Webster's Pages - So Many Layers

It's so hard to imagine that I've been married for 3 years now. Where has the time gone? It seems like I'm living day to day and suddenly look back to see that another month has passed. Wow, it sure sneaks up on me! When I think back to my wedding day, I can't help but smile and laugh at most of it. As a bride I agonized over every small detail and thought that I had made enough plans (and spread sheets) to have complete control over my wedding.    Ha! Not even close!

The actual day seemed to dash by in a blur: tons of things that I forgot or forgot to do. Hubbie even had to drive back to his parents' home because I forgot my shoes! Well, getting myself into that corset and dress by myself was like trying to zip up a Spandex sleeping bag. After I had finally squeezed myself in and zipped myself up, I stood back to admire my handywork. Only then did I realize that I had forgotten to put on my puffy slip.... the one that has to go on first before everything else.

I was very tempted to get frustrated and start systematically ripping off my dress, but instead I smiled and said a very enthusiastic "SCREW IT" and just laughed. Now looking back, I'm glad I did because without that puffy slip, my dress took on a very ethereal flowy look. I like it better!

Paper - Webster's Pages-Let's Celebrate Collection, Webster's Pages - Garden Gala - Fresh Air, My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heard - Be Happy - Favorite Things, My Mind's Eye - Lush - Brown Diamonds Paper   Embellishments - Little Yellow Bicycle - Stick Pins - Wood Words, Michaels - Wood Embellishments - Songs of Spring   Ribbon - American Crafts - Premium Ribbon - Greeting, American Crafts - Premium Ribbon - Yellow Rosettes

I'm so glad my Mother-in-Law was taking pictures because she caught one of my favorite shots: my dad beside me and my dress in all it's flowy goodness. This layout was all layered up with bits and pieces of scrap and ribbon. I tried to incorporate the red tones of the Webster's Pages paper with my inked edges. Unfortunately, I purchased most of the supplies when I got engaged, so I can't find any active links to any of it.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Paris - L'Objet qui Parle

When I was preparing to visit Paris, I used Pinterest as my personal tour guide. I wrote down all the little nooks and crannies that I thought I could squeeze into a week. I knew I'd probably never get a second chance to visit, so I didn't want to miss a thing! One of the places I uncovered was a place called L'Objet qui Parle (The Object that Speaks).

Paper - My Mind's Eye - Market Street Collection - Ashbury Heights - Vignette

When I was at Sacre Coeur, I took two streets over and at the bottom of the hill (near the Moulin Rouge) was L'Objet qui Parle. It was the size of a small closet and it was filled from the floor to ceiling with all kinds of antiques! I wish I could've bought more stuff but there's no way I could fit the giant antique mirror of my dreams into my luggage. :)

When arranging this layout, I wanted the look to have the same hodge-podge look as the shop itself. Little bits of paper hear and there with some texture. The Ashbury Heights Vignette from My Mind's Eye held just enough antique whimsy and color to really make the picture speak. And the Glassine kraft paper was actually the packaging I received when I bought some ribbon from A Paper Palette.

Hope you enjoyed this layout!

See the World - October Afternoon and My Mind's Eye

Happy Saturday!
I'm back with a new 12x12 travel layout from my visit to Paris, France. My favorite part of Paris was seeing the Arc de Triomphe. It was so beautiful and mere steps away from our hotel. Everyday I would pass it to get to the metro and I miss it so much!

October Afternoon - Boarding Pass - Chip N Stick October Afternoon - Boarding Pass -Miscellany

My Mind's Eye - Jubilee Collection - Tangerine - Adventure Be Daring

Heidi Swapp - Hello Today Collection - Memory Planner - Ephemera Pack

 I used My Mind's Eye's Jubilee collection for the background because I fell in love with the little saying at the bottom. I layered it up with some of the bits and pieces from Heidi Swapp's new ephemera pack called "Hello Today". This layout also let me dig out my October Afternoon Boarding Pass embellishments. I've been waiting to use all of those for years!

