October Afternoon Guest Designer Projects!

The rest of my projects for January are up on the October Afternoon blog so I have the okay to share them with you here! I really enjoyed working the "Campfire" collection...we're not a camping family but I love that October Afternoon products are so versatile that I was able to come up with a variety of projects to highlight the collection. 

First, this layout "Mountain Honeymoon" highlights my favorite photos from our honeymoon to Colorado in 2003. 

I did something a little different from my usual style and placed the title in the center of the layout and built my photos around the perimeter. I used foam adhesive under several photos for added dimension.

I thought the "scenic sights" sticker was fitting for a vacation layout. 

And here's another peek at some of the photos I used...

Next, I have a little card to share. I LOVE the stripe, text and star patterned paper so much! The bright colors are so fun!

And, then for my altered project I came up with a camping gift set that I thought could work for a camping family or even a non-camping family who might have an indoor "pretend" campout. I made wraps and tags for each element that then added to a basket.

 Gotta' have s'more necessities: graham crackers, Hershey bars and marshmallows!

 And trail mix (love that "happy trails" sticker) and a deck of cards...

And who could forget a roll of toilet paper...(you never know when you might need it!) HA! This particular item was inspired by the "Back to Nature" sticker. :)

And that's the rest of my projects! Thank you so much to October Afternoon for having me guest design! 

I'll be back Monday!

Midnight Rooster February Sneak Peeks!

Happy Friday! Today I have sneak peeks to share with you of the February Midnight Rooster kit. This kit is very pink and girly so all of my layouts are baby layouts this month! Take a peek....

Pretty, huh? The full reveal of the February kit will be on the 9th so be sure to check back then to see all my work this month. I really LOVED this kit!

We have been recovering from a nasty stomach bug at my house this week. I think we're all on the mend now and I spent yesterday disinfecting everything and washing load after load of laundry. I refuse to get sick again this winter....yuck! We've had it all! 

Anyway, enjoy your weekend...stay warm and healthy! :)

Pretty Little Studio and More!

I am so excited to be joining the design team at Pretty Little Studio! Check out the full announcement here: Pretty Little Studio Blog. Pretty Little Studio has beautiful vintage, whimsical patterned papers, flashcards, tags and labels, calendars, diecuts and bunting flags! Here's a sampling of some brand new product:

1" Little Princess Vintage Tags

8 x 8 Love Notes Patterned Paper Collection

Valentine Paper Ribbons

2" Be My Valentine Word Tags

Super cute, huh? There's something for everyone! I am very excited to be working with Pretty Little Studio products. Our first design team reveal will be on March 5th but look for sneak peeks in the meantime.

Let's see...I have been busy playing with my new toy...a brand new photo printer that my friend, Leah, helped me purchase! I LOVE it so much...so convenient to print photos as I need them. It took a little bit to figure it out but I think I have it calibrated now. 

Other than that, apparently we are gearing up for the "storm of the century" around here. Supposed to be historic...okay, we'll see! :) I've been nursing a sick little one and hoping that number two doesn't get it as well. I'll have some more fun news to share next week...yay! :)

Have a great day! :)

Truly Scrumptious!

Well, hello there friends! I took a bit of a blogging break so I could focus on my family and a few projects here and there. Today, I have a new layout to share using the "Truly Scrumptious" February kit from Noel Mignon. The bright, fun colors in this kit have had me wanting to scrap spring and summer photos. These photos just crack me up = We Love Cheap Entertainment! A hot summer day = a day to stay in and enjoy the cool air conditioning. On this particular day, all we needed was a couple of cheap, plastic baskets and daddy to push the girls back and forth across the kitchen floor. The girls loved it (click on the layout to see their little faces)! 

I made a patterned paper border using the Paper Crush collection by Sassafras Lass and the Fine & Dandy collection by My Mind's Eye. 

Here are a few close-ups...I really love Sassafras alphabet stickers and the sweet treat stickers make great embellishments! 

Well, that's all from me today! I'll be back soon with more projects and news that I can't wait to share (but will have to wait until the first couple weeks of February!) 

Have a great day! :)

I'm 30 Today & My Mind's Eye: Blog Challenge #19

Today is my 30th birthday! I'm really excited to have my family come help me celebrate. It seems surreal that I am embarking on another decade of my life. My 20s were great! I graduated from college, started my first job, met and married my husband, bought my home, met a lot of new friends, did a lot of traveling, and became the momma to my two sweet girls. I struggled a lot in my 20s too but always looked to God for the grace to handle it. I'm looking forward to what my 30s will bring! I'll admit it - I am slightly depressed about the fact that I am turning th-th-thirty but instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself I am going to P-A-R-T-Y with my family today! Heehee!

A blog post wouldn't be complete without me sharing a layout so here's one that I created for the My Mind's Eye Blog Challenge #19. I used the So Sophie and Lost & Found collections for this layout about my girls' first sled ride and "accident" last winter. (Daddy took a corner a little too fast and Lily ended up face first in the snow). She was fine, but we still laugh about it. :) 

Here are a few close-ups...

