page for the month of January
wishing I could go on a trip
wanting to make banana bread
needing a good hearty laugh
having fun loading up on iPhone apps

Currently idea from Tina Aszmus

Ten on Tuesday

2012-03-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| I was in D.C. for work last week (my first ever work trip), and we ate at Filomena in Georgetown, made famous by Bill Clinton. The best part? The cheesecake. Yum, yum. I was bummed to not have enough time to see the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Next time.

2| I've been playing a lot of Angry Birds. An iPhone app I was addicted to before I got my own iPhone. I commandeered my family and friends' phones whenever possible. I got it right after I got the Instagram app. I have my priorities. But I can't get past this one level. Practice makes perfect.

3| My building has a workout center now. I've been there twice. Hip, hip! I just need to keep at it!

4| Remember a couple weeks ago, I was talking about wanting to take an online class. Well, I'm overflowing in classes now. I purchased Ali Edwards' Five class and am preparing a book of the top 5 moments from 2011. I also won a spot in the Hitchhiker's Guide to Scrapbooking with Shimelle Laine. I've listened to a couple of the lessons so far. Shimelle shares a bunch of techniques and new layouts. Kelly Purkey is also offering Sketchbook 4, (hooray!) which reminded me of Sketchpad, which I purchased a few months ago. I took it out and started working through it. Stay tuned for a layout this week using one of the sketches.

5| I watched the season finale of Parenthood last week. Or was it the series finale? They wrapped everything up nice and neatly. I'm worried it isn't returning, which would be a big fat bummer. I love that show!

6| We spring forward this weekend. I'm so looking forward to longer days.

7| I was on Pinterest and this mini album by Saturday Morning Vintage caught my eye. I love how thick it is, and full of great photos and tags and memorabilia. Awesome.

8| I haven't been interested in cooking this winter. Not sure what's up, but I've been stuck on the same couple of recipes. Until this weekend. I was browsing a couple of my favorite foodie blogs and came across this Pasta and Bean Soup recipe. I didn't put in the sausage. It turned out great. It was hearty and warm and delicious.

9| I just started reading, Let The Great World Spin, by Colum McCann. I love the feeling of opening up a new book.

10| I'm looking forward to hanging out with my niece this weekend. Books, food, movie. Sounds perfect to me.

Hello 34 | Elle's Studio Sketch

2012-03-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm taking you back to October last year....to my birthday celebration. This weekend, I realized I hadn't done a page about it yet. I remedied that right quick.

I used this week's sketch at Elle's Studio. I liked how it had four small photos. Since I had a lot of shots I wanted to include, this worked well.

I loved this large tag from Elle's Studio, and it worked perfectly to use the 3 and 4 in my title. It's a bit hard to see, but I circled the two numbers.

I also enjoyed building all the layers in this section in the top left. Patterned paper, washi tape, labels...oh my! The "All Smiles" button is from Ormolu.

The journaling talks about how I'm a big fan of birthdays. I think they should be big deals, with a lot of hoopla. And I still believe that....but turning 34, something changed for me. I simply can't believe that I'm 34. It doesn't seem possible. I'm uncomfortable with how fast time is spinning by. I've become more acutely aware of my mortality, which hinders ones ability to celebrate! I am truly thankful for all of my blessings and each year I'm given and the time to celebrate with my family....I just wish it would all slow down a bit. I can't be alone in this, right?

And on that cheery note....thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comments so much!

*A note about my niece in these photos. She dressed up as a ninja to go to the arboretum. A whole other layout is needed to talk about that!

Pick A Photo Friday

2012-03-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

When I was sitting down to scrap the other day, I was stumped. I have a list of stories I'd like to tell, but none of those were speaking to me. I looked over at my pile of photos and an idea struck. How about I take the pile of photos, turn them over, and pick one at random, and I'd have to scrap the one I picked? Ooooh, this could be fun, I thought.

Here is the result.

The photo I picked was the one in the top left. When I first saw it, I thought I don't really want to do a page about where this photo was taken or about the event, etc. Then I saw another photo of D and I in the pile and realized it would be fun to make a page with a bunch of photos of us, showing all the times we spend together. Now, that's a good story.

I misted the kraft tag, so it would match the patterned paper I was using. I also used the new Martha Stewart labels, which I love!

I'll definitely be using the "pick a photo" prompt in the future. I'm very happy with the results.

I'm also very happy that it's Friday. Scrapping and catching up on sleep is on my to do list, as well as seeing The Artist. What are your plans?

Happy weekend everyone!

Ten on Tuesday

2012-02-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| An iPhone came home with me this weekend. I'm having a lot of fun with it! I'm texting with my niece. Talking to Siri. I got the Instagram app. minutes after I walked out of the Apple store. What other ones should I get?

2| I found White House|Black Market. There's no turning back. Definitely one of my favorite clothing stores now. But wow, it's expensive! I'm glad they are classic pieces that will last a long time.

3| I watched the Oscars, while also scrapping. I've been living under a rock. There's a silent film?! I have to see that!

4| Ali Edward's has a new self-paced class. I'm all over that. Her classes are always fabulous and inspirational and uplifting.

5| This past week, I had to push myself out of my comfort zone. Amazingly, I survived! I think this is the theme for 2012; doing things I've never done before and living to tell about it. I celebrated with my favorite pizza and a glass of Pinot. Perfect.

6| I saw the preview of The Hunger Games movie. I'm adding it to my very long to see movie list.

7| I've been enjoying big servings of sauteed brussels sprouts and broccoli, with some garlic and red pepper flakes, and some whole grain pasta. Simple and tasty.

8| A big snow storm is supposed to hit today. Ugh. I hope it slides north or south, like every system has this season.

9| I really enjoyed this series on Write.Click.Scrapbook about scrapping your heritage photos. There's so many great ideas for getting stories of the past told. I admit, it's an area that I'm hesitant about taking on. I'm afraid I won't do the photos justice. The series, however, inspired me to put that fear aside.

10| When I was flipping through the channels one night, I came across the movie, Overboard. Do you remember that one? With Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Such a cute and funny movie.

Happy Tuesday!

Dear Lizzy Neapolitan

2012-02-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

I played with the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection this weekend. I am loving the soft colors, the jars, the ruffle paper, the tags....all so good.

Making Donuts

I love the tags in this collection. I decided to use a bunch of them to create a banner. I usually hoard my supplies, so this was very different for me!

I stamped the date over and over using the Smash date stamp. I love how that turned out. I kept the page really simple. Just a couple of smaller photos and embellishments. I also love the wooden buttons.

Happy Golden

I knew I wanted to use the ruffle paper and the jar on this one. I built everything around that. More tags. More buttons. I love how this turned out. My favorite layout in awhile.

Have you been playing with Dear Lizzy? Link me up. I'd love to see.

Thanks for stopping by!

Favorite Part of Summer | Elle's Studio Sketch

2012-02-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, I bought a new 12x12 album to hold layouts from last year that I hadn't organized yet. After I had put all of them in the new album and was flipping through the pages, I realized I was missing some stories I wanted told.

This is one of those stories. We're headed back to last summer...

Sorry for the wonky photo. Not enough light!

My family spends a week together during the summer and we always have an epic water fight. It's such a blast. I have pictures like this dating back several years. I should do a page lining all of those up. That would be fun to see. Last year, I was just the war photographer. I'm definitely going to get in on the action this year.

I used the sketch on Elle's Studio blog to get me started. I love Rahel's use of white space and she's so good at layering too. I kept that in mind while making this page. I've been hoarding the Hello There Sunshine tag from Elle's Studio for awhile. This was the perfect page for it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

2012-02-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| My attempt at trying to get a photo with my two nieces. They wouldn't have it. Well, I should clarify. D wouldn't have it. We had a really fun celebration though. Still can't believe she's 13. Makes me feel old.

2| I sent in my last student loan payment. Wahoo! Eureka! Yippee! Only took 12 years....

3| I'm headed to D.C. soon for work. I hope to get a few moments on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. My favorite spot.

4| I had my first two ~~four~~ Samaos of the year yesterday. Yum, yum.

5| I'm looking forward to next month when life starts to slow down a bit. I'd really like some time to think about goals for the year, and now that I have a job and I'm back on track, think about establishing several future goals. I have some catching up to do.

6| I woke up this morning to a couple inches of snow. First real snow of the season and it's almost March. Still only a couple of inches though. What is up this year?

7| Spring has been in the air more than winter as of late, so I bought some orange tulips. They are so lovely. They make me happy. Simple pleasures are awesome.

8| This weekend, I picked up a new album for 2012 (an American Crafts cloth album) and some stuff from the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection. I dug right in and created a few layouts. I'll share soon.

9| I'm waiting patiently for my tax refund. On the list: a new mattress (very exciting!).

10| I'd like to take an online class. I'm hearing rumblings that Ali Edwards is preparing a new class for Big Picture classes. If so, I'm totally there. Have you taken any fun classes lately? I'm all ears!

The Castle | Elle's Studio Sketch

2012-02-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm sharing my take on the Elle's Studio sketch.

When I use sketches, I'll often take a look at it, and then put it away, and start my page. So, in looking back at the sketch now, there aren't a lot of similarities, but that is what is great about sketches. They are a great starting point, but you don't have to use the sketch exactly for it to work for you.

I loved the banners the most in the sketch, so I used a bunch of those. I wish I had added some mist splatters, but all in all, I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I appreciate you stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

Ten on Tuesday

2012-02-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| No picture to post today. I haven't been taking any pictures lately. When I leave for work and return home in the dark, it's hard to get good photos. Even though this winter has been pretty fantastic, I'm ready for longer, lighter days.

2| My niece is 13 years old today. Mind boggling. She is such a fantastic person. I can't wait to celebrate. I'd like to do something special to commemorate this year. Any ideas?

3| I saw Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close. There were a lot of tears, but I thought it was a beautiful film. I'm so pleased the grandfather, Max von Sydow, has been nominated for a supporting actor Oscar. He was terrific.

4| I was reading an article recently about sugar and how much is appropriate to ingest daily. I read that it's best to eat cereals with no more than 8 grams of sugar per serving. I immediately went to my cereals and was shocked to find only one had less than 8 grams. I thought I was being very careful about getting healthy cereals by looking at the ingredients, etc., but not so. Will need to be even more mindful of what I'm buying. Back to the basic.....Cherrios and Shredded Wheat.

5| Josh Ritter has a new CD coming out next week. Hip, hip. You can listen to one of the new tracks here.

6| My email inbox has been out of control, so I finally sat down and unsubscribed to a bunch of stuff. My sanity thanks me.

7| I thought Adele's performance on the Grammy's was awesome. Glad she's back!

8| I love, love this idea.

9| I bid on two silent auction items thinking I'd be happy to get one. I ended up with both. Oops. Need to be more strategic next time! I'll be touring here and eating here.

10| I'm off to write letters to my niece and nephew. Best idea of 2012 so far.

The Only Way Out Is Through

2012-02-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

You may be saying to yourself, "Wait a second, I thought Stamping and Misting Week was awhile ago." Well, you'd be right! But I had one more layout I wanted to share that I wasn't able to post during that week. I knew you wouldn't mind. You can see the rest of Stamping and Misting Week here.

Create a title using stamps

I went back and forth about whether to stamp the entire title or not. I finally decided not to, mostly because my stamp collection is fairly small, and I didn't have enough alphabet stamps to get the look I wanted. I'm not a huge fan of how the title turned out, but I'll definitely keep working at it.