Hope you enjoyed this one! See you soon!

2/21/15

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you're staying warm, where ever you are! The snow is coming down heavily here, so I'm stuck inside for the weekend. That's fine with me though.

Snow + Puppies + Blanket = Warm Snuggly Heaven

So, while I'm staying inside today, I thought I'd share my layout about the flight to Paris. I'm currently using this page as my cover page for the album. Once again, I haven't been able to take great pictures in a while. Please forgive me!

My Mind's Eye - Jubilee Collection - Tangerine -Honor Traveler  

 October Afternoon - Boarding Pass - Chip 'n' Stick

Recollections Travel Stamp Jar

Some of the items I used were from my scrap pile, so I'm not sure who they belong to anymore. It's been so liberating to try using only my scrap pile nowadays, but it does get frustrating when I'm trying to give credit. Either I've forgotten totally or the item is no longer around to link to.

I used brown string to show were I was coming from and going to, and then placed a chipboard airplane on top. I've been waiting to use the cute airplane chipboards that I have for a while now. We usually don't fly to places so they've sat in storage for quite some time. When traveling, I always try to take pictures that truly tell the story. Your plane ticket, favorite coffee, local cuisine, etc. These photos normally tell more about your trip than the average tourist picture. 

Oh, and don't forget to check out my Etsy shop! I've got some great printables in there for TRAVEL and Valentine's Day!

Hello Again!

Hello again friends! I hope some of you are still reading.

Time sure does fly! We've managed to move to two different states and two completely different jobs. Hopefully life has settled down enough that I can get back to my blogging world. Here's some of what I've been up to.

I'm still scrapping my wedding album. I can't believe that it's been over 2 years and I'm still working on it. (Please excuse my photos for a little while. I'm having to use my phone's camera nowadays).

I had the opportunity to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris France with my hubbie. I'm probably going to be scrapping those pictures until the day that I die!

And now I'm making Project Life cards on the side for my Etsy shop. Make sure to stop by and check out some of my goodies! https://www.etsy.com/shop/VibrantValley
I'm slowly adding things as I can. Life sure is getting interesting. :)

Tiny Bird with a Big Song - My Mind's Eye

When I laid my eyes on MME's paper, Songbird, I fell in love with the saying. "I feel like a tiny bird with a big song." It really struck a cord with me because when I got engaged I wanted to shout it from the rooftop. Even now, I can't help but weave wedding plans into any conversation. (I promise that I truly don't mean to. I just happens.) I just feel like I'm bursting with happiness and there's not aren't enough voices to sing it all. In my engagement photos, there was a succession of three photos. The one I loved the most was of me laughing. I know that it wasn't the most flattering of them all, but it really showed how I was feeling: happy, excited, and bursting with energy.

My Mind's Eye - Follow your Heart - Be Happy - Favorite Things, My Mind's Eye - Follow your Heart - Be Happy -  Happy Doily, My Mind's Eye - Follow your Heart - Be Happy - Striped Pink, My Mind's Eye - Follow your Heart - Be Happy - Songbird, The Paper Studio - Spare Parts - Doily Ribbon 3 pk, Spellbinders - Nestablities - Lacey Circles

The journaling reads: I had thought about cancelling our engagement photos because everyone said they were a waste of money. I'm so glad that we went ahead with them. They are so precious to me.

When in doubt, I can always fall back on simple design basics. You can't go wrong with a simple three photo layout with one photo enlarged. Your eyes automatically go to the enlarged image and then can wander equally between the outer two. This also works with color. If you want to draw attention to a specific photo, you can turn all the other photos Black and White and leave only one photo in color. To bring more attention to my center photo, I made sure to only mat that photo with white cardstock.

