Lily's 1st Year

For their first year of life, I took a photo of my girls together and separately for each month. I used the beautiful "Bee's Knees" kit from Noel Mignon to create a page of just Lily's first year. Nora's page is already done and I have yet to do a layout of the two of them together but I think that one will have to be a two-pager. I printed my photos in black and white as the colors of their outfits changed from month-to-month and made them wallet size (2 x 3). I arranged them in a grid and then kept the embellishments to a minimum to keep the focus on the photos. 

I punched a circle from Sassafras patterned paper and layered it with a Basic Grey butterfly and Maya Road stick pin. 

I layered an Elle's Studio tag with a Glitz Design sticker and Basic Grey alphabet (from my stash). 

I didn't have all the Jenni Bowlin flags I needed for each month so i used some Jenni Bowlin banner pieces I had in my stash. The monthly flags are adhered with foam adhesive. 

Have a great 4th of July weekend (if I'm not back before then)! We're looking forward to a long weekend at my parent's where we get to relax!!!! :)

Special Mornings

Good morning! Another Pretty Little Studio layout for you today to highlight some cute photos of my girls with their grandparents. We are very blessed to have my husband's parents just a few minutes away so a couple mornings a week the girls get to play with them while I run errands and head to the gym. They all love this time together and it helps me out so much! 

Here's a list of the Pretty Little Studio supplies I used on this layout: Tea Party Lemon Slices Garland, April Showers Note Cards , Scalloped Tags, Half Circle Number Tags, Clover & Rosebed paper from April Showers Collection, Candles Lit Paper from Scrumdidlyumptious

More tomorrow! :)

New French Fry Fans

It's been a little while since I've shared some work for Pretty Little Studio so I'm going to do that over the next week or so. My layout today is part of a sketch challenge for this week where you can win a $5 gift certificate to the Pretty Little Studio shop. I used a lot of products from the new April Showers collection...click on the link above for a complete supply list. 

Another sweet moment captured in a simple layout and the bright colors were perfect for a layout about McDonald's french fries! :)

More soon!

So Happy to Be 4!

While I'm patiently waiting (ha!) for my "The Bees Knees" kit from Noel Mignon to arrive, I thought I would pull out a kit that still had a little oomph left to it..."Lemonade Stand." This photo was our first "formal" family portrait when the girls were 6 months old and I decided to pull out the green, black (and silver/gray) in the photo along with a little cream and pink. All of the patterned paper and the doily transparency was in the kit except for the black polka dot (Crate Paper Portrait) that came from Jump & Jive. (The transparency made this layout a little difficult to photograph.)

The peek of a green glitter frame was also in the kit (by Making Memories). I punched a butterfly and then added a button and stick pin from the "Delightfully Domestic" kit. 

And for my journaling cluster of embellishments, I used label stickers by October Afternoon that are in "Delightfully Domestic" while the flower came from "Jump & Jive" and the tape from "Lemonade Stand."

I love how Noel's kits are beautiful on their own but mix well together if you want them to! Here's a look at "The Bee's Knees"...hop on over to the store and pick one up....there's just a few left! 

More soon! 

We Believe

I pulled out my "Bedford Falls" kit from Noel Mignon this week to scrapbook our family photo from this past Christmas. It's a tradition for us to take a photo in front of our Christmas tree all dressed up in our Christmas best. We definitely celebrate with gifts, Santa, lots of food, giving and more but for our family Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus Christ. I tore out a sheet of vintage sheet music of one of my favorite Christmas carols "Joy to the World" as one of the layers for my layout. A little tip - check out vintage children's books at antique stores for Christmas images in books and music. I loved the rich green cardstock in the kit and used that for my background.

The Sassafras alphabet was in the "Sweet Sue" kit but because I've used up a lot of the letters, I was short on "E"'s. I pieced together a few "O"'s and made my own letter "E"'s. I strung a tiny jingle bell on twine for a holiday accent.

I removed the gold glitter leaves from a Making Memories frame in the kit and placed it behind the embellishment. Another little tip - I covered up a blue chair that was in the photograph with this cluster of embellishments. I couldn't crop it out of the photo and get all of us in the photo so I did a little creative placement instead.

For the stars, I created a tone-on-tone effect by using green mist and stars punched with a Fiskars punch. I decided to outline them with a white gel pen by American Crafts. 

We've been busy, busy, busy around here enjoying summer! Lots of swimming in our little pool, swinging and sliding, sidewalk chalk and cool treats! I love it (even with the extreme heat)! We're also gearing up for my sister's wedding in a couple weeks so that means mama is getting a little extra sun and sculpting my shoulders so I can wear a strapless dress. Ha! In addition to my normal gym routine, I'm trying out yoga and Ripped in 30 by Jillian Michaels. After yoga the other night, I slept SO well. I was so relaxed I felt like I had a massage. I really hope to increase my flexibility and strength through yoga as I have never been flexible in my back and hamstrings. I'm pushing myself pretty hard and feeling really good! 

More soon! :)

The Meaning of Easter

I've had a fantastic year on the GCD Studios team and want to thank Heidi and crew for such a great experience! I'll definitely keep creating with all the new collections as GCD put out some of my favorites yet! I'm also so thankful to have met such wonderful and talented ladies who have been with me on the team for the past year! 

Heidi asked the design team to create a spring-themed project. We definitely partake in fun Easter traditions at our house - baskets, pretty dresses, the Easter bunny and egg hunts - but it is more important for us to teach our girls about the meaning of Easter. We celebrate because of the gift of eternal life we have through Jesus. We found a fantastic book that shares our reason for celebrating and plan to read it every year. 

For this layout, I used the new Soul Food collection by Melody Ross along with embellishments from the Homespun Chic collection. 

I had to punch a "happy" little butterfly to dot the "i" in my title. 

I used one of the transparency frames from Homespun Chic to highlight the photo. 

Have a fabulous weekend! :)

My Heart is Full!

Oh, my heart! My husband captured this completely candid photo of me hugging my girls on Mother's Day this year. I love my two girls so much and I'm so thrilled that this moment is forever captured for all of us. The beautiful pinks, corals and yellows in Noel Mignon's "Mary Ellen" kit were perfect for the soft, delicate look I was going for to go along with the mood of the photo. 

I wasn't too sure about the "foldies" by Sassafras Lass but after using them on this layout, I'm SOLD! What a great way to add dimension and color to a layout! 

I'm sorry my blogging has slowed down a bit. I actually have been a little busy creating but have been holding back a few projects for submission. I'm also enjoying being "in the moment" with my girls and spending time with them outside in our beautiful weather! This afternoon, I'm off with my hubby to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie for his birthday! Whoohoo...a date! 

Have a good one! :)