This quote from a poem by Robert Frost, "The only way out is through," was my mantra last year. When I read it for the first time, it completely resonated with me. This was what I was going to have to do, and it comforted me some how.

While this isn't one of my favorite pages design wise, this is definitely one of my favorites for the story it tells. I have it hanging in my bedroom as a reminder that I made it through; stronger and wiser.

Have you stamped your titles? I'd love to see. Link me up. Thanks for stopping by today!

Ten on Tuesday

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| Take a look at my haul of Martha Stewart labels! Do you think I went overboard? No way? I agree.

2| This past weekend, D, M, and I took a road trip to my parent's house. This has become my gift to my sister and brother-in-law for their anniversary. We had a great time. D is allergic to peanuts, so she never gets to eat bakery donuts, so we made our own donuts this weekend. They were donuts with the hole in the middle and glaze on top and everything. They were delicious. The next morning, she had me take a picture of her eating the donuts....the first time ever. She was thrilled.

3| My pen paling with S and A has caught on. In addition to writing me back, S wrote letters to his cousins too and they wrote him back. Love it.

4| The other day, when I was getting ready for bed, I found my pajama top, but I couldn't find my pajama bottoms. I looked everywhere, for about a minute, before I realized I was already wearing them. I had put them on earlier in the evening. Oh my goodness. Cracks me up every time. A sign of my life right now. My brain is too full!

5| I watched Smash. I thought it had a very slow start. The dialogue is a tad painful. But I enjoyed the last 10 minutes immensely. I'll give it one more week.

6| I picked up the ruffle paper from the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection. It's so pretty. I will have to work hard not to hoard it!

7| I'm bummed that I completely missed out on getting tickets to the Florence and the Machine concert in April. It sold out in minutes. Boo.

8| My taxes are done for another year. Hooray! Thank goodness for CPA Fathers!

9| I won a gift card for Two Peas and I'm making a list. I'm waiting for Amy Tangerine's new line, Sketchbook, and I am happy to see Elle's Studio is now sold at Two Peas too.

10| February completely snuck up on me. I can't believe January is behind us. I hope I can find a balance with home and work soon. I want to plan things. I want to start and finish books. I want to create and create and then share it here. I want to spend time with friends. I want to cultivate new relationships. I want to travel. Here's to figuring it all out....

Birthday Questions

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm back with Day 3 of Stamping & Misting Week. See Day 1 and 2 here.

Today, I'm sharing another project using the mist and masking technique, but I'm using several different mist colors on the same page.

1. I started with the butterfly masks from Studio Calico. Aren't they cool?! I used Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels and Heirloom Blue and Calico Shine Mister Huey's from Studio Calico. I misted the red first and the blue next. I followed that with the Calico Shine.

I added a few paint splatters by unscrewing the top of the mist bottle and using the wand to flick the paint across the paper. I kept the mist primarily to the one side because I knew the other side will hold the photo and journaling.

I put the page inside a box to keep the mist off my carpet, so I spray pretty close to the paper. Spraying from a larger distance may give you a different look.

2. I added the photo and printed the journaling from my computer. I asked my niece to answer a bunch of questions. I create layouts like this every once in awhile to get a snapshot into people's favorites and how they spend their time.

3. Next, I added the patterned paper behind the journaling and I used my circle punch to make a few circles to add as a border along the bottom.

4. I then added two Elle's Studio tags and several brads to the centers of the butterflies. I spent quite a bit of time trying to decide which brad to use where. It's interesting the things I get stuck on. I realized when I was writing this post, that I didn't have a title. Oops. I may add one, I may not. We'll see.

This page came together quickly. Once I had the masking on one side and the big journaling block on the other, it didn't leave a lot of room for variation.

If you've never tried misting, I would totally recommend trying it out. I was hesitant at first, but once I played around with it a couple of times, and watched a couple of videos, I was hooked. I was worried that it would be messy too, but using the box works brilliantly. The sides of the box catch it all! I love the finished look too.

Thanks for stopping by for Day 3 of Stamping and Misting Week. I'll be back with one more stamping technique. Happy February!

Ten on Tuesday

2012-01-31T12:00:00.000-06:00

1| As I mentioned in a previous Ten on Tuesday, I'm going to start pen paling with my niece and nephew who live a bit further away. When I got a coupon from Shutterfly, I went looking for something to purchase. I found these cute notepads. I thought it would be fun to have new paper to write to them on, so I created one with a picture of the three of us and the other I chose because I really liked the banners. They are really great in person. I mailed off the first letters and can't wait to get something in return!

2| D and I had our 3rd annual Day of Fun outing this weekend. We had an awesome time! We went to Barnes, had lunch, went to Grand Slam, and Starbucks. Grand Slam has mini-golf, bumper cars, lasertag, and arcade games. The place was crawling with people. We rode the bumper cars a bunch of times. To be quite honest, I got pretty nauseous after the first couple of times, but it was really fun to see D laughing it up. We played a game of mini-golf with a little boy hot on our heels. We played one game of laser tag. I was by far the oldest one in there. We didn't play again, because I felt pretty strange trying to take out a bunch of little kids! We ended the day at Starbucks, enjoying a tasty drink, fun conversation and a couple rounds of Hangman. I love these days to bits.

3| I picked up a few new books at Barnes. I want to see the movie, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I wanted to read the book first, so I got that one. I also got Let the Great World Spin. Has anyone read these? I can't wait to get started.

4| I had an excellent Sunday. I woke up and made a hot cup of tea and watched the Two Peas Winter CHA product videos. I scrapped a bunch. I read some magazines. I watched a couple episodes of West Wing. I cleaned up and got ready for the week. It was relaxing and lovely. I wish I had more days like this!

5| I'm itching to pick up some of the new labels from the Martha Stewart line at Staples. I've been seeing them everywhere and they look irresistible.

6| I'm headed to D.C. for work in a couple of weeks, and I'm eyeing a few new things. This and this and this.

7| I finished a custom baby announcement job for a friend. I am so pleased she asked me.

8| Starting a new job has totally helped with my sleeping. No problems sleeping through the night anymore!

9| I made up my mind to purchase an iPhone and then I saw this on CBS Sunday Morning. Really? I mean really?

10| I'm glad this week isn't as busy as the last few. I am looking forward to happy hour with friends and hopefully, some reading and scrapping time in the evenings.

Winter in MN

2012-01-31T06:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome back to Stamping & Misting Week. I hope you enjoyed Day 1. If you're here for the first time, you can see Day 1 here.

Today, I'm sharing how I made a background pattern using stamps.

1. I knew I wanted to make a page about how we've had an unusually warm winter this year. I've been pretty happy about this fact, so I decided to stamp "happy winter," over the entire page. I didn't worry about lining it up perfectly. I was ok with it being a bit messy. I knew a bunch of it would be covered up with other product too.

2. Next, I added my photo and a few handmade embellishments. Tammy inspired me to make these. I took out three different circle punches and layered them on top of each other. I added a button to the center of each.

3. I made another embellishment and decided I wanted them all closer to the photo. I wanted to draw people's eyes inward to the photo. I added a title, which bumped the tag down. I enjoy using different fonts in my titles.

4. I needed a place to journal. I went back and forth about writing directly on the background, using a typewriter or a tag of some kind. I decided to go with the tag, because I'm a sucker for tags.

5. I added the journaling and called it done. When I journal, I typically just start writing and stop when I run out of room. I think that comes from a lot of practice and knowing how much space my handwriting takes up.

I will definitely be using this technique again. I like having this unique background and it was fun to try something new.

When I scrap, I typically get started and work on it for awhile and then I'll step away from it, enjoy a cup of tea or fold some laundry, and then I'll come back. I don't often finish a page in one sitting. But once I decide it's good, I don't mess with it again. I just move onto the next...

What about you? What is your process?

Be sure to stop back tomorrow. I'll be sharing another misting project.

Good Times

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

Since the start of the new year, I've been thinking a lot about my blog and how I spend my creative time. For the last year, I've been really focused on getting noticed. I've been applying for design teams, participating in challenges, staying active on sites like Two Peas and Studio Calico and it's been, well, tiring. I've had a few successes that I'm very thankful for, but they've been few and far between. I see so many others finding success and it's hard. It's hard to get passed over again and again. Each time, I redoubled my efforts and somewhere along the way, I lost myself and the joy I once had for scrapbooking. I got all caught up in what others wanted, in trying to fit into a mold, etc. I wasn't producing work solely based on me and what I wanted. I wasn't having fun.

So, I'm taking a step back. I'm going to start scrapping for me again, and not for anyone else and then maybe I'll start shining through on my pages again. Maybe that will be what makes the difference, but if I still don't get on a design team, I will at least know I'm being more true to myself.

I'll definitely still participate in challenges and apply for teams and engage with the scrapbooking community on different sites. I've found a lot of support and inspiration from so many, so I'm not going anywhere, just shifting my focus.

This weekend, I was thinking about how to restart. I decided to challenge myself to stamp and mist on a bunch of pages because those are two things I don't do a lot of on my pages. That brings me to Stamping & Misting Week here on my blog. This week, I'm going to show you pages I've created that include either stamping or misting or sometimes both. I had a great time with this challenge and created some of my favorite pages in a long time. I'm already finding enjoyment in it all again and that puts a big smile on my face.

First up: Create a page using a mask.

I had these chipboard ampersands that I've been wanting to use for awhile and a bunch of pictures from a bowling outing with my nieces. I decided that I wanted to use the ampersand to bring it all together.

I arranged the pictures (with paper too) and the ampersands on the page, so I knew where to mist. Then, I removed the pictures. I used Mr. Huey to mist the chipboard ampersands and waited for them to dry. I added the title, tag and twine, journaling and date tag and called it done. This is hard to see, but I also crumpled up all the paper backing the photos and then folded it back out to give it some fun depth. Mr. Huey's have great coverage and the color is very rich.

I love, love how this turned out.

Stop back tomorrow and you'll see how I made a background pattern using stamps. I'll also be showing you a peek into my page creation process too.

Have a great Monday!

It's Finally Done | December Daily

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

I finally finished up my December Daily! I love this project, but I'm definitely ready to move on to other things. To avoid a super long post, I'm just going to share several of my favorite pages.

Here it is in all its glory. This year's got really thick!

Day 12 | Merry Monday

I got the idea for the twine letters from Tina. These were really fun to make. Love the look.

Day 18 | Merry
I just noticed I titled this much like Day 12. Ah, well.

I love the ribbon and stars on this one.

Day 21 | Handmade Holiday

I'm glad to have pictures of the ornaments I made for my family in this book. I can't get enough of that striped ribbon.

Day 22 | Green Christmas

I knew I would include a page about how we didn't have snow this Christmas. I enjoyed using washi tape and tags throughout.

Day 24 | 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Just loving all the pieces together on this one; tags and quick list of the day's activities, and fun stickers.

Day 28 | Treats

I've been pretty obsessed with masking titles lately. I cut the stars off of a Trader Joe's grocery bag.

So, there you go. A quick look at my finished mini. Am thinking I will make a larger album next year. I love this size, but it's also limiting when I want to include more journaling and photos, etc.

How did yours turn out or are you still working on it?

Silly | Elle's Studio Sketch

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Sketch Thursday is back on the Elle's Studio blog and I'm back today to share my take on the sketch.

Here is the sketch:

Here is my take:

I love this photo of me and my niece and nephew. Makes me smile every time I look at it. I wanted to highlight the photo, so this sketch was perfect.