When I had finished my layout, I realized that I had an uneven page. The cluster at the bottom right seemed to weigh down that side of the paper. So, I knew I had to focus on the top left to even things back out. I cut out the doilies from Happy Doily using just regular scissors and not trying to be too accurate. I just went around the general shape. Then I used the Spellbinders die to cut them out. This gave me a very intricate cut and lots of detail. I placed them in between the papers to show the different layers.

I hope you enjoyed this layout and hopefully it gave you a little inspiration for your own projects. If you haven't already, make sure to follow my blog so you can get updates instantly!

Lovely. Beautiful. Darling. - My Mind's Eye

I know it might sound strange, but I looked forward to my engagement photos much more than I look forward to my wedding photos. When I look at wedding photos, I can't help but always see them as fairly basic: white dress, tuxes, and only the bridesmaid's dresses to add color. On the other hand, when I look at engagement photos, I see two people who are in love and can't wait to show the world. So, as soon as I got my photos in, I went to work making the light and romantic layouts that I've had planned in my head for months.

My Mind's Eye - Be Happy - Honey Pink, My Mind's Eye - Be Happy - Be You, My Mind's Eye - Be Happy - Favorite Things, My Mind's Eye - Be Happy - Striped Pink, My Mind's Eye - Be Happy - Follow Your Heart layered stickers, Tim Holtz - Tissue Tape - Symphony, Tonic Studios - Tim Holtz - Paper Distresser

I absolutely loved the cluster in the top right corner of 'Be You'. I didn't want to cover it up. So I decided to keep the majority of my page in the bottom left. I began layering with pieces of 'Honey Pink' that I had cut out with an exacto knife. The overwhelming color in the top cluster was pink, so I needed the pink piece to draw your eye down to the bottom of the page. (Believe it or not, your eyes automatically want to play connect the dots when it sees multiple objects of the same color. Cool huh?)

I added a layer of Tim Holtz's Tissue Tape to give a little weight to the background. With all the solids and stripes on a layout, it's nice to mix things up with an intricate pattern (use sparingly). Then, I started layering papers to give a nice background to my photo. I went around 'Favorite Things' with some machine sewing to add to the romantic feeling of the page. On the blue cardstock paper, I went around the edges with Tim Holtz's paper distresser. I like the shabby feeling it gave and when you're using a bunch of papers in a similar tone, it's always a good idea to infuse as much texture as possible. 


I've been looking for a reason to use those wonderful layered stickers on my layouts and this was just the ticket. I added one of the stickers to the bottom of my photo to help ground it down. Lastly, when I looked around my layout I noticed a lot of white space to the right of my photo that was oh-so-conveniently lined for my journaling. The scrapbook queens must have known I'd need it. 

The journaling reads: 

I absolutely love

 this man. 

He sees all my faults 

and simply smiles 

at them.

He is my constant.

He is my comfort.

When I look

at him, the

weight of the world is

off my shoulders

and I am home. 

I hope everyone enjoyed this. I've been going crazy with anticipation for my photos and I hope this layout does the picture justice. Make sure to stop by again soon!

My Hometown - October Afternoon

A long time ago, I entered this little canvas tag mini album to be published. I wasn't able to post it because they specifically asked that it be something that has not been viewed before. After 1 year, I never heard anything back. So, I guess it's safe to show now. I have to say, this will probably be my favorite mini album for a while.

Maya Road Canvas Tag Album

October Afternoon '5 & Dime' papers

October Afternoon 'Seaside- Sandcastle' paper

'5 & Dime' Tin Pins 

'5 & Dime' Rubber Charms

October Afternoon Mini Market letter stickers

October Afternoon 'Modern Homemaker' Label stickers

I made this mini album all about my hometown. Every year it changes and looks so different. I thought it would be a great idea to document it so I can show my children one day. The canvas tag mini album was just the thing because it's so fun and homey. I absolutely love October Afternoon because of their wonderful colors and retro feel. You can use it to scrap a two year old child or a 90 year old woman. It's perfect for just about anything.

