Just Clique Kits Pep Rally- You & Me Everyday with process video

Hello everyone!   I am super excited that I am part of this months "Pep Rally" for Clique Kits!

During the Pep Rally, you will hop along to Clique Kits subscribers and DT blogs to see how different people have used the June Kit, La Dolce Vita.  Look at how gorgeous this kit is:

Today I am sharing with you my THRID page I have made with this kit.  I am lucky to be part of the Just Nick DT, and this month we are collaborating with Clique Kits.  I will put links to my other pages below.

I wanted to pull out the rainbow of colors for this page, and here's what I came up with:

I clustered all my "rainbow" bits on the left of the photo.  I dug through the kit to pull out rainbow papers, sentiment strips, and fussy cut little rainbow bits from one of the patterned papers.

On the right, I stuck to black and white and grey with just a little peek of color on the date banner.

 I decided to leave the acrylic pieces on the photo clear to add some depth and interest without taking away from the photo.

If you would like to watch me create this page, I have a process video here.  I'd love to hear what you think and am always welcoming new subscribers!

If you'd like to check out my other pages with this kit, I have two other process videos as well:

Best Ever

Little Moments

Here is the hop order for today. Be sure to check out the other amazing creations people have made with the kit this month!

Clique Kits https://cliquekits.wordpress.com/

Gia Lau https://giaaloha.wordpress.com/

*Kat Benjamin http://kraftykat9.blogspot.com

*Elisabetta Margini https://abcdeliblog.blogspot.com/

*Marcia Dehn-Nix http://onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/

*Aliza Deutsch http://peopleofthescrapbook.blogspot.com/

*Candace Perkins http://findingeverydayperfection.com/

Kim Allen http://kimsscrappyblog.blogspot.com/

Maryam Perez http://maryamperez.blogspot.com/

Sara Mishler https://sarascrapsblog.wordpress.com/

Audrey Yeager http://audreysreflection.blogspot.ca/   <-------YOU ARE HERE

Kim Oedekoven http://krodesigns.blogspot.com/

Donna Espiritu http://scrappydonna.blogspot.com/

Janet Perafan-Babar http://janetperafanbabar.blogspot.com/

Janet Zeppa www.janetsjoy.blogspot.ca

Mariah Hechler www.fun2scrap.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy my friends!

#Besties- Process video for Therm O Web

Hello everyone!  I'm here today to share a project I made with some AWESOME stamps and dies from Taylored Expressions.  I combined the die with some DecoFoil foam adhesive and foils from Therm O Web for some beautiful embellishments on my page!

I also just started subscribing to the Hip Kit Club monthly kits and I LOVE the colors in this months kit!  There are tons of exclusive papers and embellishments!

Check out the process video below to see how I used the stamps, dies, and DecoFoil products!

      

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy my friends!

Should I go with xxPro or Valencia?

Have you heard the #selfie song by The Chainsmokers?  The girl talking reminds me so much of the girl in the song "Baby Got Back".   I don't take many selfies. But we happened to be outside on a nice, spring like day, and I was with the kids and we were having fun and the sun was setting, and it was just such a nice night, so I thought I would document myself enjoying it! Plus the quote "Not all who wander are lost", is one of my favorites so I have to include that on my page. I used the Scrapbook Circle April kit, "Bucket List" and a few of the add ons.

I started with a kraft background and went over it with some white gesso with a dry brush.  The Fancy Pants papers in the kit are SO bold and have great patterns, so I just used small bits of them to add a LOT of color.  I also layered some of the Elle's Studio die cuts (seen here) and ephemera from Fancy Pants as well.  Oh, and those little wood veneer triangles come in the kit....they are AWESOME!

Around the outside edge of my page, I used the Studio Calico stamp and stamped a border with dark grey ink.  Then I stitched the frame with teal thread and added some stitching to my die cuts, too.  I added some chipboard buttons and put black BRADS from my stash in them (I need to use those things more!)

There are some awesome things happening at Scrapbook Circle this month, so stay tuned there!

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On another note, we are having a SKETCHATHON the entire month of April at the My Scraps & More forums.  All the sketches have been EXCLUSIVLEY designed by the DT, and they are awesome!  Stop by and check it out HERE:  My Scraps & More Forums.

Stay Scrappy My Friends!

Have you Hugged Your Mum??? October Scrapbook Circle

September is over!  Where did it go?  It has been a gorgeous fall so far...so nice and warm.  The trees are starting to show their true colors!  (Did you know that the colors are there all along?  In the summer, there is so much chlorophyll produced (which is green) that it covers up all the other colors?  Yup....former science teacher...)