This page came together fairly quickly. The two strips of paper were cut like that already, so that felt good to use up. Then I took a few Elle's Studio tags and Amy Tangerine cardstock shapes and arranged them all until I was happy. I added a bit of mist splatter to tone down the white space a bit.

When I saw the little people in Amy's collection, I knew I had to use it. I had it right side up and in the corner most of the time, and then a light bulb went off, and I made it mimic the photo instead. I definitely like it better now.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| This is me. In January. In Minnesota. It's green for goodness sakes. I'm not wearing a coat. Very strange indeed. I hope we don't get payback with snow in May.

2| I'm loving Ali's newsletter, 52 Creative Lifts. Each week, she will reflect on a different aspect of creativity, give us a different way of thinking about it, push us to explore our own processes and make positive changes. I love that it will be in my inbox every week. If you're interested, you can sign up here. It's free!

3| Project Life is everywhere! I think I missed a memo or something. Tons of people are beginning the project this year. Becky Higgins is the brain child behind the project and you can read more about it on her site. Basically, it's documenting your life on a weekly basis, (at least that's how most people do it). I'm not someone who is usually overwhelmed by scrap projects/ideas, but this one definitely is for me. I can't imagine documenting each week. For the last few years and my plan for this year, is to document my months in overview pages. I suppose I can use the Project Life products to do that. We'll see.

4| I saw Mission Impossible during the holiday hustle and bustle. A fun, action packed flick. Tom Cruise looks really nice in a suit too. Really nice.

5| Since starting a new job, I need to build up my vacation days, so I won't be able to see my brother and his family for awhile. I was trying to think of ways to stay connected, and I decided to start pen paling with my niece and nephew. I'm really excited about this idea! I'm starting small and hope to exchange one letter/drawing once a month.

6| Ok, I'll admit it, but don't judge me too harshly. I'm watching The Bachelor. I can't say why, because it's so ridiculous, but I'm watching it.

7| I love this mini by Liz Kartchner. A snapshot at the beginning of the year. Goals set. Something to refer to throughout the year. A great idea. Check it out! Also, did you see her new collection! Swoon.

8| My work is bringing new challenges and experiences; traveling to conferences, facilitating a panel, presenting to a Board of Directors, teaching a class. Oh my! I'm totally scared, but excited too. It's about time I challenge myself to do more professionally, to stretch myself.

9| I'm trying this recipe tonight. I just bought quinoa and made one dish so far, and I'm hooked. Yum, yum.

10| I've been finishing up a bunch of projects. I'll be back tomorrow with a page using the Elle's Studio sketch and on Friday, I'll be sharing my (finally) finished December Daily pages. Come on back!

Grandma Love

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, folks. I have a good reason for completing falling off the face of the Earth. I got a job and my brain hasn't had room for anything, but the best route to get to and from said work, the long list of responsibilities that come with said work, for all the new names of people I'm meeting, and well, I've been just plain tired.

But, now, I'm back. Hopefully, you've all stuck with me!

Today, I'm sharing my take on the last Sketchy Thursday sketch. I am so bummed that they have decided to close down the site, but I understand how time consuming it must be. I only found them a short time ago, but I've enjoyed their sketches every week (even if I haven't been able to participate right away.)

The page is about my Mom and my niece. My brother snapped these shots when my parents were visiting. He said the light was perfect and they were having so much fun together. He said it reminded him of when he colored with our Grandma. When he told me that, I knew a page was in order. I love making pages like this. This is why I scrap. These amazing stories finding a place out in the world to be shared and enjoyed.

Ten on Tuesday is back tomorrow! Also, this is my 300th post. Not too shabby.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

At the Start of 2012 I'm...

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| Reading, Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese. What a wonderful book! A definite must read for 2012.

2| Watching lots of Flashpoint.

3| Remembering a holiday season well celebrated.

4| Choosing an outfit for my first day of work.

5| Detoxing from all the holiday sugar and finding time to exercise again.

6| Making resolutions and thinking of all I want to do this year.

7| Putting new pictures in all of my frames and organizing large piles of paper.

8| Still working on my December Daily. I'm definitely ready to move on to other projects, but I will finish this one.

9| Transferring all the dates to my fresh new planner. One of my favorite things to do!

10| Amazed that I'm celebrating my second blog anniversary. It's been an amazing adventure. One of the best decisions I've made. Thank you so much for reading and for commenting. I appreciate your support and friendship very much.

**I wanted to upload a photo, but Blogger was giving me a lot of trouble. Hopefully, it resolves itself soon!**

My Christmas Wish Came True

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

My one and only Christmas wish came true. I got a job! As many of you know, I've been unemployed nearly a year, so this was truly an amazing gift. I am beyond thrilled! I'm doing work I'm excited and passionate about, which makes it even more amazing. I'm still absorbing it all and I'm still a bit in shock actually. But I can't wait to get started.

I'm so ready to put 2011 behind me. It's been a difficult year worrying about money, worrying about my future, carrying a lot of humiliation and enduring a lot of rejection. I am so very thankful to my parents, my brother and my sister who kept me going, who reminded me I could do it, who edited countless cover letters, who provided comic relief, who listened to me cry and yell in frustration and anger, and so much more. I simply couldn't have done it without them.

There were also many friends, former colleagues and complete strangers that gave of their time, shared advice and provided counsel. I am in their debt.

I also want to be clear that it wasn't all doom and gloom. There were definitely wonderful times this year, like meeting Josh Ritter, being published for the first time, traveling to the North Shore, and seeing my brother and his family more than any other year in recent memory. Hey, that gives me an idea for a layout!

I learned a lot too and I'm sure as I have more time to reflect, I'll realize even more. I could write a novel on the dos and don'ts of navigating unemployment, but here are a few that came to mind.

I learned that tenacity and perseverance pays off.
I learned that so many people want to help, but don't always know how. I learned I needed to ask.
I learned that getting up everyday with a to do list in hand was essential.
I learned that listening to all the financial gurus about saving for a rainy day totally paid off.
I learned it was okay and good for my mental health to take time to have fun and treat myself every once in awhile to take out or a movie.
I learned that volunteering was critical for keeping perspective.
I learned there is so much more to what makes a person worthy and special than what they do for a living.

I feel like the world is full of opportunities again. I can start dreaming and planning and wishing again. I'm already excited about a few things on the horizon. I'm also thinking about how I can pay forward all of the love and kindness I received. 2012 is going to be awesome.

Currently

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

loving this fun mail I received from my parents.

reading Crossed.

feeling relieved and happy.

working on making tags for my presents.

hoping the weather cooperates for holiday travel.

enjoying wrapping gifts and taking out all the decorations.

wishing I had more time to blog and create stuff....a.ka. December Daily.

thinking of new ideas for the blog in 2012.

making lots of lists.

expressing a lot of gratitude for my Christmas wish coming true.

celebrating one of two Christmases this weekend.

I first saw this currently type post on Tina Aszmus' blog.

December Daily 5-11

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm having a hard time keeping up with December Daily this year. Taking pictures has been a big fail this year too. But I'm still chugging along. Today, I have days 5-11 to share. You can see more of my December Daily here.

Day 5 | My Wish

For day 5, I wrote up my wish list for this Christmas. One of them has already come true! More on that tomorrow.

Day 6 | On This Day

For day 6, I decided to look back 10 years. I got out my journal from back then and wrote down a few notes of what was going on and made a copy of our family photo. Three of the kids weren't born yet, so it was really strange to look at that photo and not see them there! This was a fun thing to do. I'll have to remember it again next year.

Day 8 | The Best Day Of All

The journaling is on the right hand side, and since it was a bit more personal, I decided against posting it. But I enjoyed using a bunch of different letter stickers and two great Elle's Studio tags. The littlest ones are so small and adorable.

I'm still working on Days 7 and 9.

Day 10 | Top Ten Memories

For day 10, I thought it would be fun to write out the top 10 memories of 2011. Even though this was a difficult year, there was a lot of great stuff too. And I could have kept going past 10. It's good to take time to remember.

Day 11

I realized I didn't put a title on this page. Oops. Today, I journaled a few sentences about seeing a good friend and her new baby girl. A good day.

So, there you go. I'm caught up. Sort of. It's not everything I want it to be, but I'm rolling with it. One family Christmas is coming up this weekend. I can't believe it's already here. Lots to do! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a merry Monday!

A Is For Awesome

2011-12-07T19:15:00.001-06:00

I'm getting this in just under the wire. When I saw this week's sketch on the Sketchy Thursdays blog, I knew right away that I wanted to blog about my day out with my niece. I started it last week and then life took over. I just finished it up tonight.

I liked all the places for photos and the large space for journaling. Worked perfectly to tell this story. I'm still really enjoying the Amy Tangerine collection and Elle's Studio tags. The rest is from various My Mind's Eye collections. Sorry for the dark photos! Winter and shorter days have arrived and are here to stay.

My plan is to share the next few pages of my December Daily on Friday. I hope you stop back.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| I've had this photo on my mind ever since I saw the Dear Photograph site. The idea is to take a picture from the past in the present. It's not technically perfect, but I love it all the same. It's me on my bike holding my most favorite stuffed animal. My Mom and Grandma performed a lot of surgeries on that bear.

2| Thanksgiving flew by. We played a lot of 500 and Uno. The kids stayed in their jammies. My youngest niece "sold" us a lot of Pretty Ponies. We enjoyed amazing food. I made a brussels sprouts and bacon side dish. I think I'm on my own liking the brussels sprouts. Oh well. We celebrated my Dad's birthday. In addition to an apple cake, pumpkin pie, and brownies, my Mom made a chocolate birthday cake. We were not lacking for something sweet. Unfortunately, after we all went to our respective homes, we all got sick, except for my two nieces. Thankfully, it was short and sweet.

3| I finished The Hunger Games. Now, I'm reading Birthmarked. Another young adult series portraying a bleak future. We need books with some hope in it. Jeepers.

4| On Sunday night, I roasted some brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and chickpeas. I opened a beer and watched Family Stone. I love Sundays.

5| We got our first snow of December. Unfortunately, I had to drive in it. Not a fan. I prefer to admire it from inside a cozy blanket.

6| This weekend, I'm hauling out the holiday decorations. I love decorating this time of year. All the twinkle lights equals awesome.

7| I'm loving these twine letters that Tina made. I'm definitely adding them to my "try it" list.

8| I have completely fallen off the exercise bandwagon. I'm not sure what happened. I just stopped. I do walk to an internship, so I get my body moving a couple of times a week. Winter is always really difficult for me to stay moving. It's so easy to hibernate until Spring. Any advice to keep it interesting?

9| I'm working on December Daily this month, but I have quite a few other ideas brewing too. I've been thinking about how to include more pages about my parents, siblings and siblings-in-law. I decided to send them a set of questions on their birthday each year and then do a page with their answers. I think this will be a really neat series of pages. I have two sets of answers waiting for me. Now, I just need to find the time!

10| I have a big week ahead. If you could send good thoughts and prayers my way, I would so appreciate it. Thank you!

December Daily 1-4

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

Wow. I didn't mean to disappear for so long. The job hunt has heated up and while I'm so thankful for these opportunities, it's also a lot of hard work and very time consuming. Something had to give and that's usually the good ol' blog. But today I'm back with the first few days of my December Daily.

This is my fourth year making a December Daily. This has become a really enjoyable tradition for me every year. I enjoy the process and having an album documenting all the goodness of the season. You can read more about this project on Ali Edwards' blog.

