2016 Books [No. 02/02]

I have another book project to share! Continued from my [previous post], here's the backside of the 9x12 pocket page. It's much more colorful!

I used three cards from the [June kit] and I'm excited that the Book Review card is also available in this month's [printable]! I will definitely print up a bunch of these for my summer reading!

I also incorporated some of the new [Sunny Days] items on this bottom card. I thought the tag was so perfect, books absolutely make my heart smile!

I have two more book themed pages in my head. I even took photos! Think that's what I'll be scrapping next =)

cheers & besos,

2016 Books [No. 01/02]

I love documenting the books that I read. I did this [last year and loved it] so much I did it again with my [June Elle's Studio kit]! It features two book related journaling tags.

9x12 has become my new favorite pocket page size. Visually, the dimensions are just so pleasing to my eyeballs. I like this grid. It just feels right!

I googled and found as high resolution images of the book covers, as possible. It's hard to find large enough files! But it's good that I only printed these at 3x4 size.

For this spread, I used two [journaling tags], the [Shine Bright stamp set], a [patriotic acrylic star] and a [puffy heart].

My favorite detail has to be this tiny book. I used the test print of my journaling to cut out little pages that I stapled together. I think the [stamp] is meant to be sunglasses, but hey they work as reading glasses too!! This whole card is glued to the outside of the pocket. I couldn't bear to cut down that heart!

The bright pops of blue just liven the page up. I'm lucky that that [blue journaling card] so closely matches the cover of The Happiness Project!

I have the back side of this layout to share with you next. It'll be up on the blog in a few days. But if you're interested in the [kit] specifically, jump on it ASAP. Elle's mentioned that there are only a handful left!

cheers & besos,

Ladies who Lunch

I was so blown away by this month's Elle's Studio kit. The colors in it..."the colors duke, the colors!" were so fun! I've been realizing lately that I don't use much green in my projects. Teal yes, green not so much. So it was fun to play with green on this page! Even if only in small ways.

Inspired by last month, I went for another 9x12 double page spread--one full layout and the other a pocket page. Which I'm rapidly realizing is really fun! The page is about a small shower we threw for my friend Kim who is due in a couple week's time. 

I knew what I wanted to do with the 9x12 layout really early on. I laid out the foundation and then stepped back. It just didn't look complete somehow. So to add more punch, I decided to create a tone on tone pattern with the Everyday stamp set and white embossing powder. It's hard to photograph, but the effect IRL is pretty awesome and it was exactly what this page needed.

To embellish, I created a visual triangle with the stamp set, enamel dots, mist and one of the great exclusive veneers! They might just be some of my favorite ever. I added one to a card for the pocket page and liked that balance. Even though the two layouts are kind of separate, I wanted them to be a cohesive unit.

For journaling, I wrote about the day and the event. And I also journaled about my two besties, Kim & Tara. Like last month, I've given myself permission to write about whatever it is I feel like expressing, regardless if it "goes" with the page or not. It's making me happier about these pages and my process. And that, friends, is what it should be about!

All of these new goodies are available in the Elle's Studio shop now! Buy the monthly kit today for $9.99 and then $11.99 after that. When they're gone they're gone. So if you're interested, jump on them quickly.

Today's also the day for the new Design Team Gallery. I'm so excited to click through and see what my fellow team members have created.

I also made a half dozen cards with the stamp set. You'll be able to see them in the gallery now but I'll blog more about them later this week.

cheers & besos,

Coffee & Donuts

I'm so excited to share my first Elle's Studio projects. I loved playing with the January kit and the stamps and the cut files. I wanted to use so much of it that I stepped a bit out of my comfort zone and totally went for it with this pocket page paired with a 9x12 in layout.

The two pages together don't necessarily tell the same story. Really, the only thing they have in common is that the photos were taken on our trip to Portland. But I like them together for some reasons. And I totally think its ok if in my head these are a double page spread =)

The page is a little love note to my boyfriend. I want to make sure he knows that I adore him. I mixed patterned papers from the Thankful collection in with a few of the cards from the January kit. That gradient card was my favorite. I love the colors! It was the perfect little landing place for the  "Adore You" acrylic piece which I used as my title.

But my most favorite item of them all was the stamp set. And especially the stamp set paired with the most amazing ink pad I've ever used. Look at this photo: I stamped on it with white ink. WHITE INK! It's truly a unicorn, a white ink pad that actually works. 

To me, this stamped so clearly it almost looks like a digital brush. But nope, this was done by hand. To note: I left it to sit out for a good hour before sliding it into the pocket. I didn't want a smeary image because it does take a bit to dry.

I also loved those tiny donuts! I need to figure out more ways to incorporate them into my projects because I think they're just too cute. And really, they were the jumping off point for choosing these photos. Donuts = Voodoo Donuts = Portland = Our trip in 2014. I stamped these with two teal, purple and red ink and then heat embossed pink sprinkles on a few of 'em. They look scrumptious to me!

I adored this cut file which is of hearts. But, a few of the hearts are only half cut and you fold them over to see them whole. I love the texture and dimension it adds to this pocket! I used that file to make a few cards, which I will share later this week. It's turned out to be one of my favorite cut files I've ever used! And the "negative" hearts that came out of the pocket design, were added to the Adore You layout as a bit of tone on tone texture. Win win!

I had so much fun playing with these products. And as of this posting, they're available over in the Elle's Studio shop. The kit is normally available for $11.99, but until 2:00am CST, it's only $9.99. So if you're interested in nabbing it, I'd suggest doing it now. Because as always, the kit, the stamps, the extras are gone when they're gone. So get them while they're hot!

