Noel Mignon Challenge: It Takes Two!

Today I have a new layout to share with you for the "It Takes Two!" challenge over at the Noel Mignon challenge blog. I used the "Truly Scrumptious" kit for my layout and the rules for this challenge basically state you can only use two of everything...

I used: 2 cardstocks, 2 patterned papers, 2 transparencies, 2 dimensional stickers, 2 Martha Stewart twine bows, 2 heart stickers, 2 kinds of alphabet stickers, 2 stick pins, 2 photos and I was maybe stretching it a little to put two knots in my piece of yellow tulle. :) The photos are from Mother's Day last year. 

And finally, the March kit "Delightfully Domestic" from Noel Mignon is up for pre-order sale and will ship out later next week...

Isn't that gorgeous? And it will be full of lots of new product! 

Have a great day! :)

GCD Studios Contests

A couple quick things to share about GCD Studios today....First of all, GCD Studios is hosting a ChipArt contest where the grand prize is free trip to Brave Girls Camp! Check all the details here: Brave Girl Celebration Contest. 

And GCD Studios is also holding its 2011 Design Team Call and the deadline is March 5th. You can find all the details here: 2011 Design Team Call.  I would encourage you to go for it if you are on the fence about applying. GCD Studios has been an amazing company to work for!!!!

That's all for today! :)

Pretty Little Studio: Christmas with Curious George!

Happy Monday, friends! (It's a very happy Monday for me as my girls finally slept through the night again = Hallelujah!) Today, I have another layout to share with you using the Christmas Wishlist collection by Pretty Little Studio. I LOVE this collection...the colors in it are not your traditional Christmas colors...perfect for bright, fun, whimsical Christmas photos. The girls were so sick at Christmas time and about the other thing that made them crack a smile was this Curious George Jack-in-the-box that my mom and dad gave them. 

Here are a few details....I used a flashcard from Pretty Little Studio, alphabets by Cosmo Cricket, Webster's Pages and American Crafts. 

I cut the little banner from one of the patterned papers in the collection.

I also used a journaling card and Santa tag. 

Here's a list of supplies and links:

8 x 8 Christmas Wishlist Paper Collection

2" Jolly Santa Vintage Tags

Classic Candy Jar Journaling Cards

Christmas One Word Flashcards - Christian

I'll be back tomorrow with more! Have a great day! :)

Noel Mignon: A Day in the Sun at the Park!

Well, good morning, friends! In anticipation of all the lovely new product Noel is busy selecting to put in our upcoming Noel Mignon kits, I decided to spend a little time with an older kit "Playdate" from last May. This kit was so bright and fun that I paired a photo of my girls at the park last summer with the yummy green, red and purple.

For the title, I used alphabets from my stash by October Afternoon, American Crafts and Rusty Pickle. 

Here I layered Jillibean Soup patterned paper, a Hambly transparency, Sassafras heart sticker, October Afternoon text sticker and Kaisercraft rhinestone.

And this little ensemble is one of the circle vintage playing cards in the kit, a Sassafras flower sticker, Jillibean Soup patterned paper circle I punched and an American Crafts brad. 

What kits do you have in your stash that still need a little love? Pull them out and get to work! The new stuff will be here soon! :)

Have a great day!

Pretty Little Studio: Be Mine, Valentine!

Today, I'm sharing my very first Pretty Little Studio layout for the month using the beautiful Love Notes collection. I used an enlarged photo of the girls for Valentine's Day this year as the focal point of my layout and built collages of embellishments around the photo.

Here's a peek at my title where I used Pink Paislee alphabets in foam and chipboard. I love the mini bunting flags too...and punched little butterflies out of cardstock to put in between the flags. 

I love the vintage addition flashcards and was super excited to find one that was 1 + 1! Perfect for my girls! :)

I just had to add a sweet little bow with a Maya Road heart stick pin.

Here is a list (and links) of Pretty Little Studio supplies that I used on the layout:

Love Notes Patterned Paper Collection

XOXO Mini Bunting Flags

Love Notes Bracket Notebook Journaling Cards

Valentine One Word Flashcards

2" Be My Valentine Word Tags

Mini Math Addition Vintage Flashcards

Thanks for looking! My kiddos shared their virus with me so I've been trying to rest up this week. Tomorrow we're expecting a high of 64....spring is right around the corner! Goodbye snow, goodbye germs! :)

Lovey-dovey Card Inspiration!

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! Today I have some sweet and simple card inspiration to share with you using the "Truly Scrumptious" kit from Noel Mignon. I created these cards for the crop we had last week.

First, here are a couple whimsical cards...

And then a couple shabby chic cards...

We have spent the last week nursing a couple little girls back to good health (I hope). Another round of fevers and respiratory junk. Yuck! I was reading a friend's blog (she's also a mama to twins - little boys though) and she was listing all their illnesses they have had this winter. I laughed because I could have written her post. We have had SOMETHING, some type of bug every week for the last EIGHT WEEKS! Yes, my friends, 8 weeks! We have had influenza A, pneumonia, ear infections, the stomach flu, etc. I can't count on both my hands the number of times we have been to the doctor. I am so ready to be done with winter and with yucky sick germs! 

