Sketchabilities #82....

Good morning!  Here with the reveal of Sketchabilities Sketch #82............

Just LOVED working with this sketch!  I tweaked it a bit--something I allow myself to do in order to be truly comfortable with my work--by using three pics instead of four, changing the sizes, and having fun with the banner shapes.

I used my go-to products of recent:  patterned papers from Glitz Design and AC, doilies, a fave stamp from Gossamer Blue, awesome arrows from Sodalicious, and my new love--Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Gold Lame (Seriously, who could not love a product named Gold Lame??).

Please stop by Sketchabilities and see what the rest of the design team did with #82 and take a look at the featured designers for the last sketch.

Happy Scrapping!

Michelle

@ Twelve.....

Cannot possibly believe that I have a 12 year old.  It just seems so unreal to me that my little boy turned 12 on December 1st.  Where has all the time gone??  Next year he will be a teenager!!  Good thing I have a little over eleven months to get ready for that one....

Here's a page I scrapped celebrating Hayden's birthday......

I used Gossamer Blue's December kit which is full of bright, fun colors--perfect for a birthday page I think. 

I had originally chosen to use a color photo, but when matched up with the papers, I really thought it was too much color.  Changing it to black and white solved that issue and helped to draw the attention to it.

Tried my hand at embossing and learned some lessons: 

1.  Do not/be careful when embossing on patterned paper--sort of warps the page a bit (fixed this by laying something heavy on the page for awhile).

2.  No too sure if I like the Zing Silver Embossing Glitter.  It did not saturate the stamp as much as I had hoped and sort of stuck to places outside the stamp.  This could totally be from human error because I am a bit of a novice in this department or I might possibly need some new embossing ink. 

I also tried a new color--Black Velvet--from Heidi Swapp's Color Shine line and LOVED it.  It is an opaque black with some sparkle--perfect combo in my mind!

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas Eve!

Michelle

Sketch #81 From Sketchabilities.....

Good morning!  Here with the my first post for the new design team at Sketchabilities! 

For Sketch #81, which you can see here, Karan gave us a fantastic design to play with. 

When I saw the sketch for the first time last month I was really excited because, to me, it screamed Christmas.  The three triangles layered beneath  the photos obiviously read Christmas tree to me.  That was my first thought, so I found it ironic that when I sat down to do the layout I went all autumn and replaced the "tree" or triangles with chevrons!  LOL.  That is the fun thing about sketches--they are jumping off points and you can take them very literally and scrap the sketch as is or you can color outside the lines and use it as more of an inspiration piece.

So here's my take using pics of Maleia from autumn past.......

Please make sure to stop by Sketchabilities to see the rest of the team's take on Sketch #81 and make sure and link your project because you could be chosen by Karan to be one of the five featured designers for Sketch #81.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Michelle

The Hobbit......

I admit, I have a history of being a procrastinator, but I did not mean to wait so long to read Tolkien's The Hobbit.  I had planned on finishing it prior to the release of the movie, but I thought I had awhile.  Well I did not. 

So, with a gusto (yes, gusto is not really a cool word, but it is accurate), I began to read the book on my Nook and  I LOVED it. 

This is not the first time I have read The Hobbit, but I think I enjoyed it more this time around for sure.  And it was a fast read.  It was pretty non-stop.  I so loved returning to the world of hobbits, dwarves, elves, giant eagles, men who could turn into giant bears.....  Ah, Rivendell.....how I wish I could really go visit.

As I was reading this book I kept thinking, "How did they make 3 movies out of this??"  The book, my version, was only 239 pages, but as I went along I certainly saw how this could be done and am super excited to see all the action brought to life on the big screen.  Granted, I am a little bummed that the movies are so far apart with the second installment to be released December 2013 and the third July 2013, but I will deal :-).

Here's a little eye candy from the movie.....Okay, maybe Bilbo is not eye candy....LOL.

And look who is set to return to Middle Earth in the third installment.....

Technically, Legolas is not in the book, but thank you Peter Jackson and your talented writers for thinking there needed to be a little bridging between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings......

Happy 12.12.12.

Michelle

So Thankful 4 U....

I loved these set of pics taken of Maleia while at the apple orchard this past fall and I wanted to scrap a group of them together for a thankful layout to put in her album.  I had a sketch in mind from the Scraptastic Kit Club and this is what I came up with using their awesome November kit....

And a close up....

