2013 Travels

Hiya! I want to share my latest page with you. It's my first for the month of February. After a full week of traveling at the beginning of this month, I was ready to be back home at my scrap desk.

This is something I whipped up late Sunday night on a whim. I was wanting to get crafty but wasn't really in the mood to get to the Valentines card I needed to make. So instead I flipped through my latest edition of Spark magazine (its part of the Simple Scrappers membership) for inspiration. There was an absolutely fabulous travel page that really caught my eye, so I decided to make my own version of it.

There are some similarities between mine page and the original one: the circle photos, die cuts in the middle of the page, bits of paper along the top and bottom, the "I am here" and geotag stamps. But that's about it. I more or less lifted the concept.

For the past few years I've been making a wrap up page of my travels for the year [2012 HERE] [2011 HERE] [2008 HERE] and it just so happened that all of my travels in 2013 were here in the US and also in the UK. I liked the tie in so I made a page featuring just those two countries and a blue/red/pink/gray color scheme.

I started out with a blank sheet of white cardstock and did some stamping and scribbling with a pencil. I also dropped some gray mist splatters to help fill out the page a bit more.

I layered patterned paper and die cuts together and added dimensions by roughing up the edges of the paper before gluing them down.

There are lots of bits and pieces, lots of embellishing on this page: baker's twine, brads, punched shapes, heat embossed geotags and some paper labels.

I punched all of the photos with a circle punch and adhered them down with foam squares to give them more dimension. And then added bits of patterned paper to the top and bottom of the page to finish it off.

I really like how this page turned out. I also like that it's nearly all stash stuff that's really old! The only new things I used were the airplane punch and the tiny Heidi Swapp stamps. All of the patterned paper was from my scrap drawer and I finally used those blueprints stamps! Plus I get to mark something off the old to do list. Sounds like a win-win-win to me =)

cheers & besos,

Top 13 in 2013

This, I have to say, is one of my favorite posts of the year. I love going back through my pages, looking back at all I've created and accomplished. (Here's a peak at 2010, 2011 & 2012 if you're interested.)

I learned a lot about my personal style this year. More so than I have any other year. 

I now know:

• I like to scrap photos in a variety of sizes.
• Texture and dimension are a few of my staples
• Transparency is something I love to play with
• Metallics add drama and glamour to everything
• Can't scrap without my Silhouette
• Or edit photos without the help of RadLab
• Adding just a touch of black & white to any page adds instant graphic appeal (and continuity to my pages...)

Which for me is huge! I've been scrapbooking for 16 years now. It's taken me this long to find all this out about myself and my crafting. It's helping me create better pages. And more of the kind I love.

So without further adieu, here are my 13 most favorite creations from 2013. (Click each photo to see that page's blogpost)

If I don't get back here before, happy new year! See you in 2014 =)

cheers & besos,

Brunch Invites

I wanted to do something different this year. Instead of giving my friends presents, I wanted to give them an experience....so to speak. We brunch semi-regularly. Everyone loves to eat and hang out. Chat and catch up. So I decided this year I'd take everyone to brunch. A first annual "Brunch on Us".

I put together these glorified invitations so they'd have something to open up. I had next to no time to make them. Actually, we were late to lunch because I was literally working up to the minute trying to get these done.

To be perfectly honest, I had no concept of what I wanted to do when I woke up that morning. I originally thought I'd put together micro mini books so I pulled a variety of photos and compiled them together for printing. But I liked the grid so much together that I decided to keep it.

And the cover, it was cut with my Silhouette. This "quote" rattled around in my brain as I was putting together the photo collage. So I thought it'd be perfect sentiment for my invite. Which is all about us being together anyhow.

I really quickly (and I mean really quickly) created the inside in PSE. But I like how it turned out. Maybe there's something to be said about not having time to second guess yourself.

I'm pretty sure my friends didn't know what to think of idea. But they liked the invite itself! They'll come around and we'll have more happy times in 2014.

cheers & besos,

Snowglobe Cards

It's here! It's done! It's in the box. I finally mailed off my 2013 Christmas cards. These things were a labor of love let me tell you. There's sooooo many steps involved in making them.

But finally, after 3 years of having this idea in my head. They're out and in the world! 

I present, a snow globe ornament.

These would not be at all possible without the help of my Silhouette. It seriously did all of the heavy lifting. I ended up using this design purchased from the online store. But did some serious editing in the studio software.