Anyways, while decorating for fall, we got these gorgeous mums at the Farmer's Market.  The funny thing about these photos of Charlotte is that even though she looks so girly and cute with the flowers and the pink shirt, she was actually looking through the flowers and dirt for bugs!!  That's my girl!

I used the October Scrapbook Circle kit, which has the most gorgeous colors for fall!  I noticed that in the kit that many of the colors were part of the latest color challenge at ScrapFriends, too, so I focused on using those colors on my page.

For the background, I began by stamping with the exclusive Scrapbook Circle stamp with Versamark and heat embossing with white powder.  The I went over it with some Gelatos and used water to blend.  Finally, there are a few green splatters and a lightly stamped Dear Lizzy chevron stamp.

I also used the exclusive "You Are" stamp, too.  I tried covering it with the Gelatos, misting it with water, and then stamping.  It worked OK, but I think it would be better with less detailed designs.  I outlined it with a black pen to make it stand out better.

I used some free leaf svg files i found online and cut them with my cricut.  Then I stitched down the center of each.

Lots of fun layering with papers, die cuts, envelopes, stickers, and sequins!

Here is a peak at the October kit:

Want a chance to win one???  Visit the Scrapbook Circle blog and leave a comment HERE!

Can't wait to share the rest of my projects with you this month!

Stay scrappy my friends!

Life Under a Rock...

Charlotte has been spending HOURS this spring lifting up rocks and digging in the dirt in our gardens in search of WORMS.  She also finds lots of other bugs, which for some reason, she calls "squigs"...I have no idea where she got that word from, but I love it!  :)

I used this weeks sketch from Skissedilla.  I was inspired so do some stamping (which I don't do enough of) and ink splattering and painting on the background.  I kept the design simple to focus on the photos.

I had to use something brown and squiggly to remind me of worms, and this twine from Lawn Fawn was perfect!  The other embellies are from Pebbles Lakeside collection and LYB Naturals collection (which was given to me by a sweet lady by the name of Lisa Swift!  :) ).

Glitz Designs "Uncharted Waters" Blog Hop

Welcome to the Glitz "Uncharted Waters" blog hop!  Today the design team has created some fabulous projects with this nautical themed collection to share with you today!

One random winner will win the entire "Uncharted Waters" collection!  The winner will be chosen from the comments left on all the blogs.  In addition, some DT members are giving away prizes on their personal blogs as well.  Read below for more.

I fell in love with this collection when I first saw it because of the anchors!  We spend a lot of time in on the lake and the St. Lawrence River in the summer, so I always have a ton of water photos to use.  I created this page of my daughter fishing off the dock on the lake!

I stamped the little whale onto patterned paper and then cut him out.  I colored in the flower on the front with a white pen and popped him off the page.  You will also see that I used the arrow roller stamp along the bottom edge and heat embossed with clear powder.

I wanted to use some type of string on my page, so I just let some thin jute wander around my title a bit.  I also wanted to add a few bits of pink to complement my daughters shirt, so I just punched a few holes and scattered them around, too.

So here is the order of the blog hop:


Lea Lawson – http://leascupcakesandsunshine.blogspot.com/
Audrey Yeager – http://audreysreflection.blogspot.com/  <-----YOU ARE HERE
Camilla Ekman – http://camillaslillasida.blogspot.com/
Gerry Van Gent – http://www.gerryscrafts.blogspot.com/
Janna Werner – http://jannawerner.de/
Karola Witczak – http://www.karolakraftuje.blogspot.com/
Laurie Schmidlin – http://justgivemestamps.typepad.com/
Lisa Andrews – http://lisaandrews.blogspot.com/
Mou Saha – http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/
Nicole Martel – http://nicolemartel.blogspot.com/
Noel Culbertson – http://paperpassionpixels.blogspot.com/
Rommel Okuma – http://risqueerabisque.wordpress.com/
Teresa Kline – http://paperieblooms.blogspot.com/
Glitz Design – http://glitzitnow.com/blog/

I have a prize to give away today to one follower who leaves on comment here on my blog.  Last month's winner never contacted me, so this month's winner is getting THAT prize:

Plus this prize:

I will choose a winner Monday, April 1st.

Thanks so much for stopping by and stay scappy my friends!

Inspiration Elevator: Regrets

You may recall from last month's challenge that the purpose of this challenge group was to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow.  

Please join me in welcoming Katherine Sutton.  She is a very talented designer and we are excited to be working with her!  You can see more of her work on her blog, Fruits of my Scraps. 

