Glasses - Basic Grey's Oxford

I placed an order from Two Peas in a Bucket quite a while back. It was doing great until UPS gave it over to the Postal Service. No clue why they did that, but that bumped me back another 2 days. So I've had this delicious paper sitting on my desk but couldn't finish it for a week! But I finally got my box of goodies today and I'm so happy! I love this whole collection. Since this whole paper line gave me the feel of being in school, I decided to do a page about my love/hate relationship with my glasses. Glasses seem to be a Davis family curse. I thought I had gotten lucky and didn't need them until I was in the 4th grade and everything started getting blurry. I only use them to read and I try to get by without doing that.

The wood grain is the only bit that isn't from the Oxford collection. It's actually from their 'Life of the Party' line. But it just look so great with that red plaid that I couldn't leave it out.

I thought it would be fun to make a mock pair of glasses. I cut out a very retro pair from some of my wood grain paper and backed them with plastic from an old package I had laying around. I'm really pleased with them. Especially the gauze in the middle to add a little 'geek chic'.

On the 'Debate Team' paper there were these cute sayings on them. Well, with how 'brilliant' the glasses make me look, I just had to cut that one out and use it! The edges where inked with Tim Holtz's distress stains in black soot and brushed corduroy. I hope you all enjoyed this. Now (since I finally have my box of goodies) I can go create some more!

Thank you!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me. I'm still amazed at the year that I've had. I've been scrapbooking since I was very young, but I've only recently began putting my work online. In the short time that I've been on here, I've been embraced by some of the greatest friends that a girl can ask for. Thank you to all the sweet people who have followed my blog and thank you to those who have just taken the time to look at my blog. Every little bit helps and I am grateful for it all.

I was picked for the papercraftstv.com design team earlier this year and now I'm on the short list for Myscrapbooknook.org's design team. I feel truly blessed to be included with a list of amazingly talented people. You should definitely go there and check out the other finalist. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but even if I don't make it, they are still some amazing folks.

Dear Younger Me- Basic Grey

'The Life of the Pary' by Basic Grey is such a fun and nostalgic line of papers. I saw the paper titled 'Ice cream Headache' and thought it was gorgeous! I'm a sucker for wood grain and this pretty page has pink wood grain. That screamed 'challenge' to me. So I looked through my entire stash of photos to find one that could match up. I looked through photos of my nieces... nope. Looked through photos of my sisters....nope. (I did learn that the women in my family hate pink and are never photographed in it). LOL. I finally managed to run across a picture of me on my senior trip to Panama City Beach, Florida. I was so fit back then, but I had such low self-esteem issues. Immediately, I wished I could go back and give myself a pep talk. So that's exactly what I decided to do. I know that I can't go back in time, but hopefully (if I have a daughter in the future) she will be able to read my words and take some comfort in them.

The journaling says

"Cherish the time you have with friends and don't worry about those who don't like you. Those are the ones who are missing out. Be kind to yourself. You self-esteem should be based on your achievements, not on who is the skinniest. There are worse things in life than being a little chubby. Don't be in such a hurry to grow up. Things will happen when they are meant to and not a moment sooner. Each step you take today will determine where your future path will lead. Make sure you are happy with the way you're going. Don't situate your life around others. Learn to be comfortable being 'you' before you try to fit into 'we'. The people who are meant to love you will walk into your life and stay there. Don't be afraid if some walk out. Realize that not everything is your fault. Some people will never admit when they're wrong. Be strong in your convictions, but don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong."

As most of you probably know, I really try my best not to cover my pages with fluff. So, instead of reaching for the pre-made flowers, I grabbed the exacto knife and went to work. I cut out three of the ice cream flowers on a left over piece of paper. A button on top and a little baker's twine finished them off nicely. I'm still waiting on my pop dots to come in. I was only able to use 2 tiny ones on the green flower. I went around each of the flowers with Ranger's distress ink in Spiced Marmalade. And, of course I had to use those chipboard letters! LOL.

I had originally wanted the ribbon on the bottom of the picture and the scalloped edge on top, but in a happy accident I glued the page upside down. I'm actually happier with it this way. The scalloped border is now more visible with the cream cardstock underneath. I've tried securing ribbon down with glossy accents and stick glue, but that just never seems to work. So, I broke out the hot glue gun. Glad I did because it made the process a lot faster. I went around the edges with the same distress ink and also stitched red thread around.

Hope you all enjoyed this. I had a lot of fun with the bright colors (although the pink was a challenge). I loved this paper line and I look forward to my next project with it.  Oh, and TGIF!