ALBUM BASE
This year, I decided to make the same size album as last year. (You can find posts from last year's book here.) It's a little larger than 4x6. The front and back cover are cardboard. The inside pages are cut to 4x6 and I bind it all with two binder clips. This size book is really easy to make, which was a really important factor for me. I cut enough pages, so I could document one day using a two page layout.

Ali encourages people to get the base of the album all finished before the month arrives, so you're more likely to finish the project during this busy time. For me, I prefer to have the pages cut, but I don't add any embellishments until I'm ready to scrap that day. I've found that if the pages have too much already on them, it alters how I tell the story. So, I make it work for me and make the pages as I go.

ALBUM COVER

As I said, the cover is just some cardboard. I covered it with a bunch of different washi tapes. Then I added the tag, twine, and a few stickers. I'm loving the tape.

OPENING PAGE

For the opening page, I wrote my Christmas manifesto. I got this idea from Shimelle Laine.

DAY 1 | A New Do

DAY 2 | A Day to Celebrate

DAY 3 | First Snow

DAY 4 | Crafty

SUPPLIES
I'm using the Season's Greetings collection from Echo Park as the base pages for the book. I'm also using Elle's Studio Vintage Mix and Match Numbers for each day. I'm keeping simple. Just adding a title, a few tags, buttons, and stickers, etc. I'm most interested in the photos and the journaling.

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you're making a December Daily, I hope it's going well. To everyone: I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating this magical time of year.

Thankful

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, I made a page for one of the Two Peas Online Crop challenges. The challenge was to make a page highlighting the smaller things you're thankful for. I love making pages like this. I enjoy taking the time to think about the everyday things that make my life great. They are also always fun to look back on years later.

My list
//blog hopping
//cozy scarves
//pizza
//books and magazines
//hot shower
//pumpkin pie
//fun snail mail
//hot green tea
//taking walks
//brussels sprouts
//unexpected hugs

When I made the list, I just started jotting stuff down. I didn't think about it long or edit what came to mind. I knew I wanted 12 items, because that would work the best for my design, but I thought of a couple more things after the 12. For me, that's totally ok. I'll add them to the page the next time.

I highly recommend thinking about the smaller things you are grateful for. For us scrappers, you can totally make a scrap page. But for you non-crafters out there, you can also just jot them down in a notebook. Or you can just share them with your family members. The act of acknowledging them is powerful. It will adjust your attitude, your perspective, in a very cool way.

I used primarily Amy Tangerine's collection from American Crafts, with a little bit of Hambly and Lily Bee. I lifted the mixing of the Thickers in the title from this page by Garden Girl Jill Sprott. I love how that turned out.

The challenges are open for a week, until Sunday the 27th. And there are prizes! So, if you're looking for some prompts, you should totally check it out. I couldn't find one place where all the challenges were listed, but you can find them all here. You'll just need to scroll through the page.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving. I so appreciate you stopping by. See you next week!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| D and I had a fun day hanging out together. We hit the bowling alley. Jamming to the music, while knocking down the pins. We enjoyed lunch and conversation at Punch pizza. Then we went to Barnes and Noble and picked up a new 39 Clues book. She recently went through a period where she called me the paparazzi, but she was all for picture taking this time and even took a few herself. Thanks, D! There were several moments during the day that I was so grateful to be where I was. Enjoying my awesome niece's company. I treasure days like this.

2| I'm a little behind the curve. I just saw a preview for the newest Mission Impossible movie out this December. I'm trying to contain my excitement! I love these movies. It's definitely on the must do list this holiday season. That's typical, right? A little Tom Cruise, car chases, intrigue, are the perfect ingredients for making the holiday cheery and bright.

3| I just finished On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford. I loved this book. An inspiring read, involving young love, war, and family loyalty and honor. I rushed through it because I needed to know how it was going to end.

4| Next up, #2 in the Hunger Games series. I don't plan to get a lot of sleep tonight.

5| With the package of holiday tags from Elle's Studio arriving yesterday and this inspiring post of December Daily ideas, by Ali Edwards, I'm all set to get started on my album. Probably will have to wait until after Thanksgiving though. Cutting it close this year!

6| We had our first snowfall of the season. Just a few inches. Thankfully, we'll be back in the 50s by the end of the week and it will be long gone. I accept snow in December and January and even February. But not November. And definitely not March.

7| I'm getting together with two lovely friends this evening. I'm looking forward to sipping on a glass of Pinot, while catching up on what's been happening with them. I might consume a cheese plate too. These outings are too few and far between.

8| I struggle sometimes to stay positive during this time of unemployment. There are definitely good days. But to be rejected over and over is incredibly difficult. It takes an emotional toll. My singular prayer. My one wish to Santa. To find a job where I can do meaningful work.

9| I'm loving this home decor idea. I have a budding collection of Bell jars that this would work perfectly with.

10| I'm pretty much over the moon excited for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm excited to be all cozied up under the same roof with my family. It's the best. I'll post tomorrow, but then I'll be off enjoying the rest of the week.

Sisters Rule

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Each month Sketchy Thursdays has a challenge to choose a Guest Designer. The December spot is up for grabs, so I thought I would put my hat in the ring. The challenge is to use the sketch and create a page that reflects gratitude or thankfulness.

I decided to make a page about how awesome sisters are. I don't think I've ever made a page about this, so it's about dang time. My sister is hugely important to me. I am a better person because of her. She has been an amazing source of support through what has been a difficult year. Well, all of my life actually. She is someone I am very thankful for everyday. I also love watching my nieces' relationship grow and get stronger. I'm so glad they have each other. I hope they remain close all of their lives. It's a great gift having a sister to share life with.

I used a bunch of October Afternoon Sidewalk goodies on this page. I'm loving the Little Flyers and Flower Sack. I also can't seem to make a page without misting lately. Love the pop of color that it adds.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm going to try and find time to participate in the Two Peas Online Crop. They always have fun chats, challenges and prizes. Since snow is in the forecast, it might be a perfect weekend to stay in and get crafty. Thanks for stopping by!

The Best PJs Of All

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm sharing my take on this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. I keep saying it, but it's true. I'm loving these sketches!

Here's the sketch:

A couple of close-ups.

I stayed fairly close to the original sketch, but I chose to use only two photos instead of four. I've had these photos in my pile for awhile now, and this sketch inspired me to finally scrap them. What I liked about this sketch was the layering of the paper along the side. I kept that and liked it so much that I also repeated it below the photos too.

The page is about my Mom making pajamas for her grandkids for Christmas. She's been doing this since 2007. I think it's the coolest thing ever and the kids agree! These are wonderful gifts they will treasure forever. These pajamas are made with so much love. You can't help but sleep well wearing them.

Looking at these pictures, I'm starting to get excited for Christmas. All the special time with family. All the delicious food. All the fun games played. All the wonderful memories shared. I can't wait. I admit though, it's still too early for Christmas music. At least for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| My family and I had a fun time at the History Center. They have a 1968 exhibit on display now. It's full of old typewriters (love!), a voting booth with the hand crank, beanbags galore, old TVs that sit on the floor (imagine!), princess phones and a restored Huey helicopter. The span of the rotors was amazing. When I was taking this picture, I said do something silly. My oldest niece was not going to play along. It's almost harder to get a good picture of her now that she's older, than it was when she was a toddler running around.

2| I've been eating way too much chocolate lately. Since my niece is allergic to peanuts, I so kindly took her Halloween candy. (Don't worry, her parents get her peanut free candy to enjoy). I've been devouring every piece since. I'd like to think I'll be sensible during the holidays, but let's be serious, I'll move from Butterfingers to pumpkin pie to candy cane cookies. Oh, so tasty.

3| I love this adorable little book that Amy Tan created for Hambly. Adding it to the project list.

4| I read the first book in the Hunger Games series. I stayed up until the wee hours to finish it. It's highly disturbing. But I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read the next one. I worry about what this says about me. Have others read it?

5| I finished the place cards for Thanksgiving. A lot of Mr. Huey was used. I'll be sharing soon!

6| I won one of Elle's Studio sketch contests and they graciously gave me a $5 gift certificate. I ordered some of their holiday tags for my December Daily and am waiting patiently for their arrival.

7| I haven't been sleeping well lately. My stress in my waking life is hindering my sleep life. I often will get up and watch TV. PBS cooking shows eventually lull me back to sleep.

8| I am thoroughly enjoying Parenthood again this season. It's such a sweet show. I cry pretty much every episode, but it's definitely a good cry. Maybe this will balance out my enjoying the Hunger Games.

9| We're in the middle of November and still no snow here yet. Last year, we had 8 inches already. So, so thankful that it hasn't made an appearance yet. I'm hoping that it holds off until after Thanksgiving, so my family can travel safely.

10| "Let your faith be bigger than your fear." I'm holding onto this a lot lately. (I found this on Pinterest, but couldn't find an original source.)

SMASHing It Up

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I thought it would be fun to share what I've done in my SMASH book so far. For those that aren't familiar with these books, you can learn more here, including a very fun video.

WHY DO I SMASH?
When I first got it, I wasn't too sure how I wanted to use it. I was paralyzed with indecision for awhile and then just decided to go with it. I wasn't going to place any rules on myself or follow a theme. After I got over my indecision, it was really fun to have a place where I could do whatever struck my fancy. Often, on my scrapbook pages, I strive for perfection and graphically pleasing pages, but I don't worry about that in the SMASH book. I don't worry if it's chronological or not. I don't worry about spelling or grammar. It's very freeing. This has also turned out to be a fun place for stories to be told that I wouldn't normally tell on a scrap page.

WHAT DO I SMASH?
I've used it just as a journal. I've stuck in movie tickets or entrance pins from a museum. I've stuck in Instax and Photobooth photos. I've painted. I've stuck in packages from teas I enjoy drinking. I've stuck in pages from a magazine, where I've seen an outfit I like, or a piece of furniture I wish I had. I've stuck in fun snail mail I've received and receipts from a night out. There are endless possibilities.

WHAT SUPPLIES DO I USE?

There are tons of neat product that go along with this book, but I'm ok with the few that I have; the date stamp, the washi tape and a few of the envelopes. I didn't want to add more and more to my stash. I enjoy using up supplies that have gone neglected. I never throw anything away, so it's been a great way to use up those scraps of paper.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing a bit into my SMASH process. If you've been SMASHing, leave me a link in the comments. I'd love to see!

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate it!

Glimpse

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

On the grocery list|Chickpeas.
On the TV|Flashpoint. Can't get enough.
On the radio| Florence and the Machine.On the nightstand| The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti. My brother sent me this book in the mail! I love fun mail.
On the scrap table| Too many projects. Smash book is one of them. I'll be sharing my progress tomorrow.
On the movie list| Surprisingly, nothing. I'd like to see Crazy, Stupid, Love again, now that it's out on video. Still haven't found a new place to get videos though, now that Blockbuster went under.
On the dinner plate| Whole wheat pasta with brussels sprouts, grape tomatoes, chickpeas and Feta.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

1| The colors are still so vibrant and beautiful. Unfortunately, slushy snow is on the way. Big ugh. Hopefully, it's one of those times the forecasters get it wrong.

2| This weekend was super fun. Celebrating my sister's birthday. Lots of silliness and laughter. A fancy-schmancy dinner. Delicious pumpkin ice cream for dessert. A concert at the Minnesota Orchestra. My niece and I giving extra applause to the violas. A good day.

