Sweater Weather !

Well, it certainly does feel like it today. October 6th and it feels like August 6th :( But a few weeks ago, it was a chilly September, Saturday morning and my baby girl and I headed out to do some shopping. Being a summer baby, Baby M was mostly in onsies her whole life lol. I couldn't wait to put pants, socks, and this adorable sweater on her. Love this pic!

Ah! She's getting so big!  That lil sweater was handmade by a former parent of one of my first graders. I wanted to include something crocheted for an embellishment on the page; so I ordered a few things from a talented lady online (because lord knows I can't crochet haha!).

Here's my page using Echo Park's Little Girl collection and the latest sketch at Stuck! Sketches.

I am also sharing this page with Whimsical Twist and Frosted Designs, as their challenges are adding texture to your layout.

Have a wonderful Sunday!!

Happy as a Clam

TGIF! How was your week?? I've been working on this layout for a couple days and am "happy as a clam" to call it done ;) I really like how it turned out !! 

I used the new "Makin' Waves" line from Imaginisce and am entering it in their "sunny" July challenge:

Our niece, Alexandra, definitely was "happy as a clam in the sand" playing at the beach !! Forget the sandcastle, she was so content just to sit in the wet sand and play.

Look at that smile! :) :) I made a "photo corner" using surf boards I cut from one of the patterned papers in the collection, embellished with a twine tied button.

I love adding detail to the super cute die cuts from Imaginisce. I used yellow stickles and google eyes on the sun to really make him shine (above) and REAL sand from the beach on the sandcastle (below). The little crabby got google eyes too ;) Couldn't leave anyone out!

I cut my larger title using the orange chevron B side to one of the patterned papers using my cricut - and the subtitle at the bottom with mini alphas. I added buttons to balance out the opposite corner. I tore the craft paper to resemble more sand :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! I hope you did something that made you "happy as a clam in the sand: :) Speaking of which, I'm also sharing this layout at Scrapfit for using a long title! 

Have a fabulous weekend. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain!

Quick Quotes: Summer Breeze!

Good morning! I'm so excited to introduce you to one of Quick Quotes' newest releases!! Say hello to "Summer Breeze"!!  I just love the purples and teals in this collection.  Definitely feels "cool" on these hot, hot, HOT days of summer :)

I couldn't wait to put these papers to work on a layout of our youngest niece, Alexandra. Her favorite color is purple :)

(click to view larger)

I distressed the edges of the patterned paper and hand sewed the border. The purple gingham ribbon was the perfect embellishment to this black and white photo, which I printed with a bit of negative space on the left hand side.

I wanted to keep the focus on the photo and beautiful paper - so I added an inspirational quote to the bottom. The word "smile" was cut using my Cricut and coordinating paper from the collection. The rest of the text was printed on my computer (I was going to stamp it with Very Berry Powder Puff chalk ink but was too scared! lol!!) and matted on the same purple paper the photo and layout were layered on.

I hope you enjoyed this peek at the brand new "Summer Breeze" line! Be sure to stop by Quick Quotes to see the latest reveals from the rest of the design team. There are some gorgeous papers! :)

Have a great week!

{{Berry Sweet!!}}

I've been hoarding saving my Imaginsice Berrylicious papers and diecuts for a special page. When I saw the monthly sketch at Imaginisce, I knew this was the layout! 

I wanted to use an adorable photo of my nieces (all dressed up for the rehearsal dinner) from our Colorado trip:

Only of course, the colors clashed. 

So, I converted the photo to black and white and created this:

(click to view larger)

I'm thrilled with the result! I used ALL Imaginisce Berrylicious line for this page and let the photo shine.

I fussy cut the seed packets from patterned paper and added thread, popping one of them up for dimension.

I love the die cut titles and images in this collection! I *had* to add googly eyes to the strawberry ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! It felt so good to create a layout this week! ;)

Have a great day!

Bridal Shower

Tis the season, right? More bridal shower pictures :) This time it is my beautiful niece, Isabella, though! She was cracking up that there was an umbrella with holes in it to put cards in at the party. Then she said, oh cause it's a bridal "shower"... I get it.. LOL! We were cracking up at that one!

(click to view larger)

I just love how it turned out! Most of the products used are Bo Bunny's "Crush" line - which I bought JUST for this photo. I'm entering it in their "Stamping and Stitching" challenge. I used my white gel pen to faux stitch and dot around the patterned paper grid. I also used my number stamps to stamp and emboss the date at the top in white.

This Bo Bunny "Secret Crush" petal is my favorite part of this layout! I just love the black tulle and big red gem. It really adds a fun touch to her girly page.

