Beautiful Sisters

I just finished a huge and awesome project ... but it will take me so long to post it ... so it'll have to wait a day or two. Suspense!!! You'll love it :)

For now, you can look at the companion page to my recent wedding layout (for Little Shop of Sketches). While we were at the wedding we took this lovely shot of all of us sisters. We were by the ocean in late April and it was COLD! The wind was blowing and my sisters were freezing and shivering. I don't know why, but I didn't think it was that bad ...


I tried not to overwhelm the photo. It's getting harder to figure out how to enhance the photo. My standards are going up :)

Everything is from Taylor Made Designs at Oscraps.com.

I hope you enjoy it!

*~*~*

Happy Memorial Day

Hello! I just got back from a picnic where we had a ton of fun and I ate way too much food :)

In honor of the holiday, which feels like Summer, I'll show you this beginning of Spring layout I did a little while ago ...All elements are from the Danielle Young Spring Breeze kit except for the TMD stitched frame.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Samantha - Sweet

Samantha is sweet :)

This is just a simple little layout to highlight my baby girl's sweet smile :)
All products used are from Oscraps.com ... the paper is from a collab kit, the alphas are a recolored freebie from Vicki Stegall, the elements are from the TMD collab In Retrospect.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Grandma, Read to me

Just a simple little layout about my mom reading to the kids ... they love books and we're more than happy to indulge :)


You can't really see the edges because it's a white layout. I struggled with all the white space, but was trying a new style ...

Frame and butterfly are a freebie from Taylor Made Designs. Word art was made by me :)

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Abby - She is ...

I've decided to do a series of 12x12 layouts for my mom - one for everybody and every body will get there own page. So, there will be twelve for now ... my dad, my mom, Kevin, myself, my brother-in-law, my three sisters, my brother and my three kids.
I'm actually really excited about this and can't wait to get scrapping! Now, to find good pictures ... that's the hardest part!

It actually all started with this awesome picture of my middle sister, Abigail (Abby). I wanted to do a layout and then decided towards the end that I should do this for all my siblings ... and then give them to mom ... and then I should do one for everybody!

Before I tell you all about it, I should say that this all started with the Stampin' Scrap Girls Night In challenge using this Pagemaps sketch. I loved it and had this fabulous vertical picture of my sister from last month.

So, as I'm laying this out ... I was planning to use textured white cardstock as my base and Basic Grey Scarlett Letter paper for the smaller rectangle. Well, I'm clear out of white cardstock!!! So, after trying a million different combinations, this is what I came up with and I wish I'd thought of it first:


I wanted it to be layered and beautiful without overdoing it - to be beautiful in it's simplicity. Of course, it's not incredibly simple, but compared to the amoun of flowers I could have put on it ...

The funniest part of this is the 45 minute cell phone conversation I had while working on it. I called one of my other sisters to get input. I was so frustrated with the cs issue and couldn't decide on a title ... so we brainstormed. My sisters, brother-in-law and father were all watching my husband play softball (while I was at home putting the kids in bed and yes, I wish I could have been watching, too), so I talked to them all and even Abby's boss and our good friend, Danielle, who was there as well ... and we all came up with the words that I used as journaling. I tried to get them to give me three each ... but that backfired with Beth and Danielle who got together and just kept going and going and going and going ... they love Abby :) We all do :)

I layered two American Crafts black on clear stickers, two Basic Grey rubons, Hero Arts white vine ribbon, prima flowers, MM brads, rhinestones, CTMH crystal flowers, CTMH staples, embroidered ribbon, MM alphas, chipboard scalloped circle, and I got those butterfly stickers from the Dollar Store! I bought all three packages they had :)

They all loved it when I showed them and I can't wait to get started on the rest!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Little Shop of Sketches Birthday Party!!!

Little Shop of Sketches turns ONE today!!!

There are two prizes to be won ... so get ready, set and GO!

• Head on over to Little Shop of Sketches
• Browse the sketch gallery
• Create a layout based on the sketch of your choice (37 to choose from)
• Post it to the gallery before June 4th for a chance to win!!!
• Check this post for full contest rules

Also, if you post about the celebration on your blog, you will be entered to win another fabulous prize! Spread the word and post about it on the LSS blog!!!