Each of my kiddos gives me something unique....with Maleia it is her bright, sunny attitude and her sense humor.  This girl can crack me up like no other :-).  I wanted to document these special qualities for her because they can take me out of a gloomy mood in seconds.  She is great medicine for me and I am so thankful for this.

Michelle

Beetlejuice......

I know, it is December and yet, I am sharing a Halloween page. LOL.  

My husband totally surprised me when he declared he was going to dress up as Beetlejuice this year.  Well, it was not a total surprise, since it is his favorite Halloween movie, but....usually it is just the kids in costume.  And I have to say he totally pulled it off and he did it with quite a lot of flair.

He's already thinking about next year too.  Yup, the next one will take a little planning and time considering he will have to grow a mustache and some side burns to play the part of Joe Dirt.......Super excited about that one.......
Happy Wednesday.

Michelle

Little Red Riding Hood.....

Yes!  I am finally on the homestretch of finishing my Halloween layouts :-).  Here is Maleia all dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood....

She is super adorable I must say!  The costume was all my idea and was carefully implanted into her little brain so that she was almost as excited as I was about it.  LOL.  I learned with my son Hayden that picking out costumes for them is a very limited time offer.  Every year I still ask Hayden if he could please dress up as Harry Potter......instead, he chooses Scream or the Grim Reaper.  

Just a quick note about the layout......I based this off of a sketch at Citrus Twist, a kit club.  I know, I know I may come off as a kit junkie, but I am really trying to find one or two (okay, maybe three) that fit me and my style, so I have been giving a few different ones a go.  And let me tell you, Citrus Twist has made my list :-).  Happy Scrapping.

Michelle

Pumpkins.....

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!!  Hope everyone's day was full of fun and family and went as planned!  My day took a few twists and turns with plans being scrapped after my son became too ill to leave the house, a quick run to the store to see what I could salvage for a Thanksgiving dinner, a trip to the ER in the evening for a little girl with an ear infection, and ended with a slumber party on the couch where I slept with a two year old wrapped up in my arms all night.......It was certainly a day we won't forget!  LOL. 

Thankfully we all seem to be on the mend this morning and should be able to make the wedding tomorrow that my husband is supposed to be in ........Honestly though, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Since January I have caught EVERYTHING my son has come down with, so my fingers are crossed......

Meanwhile here is a layout I want to share made with the Gossamer Blue October Kit......

Okay, this layout sort of makes me feel a little wierd--it seems so naked!  Lately I have been taking a bit of a departure from my usual style and have been embracing grids and simple design.  And, despite the mild discomfort this gives me, I am happy to have this layout in my album now.  It is different and that is good :-).

Happy Friday!

Michelle

Happy Thanksgiving.....

As I was cruising through my daily blog reads this morning, I came across a quote that for me, really grasps the concept of Thanksgiving, especially during a time when I feel absolutely bombarded by the giant media blitz surrounding Black Friday.......

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting

what we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

 - Frederick Koenig

I know today, I will spend all day long counting my blessings--good health, a nice home, an abundance of love, and most importantly my family. 

Yes, I am married to Beetlejuice and I am ever so thankful for him :-).

Happy Thanksgiving.

Michelle

Love This Girl.....

Of all the releases at Summer CHA I was most excited about Crate Paper's On Trend and therefore, here is my first layout working with it:

I have really been flirting with simple layouts lately and I am really liking the results even though the empty white space gives me a bit of anxiety :-). 

I also want to say that I LOVE all of the Thickers that have been released for Crate Paper--I might possibly own every one .....LOL.   A little obsessed I guess.

Michelle

Sketchabilities Design Team.....

Yeah!  I made the team!!

I have made the lovely design team for Sketchabilities!!

Here are the other ladies joining me for the December 2012-February 2012 term:

Karolina Wu- POLAND

Sandra Jahn - AUSTRIA

Marcia Dehn-Nix-USA  

Linda Iswariah UNITED KINGDOM

Catherine Brancieq-REUNION ISLAND   

 Kátia Cristina- BRAZIL

Tomoko Kimura, JAPAN 

Sandra McKelvey -CANADA 

Caroli Schulz , CHILE 

Jennifer Haggerty-USA

Elisabeth Bottoms, AUSTRIA 

Kaoru Kyomoto, JAPAN 

Leanne Nankervis-AUSTRAILIA -returning

 Anja Akkermann-GERMANY-returning

If you are unfamiliar with Sketchabilities please head on over and take a look.  Karan, the owner of Sketchabilities, creates amazing sketches twice a month and I am so happy that I get to work with them for the next three months.  Each sketch is beautifully thought out and super inspiring.

