Emma's Paperie: Big Parade Winners

Good morning! Today I have a new layout to share for the color challenge this month at Emma's Paperie. The new "Glory" collection by Authentique is perfect for 4th of July photos. The girls and their cousin Tatum were in my hometown's kiddie parade this year together and they won! The girls helped pull and push Tatum in his wagon and waved their American flags. They all did such a good job walking through the city park.

Can you believe it? I stamped! I'm going to try to incorporate stamping a little more into my projects and this chevron is by My Mind's Eye using denim ink from American Crafts.

I combined several sets of alphabet stickers for my title and I just love those little wood veneer stars by Studio Calico.

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

Thanks for stopping by today! Last night we went to the National Balloon Classic in Indianola. It's something I have always wanted to see and it was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed. This is one of my favorite photos from last night...pretty sure you'll be seeing this one on a layout soon! I swear we probably saw 50 balloons in the sky last night and they all came up over us and landed. The girls were in awe (that's Nora in the back bend looking at the sky).

Emma's Paperie: First Hotel Vacation

Well, hello there! Before I get into today's project, I wanted to share that I became an aunt last Thursday morning. My sister and brother-in-law welcomed little Hayden Eugene into our family and he is soooooo sweet! The girls were beyond excited to meet their new cousin and I'm looking forward to many more snuggle sessions with him next weekend.

My layout I have to share today is for Emma's Paperie and the design team recently focused on Studio Calico products. The photos are from our very first overnight hotel stay with the girls this past May. We took a little trip to Omaha to go to the zoo and Children's Museum. The girls did awesome in the hotel so I'm hoping we might get away again for another overnight sometime in August or September. I combined newer and older Studio Calico collections as well as some of their wood veneer frames (LOVE!)

Ha! look at those monkeys jumping on the bed (the only time they have ever had the okay!) 

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

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

Pebbles: Baby Boy Ensemble

Good morning! Today I have a quick and easy gift ensemble that I created using the New Addition Boy collection by Pebbles. The projects were made for my sister who is expecting her first baby any day now and doubled as baby shower decorations.

For the printer's tray, I cut the patterned paper to fit the inside and then kept the embellishment simple using the border stickers, dimensional phrases & icons stickers and layered embellishments. All my sister has to do is add a few photos of her new baby boy! 

The card I created was also simple - just punch squares of patterned paper and arrange. Tie a ribbon around the front and add a dimensional sticker.

Finally, I also created a piece of nursery decor that also was a table centerpiece at the shower. I covered the wooden "flower pots" with patterned paper and dry brushed them with white paint. The dowels were painted brown, floral foam in the pots and moss covering them. I punched circles of patterned paper and used corrugated alphabet stickers to spell out "Baby". The circles were hot glued to the dowels and then ribbon tied to the dowels.

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

Have a beautiful day! :)

Webster's Pages: Teaching Me

I'm so in love with the fresh color palette of the brand new "Park Drive" collection by Webster's Pages. The coral, green, gray and yellow are just so soft and beautiful together. These photos are of the girls and me on Mother's Day this year. Since I became a mom, I have taken photos and created a layout every year and journaled about my feelings on motherhood. The past year for me has been all about balance - trying to teach the girls, take care of our house, support my husband and still get a little time for myself. I might have to sacrifice sleep for the time to myself part but so far, it's been just what I need!

I had recently picked up a set of Maya Road chipboard hexagons and I covered several of them with patterned paper. Some of them are nested too so I dry brushed them with white paint for a shabby chic look. 

The new charm is actually from the Halloween collection but the colors were just too pretty not to use it for this layout. 

I just love all the cute stickers Brandin has designed for the past few collections. 

I like to think of these layouts and actually all of my layouts as love letters to my girls. I hope they know exactly how much they mean to me and how much I love them. I definitely scrapbook a lot of fun events and everyday moments, but it's also important to me to scrapbook the difficult moments too. It's a little more realistic that way. I hope that it helps paint a better picture to them of my role as mom.

More tomorrow friends! :)

Webster's Pages: The Cutest Halloween

The new "Once Upon a Halloween" collection from Webster's Pages is just stunning and I used the collection to highlight these Halloween photos of the girls from last year. I fell in love with the patterned paper sheet that had windows and chose some of my favorite patterns in the collection to punch out and adhere in the windows.

That little owl Perfect Accent is just too cute! :)

I also printed out several photos into squares to be able to include more of them on the layout. 

Aren't they the two cutest doctors you have ever seen? :)

More soon! :)

Simple Stories: We Love Fall & Be Merry

Good morning! Today I have a couple of layouts to share using two of Simple Stories new collections that are being released as we speak at CHA Summer. I just love the rich color palette of Harvest Lane and used the collection on this layout of my family at the pumpkin patch. The woodgrain gives the collection a rustic touch and I punched a few leaves from my favorite patterned papers to highlight the little house sticker.






I also created a layout with Handmade Holiday and the beautiful Christmas colors paired with kraft just speaks to my heart of a cozy, comfy Christmas! I chose some of my favorite photos from Christmas last year and used the calendar page (I can see myself using this one A LOT!) as a background for my layout. Punching a few patterned paper squares and using some of the sentiment stickers in the calendar spaces made this layout very quick and easy to put together!



The journaling on the postcard was a literal letter to Santa.


I used foam adhesive to add dimension to several of the patternd paper squares and sentiment stickers.



For a complete supply list, please visit the Simple Stories blog.

Today, Glen and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary! How time does fly! Wow! I think we're going to sneak away to see Spider Man later tonight. I'm excited for a little time away.

