24 @ 24

On July 19th, my little guy turned two.  TWO!!!!!!!   I can't believe it.  I still feel like he is just a baby.  Yes, birthday pages are in the works...

When Charlotte turned 2, I made a list of 24 things that she could do at that age and made a page about it.  You can see it HERE.  So I had to do the same for Kyler:  24 @ 24:

I used the Fancy Pants Memories Captured line.  I fussy cut out all the circles and layered them from large to small down the page.  I clustered the large ones together, but let the smaller ones fall.  

I LOVE the cork pieces that FP came out with.  I just dabbed some black distress stain on these ones and let them dry.  It's awesome that they are self adhesive, too!

My design didn't allow for a lot of journaling space, so I went around the outside.  After each item, I doodled a little star "bullet" and then added a few more doodled stars around the page.  I had meant to machine stitch with black thread around the pattern paper in the center of the page, but forgot, so just faux stitched (can you tell?).  

Stay scrappy my friends!

I like mine With Sprinkles!

We aren't big birthday cake eaters around here, so for Charlotte's birthday a few weeks ago, we went out for ice cream instead!  The kiddos LOVE to get rainbow sprinkles, and I have to admit that I love them, too!
This page is based off of today's sketch at the My Scraps & More sketch blog, which you can see HERE!

I used the Crate Paper Pier collection which I have been just eating up (pun intended)!   It has these cute little chipboard ice cream pieces, so I used them to help design my page and pick the colors.  And doesn't the background paper just remind you of sprinkles???

Lots of layers of papers and die cuts under my photos, and I used a lot of bits with golf accents cause I just love the shine it gives to the page!  I "sprinkled" some pink enamel dots from MME on the page, too, to go with the flow of the other circle elements on the page.

 I found some circle shaped elements from the chipboard sheet and added in some buttons and pink twine.  I love stitching over chipboard! :)

Are you hungry for some Ice Cream now?  :)  I am!

Stay Scrappy my friends!

*NEWS!!!!* -Scrapbook Circle

I am so beyond excited to announce that I have been invited back to join the Scrapbook Circle Design Team!  I have been a long time subscriber and was on the team a few years ago and have done a guest design position since!  I love love love the kits that Lisa puts together and WAIT TIL YOU SEE THIS NEW TEAM!!  Incredible!

We are welcoming these new ladies to our team:

Leslie Ashe
Jenni Calma
Melissa Mann
Adrienne Alvis
Audrey Yeager
Kimberly Garofolo

Plus we have several returning team members:

Diana Waite
Rebecca Keppel
Jennie Blaser
Heather Leopard – Social Media
Diana Fisher – Blog Coordinator
Tessa Buys – Blog Coordinator
Sara Zenger – Communications

I have been working with the August kit and can't WAIT to share it with you over the next few weeks!  Until then, here are a few sneaks!

Here We Go-SUMMER! *lazy titles*

So I have noticed lately that  lot of my layouts have what I like to call *lazy titles*.  What I mean is that I am using sentiment stickers, die cuts, or other packaging as titles instead of trying to think one up on my own.  It works and is saving my some time and frustration!  I hate thinking of clever titles!  This page is no exception:

 Some more "Lakeside" love from Pebbles.  I can't get enough of these photos of the kiddos on the dock.  I did this page and a page I posted last week (which you can see here) separately, but when I put them next to each other, it almost looks like a double page spread!  I may try this when I have a lot of photos to scrap: just do two separate pages with the same papers to make them look cohesive (I have a hard time with double page design).  Anyways, here's the scoop:

I cut the chevron paper along the pattern and stuck a bit on the bottom edge of the page.  There are some white paint splatters and modeling paste spread through a stencil.  Then I added a few flower stickers moving from bottom right to top left.

There are of course, lots of layers of papers, which all have distressed edges.

And my lazy title, placed over another sticker and some more layers.

Working on some more summer pages with this line (S'mores anyone?)

Stay scrappy my friends!  :)

Oh Happy Day!- Fancy Pants

So I recently got me a good stash of Fancy Pants "Wonderful Day" and "Memories Captured" papers from My Scraps & More.  I finally got to dig into them and love these bright colors in the Wonderful Day collection for some of my fun summer photos. I'm entering this in the Fancy Pants and Gossamer Blue GDT challenge.

We were playing outside a few weeks ago playing "chase" and I tackled Kyler, pinned him between my feet and starting tickling him!  He was laughing so hard.  And I happened to have my camera around my neck!  :)

This page is designed mostly around just embelllishments!  The only patterned paper I have is the background paper, the yellow "mats" behind the photos, and the one colored strip in the bottom right of the page.

I applied a wash of gesso to the background, misted through a small circle stencil with a grey mist (decided I didn't like it them went over with white gesso again!) and then splattered with yellow and blue mists.

I popped off a whole bunch of the die cuts (arrows, titles) and pointed them to the photos to draw your eye there.  A little stitching here and there, too.