To give you a little taste of what Sketchabilities has to offer, here are a few examples of my own work using  Karan's sketches:

Sketch #51

Sketch #54

And finally Sketch #77

 

 

Wishing everyone a happy Tuesday!

 

Michelle

Paper Posies' October Kit.......

Wow.  It has been absolutely forever since I last blogged.  I have thought about doing so, but had not quite sat down to do it until now.   I have been scrapping along at my usual pace, but no blogging.

What have I been doing these last ten days??? 
  
Attended one TYF football playoff game where my son scored ALL 14 points!  Woo hoo!  Go Hayden.  Unfortunately they lost--this was the second round of playoffs--but they played awesome.  So sad to see the season come to an end....

Spending an insane amount of time on the ground playing with my girls.  My littlest has been crawling for a few weeks and Maleia and I love it!

Obsessing over my December Daily.  This will be my first DD and have been busy gathering all my products and planning.  I made it sort of simple for myself by ordering a kit and taking a class at Gossamer Blue taught by some awesome designers including Stephanie Howell! 

Ignoring my laundry.  I have been doing the bare minimum because laundry is not fun and I am a rebel. 

Taking my first Zumba class.  Went with my aunt and had SO MUCH fun!  Seriously, awesome good time!  Cannot wait for my next class on Monday.

Making Christmas lists and starting my shopping.

And of course, spending way too much time scouring the web for scrappy goodness!

Which bring me back to the main purpose of my post today--sharing 4 layouts I have so far finished using my Paper Posies' October kit.

Here you go in no particular order:

Tried something new here--a large, chevron-like shape using strips of pp.  Had seen this popping up in some galleries and thought I would give it a try.

Seriously LOVE this layout.  Used Sketch #77 from Sketchabilities and actually included another photo of myself--yeah, I do exist in my albums!  I am missing two people though in this layout-my son, whom recently has developed a very teenage-esque attitude and refused to be photographed and my husband, whom made some wierd faces in his pics. 

See, I am totally making an effort to get in front of the camera more often!  LOL.  Love this pic with all my kiddos!

And finally,

Lots of paper strips and stitching going on here :-).

Happy Saturday!

Michelle

Pumpkin Jammies & Planting Fall....

Happy Halloween!  Hope everyone has some spooky and fun plans for the day!   In the spirit of the day I wanted to share my first Halloween layout of the season.....

Pumpkin Pajamas are so much fun!  These pics were especially fun to take because the jammies were previously worn by my daughter Maleia two years ago.  I purposely posed  (as much as you can pose a six month old!) Allora in the same way as her sister.  Which you can see here from this layout from my scrapbook past....

 

Yeah, seriously noticed the similarity in design!

Up next, and because this is the last day to post challenge entries, is a layout I did for a Scraptastic sketch Challenge using their October Hall Pass Kit, which I cannot believe has yet to sell out?! 

Note the dirt onMaleia's red skinny jeans---she is all about dirt which I think is so great.  She is part princess, part her dad.  She loves to dress up, but is all about getting dirty and exploring like my husband.  Love this about her!

Wishing everyone all treats and no tricks tonight!

Michelle

You and Me Together.....Creative Scrappers

First off--Happy National Pumpkin Day!  What a perfectly good excuse to hit the drive thru at Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte :-).  

Anyways....

I  will occasionally scrap the same picture twice and this is why:  I have several albums going all at once   (Each of my three kiddos have their own albums going; I have a family album; and I have a Project Life album) and sometimes I have a picture(s) that can apply to more than one.  This layout features one of the photos that I had previously scrapped and placed inside my family album because the story I told in that instance was about how happy I am being a mother. 

You and Me Together will go in Allora's album.......

In my children's albums I try hard to include pages that pertain to their own special relationships with family members and I wanted my daughter to have this moment of us together in her own album. 

This layout is based off of  Sketch 229 at Creative Scrappers.  When I saw the sketch I knew I had to use it and the layout instantly became a fave.  Lots of white space with layers--right up my ally! And I was bold and used a die cut word bubble--very trendy :-). 

Michelle 

Truly Happy.....

It is not very often that I find myself in front of the camera.  This is something that I really need to rectify.  Besides being the one who loves to take the pictures, I shy away from the camera because I do not always like what I see when I look at myself.  I know, super lame and horribly vain, but weight plays a lot of tricks on the self-esteem and I am not immune.  HOWEVER, I know how important it is that I put more of myself in my work because I am documenting our lives for my children who will probably be sad one day when they are older and cannot find any pictures of their mom.  So during a little photo shoot with my youngest, I handed my beloved camera over to my son and had him snap away. 

