Emma's Paperie: The Big 40!

Good morning! Today I have a layout to share with you for the color challenge at Emma's Paperie this month. And I have to say that this one is quite possibly one of my favorites I've made in a while. I had a lot of fun mixing and matching patterned paper by Basic Grey, Studio Calico, American Crafts, Crate Paper and October Afternoon. And look at those two cuties helping daddy blow out the candles for his big 40th birthday! I swear those girls love anything to do with singing, candles and cake when it comes to a party!

One of my new favorite embellishments to work with are these wooden banners and tickets by Prima. 

For a complete supply list, please visit the Emma's Paperie blog here.

And I also have a card to share today for the sketch challenge at Emma's. I created this one with the soft and shabby "Songbird" collection by Prima. Just a lot of pretties here with some seam binding I picked up from my friend, Kristen's etsy shop.  She has the most gorgeous colors!

For a complete supply list for this card, please visit Emma's Paperie blog here.

Have a terrific day! We're going blueberry picking today with some friends and I can't wait!!!! :)

Pebbles: It's Splash Time!

It's summertime week over on the Pebbles blog and today I have a layout of one of our new favorite summertime activities - playing in the sprinkler! The girls have super cute green swimming suits this year so I decided to create a monochromatic green layout celebrating their first trip through the sprinkler!

Here's a look at the details...

I pulled out green patterned papers from a variety of collections and added several green
embellishments. The patterned papers were punched into larger and smaller hexagons. 

Hope you are enjoying summer wherever you are! :)

Have a great day!

Simple Stories: Happy Berry Picking!

Good morning! I'm excited to share another two-page layout with you today using "Summer Fresh" by Simple Stories.  I love creating two-page layouts when I have a lot of photos to tell a story. I recently took my twin girls strawberry picking for the first time. It wasn't just the first time for them but for me too! We went with cousins and had the best time! The girls loved hunting for strawberries and eating a bunch too!

When I'm creating a two-page layout, I always try to carry out elements across the two pages - here look at the scalloped border at the top and the gingham border at the bottom.


I cut out the "Happy" letters and outlined them so they would stand out a little more.


I did some layering for the title and I just love those cute little strawberry stickers! Perfect for this page!


One way to add a little dimension to Simple Stories products is to add jewels or brads to floral centers.


I used an Odds n' Ends pocket to hold the journaling and trimmed down a 4 x 6 card to fit inside.




Supply List:
Summer Fresh Colleciton Kit #2400
Summer Fresh 12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers #2402
Summer Fresh 12 x 12 Expression Cardstock Stickers #2403
Burlap/Dictionary #2420
Bingo Cards/Stripes #2421

It has been soooooo hot here! I could hardly handle working out at the gym yesterday morning - it was just so humid in there! Tonight we start something fun - the girls are going to a two week ballet and tumbling camp! I am dying over them in their leotards and skirts! They are so adorable!

Have a great day! :)

Webster's Pages: Happy Times with Daddy

Happy Father's Day weekend! I am so blessed that my girls have the most amazing father. He loves spending time with the girls and they just adore him so much. They are always so excited when he comes home from work! Today I have a couple of projects to share using the "Game On" collection from Webster's Pages. The first is a layout I created for the "We Love Our Guys" challenge at Webster's Pages. You have until July 19th to participate and can check out all the details right here on the Webster's Pages blog.

I love these photos taken recently by my friend, Carrie. They just capture the girls' relationship with their dad so well! I created a grid design and kept the embellishments to a minimum.

Webster's Pages journaling cards are a perfect addition to any page! 

While I had the "Game On" collection out, I decided to create a card as well. Stars are just a great embellishment for a masculine card. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend celebrating that special guy in your life! :)

Emma's Paperie: Featuring You

Happy Monday! I am sooooooo enjoying summer! We had such a great weekend! I just love being outside with my kids, soaking up the sun, eating too much ice cream and popsicles. Today I have a layout to share with you that I created as a feature on Echo Park products for Emma's Paperie. I took the interviews we did for their mini albums and wanted to make a layout for their larger albums too. I basically split the page right down the middle.

The "Featuring You" sticker was just perfect for the title. 

I am also in love with that ruler patterned paper and want to use more of it!