I added a few stickers and LOVE the cork stars and hearts!!!!  Oh, and who could forget the flair?  The one in the top left is Fancy Pants and the bottom right is Scrapbook Circle.

My blog is going to be busy this week with projects and an announcement!!!!  Please stop back!

Stay Scrappy My Friends!

Summer Memories

Last week I posted about how much I love the "Lakeside" collection from Pebbles and today I am going to share some more layouts that I made!  My mother in law just had a new dock put in at the camp in the Thousand Islands and it is LONG.  The kids love running up and down it and jumping off of it into the water!  I wanted to use a really big photo to capture the size of the dock.

I used every piece of patterned paper that came in this collection on this page.  With the large photo, I was able to use a lot of the patterns together and still not distract from it.  

I simply cut a whole bunch of strips of paper and distressed them all and started layering them down the sides of the photo.  Then I machine stitched down the edges of my photo.

 I just layered a few simple embellishments and stickers to top it off and kept it simple in that department!

I have a few more from this collection to share in the next few days, so stay tuned!  :)

Stay Scrappy My Friends!

Sunkissed...Staying Afloat...GCD Studios

Summer is upon us, and there is no better collection than the GCD Studios Sunkissed collection for all my summer-time photos! I love the shades of blue in this line mixed with the peach!  Such pretty beach-y colors.

I started by adding a wash of blue watercolor to the background of my page and splattering with mists.

Then I just layered some papers behind my photos and added some stickers here and there.  I felt like I needed some more to frame the page, so I added some bits of border strips and machine stitching!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Stay Scrappy My Friends!

Supplies:
Papers, stickers: GCD Studios Sunkissed Collection
Epoxy dots: GCD Studios Kathy Davis collection
Mists: Studio Calico, Ranger

Happy Today...ScrapFriends GDT...color challenge #15.

I was super excited to have been chosen as a winner for the Yummy Scrap challenge #13 at ScrapFriends.  As a winner, you are offered a spot as a guest for the next color challenge.  So here are this month's colors!

When I saw the blue colors, it was the perfect match for the sash color of the flower girl dress that Charlotte recently wore.  Here she is, killing time during all the photos at the church.  Good thing the bride planned to have bubbles blown as they walked out of the church!  Charlotte was content for a good 15 minutes!  :)

I started by raiding my stash for colors to use to match the palette and then started adding some bits and layers here and there. A lot of the things came from some recent Scrapbook Circle Kits.  On the background, I laid down the patterned papers and then went over them with a mix of gesso and Art Anthology Sorbet in frost through a stencil.   I love the shimmer and the clear glaze the Art Anthology paints give to the gesso.  

Yes, I fussy cut the doily from from Maggie Holmes papers and the flowers from Basic Grey Mint Julep.  You can see a shipboard frame that I machine stitched with blue thread, too....And a little girliness with the pink bow from Maggie Holmes, too.

 A few more layers of frames, chipboard, stickers, and washi tape, plus this pre-cut title from American Crafts (Amy Tan Yes, Please).

I think I may be in the smaller percentage when I say that I LOVE color challenges!  So happy to have found a great blog that provides them every month.  The sad part is now I have to wait another month for a palette!  :)

Stay Scrappy My Friends!

Paper Issues *Pretty Little Studio* Blog Hop...

Welcome to the Paper Issues Blog Hop!  This weeks issue is sponsored by Pretty Little Studio and the theme is "Nature Walk".  PLS has a recent release called Nature Walk which features adorable elements like woodland animals, mushrooms, feathers, and elements like banner pieces and labels.

I used a sketch from Skissedilla and the June color combo from ScrapFriends for my page and also some goodies from PLS of course!

I immediately knew what papers I wanted to use for this color combo from ScrapFriends:  The colors in the "Acorn Ave" collection from Crate Paper were perfect!

I started by painting my background with a stencil and some mint/greenish-blue colored paint.  I had some white on my paint tray (aka....a piece of plastic wrapping) and as I mixed it, I was loving the ombre effect, so I went darker on the bottom and lighter towards the top.  Once dry, I went over some areas with the stencil and a thin black pen.

I fussy cut out a bunch of flowers and started laying them out on my page with a tag (which already had the "A" on it), a journal spot, and a few other bits.

I used the banner pieces from Pretty Little Studio at the top of the page with two different colors of twine.  I wanted a bit more green, so I covered one of the pennants with some green washi.  I also have a few of the feathers from the Nature Walk line tucked in here and there.

I even raided my stash and found some OLD flair from American Crafts. Some splatters, a few tiny chipboard circles here and there, and that's it!

Here is the order of the hop!  Be sure to hop along to each person's blog and then stop by the PLS blog and leave some love to all!

