Daddy, Wonder Woman, and a thank you!

I'm wrapping up my July Nook kit. It's been a fun one! I only have one full sheet of paper left, and minimal embellishments. Here are the final 2 layouts and then a card I created just for good measure. ;)

"Justice League Girl"

These are pictures of Caroline from Halloween. I thought the gold chevron paper was the perfect choice to go with the WW logo of Wonder Woman. I salvaged the Justice League chipboard  from the costume's packaging and decided just to use it as a part of the title since it stood out so predominantly. 

"Proud"

This one is of Josh and the kids on Father's Day. I loved that this kit could be used for both feminine pictures as well as ones that were more masculine. I tried to keep the page fairly simple, focusing on shapes and borders.

And then lastly, I created this card to go along with one of the sketch challenges in the cards forum. I layered the Jillibean Soup labels to create my sentiment and tied some twine through the chipboard button to finish it off.

Thanks for letting me share! Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Lake recap Pt. 2

I guess I should finish up my lake recap, especially since the month's almost over. Time is just flying by! I just realized that the kids start school in 3 weeks. THREE weeks! I've gotta start cramming in all the stuff we want to do before summer's over.

You may remember that we spend 8 or 9 days at the lake at the beginning of the month.  Here's the rest of my photos from our time there.  We spent A LOT of time with family, celebrated birthdays 3 different times, and enjoyed each other too.

Shots from the island:

Birthday pictures.  The twins and McClain are one year and one week a part. 

So we start the week with their birthday and end the week with Mac's.  

The boys just turned 3 and McClain turned 2.

 

 

  They may or may not be trouble in the years to come. 

But I love that a friendship is already forming.

I love that McClain's going to have cousins who are good buddies.

I see all sorts of lake adventures in store for these 3 as they get older.

And well, that's not the last of my pictures, but I've probably shared enough. We also did sparklers on the 4th, watched fireworks, and relaxed a little too.  I LOVE the lake! It's my most favorite place to be in the summer. Friends, family, food, and fun--yep that about sums it up!

Thanks for scrolling through and letting me share!

Meet Mr. Cool

The new Creative Scrappers sketch is up today, #218.  I love that this one includes a feature photo and then new smaller wallet-sized ones. Right away, I knew what picture(s) I wanted to use even though in the end, I chose to repeat the same one instead of using 3 different ones. So let me introduce you. Meet...

"Mr. Cool"

Do these kind of pictures ever get old? They never cease to make me chuckle. Here I used a combination of Jillibean Soup's "Apple Cheddar" and "Game Day Chili" to create a layout of McClain being super silly.  I really love that the two collections work so well together. And I love love love the saying on the sticker. Of course I used it to mean childsplay instead of sports plays.  But still. I love it and had to use it. ;) That silly boy INSISTS that he wear his sunglasses, aka "gasses" upside down. And he thinks he's such a Mr. Cool when he gets away with it!

Be sure to check out all the other designers' takes on sketch #218 over at the Creative Scrappers site.

Happy, happy, happy Sunday friends.  (Duck Dynasty, anyone? LOVE that show!)

                           

(He's a) Modern Day Linus

I thought I'd play along with this week's Creative Scrappers sketch just for fun. I had pictures that I'd been holding on to since our Disney trip, and this sketch was perfect for them.

"Modern Day Linus" 

The journaling will explain the title better. It reads, "You and you 'Ni-ni'. You go everywhere together. Just like Linus the Peanuts character. Proof? You even drug ni-ni all over Disney World!" That poor blanket. It's been EVERYwhere, and is now varying shades of gray instead of white. But I love that I have these pictures of him with it on an early (and chilly) morning at Disney.

I used the June kit from My Scrapbook Nook and these Simple Stories papers were the perfect "boy" colors and patterns that I was looking for. Of course I had to throw in there some washi tape from Bella Blvd. too. I'm kind of addicted to that stuff right now.

Speaking of Bella Blvd....Don't forget that they're having their Inspiration Week this week, which showcases pictures from CHA as well as projects and layouts that feature the latest lines they're debuting. Go check it out!