I punched the snowflakes (Martha Stewart punch) out of text paper from the Lost & Found collection and placed brads in the center. This photo is the aftermath of the "accident". Heehee!

I placed a tag for my journaling underneath the main photo. 

That's all for today! I'm off to get ready for my company! Have a great weekend! :)

Noel Mignon February Kit: Truly Scrumptious!

It's here! It's here! Just check out this jam-packed kit from Noel Mignon for February! It's full of Pink Paislee, Basic Grey, American Crafts, Sassafras Lass, My Mind's Eye, Fancy Pants Designs, We R Memory Keepers and more!

Head on over to the store and pick yours up before they are gone! 

I'll be back tomorrow with a layout! 

Noel Mignon Challenge: Color Combo

Happy Thursday, friends! Today I have a new layout to share with you for the Color Combo challenge over on the Noel Mignon challenge blog. I used the "Very Virginia" kit  (1 left!!!!) on my layout and had fun creating a collage-effect layout while channeling my inner "Virginia". :) I used Poladroid to get that cool effect on my photo. It already has a "fish-eye" look to it because it's a photo of my husband and me at "The Bean" in Chicago a few years ago. 

I ADORE the patterned paper I used for my background from the Curio collection by Basic Grey. I think I need another sheet or two of it! 

Here's a close-up of my title using the Sassafras Lass alphabet stickers and American Crafts Thickers in the kit. 

I placed several strips of masking tape on my background and journaled right over them. 

I also placed several strips of masking tape on the left side of my layout to mask the busy pattern that was a little too much to look at in combination with the stickers I used.

Hope you can join in with our Color Combo Challenge and don't forget about the blog hop going on through today at all of the designer's blogs. The "Truly Scrumptious" February kit goes on sale TOMORROW! 

I've been busy working on some assignments for the upcoming CHA winter show. The new GCD Studios collections are just beautiful! In the meantime, I've been receiving some happy mail and happy e-mail! I'll have some really fun news to share in February! 

Have a great day! :)

Noel Mignon Blog Hop: Truly Scrumptious!

Welcome to the blog hop for the Noel Mignon February kit, "Truly Scrumptious"!  

Let's play a little word scramble game, shall we?  As you can see, there is a letter showing in my sneak, and there will be letters in everyone's sneak peek.  


Here are the rules:
1)Follow the hop in order (go back and start at Kim's blog if you are starting here).
2)Leave a comment on EACH BLOG showing that you have picked up your letter from their sneak.
3)Collect all the letters and unscramble the word.
4)Leave a comment on the last blog of the hop on Thursday, revealing the secret word, and you may be one of 3 lucky winners to win $10 off their kit purchase!


The next blog for you to visit today is: Miss Amy Parker! 


The "Truly Scrumptious" February kit goes up for sale this Friday morning so be sure to get your quick as this kit is sure to fly!


Finally, mark your calendars! The Noel Mignon design team is hosting a crop in just a few short weeks!

Have fun blog hopping - as a reminder we're hopping around the design team's blogs TODAY and TOMORROW for lots of fun sneaks and you must leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win! :)

October Afternoon: Little Red Riding Hood

Today I have another layout to share that I did for October Afternoon using their "Campfire" collection and believe it or not but this is a Halloween layout! I was really inspired by the picnic basket sticker and thought it was perfect for my little girls as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween. I wanted to include several photos so I went with a two-pager so I could make the photos larger. 

Here's a close-up of my title. I used several October Afternoon collections and stitched over them for added texture. The title is also lyrics from an oldies song.

I loved the "Adventure" chipboard so I included that in the middle of my journaling. 

I used one of the tin pins on a label sticker in the corner. 

I'll be back tomorrow with more...I'm off to the gym for step class!

SEI Projects: About a Girl, Treat Bags & Sisters are a Gift!

Happy Saturday, friends! Today I wanted to share with you the rest of my projects that were on the SEI blog this week. By the way, stop by the SEI blog and leave a comment through Sunday to win a mixture of the products I used on my projects this week.

Here's another layout where I used patterned paper from Monsterville and Kris Kringle along with die cuts from With All My Heart. I love these sweet photos of Nora, and I journaled about her little personality quirks. 

Here are a few close-ups...

For another one of my projects, I used With All My Heart to create these Valentine's treat bags. YUM! The bags were simple to make....visit the SEI blog for directions. 

This was my favorite layout of all my projects, using Kris Kringle and a tone-on-tone technique to create lots of texture. I love taking a picture each Christmas with my sisters and this was the one from last year. 

I outlined my title letters for extra pop. 

Here's a look at the punched snowflakes and rhinestones. 

Thanks so much to SEI for the opportunity to host your blog this month! And don't forget to stop by and leave a comment to win the giveaway!

Have a great weekend!