3| I have a couple of crafty projects on my to-do list this weekend. Thanksgiving place cards and the foundation of my December Daily. The ideas are brewing...

4| I enjoyed reading this post about gratitude on Superhero Journal's blog. I love her birthday ritual. I want to check out the book she recommends. I love the idea of putting gratitude into practice.

5| I've really been enjoying pears lately. A great snack. But I'm also mourning the loss of blueberry season. They are ridiculously expensive now. Will miss sprinkling them on my waffles.

6| I have a big stack of books to read, but none of them are inspiring me. Has anyone read anything good lately?

7| I have Two Peas and Elle's Studio gift certificates burning a hole in my pocket. I'm waiting for the Amy Tangerine washi tapes to come in at Two Peas and the new Elle's Studio project kit reveal next week.

8| I'm a late night snacker. I know doctors say you shouldn't eat anything past 7 p.m. or some such nonsense, but I can't sleep until I've had my bowl of cereal. At least it's Kashi, so that's somewhat healthy, right?

9| Kelly Purkey has a new class, Sketchpad. I love KPs classes. They're always full of fun and inspiration.

10| I'm off to vote. I'm so thankful to live in a country where I can vote without fear for my safety and free from restraint.

Let's Dance

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Echo Park is having a contest where we need to create a project using its Dots and Stripes collection. This is one of my favorites of there's, so I was definitely in.

As I said in my post on Wednesday, I've been digging in my older photo files and scrapping stories that have been overlooked. This time, I decided to scrap about M&D's dance recital back in 2009. The bright colors and whimsical feel of the Dots and Stripes collection worked perfectly with the colors in their outfits. I look at this page and can't help but smile. It's so bright and happy. Feels good to get some of these other stories told too.

Just a quick post today. I appreciate you stopping by.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Celebrate A Decade!

2011-11-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm sharing a layout I created using a sketch from the Elle's Studio blog. The sketch actually came from Lilly Bee. Last week, these two companies teamed up for a week of inspiration and fun. I enjoy a good blog hop and this one didn't disappoint.

The sketch had six spots, that could be used for photos, paper, embellishments, journaling, etc. I chose to use six photos. I don't think I've ever used this many photos on a page before. Well, this many of a larger size anyway.

When I started scrapbooking, I went chronologically. But a couple of years ago, I started scrapping whatever story I felt like telling at that moment. What a huge relief that was. A lot of angst out the window. The downside has been many older stories aren't getting told, and that bugs me. I went roving in my iPhoto folders and came across my oldest niece's 10th birthday. She's almost 13 now. Eek. I decided these would be perfect for this sketch.

Even though I didn't have a lot of extra room, I was able to add three Elle's Studio tags, a few thin strips of patterned paper and washi tape, the title, a few word fetti, and buttons. Whew! Who knew there was that much space. I'm usually drawn to more white space, but I really love how this turned out. You definitely get a better sense of the day and all the fun we had seeing all the photos on one page. Will have to remember this moving forward.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

1| The first day of November. Absolute craziness. We're down to what...8 weeks until Christmas. I'm not ready. I need an injection of holiday spirit, I guess.

2| I am happy though that my entire family is going to be together for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I don't recall this ever happening since my siblings got married. Now, that's something to be thankful for. Makes me very, very happy.

3| This month we'll see 11.11.11. I'm a nerd and think it would be fun to commemorate it somehow. Maybe give out 11 compliments. Or send 11 letters. Other ideas?

4| I'm going to have to make some very tough decisions in the coming weeks. Being an adult is just really hard sometimes. If you're the praying kind, I'd certainly appreciate if you would send up a prayer or two for me. Many thanks.

5| I purchased Ali Edwards' latest self-paced class called Storyology. She shares the techniques and ideas she uses for getting more stories told. Her classes are very affordable and truly enjoyable to listen to.

6| I did a deep clean of my home on Sunday. I even dusted, which I never do. Feels good to start the week off fresh.

7| My brother and his family got me this awesome bag for my birthday. Great quality. Fun design. Perfect size. I love it. If you're looking for a nice bag for yourself or as a gift, I'd definitely check out 1154 Lill Studio. You can even design your own bag.

8| I'm obsessed with green tea these days. I'm drinking several cups a day. It's supposedly good for you though, right?

9| I turned my heat on for the first time this weekend. Ugh. I was trying to wait until November, but I was curled up in a comforter with several layers of clothing and shivering, and I thought this is ridiculous, so on it went.

10| I'm looking forward to this weekend. I'm going out on the town with my parents, my sister and my niece. We won't get too crazy, I promise.

Breathe | Sketchy Thursdays Challenge

2011-10-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

I'm back to share a page I made using a sketch from the Sketchy Thursdays blog. I'm really loving that I found this blog. The first time I participated, I was chosen as one of the design team favorites. I was thrilled! Totally made my day. I've enjoyed getting to know the team through their layouts and blogs. Such a nice group of women. Onto the sketch....

When I saw all the white space, the banner and the twine, I knew I'd participate. They are all favorites of mine. I used the sketch to the tee, except that I added journaling along the outside. I do this often on my pages. It's a great way to add words without disrupting the design too much. I wanted the photo to shine.

I used a black and white photo for the first time. How is that? Will definitely be using them more. I love how it looks. I actually made this one a bit sepia too and softened the edges. All just in iPhoto.

I used the Victoria Gardens collection from Echo Park. These papers are so pretty. I made a base for the photo with a few scraps of paper and then made different sized banners to peek out from underneath. I inked the edges of the paper to give them a bit more definition. I wrapped a few lengths of twine around the photo and added a few drops of Mr. Huey and called it done.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hello Monday

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here's hoping good news arrives today.

Happy Halloween! What is everyone up to? I'm going to my sister's to see my nieces all dressed up. Whatever you have planned, I hope it involves some sugary goodness.

I'll be back a bit later with another post! Making up for my absence last week.

10 Favorite Places

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

I made this page a couple of weeks ago, but just realized I haven't shared it here yet. This design is one I keep coming back to. It satisfies everything I like in a page; a sizable area for a title, pretty patterned paper and journaling. The best part: it's super simple to make. A couple of cuts, a few punches, inked edges and that's it.

This was a topic I've been wanting to scrap for awhile. I love looking back on pages like this. It's neat to see how the places change (some never leave the list) after I've been to and experienced new places.

I used the Memoir collection from Studio Calico and Amy Tangerine Thickers. The tags are from an office supply store.

The weather should be beautiful here this weekend. I hope to get out and enjoy it. I still need to buy a few pumpkins. I really need to get on that! I also have a few layouts on my mind. Maybe I'll crafty too. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Fall

2011-10-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've seen a lot of people participating in Sketchy Thursdays. I was intrigued, so I checked it out. It's a blog that shares a new sketch challenge each week. They have a design team that shows how many different ways you can interpret the sketch. That's why I love sketches so much. There's no right answer. Just a great starting off point. An inspiration piece. This week, I decided to play along for the first time.

Here is the sketch.

I loved all the possibilities for the journaling along the side, so I started with that. I used the Sentiments stamp set from Studio Calico and stamped all along the right hand side. I got ink on the pad and then stamped it several times on the cardstock before adding more ink. I think the technical term is "stamping off," but I'm no expert! I really love how it turned out though. Will definitely be trying this again.

Then I just layered some Studio Calico patterned paper behind my photo. I added the very cute leaves from Amy Tangerine's line, which worked perfectly for my fall themed page. And of course, a couple of Elle's Studio tags. To make the page seem more grounded, I added a few strips of patterned paper on the top and bottom. I added a few drops of mist, my journaling and called it done.

I had a lot of fun with this sketch challenge. I look forward to playing again.

Very Thankful

2011-10-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

I'm posting twice in one day! Too much to share, which is always a good thing. I'm back to share a layout I created using a sketch on the Elle's Studio blog. The sketch is based off of a layout by Laura Kurz. I'm a huge fan of her work, so I definitely wanted to play along.

I substituted a photo and some layering of patterned paper for the journaling card that Laura used. But I kept the tag clusters in the same place. I have been wanting to try out more layering and I'm pleased with how it turned out. After using a lot of mist lately, this page looks really bare without any on it!

The page is about how thankful I am for my parents. I've been thinking about this page for awhile, so I'm so glad to finally have it scrapped.

Journaling reads//My parents are my sounding board, my biggest fans, my compass. Their love and support have saved me countless times. I thank God for them every.single.day.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

1| I love barns. I love taking pictures of barns. But I'm never near a barn, so that proves difficult. I figure I love barns because of my family's long history of living on farms. My grandparents on both sides owned farmland and all generations before that. It's in my blood. I just love the idea of a photo montage of different barns. Maybe one day.

2| I saw the Ides of March. Man, that movie left me in a foul mood. I was bothered mostly because it was a pretty realistic portrayal of politics these days. Which truly makes me sad. I have always been a strong believer in the power of politics to do good in the world. I've seen it. But, unfortunately, not lately. I was hoping for a feel good ending and it just wasn't to be. Good acting though.

3| When I read Elise's post about her love of brussels sprouts, it looked so tasty that I picked some up and am now hooked. I've been preparing them like Elise and eating them with everything. Pasta. Grilled cheese sandwich. Salads. Hmmm....good.

4| My brother is participating in National Novel Writing Month (his second year!) and is encouraging me to participate too. I have no ideas, but because I'm crazy, I'm leaning toward trying it out.

5| Every year at this time, I'm always shocked by the shorter days. The early darkness is hard to adjust to. Not a fan. I'm astonished that October is over half way done. Mornings are getting brisk. Heavier sweaters are at the ready.

6| I finished Bossypants. A very enjoyable read. I liked the behind the scenes peek into how the Sarah Palin impersonation came about and Tina's thoughts about it.

7| I'm excited about December Daily. Ali Edwards has teamed up with Studio Calico to offer a kit this year, which I think is so cool. I hope that it's affordable. But either way, I'll be participating. I love this project.

8| I was surprised by the news that American Crafts has acquired Studio Calico and Crate Paper. I'm happy if it means easier access to those products.

9| I watched a few episodes of Prime Suspect this weekend. I'm a fan.

10| I was thrilled when Amy Tan mentioned my North Shore mini album on her blog. Totally made my day. Thanks to all of you that stopped by through her blog. I hope you'll come back often.

You Rock

2011-10-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm sharing a page I made for the weekly challenge over on the Studio Calico blog. They challenged us to make a misted background. When I attended Scrapfest this year, I stopped by the Studio Calico booth and saw Mr. Huey in action. I was sold. Now, I'm misting everything. I'm no expert, but I'm having a lot of fun!

I used a bubble template that I've had for years, but have never used. I didn't know how it would turn out, so I just placed it on the cardstock and misted like crazy. I love the look of masking. I added the photo on top of the mask. I liked the idea of the mask peeking out. Then, I added a couple of banners. I'm big into banners these days. The red ones I cut up myself. Super easy to do. Then you can customize banners for any project. The possibilities are endless. Love that.

The paper is from Studio Calico's Memoir collection. I'm a huge fan. I used Mr. Huey Plum Thumb, Heirloom Blue (a favorite) and Custard.

What about you? Do you mist and mask on your projects?

North Shore Mini

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm sharing the mini album I made from my trip to the North Shore. I made the base of the album at Amy Tan's class at Scrapfest. I love this album. I love that the pages are staggered, so you can see other pages peeking out. I love that fabric paper binds the album. I love all the great embellishments, tags, and stickers from this collection. It makes this album so much fun! And I had Amy sign the back. Very cool!

