creativecasey

Project Life - Week 3

2012-01-29T11:35:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone! Today, I'm sharing a look at my week 3 of Project life. I know I've said this before, but I'm really loving the colors in the turquoise kit of Becky Higgins project life. Here's a look at the full spread of week 3.

Here's a closer look at the first half of the week. We all got to share Monday off for the Holiday, so we were able to take advantage of the great weather! I also got a chance to check out a new coffee shop...

This week, we also were able to visit our local History Museum with some good friends. Also, I'm in my second to last semester of school before I start my student teaching, so I documented a little about that.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my project life. I'm getting ready to print pictures for week 4 and I'm also excited to because I ordered some fun tags from Elle's Studio, so that will be fun to add in. Hoping to share week 4 in the next couple of days. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Project Life - Week 2

2012-01-25T00:54:00.000-06:00

Hello Project Lifers! I'm to share...(drum role please)... Week 2 of Project Life! Yay!...Week 2 was ~~craziness~~ very busy. After three birthday parties (in 24 hours), several art projects and some beautiful weather, I ended up with a ton of pictures. I typically try to steer clear of being negative on my blog, but I have to tell you, I will never buy an ink cartridge online again - it was a total pain! I ran out of ink in the middle of printing pictures and the cartridge I ordered failed to work - ugh! So, needless to say I was a bit annoyed and really behind in getting week 2 posted... Okay, I'm off my soapbox...here's week 2!

Because we had so much going on and a lot of pictures, I ended up using a couple of different styles of Becky Higgins pages. I added in a 6x12 and also Becky Higgins' style G insert...

I also added in a couple of label tabs to create more definition between the pages. I love how the layering ended up looking and how it created additional depth to the week.

I really love all of the pops of color that were included in the Turquoise Kit. I was hoping to wait for the Clementine Kit, but I'm really happy with my choice to go ahead and get this one!

And a look at the final page... Funny story though... Jake and I were able to get a way for a date night and we went to see the movie Contraband. But this time, we didn't just go to the basic old movies, we upgraded to Cinema Seats. If you've never had a chance to do this, you definitley should add it to the list of things to do. For six dollars more per ticket, they basically set you up in large leather recliners that can be merged into a love seat. They give you access to a full menu and bar and a waiter at your beck and call. The ~~most ridiculous~~ best part of the whole experience was when the waitress handed us a warm little pack and thanked us for coming. When I looked at the pack, I noticed that written on the package was a little slogan that said "a refreshing napkin for your convenience." When I opened it up, I found that it was a hot towel that smelled like lemons... everyone was looking around in what seemed to me to be an attempt to determine what in the world we were supposed to use them for. I saw many people wiping their hands with them and smelling them, but not many people really seemed to know exactly what to do with them... Sadly enough, neither did we and we still don't. :)

I'm so loving this project :)...

December Daily 2011 - Days 9 & 10

2012-01-24T10:45:00.000-06:00

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! Today, I'm sharing Days 9&10 of my December Daily. I've been working hard on getting this project finished and I really only have 5 more days to complete...with my goal being to finish by the end of the month. I've also been working hard on keeping up with my Project Life book. Tomorrow, I'm going to share week 2 and on Thursday, I will share week 3. Can I just say once again, that I really do love these projects. Peyton has already asked to see the first few weeks in the book about a dozen times and that just makes me super happy!

So for my December Daily, I ended up with a day where not too much excitement was happening and I was still trying to finish up some school work so I decided to have an insert where both Jake and I write her a letter. For me, the letter just explains how much she's changing everyday and how much I love her... I love that one day, she will look through the book and find these little treasures... Here's a look at the page...

For Day 10, I shared a fun little evening out that I shared with the hubby. I sure do love those twinkle lights...

...and some really good pizza!

Thanks for stopping by! I promise tomorrow to be sharing Week 2 of my Project Life!

December Daily 2011 - Day 8

2012-01-19T09:31:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday, everyone! Just a quick post for today where I'm sharing day 8 of December Daily. I love having the house all decorated for the holidays and since Christmas is one of my favorites, we always decorate to the hilt. Day 8 really just celebrates the decoration of the holiday... Here's a closer look at a shot inside the book...

And the front and back of the layout...

...the journaling...

the pictures...

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek. I'm hoping to share week 2 of Project Life tomorrow... School starts up for me today, so we will see how far I can get!

Also, just a quick PSA... make sure that you hug those close to you today... Life moves so quickly and you should be sure to let those around you know how much you love them every moment you get! Have a great day, everyone!

Family Fun Friday ~ Crayon Art

2012-01-13T09:38:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday, Everyone! Today, I am sharing a fun project that Peyton and I put together a few nights ago. I've seen these projects all over Pinterest, so I decided that we needed to make one for our art room... Here's a quick look at the finished product... Super cute, right?!?

I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos, since it's the middle of the winter, we did our project in the basement, so there's not a lot of natural light seeping into the photos. So here's a step by step on how we put this together... It's super easy!

Step 1: Gather the Crayons, Canvas, & Glue Gun

Instead of buying a new box of crayons, I decided to raid Peyton's box of slightly used crayons so that we could use doubles of the colors we had. It was fun to go to the crayons with her and talk about her favorite colors. It was also fun to let her decide where in the rainbow we should insert a color...
There aren't any rules as to how many colors to actually used, so we just picked what we liked and laid them out in a row...
Also, instead of buying a new canvas, I repurposed a canvas that we were using somewhere else. If you don't have one lying around, you can get one pretty cheap at your local hobby store.
Finally, we've been using the glue gun a lot lately, so gathering the glue sticks and glue gun were pretty easy, since they were already on my craft table. (Just remember, the glue gun should only be used by an adult - I would NOT recommend letting your little one handle one as it gets SUPER hot on the end)

Step 2: Find the Middle of the Canvas and the Rainbow of Crayons

This part is fun, just start in the middle of the canvas and the middle of your rainbow.
I just put one dot of hot glue on each end of the backside of the crayon and placed them on the canvas.
Yes, you can see I was a little particular about how I placed the label of the crayon on the canvas, but you could definitely just put the crayons more randomly for more of an abstract look.

Step 3: Get your Hairdryer!

Now, this is where the fun really begins...
Simply put your hairdryer on high and hold it about 6 inches away from the end of the crayons angled down.
After a few minutes, the crayon will begin to melt and you start getting this really cool canvas...
Just be sure you put something under your canvas if you are worried about the crayon dripping onto the floor...

Peyton had a fun time watching the crayons melt! Now we just need to go get her some new crayons!

Now we have a wonderful art piece that is hanging in our art room right above her art table. It was a super fun project and we had a great time making it together. So if you are looking for a fun art project to do and one you can use somewhere in the house, you should definitely try this one!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

December Daily 2011 - Day 7

2012-01-12T08:49:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday! Call me crazy, but I'm happy today because we finally received some snow! Yay! We've had a very mild winter with very little precipitation, so I am welcoming this cold and snowy weather - change is good!

Today's quick post is my Day 7 of December Daily...

In this post, I'm documenting the simple moments of our everyday. Here is a closer look at the page with the transparency on top...

I went ahead and pulled out the pages to get a better look at the front and back pages together...

Here is a closer look at the journaling...take a look at the pen, too - we are pretty sure she is going to be a lefty :)...

Thanks for hanging with me as a continue to share my December Daily project. It's so much work, but I always love the finished product! Have a great day everyone! Stop by tomorrow where I will be sharing a Family Fun Friday post where Peyton and I put together a fun art project...

Project Life - Week 1

2012-01-11T09:06:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone! Today, I am taking a break from my December Daily posts to share week 1 from my Project Life. If you are unfamiliar with this project and the details of it, you can find all of the information here on Becky Higgins' website.

As many of you know, I LOVE to scrapbook, but with all of the responsibilities and obligations I have each day and with my new photography business, I'm finding it harder and harder to have the time to sit down at my scrap table, pull a picture from over a year ago and pull together all of the products to make a fabulous layout each day. Back in the old days, I would send my 35 mm film to the print shop, pick up my prints and throw them in a photo book and scrap my favorite pictures. But these days, with digital photography, it's just not feasible for me to print every picture that I take. So, this project is perfect for me. It allows me to stay up to date with recording the everyday happenings and I can throw in my favorite pictures and memorabilia from the week. And if I feel like it, I can scrap a page and throw that it in there too. It's turning out to be a great project that provides just the right flow for me, creatively.

So, without further ado, I'm sharing my week one spread for Project Life...here is a look at the full week....

Another thing that I love about this project is that I can easily add pictures that I've taken from my Instax Mini - LOVE THAT! Here is a closer look at the first page....feel free to click on the picture to read the journaling.

Here is a closer look at the second page... Another think that I am loving is that I can easily throw in thank you cards and little art projects that Peyton has made. Next week, when I share week two, I will show you guys how I'm saving all of Peyton's wonderful creations that she brings home from pre-school (you can see those projects peeking into the picture below on the right hand side). Becky Higgins has some wonderful products that make it easy to stay organized with documenting the everyday.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Be sure to check back tomorrow where I will be sharing more December Daily. I also have another fun art project that Peyton and I made last night to be shared in the near future. Have a Great Day!

December Daily 2011 - Day 6

2012-01-10T09:27:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone! I hope that you are having a lovely start to your week! I'm still in the mix of sharing my December Daily and I can't wait for tomorrow, because I'm going to share week one of my Project Life. I'm so excited to be working on this project and will share all of those details with you tomorrow. But for now, I'm sharing Day 6 of my December Daily...

I'm not sure what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods, but in my area, it's been crazy warm. So to have a picture of snow this winter is a bit of an anomaly. So here it is folks, our one big snow :)...

By the way, I realized AFTER I took the picture that two of my letters were missing ... that's really supposed to say LOVE. Darned old chipboard letters!!! I did some fancy gluing last night to keep those in place...

A closer look at the journaling....

Thanks again for stopping by and thanks for your comments - I've been bad about posting comments lately, but I will be sure to stop by and check out my peeps blogs soon :)...Have a great day!

December Daily 2011 - Day 5

2012-01-04T11:52:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

I have had a great start to the year - how about you? I'm working on finishing up my December Daily and I'm working on my first week of Project Life. I'm super excited about doing this project this year and can't wait to share week one! In the meantime, I will continue to update on my progress of December Daily. So, without further ado, here is a look at Day 5. Feel free to click on the pictures to get a better look at the journaling...

Today's focus was on some indoor painting we did in the storage room... So much fun!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a good rest of your day!

December Daily 2011 - Day 4

2011-12-28T00:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome back and thanks for stopping by to check in on my December Daily 2011. Today, I am going to jump right in and share the pictures from my pages of Day 4. If you missed the post where I shared day 3, you definitley want to read about it because it definitley applies to this post... You can read that by clicking here...

Here is a shot of the introduction page with the transparency in front. For my project, I have chosen to have my transparency as the first page introducing that day. For me, that just makes the most sense...

I absolutely loved this picture of Peyton. It's a bit out of focus and the lighting was bad, but I can't tell you how many times, during the evening, where I would find her playing with this little ginger bread house night light. I just love that she is able to enjoy all of the decorations in the house....

Here is a view of the spread, front and back... I really love that second picture of PJ and Jake's family... We were celebrating his dad's birthday at a local barbecue place and PJ was excited to entertain his family by turning her head back and forth as quickly as possible. As you can see, the great grandparents were definitely enjoying the show!

Thanks again for stopping by! Have a great day everyone!

December Daily 2011 - Day 3

2011-12-27T11:51:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and if your are still celebrating, I hope you are getting a great opportunity to relax. I have been enjoying spending some great quality time with the people that I love, thus my tardiness in sharing my December Daily. So here we go folks, I am back on track and excited to share my pages.

I do want to share a quick caveat to this project. It is a TON of work, but SO worth the final outcome. With that being said, my expectation of this book is NOT PERFECTION. I know, I know, that's not really my style and most of the time, I am exhaustive in trying to make sure my design and my pictures are perfect, but when you are putting together a project that shares items from everyday life, it shouldn't be perfect. I like the candid shots and sometimes that means that the lighting isn't perfect and that the shots are blurry. And I am okay with that, because those are the moments of our life...

So, without further ado, I am sharing day 3 of my project!

We always go to this awesome "Old Style Christmas Parade" near our town and this year, we went with some good friends... Please feel free to click on the pics to see the journaling... Here's a look at the introduction of the page in my book...

For the backside of the page, I used one of those cool calendars that were included in the Studio Calico December Daily kit. Super fun idea to be able to include a look at the months events...

Have a wonderful day everyone! And be sure to take time to enjoy the holiday season!

December Daily 2011 - Day 2

2011-12-04T00:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to day 2 of my December Daily! If this is your first time stopping by my blog, welcome! During December, my blog will be devoted to sharing daily stories that happen during this holiday season. Today, I am sharing a fun trip that I took with my little one to the local history museum. I think it's really important to take my daughter to museums and to share the arts with her. Not only does she love the experience that it provides, but it's a fun way for us to spend some time together, especially now that the weather has turned cold.

The first picture is a shot of Day 2 with the transparency divider - I just love how these look!

The next picture is a clear view of day two - feel free to click on the picture to read the details...