The rest of the design team are also sharing their projects today. You can see everything over in the Designer's gallery. I'm racing over there as soon as this posts to see what everyone has created!

cheers & besos,

WITL-Tuesday

In tandem with my 31 at 31 page, I decided to do a quick Week in the Life as well. This is still in progress. I'm just really bad at pocket pages when I have to a whole series of them! The photos are printed and in pockets. I just need to add one journaling card and one decorative card for each day. That's it! But I can procrastinate with the best of them so not sure why this surprises me still.

Anyway, here's the only finished page I have for WITL. It's a few photos, a journaling card and a decorative card. I used the October Mix Tape kit from Scrapbook Circle. It's a super simple spread but I like the photo heaviness of it. I hope I find the momentum to keep going and not let this fall into the scrapbook project wasteland!

Tessa blogged about this on the Scrapbook Circle blog. Head over there for more about this spread!

cheers & besos,

Thirty One at 31

I have a tradition. Every year I write xx facts about me at xx year. You can see my past pages here: 28 at 28, 29 at 29, 30 at 30. This year I mixed it up a bit and decided to scrapbook this using a divided page protector. All of the products are from the Scrapbook Circle Mix Tape kit & Cassette add-on. I blogged about this over on the SBC blog. Head that away for more about this page (which I'm loving!)

cheers & besos,

SBC & The Cut Shoppe Blog Hop

Hiya! Welcome to the awesome Scrapbook Circle & The Cut Shoppe collaborative blog hop. Scrapbook Circle teamed up with The Cut Shoppe to bring you this fun hop.

**Giveaway & promo closed but comments still open**

I've been a fan of Ashley's designs for awhile now (see other projects here). So it was super easy to integrate her fantastic cut files into my pages this month.

For this hop, I'm sharing a double page layout featuring the Geometric Graffiti background. The layout is about my neighborhood in Bangkok.

I have a single feature photo on one page. And this is where I incorporated the cut and nearly all of the papers from the June Have a Little Fun Today kit and You are Here add on.

The cut makes it look really complex but it's actually a really simple page. Just the photo, title, patterned paper filled cut and one flair badge (I love! More flair badges in SBC kits, please!)

This second page is equally as simple and that was totally intentional. There's so much to see in the photos, that I didn't want to distract from them. I added in a die cut here and there as well as a label where I stamped the date.

There was so much going on in the photos and with that cut file, I wasn't sure where to include my journaling. So instead of over complicating the design, I just added a pock page insert. That's where I added more embellishments, like a few of the die cuts from the Pink Paislee Atlas ephemera pack and that great silver airplane vellum in the Main kit.

I added two additional photos that I hadn't had room for before the pocket page, as well as my journaling.

That second pocket has two die cuts back to back that I stapled just at the top. I like that it's kind of floating there and that you can see what's behind it.

The bottom pocket is where I added the vellum. I love playing with transparency and vellum is an awesome way to do that.

Journaling Reads:
"I went back to visit MT in Bangkok after I left. I'm so glad I managed to take pictures of the old neighborhood and the streets we walked every day. Our apartments were at Sitara Place which is in the Ratchadapisek (Ratchada) part of Bangkok, just off Soi 3 (Saam). It was a nice "suburb" with lots of modernization. We were in between two sets of malls, the Boma (or Bowling Mall) and the Tema (or Tesco Mall as we dubbed them). Every day we'd get up and walk (or take the apartment Tuk tuk) to the metro station in front of the Tema. On the weekends, we'd head to the Boma for food or massages or other entertainment. Walking the streets you'd see lots of concrete and garages, Thai flags and the King's flag, mini temples with offerings. And it wouldn't be Thailand without a stray dog or twenty. On this particular day we were walking to the Boma and I snapped a ton of photos on the way. Just as we were approaching a corner I saw this little Thai girl through my viewfinder, she was so excited to see us. It was Ana, who I hadn't seen in months. She saw me before I saw her and it made me laugh when I was looking back at these photos and saw her reaction. It's still crazy for me to believe that I lived in Bangkok for a season. It was such an amazing time in my life."

Alright then! Be sure to hop along with the rest of the Scrapbook Circle team (start here) and comment as you go. We will be selecting a winner from all of the blog hop comments to receive $20 to The Cut Shoppe Hop.

ALSO, be sure to stop by The Cut Shoppe blog to see what their team created with our June kit. Comment on The Cut Shoppe post and you are entered to win one of the Have a Little Fun Today kits!

Finally, here's a wee promotion for you to use during the hop. I'll be jumping on this one myself. There's a ton of new cuts I'm excited to play with.

Next on the hop is Diana!

cheers & besos,

Simple Scrapper-May

Hiya! How is it already May?? I just can't believe how quickly this year has gone. We're nearly halfway through! May also marks 6 months of working on the Simple Scrapper creative team. I'm loving every minute!

Here are my latest two pages, as featured in May's edition of Spark Magazine. I love how incredibly different they are! My layout is super linear and fairly minimal. While this pocket page is so graphic and a tad crazy. I didn't really intend for that 2nd page to be turned sideways, but I just couldn't make the 8 1/2 x 11 inch version of this page work, so I hacked it apart and put it in pockets. Problem solved!

Even before I was part of the creative team, I was a Simple Scrapper member. I love this community and the events that Jennifer puts on. The next one coming up is called Photo Crush. It's a totally free event aimed at organizing your digital photo library. Tackling this has been on my to do list for ages. And May 11-17 is just after my crazy hectic work week. The timing couldn't be better. If you also suffer from a messy hoard of photos, this might be just what you're looking for. Also, if you're interested in learning more about Simple Scrapper risk-free, then jump in on the fun!cheers & besos,