GCD Studios Theme:: Bright & Beachy

For the month of June, the design team was given this image as inspiration:

The pretty blues in this collage gave me inspiration to work with some beach photos from a trip to Florida a couple years ago. I came up with this layout:

I used kraft Bazzill Swiss Dot cardstock for my base and it helped the GCD Studios Homespun Chic collection by Melody Ross just pop off the page. The colors matched the blue sky and our cabana perfectly. 

Here's a close-up of part of the title using one of the chipboard phrases in the collection and a border strip.

I cut one of the transparencies apart and used some of it here with a brad and chipboard phrase. The patterned paper borders on the top and bottom of the layout are cut from the 8 x 8 paper pad.

Here's the rest of the title using one of the cards, transparency, brad and the crocheted flower is from the Artsy Urban collection.

Additional supplies used: (Maya Road pink ruffle trim, Bazzill Swiss Dot cardstock, Making Memories notebook paper, alphabet stickers)

Doesn't this make you want to go to Florida?! I know I could use another trip! :)

Jill

Winner & Melissa Frances

First off, here's the winner for the Midnight Rooster giveaway... (And by the way, Midnight Rooster will be giving away these mini kits about every month so check back next month too!)

Hey, Jill! If you haven't already, one-year-old is the perfect time to cast a hand mold of each of the girls' hands. We did it on our girls' one-year birthday, and I just love looking back at those tiny hands. You would have fun in swimming lessons, too, and it's never too early to start...it would be mommy and me lessons at this age. My girls loved to swing in those baby bucket swings at the park. You could combine a great summer photo session with play dates and picnics. The portraits we have to this day on our family room wall are of the girls at one-year. Practice your photography on those little models! And, most importantly, READ to them absolutely every day. Put books in their hands frequently. Read at home, at the park, in the yard in the sunshine. They will love it and it will instill a love of reading in them forever. Enjoy your summer!
Tracey

I loved everyone's ideas for this summer, but what especially caught my eye about Tracey's post was the idea of doing a hand mold. I would love to do this and what a special treasure to always have! Tracey, could you please message me your address and your kit will be mailed out around the 14th. 

I am so, so honored and thrilled to be guest designing for Melissa Frances this month!!!!!!! Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows how much I adore her products and use them on a lot of my work. I was generously given her new product to work with and love the soft, sweet colors of the Vintage Posey line and the additions to Attic Treasures. Here's one of my first projects...I wrote a letter to my daughters reflecting on my first year as a mother and placed it in the Maya Road kraft envelope. 

For the title, I used one of the "Mom" rub-ons, resin frame and pearls (LOVE these) and placed it on a Vintage Posey die-cut frame. The butterfly rub-on is on vellum and I used foam adhesive to pop it off the page. The suede brad and pearl are also Melissa Frances. 

I used a chipboard glitter flower, button and two pearls on the envelope closure along with the "Mommy" rub-on. 

Here's a look at my letter that I printed on Melissa Frances patterned paper and added a couple detail rub-ons on the top. 

I'll have much more to share later this month using Melissa Frances products! :)

We've had a mix of sunny and rainy weather this week. I'm having so much fun with my girls going on wagon rides, eating slushes and last night we went to the farmer's market for awhile. Lily was so cute...every time she saw a dog, she would giggle and point. Love these precious moments with my girls making lots of summer memories! :)

Have a great weekend! :)

God Knew...Just Like Mommy

I've shared on my blog before how much I love that my daughters look like me. When I discovered the "Just Like Mommy" sticker by Crate Paper, I knew that would have to go on a layout soon. My sister took these photos of Lily and me at Easter and you can definitely see that our eye and hair colors match. 

I loved the "family history" kraft paper by My Mind's Eye so I used that as a background. All the patterned paper, stickers and the chipboard flower are by Crate Paper (Paper Doll collection). The chipboard alphabet is by Making Memories.

Here's a close-up of my title that I stitched over...

I matted the "Just Like Mommy" sticker with brown patterned paper.