And here are some fun pictures that I took while we were in the museum. Both of my parents came with us and we had such a great time! These are on the backside of the day 2 page protector.

I was actually looking through last year's December Daily album and I can't believe how big PJ has gotten since last year... And her hair is so cute and long these days - love that!

Well, there's day 2! Thanks for stopping by and have a great Sunday!

December Daily 2011 - Day 1

2011-12-03T15:23:00.002-06:00

Happy December everyone! I'm so happy to be sharing my first page of December Daily. Please feel free to click on each picture to read the journaling details. The first picture is a shot of the half page transparency with the picture behind it...

Here is a clear shot of Day 1...

And a close up of the journaling...

The second page is a funny story about our newest visitor... feel free to click on the picture read the journing...

Thanks for stopping by - come back tomorrow where I will be sharing day two!
Have a great weekend everyone!

December Daily 2011 - Foundation Pages

2011-11-30T18:58:00.001-06:00

Hi out there!!! Remember me?!?! I'm happy to say that after a bit of a hiatus (and a very, VERY busy month, I am back to share some fun scrappyness from my foundation pages that I prepared as part of the December Daily project for 2011. I did this project for the first time last year and I absolutely love it. And because I took a little scrappy break, I am excited and ready to do this!

So here we go... Here are my foundation pages for the December Daily project 2011:

I still need to decide what to do with my binder for all of this, but I will be sure to share it once I have those details hammered out. For now, I'm glad to get back into the swing of things :). Can't wait to share these pages as they unfold and as we welcome the holiday season into our home.

If you want to find out more about the December Daily project, you can read about the details at Ali Edwards' website here...

Thanks for stopping by!

Easy Canvas Prints - Product Review

2011-10-20T14:37:00.001-05:00

I recently tried out this great online website, Easy Canvas Prints, that helps turn beautiful pictures into canvas prints. Since I started my photography business, I've been thinking of ways to showcase the pictures that I've been taking to be used in my studio and perhaps in a local art show. So you can imagine how excited I was when they contacted me to do a review. And let me tell you, the process was SO EASY! I think the hardest part was actually choosing which picture to use and the size :). I ended up choosing a photo that I took of for PJ's 3 year pictures in a 16x24 size with a 1 inch mirrored image on the sides. I knew I wanted to choose a photo that had a lot of color so that I could evaluate how well the print actually worked on a canvas. I was very blown away by the quality and the vividness of the print. Here's a look at what I recieved...

And one of the best parts of the whole process is the quickness of the delivery. I ordered the print on a Sunday and received it the following Thursday without using any quick delivery options. The photo was shipped in a box that looked like this...

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box to see how well it was packed inside...

And this is a happy customer shot of me with my beautiful new canvas...

Overall, it was a great experience and I would definitely use this service again for ordering more canvas prints. I know I've had a lot of great compliments on it as it hangs in my living room. So if you are looking for a great quality canvas print, be sure to check them out here: Easy Canvas Prints....

*disclaimer: I was contacted by the company to receive a discount on my order in exchange for doing a product review on this print service on my blog....*

Family Fun Friday ~ Jump 4 Life

2011-10-07T11:50:00.000-05:00

Eek! Has it really been a week since I last blogged? I guess I need to step it up folks! The good news is that I have been spending a lot of time outside enjoying this beautiful weather and less time stuck to the front of the computer. Also, I'm happy to report that I am officially half-way through the semester and still going strong with homework/reading/class...

As for today, I am sharing some fun pictures that I took of PJ at the local 'jumpy jump.' It was really a great way for her to have fun and expend some energy too! Take a look!

I love this one - she just looks SO HAPPY!

Hope you are all having a great weekend and hope you have a great weekend!

Family Fun Friday ~ Monarch Watch

2011-09-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone! Today, I am sharing a fun activity that we did as a family recently at our local Monarch Way Station. We live in the middle of the United States and as many of you may know monarch butterflies migrate and regenerate in our area. It's really a lovely time of the year with all of the beautiful butterflies and all of the beautiful leaves changing.

At our local university, we have a building that is dedicated to the research and education of monarch butterflies. There, we were able to watch a demonstration about butterflies and their journey to Mexico. In fact, we were able to take a chrysalis home so that we could watch the amazing transformation of a caterpillar emerging from it's cocoon as a butterfly. It was truly an amazing experience and a good reminder of how wonderful life really is... So without futher ado, here are some pictures from our experience...

As you can see, we were able to see other lovely butterflies in our area during that time too!

Peyton wasn't too sure about the butterflies being on her, but she was definitely willing to try it out!

Isn't this beautiful?!?!

Here's a cute one of PJ and Daddy!

And of course, I had to get a picture in with my little one too! Good job on the pic, Daddy!

Well, I hope you have a great rest of your weekend and I hope that your weather is as lovely in your neck of the woods as it is here!

A family Wedding...A 2-pager

2011-09-26T10:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Everyone! I hope that you had a lovely weekend! We had a great weekend, but a very busy one. I had two photo shoots this weekend - one for Peyton and her three year pictures and a newborn shoot of my beautiful niece. I can't wait to show you all of the beautiful pics that I captured. It's amazing how much a hobby can really evolve into something that you can get paid for and still love. I also really love that I continue to grow my skills as I continue to work behind the camera - it's so much fun!

As for today, I'm sharing a fun 2-page layout that I put together recently about a family wedding that we attended. It was Peyton's first wedding and she was so loving the disco lights on the floor. She would just run around and stomp on the lights in her cute little pink cowgirl boots! It was the most adorable thing ever!
And since we had a fun family dinner with this side of the family this weekend, I thought it might be fun to share this layout with everyone...

Here are some of the details..

I love a good opportunity for us to all get dressed up!

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a look! I have a lot to share this week - so be sure to stop back by!
Have a great day!

Dinner and a Walk...with Mommy!

2011-09-20T12:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! I hope that you are having a great week! Is it sad that I'm ready for the weekend already? I stayed up WAY TOO LATE last night editing photos from a recent photo shoot - stay tuned, I'm going to share those here on the blog in the near future!

For today, I'm sharing a fun layout that I put together recently. I love this BG line of paper! It's super cute! Here's a closer look at the details...

I love this Maya Road ribbon - it just makes me happy!

And here is a look at the whole layout! I love mixing and matching those title stickers!!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Aunt Martha :)...

2011-09-19T07:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Everyone! I hope that everyone had a great weekend! It was a great weekend for us and we were super busy! I had a lovely photo shoot and can't wait to share the details. Until then, I am sharing a fun layout that I put together about our Aunt Martha - She owns a hair salon in our town and this layout is about PJ's first time sitting in the big chair. She didn't get her hair cut this time, just a comb, but I think the pictures really represent the great relationship that PJ has with Martha. And because we have welcomed a new niece into the world, it's just a good reminder of how important it is to be a good aunt!

Here's a closer look at the details...

And here's the layout...Thanks for being so great, Martha!

Have a great day everyone! Check back tomorrow where I will be sharing some more fun schtuff!

Family Fun Friday ~ Driveway Paint...

2011-09-16T15:30:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone! And happy Friday! I hope that you are having a splendid week - things have been crazy around here, but good. To start off with some great news....I'm a new aunty!!! Yay, we are so excited! It's amazing how great it feels to have a new little one in our lives...and she is sooo precious!

With that, I will go ahead and segway into one of my new reoccuring "Family Fun Friday" posts. In these posts, I will share something fun that we did as a family during the week. With all of the beautiful weather, we were able to get outside and do a fun art project. It seems that art is just one of those things that just brings out the best in us so, why not use some materials we already have around the house to make a beautiful project. So without further ado, here's a little look at what we did...

We made driveway paint! To make your own at home, follow these instructions...

1. Measure out 2 full teaspoons full of corn starch and place it in a cup... We used a muffin tin, so that we could make a lot of different colors.
2. If you want to do it the way we did, you just want to repeat step 1 in each muffin holder.
3. Get out the food colors and add drops of different colors to make your favorite spectrum of colors. I should note that you don't have to worry about stirring yet, just add as much color as you would like!
4. Take the tray outside and add water to each cup until it is about half full - taking it outside prevents sloshing and a big mess...
5. Now put on a smock, give your little one their paint brushes and go to town!!!

Here is a look at what our colors looked like...

Here's my little artist in action...

And here's a look at some of our beautiful artwork...

Here's one of my more artistic shots of the paint... :)

I painted the heart and PJ added some fun flare to it - I definitely think she is an artist!

Here is a look at what the paint looks like as it is drying...

And here is a look at what that sun looked like the next day.... pretty cool!

This is a super fun project and it's really great to just give PJ the paint and let her draw and paint on the ground as much as she would like. Also, no worries about whether the paint comes out of the clothes in the wash. I put A LOT of food coloring in the corn starch to make the paint vibrant and it still all came out easily without the use of a stain stick. As for PJ, we just gave her a bath and she didn't stain either :). As for the driveway, the paint washed off after the rain the other night, so it looks like we will be doing it again soon!

So if you are looking for something fun to do outside with the kids, I would definitley recommend this fun activity - we all had a great time and it was a good way to work on a project all together...

Have a great weekend!

One Word Wednesday...Three!

2011-09-14T14:08:00.001-05:00

Some exciting things happening with our little preschooler these days!!!

Lawrence Kids

2011-09-11T21:52:00.002-05:00

Happy Weekend, everyone! I'm really excited to share some fun news with everyone - to find out the details, click here:Casey Wright Photography Facebook Page

I love sharing news like that! Kinda cool to see my name in print like that!I also wanted to share some fun pictures that I took recently at one of my photo sessions. I was luck enough to be asked by my good friend, Michelle, to take pictures of her little boy. He is super cute!!! And such a sweetheart!!! It was great meeting him and getting a chance to catch up with my friend...

Here are some of my favorites...

Love this sweet little face and that cute hat was super adorable!

To find out more about my photography business, check out my website at Casey Wright Photography. Thanks so much and have a great rest of your weekend!

My Butterfly...

2011-08-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Everyone! I hope that everyone has had a superb weekend. At the Wright household, it was busy, but I was still able to spend lots of time with family and also managed to do some late night scrapping. Also, gotta love the hubby - he gave me a few hours on Saturday evening to just sit down and scrap. Needless to say, I got crazy creative and have a lot of fun stuff to share with all of you.

For today, I'm sharing a fun layout that I put together using some fun My Mind's Eye goodies... Here's a closer look at the layout...

I am really into the color grey with my backgrounds... The funny thing is that I always used these types of colors in my digital layouts, but never really found my groove with it on the paper stuff. Finally, I figured it out! Can I get a WOO WOO?!?!?! :)

I just love the little details of putting together a layout... That's actually where I put most of my thought when I'm scrapping... The pictures are usually the easy part, then I mull over the details for what seems like forever!

My Butterfly Credits
Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
Ribbon: Maya Road & American Crafts
Titlework: My Minds Eye, Cosmo Cricket
Stickers: My Minds Eye
Embellies: Kaiser Kraft, Tim Holtz
Tools: Brother Sewing Machine, Curvy Cutter, Office Depot Stamp
Thread: Coates & Clark
Ink: Autumn Leaves, American Crafts

I'm not sure about you guys, but the quickest I can put a layout together is in about an hour. I'm always envious when I see people post layouts and they make 5 or six layout in a sitting. I'm always happy if I can finish one and get another one started! How about you?

What is your typical turn around time for a layout?

Be sure to come by tomorrow - I will be sharing some fun pictures from a recent photo shoot! Have a great day!

New Fabrics - The Creative Garden

2011-08-26T10:43:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday, Everyone! I have to say, getting back into the swing of blogging again after a fun-filled summer has made me a super happy girl. It's been really great to reconnect with all of my bloggy friends too!

Today, I'm sharing some of the projects that I've made recently for my little Etsy Store - The Creative Garden. Here's a quick look at the fun fabrics...

I found these fabrics and my favorite local fabric store - they are lovely and beautiful and they make me smile! Now, you might be asking yourself - "what did she make with these lovely fabrics?" And I might answer - "some fun camera strap covers for DSLR cameras!" Here's a closer look (p.s. if you click on the picture it will take you to Etsy shop for that camera strap...)

And here is a look at the other fabric (which is my fave!)....

There you have it folks! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Page Girl Projects - Back to School!

2011-08-25T12:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday, Everyone! Working at a University, being a graduate student, and a mother of a little one who is getting ready to start pre-school, we are in full effect of "going back to school." For me and the students I help at work, we've been working towards this week for many months, but for me, as a mother, I am not sure just how ready I am for my little one to start school... All of those thoughts about, "is it too early for her to start organized classes?" or "she has her whole life for school, why start early?" Sometimes, it's just hard to know what the right thing to do is....but I am excited about where she will be going... It's a lovely Montessori school and we've been on the waiting list for about a year and a half... And while we still have a little over a week before she starts, and she will only be there in the mornings, the anxiety is starting to set in just a bit... Wish us luck!

As for creative endeavors, I am sharing a couple of samples that I put together for my Local Scrapbook Store (LSS) as a member of their design team... have a look...

Sometimes, it's kind of fun not having to find the perfect photo to picture combination when working on these projects. I can just decide on a design and then go with it!

On a separate note, I wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments on yesterday's post. That's one of the great things about the scrapbooking community, everyone is so helpful and kind - thanks so much guys! Have a great day!