This was my childhood home. It was sold two years ago, so I definitely wanted to scrap a picture of it before the new homeowners changed anything. The fabric of the mini album canvas tags didn't want to stick with any glue I used, so I used my sewing machine to attach a background piece of paper. Then I was able to layer on just like a regular layout page.

This is my high school. I'm a little upset that I didn't get a picture sooner. The high school recently had an upgrade and additions on the front so it already looks so different from what I remember. The apple on the right was an image that I cut out of one of the papers. I glued it inside a vintage red button and filled it up with glossy accents. I actually have to pat myself on the back for the little pennant on the right. This mini album was made before pennant flags were a big thing. I had to use a kitchen toothpick!

This is my family's business. This is the most important to me because this is my heritage. My grandfather started this business all by his self and it has been passed down to my father. I loved the little dog image and I found a button that looked like a little ball for him to play with.

I hope you enjoyed this mini album. I wish that I was able to share it with you when the 5 and dime collection was new, but hopefully you'll enjoy it just the same. : )

Ruby Falls - Crate Paper

When winter begins to lighten and the first warm days of spring appear, we're all itching to get out of the house and do something. This time, Caleb and I decided to take a quick trip to Chattanooga, TN to enjoy the Aquarium. Along the interstate, we were bombarded with signs to visit Ruby Falls. Well, after we finished with the Aquarium we had plenty of day light left so we ventured forth towards Look Out Mountain where Ruby Falls is located. If you've never been to Ruby Falls, you really should visit their site to learn more. Although, I have to warn everyone.... it's very cramped inside. It felt like we were all sheep being herded through. Also, the air was thinner and quite musky down there so steer clear if you have a lot of allergy problems.

Crate Paper - Paper Heart Collection - Valentine, Crate Paper - Paper Heart Collection -  Friendship, Crate Paper - Paper Heart Collection - Cupid, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Silver Sugar 

I had a lot of problems at first with colors. All the papers I put next to the picture just overwhelmed it or competed with it. If I picked a pink paper... it looked too violet. If I picked a violet paper...it looked too pink. So, I decided to go with a simple layout using a complementary color. I pulled out Crate Paper's 'Paper Heart' collection and it was just the ticket. The red-violet and yellow-green worked perfectly together. It was such a fun splash of color. (Oh, and a little bit of wood grain never hurts!)

One thing that I always have to watch for is what I call a 'sneaky color'. It's a color that looks like it shouldn't belong but you can't avoid. It might be that strange beach ball in the background that threw in a color you didn't want. For me, it was the lighting in the cave that turned the outside of my photo black. The colors of my papers would've looked best with grey as the dominant color, but I didn't have grey in my picture. So, instead of fighting that sneaky color, I embraced it. I made it my most used color. All the fonts, the stitching, everything was dashed with a bit of black.

New Ride - October Afternoon Sasparilla

October Afternoon's Sasparilla line is just what the doctor ordered. It's fun and masculine enough for any male in your life. It's very hard for me to find a collection that I can pair with photos of Caleb, so I jumped at the first chance to get my hands on it. I loved all the little journaling cards and embellishments that come with this collection. I was able to pile on some really awesome things and I still have a lot left for some more pages.

This page is about Caleb and his new Volvo. The old Dodge Intrepid finally gave up on us and departed this world with a blown head gasket. It was a good car and shall be missed. :::sniff sniff::: But the Volvo is awesome! It's such a fun and sporty little red car. He's so proud of it, so I just had to scrap him with his new ride. I'm so glad that one of the major colors in the Sasparilla line was red.

Please excuse any blurry photos. I just bought a new camera and I'm trying to get used to it. (It's very hard going from Donna's professional camera to my cheapy version.)  I started out with basic kraft paper and layered it on top of plain red cardstock paper. I went around the edges with Tim Holtz's Vintage Photo distress ink to give it a worn look. It gave me a double bonus because in some areas it looks like extra shadows.