More tomorrow! :)

Webster's Pages: Serious Business

A couple weeks ago Webster's Pages had a warehouse box special deal that I just couldn't resist! I picked up a box for myself and then created this layout and little tutorial using the contents of the box for the Webster's Pages blog. Nora was very different from Lily when it came to blowing out the candles for their birthday. The girl was all business and very into singing "happy birthday." 

Step One: Cut several strips of paper from the 6 x 6 Petite Papers in various thicknesses (1/2" to an 1"). I used papers from Celebrate, Sunday Picnic, and In Love, all found in the warehouse sale box.)

Step Two: Cut those strips to line the top and bottom of the layout and adhere.

Step Three: Lay out the title and more embellishments. I just loved the cut-out from the Celebrate paper and wanted to use that as a more central focus.

Step Four: I wanted a little more texture so I matted the cut-out with vellum and distressed the edges.

Step Five: Add journaling. Here's a little tip: Write your journaling in pencil, then use a journaling pen and erase the pencil with a gum eraser. This keeps my journaling neat and clean on the page!

Here's a close-up of the details in my layout....

This was my first time using 6 x 6 papers on a 12 x 12 layout and it was pretty fun. I'll definitely do that again.

Thanks again for all the sweet messages and congratulations on the American Crafts team! I'm really excited to get started with them but you'll still get a month of Pebbles projects on my blog.

For the next couple of days, we are having a family reunion with my husband's family. I have more projects to share but it might be a little while before I pop on again.

Have a great day! It's going to be a hot one here! :)

American Crafts Design Team Announcement!

Alright, I have to admit I have pretty much been all smiles since earlier this week when I received an e-mail inviting me to part of the American Crafts Design Team for the next year! It's definitely felt like a dream and I had to check my e-mail several times to make sure it was true! Ha! :)

I have been so blessed to be on the Pebbles team the past year and now for the opportunity to create for American Crafts is such a thrill! I am so humbled to be among these other ladies...





Allison Waken - from Phoeniz, AZ
Amy Heller - from Newtown, CT
Andrea Budjack - Orlando, FL
Angie Gutshall - from James Creek, PA
Becky Williams - from Wolfforth, TX
Carina Lindholm - from Koping, Sweden
Corrie Jones - from Dallas, GA
Erin Stewart - from El Paso, TX
Heather Leopard - from Cypress, TX
Jenny Chesnick - from Brooklyn, MD
Jill Cornell - from Windsor Heights, IA
Kimberly Neddo - from Bigfork, MT
Leah Farquharson - from Lauderhill, FL
Leslie Ashe - from Fort Worth, TX
Lilith Eeckels - from Bertogne, Belguim
Melissa Mann - from Pensacola, FL
Michiko Kato - from Japan
Monika Glod - from Krakow, Poland
Paige Evans - from South Pasadena, CA
Patricia Roebuck - from Mandeville, LA
Sophie Crespy - from Saint Jean De Maurienne, France


And here's a collage of one of my favorite projects I have made with AC to date...I used the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection for the girls' shabby chic 3rd birthday tea party.

Thanks for letting me share my happy news today! :)

Emma's Paperie: J is for Jam

So awhile back I shared how the girls and I had gone on a strawberry picking adventure and the day after we got home, we made strawberry jam. Never in my lifetime had I gone to pick strawberries and I certainly had never made jam. I.am.addicted. Addicted, I tell you. There's something so satisfying about picking fruit yourself and then turning it into something delicious to treat your family. And the whole experience was just wonderful for the girls - they still talk about crushing the strawberries and adding the sugar to them. Love. We are definitely making strawberry picking and jam making a family tradition each summer.

At Emma's Paperie, the designers were challenged to create a project inspired by a book. I collect vintage children's books and some of my favorite finds are the alphabet books. A popular phrase in these books is "J is for Jam" so I took that inspiration for my title plus used the Pretty Party collection by Crate Paper which had pretty cute strawberry images with a vintage vibe.

That mason jar just kills me...

I was able to collage 6 wallet size photos (2 x 3) on the polka dot paper. I just love using multiple photos to tell the whole story. 

And here are the vintage books I used as inspiration...

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

Have a beautiful day! :)

Webster's Pages: Tea for Two Shadowbox

Well, hello there again! I told you I would be blogging a lot more this week! Today I have a project to share that I made for a special someone using the "Girl Land" collection by Webster's Pages. I have scrapbooked these photos before but they are some of my favorites so I used them for this shadowbox.

I simply cut a few banner pieces using patterned paper from the collection, layered a journaling card and sticker, and placed some trim behind the cameo. 

Easy, peasy and a sweet gift for someone!

Speaking of Webster's Pages, stop by the blog this week to see reveals of gorgeous new collections coming your way this fall! I can hardly wait to work with them!

Have a great day!

Pebbles: Kiddie Parade & Announcement!

So, I'm sure you are wondering if I fell off the face of the earth, but I'm still here! :) Just took a little break to visit at my parent's house for about a week and then play catch up once we got back. Back now to regularly blog again and I have plenty of projects to share with you all. Starting with this one today...featuring the Let Freedom Ring collection by Pebbles. I have a million and one 4th of July photos from this year and the past couple years so this collection is perfect for them! This layout focuses on photos of the girls' in their first kiddie parade last year in my hometown.

I love that this collection has awesome thickers in blue and red! 

And the folded paper stars and rosettes make embellishing so easy!

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

Finally, I also have an announcement to share...I'm going to be joining 9 other very talented ladies for the next 6 months at Elle's Studio. I just adore Elle's tags and have been a fan for a loooooong time so it's definitely a dream come true to be on her team!

More to come soon! :)