Sidewalk Chalk...

2011-08-24T09:47:00.002-05:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Whew - this week is just flying by! I am happy to report that last night, I spent some time lining up some fun blog posts for the next couple of weeks - can't wait to share all of the fun stuff with you...

For today, I am sharing a layout and a question... I will go ahead and ask the question first. Last November, I was lucky enough to have a layout chosen for submission in Scrapbook Trends... Since then I have submitted a few layouts here and there, but it seems that I became so busy with design team obligations that I have not been submitting in any real consistent pattern. Now that I have given up my position on one of my digital design teams, I am thinking about submitting again. Any words of advice for me on that? Mostly, I just need some kind words to help me build up the courage to put myself out there again! Until then, I am sharing this fun layout that I put together over the weekend...

Sidewalk Chalk Credits
Patterned Paper: AC Dear Lizzy, Hambly Screen Print
Titlework: Pink Paislee, AC Thickers
Stickers: My Minds Eye
Journaling Spot: My Minds Eye
Ribbon: AC
Twine: Doodlebug
Buttons: Jenni Bowlin
Embellishments: AC
Thread: Coates & Clark
Ink: AC, Autumn Leaves
Tools: Brother Sewing Machine, Fiskars 1" Punch

Thank you so much for stopping by - I appreciate the feedback and comments! Have a great day!

A Beautiful Family...

2011-08-22T11:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great start to the week! We've been pretty busy in the Wright household, lately, but it appears that everyone is busy, so at least we aren't alone. As for me, I've been working a some design team assignments and editing photos for my newly budding business. So, today, I wanted to share a preview of a few pictures of a beautiful and growing family...

We started pretty early for this photo shoot, around 6:45 in the morning, but we were rewarded with some pretty beautiful light and a great temperature... Here are some of the shots we took outside...

After the temperature started to climb and the light started to turn harsh, we moved the shoot inside to my studio... Here are a couple of lovely photos that we captured as part of the shoot...

Overall, it was a lovely shoot and I was really happy with how the pictures turned out! If you are interested in finding out more about my photography business, you can visit my website at Casey Wright Photography and at my Facebook Page.

Thanks for stopping by! Stop back by tomorrow - I'll be sharing some fun scrappy schtuff! Have a great day!

Page Girl Projects...

2011-08-09T09:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I've had a wonderful whirlwind of 5 days - three photo shoots, several projects for the scrapbook page and trying to plan my little one's upcoming birthday party...but I have to say I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT! I've had a lot of really fun and creative projects on my plate and I love that working on these projects helps me to be more of who I am...simply said, I AM HAPPY! And it's good to be happy!

Speaking of happy (nice segway), I have a few fun projects to share of items that I put together for my local LSS - The Scrapbook Page... would love for you to check it out...

Thank you so much for stopping by today, previews from the photo shoots and another fun scrappy project coming up next, stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Post...

2011-08-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone! I have a lot to share today! First of all, I wanted to post up this picture of PJ, Jake and I from last weekend for our birthday extravaganza... This time the random person I asked to take our picture was someone Jake knew...I guess from a statistical standpoint, that's bound to happen every now and again... :)

It's funny, it was our birthday weekend and yet PJ got to decide where we went on my birthday - she loves the "big fishies" at the Bass Pro Shop, so that's where we went!
As for me, I was super excited about this adorable rocking chair that I picked up at a local antique store - hoping to use it for a future photo shoot - might even get some good use out of it at tomorrow's photoshoot...love this color...

As for these beautiful hats below, I found this lovely lady on etsy who makes these and although it took a while to get them, it was well worth the wait... I ordered them to be used at future newborn photo shoots...

As for creative schtuff, I'm sharing this layout that I put together using the Crate Paper Restoration line... Although I tend to steer towards the pastels, I really love the fun bold, yet soft look of this line...

And it worked perfectly for these pictures of going to the market...

I just love scrapping these everyday moments...

Thank you to all of you who made it down to the bottom of the post! I hope you all have a great weekend - I have a ton more scrappy stuff to share on Monday along with some pictures from the two photo shoots that I have this weekend - wish me luck that the weather will cooperate!

Diaper Cake...for my lovely sister in law...

2011-08-04T11:44:00.001-05:00

I had the pleasure of throwing a baby shower in honor of my lovely sister-in-law. So of course I had to make something, so I put together this fun Diaper Cake for her with a bunch of my favorite goodies... Here a few shots of what I included... Love this little Minnie Mouse snuggly - I used it as the cake topper...

And here's a view of the whole cake...

Underneath the cake topper was this cute pink duck...

And some bath time goodies (soap, big snuggle towell...)

And some other fun stuff for the little one...

I bet you can guess, but she's having a little girl! I can't wait because I have the privilege of doing her maternity photo shoot this weekend...so exciting!

Next up, I'll be sharing a fun layout that I put together with some fun Crate Paper goodies and a fun birthday pic from last weekend - stay tuned!

Wishing it was nicer outside...

2011-07-28T09:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope that you are having a great week, so far - the hubby and I are getting ready for a big birthday weekend...oddly enough, we were born a day apart, so his birthday is on Saturday and mine is on Sunday. It's fun to be able to share our birthdays together, AND I'm glad that we were born a day apart, because as childish as it might be, I like having my OWN special day :)... As of right now, we don't have any big or special plans (other than getting together with family), but we will have date night on Friday and that will be super fun!
As for my project, I'm sharing another fun Studio Calico layout - I'm tellin ya people... I REALLY LOVE this stuff - it just makes me happy...so here it is...
So

Don't you love these wood butterflies? They just make me smile!

And those clouds are so cute too!

The colors of the Studio Calico papers make it so easy for me to pull out some extras from my stash...

We Love the Spring Credits
Patterned Paper: Studio Calico & Basic Grey
Title work: Pink Paislee, American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, Bella Boulevard, October Afternoon
Embellishments: Studio Calico
Ribbon: American Crafts
Staples & Clips: Tim Holtz
Ink: American Crafts & Stampabilities
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamp

So excited because today I am going to stop by my LSS to check out their new product and to pick up a project to work on for the weekend - hoping to find some lovely goodies to celebrate my b-day - wish me luck!!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Oh, Happy Day!

2011-07-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

I hope that everyone is having a great start to their week... As for me, I'm already counting the days down to the weekend - it's going to be a big birthday weekend, so that will be fun! More talk on that to come later this week...

For today, I'm sharing a really fun project that I put together using a few Studio Calico items. Can I just start by saying - I LOVE STUDIO CALICO. I have to confess, I made my first purchase of Studio Calico through 2ps a couple of months ago and it's really the first time that I LOVE ALL of the items I purchased - I wish that I had the money and I would subscribe to their kits - that will be something I can look forward to, right?!? So here's my layout...

I just love the "retro" feeling to the soft colors and the fun patterns!

And those tags are just too fun, too! Also, had a lot of fun sewing with my machine around the border...

Happy Day Credits
Patterned Paper: Studio Calico
Titlework: AC Thickers
Ribbon: AC
Embellishments: Studio Calico
Ink: Stampabilities, AC
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamp
Thread: Coats & Clark
Tools: Brother Sewing Machine

So there you have it folks - this is probably one of my favorite new layouts that I've done - stay tuned this week - I'm planning on sharing a couple of fun projects including a diaper cake that I made for my sister-in-law for a baby shower we threw for her this weekend...

Thanks for stopping by and have a splendid day!

Keep Calm...

2011-07-22T12:10:00.001-05:00

So originally I was going to start this blog post off with how I needed to keep calm and "scrap on." BUT... I just got some exciting news while working on this blog post! We've been working hard on potty training in my house and after a REALLY bad night last night, I just got a call from our sitter that she just did it! Yay! SO PROUD OF HER! Thanks for letting me brag!

Okay, so I've been oohing and ahhing over all of the CHA releases and so I've put together a list of my favorites with links - I'm really loving the new Crate Paper and American Crafts, but feel free to check them all out!

(Source: http://somethingcreatedeveryday.blogspot.com/2010/10/keep-calm-and-scrap-on.html)

So here's my list...

American Crafts – Amy Tangerine - http://www.scrapbook.com/blogs/123447/view/177453.html

Crate Paper – (Random & Adorable & Sweet 2) http://yourscrapbooksupply.typepad.com/yourscrapbooksupply/2011/07/crate-paper-cha-summer-2011-sneak-peek-random.html

Echo Park, My Minds Eye & October Afternoon - http://www.scrapbookupdate.com/2011/07/21/echo-park-my-minds-eye-and-october-afternoon-cha-summer-2011-report/

Pink Paislee (be sure to scroll down) - http://www.pinkpaislee.com/pink-paislee-blog/

Basic Grey (wait for the fade in and out) - http://www.basicgrey.com/scrapbook

Studio Calico (it’s a pdf) - http://issuu.com/stephenleeogden/docs/studiocalicosum11?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

Jillibean Soup - http://stephanieklauck.blogspot.com/2011/06/jillibean-soup-summer-cha-sneak.html

Lily Bean Design - http://www.scrapbookupdate.com/2011/07/21/whats-hot-at-cha-lily-bee-design/

Pebbles - http://www.scrapbook.com/blog/view/177529.html

For a comprehensive list check out Scrapbook Update - they've got the full list...

I would LOVE to hear your favorites - let me know or link me up in the comments!
Thanks and have a great weekend!

My Creative Garden

2011-07-19T11:08:00.001-05:00

So, the midwest region of the United States has been CRAZY HOT lately and we've just been trying to do as much as possible indoors to try and beat the heat. As it turns out, PJ is great at going to the movies, so that's one of our new favorite things to do lately! In addition to that, we've spent a lot of time at the library and at our house coming up with fun indoor games to play. It might as well be the middle of the winter around here, because we just can't stand to be outside in this crazy heat!

As for me, I've been trying to stay busy with several fun projects. One of which is updating and working on my projects for the creative garden - I'm getting ready to add this lovely to my Creative Garden Etsy Shop - it's a DSLR camera strap cover with a removeable lens cap pocket...Don't you LOVE this fabric!?!

I've also been busy with putting together orders from the shop - fun times...

And last weekend, I was super excited to find these fun items at the local antique shop...I spent a whole whopping $5.00 on them both... I'm hoping to use them for my table at the farmers market and during the off season put some of my scrapbooking supplies in them for storage...

So that's it for today - next up...I'm going to share some of my new favorite releases from CHA!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

10 Things...

2011-07-15T10:56:00.005-05:00

Hello Blogland friends! I have been working on a ton of fun projects and can't wait to share some of those with all of you. In the meantime, I finally finished this post that I started a couple of months ago and it was inspired by the great Nancy Doren... It's basically a list of 10 things I'm good at and 10 things I could be better at doing...Putting this list together was fun because it gave me the opportunity to really think about what my strengths and opportunities (don't you love when weaknesses are referred to opportunities!)

So here goes...

10 Things I’m Good at…
1. Having a lot of projects going on and not feeling stressed.
2. Being willing to put myself out, even if rejection is imminent.
3. Being generous with the people I care about.
4. Being a mom and a wife – my family comes first and I take it very seriously.
5. Understanding what’s important and taking a stand.
6. Being a lifelong student…thus my return to grad school and to become a teacher...
7. Trying to find the rainbow in every situation. I definitely haven’t been like this forever – as I get older and wiser, I’ve realized that there are lessons to be learned.
8. Baking…love to bake, but I always end up eating it all…which is not so good for the waistline…
9. Playing softball – it was such a big part of my life for so long and I loved having that identity.
10. Being the storyteller of the family…I’ve loved taking pictures and capturing memories for as long as I can remember…now that we are getting older, I think everyone is really starting to appreciate it!

10 Things I’m Not So Good at…
1. Not taking things personally – I have gotten better, but I’m a bit sensitive and so, sometimes my emotions can get the best of me…
2. Dealing with rejection… As much as I try to put myself out there, rejection is never fun and never easy…
3. Politics…hands down, my least favorite thing in the job world…don’t do it…don’t like it…
4. Working with people with bad attitudes…can’t we just try to find the good in life and be happy?
5. Dealing with whining… my husband is WAY better at this than me… In fact, he’s masterful…
6. Asking for exactly what I want…sometimes it’s hard to ask for help – especially if it’s for me.
7. Dealing with people who beat around the bush… I would much rather people be honest and straight forward and ask a question, then try to lead me to an answer – makes me feel very manipulated… not good.
8. Driving in bad weather…I think I would rather just stay at home when the weather gets bad.
9. Saying no…I’ve had to get better recently, but I just don’t like to hurt people’s feelings, so saying no can be hard.
10. Saying goodbye – I tend to over dramatize those moments and it makes it SO MUCH HARDER!

So there you have it folks...a little bit about me! Stay tuned - I've got a lot to share in the near future - Have a great day!

Happy Summer!

2011-06-21T14:57:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone! I hope that you are having a great week! I'm finally getting over a fun little summer cold that I've been dealing with and glad to be feeling a little better! But for me, sitting on the couch does not mean than I'm completely unproductive... I've managed to put this and this together. And would love you forever if you would be a fan!

In the meantime, I want to share this fun layout that I put together using mostly Studio Calico items - love, Love, LOVE the colors of this line! Here are some close ups of the layout...