Here are all the pages.

I added a pocket to the back, so I could include some more journaling. I also included the receipts from the places we ate. I enjoy looking back on these.

I used primarily Amy's line, but also a bit of Elle's Studio, Basic Grey, Jillibean Soup, Smash and October Afternoon.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how my mini turned out. Enjoy your Wednesday!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

1| I had a wonderful time celebrating my birthday with my family. We had a picnic at the arboretum and then walked around the grounds. I requested two salads and pumpkin bars. All were super delicious. Even the leftovers were tasty. You can find the two salad recipes here and here.

2| I scrapped with a friend this weekend and finished up my North Shore mini-album. I'll be sharing tomorrow, so be sure to stop back.

3| I started reading Bossypants. I'm only a few pages in, but it is hilarious. Laughter is so good for the soul.

4| I'm looking forward to having lunch with a couple of friends this week. Friends are so good for the soul too.

5| I'm loving these pieces of art by Kal Barteski.

6| Every once in awhile, I get overwhelmed by all the paper and email that accumulates. Last night, I made a big dent in all of it. Feels good.

7| I got out my pumpkin scented candle, but I need to get some mini pumpkins and gourds. Oh, how I love October.

8| I'm checking out Stamping A to Z series at Two Peas. I'm not much of a stamper. Mostly on cards. Occasionally on a scrap page. I'm looking forward to some easy tips and tricks for bringing it into my projects more.

9| I asked for and received a set of 400 count sheets for my birthday. I can't wait to wash them up. There's nothing like brand new, freshly washed sheets. Simple pleasures.

10| "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do." Steve Jobs. Oh, man, I'm working really hard to make this a reality for myself.

Currently

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

wishing I was back on the North Shore.

loving that it's Friday.

hoping to squeeze in a matinee on Saturday.

enjoying the amazing golden light outside these days.

trying to embrace my new age.

thinking about how to motivate myself to get back into an exercise routine.

wearing a sweater even though it's in the 80s.

looking forward to a quieter week ahead.

wanting to spend my time differently.

wondering what's next?

39.59

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday to you! I'm patiently waiting for this weekend. I am scrapping with friends, attending a chamber orchestra concert and celebrating my birthday. Can't wait!

But until then, here is a layout I created for the sketch challenge on the Authentique blog.

I stayed close to the sketch, just using two vertical 4x6 photos instead of two horizontal ones. I used primarily the Blissful collection. This is my favorite collection. I'm actually running out, so will need to remedy that right quick. It worked perfectly against the gray stitched paper from the Amy Tangerine collection too.

Supplies:
Authentique| Blissful (paper), Tabloids and Icons (cardstock elements)
American Crafts| Amy Tangerine (paper and Thickers)
Basic Grey | (buttons)

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

1| I'm back from a couple of days on the North Shore. What a magical place. We spent a lot of time at Temperence State Park. We hiked the trails, skipped some rocks and strolled the shoreline while listening to the waves roll in. The colors on the leaves were amazing too. I dreaded leaving.

2| I'm healthy again! Thank goodness. Here's hoping that's the last time for a long time.

3| My birthday is tomorrow. I'm pretty much in denial. I usually love my birthday, but this year I'm not that excited. I usually create a list of things I'd like to do that year, but I'm not inspired to do that this year. I know, I'm Debbie Downer. I did ask for pumpkin bars with cream cheese as my "cake," and I'm definitely looking forward to that!

4| I ran the Twin Cities 5k on Saturday. We had a beautiful morning. While I didn't accomplish my goal of running the entire thing, I did finish with my best time yet. Go figure.

5| I "typed-talked" with my youngest niece. That's what she calls Skyping. Makes me smile every time I say it. It was really fun to talk with her and hear about what she's been up to. I wish we could do that more often.

6| So, Blockbuster went bankrupt. Now, I have no way to get movies. Thinking about getting Apple TV. Anyone else use it? Or how does everyone else watch movies?

7| I haven't been too impressed with the new TV season so far. The Good Wife and Parenthood haven't been as good as I think they can be. I thought last season, for both shows, was amazing. I am looking forward to Flashpoint coming to ion television. A channel I actually get.

8| I'm also looking forward to seeing Ides of March with George Clooney. Wow, the last three entries have been about movies and TV. I guess Fall is here. I'm ready to hibernate. Although, the weather is not cooperating. Today we were in the 80s. What?!

9| I treated myself to this bracelet. It was 40% off! Great deal! I never wear bracelets, but I'm loving this one. I love the jingle/jangle noise it makes. It's also so pretty, which makes me feel pretty too. Win, win!

10| I'm eager to get scrapping. I have tons of photos from my trip up north and from the 5k that I can't wait to use. Off I go...

Four Years Old

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-02T04:00:00.000-05:00

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!

Wordless Wednesday: Farmer's Market Finds

2011-08-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-30T05:00:00.000-05:00

1| I want to be back where this photo was taken. On my parent's patio. Enjoying a cold drink. Playing cards. Watching my nieces and nephew drenching themselves with the hose. I want more days like that.

2| I can't believe we welcome September this week. While I don't want to see summer go, I am craving soups and long sleeved shirts and cooler nights. It happens without even thinking about it. My body and mind are programmed for these changes whether I like it or not.

3| I saw Source Code and Something Borrowed. Not too impressed with either one, unfortunately. Source Code was really boring, which is surprising considering it was about stopping a terrorist attack. Something Borrowed was just the same ol', same ol', woman loves man, man loves woman, but they don't tell each other until the last minutes of the movie. You just want to bang their heads together. Wow, those were scathing. Sorry, if you enjoyed them. Just not my cup of tea.

4| The other day, I volunteered at Feed My Starving Children. A non-profit that uses volunteers to hand pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children and ships it to countries in need. I, along with 53 other volunteers packed over 18,000 meals to feed 50 children in Haiti for a year. Not too shabby for a couple of hours. Still a lot to do though. I'm already signed up for another shift.

5| I'm starting to pay attention to the TV premieres. I'm looking forward to The Good Wife and Parenthood returning. A new show I might check out is New Girl on Fox. I'm a fan of Zooey Deschanel.

6| I know the end of summer is near when the State Fair starts. I'm heading there this week. I enjoy people watching and eating various fried foods. I won't be eating fried butter on a stick however.

7| I'm so jealous of people who have iphones and are using the Instagram app. I love the effect on the photos.

8| I didn't get a chance to make a blueberry crisp while at home. It's definitely on my list this week. Another to do brought on by the approaching fall season.

9| The Studio Calico design team knocked it out of the park this month. Everyone's galleries are really amazing. There's too many favorites to list here. Truly amazing work. Check it out here.

10| One of my passions is to advocate for more affordable housing and to eliminate homelessness and poverty. I attended a training the other night and among the list of resources they gave us, one was called Spent. It's an online activity that challenges you to survive for a month by making tough choices as a low-wage worker. I failed on day 17. Will it save the world? No. But maybe it will offer you some perspective. Or maybe it will be a reminder of the millions of those who struggle everyday, especially children and you'll want to do something about it. Like volunteer or donate to a non-profit. Or maybe you'll just hug your loved ones a little tighter. Try it out.

Fun Run

2011-08-29T05:00:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning to you. After being away for a week, I spent this weekend catching up on cleaning and organizing the never ending piles of paper and grocery shopping and doing laundry. Really exciting, but it needed to be done. Feels good to be starting the week with a lot of the to do list crossed off. I also had some time to scrap, which also felt good.

I used the sketch up on the Elle's Studio blog to create this page. I don't often scrap vertically, like the sketch, so I rotated it 180 degrees and used three photos instead of one photo strip. But I used a bunch of scraps of paper like the sketch and of course Elle's Studio tags. My go to lately has been the Amy Tangerine collection and Elle's Studio tags. Can't get enough!

Thanks for stopping by.

Stretch Your Sketches No. 10 (and more Amy Tangerine)

2011-08-26T05:00:00.000-05:00

Last night, I had some time to whip up another page using Amy Tangerine goodies. Have I mentioned yet how much I love this collection?! Yes, I know I have. But it really is awesome. It makes creating so easy and fun. I also used the latest sketch from the Stretch Your Sketches challenge over on the Ella Publishing blog.

Here's the sketch.

And my page.

I stayed fairly close to the sketch, but changed the size and orientation of a couple of the photos. I cut a couple of half circles out of a few of the papers and used them to create a base for the photos and title to sit on. I also used a few of the stickers from the Good Times sticker book for the title, as well as the awesome Thickers. I added a few Elle's Studio tags and the journaling to balance it all out and called it done.

I've been enjoying using the Amy Tangerine papers as the base for my layout. I love the little people on this one. I usually use white cardstock, so it's been fun to change it up a bit.

Has anyone else been creating with Amy Tangerine? Link me up!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a relaxing weekend.

Spotlight on the City

2011-08-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Today is another post in my occasional Spotlight on the City series. You can read more about the series here.

I mentioned in a previous post that as part of a birthday wish of my Mom's, we visited several of the independent bookstores here in the metro area. We're lucky enough to have a number of thriving businesses.

We had the perfect day.
The weather was perfect.
The company was perfect.
Perusing the stacks was perfect.

Our first stop was Micawber's Books. This store was nestled in a quiet St. Paul neighborhood. The store had wood plank floors and living room style lamps hovering over comfortable leather chairs. The store smelled of books. It was fabulous. They had an excellent young adult section too.

Next up was Garrison Keillor's bookstore, Common Good Books. His store is a bit harder to find, as it's located in the basement of a larger building, but the subterranean nature adds to its charm. Even though it's in a basement there's great natural light shining on tunnels lined with books top to bottom.

All this perusing made us hungry, so we decided to stop for a bite to eat. We went across the street to the best outdoor patio in St. Paul; W. A. Frost. Delicious as always.

After getting recharged, we headed to Minneapolis and Birchbark Books. Owned by Minnesota author, Louise Erdrich, this store is also tucked away in a neighborhood and is an intimate space. Along with an eclectic selection of titles, it's also full of Native jewelry and artwork. The employees were especially helpful here. Sharing books they thought we might like after a bit of conversation. I wanted to cozy up with a cup of tea and stay awhile.

Last up, Once Upon A Crime. This stop was in a bit shadier part of Minneapolis, which fits nicely with the theme of the store; mysteries. Now, I'm not a fan. But my Mom and sister love a good mystery, so this was right up their alley. The store was also in a basement, but was darker and smaller than Garrison's. The windows were plastered with posters blocking out the light. Good pictures were not possible. To be quite honest, I won't be returning, but you should definitely check it out if you're a fan of the genre.

To top off the day, we stopped at Yum for cupcakes.

A perfectly sweet ending to a perfect day.

American Crafts & Amy Tangerine

2011-08-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

I snatched up a few of the new products from the Amy Tangerine collection and was able to play a little bit. This collection is as cool as it looked online. The stitched and fabric papers are really fun. And of course, I love the Thickers. I am still looking forward to the washi tape and the mini album.

I saw this layout by Kelly Purkey, where she used confetti and knew I wanted to do this on a page too. I also love all the white space on her page. Genius.

I really love how it turned out. The stitched paper worked beautifully as the base for the page. I printed a couple of small photos, adhered the confetti, added a few stickers and the Thickers from the collection, a bit of journaling and I was done. Super simple. Simple equals awesome when time is tight. I can't wait for when I have time to play again.