And my journaling...I pleated the teal patterned paper and machine stitched over it. 

Don't forget to comment on my post below for a Midnight Rooster giveaway! 

Have a great day! Depending on the weather, we might be heading to the Farmer's Market tonight! :)

Midnight Rooster June Kit & Giveaway

The June Midnight Rooster main kit and add-on are now available and that means I can share my work with you. I worked with the add-on kit again this month. 

My little cuties got a red wagon for their 1st birthday and love going for wagon rides. The bright red was the inspiration for this layout. I cut the heart banner from the Dear Lizzy patterned paper, the polka dot paper is by My Mind's Eye and the green and blue die-cut paper is by Crate Paper and from the May kit. 

The red alphabet is by Sassafras Lass and included in the add-on kit. I cut the cherries from patterned paper by Sassafrass Lass. 

I knotted the yellow lace along the bottom of my patterned paper. 

The photos on my next layout are so, so special to me as they are from the day that we legally became a forever family. Glen and I had to testify in court why we should be Nora & Lily's parents and it was such an emotional day. They were 7 months old when they became officially ours. 

The brown Jenni Bowlin butterfly is from my stash and I used both of the alphas in the main and add-on kits. I outlined them with a brown journaling pen to help them pop off the page.

A little paper pleating adds extra texture...

The white silk flower is a Midnight Rooster exclusive. I punched a scalloped circle from brown cardstock and placed the flower on top. The little butterflies were punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

This layout has a lot of embellishments from the add-on kit. I sanded the Core'dinations cardstock to bring out the pinkish-red color. Patterned papers are by October Afternoon and Dear Lizzy. The trim is in the add-on kit.

The title block is a Midnight Rooster exclusive in the main kit. I used the alphabet from the add-on and the "bliss" is part of the Dear Lizzy chipboard in the add-on.

This little collage has a mini doily in the add-on, Dear Lizzy chipboard in the add-on and a stick pin from the main kit.

I cut the banner from Dear Lizzy patterned paper.

And finally, I have a card to share with you using the kit. The main kit has a great label stamp in it so I did something a little different with it and made a tree. The "blessed" rub-on is from my stash and the rhinestones were in the May kit. 

And now that you have stayed with me this long....I have an exclusive Midnight Rooster mini kit to give away to you as do the rest of the design team members. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question:

What are some fun things I could do this summer with my girls (keep in mind they are just 1)?

You have until tomorrow at noon (CST) to comment and I'll choose my favorite answer to win this mini kit:

Paper: 

October Afternoon - Fly A Kite, Ice Cream

October Afternoon - Fly A Kite, Strawberry Jam

American Crafts - Letterbox, Sincerely

Pink Paislee - Queen Bee, Bees Wax

Embellishments:

Vintage bingo card

12" vintage blue crochet lace trim

6x11 yellow gingham fabric

Journaling label stamp - Purple Onion Designs

Have a great day! :)

Noel Mignon Challenge: Double Trouble

The latest challenge at NoelMignon.com is to use a single sheet of double-sided patterned paper on your layout. You can use cardstock and all the embellishments you want. I chose this patterned paper by KI Memories that is in the Lemonade Stand kit:

Little Miss Nora wasn't too fond of her bunny ears this past Easter and we captured these photos of her trying to get rid of them. The transparency is by Hambly, tape by Pink Paislee, chipboard alphabet by Making Memories, stickers by October Afternoon and KI Memories, and flower by Prima. 

Here's a close-up of my title.

And a close-up of the flower border. I cut flowers from the patterned paper, cut them in half and then used pop dots on a few of them for extra dimension.

Noel's latest kit "Sun-kissed" is up for purchase now but there are just 4 left! Be sure to get your order in quickly as Noel is going on vacation soon. I just got this beauty in the mail yesterday and can't wait to scrap lots of summer photos! 

Have a great day! I have a ton to share this week so you'll most likely see a post from me every day! :)

Midnight Rooster June Kit Sneaks!