GO! GO! GO!

I look forward to seeing what you create :)

*~*~*

On a roll!

I'm on a paper layout roll! I love having my own photo printer! Granted, it doesn't print as pretty of a picture as a professional print shop, but it does the job when I'm inspired!

I wanted to do a layout and was browsing through the Pagemaps from Becky Fleck. This one caught my eye:
Since I have a printer, I could do the bigger photo ... and I have a ton of photos from May (loving my new camera) and I needed to do something with them!

So I went for it!
These are pictures of the kids at the park ... I have a TON of pictures of the kids at the park! This is just a few from one day!

I used:
Creative Imaginations textured CS
My Mind's Eye papers, die cut frame and bracket
Making Memories journaling paper
Basic Grey ribbon
CTMH staples in blue
American Crafts Thickers
string

It's so awesome to get something done!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Honoring My Mom

I saw this awesome layout on Ali Edward's blog and thought I'd give it a try.

Guess which one is me :)

It took me a while to find an older photo of my mom. There aren't many of her with us ... but this one fit well enough. The colors were darker and bolder. I also didn't have a whole lot of paper to work with (most of my stuff is in storage), so I picked this one out (from Close to my Heart Let's Get Together).
I painted my own paper and made my own word art. Yes, I copied it word for word. Why mess with a good thing? Then I printed it out. I actually messed up and this isn't the piece of the paper I was going for ... but you work with what you've got :)
I cut the flower out from a coordinating CTMH patterned paper, put a Prima flower, CTMH button and string.
CTMH ribbon.
Making Memories Tiny Alpha stickers in black and blue.
CTMH photo turns that I painted blue.
Making Memories brads.
Handwritten journaling as frame.
I plan to make a scalloped border on the top when I get my new punch in the mail!

I really do love my mom. She's a beautiful person and I thank God often for the example that she has set for me. She's an amazing grandmother as well. I just absolutely love my mom.

Dancing

I didn't know that one of the kids had taken this picture until after I downloaded the pictures off of the camera ... it's not particularly flattering, but it captures something special :)

All elements are from Danielle Young at Oscraps.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

My Hero

Daddy is a soldier.

That means that he works hard to protect our country. He protects our freedom. He helps to keep us safe. He is a dedicated and hard working man and we love him. We are proud of him! We know that no matter where he goes or what he does, God is with him and keeping him safe. We will mis him while he is gone on his mission, but we are thankful for soldiers like Daddy. Daddy is a hero!

Kevin is leaving in two months for a year-long mission overseas. He's already very busy with the training. We really will miss him ... but he is coming back.

Little Shop of Sketches Wednesday!

It's the second installment with our guest designer, Laura Vegas. I can't say enough how thrilled I am that she agreed to participate! I really do recommend checking out her blog - you'll love it!

This week, Laura designed a sketch for us! Here it is:

This is my take on it:

Yes, wonder of wonders, I did a paper layout :)
I'm actually supposed to be the digital scrapper for the LSS design team, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity :) I've always wanted to do a Laura Vegas style layout :)

The background paper is from Me & My Big Ideas (single sheet I got from my LSS). Black and white cardstock are Creative Imaginations textured cs. The stripe is Basic Grey Scarlet Letter. The red letter stickers and white tiny alpha stickers are Making Memories. The rhinestone word is Me & My Big Ideas. The flowers are Prima. And I printed out my own pictures!!!

Be sure to head on over to the Little Shop of Sketches site to check out the other lovely designers' awesome work and remember to upload the layouts you make off of this sketch!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Funny Face

How could I not scrap this picture? It just cracked me up when I captured it :) My daughter is a messy eater. She's always covered in something after a meal and it's a struggle to keep her clothes clean - the face is not even a possibility.