Don't you just love this veneer butterflies?!?!

And here is my layout...

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope that everyone has a great day!!!!

Casey Wright Photography

2011-06-19T09:47:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm starting a fun new adventure and I would love for you to check it out.

Please come and visit me at Casey Wright Photography to see the details.

Also, I would love you forever if you would come and "like" me on my Facebook fan page.

Thanks so much for sharing in this adventure with me. Hope you all have a great day!

Gettin Sketchy!

2011-06-13T10:22:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope that you had a lovely weekend! I have A TON of pictures to share from our fun weekend away, so I will be working on getting those off the camera and into the computer - in the meantime, I'm sharing a layout that I made last week using a fun sketch from Elle's Studio... Here's a closer look...

Aren't those cork pieces fun?!? I got those in a big box from Pink Paislee during a sale and just had not used them yet... Love those!

It was really fun pulling out pieces from my stash to put this one together - and it was also fun using more "boyish" colors this time! Love that :)...

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a great Monday!

Being Outside Rocks!

2011-06-09T10:49:00.002-05:00

During this time of year, the weather in Kansas gets REALLY hot! When that happens, I like to spend some of my free time making stuff like this....

Don't you just love those new Webster pages!?!? The colors are just so fun and vibrant! I was also able to sneak one of my new transparencies from Hambly - yum!

The other half of the time, I love hanging outside with the little one while she runs through the sprinkler and sits in her pool! Here are some pics I took last weekend of our summer fun...

Don't you just love that cute little swimming suit - she's really into flamingos ( I know, right?!?), so this was perfect for her and she loved picking it out at her favorite store - Target!!! Man, I love that place!

Thanks for stopping by today - I'm working on some fun posts, one of which is inspired by one of my favorite scrappers, Nancy Doren... I've also got a few layouts that I want to share that I put together using some fun sketches from this week... Stay tuned!

An ordinary and not-so ordinary day

2011-06-07T09:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great start to their week! I'm a bit sleep deprived - totally by choice, but because I chose to stay up late instead of sleeping, I have all of this to share with you today - aren't you lucky?!?!

Okay, so quick story...During the past couple of weeks, our babysitter was on vacation, so the Grammys really stepped up to help us out by watching PJ for a couple of days each - thanks Grammys!!! And since my mom doesn't live in the same town as us, we offered for her to stay with us for those couple of days and she offered us to have our first night away - eek! I have to admit, I was a bit weary about an overnight trip. But, can I just say, it was amazing! We decided to stay pretty close in the next town and spent the night at this ~~slightly haunted~~ amazing historical hotel in the downtown area. Of course, I had to ask a completely random person to take our picture together to commemorate the event...

We had dinner at the hotel and then made our way around the downtown area for drinks... Then, a completely random thing happened...we ended up running into one of Jake's childhood friends who was having a wedding reception. We ran into him while he was standing outside and invited us in...little did we know, that only our favorite 80's cover band was playing! NICE! Needless to say, we had a super fun time and made the most of our night out...And of course, I ended up checking in quite a few times, but PJ was a gem for my mom and even went to sleep at a reasonable time! Go mom! My mom was afraid to say it, but I'm not really even sure PJ was all that aware that we were gone - so glad to have that under our belt, so that the next time won't be so scary :) Thanks again, mom - you rock!!!

Layout time...
So, here's one of the latest layouts that I've made using the a bundle of crate paper. I love this line!

And some close-ups......

On a sidenote....As I've been looking through my scrapbooks recently, I've noticed that some of the titlework has started to move around and slip, so one of my newest trends is to sew the letters on to stay in place, which really serves a cosmetic and functional purpose! So there you have it folks!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

I've been spotted & a digi-release!

2011-06-01T10:31:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! I hope that you are having a great Wednesday! I was super excited when Jen Harkin at the Jillibean Soup blog chose my layout for soup spotting - check it out here!

I also wanted to share that Jopke van Dongen has just released a new digital kit - Feeling Violet. If you click on the picture below, you will be redirected to the Scrap Insider website where you can find this lovely creation...

And here is what I made with it....

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day everyone!

Instax Mini 25 Photobook Tutorial

2011-05-31T10:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope that you had a lovely holiday weekend and were able to find some time to consider our service men and women. I was able to find a little time to work on a fun project to house all of my photos that I've taken using my new Instax Mini 25 - see related post... I definitely followed the directions pretty closely from this site to create the photobook, but I also switched it up just a bit to make it more "mine." So, I thought I would share my process and the finished product with my readers... Here we go...

Step 1: Gather Materials

Here is a list of the products I used and a link if the item was something that I recently purchased:

Patterned Paper: Studio Calico - Wildflower Countryside
Hambly Rub Ons: Teal Blue Photographs
Crate Paper Letter Stickers: Portrait Collection
Cardboard: Miscellaneous cardboard in my stash
Vertical Badge holders: Advantus 75451 Proximity badge holders
1" Metal Book Rings: Miscellaneous in my stash
Fiskars Paper Trimmer
Brother Sewing Machine
Cropadile
Silver Eyelets - Miscellaneous from my stash
Coats & Clark Cream Thread
Adhesive Tape Runner

Step 2: Trim the Paper & Cardboard

Once I decided on the paper that I was going to use for the project, I chose to trim it out at 4.5 inches x 3.25 inches, to ensure that the badge holders were completely covered by the cover.

Step 3: Adhere the paper to the cardboard
Simply, adhere the paper to the front and backsides of the cardboard. I ended up running a line of adhesive dots along the short sides of the paper.

Here is a look at what the front and back of the cover after the paper was adhered...

Step 4: Sew the front and back cover
I decided to go ahead and sew a line at the top and the bottom of both the front and back cover. Not only does this add a little aesthetic appeal, but it also ensures that the paper that we added will continue to stay on the cardboard.

Step 5: DECORATE!
Of course, as a scrapbooker, one of my favorite parts of the project is to decorate the project! I had these really great Hambly Screen print rub ons that I used for the project and they corresponded great with the Studio Calico paper... here's a look at the back inside cover just before I rubbed on the screen print...

And after...

Here's a look at the front cover - don't you just love that old school polaroid rub-on?!? It worked great to use on the cover of this project, since the photos that will be in the book are instant too!

Here's a look at the inside of both the front and back covers...

Step 6: Punch holes and add eyelets
I used the badge holders as a template and marked on the cover where the hole needed to be punched. Because my cardboard was relatively thin, I was able to punch the holes in both the front and back covers at the same time.

Here's a shot of the cover after adding the eyelits and title....

Step 7: Add the rings and fill it up!
Next comes the best part... simply add in the rings and start adding pages. Because one package of Instax mini 25 cartridges includes 20 pictures, I went ahead and added 10 badge holders. This allowed me to put a picture on each side...perfect!

And here is the finished project! Love it!

I loved making this project! It was fun and easy and I was able to complete it in one 1 hour sitting. I would definitely recommend this project for someone who is looking for a fun way to house their Instax Mini photos!

Have a great day everyone!

The good stuff...

2011-05-25T11:51:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to a long weekend! It's so nice when we get to spend some family time at home and just chillax! I'm hoping to get my scrap on this weekend, so that I can have lots of lovelies to share next week. Also, I am super excited because I just ordered this fun little gem and I should get it tomorrow....

Super excited about this! I have been wanting an Instax Mini for a while, so this will make a nice addition to my photography tools :). Also, I'm hoping to complete a project like this (click)....with the supplies that I have, so I can have a place to house all of my cool pics until they are scrapped...SO EXCITING!

For today, I'm sharing a fun layout that I made using a few Jillibean Soup papers. I also squeezed in some American Crafts Elements, A Jenni Bowlin Card and some machine sewing. I really love it when the cosmic forces come together and a layout just fits together nicely! Have a look...

Here's a close up of some of the lovelies...

I was hoping to be able to share some photos of the crazy weather from yesterday, but all of the weather happened after dark...better luck next time! Come back tomorrow where I will sharing some more scrappy goodness...Have a great day!

Crazy Weather!!!

2011-05-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

This weather around here has been CRAZY! And today, they are forecasting for a "significant weather event," so it sounds like we are in for quite a show...in our basement :)... Please send happy thoughts our way that it misses us :).

As for projects, I have been working on a lot of fun stuff lately. I'm hoping to get these gems into the ground soon. After a couple of years of no garden, I decided this year that I would do one. So after many hours of cleaning out the the blackberry bushes and weeds, and after a couple of months of babying my seeds into plants, I think they are finally ready to go into the garden. Now, if the weather would just cooperate, I can get those babies in! I'm REALLY looking forward to those fresh veggies later in the summer...

As for creative projects, I have been getting my hands back into the paper bucket and loving it... Here is a sneak of a project I'm working on right now... To give you some context...PJ has shown a remarkable interest in learning geography on our globe at home and since the age of 1.5 she has memorized many of the major locations around the globe.... This layout celebrates that!

Isn't that the cutest thing ever! Well, I hope that everyone stays safe in this weather - I've got my camera with me today, so I'm hoping to catch cool shots of the weather throughout the day - I will post tomorrow with the updates of today's "significant weather event :)."
Peace out!

365...Everyday

2011-05-16T11:49:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone! I'm really excited about this new kit that Jopke Van Dongen has released today. The kit is very beautiful and is comprised of several papers and elements that can be used for those everyday pages. Here's a closer look at what I've put together using the kit...

I have had these photos that I took with my IPhone for a while, just waiting to be scrapped - glad I finally ran across a kit that worked perfectly for them!

If you are interested in checking it out, you can find the digikit here: 365 Project: Pop Ups no. 1.

Have a happy Monday!

Bloom, My love...

2011-05-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We had a great weekend around here - spent some fun time with some friends on Saturday and spent a low-key day at home today. We would have liked to have spent more time outside, but the weather here is unseasonably cool, but, that's Kansas for you though. I'm sure by the end of the week, it will be in the 90s :).

Today, I'm sharing a layout that I put together with a fun BG line I bought a while back. I had fun finally putting this layout together. It celebrates PJ's love for watching Sesame Street Online. She used to love watching Elmo and Inda Arie sing A,B,C together! Here's a closer look at the layout...

Bloom, My Love Credits
Patterned Paper: Basic Gray
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Coordinations
Embellishments: Basic Gray
Titlework: American Crafts - Dear Lizzy
Spray: Tattered Angels - Sunflower, Smooch - Mocha
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine
Thread: Coats and Clark
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamp
Ink: American Crafts & Stampabilities

Be sure to check back tomorrow, I'll be sharing some fun layouts that I put together using Jopke Van Dongen's latest digital kit that can be used as a 365 project. Have a great start to your week everyone!

Help! I've been sucked in!

2011-05-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope that you are having a great week! I'm having a pretty fun week so far, I'm winding down with school, getting to spend a ton of time with the little one and sharing some fun projects that I've put together recently. I've also, jumped in the black hole that we know as face book and just as I had worried, it's very addictive! With that being said, I would love for you guys to come and be my friend (link to me on the right sidebar)! It's been really fun reaching out to people that I haven't heard from in many years. I've also reached out to a few scrappy friends that I know too, but I'm just now really getting my feet wet. It's funny how small it really makes the world feel :). After seeing all of the people out there that I know, I'm convinced that I'm pretty much the very last person to join with a personal profile page!

Okay, on to scrappy stuff... I just love this Crate paper Restoration line - it's so much fun! Here's a closer look at my layout...

I had a lot of fun using these mini clothes line pins - not really sure how they will manage once I put them into the scrapbook, but I'm sure I will make do! I would love to hear if any of you have used them and how you've managed with them!

Big Girl Credits
Patterned Paper: Crate Paper
Titlework: October Afternoon & Basic Gray
Embellishments: Crate Paper & Misc Clothes Pins
Ribbon: American Crafts
Stamp: Technique Tuesday - Ali Edwards
Ink: Stampabilities and American Crafts
Tools: EK Success 3/4 circle punch, EK Success 1 1/2 circle punch

Thanks for stopping by today - wish me luck that I can find my way out of the black hole that I call facebook!

It's a 2-pager Folks!

2011-05-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone! Can you believe it - I'm blogging for the second day in a row! Watch out folks - I'm on a roll :)... I'm really excited today to be sharing this layout today. It's a 2 pager and although I do love to put these together, they can sometimes be challenging! However, a while back, I won a lovely prize from my friend Melissa Elsner and The Profound Brunette blog; (thanks friend!) - it was the 7th edition of Sketches for Scrapbooking by Allison Davis. It's a wonderful book of sketches and I love having it for a resource...I don't typically follow sketches to a "t," but I do like to use them for inspiration sometimes and especially when I'm using several photos. Here is a closer look at the layout that I made using the sketch...

Jake and I had a great time going to the Big 12 Tournament and watching KU win. But most importantly, Jake and I had a great time hanging out and spending some adult time together - I love that!

Big 12 Fun Credits
Patterned Paper: Jillibean Soup
Cardstock: Bazzil Basics, Coordinations
Titlework: American Crafts, October Afternoon, Paper Studio
Thread: Coats & Clark, Baker's Twine
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine, EK Success Curvy Cutter, EK Success Paper Punch
Fonts: Ali Edwards, Adobe Caslon, Arial Narrow

So, do you like to do two pagers, or are you mostly addicted to doing one-pagers? Would love to know what you think! Have a great day everyone!