The Late Christmas Album

This is the day by day mini album that I made last year starting from the day after Thanksgiving. I've had it sitting around the house because I couldn't find a way to bind it. You see.... I made an error in judgment. :)  I made a 2 page spread for each of the 30 days leading up to Christmas. So by the 25 of December, I wound up with a mini that was more like a maxi! Since there aren't any binding options out there that could bind this huge album, I just tied it up with a ribbon and set it in my closet. That is, until today. I figured out that zip ties work wonders! (Yep, you heard me... zip ties). If you want to take a closer look at any of the images, just click on them. They should open in a separate window.

I have a lot more pages than this, but there's just not enough room to show them all. This upcoming Christmas, I'll definitely be a little more reserved. But, this was a crash course in what to do and what NOT to do. I'm just so glad that I was able to finally bind it. If I had a video camera, I'd walk you all through it. For now, this will just have to do. I have no clue what all the papers were (remember, this was last year). I didn't think to write any of it down and now I have no chance of tracking it all down. I hope you all enjoyed this and I look forward to doing another project this Christmas.

My Heart is Full- Basic Grey Curio

I've had these beautiful Curio papers in my stash for a little while. They were so pretty and ornate that I kept saving them for a special occasion. Nothing seemed to be a good enough layout for them. But then I came across a picture of me holding Jada and it filled my heart with love. I have been truly blessed and I appreciate everything I have. So I decided to do a page about how full my heart is with love for Jada and Caleb.

I started out by cutting out the Curio- Camelia paper on my Cricut. (I absolutely love that machine!) Then I started layering. I sewed the Curio-Upholstery down first and then the Curio-Camelia on top of that. The picture was secured using pop dots and the ribbon was secured using glossy accents.

Then I used Ranger Distress Stain in Black Soot to go around and distress the edges. Those inks really are amazing. It's all the convenience of an ink pad, but where you need it most. With the edges still wet, I started rolling and tearing the edges. A little tear here and a little tear there was all it needed.

The title was done using those delicious chipboard letters again. (I told you I loved them!) Once again, I added depth using pop dots. As a matter of fact, I had to order some more pop dots last night. The journaling reads: Between the love I have for Jada and the love I have for Caleb, my heart always feels full.

I tried really hard to stay away from the over embellished. Nowadays, it really is too easy to cover a page with flowers and fluff, but that takes away from the overall design to me. This paper was so detailed and ornate that it was hard to do, but I tried to keep it simple. The simple details pull it together to me. The inked edges, the stitching, and the ribbon were enough for me to tell the story. Next time you reach for that bucket of flowers, look at your layout and ask yourself if you really need it. Instead, challenge yourself to add details in a better way. Hope you all enjoyed this!

Our Week- My Mind's Eye and Basic Grey

What a wild week we had last week. Sunday was Jada's "egg day" when she gets an egg for breakfast. She absolutely loves those days. Then, Jada had to go to the groomer's on Monday. Tuesday, I had to go to the doctor to get my Cherry Angioma removed. But Wednesday was the hardest of all. Wednesday was the day that I took Jada to the vet to be spayed. She had to stay overnight and I picked her up on Thursday. I was completely unaware of how hard it would be on her. She wouldn't even walk three steps. So I stayed home with her on Friday. The rest of the weekend followed suit. This week was definitely one for the books so I scrapbooked it!

I used Basic Grey's Hopscotch- 4 square as the background because it was white with some cool distressing on it. I then cut all my pictures and arranged them in a lose grid. I filled in all the gaps with My Mind's Eye - Fine and Dandy papers. I inked all the edges with Ranger's Distress Ink in Pumice Stone. The title is using The Paper Studio's Chipboard Bundle. I adore that stuff! I've used the bundle on so many projects. I need to find some more before we run out.

My little kite came out better than I planned. I used baker's twine as my kite's string and secured it using Glossy Accents. I also decided to wrap my journaling around my grid instead of inside it. The papers were just so pretty that I didn't want to cover them up with big strips of paper. But if I tried to write directly onto the patterned paper, it would disappear.

After I was finished, I stepped back and examined it. The bottom square needed something. So I went back out and took a look at my scraps. On the back of one of the pages was some beautiful banners. So I cut two out. I placed the brown banner on the bottom and layered the yellow on top. I used baker's twine again and pop dots to make this layer appear farther out.

Jada is still not herself yet. But little-by-little, she's getting better. I think this week was a bit more of 'Jada's week' than 'Our Week'. It's been very hard on her. I'm glad I documented this week. I've always wanted to do it, but I just never found the time. This was just so important this week, that I did it without even debating. I hope you liked it!

Roses - Kaiser Craft

Well, when you think about being away from your sweetie for 18 weeks you think 'I'll be fine. I can do this.' Then when you actually are separated, you start going a little insane. I miss Caleb dearly and everyday seems to be harder than the last. Which is why his surprise made me feel so happy and fall in love with him all over again. One day I was at my computer and he asked me to look out my door. I was a little unsure and hesitant. But once I opened my door, I couldn't believe my eyes. There before me was a long box on the porch. I opened it up and saw the most gorgeous bouquet of 18 long stemmed red roses. They were breathtaking. I ran inside and put them in a vase (and took tons of photos, of course!). Now, the roses have wilted and had to be thrown away, but I still have the beautiful photos to look at.