I feel like I threw just about every technique I could at these cards: letterpress, die cutting, stamping, heat embossing, confetti pocket, machine stitching. But it was well worth it.

The confetti inside is my favorite. I used a variety of speciality confetti/sequins, plus some punched shapes, glitter and even tiny bells. They jingle when they're moved.

For the backs, I heat embossed an Ali Edwards stamp (I also just realized I used that same stamp set for last year's Christmas cards. I guess that makes it super versatile!) with green powder and then stamped a few gold snowflakes around the edges. Matt & I signed the bottom of these with white ink and I added peoples names around the top.

The finishing touches are what took me the longest. Not stapling the ribbon or adding the twine. Nope it was printing out the address labels!!! I'm not even kidding you, everything but this was finished by the 1st of the month. But I just had this huge mental block about sitting at my desk to type up the labels. Finally, I got that done.

I decided to use these amazing gold dot bags as "envelopes" To keep them closed I used a plain jane return address label as tape. 28 of these suckers got mailed out today. They're zooming across the country as we speak =)

Christmas cards are my absolute favorite. I invest a whole lot of time and energy into them every year. But that's because I love to make them. If you'd like to share, I'd love to see your 2013 Christmas cards. Handmade or otherwise!

cheers & besos,

Summer Update

First off, the winners of the Scrapbooking for the Soul giveaway! 

Congrats to GnomeHome and Melanie G =) 

I picked one winner from the commenters here and one from the commenters on the thread I started at 2Peas. (I wasn't very clear about which post to post on...but happy I had already decided to giveaway 2 spots!). Ladies, I'll Peamail you!

Secondly, I just want to say, if you didn't win, seriously consider purchasing the class. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Thirdly, it's the end of summer. I blinked and it was gone! At the beginning of June I sat down and made a list of goals. Now that it's the end of August, it's time to check in on what I've accomplished. 

• 01. Grandparents Mini. Not started
• 02. Note Mini. Done! And gifted...and oh yeah, I made two =)
• 03. Japan Mini. Nearly done! I just need one last push to help check this one off. But the project isn't inspiring to me anymore (and I'm questioning if it ever was) so I'm thinking I should just call it quits. 
• 04. Start Travels Mini. I started it and never shared it. Whoops! The minor hold up on this one is that I need to organize my ephemera before it can really get going. But hey, the goal was to start it and it's started!
• 05. Start Paper Life Mini. Not started.
• 06. Start Project 12 Mini. I did this yesterday and am hooked! Why didn't I start this sooner?
• 07. Update blog design. Done! But I'm thinking I might want to do this again....
• 08. Catch up on classes. I signed up for several throughout the summer and kept up with them! I also went back through Wilna's Art class so definitely accomplished that. I did not even crack open the binder with all of my Maggie Holmes lessons. I'd say this ones about 3/4 of the way to done.
• 09. Organize ephemera. Maybe tomorrow? I'm not feeling as rushed to accomplish this. Not started.
• 10. Create art. It's done! Thanks to Camp Scrap and May's Mixed Media mini class, I was able to gather the necessary tools to get what I had in my head down on canvas. 
• 11. Decorate guest room. I finished it! So excited about how this room turned out. I never shared the photos. Is this something yall would be interested in seeing? Just curious :)
• 12. Walk 100 miles. My energy levels were terrible this summer. I'm working with my doctor to figure this out! But it didn't leave me with much gumption to get out there and do this. Still in progress.
• 13. Take 100 pictures. Between Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin and all of the random birthday celebrations this summer. I'm totally set with a whole new set of stories and photos to scrapbook. Done!

As you can see, I didn't finish them all. But I think I'm ok with that. I did accomplish 7, so that's more than half and more than what I would have done without sitting down to make this list. And that makes me happy.

Hope you all have a lovely rest of the weekend!

cheers & besos,

Geotag Canvas

Hey yall! Back this afternoon sharing my latest piece of altered art. It's a mixed media canvas that I've wanted to do for sooooo long now. And thanks to May's mini class in Camp Scrap, I was able to get it done. 

I've had this idea for at least a year now. And I'm so happy that I finally got around to doing it. Plus! I used this crap old canvas I had started to paint on in 2009!!! It's just been dragged from one apartment to the next in its ugly half painted state. Upcycling at it's best =)

I dug into my postcard collection for this piece. I've collected them from all over the world and wanted to get them up in my apartment in some way. And so, this geotag canvas was born.