My New Favorite Stamp....

2011-05-09T10:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that everyone had a great weekend! Did you celebrate Mother's Day? Did you scrapbook your heart out for NSD? I had a great weekend and did both! I am so excited to have lots of projects to share with you guys this week and next week - it's been a lot of fun getting to play with all the new goodies I ordered recently. One of my new favorite things is this stamp that I purchased from 2ps...

The stamps are so versatile and fun! And because I like to scrapbook those everyday moments, I absolutely love this new set - it's going to be hard not to use it on every page I make! So here's one of the new layouts that I had fun creating - I know I've mentioned this about a bazillion times, but I am about a year behind in scrapbooking, so when I come across pictures from a year ago like these, I get really excited and motivated to get some pages done...here's a closer look at the layout...

It's T.P. See? Credits
Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye
Titlework: Pink Paislee, Basic Gray, My Minds Eye
Ink: Stampabilities & American Crafts
Embellishments: 7 Gypsies & My Minds Eye
Tools: Sewing Machine

So, do you have any new favorite scrappy items that you love? I would love to hear about them!

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you are having a great start to your week!

Beauty Queen

2011-05-06T09:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone! Is anyone else excited for the weekend? I know I am! I just turned in my final homework assignment of the semester for school last night, so I no longer have this "I need to do homework" thing hanging over my head...at least for the next couple of months :)... soooo looking forward to a break!

With that in mind, I plan on getting my "scrapbook on" this weekend to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day and Mother's Day! I'm hoping to knock out some fun projects with all of the fun goodies that I ordered from 2 Peas a couple of weeks ago. I kind of went all out... I bought the new Trendsetters line from Webster's, some Studio Calico, the Portrait collection by Crate Paper and a few odds and ends from Hambly... Yay me! Now all I need is some free time and some fun music!

To get this party started, I'm sharing a lovely new digital kit collection released yesterday by Jopke van Dongen. The kit is called Beauty Queen and I absolutely love it...here's what I made using it...

If you are interested in checking out the kit, just click on the link below and it will take you to DHD to check out all of the new stuff!

So is anybody else celebrating National Scrapbooking Day and/or Mother's Day and if so, what are you doing to celebrate?

Thanks for stopping by folks - hope you have a great Friday!

Freebies at DHD and a Hair Cut!

2011-05-04T20:42:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Some exciting news over at DHD - they are having a blog hop and giving away some great freebies. To join in the fun, I put together this layout using Jopke van Dongen's portion of the kit... Here's a closer look...

If you are interested in checking out the kit below, click on the link and you will be taken to Jopke's website where you download the kit for FREE! That's right folks... it's free.

Here's a look at all of the lovelies that are being given away at all of the different blogs... Aren't they beautiful!

On a separate note, I decided that I wanted to get my hair chopped today - it's pretty short, but a much needed change!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great rest of your day.

One Fine Day

2011-04-28T15:23:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday everyone! I'm happy to announce that I just (ten minutes ago) officially completed my second HUGE project of the year for school. After having a sick little one a couple of weeks ago, I've been playing catch up on on all of my school work...staying up late and getting very little sleep to get this stuff done! Now, I'm super excited to have these projects done... I still have a couple of little projects to do and a presentation, but all of that is easy peasy compared to the big projects. Okay, enough rambling :)... Today, I'm happy to share another layout I created from Jopke van Dongen's newest digital kit (click on the kit below to find out the details)...

I love this picture of PJ and her uncle John. She loves to sit at their piano and play. John is always so patient and willing to spend the time with her. Super sweet :)...

Thanks for stopping by today! I am so glad that I'm going to have some extra time to work on some crafty projects! I got a WHOLE box of goodies from Two Peas yesterday and I just can't wait to start playing. Stop by soon and check it out!

Jopke Designs - New at DHD! (And a winner!)

2011-04-25T11:40:00.000-05:00

Hello my blogging friends! Life has kind of kept me away from scrapbooking and blogging the past week (um, okay, really for the past two weeks!), but I'm happy to say that I was able to put together a few layouts over the weekend! Today, I'm sharing a layout that I made using Jopke van Dongen designs (see preview and link below). I absolutely love this line and made a couple of fun layouts - which will give me more to share this week! Here's a closer look at the layout...

The soft accents and lovely touches of this digital kit made it really fun to make. If you would like to take a peek at the kit in full - click on the picture below - you will be redirected to Design House Digital...

I also wanted to take a quick moment to thank everyone who left a comment on my Facebook drawing and who visited my Etsy store - you guys rock! The lucky commenter who won this part of the drawing is Shel - Shel, e-mail me at caseyjwright02(at)gmail.com and I will be happy to get that butterfly pendant out to you!

I hope everyone has a happy day! Check back soon - I will be sharing a lot more fun schtuff!

Facebook RAK!!!

2011-04-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, guys, I've done something that I said I would never do... After much deliberation and thought, I've decided to jump in the fast lane and start a Facebook Page for The Creative Garden - I know, right! So to celebrate, I'm holding a RAK (Random Act of Kindness). Just leave a comment here letting me know what your favorite item is in The Creative Garden and be entered to win THAT item. One week from today, I will draw two winners; one from visitors on Facebook who leave me a comment and one from the visitors to my blog who leave me a comment here (on this post). Remember, in order to be considered, you must let me know what YOUR favorite item is. Thanks so much for celebrating this new venture and for visiting The Creative Garden on Etsy and now on Facebook!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Spring has sprung!

2011-04-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great week! I thought I would share these lovely flowers with my readers - I hope the weather is as lovely where you are as it is here. I clipped some of these daffodils before we got our last storm - aren't they lovely!

For today, I'm sharing a fun layout that I put together using more of the My Mind's Eye. It's just such a pretty kit and perfect for documenting little lovely girls! This layout is about all of the fun songs that Jake has made up for being at the park. The songs are sweet and even sweeter when PJ sings them :). I just love them both so much - can you tell?!? Here's a closer look at the layout...

I just love these beautiful buttons that are in this line - so vintage and fun!

Singin at the Park Credits
Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye - Stella & Rose
Cardstock: Bazzill Cream Puff
Titlework: American Crafts and October Afternoon
Embellishments: My Minds Eye - Stella & Rose
Paper Punch: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: My Minds Eye & Maya Road & Bakers Twine
Ink: American Crafts
Thread: Coats & Clark

I'm so excited, because I just got the new download for Jopke's latest kit to hit the DHD next week, so I'll have some fun stuff to share again next week using her lines - sooo beautiful! In the meantime, I will have more paper projects to share early next week (or maybe this weekend, if I'm lucky enough to get some time to craft).

Until then, take care - have a great rest of your day!

Creating...

2011-04-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great start to their week. I have been busy with lots of projects lately and can't wait to share, but first I wanted to share this picture that I took of one of my girl scout cookies -

Don't you just love that!!! I actually took a picture of the cookie on my hot pink laptop cover and I just fell in love with it :) I guess it's really just the simple things right?!? Well, on to the creative stuff... Today, I'm sharing a layout that I made with one of my new favorite lines by My Minds Eye - Stella... Here's a closer look at the layout...

I love how this banner turned out using the little stickers and sewing on the lines...

Don't you love the embellishments with this line? That zipper is super fun!

My Little Snuggler Credits
Patterned Paper: Jillibean Soup, My Minds Eye
Titlework: Cosmo Cricket, Making Memories
Embellishments: Jenni Bowlin Bingo Card, My Minds Eye Zipper, Kaiser Kraft Gems, My Minds Eye Banner
Embroidery Floss: DMC
Thread: Coats & Clark
Ink: American Crafts
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamper
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine, Bazzill Basics Gem Setter

I'm hoping to share some pictures sometime this week of my growing garden. All of the seeds have started to emerge and some are getting really big. I've decided to sell some of my produce at the local farmer's market -
Have any of you had any luck with selling items at your local farmer's market?

Thanks for stopping by everyone - I hope that you have a great day!

Jopke Designs - New at DHD!

2011-03-31T12:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Thursday everyone! I'm so excited to reintroduce Jopke Designs (formerly known as Jo Hanna). She has some amazing new kits out at Design House Digital and you should definitely go check it out. Here is some of layouts that I've created using her beautiful new kits...

Jopke - Evergreen Digital Kit - Available at Design House Digital

Jopke - Floppy Ears Digital Kit - Available for free at Design House Digital
Jopke - Bare Necessities

* Currently a freebie at DHD!

I've been super busy with school, and well, life, but I have a lot of fun creative stuff to share, so be sure to stop back by!

Take care and Happy Thursday!

Getting Schooled!

2011-03-23T08:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I'm so excited today to share a few projects that I put together for Catch the Moments using the Old School line by Pink Paislee. The colors are rich, fun and just what I needed to kick start my creativity. I'm typically not a quick scrapper. In fact, doing two layouts in one day is pretty much unheard of for me. But this time, I ended up making two layouts and a card in about two hours - yay me! So, if you are looking for a set of papers that are different and easy to use all at the same time, I would definitley encourage you to try out this line. Here's a closer look at the projects...

Getting Schooled Layout Credits
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee - Old School
Cardstock: Bazzill - Cream Puff
Title Work: Pink Paislee - Old School & Cosmo Cricket
Embellishments & Journaling Spot: Pink Paislee - Old School
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamper
Ink: American Crafts & Autumn Leaves
Thread: Coats & Clark
Embroidery Floss: DMC
Tools: Making Memories Distressor, We R Memory Keepers - Sew Easy, Singer Sewing Machine

Will it Be Summer Soon? Layout Credits
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee - Old School
Cardstock: Bazzill - Cream Puff
Titlework & Embellishments: Pink Paislee - Old School
Ink: American Crafts
Ribbon: American Crafts
Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels - Sunflower
Thread: Coats & Clark
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

Thank you Card Credits
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee - Old School
Cardstock: Kraft
Titlework: Pink Paislee - old School & Cosmo Cricket
Journal Spot, Clear Embellishments: Pink Paislee - Old School

Well, there you have it folks! If you want to see some great deals, go and visit Devon's store - she has some amazing stuff right now at prices you don't want to miss out on - click here to check it out...

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog to check out the projects.

I'm working on some fun digital projects - can't wait to share soon!

Have a great day everyone!

Fiesta!

2011-03-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope that all of you are having as much lovely weather as we are here in the midwest - it's been so great to have the windows open and to let in all of the great fresh air! We've been spending a lot of extra time outside going for walks and that's great too, because we've all been a little stir crazy with the cold, cold weather.

To celebrate the changing of the season's, I'm sharing a few projects that I made as samples for The Scrapbook Page using the new Fiesta Line by We R Memory Keepers. It's not a line that I would typically pick out on my own, but after working with it, I'm absolutely in love. The colors are fun and fresh and you could incorporate it into any occasion. Here's a closer look at the projects....

Tomorrow, I will be blogging over at Catch The Moments, so be sure to check it out. I'm showcasing the Old School Pink Paislee line.

Also, just a reminder that in honor of the March of Dimes, I'm running a 10% off sale at The Creative Garden. I added a bunch of new stuff into the store, so you'll want to check it out! Just be sure to enter code TEAMSCARLETTE at checkout to get the discount.

Have a great Monday Everyone!

Check it out!

2011-03-18T11:44:00.000-05:00

I hope that everyone is having a great Friday! Today, I'm sharing a layout I did a while back while using my stash - I still have a ton of this Pink Paislee paper from a year ago, so I'm slowly trying to use up all of the goodies. Back then, I was really into buying packs of paper or a whole line. Then, I would do a couple of layouts and throw the rest of the paper and embellies that I didn't use into a clear plastic folder....never to be used again (sigh)...

Do any of you find yourselves in the same situation?

Here's a closer look at the layout...

Credits
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee
Titlework: Pink Paislee
Embellishments: Buttons - Misc., Brads - Pink Paislee, Tape - Pink Paislee
Ribbon: Maya Road
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamp
Ink Pad: Autumn Leaves
Pen: American Crafts

I also wanted to give a shout out to Catch the Moments. She has tons of new product coming in everyday, so you should definitely go check it out. She just received the New Basic Grey Line... here's a look at one of my new favorite kits that Devon has put together...it's called Hello Luscious....

Here's what you get in the kit...
You get..Hello Luscious papers
Succulent
Raspberry Syrup
2 sheets of Blissful
Tartlet
Raddish
Sparkling

1/2 pack of Pieces Journaling blocks
1/3 pack buttons (about 22)
2 Wheels (paper flowers)
Hello Luscious Alpha sheet
So amazing! And a super great deal at $16.00!

So what are you waiting for - go check it out! And be sure to check back on the Catch the Moments blog on Tuesday, where I will be guest blogging :)

Have a great Friday everyone!

What's Blooming in Your Garden?

2011-03-16T15:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I thought I would share some fun pictures today and a coupon for you! I decided this year that PJ was big enough for us to spend some time with a garden again this year. I was really big into it a couple of years ago, but after PJ was born, well, I just didn't have the time necessary to get my hands dirty in the garden. Since we have a little more time on our hands, I thought it would be fun to have a garden again this year. I think PJ will have a lot of fun getting involved this year too! She helped me get the Seed Starter kit going. She LOVED putting the dirt in the little holes and I loved that she wanted to help :).... here's a couple of shots of her crafty work...