To add definition from all the patterns, the photo and title (cut from the Sweethearts cartridge) are all on pop dots!

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful weekend!

Cute as a Cupcake!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday yesterday! I decided not to brave the crowds this morning, and scrapped a little instead of shopping :) I used this sketch from Artful Delight.

I used pictures of our sweet niece, Alexandra, on her 1st birthday earlier this year. She was all smilies in her new cupcake dress! I decided to run with it..

I am also linking this layout to Sketches in Thyme this week - which was to use any sketch :) I love how colorful these cupcake are from Create a Critter. I cut them at 1.75" which was perfect for these 2 inch squares. 

Don't you love this "Cupcake Poppy" from Tessa's shop? She is known for her felt and fabric flowers, but recently  updated Precocious Paper with TONS of unique embellishments. I love how this poppy goes with my theme (it's a cupcake wrapper!) but the tulle she used brings out the other details in Alexandra's dress too. Check them out :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Paper Variety's 1st challenge!

The wait is over!

Our first challenge launched today at The Paper Variety.

Abby created this versatile sketch..

I flipped it horizontally and scrapped more photos from our niece's baptism. This is my husband, Dave, and our older niece. They have such a special bond, it needed a special layout :)

I used Bo Bunny's Alissa line and a Precocious Paper flower. My favorite are the doodle dots/lines around the border!

Come play along for a chance to win this fabulous kit from The Paper Poppy!

Come join the fun & see what the rest of the design team did. WOW!

Tu-Tu Cute!

I couldn't wait to scrapbook these precious pictures of my cousin's little girl Lucy. She was all glammed up for her big brother's birthday party. She recently had her ears pierced, wore her new black tu-tu from grandma and even kept her little bow in! She was all smiles!

I used Basic Grey's Bittersweet papers for the black and pink combo. I looked high and low for a black lace or ruffle like in her skirt - but no luck! I ended up inking white lace (for the wedding album) in black for a different look. A Precocious Paper flower brings it all together :)

Baptism Layout

I fell in love with this sketch on the Creative Genealogy blog and knew I wanted to use it on a special layout. Last spring our niece was baptisms and my husband named her godfather.

I used papers Bo Bunny patterned papers and a Precocious Paper flower to accent the pictures. I love the photo corners!

I wanted to include a few more pictures - so I carried them over to another page, with 2 more photo corners and a bit of the same patterned paper.

I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend! :)

Life is Good.

Thank goodness for Facebook! I almost missed the latest My Minds Eye sketch! I love their products and their monthly sketch challenges. This one is no exception. The theme is summertime. I choose 2 pictures of my nieces at the beach (another reason to thank facebook lol!).

I used the Jack and Jill line from the Quite Contrary collection :) Aren't these 2 the cutest?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Red, White and Cute!

When did August sneak up on me?! Now that July has past, though, I can share with you the layout I made for the monthly layout challenge at Scrappin-n-Chattin. The theme was patriotic.

I had to scrap these adorable pics of our nieces on the 4th of July!

Can you believe that I bought these papers at Target in the $1 section? Okay, I confess I was really there raiding the back-to-school aisles already.

I kept it simple with the busy background and used my circut to cut out the star circles from another sheet of patterned paper. The title was cut with Sure Cuts a Lot.

Ready or not... August is here! :)

Little Lovebug!

Using sketch 68 from The Scrappiest blog, I did today's daily layout challenge over at Scrappin-n-Chattin. We needed to use a buggy embellishment. You also got a bonus entry, if you followed the 1, 2, 3 recipe - 1 word title, 2 pictures, and 3 embellishments. I considered "lovebug" one word since "ladybug" is one word. Right? lol.

This is my niece Alexandra and I.

The title and 2 ladybugs are cut from Create a Critter cartrdige; aren't the adorable?

Thanks for stopping by!

24 Hour Layout Challenge!

The latest challenge at Scrappin-N-Chattin is the monthly 24 layout contest. Our wonderful hostess April, notes 3 of your current collections, picks 3 sketches and chooses a partner for each person. Your partner picks the sketch and collection they want you to use. And you have 24 hours to make the layout!

My partner this round, Kristie, picked this sketch with my Basic Grey Lemonade.

I made a page with a photo taken last year - my hubby and I with our 2 beautiful nieces. I used K&Co coordinating embellishments, gifted from my friend Abby. Thanks!

Love the 3d look! The scallop border is a Sure Cuts A Lot file and cut on my cricut. One of my favorite designs!

I finished this challenge with 2 minutes to spare! LOL. The next day, I made the 2nd page with more photos of that day.

Here they are together!

Thanks for looking! :)