I went to Kinko's and photocopied and lightened all of my postcards. I also reduced the size to 80%. When I got home, I decopauged them to the canvas using Perfect Paper Adhesive. It was my first stab at this kind of thing, so some of the pages bubbled, some of the corners didn't stick. But I was ok with that. I wanted it to look handmade.

Using wrapping paper (because who gets actual newspapers anymore?!) I made a template of the geotag and traced it over the postcards. After that, it took a somewhat steady hand to outline it in black and then paint the rest of the canvas. It's far from perfect but I absolutely love how it turned out!

Here are a few close ups:

I hung it on the wall that's directly in front of my bedroom door. You can see it as you walk from the living room to the kitchen. I've loved catching glimpses of it as I walk around the apartment.

And, as you can see. I really like black canvases with white designs! Over my bed is an older piece I did of the London skyline. I also have a huge canvas over my living room couch. 

cheers & besos,

Goals: June Update

How is it the last day of June?! Where in the heck has this year gone? And look at us, already 1/3 of the way through summer. So crazy, but such is life.

As it is the end of the month, I wanted to revisit my summer goals; to give yall a little update on my progress. Here they are again with my comments:

• 01. Grandparents Mini. Not started
• 02. Note Mini. Not started
• 03. Japan Mini. Nearly done! I just need one last push to help check this one off.
• 04. Start Travels Mini. Well lookie there, it's started! More on this, later in the week.

• 05. Start Paper Life Mini. Not started.
• 06. Start Project 12 Mini. Not started.
• 07. Update blog design. Done!
• 08. Catch up on classes. Well, I've more or less kept up with the one class I'm currently taking. Just need to get back through the older two I had wanted to revisit.
• 09. Organize ephemera. I pulled everything out and got overwhelmed in about 2.5 seconds. So I put everything away again. I'll get to this this summer. I'm determined. But just not today.
• 10. Create art. It's done! Thanks to Camp Scrap and May's Mixed Media mini class, I was able to gather the necessary tools to get what I had in my head down on canvas. Check back later for a full post on this project.

• 11. Decorate guest room. I finished it! So excited about how this room turned out. More on the blog later this afternoon.

• 12. Walk 100 miles. According to my calculations, I'm at 34.7 miles. Right on track!
• 13. Take 100 pictures. Thanks Chicago, for all of the great memories and for helping add to my scrap-able photo bucket. I'd say we're at 60 photos.

I'm so proud of myself for setting up my goals and getting them done. I love making lists and ticking things off of them, but when it comes to goals, I always find it difficult to stick with them. This is the first time I've really followed through. 

So much of it had to do with my mindset. Since I love my list of goals, I really wanted to get them done. Nearly everyday this month I'd think to myself, "ok what's one thing I can do to help me tick off a goal". Having goals that I love, I think has helped tremendously.

That room didn't come together over night, I had to buy the bookshelf. Then on a separate trip I had to buy some storage bins. I spent another day hanging things and making up the bed.

Same with the mixed media piece. One day I had to make the photo copies. Another, I bought the adhseive. And of course, it took a few days to actually finish the piece. 

Taking the time to make them cognitive thoughts as I've gone through my days, has been the reason I'm able to check things off my list!

4 goals completely checked off, 3 goals well on their way to being completed and 6 to be started. With 2 months left to go, I like my odds.

What about yall? Did you make any summer goals? Have you stuck to them? I'd love to hear!

cheers & besos,

Blog Giveaway

**Winner posted here**

Blog giveaway yall!! I've been doing some deep cleaning these past few weeks and have pared down my stash a nice bit. Some of it's going off to my local Child Welfare office for their Life Books programme. And some of it I put into a special box for one of you!

There's a ton o stuff in there:

• Little Black Dress Kit
• My Mind's Eye Collection Pack
• 3-6x6 paper pads
• Simon Says Stamp set
• 2-Date stamps
• 24 single sheets of paper
• Camera earrings (from Scotland!)
• Ribbons
• Baker's Twine
• Chipboard Alphas

All you have to do is comment below for the chance to win! How about you tell me your favorite color. Easy enough :) Oh, and please make sure if you anonymously post or don't have an e-mail address associated with your profile, that I have a way to get a hold of you!

I'll be off to Chicago next week (more on that later) but let's say the giveaway will be open until Sunday, 23 June at 11:59pm CST. Also open to international participants. Good luck!

cheers & besos,

Summer Goals

It's back on!