Happy Wednesday!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

Every year my family gets together for a week at my parent's house to celebrate what we've deemed Rick Fest. It's named after my brother who we lost to a car accident. It's our way of celebrating his life and our love for him and our love for each other. It's the best week of the year. And this year was no different.

Here are 10 highlights.

1| My niece and nephew performed a concert for us. They spent a lot of time practicing together and arranging the songs. And they made programs too! I love their talent and creativity.

2| My brother loved running, so this year we had a Rick Fest Fun Run. We went to the high school track and ran a 400m and a 100m relay. What a blast!

3| Even though I always have the worst hands, I love playing 500.

4| Playing tennis, as always, makes me happy. I redeemed myself this year and won every game against my brother.

5| I enjoyed hearing about my nieces' and nephew's first fishing expedition. I loved the part about my niece's pink fishing pole reeling in the most fish.

6| Watching the cousins enjoy each other's company so much made me smile.

7| Seeing how excited my niece was to have a pony cake for her birthday was well worth tracking down the right cake pan.

8| I am most at peace when we're all sleeping under the same roof.

9| I loved receiving hugs for no reason.

10| I have the best family in the world. I am thankful for each of them everyday.

The time always goes by so, so quickly. I can't wait to be all together again.

I miss my brother terribly. I often feel him there with us during the week. Today would have been his 42nd birthday. I like to imagine him celebrating in heaven with my grandparents. Maybe playing a round or two of 500. Here's hoping he has a better hand. I love you Rick.

Thanks for reading.

Stretch Your Sketches No. 9

2011-08-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week, life has been very complicated and very busy. A good complicated. A good busy. But I haven't been able to do a lot of blogging, which I'm bummed about. I am happy though to have found time to write a quick post with my layout for the Stretch Your Sketches Challenge on the Ella Publishing blog.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on the sketch:

I moved everything to the center. I used two photos to make up the one 4x6 on the right. But the journaling and the title match the sketch. I used a bunch of scraps from the Life is Good line from Echo Park. I also used a couple of Elle's Studio tags. I am totally hoarding these. They are so cool. The little banner was scraps too from the Lime Twist line from My Mind's Eye. I really enjoy using up little bits from here and there. It's very satisfying.

You can find my other layouts based on these sketches here.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Here's to a relaxing weekend!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

1| I went to my first Twins game at Target Field. A couple of friends had tickets their parents couldn't use and they invited me to go. Such a fun treat to see them and to attend the game. The seats were fabulous, although to be honest, there wasn't a lot of watching the game, but a lot of catching up and eating. A beautiful evening. One I will always remember.

2| On Saturday, I spent the day with other Habitat for Humanity volunteers painting a two story house, from top to bottom. While it felt good on the inside, not so much on the outside. I totally overdid it. I spent all of Sunday recovering. A lot of sleeping, Advil and yoga.

3| Today I took a big bag of #5 plastics to Whole Foods. I love that Whole Foods recycles these types of plastics. My parents and even a few of their friends have joined me. Very cool. I'm slowly reducing my impact and it feels good. Whole Foods also recycles Brita water filters and wine corks. To learn more about how you can recycle #5s, go here.

4| I'm excited for cooler, less humid air.

5| Check out this short video called Move. Makes me want to jump on plane and go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Check out the other two videos too.

6| I finished Kristin Hannah's new book, Night Road. A book about a mother's love. A book about forgiveness and hope. A book about life after a great loss. I was drawn in instantly and became absorbed in the character's lives. I would add it to your read it list.

7| I've enjoyed seeing Ali Edwards' Week in the Life album come together. I have a lot of organizing to do, including choosing which photos to use, but I hope to start working on mine in the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed.

8| My family is having a book club discussion of The Help. We hope to also go to the movie together. I love that my family loves books. Actual books. The ones you hold in your hands. The ones that you smell and touch and experience. Is anyone else scared that bookstores will be something of the past 10 years from now? Or even sooner?

9| I have a lot of zucchini, so I will be making this for dinner tonight.

10| I saw Date Night again. There are very few movies where I'm doubled over in laughter, but I am when watching this movie. I am so thankful for laughter, for levity, for being silly, for letting go. Saves me more times than I can count.

My Favorite Quote

2011-08-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

I didn't mean to be away for so long, but I was without Internet service for awhile this week. It's amazing how lost and off kilter I felt not being able to be connected. I finally went to a Starbucks to use their WiFi, so I could find out what the heck was going on in the world. Thankfully, I'm back in business.

Now onto the good stuff. When I saw this layout by Jenni Hufford when she was guest designer on the American Crafts blog, I knew I wanted to scraplift it. She rocked the Thickers. Such an amazing layout! I am a huge fan of Thickers, so this was right up my alley.

I found out that most of my Thickers were without the letter E, so I had to use some other alphabets. I like the combination of smaller and larger fonts. I reserved the Thickers for the more meaningful words.

I chose to use my favorite quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." I really loved how it turned out. It's now prominently displayed in a shadowbox in my living room.

The paper is all Jillibean Soup. The other alphabet stickers are October Afternoon, Echo Park, Jenni Bowlin and Cosmo Cricket. The tags are Jillibean Soup, Canvas Home Basics and Elle's Studio.

Thanks Jenni for the inspiration! And as always, thanks so much for stopping by, especially during these busy summer days. I hope to back to regular blogging next week. Have a lovely weekend.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

1| My friend gave me these flowers from her garden. They make me happy.

2| I signed up for ScrapFest. I wasn't planning to as my experience last year wasn't that great, but American Crafts has a class with Amy Tan's new line. I can't resist that.

3| I'm in full planning mode for the week my family spends together. Thinking up fun and new things for us to do together. I love this week. It's so good for my soul.

4| I saw Crazy, Stupid, Love. Fabulous film. Steve Carrell is a genius. He can do funny. He can do touching. He can do real. Will be adding it to my collection when it comes out.

5| I'm mourning that it's already August. I have so many things I still want to do before the weather changes again. Will need to sit down and make some serious plans.

6| On that note, a couple very thoughtful friends invited me to a Twins game. This was on my list of to dos this summer. This will be such a treat to go with them.

7| I finished Matched by Ally Condie. It's a book my niece is reading for her English class this fall. It's a fantastic book. I don't remember books being this good when I was her age. This book has stuck with me. I find myself thinking about it often. If you're looking for a fast moving, thought-provoking read, pick this book up. I warn you though, it's a series and the next book isn't out yet, so you'll be left hanging until then.

8| I enjoyed reading this blog post about How to talk to little girls. What Joanna says really rings true with me. I was nodding in agreement as I read it. I have three nieces and have thought about this often. I smiled too because talking about books is huge in our family.

9| I've noticed the last three points have been about books. I told you they're huge in my family. My Mom requested for her birthday to go on an independent bookstore tour around the Twin Cities. We are blessed to have several very successful places here. We had such a fun day. Will be sharing soon in a Spotlight on the City post.

10| This has been a tough year for me. I really hope and pray that pieces of my life start to fall into place soon. I've been working really hard and need some of that work to start paying off.

Week In The Life/Saturday & Sunday

2011-08-01T07:00:00.007-05:00

Walking to the farmer's market. (It's hard to see, but there's a poem in the sidewalk.)

Big fan of radishes.

At Pizzeria Lola. Delicious. And they had a photobooth!

Walker Art Museum/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

A cool refreshment.

A steamy, hazy day.

Steve Carrell is a genius.

Back to school shopping with my nieces. I picked up a notebook and Sharpie pens.

Observations//
I'm so glad I decided to take on this project and that I stuck with it. There were definitely some harder days, but I'm thankful that I captured all of it through photos and journaling. There was a conversation on the Big Picture classes message board for Week In The Life that focused on how it can be difficult to really see your life. I resonated with this. To stop and notice how you spend your time can be eye opening and hard to swallow, especially if you're not spending your time in a way that makes you happy. I think while this can be difficult, it's also the point of the project. Yes, it's also fun to take pictures in interesting ways, but it's more to me than that. It's about being mindful. It's about living a life of purpose. Once you see it, you can make the choice to change it. There were a few things that I saw that I am not happy with. I am going to work really hard to try and integrate some changes. Thanks Ali for the idea and all the support and inspiration along the way.

Next up| Put it all together in an album. Still pondering how I'll do this. So many ideas sound good to me. A Smash book? A mini? An 8 1/2 x 11 album? I'm leaning toward a Smash book. I like the idea of something already put together and all I have to do is stick it on the page.

Thanks for going along on this journey with me.

Ten on Tuesday is back tomorrow. Happy August! Simply astonished it's already August.

Week In The Life//Friday

2011-07-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

A few of my favorites from Friday.

Hello morning.

Hello nourishing breakfast.

Hello mid-afternoon snack and inspiration.

Hello surprise (and fun!) package in the mail from my brother.

Hello to changing out frames with new photos.

Hello clean kitchen.

Hello weekend. So happy to see you.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely weekend.

Week In The Life//Thursday

2011-07-29T07:00:00.004-05:00

Since I was feeling a tad under the weather yesterday, I didn't get many photos. I am bummed, but rolling with it. I still journaled though, so I'm happy about that.

Here are the few I took.

Turkey sandwich, chips, veggies and hummus for lunch.

Reading through a twitter interview with Josh Ritter and O magazine.

This for dinner.

Observations//
I have no problem remembering to take pictures of my food.
I'm looking forward to capturing my weekend in photos. Fun things planned.
I'm happy Oprah picked Josh Ritter's book for her summer reading list.

First Pedicures

2011-07-28T11:33:00.001-05:00

I'm back again today to show you a layout I made for the Take Out Tuesday project on the Elle's Studio blog. Remember my Week In The Life post for Wednesday when I was trying to track down a package? Well, the package was full of Elle's Studio goodies, which is why I was so crazed to find it. This was my first order from Elle's Studio and it didn't disappoint. I got to work right away! These tags are so, so fun. Will definitely be playing again soon.

Without further ado....the layout.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

A couple close-ups.

I changed it up a bit by using three horizontal photos instead of three vertical like Melanie did on her page. But I kept the photos to the left and the journaling and embellishments to the right like she did. I always love when I find new places for inspiration and fun.

SUPPLIES

Elle's Studio

Turquoise Pennants

Lil' Snippets: Summer

Lil' Snippets: Labeled, Red

Jillibean Soup

Watermelon Gazpacho Soup Paper

Blossom Soup Cardstock Stickers

Corrugated Frames

Sugar Pick

Echo Park

Dots and Stripes Paper

Alpha Stickers

October Afternoon

Authentique

Week In The Life//Wednesday

2011-07-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

I'm still at it! Day three of the Week In The Life. I may have jinxed myself, though, when I said I had some momentum. How quickly things can change. After a sleepless night, trying to track down a lost package, and trying to convince a ginormous health insurance company that I'm worthy of coverage, I wasn't much in the mood to document today. But there were some definite highlights and I'm choosing to focus more on those.

Here they are:

A tasty breakfast, while reading one of my favorite magazines.

My happy skirt.

I fell off the healthy lifestyle wagon. But it was oh so good.

I finally found my lost package. Hooray!

Dessert after dinner.

Observations//
It's midweek and I'm still really enjoying this project. I'm surprised by this too, since I went into with a ho-hum attitude.
It's fun anticipating what I captured while I wait for the photos to download.
I'm really enjoying what others are seeing through their lenses.
I'm going to try and shoot broader looks of my surroundings tomorrow.