I've been feeling very weary lately. I'm so thankful my mom, dad and sister came to watch the girls Friday night so we could go to the couple's conference at our church. It was a much needed night out and a good time with friends and with each other. I've loved being able to snuggle with my girls and comforting them when they are sick but I miss being able to go ANYWHERE! :)

Anyway, just had to vent a little bit today. I'm thankful for a bright, sunny, warmer day! :)

Midnight Rooster February Kit!

Good morning, friends! It's that time of the month where I get to share what I created with the newest Midnight Rooster kit. It's a gorgeous kit this month...lots of sweet pink and cream. I still have a million baby photos to scrap so that's exactly what I did...all baby layouts!

My first layout is one for the girls' monthly album...I'm actually about up to date now. Just had these picts waiting for the perfect papers. I lined up these beautiful border stickers from The Girls' Paperie along the side of the layout. 

The number and alphabet stickers are also by The Girls' Paperie. 

The beautiful stick pin is a Midnight Rooster exclusive this month.

And then a couple of sweet brads added just a little something...

My next layout "Double the Happiness" has a couple of very special photos...from when the girls were still in the hospital. That was a really treasured time for us...I remember every moment from when we were able to visit. I layered a couple Girls' Paperie border stickers at the top and then made a large circle from the Modern Homemaker polka dot paper from October Afternoon. 

A technique I've been been enjoying is creating a tone-on-tone look with kraft cardstock, and I did that here with the tags and butterflies. (I spy another Midnight Rooster exclusive pin). 

Look at those sweet faces! :)

For this layout "Meeting You," I used photos of my extended family meeting the girls for the first time. I have a similar layout in mind that I want to do with photos of the girls with our friends that came to visit us. I used the Modern Homemaker paper from October Afternoon as a background. The alphabet for this one came from my stash but is also by The Girls' Paperie. 

I labeled each person's photo with one of the little Maya Road kraft tickets. 

And finally, in keeping up with the "baby girl" theme I have going this month, I created a sweet "Baby girl" card using patterned papers from October Afternoon, My Mind's Eye and Jenni Bowlin. And there's another Midnight Rooster pin. 

Thanks for looking this month! :)

American Crafts Guest Designer!

Okay, not going to lie! I am WAY excited about the projects I have to share with you today. I flipped out when I got an e-mail from Paige asking me to guest design this week for American Crafts. Ummm...YES! I worked with mostly the Love collection as well as bits and pieces of Dear Lizzy Christmas and Enchanted, City Park and The Classics. And since it's Valentine's week at American Crafts, all of my projects have a lovey, dovey spin. I'll share each project here, but you can go to the American Crafts blog for more details and specific supplies used. 

These photos of the girls are very recent...this winter was really the first time we were able to go out and play in the snow. (The girls got sleds from Santa this year.) And, in true "Nora and Lily" form, they responded to the snow in sync with their personalities. 

Here is "We Love(?) Snow"....

I made the banner by punching snowflakes (with a Martha Stewart punch) out of patterned paper and accenting them with buttons and twine. I used (and love) American Crafts dimensional stickers on the banner as well.

For my next layout, you're getting a peek at even more recent pictures of the girls and our recent photo shoot for Valentine's Day. For this layout, I wanted to keep it fresh and clean so I did a little tone-on-tone  with American Crafts' white cardstock. The patterned paper I used here was from City Park, The Classics and Dear Lizzy Enchanted.

I love this large punch by EK Success and backed each hole in the cardstock with patterned paper. 

And now some fun cards to share...I love the color combination of kraft, turquoise and red...YUM!

And with this card, I used the American Crafts delights as flowers. 

Finally, for my last project...I created this Love mobile. I picked up the mobile at Hobby Lobby a few years ago for around $3.00 and covered each heart with patterned paper. A little white paint shabbied them right up! I accented the large heart with felt flowers and accordion flowers, added some ribbon and tulle and THICKERS...and that was it!

Thank you so much to American Crafts for the opportunity to guest design! I really love working with your products!

Have a great day! :)

Noel Mignon Challenge: Sketch Inspiration

I have a lot of projects to share with you the next few days...a FUN surprise I'm excited about for tomorrow, my February work for Midnight Rooster and some more work with the February "Truly Scrumptious" kit from Noel Mignon (sold out!). The next challenge is up at Noel Mignon and this week we partnered with Sketch Inspiration. Noel is giving away a jam-packed "Bedford Falls" kit to one lucky winner of the sketch challenge.

And here is my take on the sketch using the Truly Scrumptious kit and my two little cuties at Valentine's Day last year. (I've already been scrapping photos for Valentine's Day this year and I love the comparison between the photos...they have changed so much!) The patterned paper is Fancy Pants, My Mind's Eye and We R Memory Keepers.

The red alphabet is Sassafras Lass and the Pink Paislee chipboard alphabet came from my stash.

I layered a heart doily, Sassafras Lass sticker, My Mind's Eye sticker and Maya Road pin. 

I love the journaling block by We R Memory Keepers and used a date card from Shabby Chic Crafts, sticker and rhinestones by My Mind's Eye and a pin by Maya Road. 

One more thing...we're cropping all week over at Noel Mignon. Head over to the message board for daily challenges and inspiration!

So, I'll be back tomorrow with more...can't wait to share! :)