All items used are freebies from the Oscraps bloghunt - from FeiFei's Stuff and Taylor Made Designs.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Laugh

You've got to love it when your children laugh. This is my son, on the floor, while I was tickling him with one hand and taking pictures with the other. I actually REALLY like this layout:


The frames are from Karah Frederick, the elements are from Kitty Designs Dino Dig kit, and the word art is from Taylor Made Designs. All available at Oscraps.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Hybrid Mother's Day cards

I'm all set for Mother's Day! Thanks to Danielle Young over at Oscraps :)

She has a lovely new kit, Muffins for Mom:
Looking forward to using that ... but the cool thing is that not only is it on sale for 42% off right now, you get this wonderful card kit for FREE when you purchase the page kit!

These cards are an awesome idea for Mother's Day!!!

Since I'm a photo person ... and my family has come to expect that of me ... the only one that really fits for me is the one with a frame. So, I made the same card for all of my important Mother's Day recipients.

Here's the one for Kevin's mother:

The picture is when they were down from Maine - visiting for a few days because of Andrew's Baby Dedication.

This one is for my Mom and my Grandma:
This picture was taken on Easter Sunday.

I could just send the 4x6 files to a photo shop ... but I'm going to test out our new photo printer!

So, if you're looking for a unique gift for Mom ... give this a try!

*~*~*

Andrew - I adore you

I really love this layout. I love the colors. I love the feel. I just love it :)

The pictures are of Andrew on the bed in our Boston hotel room - circa March 2009.

The journaling reads:
Andrew, my son, you are so cute!
I love the way you scrunch up your nose to laugh.
I love the way you squeal for me and to get your way.
I love the way you smirk when you get what you wanted.
I love the way you ambitiously try to follow your siblings.
I love the way you toddle around.
I love the way cuddle and snuggle into me.
I love the way you talk - well, babble - with confidence.
I love the way you high-five.
I love the way you make faces and sigh in your sleep.
I love the way you always pull your socks off.
I love the way you crawl so fast and get into everything.
I love how you laugh and squirm when I tickle you.
I love how easy going you are.
I love how you love everybody and bless so many by being you.

I used paper from the Photogenic kit by Paislee Press and Audrey Neal.
The stamp, word art, and stitches are from Taylor Made Designs.
The frames are from Paislee Press Viewfinder Frames.
Font is CK_Ali's_Handwriting.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday was actually a month ago, but I've waited until now to share ...

These pictures are from when my family took me out to dinner - we had Pete Nichols pizza, my favorite. It's basically a white sauce pizza with chicken and eggplant (or bacon, the non-eggplant lover's substitute). Very simple, but nobody does it like Olympic Pizza!

The beautiful title and pink paper are a freebie from Createwings Designs for the Oscraps Birthday Bash, as is the trio of frames by Karah Frederick. The clear numbers are from Danielle Young's Crystal Clear Alpha, the rhinestone flourishes are from Kitty Designs Fruit of Love kit and the butterfly flourish is from Taylor Made Designs Indefinitely kit.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

April Showers ...

Well, April is over ... but it's still raining :)

In honor of the dreary day outside, I'm going to post my two rainy day layouts ... yes, TWO!

I created these shortly after my birthday, when my mom gave me and UMBRELLA! Practical mommy of mine and her practical gifts. You want to know what else I got on my 27th birthday? Sheets. White sheets. Practical mommy of mine ... but I love her!

I kind of went wild with it, but wat else was I supposed to do with this photo? I say go where the inspiration takes you ... and this was it.

I used a million (light exaggeration) re-colored brush strokes from Fei Fei's Stuff, a Kim Desmet splash and Taylor Made Designs word art, wheat spray, stitches and heart.

*~*~*

Now the kids absolutely LOVED the umbrella.

Obviously, I've been spending some time at Oscraps lately ... I do design for one of the designers ... and I have noticed a more cartoony, artsy, fantastical style that I admire. I haven't quite figured it out, but this was my first attempt. Somewhat of a fantasy, but not completely.

The title was a freebie from the Oscraps Birthday Bash from Createwings Designs, but everything else is from Kitty Chen's Simple Faith or Dino Dig kit.

I hope you like them!

*~*~*