So far, we've planted three different types of tomatoes, jalepenos, bell peppers and squash. I love to can salsa and jalepenos, so once these seeds take off and there is no more chance of a freeze, we will put the plants into the ground. I'll be sure to share as we get closer and the seeds become plants!

I also wanted to share that I have a lot of new things blooming over at The Creative Garden (my Etsy shop)... And because The Creative Garden is sponsoring Team Scarlette (read more about that here) I have a coupon going in my store. To receive 10% off of your entire purchase, just enter TEAMSCARLETTE in during check out and you can receive that discount. To see what's blooming in my store, click here to check it out...

Thanks for stopping by! I would love to know if any of you are doing a garden this year? If so, what do you usually plant?

Have a great day!

Design Team Work

2011-03-14T11:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday Everyone and welcome to daylight savings time! I always have big plans for my longer and extended days and today, I had big plans of beginning a workout plan that starts my day out very early. Those plans kind of fell through when I woke up this morning and could only find one shoe and the treadmill key was missing. I guess that someone was trying to tell me to get more sleep!!! LOL!

For today, I'm sharing a few projects that I did a couple of weeks ago for the Scrapbook Page. The goal was to use a lot of product that has been sitting on the shelves for a while, so I did some creative thinking and came up with these projects - thanks for taking a look...

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to share some gardening pictures soon! Also, I'm adding a few more things to the Etsy shop this week, so be sure to check it out :).

Have a great day!

For a Good Cause...

2011-03-10T11:13:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday Everyone! Today's theme is going to be "for a good cause..."

The first item that I want to share is to raise awareness for the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes raises money to My Etsy Shop - The Creative Garden is sponsoring Team Scarlette on the March of Dimes Walk. You can read about Scarlette's story here - just click on the link below:

The second item that I wanted to share was a fun project for which I was able to volunteer some of my services. The Senior Service Center in my area raises money each year through a project called Jazz it Up. Basically what happens is that they honor one person in the community by presenting them with an award and all of the money that they are able to raise through the program is used for the Senior Service Center. The award that they present during the ceremony is made through an artisan glass company and they like to have pictures of the process in their brochures during the actual ceremony. So I was fortunate enough to be asked to go and take pictures of the process. It was AMAZING! If you've never had the opportunity to watch this kind of process, then you should definitely add it to the list of things to do - I loved every minute of it... I ended up taking over 100 pictures, but here are a few of my favorites...

This last picture was basically the second to last step of the process. After that, they put the piece in the freezer to set for a day or so. It was so much fun to watch!

So for today, I encourage you to do something nice for someone else. Even if you can't donate money, donate your time. Doing nice things for others is good for the soul :).

Take care and have a great rest of your day!

It's Official...

2011-03-08T22:37:00.002-06:00

I'm officially open for business!!! Yay - The Creative Garden is open and is finally live! I've been working REALLY hard getting all of the items uploaded. There's still more to come, but I would love for you to check it out - here's the link (also in my sidebar now too) - The Creative Garden.... Right now, I've got four main sections: Digital Cards, Glass Pendants, Crayon Rolls, and Camera Straps. I've still got a few more projects ready to be uploaded - so be sure to check back often! Thanks for all of your great support and wonderful comments on this new fun project!

Check back tomorrow where I will be sharing a some pictures that I took at Free State Glass. The pictures turned out beautifully, so be sure to stop by!

Have a great day everyone!

Coming Soon....

2011-02-28T13:46:00.000-06:00

Hey Friends! I just wanted to share my latest endeavor - I'm officially opening my Etsy shop this week and I'm very excited!!! My shop is going to be called "The Creative Garden" and I'm going to be showcasing several creative projects. Be sure to stop by soon to check out all of the details!

I would love to know what you think of my logo - comments invited! Have a great day!!!

Barnyard Fun!

2011-02-26T15:20:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday Everyone! I hope you all are having a great weekend! We are having a great weekend so far - especially now that the little one is feeling better. It's girl's day out at my parent's house - so we are hanging out and having a lot of fun!

For today, I'm sharing a layout that I made using some more of the Crate Paper line - I also found a great Hambly Screen Print to add into this layout for a little added flare. I'm not usually a purple type of girl, but I really loved the bright and vibrant colors and how the green and purple jump off of the page - here's a closer look at the layout...

Barnyard Credits
Patterned Paper: Crate Paper
Transparency Hambly Screenprints
Cardstock: Coordinations and Bazzill Basics
Stickers: Crate Paper
Titlework: Thickers
Ribbon: American Crafts
Thread: Mettler
Ink: American Crafts
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

I hope that you all are having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Block Party!

2011-02-24T10:49:00.000-06:00

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope that your week is going well! Just a quick post for today....I'm sharing layout number two that I created for the Catch the Moments this month using the Pink Paislee Sweetness collection. Peyton has always loved playing with these fun Little People building blocks, so of course I had to document it! Here's a closer look...

I just love these Jenni Bowlin buttons too - super pretty and vintagey (is that a word?)!

Block Party Credits
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Sweetness
Cardstock: Bazzill White
Titlework: Pink Paislee
Stickers: Pink Paislee
Transparency Tab: Pink Paislee
Ribbon: American Crafts
Buttons: Jenni Bowlin
Thread: Mettler
Ink: American Crafts
Tool: Singer Sewing Machine

I'm super excited that I'm going to get to stop by my LSS today to pick up a new project. I know they've gotten a ton of new stuff in from CHA...

I love the new Echo Park collections-I would love to hear what your favorites are!

Thanks for stopping by everyone! Hope you have a great day!

Catch the Moments Design Team Work

2011-02-22T10:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Tuesday Morning Everyone! I hope that everyone's week is going well - we've had a bit of a rough start to our week - the little one has caught a flu bug, so we've been in the sick mode for a few days. I'm hoping that by tomorrow we will all be back to good!

In the meantime, I'm sharing one of the layouts that I put together for my Catch the Moments Design Team gig. This layout highlights the new Pink Paislee Sweetness collection. I just love all of the beautiful pink and greens that are in this kit. Even though it was released during Valentines rush, it is definitely a kit that I can use all year around. Here's a closer look at this layout...

I also got out my embroidery floss to do a bit of hand stitching in blue - I really love the interest that this technique creates... here is a closer look...

Your Smile Credits
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Sweetness Collection
Titlework: Pink Paislee, AC Thickers
Stickers/Embellishments: Pink Paislee Sweetness Collection
Thread: Mettler/DMC
Tools: Cropodile & Singer Sewing Machine

Be sure to check out the Catch the Moments blog for a look at both of the layouts that I created and a look at the great deals Devon has going on!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

So thankful...

2011-02-18T17:19:00.000-06:00

For so much these days. There is just something about getting outside and working in the garden in the fresh air that really makes me appreciate the simple things in life. Today, I'm feeling very appreciative of my situation in life and for my family. Everyone has been so supportive of my decision to leave my fast paced high stress job, for a more fulfilled lifestyle. I love that I can spend more time with my daughter and nurturing my motherly role. I love that I'm back in school again and nurturing my learning spirit. I also love that I have an opportunity to spend more time reflecting and nurturing my creative flow. By getting to do all of these things, I feel like I've become a better wife, mother and friend. I'm just more myself these days and it just makes me really happy...

And now that the weather is getting better, I'm getting to spend some time outside in my garden. Now, I'm sure there will be future pictures of my garden and all of the loveliness that it produces, but I've got a LOT of work to do to get it in order. I actually haven't had a garden the past two years, so I have two years worth of blackberry bushes and grass/weeds schtuff to clear out... I've actually spent the past two afternoons out cutting down the overgrown blackberry bushes. In my former, fast paced life, I would have dreaded every minute of it and would have just kept thinking about "when will this be over?" But these days, it's less about the destination and more about the journey. I am actually enjoying the process of clearing out the garden and it's kind of been a cleansing process for me.

So today, I'm reaching out to all of my readers and encouraging you to really enjoy the journey rather than focusing on the destination. My challenge to you is to realy enjoy this weekend and live in the moment... You might just be suprised at how good you feel...:)

Now, on with the creative stuff... I've really enjoyed getting my hands on real paper lately. Today, I'm sharing a cute little layout that I made about an everyday moment at our house. This time last year, the weather was still pretty icky, so we tried to come up with fun ways to spend our time in the house. So we built this make-shift tent in the living room. PJ absolutely loved it! She would run full blast into the tent and then just plop down. She also thought it was hilarious to push down the top so the tent would collapse. Then, she would get mad because the tent was knocked down...silly girl!

So here's a closer look at the layout...

Tent Fun Credits
Patterned Paper: Kaisercraft
Titlework: Maya Road Alpha
Embellishments: Kaisercraft, Tim Holtz Clip and staple, Lilybee Laugh Rubons
Paint: AC - Funky Vintage Sea Foam
Ink: Colorbox, Ranger, American Crafts
Ribbon: Baker's Twine
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamp
Thread: Mettler
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine, Tim Holtz Mini Attacher

I had a lot of fun distressing those letters for the title work! I got my paint out and went to town! Well, my friends, I hope you have a great weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by!

****Oh and when you get a chance, my friend Devon at Catch the Moments is going to be listing her deal for the weekend - so go check it out and see all of the beautiful stuff and great deals she's running. Click here for the deets....****

You Are Such a Card!

2011-02-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope that your week is going well! Mine is moving along quickly, but my head feels like it's in the fog - literally. Last night, the drive back from class was brutal, the fog was so thick and it's still here!!! Ugh... Is it just me, or does fog smell weird too... Could be just me :). Anywho, if you can't tell, I'm feeling a little punchy today. Often times, after class, I can't go to sleep right away, so I end up staying up late and then drink what seems like 12 cups of coffee the next day. And well, that's where I am right now, coffee filled and VERY punchy! hehe! Gotta love that!

Well, for today's layout I'm sharing a fun little ditty that I put together using one of my favorite Crate Paper collections to date - and that would be Restoration. The colors are so fun and vibrant and the elements are just perfect - especially for this layout. We were just walking around the house and I walked by a mirror and she just looked too cute not to get a picture... I love these everyday moments... here's a closer look...

You are Such a Card Credits
Patterned Paper: Crate Paper Restoration
Titlework: Basic Grey & Bella Blvd.
Embellishments: Crate Paper Restoration
Ribbon: Baker's Twine
Ink: AC
Thread: Mettler
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look - hope you have a great day! And for you KU fans - beware of the phog... or for today the real fog!!! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T09:10:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope everyone is having a great start to the week! Today, I'm sharing a fun little hybrid project that I made using Kerry Stewart's printable pillow boxes. My daughter and I put these together for her friends at daycare. They were so much fun to make and I loved how they turned out. They were also very easy. Just fill in the info, print, score, glue and fill with goodies! That's my kind of project :). So here's a closer look at how they turned out...

If you might be interested in making some of these or need a last minute idea, you can click on the link/picture below. They are 25% off in Kerry's store right now!

We actually ended up celebrating over the weekend. PJ got a neat package from my mom and we all went to dinner last night at a local restaurant. It was a lot of fun!

So do you celebrate Valentine's Day? And if so, how? Would love to know!

Have a great day everyone!

World's Cutest Valentine

2011-02-10T10:35:00.000-06:00

Happy Thursday Everyone! I've been working hard on getting my projects ready for my Etsy store that I'm going live with on March 1st. I have a ton of ideas of things that I want to do, so I'm working away at trying to make that happen! I've also been working on a few digital layouts. The designers that I work for are crazy talented and they have been coming out with a ton of lovely stuff to work with. Here is a layout that I made using Kerry Stewart's Newest kit found here...

I'm still waiting for some good weather to get out and take some pictures of some paper layouts that I've made. Taking pictures outside on the porch in sub-zero temps is not my idea of a good time :)... Here's to hoping for some better weather.

I've also got a couple of fun layouts that I've been knocking out for Catch the Moments - it's the new sweetness line from Pink Paislee and I love it. It's perfect for Valentines day or if you have a little girl. You can find it at the Catch the Moment's Etsy Store... She always has the latest and greatest at the lowest prices, so you should definitely check it out!

Have a Great Day Everyone and if you are in my neck of the woods, stay warm!

Valentines Day Layouts

2011-02-08T08:53:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope that everyone's week is going well. I've been been a creative fool lately making a bunch of fun stuff. I can't wait to share, but hoping for a sunny day to get out and take some pictures of my projects. I'm also working on several fun projects for my Etsy Store that I'm planning to go live with on March 1st - can't wait to show you all what I've been up to!

For today, I'm sharing a couple of layouts that I created using Jo Hanna's newest kit, which should go live here today.... You can also find a sneak peek of it here.... I just love the soft colors and the beautiful elements; though, my favorite is that typestamp in the background... LOVE THAT!
Here is a closer look...

Credits:
Jo Hanna - For Lovin'Me Digital Kit
Jo Hanna - Bare Necessities Digital Kit
Robyn Meierotto - Painted Corners and Strokes Elements Digital Kit

I typically don't do layouts without journaling, but sometimes the pictures speak louder than words... Don't you think?!? Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek of my work - hope you have a great day!

It's a Beautiful {SNOW} Day!

