Run and Play....

This coming month will mean that I have been a member of Paper Posies kit club for 2 years!  Paper Posies was the first club I joined.  I have tried other clubs since, but Paper Posies has always been a constant.  Michele (the owner) puts together AMAZING kits--she is so good at mixing and matching products and I SWEAR she reads my mind because they always include the products on my wish list!  


Here's a layout I am super proud of using Paper Posies' May kit which features Echo Park, Jillibean Soup, and a teensy bit of Bella Blvd.....

I had a whole lot of fun layering the stickers from Echo Park--which is so funny, because I would have NEVER thought that stickers would ever have been one of my favorite scrappy elements to play with, but they are!

Paper Posies recently revealed their June kit, which made me squeal with delight when I saw it--once again, the kit is packed full of goodies from my wish list.  This kit features Basic Grey and Simple Stories!!  You can see it here.  

Happy Scrapping!

Michelle

Friends for Life...

I always wanted a little sister (Sorry bro!), which of course I never got (Thanks Mom!).  I am sure that had I had one we probably would have fought like crazy, but she would have been my BEST FRIEND FOREVER :-).  So now that I have two daughters, I wanted to document the beginning of their sisterly relationship...

This was such a FUN picture to take!  Maleia absolutely loves baby Allora and so she was all excited to hold her and smile for mom.  Allora, on the other hand, kept making the funniest faces that read more like "Mom, get me out of here" rather than "Gee, I love my big sister."  LOL!  We are going to have so much fun!!

Michelle

Homecoming by Cathy Kelly....

Just finished this.....

For those of you who love Chick Lit like me, Homecoming by Cathy Kelly is a must read, especially if you have a spot in your heart for Irish authors.  (Actually, I have more than a spot in my heart; I have more of an obsession with anything that is anything to do with the British Isles because I am certain that life on dreary, rainy islands where people have cool accents and drink loads of tea is way more exciting than living in a small town in the foothills of the Sierras.) Anyways.....

I will honestly admit though, that I had a hard time getting into the book at first.  I think it was in part due to the fact that I have a hard time sitting still when I have mounds of housework to do, but also because there are several narrative point of views in the book and it took me a bit to sort all the characters out.  But, once I conquered that problem and found myself sitting a lot while feeding a baby, I was able to get into the story and really enjoyed myself. 

Again, as I have said before, I love it when there is an ensemble cast of characters and you get to hear from them all.  I especially liked the characters Rae and Connie.  Rae because she is a mother and I found her instantly relatable in that sense.  And Connie, because she is so full of self doubt that it reminded me of myself and made me question why I am that way.  Love it when a book makes you look at your own life in a new light.    

All in all, it was a lovely read. 

Michelle

Our Beautiful Baby......Craft Gossip

First off, Happy Mother's Day one day late!  I spent the day with my mom and couldn't have been happier!!

I recieved an email last week asking if a layout I had posted at TwoPeas could be featured at CraftGossip.com as the "Inspiration de Jour."  I said "yes" of course!!  You can see the post here.

 

I used the beautiful Baby Girl line from Bella Blvd for this plus some twine.  I was really psyched about the addition of tape to Bella's lineup and am proud to say I own three :-).  Unfortunately, I only ever use it as a way to "tape" my pics or patterned paper--must branch out and use it differently.

Hope everyone's day is lovely.  I managed five hours of straight sleep last night, so today should be a pretty energetic day for me or as energetic as a mom of newborn and toddler can get!  LOL.

Michelle

Very Serious......New Favorite Layout

I recently re-subscribed to Studio Calico and I am SO GLAD I did!  Love the April (and May) kit which I used for this next layout.....

For the inspiration behind this, I chose to do a NSD challenge at SC calling for the use of TRIANGLES--which, if you follow me on Pinterest, has become an obsession of mine!  LOL.  

So happy I took this pic because it captures my littlest daughter just perfectly--she is always looking at me in a very serious way.  I am almost worried she's going to develop frown lines before she is one!!

Thanks for letting me share :-).

Michelle 

Hello Allora....

I am a HUGE fan of scrappyjedi a.k.a. Melissa Stinson and find inspiration from her daily.  Whether it's a picture, a layout, or a technique, I am never disappointed.  And of course, her fun attitude is icing on the cake :-).  This next layout was inspired by one of her's......

Ah, my baby girl on the day she was born....Love her!! 

I am always layering papers on top of each other, but never thought of layering them out horizontally.  This technique worked particularily well for getting in lots of patterned paper--hard to choose which ones to use from this awesome line from MME, so why not use them all?! 

Hope everyone is having a lovely day!  I am having a bit of an "ack!" day---have lots of stuff I want to do, but having hard time deciding what I am going to do.  Ever had one of those??

Michelle

All About Books...

Since Burlap and Buttercups had to close its door, I found a new kit club to subsribe to--My Scrapbook Nook.  Their last few kits have been super lovely and they have a super active community, so thought I would give it a go. 

Here's a layout using April's kit which featured Crate's Story Teller.  And I have to first tell you that I LOVE this line from Crate.  It is so versatile and the texture of the papers make me sigh outloud everytime....Okay, I am a little wierd. (Also must apologize for poor photo quality; thought I could shoot it indoors, but didn't work out quite so good.)

One of my faves about kits is that they can get you out of your comfort zone.  For example, I am not normally a plain chipboard kind of a girl.  However, as they were included in this kit (see the sunflower shape), I whipped it out, sprayed it a bit with some mist, and layered it under a tag and banner.  And I love it.  Also, I feel very clever when I do something new and out of my box :-).  

Hope everyone has scrappy plans for NSD.  I hope to be able to participate in some online fun, but with a newborn, toddler, and busy sports day tomorrow, I not certain I will be able to do more than one project.  

Michelle