The background paper is Kaiser Craft's Timeless Collection -  Ledger. It gave the soft nostalgic feel that I wanted. Then came the hard part. I wanted to find embellishments that added to my picture instead o distract from it. So what better way than making my own? I used my FMIL's Silhouette to cut out all the black and red embellishments. Although it doesn't cut nearly as well as my Cricut, it was nice to have a wider variety of images. (The scrolls under and above the title had to be cut 3 times to get it right).

The red cameo background is actually plain American Crafts cardstock that I sprayed with Tattered Angels Mist and embossed with Ultra Thick embossing powder. I really love the look it gave. Cameos are so beautiful. I wish I could have found a matching male one.

The last step was adding a little line of lace at the bottom of my photo. I felt it added a little more vintage romance to my page as well as a much needed texture. I have no clue what brand it is (it's from my FMIL's stash). Hope you enjoyed this post!

Working with Scraps - October Afternoon Cards

First off, let me start by saying a big Thank You to all the wonderful comments and support I received from my last posts. You have no idea how wonderful that was for me or how much it touched me deeply. I hope I can continue to make someone smile. If you enjoy viewing my posts and projects, make sure to become a follower so you will immediately know when something new is posted. :-)

Now on to my current project. The October Afternoon 'Modern Homemaker' and '5 & Dime' collections are awesome! They each have such bold colors and retro style. It was so much fun creating layouts and projects from these. But after I was finished, I realized that I had a lot of scraps. So, what did I do? I used them, of course!

Since the papers have such a vintage retro vibe to them, I wanted to keep with that feel for my cards. I used the October Afternoon Sprinklers to color the backgrounds of both my cards to give a soft feel to them while staying in my color palette. I've recently been trying to learn how to sew on my projects, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity. When you're doing a homespun or vintage feel, it's ok for things to be a little messy and imperfect. Things were usually made by hand back then, so mistakes are ok. I feel they add a little charm to my cards.

On the front of my first card, I used the Sprinklers mist in 'Strawberry Creme'. It was a beautiful tone of pink (not too dark and not too light). After that was dry, I created my flowers by layering circles punched from various papers. Some cute buttons out of my FMIL vintage stash added the finishing touches. While the circles were waiting on the glossy accent glue to dry, I sewed the red stems onto the card. Then I added the flowers and the stamped sentiment. One card down, one to go!

If your going for a vintage or retro feel, why not quilt it? I saw this pattern online for a simple quilt. I cut 7 small hexagons out of my scraps and glued them in a flower shape. I went around all the edges with Tim Holtz's distress inks. Then I jumped back onto the sewing machine and started sewing a rough frame around the card.

I'm really pleased with how these turned out. I'm also excited about the fact that I used my scraps so I won't be stuffing them into any scrap drawers. These papers were just too cute to hide away.  Hope you enjoyed these fun cards.

Scrapping the Tough Times

I've been debating for a while about whether or not to scrap some of the memories I have of my mother. They were very unpleasant, but it was detrimental to the person I have become. Each of my decisions in my everyday life are a result of how I was treated as a child. (Like why do I refuse to drink alcohol? or why do I freak out when there's dishes in the sink? and why do I panic when the phone rings?) Everything has a cause and an affect. My life isn't perfect and I don't want my future children to look at my albums and think "Mom never had any problems growing up. She was perfect." That's just not true.

I started by looking at Bo Bunny's Timepiece Collection for inspiration. I loved the colors and the dirty look to it. I broke out the white cardstock and misted it with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Cinder. I am really pleased at the look of it and it tied in nicely with the Bo Bunny papers. The letters are just regular chipboard letters that were in my stash. I painted them with Ranger's Inkssentials Enamel Accents in Black. I thought about using the Dabber instead, but I love the glossy look that the Enamel Accents gives.

I wanted my layout to have more dimension, so I attached some brads and wove some ribbon in a criss-cross pattern. The red ribbon is from a local fabric store but it was lightly sprayed with the same Tattered Angels mist. I love the dark shimmer it gave.

Because this is such a personal topic, I decided to use hidden journaling. On my photo in the middle, I adhered it on only 3 sides with Terrifically Tacky Tape. I cut a small piece of cardstock to write on and attached a tab for easy access to it. This was so therapeutic for me. It took a while for me to convince myself to do this layout. I hope by showing people my layout, others will make some of their own. Thank you for looking and I challenge you to scrap a layout about your own hard topics!