This month, our challenger was the super talented Cathy Harper. Here is her challenge, in her words:  

"I have been thinking about my challenge for months now. This is such an amazing team, I am thrilled and humbled to be a part of IE...each of you are amazing designers. I often wonder what I am doing here amongst you. I scrapbook for the joy of it, the creativity part of it, the love of paper part of it....I hardly ever bare any of my feelings in any of my work! I often tell my kids that they can make up there own stories to their pages..I am that terrible about journaling. I guess it is a bit superficial or a whole lot superficial. So here is my challenge. I want you to create a page about REGRET. “No regrets”…they say we should live our lives without regrets… if it were only that easy, right? Most of us hold onto 1 or 2 (or a mountain full) of things we feel regretful for in our lifetimes. A lost love, those words you WISH you had said, the weight you wish you had lost….you know them, right? I encourage you to confront them….take those suckers on and scrap about them… or just one. This can be something superficial to something serious and painful… it’s up to you how far you want to dig. I DO encourage you to use this as an opportunity to really stretch yourself. Journaling is very powerful and you might be surprised by how you feel afterward. This is going to be super tough for me (I may already regret it, lol )...as I am one who lives with a mountain of regrets and know in my head that I should move on, let it go. I am hoping this challenge will help me actually "let go" of some of these things. Maybe by putting in down in 12x12 form, creating it, seeing it and feeling it, that I can put some of it to rest! It's worth a shot! Pictures, no pictures...that is all up to you!"


Last month I was inspired by the prompt "I Believe" to start an art journal, and I continued with that this month with the " I Regret".

Honestly, there isn't much I regret doing, or not doing in life.  I mean, there I some things I wish I didn't do, but all in all, those events helped make me who I am today and have helped shape my life.  BUT there is one thing I regret NOT doing....I never finished my Ph. D.  I was only a dissertation away...all my classes were done, I had credits galore, and was ready to go.  But we moved to Houston, and then life really changed when we had kids, and my life focus changed.  That being said, I am still pretty young and there may be a time in the future when I will get the urge and drive again to finally finish it and be called "Doctor"!

I started with the color orange because it reminded me of regret (I have no idea why) and I choose to put it with purple and pink.  The orange is mist that I painted on with some water added.  While browsing through my papers, I found this Hambly print with the butterflies, and I liked the idea of my regrets "floating" away!  The title I just cut out of black cardstock by hand.

I love have some shapes and textures below other layers, so I cut out these painted stars/flowers with my Cricut and layered them under papers, stamps, and some pen work.  Finally, I stamped with the "blah blah blah" stamp from Glitz.  I love that stamp!  :)

I hope you will stop by and see what the designers on this adventure have created:

Cathy Harper

Sue Sykes

Lisa Spiegel

Joanne Burton

Christa Uttley

Laura Whitaker

Audrey Yeager

Lisa Moen

Laurel Seabrook

Ann Jobes

Katherine Sutton, Guest Designer

We would love to see what you are inspired to create.   Add a comment below and we will be sure to drop by and say hello!

Art Journal Beginning...I Believe....IE Prompt

You may recall from last month's challenge that the purpose of this challenge group was to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow. We love to have new faces join us on our journey and this month we welcome a new guest designer to join us.  Please join me in welcoming Denise Morrison. Denise's blog is aptly name "Life is Yummy" and so is her art!

This month our challenger was the very talented Ann Jobes. Her challenge to us is as follows:

This month's challenge is a journalling prompt. I realize some of us do not journal much on our pages, and if we're truthful, we mostly scrapbook for ourselves - it gives us joy, a creative outlet, etc. But we do hope that someone is going to page through these albums sometime in the future, right? For this month's challenge, I'd like you to think about some of those values or beliefs that are important to you.

There is no "right way" to do this. Spend some time thinking about this. It's your chance to share with future generations something that is important to you and makes you who you are. Take some time to collect some verses, quotes or sayings that speak to your soul. Choose one that you think is a "life verse" - something that really communicates the essence of you.

Use whatever photo(s) you think will suit your message. Enjoy putting a meaningful page together using your favourite techniques, style, papers - whatever makes it "you".

I know this is going to be difficult. I'm asking you to reverse your process and put the message first when we so often put our message/journalling last, as an afterthought, if at all.

I am not a good journalist...I always save it to the last minute and sometimes have a hard time articulating the feelings or thoughts that I want to convey.

Now I have to tell you that my post today was not only inspired by this month's prompt, but some of the upcoming prompts as well (which I obviously can't share yet).  But that is what lead me to doing something different: Art Journaling.

I have been wanted to do this for a long time, and have dabbled here and there, but I have never really committed to it.  It seemed like this format would allow me to explore and play with design and techniques as well as provide a place for me to document personal thoughts or feelings. I see this journal as being more of a creative exploration rather than a personal one...but who knows...it might develop into something totally different, and that is OK.