I was originally drawn to Wilna's Creative Goals layout. I loved the negative shapes that were cut out. But, on my version, I wanted each negative shape to have a different pattern paper behind it. So I lightly traced out some stars and cut them out with an exacto knife. Then, I chose three different papers and secured them with my ATG runner. I originally wanted to go around the shapes with the sewing machine, but the stars were so small and had so many edges that I decided to use a pen instead.

The little flags are just so cute! I remember a while back when I just used kitchen toothpicks and a triangle cut out of paper. But these little guys are whittled to be extra decorative and they come with 10 different flags you can use. I covered the sheriff star with a shiny gold paper and it looked like real metal (but it didn't show up in the photos). For a final touch, I ran my layout through the sewing machine with a heavy black to bring out the car's wheels.

Hope everyone enjoyed this layout. The Sasparilla line was so bold and fun. I'm still looking around for more topics that I can use with it. I haven't even begun to use the yellow side of this set. Make sure to click the 'follow' button to the right to be updated with my newest layouts. If you'd rather get my posts in an e-mail version, just enter your e-mail address in the box provided to the right. (I promise you that I will never send you any spam or junk e-mail.)

The Proposal - My Mind's Eye

Winter CHA 2012 was definitely full of amazing new goodies! ( Man, I wish I could have gone.) Anyways, I've been stalking the shopping section of Two Peas for weeks now...just waiting for the stuff to hit the rack. My Mind's Eye was one of the first collection up for grabs. And boy did I grab! I loaded up on the Be Happy and Be Amazing collections. The colors are so pretty and soft that I knew I wanted to use them for my wedding stuff. I'm sorry if wedding stuff is getting old....but I'm just bursting at the seams with it!

My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heart - Be Amazing - Ephemera,  My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heart -  Be Happy - Happy Doily, My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heart - Be Happy - Never Forget,  My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heart - Be Happy - 12x12 Chipboard,  My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heart - Be Happy - Transparency, Letters - The Silhouette 

This layout was put together very easily. I love that most of the papers already have embellished little alcoves. It makes it so easy to layer a couple of elements and create a full cohesive page. The chipboard accents that come with this collection are so awesome! They're self-adhesive so it's as easy as popping them out and sticking them down. The little honeycomb stickers are my favorite. :-)

I cut out one of the transparencies and layered it over my photo. I even cut out the little banner that was actually the collection title, but I just thought it was so cute! To make sure that you wouldn't see any glue or tape, I secured it by running it through the sewing machine. While I was at the sewing machine, I added some texture by crumpling up some lace and using it as a border. I didn't think to grab any letters to go with this collection (I'm not even sure there's any out yet). So, I grabbed some light grey paper and ran it through my FMIL's silhouette. The silhouette never cuts as well as my Cricut does, but I do enjoy the versatility of being able to choose any font on the computer.

I really hope you liked my layout! If you get a chance to pick up some of My Mind's Eye, do it! It's so fun and cute. I could really see this being used for a little girl or an anniversary. It's just so soft and feminine. If you want to be updated when I make a new project, make sure to click the follow button on the right or enter your email address. Thanks for stopping by!

The Shop - October Afternoon

I originally planned on doing this layout with the "Kitchen Cupboard" paper from October Afternoon's Farmhouse collection. But since I had just used that entire page on my last layout, I had to find a replacement page. I wanted a deep wood grain so I started to look through my new Two Peas goodies and I found Crate Paper's Valentine page. The color was spot on, and I actually like this page better because it was a simpler page than the OA one. It's so easy to layer on patterns when the background is only slightly textured.



October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Button Box, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Her Bureau, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Church Social, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Clothesline, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Guest Room, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Word Stickers, Crate Paper - Paper Heart - Valentine, Tim Holtz - Distress Ink - Vintage Photo, Ranger - Glossy Accents.