And I loved the finished result!  As I posed with Allora in front of the camera, I pushed aside all anxities and came up with some shots that really captured me and how I felt at that moment--truly happy.  I have to do this more often.

Happy Scrapping!

Michelle

Beach Baby.......

I have really been drawn to simple layouts lately.  I love details and layers, but there is something about simplicity that draws the eyes to the photo, allowing it to truly shine.  Here is an example........

I took a simple and classic shape--the square--rounded two of its four corners and laid them out on my cardstock, moving them around.  I finally decided on this flower-like layout next to my picture.  Keeping super true to myself, I incorporated some doilies too.  

When picking out my papers for this, I instantly thought of the stack of For the Record 2 Documented that I had.  At first glance, the collection does not scream "beachy," but when I paired the line with the photo, I think it worked.  

Also please note, I allowed my hoarding self to break into my package of yellow Lullabye Thickers that I have had for two years!  Yeah me!  

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday.  Here, we are planning a little time at the park followed my some hot chocolate.   Happy scrapping.

Michelle
 

Last Call for Summer.....

I took lots of pics of this past summer's beach trips and I have been slowly scrapping them.  This next layout features SIX of them!  This is a multi-multi photo layout !  LOL.  Okay, I am probably the only one who thinks that is funny....

Sadly, I did not come up with the layout on my own.  I had been stumped as to what to do with this set of pics and when I saw this layout by Stephanie Dagan, I knew I had my solution.  I scraplifted the overall design, keeping the pics and the papers in the same position but changing up everything else.  I usually do not like to keep it so close to someone else's work, but occasionally, it's nice do a no brainer :-).

 I also incorporated a challenge for the Scraptastic Kit Club using their September Just Beachy kit.  The challenge was to use a die cut and back it with 3 patterned papers.  Here is a close up......

My first instinct was to adhere the die cut with a pop dot, but later decided I wanted to layer a pinwheel over it.

Thanks for letting my share.

Michelle

A Sewing Challenge......

On Saturdays, 2 Peas issues their weekly challenges and this week one of them is a sewing challenge.  The challenge is to sew journaling lines.  At first I was a little wary, but then I got over being a chicken and tackled it.  Here is the result:

I wasn't too bold and kept the journaling in one spot as opposed to the example Wilna gave here.  And being a little Type A, I drew my lines with a ruler and pencil prior to sewing because I cannot sew straight :-).

I also want to give a shout out to Heidi Swapp's new Color Shine--it is awesome and the pics do not do it justice! 

The color is pretty opaque much like Mr. Huey's, BUT it has some amazing shine and sparkle in the color which has absolutely sold me on the product.  So much so, that on my next order, I am ordering more colors!  (Plus, it has more--2 oz compared to the usual 1.)

Michelle

Hello Fall......

Just a quick share today because Saturdays are always full of things of to do.....

Here's Hello Fall.  A layout featuring lots of Lilybee's Persnickety.....

I love the grey in this line.  In fact I love grey in everything (*note the grey I have dressed my daughter in).  This is not the traditional autumn line from Lilybee, but I really think it works due to the pops of orange, the harvesty yellow, and the popular teal.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and has something fun planned.  I have a football game to attend and hopefully photograph if the girls cooperate, laundry to do, enchiladas to make, some fall flowers to plant, some pics to scrap, and some hot chocolate to drink!

Michelle

Allora @ 6 Months.....

At six months old Allora is sitting up.  She now has a total of two teeth which popped up within days of each other.  She is almost crawling!  Yes, she gets on all fours and rocks back and forth AND as of yesterday, she is now scooting and trying to use her arms to crawl.  Cannot believe how fast six months has gone by!  Love this beautiful little girl!

Here's to the next 6 months!  Love you lots Allora.

Mama

Surf and Sand......

I have a gi-normous stack of beach photos from this summer and even though I am in the mood for autumn I am determined to scrap summer and put it to rest before I get too entrenched in fall. 

Here's a layout featuring my son on our last trip.......

This kid is non-stop when he gets to the beach and is usually in the water before I can get the towells laid out!

This layout is very blue thanks to the colored cardstock.  I am trying to branch out a bit from my usual white cardstock, but it is making me uncomfortable.  Ha.  Paper can make me uncomfortable.  That makes me laugh at myself.  I guess it is something only a fellow scrapbooker could understand....or maybe I need counciling.