I've got sneak peeks for you today of my work for the June Midnight Rooster kit. This is another fabulous kit with exclusive products and perfect colors for all your summer photos (although none of my layouts have anything to do with summer!). 

I worked with the add-on kit again this month and this first sneak has a look at one of the exclusive silk flowers in the add-on.

The chipboard and little white doily are also in the add-on kit.

These Sassafras Lass alphabet stickers are also the featured alphabet in the add-on....LOVED these!

The kit will be up for subscribers on June 7th and the reveal for everyone else is June 9th. Check back next week for my full reveal!

I'm super busy over the next few days as we are having a garage sale this weekend. I'm still going through things and hope we're able to make some good money. Sales are so much work so this one better be worth it! :)

Have a great weekend! I'll be back on Monday! 

GCD Studios Technique:: Creating Borders With Punches

I've got a simple, quick tutorial to share with you today but it's one that can make a big impact on a layout. I love the ready-made borders in the Artsy Urban collection and used a couple on my layout but also created a border of my own using punches.

My layout is fairly simple but it's about a very important routine in our house - when daddy comes home from work! The girls are usually eating supper but they flip out when their dad comes through the door, and I was able to capture it all on camera. 

I used patterned paper from both the Artsy Urban and Lydia collections and the border strips, epoxy sticker, paper clip, brads, journaling block, crocheted flower and chipboard title are all from Artsy Urban.

Here's a close-up of my title. I used one of the starburst punches above the chipboard title with a brad.

Here's a close-up of my journaling.

And finally, that brings us to my punched border strip.

First, I selected two patterned papers that I wanted to use. The maroon pattern is from Artsy Urban and the gray pattern is from Lydia.

Next, I selected a punch...this starburst by Martha Stewart. I punched several starbursts from the patterned paper. 

I left my starbursts in tact but one way to make a punched shape go further when creating a border like this one would be to cut them in half. 

I inked my shapes first and then adhered the starbursts underneath my photo. I partially covered them with one of the ready-made glitter border strips.

Using punches is a great way to get more out of your patterned papers!

Happy punching!

Jill

The Scrappy Gourmet June Featured Kit!

"Our Everyday Life" mini album and layout kit is now up for sale at The Scrappy Gourmet! This kit is the featured kit for June and includes supplies and instructions to create the mini album and bonus layout you see here. I really enjoyed designing the mini album using a Clear Scraps 6 x 6 tabbed acrylic album and Maya Road kraft envelopes to hold more photos and journaling. The album features paper and embellishments from Lily Bee Designs, 7gypsies, Jenni Bowlin and Maya Road. I love the concept of "our everyday life" because ANYONE can put together this album. What a treasure to look back at later on in life! The album uses wallet size photos and is designed to hold 21 of them. 

Here's a look at the cover.

And here are some of the interior pages. There are more photos in the gallery at the Scrappy Gourmet.

And, here's a look at the bonus layout I created for the kit. My journaling is inside the kraft Maya Road envelope.

What a fabulous start to summer! The girls enjoyed several firsts this past weekend. We took them to the zoo, had ice cream at Snookie's and got them a little plastic swimming pool for our deck where they went swimming for the first time. We also celebrated Glen's birthday on Sunday and had a picnic with their grandparents yesterday. All in all, our weekend was just FUN! 

I'll have much more to share this week! Lots of projects I've had to hold onto until now. Can't wait to share with you! :)

Whoohoo!

I am so, so, so excited to share that I will be joining the design team at Noel Mignon!!!!! If you've been a blog reader of mine for a while, you'll know just how much I adore Noel's kits! They are so packed and so fun to work with! Here's a recent layout I made with Noel's "Playdate" kit using patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, Pink Paislee, October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket. I LOVE how Noel mixes manufacturers. 

I love these photos of Lily. She made these "frowny" faces for several months but no longer does it so I'm glad we captured it on camera. I love that her look is clearly directed at me! :)

Here's a close-up of my title...

And another close-up...

The July kit "Sun-kissed" will go on sale June 5th. Here are the sneak peeks:

More from me soon! I will have a LOT to share over the next month! :)