Week In The Life//Tuesday

2011-07-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

A few of my favorite shots from Tuesday.

Up bright and early to sign up for ScrapFest workshops.

Breakfast.

A morning walk.

Errands.

A day brightener.

Lunch. (This was delicious!)

A favorite activity.

Playing with photo booth.

Observations//
Seeing my Monday schedule, I knew I had to peel myself away from the computer today. I took a wonderful morning walk that set the stage for a good day. Need to remember to do this more often.
I took more self portrait photos today.
Still fewer photos later in the day. I think it's because the lighting is so bad later in the day.
Today was much more fun than yesterday. I hope the momentum continues.

Week In The Life//Monday

2011-07-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

This week, I'm participating in Ali Edwards' Week In The Life project. You can read more about it here. I've wanted to play along every year, because I think it's such a neat concept, but I could never get myself to do it. But this year, I'm in. Well, at least for this initial day anyway. I'm not quite sure yet how I'm going to document it all. For now, I'm keeping notes and taking photos. I'm also looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day.

The morning light.

The morning juice. (My morning coffee.)

The morning cereal.

The big sorting/organizing project.

My favorite lunch.

Observations//
I definitely took more photos early on in the day.
I need to be better about getting self portrait shots.
I spend a lot of time at the computer (emailing, job searching, reading blogs, etc.)

I already have ideas for photos tomorrow, so that's a good sign!

Stay tuned...

Echo Park Fresh Faces Campaign

2011-07-22T08:13:00.000-05:00

Hellloooooo Friday! I am so happy to see you. This has been a rough week, so I'm very much looking forward to relaxing and regrouping this weekend.

Today, I'm excited to be showcasing three layouts made with Echo Park collections. Echo Park is having a monthly design team call, which I think is a fantastic idea. It's difficult to "break" into this industry and offering this opportunity on a monthly basis is awesome. I am a huge fan of this company. Each collection is always full of awesome patterned papers and fun alphabet stickers. Two of my most favorite things!

My style tends to be linear, clean and structured. I enjoy mixing different patterned papers on my pages and Echo Park papers are always perfect for this. I'll be showing off two of their more recent collections, For The Record and Dots and Stripes--Candy Shoppe.

Layout No. 1 | Resting

You can definitely see my love for linear on this layout. And also my love of white space. I knew I wanted to use a lot of different bits of paper and embellishments, so an easy way to do this is to create a grid. This way I can put a bunch of goodness in each space. I used twine to make the grid. Then I used a square, circle and butterfly punch to punch out various pieces of patterned paper from the For The Record collection. I moved them around until I was happy with where everything was and ta dah, first layout done. Super simple page.

Here's a close-up.

I decided I wanted to make a layout from this blog post. I knew that I wanted an 18-year-old photo, a photo from today and all the journaling, so I built a background for it all to "sit" on. Since red was common in both photos, I decided to play that color up. I took a big piece of fun patterned paper from For The Record and used it as my base. Then I took a subtler pattern and used a scallop punch to create a fun border. After this, I knew I needed a bit more color and more interest, so I used two different circle punches to create layered homes for an embellishment. I added a bit of washi tape, a few labels and called it done.

SUPPLIES

CARDSTOCK | Bazzill Basics

PATTERNED PAPER | Echo Park For The Record

EMBELLISHMENTS | The Girls' Paperie

Layout No. 3 | You Love Ponies

I always start with my photos when constructing a page. I had these two of my niece playing with Pretty Ponies. I also knew I needed some space for journaling. I decided to create a base for the photos and then mirror that for the journaling.

I used the Dots and Stripes collection. Since yellow and blue are worn by my nieces, I chose those two colors to use primarily. I cut a square sheet of the blue stripes a bit bigger than the two 4x6 photos and made a mat. I love yellow and I love dots, so I cut out a strip of this dot paper, but I'm also a hoarder, so I didn't want to use up the entire sheet! Below that I added a scalloped border sticker from the element sticker sheet.

To add a bit of interest and create a visual triangle, I added a star banner from the sticker sheet to the top left. Then I added a series of banners cut from the patterned paper to the top right. To those, I added butterflies and a letter sticker from the sticker sheet. Lastly, I added half of a circle journaling spot from the element sticker sheet to the bottom middle, where I also added the date.

Finally, I added my title and my journaling. I outlined "love" in brown ink to make it pop against the white background. Easy peasy.

Here's a close-up.

SUPPLIES

CARDSTOCK | Bazzill Basics

PATTERNED PAPER | Echo Park Dots and Stripes

EMBELLISHMENTS | Echo Park Dots and Stripes Letter and Element Stickers

ALPHABET STICKERS | October Afternoon

I'm looking forward to the releases from Summer CHA, especially Happy Days.

To see more of my layouts using Echo Park product, look here.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous weekend.

Glimpse

2011-07-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Enjoying fresh flowers.

Reading. Always reading.

Thinking up new projects and ideas for layouts.

Staying active. I started running again!

Snacking on blueberries.

Soccer Star

2011-07-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

I love Studio Calico. I love their design team. I love their member gallery. It's a really supportive community. And best of all, there's tons of inspiration. I'd love to be able to get their monthly kits, but I'm not in a place where I can afford that right now. But, thankfully, they sell some papers separately and I recently bought some from the Countryside and State Fair collections. I love their papers; awesome patterns, colors and quality. I decided to play along with their Sunday Sketch.

Here's my take.

I had a lot of fun making this page. It was fun to choose a bunch of different patterns to serve as my frame. I also added a few splats of mist, which always make me happy. Besides Studio Calico, I also used Jillibean Soup and October Afternoon.

Here's a close-up.

You can see more of my work in the Studio Calico gallery. The link is over there on the right hand column of my blog under My Scrap Pages.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-07-12T07:00:00.002-05:00

1| Sadly, last week was fairly blah. There's not too much to report, but I'll do my best to keep this interesting. Nice way to start, huh?

2| I've been working out consistently for a little over a week. I know it's just a week, but I celebrate the little victories. I continue to really enjoy yoga. I need to get out and take more walks though.

3| I'm looking forward to all the new product coming out at CHA Chicago. A lot of great, new partnerships. I can't wait for the product to hit the stores.

4| The humidity and high temps have finally broken. Thank goodness. That combo strips me of much of my energy.

5| I ran into a fellow colleague the other day and she said she's almost finished with a scrap project. She has visited a city in MN starting with each letter of the alphabet and she's making a book out of it. How cool is that?! My sister was surprised I hadn't thought to do it.

6| Every summer my family gets together for a week. Every year I think up crafty projects for the kids to do. I've started to think of projects for this year and I'm having a ball.

7| I finished Josh Ritter's new book, Bright's Passage. I'm not surprised that it was a fantastic novel. He's a fantastic songwriter and he transferred this talent to writing a book. I'm in awe of this guy's talent. He's amazing. You can read the first chapter here.

8| I'm looking forward to eating this this weekend.

9| And let's face it, I'm really looking forward to having this.

10| Finding that cupcake recipe has reminded me that one of the things on my 33 list is to go on a cupcake tour. I have to get on that!

Here's to a productive week!

Getting Messy

2011-07-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Recently, I felt like mixing it up a bit. Sometimes I get in a rut with my usual style and it feels good to do something different. Since I typically have a cleaner, more linear style, I decided to do something messy. I got out a Jenni Bowlin paint dauber. These are really cool. Much easier than getting out paints and brushes, etc. I used a template with a bunch of little circles on it and dabbed the paint randomly. I also did a bit of doodling and used some scraps. The page came together quite easily. It is now one of my favorite layouts.

Here's a close-up.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely weekend.

Thankful Thought No. 3

2011-07-07T07:00:00.010-05:00

I'm so thankful that my niece has started to show interest in playing tennis. We have had fun hitting the ball in the great summer sun. I hope we get to play many more times this summer.

I'm playing along with Ali Edwards' Thankful Thought series. You can download the photo overlays on her blog for free.

Spotlight On The City|Pianos On Parade

2011-07-06T07:00:00.003-05:00

Today, I'm debuting a new occasional series called Spotlight On The City. Since I've been unemployed, I've had to get creative with how I spend my time and money. I adore this city and I didn't want to crawl under a rock during this time. I wanted to stay positive and continue to enjoy life. So, I plan to share the free and/or affordable ways to take advantage of this great place I call home.

First up is Pianos On Parade. A joint venture between Keys 4/4 Kids and Mayor Coleman's Office. Pianos on Parade brings 20 pianos, each transformed by local artists, to the community to play and enjoy. The pianos are placed all over the city; in parks, on street corners, in neighborhoods, and anyone can play them. I think this is such a brilliant idea. I strongly believe that celebrating the arts (in all forms) adds to the health and vitality of a community.

My two nieces are excellent piano players, so I knew this would make an excellent adventure that they, my sister and I could go on. I mapped out our adventure, determining the best way to see the most pianos. We had a beautiful day to explore the city, people watch, and add a little music to the streets. Many of the pianos were in very public places and my nieces had no problem sitting down and starting to play. This will definitely be a day I will remember.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-07-05T07:00:00.006-05:00

1| I am currently living in this skirt from Old Navy and a gray tank. Very comfortable.

2| I've been watching Wimbeldon the last two weeks. One of my dreams is to attend all four Grand Slams. Maybe. Just maybe. If the stars align, I'll be at Wimbeldon next year.

3| This past weekend, I played tennis two days in a row. This made me very, very happy. My oldest niece has become interested in playing, which is so cool. I hope we play a bunch more this summer.

4| Unfortunately, no big firework show for me this year. I am bummed.

5| I've started doing yoga everyday. It's really helped my neck and back tension from the car accident. When I first started, I was distracted by everything around me; the dishes, the many piles of paper, etc. But then something amazing happened when my breathing and focus became one. It's very restorative and calming and I'm loving it.

6| I saw Larry Crowne. I was disappointed. I thought it was very disjointed. The evolution of Julia's character was not believable. I did enjoy many of the supporting characters though They delivered most of the funny lines in the movie.

7| Devouring a couple of gooey, totally delicious Smores to celebrate the 4th makes me happy.

8| I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Josh Ritter's interview with Katherine Lanpher at Upstairs at the Square. If you don't have time to listen to the entire interview, listen to the last two minutes. You'll see why I love him so much as a singer/performer.

9| I can't believe I am already seeing previews for new shows debuting this fall. I. am. not. ready. for. fall. I suppose school supplies will make an appearance too. Ugh, please let us enjoy summer!

10| This week is going to be pretty low key. I'm looking forward to finishing a couple of projects that have been on my to do list for far too long.

Snap & Scrap Your Summer

2011-07-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Two Peas in a Bucket has an event going on right now called, Snap & Scrap Your Summer. Everyday they have a new post with great ideas for scrapping your summer stories. They also have a challenge on each post. You should definitely check it out.

One of the challenges is to use non-themed product on a summer page and another is to use smaller photos. I combined the two to make this page.

A couple of close-ups.

I really love how this turned out. Isn't it fun when everything comes together so nicely? I "shopped" my stash too; trying to use up some older product. That always feels gratifying.

The next two challenges are to make an in review page and to use a bunch of embellishments. I combined the two to make this page.

A couple of close-ups.

Since I was using smaller photos, I decided to make an 8 1/2 x 11 page. Shocker, I know. Quite unusual for me. I made the photos strips using the contact sheet option in iPhoto. Super simple and I love how they look. I also painted the white tags blue. Don't you love those little birds? So cute.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fantastic and safe holiday weekend.