Happy Monday.

Michelle

Pooltime Fun........Scraptastic Kit Club

I am a bit of a kit junkie.  Ever since I received my first box in July of 2010 I have been hooked on the delight I get from opening up a beautiful box full of happiness....I love kits for so many reasons, the major being that they challenge me.  Often I am given a product or products that I normally would not have picked out for myself and I end up loving those layouts made with them the most.  But more recently, I have really began to enjoy kits for the sense of community they create among it subscribers.

So, in my search for a fabulous kit with an awesome community, I found the Scraptastic Kit Club.   And here is a layout I did with my first kit--the September Just Beachy Kit and add-on--for a challenge posted on their blog that required us to use a color scheme from a kit and a punch. 

Such a lovely kit!  Lots of  American Crafts goodness, with some Elles's Studio, Little Yellow Bicycle, and October Afternoon.

Had lots of fun working with the kit and the layout came together super fast.  And I am just in love with the sparkly alphas!  Seriously, I am thinking about requiring myself to add sparkle to EVERY layout because I love it so much! 

Have a great day! 

Michelle

Adorable.....

Seriously, this girl IS adorable.......

So super excited when I got this shot of Allora!  She is such a bright and happy baby and I set out to capture that in this layout.  What gave me the idea for the overal design was this layout done by Mel Blackburn.  What I took from it were the vertical overlapping papers--I thought it would be a great way of showcasing all the papers. 

 

For a finishing touch I added some stitching--a tiny detail, but well worth the effort of hauling out the sewing machine to use for a total of five minutes :-).  I even stamped!  As an afterthought though, I wished I had used some of my new silver, glittery embossing powder--next time for sure.  (I also failed to realize unitil it was way too late that my pink rectangle is not straight.) 

Well thanks for letting me share.  I {heart} this hobby a whole lot and would be lost without my scrapbooking.....

Michelle

Happy Fall.....

Wishing you all a Happy Fall Weekend!

Michelle

2 Girls.....

Just wanted to do a quick post sharing my first layout completed with the September kit from Gossamer Blue.....

And a close up......



Seriously lovng the mix of blues and pinks in this kit!  Also I got out a stamp!  Woo hoo!!  I am trying more and more to bring other techniques into my scrapbooking and so far I think I am being pretty consistent at doing this! 

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!

Michelle

P.S.  JK Rowling's new book The Casual Vacancy is out tomorrow!!  So excited to get this!

Sweet Girl.....

I am ALWAYS up for a Scraplift challenge.  I find that lifting a project or a specific design element from another scrapbooker is a great way to improve my own scrapbooking.  This is especially helpful when it comes to trying a new technique or trend.

For this layout I participated in 2Peas' Scraplift a Pea Challenge.  I chose to lift this project by treezy. 

I really took the challenge literally and stayed super close to the original because I just flat out loved hers!  What really popped out at me in treezy's design were the chevrons made with triagles.  I don't have a Silhouette yet, so making my own chevrons from scratch can be pretty tedious.  However, by using triangles this task becomes super easy and quick. (I punch square and then cut them in half--takes no brain power what so ever which is just how I like it!)

When it came to product choices I used a mix of Crate Paper's Little Bo Peep and MME's Miss Caroline which I think were made for each other!  The two lines compliment each other so perfectly and they really fit my need for all things little girly!  And the glittery alphas from Crate are my new favorite.

Michelle

1st Day of Middle School....

Yes, I am officially the mother of a middle schooler.  Where in the world has the last 11 1/2 years gone???  Aack!  That makes me feel really old.

 Here are some closeups......

 

 

 

On this layout I embraced the arrow trend!  LOL.  Count them--there are 2!  Arrows are super cute, but I can not seem to add more than one or two at a time.  I have seen people do lots of great things with arrows, but I am at lost as to what to do with them.  Oh well, maybe I will get it someday! 

Michelle

Wishing For Rainbows.....

I have fallen in love with Lily Bee's blog.....I find so many inspiring projects and challenges there that I look forward to reading it on a daily basis.  This next layout is based off of one of their recent sketch challenges for September.....

 

I am absolutely an amateur at photography, but every once in awhile I get  a picture I am so proud of--this is one of those.  There is just something about the sunshine bouncing off her face that I love. 

Here I wanted to highlight the sunburst--it is made out of twine!  I had recently pinned a project where this had been done and knew, when I saw the sketch, I wanted to try it out.  Seriously the easiest sunburst  to make :-).

Happy Scrapping!

Michelle