For a complete supply list and instructions on how to make this layout, please visit the Emma's Paperie blog here.

Much to do today so I better get moving! Have a fabulous day! :)

Emma's Paperie: On Your Way

Happy Friday! Today I have a new layout to share with you using the happy and fun "PB&J" collection by Basic Grey. I created this one for a baker's twine focus on Emma's Paperie. I tend to cut my photos a lot so they have a white border on the bottom and then tie baker's twine around that space. I also used some twine to stitch near the border sticker. The photo is from our session with the lovely Carrie at Pitch Perfect Photography. And my journaling is all about how the girls are exerting their independence..."I want to do it myself." Sigh.

I just picked up that frame punch recently and I LOVE it...little pops of color are so fun! 

For a complete supply list, please visit the Emma's Paperie blog here. 

I also created a card with the same collection for the sketch challenge at Emma's.

For a complete supply list, please visit the Emma's Paperie blog here.

Yesterday, I fixed 5 batches of strawberry jam! Yum! I can't wait to dig in and I still have strawberries left that I'm going to turn into strawberry crumb bars today. The whole experience made me want to create more jam with other fruit and maybe experiment a little. The girls really wanted to help so they got to help me crush the berries which they enjoyed a lot.

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Pebbles: Party Hats!

Party hats are one of my favorite ways to create party decor! I have created a party hat for my daughters for every birthday. If you were having a smaller get-together you could make a hat for each party-goer or just focus on the birthday boy or girl if that would be too many hats to create. I love the "Hip Hip Hooray" collection by Pebbles and the colors are perfect for boys or girls! Today I'm going to share some tips and techniques to make these quick and easy party hats.

First, cut a large circle from one piece of patterned paper either using a template or die-cut machine. Try to make the circle as large as possible and then cut it in half. (You'll be able to get two hats out of one sheet of paper).

About 2" from one side of the half circle, place a line of hot glue. Fold the paper into a cone shape so that it is adhered with the hot glue.

Use pre-made tissue trim or create your own by layering strips of tissue paper, sewing down the center and cutting with a scissors. Adhere the tissue trim to the bottom of the hats and place some through the top.

Hot glue a toothpick flag to the top of the hat.  Additionally, decorate hat with the age of the recipient by using number stickers and a punched scalloped circle.

Measure elastic string around child's head and staple to inside of hat.

Enjoy your party!


For a complete supply list, please visit the Pebbles blog here.


Have a beautiful day! We're going strawberry picking today! :)

Emma's Paperie: Tea for Two

Good morning! Long before the girls even turned three, I knew that I wanted to do a tea party themed birthday for them. We got all dressed up in our tea party best including pretty bonnets that I jazzed up a little bit and went out to our backyard for a tea party picnic. I created this layout for Emma's Paperie (color challenge) using the new Cest la vie collection by Melissa Frances. I have long been a Melissa Frances fan and am pretty sure I own about every collection she's ever made - I am a Melissa Frances hoarder! I did a little Photoshop magic and made my photos have a 70s feel so they better matched the soft colors in the collection.

I just love all the die-cuts and stickers in the collections now. 

And when I saw that Melissa Frances had a new resin tea pot design, I flipped! Love those pretty vintage flashcards too!

The pink doily rub-ons are by Hambly Studios.

For a complete supply list, please visit the Emma's Paperie blog here.

We had another busy weekend (our weekend seem filled to the brim until sometime in July) with a family reunion and I had a much needed girls' night out last night.

Have a beautiful day! :)

Webster's Pages: Today, You're 3

Over at the Webster's Pages blog, we have been swapping with Unity Stamp Company all week showcasing the brand new Girl Land stamps and products. I have a layout to share today of the girls' 3rd birthday. I am definitely not a highly detailed, technique stamper so my goal in creating my layout was to showcase that anyone can use these stamps! :) I stamped the background stamp on white cardstock using American Crafts inks that match the colors in Girl Land. I then heat embossed the stamp with clear embossing powder and then cut them out to use a mat for my focal point photo.

I love the texture the heat embossed images provide and the stamps were so crisp and clean. 

Thanks for looking and be sure to visit Webster's Pages blog for more inspiration!

Have a wonderful weekend! :)