Ashley: http://www.ashleyhortondesigns.com/

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

Becki: http://beckiadams.blogspot.com/

Bente: http://paperandglueheaven.blogspot.com/

Carol: http://carolmonson.blogspot.com/

Caz: http://www.cazhancock.com/

Pretty Little Studio Blog: http://prettylittlestudio.com/blog/

Also make sure you:

1.      Like Pretty Little Studio on Facebook {tell them we sent you}

2.      Like Paper Issues on Facebook

3.      Leave a comment

TThanks for hopping with us today!  Stay Scrappy my Friends!

Kiddie Kayak

Every summer, we spend LOTS of time in the Finger Lakes and in the Thousand Islands.  Let me tell you how EXCITED I was when I saw Pebbles Lakeside collection!!  Most summer collections are beach related with surfboards and beach umbrellas, not "lake" related with canoes and docks.  I love love this collection! 

A few weekends ago, Charlotte's grandma bought her an inflatable kayak and she had a BLAST paddling around the bay!  My page is based off of today's sketch at the My Scraps & More blog.

I used the water pattern paper as a guide for my machine stitched lines.  I created a large embelishment with the canoe sticker and some circles punched from patterned paper.

I used some "nautical" themed wood chips from Studio Calico and layered lots of the papers from the collection.   I used a few other wood patterned papers and stickers to create a visual triangle on the page.

Believe it or not, I have used a LOT of this collection, and it's almost gone!  I will share more next week.

Stay Scrappy my friends!

Hey There Flower Girls!

A few weeks ago Charlotte was in my cousins wedding as a Flower Girl.  The other flower girl was my cousins daughter.  Good thing they had each other to keep entertained!

I created this page for a challenge I issued at My Scraps & More for the Got Talent contest.  My challenge was to use a black background and bright colors.  These My Mind's Eye papers were perfect!

I started my designed based on this large doily border chipboard piece.  I covered the centers with other patterned papers and some brads and other elements.  On the background of my page, I swiped some white paint with a card.  You can see here that I actually used that white base as a spot for my journaling.

Under the doilies, I layered some banner pieces and stickers.

Behind the photos, I layered some patterned papers (one of which looks like a lot of papers layered, but it is actually just one piece of paper.  Then there is some stitching, enamel dots, brads, and other small chipboard pieces!

This was really a challenge for me because I mostly use white or light colored backgrounds, but I love the way it came out!  And you KNOW I have a ton of wedding photos to scrap, so you'll be seeing those up soon!  :)

Stay scrappy my friends!

Love morning....another from SBC....

Yup, been doing a lot of "ME" scrapping time: just because I want to!  Been trying to dig in and use my kits more!!  Here's another with the June kit from Scrapbook Circle!  This is for the "Hipster" theme challenge.

In the mornings, Kyler gets up before Charlotte most of the time.  It is so nice to have a little one on one time before the fighting for mommy's attention and morning toy ruckus ensues!  As I was checking my email, Kyler got up on my lap and we snapped a few selfies!  :)

I love how all the colors went together so well this month, so to get a lot of papers on the page I went with a grid design and used a bit of everything!

I placed my title on the burlap ribbon, stitched it, and added a button (from my stash).

 A little distressed banner, stitched, also with a button from my stash.  And I LOVE LOVE the flocked bright orange rub ons!!  They add just the right amount of bright color.

Added lots of depth to my stickers...

And finally, I stuck my journaling in a little pocket on the top.  There are a few splatters on the background, and cluster of distressed strips on the top left that I stitched in place.

I'm gonna try and get another one done with this kit this week!!

Stay scrappy my friends!

A Sweet Hello...Scrapbook Circle

Charlotte was in a wedding a few weeks ago, and we arrived at the church right before the bridal party.  My grandfather (her great grandfather) was just coming off his medic van to go into the church.  We saw him, and there was no one else around, so we went over to give him a big kiss and hug.  His face just beamed when he saw Charlotte and she got right up on his lap and gave him a kiss and hug.  It was such a sweet moment and I was so glad that I captured it!

 I used the June kit from Scrapbook Circle for this page.  At first glance, the kit looks very masculine, but I found a way to make it girly!  I am submitting it for the Daddy Dearest challenge there.

I started by painting a light white circle with gesso and some art anthology sorbets (which add a glimmer/shimmer).  Then I used modeling paste and some doily/flower stencils on the grey background paper.

I NEVER use ribbon anymore on my pages, but I love the texture it adds to a page.  I misted the burlap trim that came in the kit with peach mist, and then found some other ribbons in my stash to create a flower embellishment.  I also took some thin, pink satin ribbon and cut it into tiny triangles and added that to my gesso/sorbet circle while it was wet so the pieces would dry in the paint.  I think they kinda look like confetti.  I am definitely going to try this again with different ribbons!

Finally a few other touches like these AWESOME flocked rub ons from Basic Grey and a heart I cut from paper.

I issued a "ribbon challenge" for the Got Talent contest at My Scraps and More today!  Head HERE to check it out!

Stay scrappy my friends!