So here is my first art journal page.  I really have no idea what I am doing here....just playing around:

I played with paint, mists, stencils, stamps, punches, and pens.  If the word "Believe" were a color, I imagined it would be a mix of greens and blues and a bit of yellow. And also have some metallic accents.

I obviously didn't fill both pages, and that is OK, because I am sure  that I will think of things that I believe in and go back and add in some journaling.  This journaling is not something that I would normally share, but I wanted to share the whole spread with you.

I thought I would use the journal as a space to write about "I" things.  Some of the prompts I plan on using are:

I believe
I want
I need
I remember
I wish
I regret
I hope
I fear
I love
I see
I pretend
I was
I imagine
...and many more.


 I hope you will stop by and see what the designers on this adventure have created:

Ann Jobes

Cathy Harper

Sue Sykes

Lisa Spiegel

Joanne Burton

Christa Uttley

Laura Whitaker 
 Audrey Yeager
 Lisa Moen
Laurel Seabrook
Guest Designer, Denise Morrison

We would love to see what you are inspired to create. Add your comment below with a link, I will be sure to drop by and say hello.

He Does His Own Dishes....SBC kit and Skissedilla sketch

This is my 3rd layout with my SBC September kit.  Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but to me it is....you see, I am not very good about using my kits.  I have a ton of them in piles, and maybe have created 1-2 pages with each kit.  They are just to beautiful to use!  :)  BUT I have made up my mind to start actually using what I pay for, so for the past 3 months, I have been creating at least 3 pages with each kit that I get.

Kyler is SUCH a big help around the house! (Can you sense the sarcasm?)  I swear he can hear the dishwasher open when he's on the other side of the house.  He darts over and starts "helping" with the dishes.  It is kinda cute!  :)  I know that before I know it, he won't want to go anywhere near the dishwasher and I will probably have to bribe him to put dishes in it, or put them away when they are clean.

I used this weeks sketch from Skissedilla...

Inspired by the black dots on the sketch, I used a circle template and black ink to make some around the page.  I used some of the embellies from the Ready Set Go embellie pack and cut some circles from Persnickety papers from Lily Bee.

Behind the title I misted a bit with some grey mist to make the white letters stand out better.  The black doodled circle is actually a stamp.  There's a bit of mint green washi on there, too...

World Card Making Day tomorrow!!!!!!!  I am participating in a blog hop, so stop by!!!

Lots of Feelings in these Glitz pages....

I have had a crazy summer.  We moved from Houston back to central NY after having lived there for 5 years.  When I first moved to Texas, I was very homesick.  But over the years, I really got connected, and I was surprised at how sad I was when it was time to go.

While looking through my stash of Glitz goodies, low and behold there was a "Texas" and "New York" die cut in the Happy Travels Whatnots pack. They were perfect for me to use on this layout habit what I have been going through with this move.

I began by cutting out a Texas and New York State shape from the black background paper using my electronic die cutting machine and some svg files from the web.  I took a circle stencil and used the map stamp from the "Happy Travels" collection and stamped some maps in black on the black background for some tone on tone. 

I splattered some paint and then layered some papers, die cother and stickers. I left a large card for journalng that pulls out from the side of the page.

In contrast to my kinda gloomy page, I have been waiting to do this next page for such an long time. The Happy Travels epoxy stickers and the title stickers both have the phrases "I love you in the morning.  I love you in the afternoon.  I love you in the evening". Now, being a mom of a 3 year old, I know that those are the lyrics to the song skinamarinky dinky dink, which my daughter and mother happen to love singing to each other!

I stamped around the border of the pagea with a music note stamp from French Kiss collection.

I was thinking of the color of the sun in the morning, afternoon, and evening, so I used some circles with those colors and added phrase stickers to them.  I also cut out a Vintage Blue peek-a-booain't I some heart shapes and layered them on the circles, too.

Be sure to stop by the blog on Saturdays to get some great tips and techniques!

Supplies :

True Places

Glitz Designs Papers: Vintage Blue, Happy Travels, French Kiss

Glitz Designs "Whatnots": Happy Travels

Glitz Designs Epoxy Stickers: French Kiss

Glitz Designs Stamps: Happy Travels

Skinamarinky Dinky Dink

Glitz Designs Papers: Pretty in Pink, Dance in the Sunshine, Afternoon Muse

Glitz Designs Epoxy Stickers: Happy Travels

Glitz Designs Peek-A-Boos: Vintage Blue

Glitz Designs Stamps : French Kiss