2011-02-02T09:06:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone! I'm sure there are many of you out there that are experiencing this huge blast of snow and arctic air that we were so lucky to get :). We are stuck in our house (literally) for day two. My work never calls off work for snow days and this is our second day in a row - crazy!

So today, I'm sharing a few things... First, here's a look out my window this morning...

It's really hard to say how much snow we've actually received due to all of the drifting, but the NWS was predicting 11-14 inches of snow yesterday... And so with all of that snow, we are getting just a bit stir crazy around here. So, throughout the day when the little one allows, I pick up this and start working on this...

As some of you may recall, one of my new adventures is to learn how to knit. I'm hoping to eventually open up an etsy store with some of my creations, but for now, I'm just practicing along! As for creative stuff, I'm sharing another digital layout that I put together with some pictures from our last snow... Here's a closer look...

Credits - Jo Hanna Bare Necessities - Freebie available on her website

Thanks for stopping by - hope you all are safe and warm and that you have a great day!

Catch the Moments Design Team Work

2011-01-31T10:27:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that everyone had a great weekend and is having a great start to their week. I have a lot of fun stuff to share this week, including my new adventures with knitting! I'm already well on my way to knitting a scarf - in two colors - no less! I will share pictures about that in the next couple of days... Today, I'm sharing a blog post that was on the Catch the Moments blog last week. I made these two fun layouts using a couple of the kits that Devon has put together... So, without further ado, here we go...

I absolutely love this Jovial line from Basic Grey. The colors have great depth and the way Devon matched up the buttons, ribbon, and paper to make it into the Festive Kit made it really fun to scrap. The first layout highlights one of my new favorite techniques. If you don't have perfect match of ribbon, just use your score it to make the pleats and then simply sew it down to lay flat using your sewing machine... Here's a closer look at the layout and at the pleated paper...

This next layout also has some beautiful festive goodies in it. I'm loving those fun American Crafts, Merry, Thickers right now, too. The colors are just so much fun! On this layout, I fussy cut some of those beautiful elements out of the paper and added a few buttons as accents. Here is a closer look...

Christmas Eve Credits
Patterned Paper: American Crafts - Dear Lizzy, BasicGrey - Jovial (CTM Festive Kit)
Titlework: AC - Merry Thickers
Ribbon: AC - Dear Lizzy
Embellishments: Misc Journal Card - Die Cut
Buttons: BG Jovial Buttons
Thread: Thread
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

Ugly Sweaters Credits
Patterned Paper: BasicGrey - Jovial (CTM Festive Kit)
Titlework: AC Thickers
Ribbon: AC
Buttons: Jenni Bowlin
Stamp: Office Max Date Stamper
Ink: AC & Autumn Leaves
Spray: Smooch and Tattered Angels
Thread: Misc.
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

Well, there you have it folks! Stop back tomorrow, where I'll be sharing some more lovely goodness. We are getting ready to get hit with another 12 inches of snow, so I'm hoping we will have a snow day and I will get to share sooner than later! Have a great day!

Week 3: 2ps Challenge

2011-01-28T11:31:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great week! Things have been a bit hectic here, so today's post is going to be a bit brief. Today, I'm sharing a layout that I made as part of week 3 of the 2 Peas in a Bucket challenge that Kerry Stewart is having... Click here for the details...

While I love the idea of challenging myself to a lifestyle change, or in my case, more balance, it's always hard when life prevents me from staying on track with my goals. This week's layout outlines my expectations for this challenge and how I'm going to deal with adversity. Feel free to click on the layout for a closer look.

Below is the beautiful digital kit that Kerry Stewart released this week. For more information on how to get your hands on this lovely kit, just click on the picture below.

I hope that everyone has a great Friday - Thanks for stopping by!

New Jo Hanna - FREEBIE

2011-01-26T09:43:00.001-06:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! I have been SUPER busy the last few days with, well life. It's all good though, just a little hectic. Last night was my first night of class and I'm super excited about the class and my professor. Both of my classes are in literacy learning, so this semester will be full of learning how to teach little ones to read. I love that not only will I be learning tools and techniques for the classroom, but also learning concepts that I can use right away while sharing my passion of reading and learning with Peyton. So much Fun!

As far as crafty stuff goes, I've been working on a lot of projects the last few days including a few design team assignments. Today's layout was made using Jo Hanna's newest kit called the Bare Essentials. Isn't it beautiful and the best part is that it's FREE! You just need to go to her new website and click on the download button. This kit is chalk full of the things that you use in layouts, neutral and monochromatic papers, staples, stitches and some basic alpha. If you think you might be interested, click here to check it out!
Here is a closer look at my layout.

I don't typically steer towards blacks and actually, I think this might be my first layout with such a heavy background, but I love the look and the photocentricity (is that a word?)that it reflects in my layout. Here's a look at the goodies you will get if you go to Jo's website...

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a peek. Come back tomorrow, I'll be sharing more scrappy goodness for the 2ps Challenge...
Have a great day everyone!

My Little Angel...

2011-01-24T11:22:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you all had a great weekend. I know it's cliche' but, the weekends are just never long enough. We had a lot of fun times as a family and Jake and I were able to get away for a few hours thanks to my mom and dad! Most of our Sunday was just spent hanging out at the house and getting caught up on laundry. It was just a nice little weekend!

Today, I'm sharing a layout that I made recently with my stash. I love this line of Lily Bee and I've been waiting for the right pictures to print to do this layout. On a side note... these pictures and those taken through last April were all taken on my little point-and-shoot. I'm soooo itching to scrap my pictures taken with my DSLR - they are just such high quality and they are less pixelated... Anywho...just a few more months of scrapping until we get to those... In the meantime, I'm sharing this layout - here's a closer look...

Credits
Patterned Paper: Lilybee Design, AC - Dear Lizzy
Titlework: BasicGrey & Cosmo Cricket
Journal Card: Lilybee Designs
Embellishments: Corrugated Birds and Flowers - Jillibean Soup, Buttons - Misc.
Ribbon: AC
Ink: Ranger
Thread: Misc.
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

I hope that you'll stop by tomorrow - I've got a lot of fun stuff to share. Including a guest blog post, two new kits, and on Wednesday, I'm hoping to share my inspiration for the 2ps challenge that Kerry Stewart is hosting right now. Stay tuned!

Have a Great Day!

The Blankie

2011-01-20T09:59:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! Well, it happened, we got several inches of snow last night. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for spring - anybody else with me on this? I'm ready for long days, evenings at the park with the family, catching fireflies, grilling out...etc... Ugh...I hope that wherever you all are, that the weather is sunny bright and lovely (just don't rub it in...mmmm-k?)

Today, I'm sharing a fun layout that I made last weekend celebrating this wonderfully knit blanket that was mine when I was a baby. Now, PJ uses it and it just makes me so happy that stuff like that lasts so long. And it's also really got me thinking about venturing out and learning new crafty things. As much as I love to scrapbook, the creative person inside of me is seeking for new projects. Soooo, I've decided that I'm going to learn how to knit. I love the idea of being able to make items that are durable, can be washed and are completely homemade... I'm even thinking that if I can get good enough at it that I might try to sell some goods on Etsy - we'll see. For now, I'm just going to be in awe of the talents of others and hope that their talents somehow wear off on me.

Here's a closer look at today's layout...

Credits
Patterned Paper: BasicGrey - Basics, Sassafrass Lass - Indie Girl
Titlework: Sassafrass Lass
Embellishments: Sassafrass Lass
Ink: American Crafts, Autumn Leaves
Thread: Miscellaneous
Tool: Sewing Machine

So do any of you out there know how to knit and if so, do you have any suggestions on the best places to learn...I've looked up a few tutorials online and wondering if the best place to learn would be using a book? Any suggestions?

Thanks so much and have a great day!

New Jo Hanna - Now at 2ps!

2011-01-19T08:49:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone! I hope that you all are having a great week so far - there's nothing like a little snow to bring some excitement into the air. We are in the middle of a Winter Snow Warning and for us that means that we could get about ten inches of snow this afternoon. I have to say, I really love the white stuff...that is, when I don't have to drive in it... see, I drive a little Prius and it doesn't do so well when we get that kind of snow. It does much better when it's sitting in my garage and I'm spending the day at home. :)

Before, I introduce today's creative stuff, I just wanted to give a shout out to my creative friend Melissa Elsner and her blog. She drew my name for a lovely prize and you can read about by clicking on her link above. Thanks so much Melissa - you rock!

Okay, on to scrappy stuff. Jo Hanna just released this beautiful kit in the 2ps store...please click on the picture below to find out all of the details...

This project would be really great for any of you out there who still need to put together a baby book for your little one or maybe you would like to surprise someone in your family who may not have your scrappy talents with a fun book like this. It's super easy to use...you just pop the pictures in add a little text (or not) and there you have it. You can also do what I did and just use some of the pages for regular pictures that don't necessarily need to be in a baby book... I put together these layouts in less than an hour, most of which was spent looking for pictures. Here's a closer look...

Well, there you have it folks. Oh and I thought I would also mention that if you would rather do a boys version in blue, that is also available in the 2ps store...click here for the details...

Thanks for stopping by everyone! I hope you have a great day!

At the pet shop...2-pager

2011-01-18T09:24:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! I hope that if you were lucky enough to have a long weekend - it was great! Jake and I had a lot of fun hanging out yesterday. MLK day is the one day of the year that we are both off of work and the babysitter is open, so we take some much needed time for ourselves and hang out. We kicked around the city and had lunch - it was a lot of fun! I'm happy to say that I'm refreshed for my week and ready to get started - classes begin on Thursday, so I'm getting ramped up for another semester. Both of my classes are about children's literacy and children's literature, which is awesome, because I completely dig reading with Peyton, so I will get to learn some really practical stuff to share with her too.

Okay, on with my creative sharing... Today, I'm presenting a layout that I made based on the very talented Allison Davis (see sketch at bottom). I really love to make two-page layouts, but they require a lot more thought because I'm using a lot more pictures. I love using Allison's sketches for these types of layouts because I can basically look at what sizes the pictures should be...print them off at home... and get to work on my layout by adding my own personal touches along the way... Here is a closer look at what I did (feel free to click on the picture for a larger view)..

Credits
Patterned Paper: Martha Stewart
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
Titlework: AC Thickers
Embellishments: Jillibean Soup, Cosmo Cricket, Tim Holtz
Ink: Ranger, AC
Ribbon: Misc.
Thread: Misc.
Stamp: Office Depot Date Stamper
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine
Based on Allison Davis Sketch

I had a lot of fun finally scrapping these pictures and glad that I was able to put so many on a page. I just can't believe that it's already been a year since we did that - time moves so quickly these days.

Well, that's it for today. Be sure to stop by tomorrow - I'll be sharing some other lovely scrapping goodness! Take Care, my friends and have a great day!

Happy Friday!

2011-01-14T10:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday Everyone, I have some fun stuff to share today...but first, can I just say that I'm ready for all of the icky sickness that is going around to completely go away. I'm at home with a sick little one for the second Friday in a row... You know how the story goes...up all night, then dragging all Friday...and tired all weekend - ugh!... Here's to hoping for a better weekend - especially since it's an extended weekend here.

Anyways, today, I'm sharing a fun layout that I put together using some Crate Paper goodness. I just love this line - I could keep using this paper over and over again! Those teals just make me happy!

So, here is a closer look...

Credits
Patterned Paper: Crate Paper
Solids: Kraft & Coordinations
Titlework: AC Thickers & Dear Lizzy
Embellishments: Crate Paper & Kaiser Kraft
Ribbon: Maya Road
Thread: Misc.
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

In other news...Catch the Moments has a crazy mad sale going on right now. Devon has marked down a few of her beautiful kits from $17.00 to $10.00...what?!? Am I delirious?!? (well, maybe a bit from the lack of sleep:))...she's also got a really great sale on thickers right now too at prices that you won't be able to beat anywhere... Interested? Click here for all of the info... Sales are good all weekend long, but I wouldn't wait, because at these prices, the items are going to go quick! So what are you waiting for?!? Go check it out!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Friday!

2ps New Year Challenge...

2011-01-13T08:37:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone! I hope that you are having a great week! Thanks to everyone who went over and voted for me on the Crate Paper Blog - you guys rock!!!

Today, I'm sharing a two page layout that I created as inspiration for the 2ps challenge that Kerry Stewart is running. You can check out all of the details by clicking here....

Feel free to click on the picture below to see all of the details. I'm working to incorporate my 'one little word' into this challenge - Balance. I'm hoping that by setting these goals at six week intervals, that my plan won't seem so overwhelming and I can stay on track. I also tried to make sure that I set measurable goals so that I can gauge my success.

We would love for you to play along - come check it out!

Credits:
* Kerry'd Away Designs: Christmas Trimmings - The Paper Digital Kit
* Kerry'd Away Designs: One-Day-at-a-Time Digital Kit
* Kerry'd Away Designs: Make Mine a Double Digital Kit

So, I've been a little under the weather the past two days...but, the good news is that I've made a bunch of pages - stay tuned - I will be sharing them soon :)... Have a great day everyone!

New Year...Big News!