Earlier this year, I decided to stop my scrapbook spending and focus instead on stash busting. But then something awesome happened and it had to end. This summer though, I've decided the diet is back on.

It got bad again guys...I just couldn't not hit buy on all of the very pretty things I was seeing.

It's cool. I've slowly backed away from the computer and stashed my debit card.

But the summer of my no scrapbook shopping has begun.

Same rules still apply, I do get to buy adhesive and refills when needed. But no new Thickers or Patterned Papers. Stamps or Stickers. No ma'am. Na ah. It's over, all done.

I'm working on doing some light purging, so I'll have a RAK up here in a few days. But for now and as of June 1st, I'm officially on the wagon.

Now that that's out the way, I thought it'd be a great time to talk about summer goals.

I seriously cannot believe it's already June. Where has 2013 gone?! But guys, I'm seriously excited for the summer to be here. 

Even though I'm working full time, there's just something about the summer months  that make you feel like you're going to get a break. Or that hectic life schedules will slow down for once. And that you'll have some free time. It might be a myth or a fallacy, but at least it feels that way to me.

Here's a few summer projects I'm hoping to tackle:

• 01-03. Finish three paper projects. I'm planning to create the Grandparents Mini,  Note Mini and Japan Mini that I've bought suppliers for and never got around to making!
• 04-06. Start three paper projects. I've semi-started one, but am excited to start two other new mini books. Geez, this is starting to sound like the summer of the mini!
• 07. Update blog design. Done last night! Well really the wee hours of this morning.
• 08. Catch up on classes. Specifically, I want to read through my Maggie Holmes Photo class (she's not even doing them anymore, that's how behind I am on this class!) and Wilna's Art class. But I'm also signed up for Camp Scrap and Hello Story this summer and I'm soo excited! Summer school at it's best!
• 09. Organize ephemera. That's going to help me get started on one of those paper projects I'm hoping to create. It's going to take some time and a lot of organization, but I'm excited about it.
• 10. Create art. I've had this idea in my head for a piece of wall art I'd like to make, for awhile now. I just haven't done it. I think this summer's the perfect time to get it done.
• 11. Decorate guest room. It's a junk room really. All of the stuff I don't know what to do with is just lined up against a wall. Something needs to be done and it should be today or tomorrow, I'm thinking it'll happen. Maybe...
• 12. Walk 100 miles. I have a pedometer and the Nike fitness app. Plus plans for when to do this (Saturday morning & Monday night, plus Zumba on Wednesdays). It's getting done this year.
• 13. Take pictures. I need more things to scrapbook. I've been so not inspired by my photos a lot  lately and that needs to change. So I'm determined to capture more. Not just with my iPhone but also with that fancy camera I invested all that money in. Plus this goes well with Goal No. 08. Let's throw a number at it, I'd like 100 new scrapbook worthy photos to add to my catalog this summer.

So there you go. I didn't really intend for there to be 13 but once I started, I thought why not?

I'm excited about this summer. I've already decided, it's going to be epic!

cheers & besos,

Real Talk

Hello lovlies! Happy March to you all. I wanted to post a quick update on Product Free 2013. I know at least a few of yall had asked about my progress. And I have to say I was doing really well! Only spending money on photo paper/prints, a class here or there. And then ok, I may have snuck in a tub of sequins or two.

But then!

wait for it....

This very awesome opportunity came along and I couldn't pass it up! =)

I'm very excited to announce that I'm one of the new members of

the Little Black Dress Kit Club! 

That means goodies are going to be delivered to my door every month. Which I'm very excited about. But it also means Product Free 2013 is going to have to go away for now.

I'm going to remain strong. And try try try to only get new supplies from the kits! But we all know how that goes, one piece of cardstock here, a washi tape there and then bam! You've opened the floodgates.

So I'll "confess" now that I went to Archivers last week and used my buy $40 get $10 off coupon. But man, I was sooo good! My bill came to $30.68 I was so good :) Not ostentatious purchasing for me, just a few really great products that I will definitely use.

But enough of that. I get to share a few sneaks of my projects. I only had last night & this morning to play with the kit, my schedule has been so crazy. But I still managed to eek out 3 pages and 2 cards! 

Can't wait to show my first LBDKit projects! Check back on the 7th for the full reveal here on my blog.

Love you all for understanding. I truly wanted to hold out and remain Product Free in 2013. But some opportunities are just too good to pass up =)

cheers & besos,