Little Miss Attitude

I adore scrapbooking because it allows me to be a storyteller. As much as I love the photos we take, no one would know the story behind them unless we told it. I'll share my journaling in a minute.

I used Crate Paper's new "Brook" collection on this layout. (It was part of my Crate Paper shopping spree as their "Scrapbook Girl Next Door" in February.) I also used bits and pieces of the April kit "Sonoma County" from Noel.Mignon.com that also features the Brook collection. The little alphabet stickers are Cosmo Cricket and the thickers are American Crafts. I also pulled out a Making Memories notebook sheet from my stash for my journaling...I had a lot to say. 

Handmade flowers are certainly becoming popular these days so I gave it a spin as well. I hand-cut circles from patterned paper and then spiral cut the circles. As I began building my flowers, I used glue dots to adhere the swirls. I placed Crate Paper diecuts in the flower centers. 

And the journaling for this layout:

"Lily, at around 7 1/2 months you started frowning at everyone. At first, we thought maybe you just discovered your eyebrows had muscles. As you started becoming more mobile, we had to tell you "No" when you got into things you shouldn't have. It quickly became evident by your facial expressions that you were not having it. Who knew we would have to deal with such an attitude this early?! Frown and all, you sure are cute!!!"

See what I mean about telling the story?! I love to journal and always try to go a bit deeper to get to the emotion of my photos. Sometimes, I know all that is needed are the hard facts but it's always nice to know a little more. 

Enjoy the rest of your week. I'll be back over the weekend with some BIG news I have been dying to share. My news is not scrapbook-related but I'll use something scrapbook-related to share it....hmmm...a little cryptic, huh?!

A new Upsy Daisy layout...

I have a new layout to share today using Upsy Daisy Designs' new "Blossom" collection. This collection is perfect for spring, girl and baby layouts...so pretty with the pink, green and brown. I used a few older Pink Paislee stickers that coordinated perfectly with this line...love being able to use up my stash! This photo was from the first time my mom and dad were able to meet their new granddaughters. They were so excited to become grandparents for the first time and it was even better that it was times two! :)

I had such a busy weekend! We did fairly well at the Moms of Multiples sale Thursday night. I was able to get a few outfits for the girls and shoes to match their Easter dresses that were brand new and only $1 a pair. I love a good bargain! I really enjoyed a girls' night at Archiver's on Saturday night. I spent a lot of time working on the girls' 1st birthday invitations which are almost done and I was really close to finishing a layout. I needed my sewing machine to finish it so I'll try to finish it up today and post soon. It was just nice to get out and talk and catch up. With someone being sick the past few months, I have just felt so disconnected from my friends that I needed this time to be out. I received an Archiver's gift card as part of my prize winnings and had a lot of fun choosing some things I had my eye on for a while. And, I still have more than half the gift card left so I can buy more!

Well, better get moving for the day! Have a great Monday! :)

Beautiful Gift...

We had a very busy weekend! I got caught up on some house work and added a few new items to my spring and summer wardrobe. I finally had some time to scrap last night after the girls went to bed. This picture is of the first time I got to hold both of my girls. They are so big now that I can't hold them both together unless someone hands me one of them and I am sitting in a chair. I learned a lot of tricks along the way to be able to hold them both! :) I used beautiful Melissa Frances patterned papers, resin flowers, pearls and rub-ons on this layout. Other products are Prima chipboard alphabet, Making Memories sticker, Rusty Pickle buttons and Jenni Bowlin label sticker. 

I stitched and gathered the white ribbon as I went on the layout. I love that it looks imperfect. I let the edges of the ribbon hang off the page. I coated the buttons with Diamond Glaze and then sprinkled them with coarse glitter from Martha Stewart. I thought this quote was perfect for my twins - "A mother's love does not divide between her children...it only multiplies." Isn't that great?!

I have a busy week ahead. We're going to the local Mom's of Multiples consignment sale Thursday night  - we always score at this sale! And then Saturday night, I'm cropping at Archiver's with three of my friends. It's part of my prize I won for the "Share Your Story" contest. I'm really looking forward to the night with the girls. I need to plan out what I want to work on.

It's a beautiful day - enjoy it! :)

Relax!

Well, I sure wish I was here (in Florida) about now! Two years ago in May, we took an amazing trip to St. Petersburg and Disney World. We absolutely adored the beach and resort where we stayed. Glen took these photos of me on the beach during a sunset one night. I've been scrapping the girls so much lately that it was fun to revisit these photos and get more of our trip in my scrapbooks.

I kept this layout fairly simple and used Graphic 45's new "On the Boardwalk" collection. I punched circles out of 3 of the patterned papers and shabbied them up with cream paint. I layered them and used foam adhesive for dimension on the top layer. I love the new Jenni Bowlin cut-out alphabet and used that for my title. I also used a little cream burlap at the top and shabbied the edges of my kraft cardstock. Kraft cardstock has become my "go-to" neutral for many of my layouts. I just love the homespun look it gives.

We have had absolutely beautiful weather the past few days in Iowa. It's been 55 or so and then yesterday was over 60. The girls and I have been out for walks each day. Unfortunately, we're supposed to get 3-5 inches of snow over the weekend. I guess I can put up with one more snow storm because I know the snow won't last.

The girls have both recovered well from their bad virus. I'm still on the mend...not quite myself yet. I hope to be 100% soon because I have a lot to accomplish in the next few weeks. One thing I need to do is give my house a good deep clean. Since I've been sick, I let the housework go a little bit and it desperately needs caught up.

Have a fabulous weekend! :)

Sketch Challenge #114

NoelMignon.com is sponsoring the sketch challenge at Sketch Inspiration this week. Today was the last day to enter the challenge and I managed to create this layout last night. It's the first I've scrapped in weeks and I've been dying to get this photo scrapped! I used the "Dear Santa" kit from December. The girls were just fascinated by these silver Christmas ornaments and we captured this shot in front of our Christmas tree and fireplace. 

Most of the products used on this page are October Afternoon and Collage Press.

Thank you for all your congratulations about GCD Studios!!!! Our new team is so talented...I'm so humbled to be among them. I received a package from GCD Studios yesterday with the new Melody Ross Chip Art tool! I haven't had a chance to play with it yet but it looks AMAZING and should be a fun way to add texture to chipboard! 

It has been a VERY long week at our house. A week ago we had Nora to the ER with a bad respiratory virus and came home with a nebulizer to do breathing treatments. She's finally doing a lot better but in the meantime Lily and I both caught the virus. I also had a bit of a stomach bug on Thursday. The past 6 weeks have just brought illness after illness. It makes me want to dunk our house in bleach...LOL! I'm ready for warmer weather and sunshine! It's supposed to warm up to the 50s on Monday and Tuesday so I'm taking the girls out of this house (even if it's just a stroller ride up and down our driveway!) 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :)

Very exciting news!

I'm thrilled to announce that I have been invited to join the GCD Studios design team as a layout designer!!!! I received a lovely phone call from Heidi Sonbul on Friday and have been on pins and needles until the big announcement today. I adore GCD Studios products especially the new collections by Melody Ross and am very excited to have this opportunity! Here's a couple recent layouts using GCD Studios products:

                                                                                                                

Well, I think that's all for today. Hopefully, I'll have something new to share soon! :)