2011-01-07T08:56:00.004-06:00

First of all, let me just tell you that I was totally excited when I opened up my Google Reader and found out that ...TWO OF MY LAYOUTS ARE BEING FEATURED ON THE CRATE PAPER BLOG THIS WEEK!!! ACK!

Can you believe it!!!!?!

Check it out here: THURSDAY - CRATE PAPER BLOG & FRIDAY - CRATE PAPER BLOG
So, here's where the begging comes in - can you please vote for my projects by leaving a comment about it on their blog (the links are listed above) - That would be just super!!!! Thanks so much!

AND

I am really excited about this....click here....

And because of that, I'm bringing you this!!! :)

Feel free to click on the picture to see the credits!

Also - more exciting news from Catch the Moments - Devon is starting a Friday deal - you don't want to miss out - stop by here to check it out!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful scrappy day!!!!

Happy Winter

2011-01-04T00:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I hope that you are all having a wonderful week so far! I just found out some really exciting scrappy news yesterday and I'm super excited to share - but you'll have to come back to hear my news because it's not time to spill the beans just yet. :)

I also wanted to thank everyone for all of their sweet comments in yesterday's post about the jewelry - I would definitely love to start an Etsy Store, but I don't know the first thing about getting it started and how all of it works. Are there any of you out there that currently have a store that would be willing to give me a quick tutorial in the basics?

For today, I'm sharing a layout that I made using the fun winter themed Crate Paper line. I just love the fun and vibrant colors and I'm super excited that I was able to scrap these crazy snow pictures. We had a ton of snow this time last year and at the time it seemed like it would never go away, but now I figure, if it's going to be cold, it might as well be snowy :). I know, call me crazy!

Here's a closer look at the layout...

Don't you just love those fun colors! Love it!

Happy Winter Credits
Patterned Paper: Crate Paper
Embellies: Crate Paper Stickers, AC Ribbon
Titlework: Crate Paper
Stamp: Date Stamper - Office Depot
Ink: Autumn Leaves, American Crafts
Thread: Miscellaneous
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine

Thanks so much for stopping by - Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Homemade Jewelry - Tim Holtz Style!

2011-01-02T18:23:00.001-06:00

Happy 2011 Friends! I hope that you are all having a great start to your year! We've been having some fun around the house today just kicking it silly style! I love days like this when it's just the three of us being silly and having fun!

For today, I'm sharing a fun project that I put together using a Tim Holtz technique that he used for Day 4 of his Christmas Tags. You can find the details here...Tim Holtz Tutorial...

Instead of bedazzling a tag, I ended up making necklaces using the same kind of technique...here is a closer look...

It was such a fun project and a really great way to give my friends and family something scrappy and homemade...

In other news, I wanted to share with all of you the new forum that is open at Catch the Moments - check it out here... Devon has some amazing deals, so go register and learn what it's all about! She basically sells most of her stuff at cost, so you should definitely check it out :)...

Have a great rest of your weekend everyone! Happy Scrapping!

December Daily 17 - 26

2010-12-31T10:33:00.001-06:00

Yay! I'm finished my December Daily! This was my first attempt at this project and I had a lot of fun putting it together. Needless to say, I'm happy to also get it done and ready to move on to some new projects. But before I do, I wanted to take a moment to share the rest of my pages that I made. Feel free to click on the pictures for the details. Thanks for sharing in this journey with me!

I ended up doing a day 26 because we were still celebrating Christmas with my side of the family. I also ended up adding an extra page of pictures for the 25th and 26th because I ended up with a lot of great pictures that I wanted to include in book. I'm just sort of wondering if I'll need to add a layer of transparency in between the pictures so the colors in the photos don't get damaged?

Do you know?

Also, another change I made was to reverse my cover. I originally ran it through my sizzix Big Shot using a Tim Holtz Embossing folder, then stained the front with some different colors of stamps. At the end of the project, I actually really liked the look of the cardboard with the reversed texture finish.

Well, this is my last post of 2010 - thank you so much to all of my visitors and my family and friends who read my blog - this has really turned into a fun hobby and I appreciate all of the support! Looking forward to some exciting stuff in 2011! I hope you will continue to follow me on this journey!

Happy New Year and Be Safe!

Catch the Moments Design Team Work

2010-12-29T08:54:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays Everyone! I don't know about you, but some of the best layouts are ones where we are just catching some everyday moments of the holidays. This layout highlights one of those moments while we are putting up our Christmas Tree. I love doing layouts of our tree because each year it evolves and changes. It's also fun to see how much my little one is growing. For this layout, I used the American Crafts, Dear Lizzy, line and a few other American Craft favorites... Here's a closer look...

Here's a closer look at that beautiful ribbon!

For this layout, I chose to highlight some fun pictures we took on Christmas day of our little one. I love this layout becuase it utilizes non-traditional paper for a Christmas Layout. It's fun to mix and match different colors that work with the pictures that we took and that's exactly what I did here. Take a look!

I just love those AC journal cards - you can mix and match and cut them down to smaller sizes for that special something that really adds a lot of character to your layout...here's a closer look....

Our Tree Credits
Patterned Paper: Echo Park Christmas, AC Dear Lizzy Enchanted
Titlework: AC Dear Lizzy - Merry Thickers, AC Black Thickers
Ribbon: AC
Brads: AC, The Paper STudio
Embellishments: Journal Card - AC: Just Write
Thread: Miscellaneous
Punch: Martha Stewart Snowflake
Tool: Singer Sewing Machine
Pen: AC

Christmas Morning Credits
Patterned Paper: AC - Dear Lizzy
Titlework: AC Thickers
Ribbon: AC
Embellishments: Journal Card - AC: Just Write
Thread: Miscelleneous
Tool: Singer Sewing Machine
Pen: AC

Well, that's it for today. I finished up my December Daily late last night, so I'm going to try and take some pictures today and post the rest of my pages! Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Catch the Moments & My One Little Word

2010-12-28T10:42:00.001-06:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I hope that you all are getting to spend lots of time with family during this holiday season. Today, I'm sharing a sneak peak of a couple of layouts that I made for my blog post over at Catch the Moments today...here's a peak...

Click here to see the full layouts over on the Catch the Moments Blog...

Also, today, I want to share my "One Little Word" for 2011. If you aren't familiar with what this is, it is a really great project by Ali Edwards - you can find out the details here...

My little word for 2011 is......Balance....

Too much of a good thing can definitely be too much sometimes and I've experienced that first hand recently. So during 2011, I'm going to do my best to strive towards a place where I can truly balance work, school, family, and yes, even my hobbies. This is definitely a realistic goal since I've had a great opportunity to cut back my hours at work, spend more time with the little one, and go back go school. I'm also going to take balance a little further into my workouts and try to get on a regular schedule and add back in some pilates into my workouts. My expectation isn't perfection, just to try and find a good balance each day. I really believe that recognizing the balance in our lives is a good way to self-reflect, which for me, is just so important to being happy and really appreciating the little things in each day that are so special.

So there you have it, I hope you have a quick moment to check out my blog post over at Catch the Moments. I also challenge you to think about your little word for 2011. If you have your word already, I would love to see it in a comment :)...

I'm hoping to have more DD pages to share soon, so please come back to see me this week! Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Digital Release Day @ Two Peas

2010-12-21T10:16:00.001-06:00

Happy Holidays everyone! Tuesday is digital release day at Two Peas and one of Kerry Stewart has a two-set kit that she's releasing in the store. Check it out here.... and here...

I love this kit because it just has so many beautiful elements and the colors are vibrant and fun! I'm definitely going to make a few more layouts using this kit... And here is the layout that I made...did I say how much I Love this kit!!! Feel free to click on the picture to see the deets.

Credits:
Kerry'd Away Designs: Christmas Trimmings Paper Kit
Kerry'd Away Designs: Christmas Trimmings Extras Kit
Katie Pertiet: Alpha Strips
Anna Aspen: zig zag border

Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow, I'm sharing my one little word for 2011 - come back and check it out :)....

December Daily...Days 13-16

2010-12-17T19:06:00.001-06:00

Hey Everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great Friday! I'm super excited that it's the start of the weekend - we have a busy, but really fun weekend ahead of us - I'll share more soon (probably through December Daily). For now, I am sharing sharing my pages from Monday through Thursday. Please feel free to click on the pictures for a closer look at the details and the journaling....

So, how is everyone else's December Daily going?

Are you finding it tough to stay motivated? I know I am, but I just keep telling myself that it will be a GREAT keepsake for many years to come :)... I'll be sharing more throughout the weekend with regarding our holiday festivities. Take care and be safe!

All We Need...

2010-12-16T10:02:00.001-06:00

Is Love!!! Don't you just love that song! It's really the theme of my projects that I'm sharing today... I was so excited when my LSS - The Scrapbook Page asked me to work on some Valentines Day projects. I don't know about you, but all I've been looking at lately is Christmas schtuff, so it was kind of fun to deviate from it just a bit. I just love this new Pebbles line that just arrived at the store...here's a closer look....

All We Need Credits
Patterned Paper: Pebbles
Cardstock: Bazzill, Kraft
Titlework: AC - Fabric Letters
Tools: Cricut, Sewing Machine
Embellishments: Fabric
Thread: Miscellaneous
Spritz: Smooch
Ink: Ranger

LOVE Credits
Patterned Paper: Pebbles
Cardstock: Bazzill, Kraft
Titlework: AC - Fabric Letters
Embellishments: Small Clothes line pins, Tag
Tools: Sewing Machine, heating tool
Stamp: Tim Holtz
Ink: Versamark, Tim Holtz Distressing Ink
Embossing Powder: AC - Zinger
Thread: Miscellaneous

I LOVE YOU Jar
Patterned Paper: Pebbles
Cardstock: Bazzil
Tweed: Pebbles
Hearts: Cut from Cricut
Ink: Ranger
Eyelet: The Paper Studio
Stamp: Tim Holtz
Ink: Versamark, Tim Holtz Distressing Ink
Embossing Powder: AC - Zinger

So, I'm wondering - what are you guys working on today? Scrappy or unscrappy related?

I hope that you have a great day everyone! Be sure to check back tomorrow - I'm hoping to share days 13-15 of my December Daily tomorrow. Take care and stay warm!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2010-12-15T08:37:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday Morning Everyone! I just wanted to thank everyone who stopped by yesterday to leave me some love on my December Daily - you guys are so sweet :). I have a busy day ahead of me...work this morning...present shopping this afternoon...drop off my LSS Design Team Work (see below)...grocery shopping...eek! So much to do in such little time. I really do need to knock out some Christmas Shopping - it seems like this year I'm ahead on everything BUT that :).

So, how is your shopping going - are you all done or are you procrastinating like me? :)

Well, for today, I'm sharing my first project of two that I picked up at my LSS, The Scrapbook Page. I just love being on their design team because they are so flexible and generous with the projects!

Today, I'm showcasing the newest Reminisce paper line....here's a closer look...

Baby It's Cold Outside Credits
Patterned Paper: Reminisce
Cardstock: Bazzill
Titlework: Basic Gray
Brads: Paper Studio
Punch: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: Miscellaneous
Ink: Ranger
Thread: Miscellaneous
Tag: The Paper Studio
Tools: Singer Sewing Machine, Sizzix Big Shot: Tim Holtz Alterations Embossing Folder

Let it Snow Credits
Patterned Paper: Reminisce
Cardstock: Bazzill
Titlework: Basic Gray
Punch: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: Miscellaneous

Winter Wonderland Card Credits
Cardstock: Bazzill
Ribbon: Miscellaneous
Brads: The Paper Studio
Tools: Sizzix Big Shot, Tim Holtz Alterations Embossing Folder, Singer Sewing Machine
Punch: Family Treasures - 1.25 inch
Ink: Ranger
Thread: Miscellaneous
Card Inspiration: Linda Beeson

Thanks for stopping by! Check back tomorrow for my second project for The Scrapbook Page...

Have a great day!

December Daily...Days 7-12

2010-12-14T00:05:00.001-06:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I have been crazy busy working on my crafty projects. There's just something about it being 20 degrees outside that makes me want to hang out in my scrap room to make schtuff!

For today, I'm sharing days 7-12 of my December Daily. Here are the documented days (feel free to click on the pictures to get a close up on the journaling).

Thanks for taking a peek! Stay tuned to tomorrow and Thursday - I'll be sharing some fun projects that I've put together for my LSS!

December Daily-Days 4-6

2010-12-09T06:56:00.002-06:00

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great week. I'm a little behind on posting my December Daily pages, but I've been working hard on getting them finished. I've also managed to finish up another 7 hours of class and took my last final last night. Now, that I won't have class for about a month or so, I am looking forward to having some extra time with the family and working on some scrappy projects. I've got a few layouts in the works for the Catch the Moments Blog and for my LSS - the Scrapbook Page... For today, I'm sharing my DD pages for days 4-6. Here's a closer look (feel free to click on the picture for the journaling details).

I'm really happy about how this project is going...However, I did reach a point yesterday where I wasn't home until late because of work and school so I didn't take any pictures. Any suggestions on what to do with this day? I've thought about doing a page about something we did before December but was completely Christmas related - would love to hear what you think!

On a separate note - WHO LOVES A GOOD SALE? Everyone right!?! Please head over to the Catch the moments blog where Devon has some amazing deals going on right now! Click here for the deets...

Have a Great Day Everyone!