This picture is very important because it's the family business. My grandfather was the type of person who never settled for 'good enough'. He created 3 successful businesses, but he always said that he could do more. Then (much to the aggravation of my grandmother) he borrowed money against their farm to build Davis Foreign Auto Parts. It was very successful and he was happy with it for the rest of his days. Once he passed away, it was left to my father. I always look at it with awe. It always takes courage to leave what is safe for the unknown. I've dedicated this page to the legacy he has left behind.

The title was a little tricky for me. I tried a bunch of different papers, but they all had too much pattern on them. It just looked so busy that you couldn't read it. Then, I looked at my cardstock... which didn't help. All the browns I could find were more reddish than I wanted. So, I got an old cream index card and began rubbing it with Tim Holtz's Vintage Photo distress ink. Then, I got on my FMIL's silhouette and cut out the title. I really like the chunky letters and the color is exactly what I wanted. Sometimes things are just easier when you do things yourself. :)

I often look around to get ideas and inspiration. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a layout with a very heavy banner. It was packed full and had different shapes and sizes of pennants. I really loved the fullness it gave, so I stored it in my mind. Unfortunately, I don't remember who the inspiration piece was made by. If you think it might have been you, please send me an email and let me know. I've seen a couple of heavy banners, but they aren't the inspiration piece.

I just love all the images on the "Her Bureau" page. They're just so fun and you can use them each as an embellishment. The little post stamp was tricky. If I were to cut each little perforation separately, then it would take me all day and still come out strange. So I found a trick. I just cut around the sides as close as I could. Then, I punched the little half circles out with a small hole punch. I was done in less than 5 minutes. I then cut out a couple of the buttons and covered them with glassy accents. Of course, I went around all edges with the Vintage Photo pad.

I hope you enjoyed this layout. I'm completely in love with this collection. I'll probably stock up and still be using this stuff next year! lol. If you want to stay up to date on all my projects, you can follow me by clicking the follow button or entering your email into the box located to the right side of this blog. Can't wait to hear from you!

Family - October Afternoon

Ever since Chloe has come into our lives, our days have been filled with vet visits, 4 walks a day, and being the referee between her and Jada. I wouldn't change a thing. It's been so exciting and fun but I've hardly had any time to actually scrap the pictures I've taken. But this past Tuesday I finally received my new package of goodies  from Two Peas. The Farmhouse collection from October Afternoon is absolutely wonderful in every possible way. It is so versatile and just screams to be used. The papers just flow so well together that it's so easy to mix and match. It can be used to scrap anything that feels old or vintage; however, it can also be something warm and home-y.



October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Button Box, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Her Bureau, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Faded Wallpaper, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Church Social, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Clothesline, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Kitchen Cupboard, October Afternoon - Farmhouse - Word Stickers.


The journaling reads "Our happy family of three has now become a family of four. At first the idea of training another puppy worried me. Could I do it again? But now I can't see our family without Chloe." I started out with a couple of simple squares cut out and layered on top of each other. I loved it so much that I left it that way and only added embellishments to it.

I loved the little thread holders that were on one of the pages. I broke out my scissors and cut out one with yellow thread. It already had thread painted on it, but I decided that I wanted to wrap it in real thread for added affect. I placed a dot of glossy accents on the back to be sure that the thread didn't unwind. Then, I dug through my FMIL's stash of antique buttons for the final touch. 

I loved all the stickers that come with the Farmhouse collection. The word lists can all be lined up to add a border or stacked. They are so versatile. I loved this sticker that said My No.1 Key to Happiness. I just felt that it summed up my feelings of this photo. To finish off my page, I broke out the sewing machine and played around with the different settings for different stitches. 

Unfortunately, I only purchased one of each page. I didn't realize just how wonderful this collection is. I wound up using three different papers on this layout alone. I'm already getting my shopping cart ready for a replenishment shipment. These are just too fun. I always seem so surprise when I get anything October Afternoon. I always start out unsure, but once I get them in my hands, I fall in love!