Well, that's about it from me. We're going through the lazy days of summer around here. I'm devouring books (found a new author and series I like) while the kids swim or play outside. We're TRYING to keep the house straightened, but that's a battle I'm most definitely losing. Other than that, I'm just trying to keep the kids active (read entertained). Some days I feel more like a cruise director since I'm fielding questions like, "What are we doing next?" and "Where are we going today?".  BUT soon it'll be back-to-school and I'll miss them.  I must remember this. I WILL remember this.

Happy Wednesday y'all!

CK Mixed Media Special Issue

The new CK Mixed Media special issue hits newsstands today, and guess who's in it? ME!

 

I've been waiting a long time to share this never-before-seen layout I made back in the fall. I love the photo and had such a fun time using October Afternoon's "Sidewalks" collection. Here's a better look at the layout. 

"Soarin'"

 

As you can see from the magazine page, there's a step-out tutorial of the technique I used. I was shocked to see that there were TONS of step-outs throughout the magazine. It's the first time I've ever flipped through a Mixed Media special edition, and it's SUCH a cool issue! There are so many inspiring layouts and techniques featured! And remember that it comes out today.

Happy happy Tuesday, friends! 

My Scrapbook Nook--July

Today I've got a couple of layouts to share that I've made with the July My Scrapbook Nook kit. It features the "Indie Chic" collection by My Mind's Eye with journaling spots and alphabet stickers from Jillibean Soup.

 

Here's what I've made with it so far...

"Me and My Big Girl"

 

Sarah Kate took this picture of Caroline and me. I'm trying to get in a few more pictures with the kids, and when I'm home by myself, the only way to do that is to hand my camera off to them. THEY love it. Me? um...I just try not to think about it. ha! She took this one while they were playing with their Barbies out in the baby pool.

"QT with Granna"

 

THIS one is of SK and my Mom taken while we were visiting at the lake. I LOVE that I caught her with pigtails--they're so rare these days. And the colors in SK's dress were perfect for this kit. I tried to balance the linear design with the circular journaling spots and buttons. 

Thanks for letting me share with you today! Hope you all have a great Monday!

Smile

Here's another one I did just for fun, simply playing with my stash of papers and embellishments. I really love these 3D embellishments they're super fun to add to a page!

"Smile"

I also stamped the image of a Mason jar onto the polka-dot vellum and then backed it with a more solid pattern. I hadn't used vellum in YEARS and it was fun to think of ways to use it again. It just so happens that Paper Issues is having a "I can see clearly" challenge right now, which is to use a transparent material in your paper crafting. Cassie has given the word that vellum counts too. ;)  Be sure to link your project up, but you've got to hurry because the deadline is tomorrow (the 14th).

Happy Friday! TGIF!

Bella reveal Day #4--Embellishments!

 

 It's Day 4 of the Bella Blvd. reveal, and up today are the new embellishments and new chipboard alphabets!
I have to say, these are my favorite part about being a Bella Artista! I'm always going through my embellishments trying to decide which ones to use. Here's peek at the new goodies coming out.


Check out today's Bella Blvd. blog post to see the new additions up close, and for a chance to win them before you can buy them!

Oh So Lovely

Although life as been busy this summer, a couple of weeks ago I finally had time to sit down with a little time to myself and just "play". I know I've talked about it before, but I really do enjoy just playing with my materials some times. Not for deadlines or for challenges or anything else, just for me. This time I chose to play with the new Dear Lizzy Neopolitan collection. I'd had these pictures of Caroline from when I took them back in March, and I finally found a collection that seemed perfect for them.

"Oh So Lovely"

 

 

 

I realize that this layout is pretty simple. I actually used several of the little strips that come along the bottom of the page. But I really wanted to focus on the pictures. They're just so HER. Girly, sassy, playful...and I wanted the paper and embellishments to compliment them, not distract from them.

I did a little hand-cutting, some faux-stitching under the journaling, and lots of layering and tucking. All techniques that I'm still really in to these days.  And best of all, I really enjoyed the process! It reminded me of exactly why I love this hobby!  

Hope you all are having a great Wednesday!