I have a fun little project to share tonight.
How many of you are racking your brains, trying to figure out what to do for your special someone/significant other for Valentines?
I was, until a couple days ago. My thoughts spanned the Spectrum- what could I buy, do for or make for my husband? Then it hit me. I'm not sure how the idea surfaced. I like to think I thought up of it all on my own, but I may have had some inspiration from an outside source. *Ahem pinterest*. Maybe.
I'm just going to stick with thinking up of it all in my own :D
Valentines coupons! I made valentines coupons for Kyle. Ten of them, to be exact, and they range from sweet little compliments whenever he wants them, to an hours massage (by a professional, of course). They'll never expire, so he has all the time he needs to redeem them.
I needed a little help thinking up of coupon ideas, so I googled it. There's quite a few options! There are a lot of downloadable templates out there. Not so many for creative romantic activities. But, there were enough to make 10 romantic coupons for my dear husband.
And, I'm so proud of it! I can hardly wait to give it to him.
Are you hand making/crafting gifts for your special peeps? How about your kids? There's a ton of ideas for the littles out there, but I'm just going to stick to the store bought route. The kids spied really cute stuffed animals at Wally World, so I'm thinking I just may buy them one each of those.
Till next time...
~a
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
It Is Done
So, if you've visited my blog and headed over to my Pinterest, you'll notice that there's a few layouts posted there- along with the sketches that inspired me. If you haven't been over there yet, go check it out so you'll know what I'm talking about!!
Sketches really help me out. I feel like I lack in the creativity department all on my own, and as a result, I have come to find that I rely quite heavily on sketches. They're a great tool- may as well utilize them!
So, lets see...where do I begin?
Oh...my Klutz layout. I nearly broke my toe trying to use my foot as my weapon of choice to move the kids' potty out of my way one afternoon this past summer, and I wound up stubbing it instead of gracefully moving it. It didn't hurt so much that I passed out (which has happened to me before), but I sure did see stars! The bruise is testimony to that. I don't bruise often, and when I do, it takes quite a bit of force (or the right end of a certain object).
As far as my design goes, the blocking and the space for journalling really inspired me. I wanted to have enough space to journal about my aptitude for klutziness, and I wanted to find a design that was clean and simple. Lately I just don't want too much clutter or things going on. I've liked the clean and simple design style for quite some time. Now I'm adopting it as my own! You'll find that's true of all my layouts recently. I'm not sure if it will change, or if it does, it won't happen any time soon.
My By Herself layout is dedicated to Miss Maren, and her eagerness and desire to accomplish things on her own. It makes me really proud (and relieved, in a way) when she grabs the wash cloth from my hands and insists on washing herself after I've done washing her hair. She's growing up and showing her independence while she's at it, and that's what makes me so proud. Sadly, she soon won't need me for anything...I suppose I should enjoy helping her while it lasts!
I really liked the punching aspect of this layout, and think I might try and work more of it into my layouts and cards- especially full page punching. I love the way it looks! My favorite part of this layout: the journalling spot. Such a fun place to put it!
Since I made a layout all about Miss Maren, I figured I should do one all about Miss Addison. Both girls are so unique; I still marvel at how different they are, and they were born only 9 minutes apart! Addison is the thinker. She will sit and figure things out- try and make sense of how things work, or why they do the things they do. Sometimes the questions she asks impresses me- they are so deep for a soon-to-be-three-year-old!!!
She is also our affectionate little sweetheart. She's constantly asking for hugs and kisses and telling us she loves us- and not just loves us, but loves us very much. She's a beautiful little soul!
She's our clown. She's sharp, and often has witty comments in response to things we say or ask.
She's such a neat mixture of both Kyle and I; she's the perfect little package.
Both girls, as I tell them often, are just right.
What drew me to this sketch was the simplicity of the design. Just the picture and banners poking out from underneath. Tons of white space, and I think that's what initially pulled me in. Instead of banners, I wanted to use a round scallop circle stamp, but I wasn't liking it poking it out from the bottom; so, I moved it to the side. I feel it balances the design a bit better, with the third scallop circle functioning as the title mat and journaling spot. I absolutely LOVE the teal paper stamped in white, and then matted on top of the black card stock. That's my most favorite part of this layout!! (So is that sweet little lady bug brad that's hanging from the white ribbon. Way too adorable!!)
Lastly (for now), is my Fork Please layout. The girls are funny- they ask for forks for everything. Seriously. Ev.ery.thing!!! They would rather eat finger foods with forks than their fingers. They must have inherited their dislike of dirty hands from me. Even though I'll eat certain foods with my fingers and not utensils, I cannot stand dirty hands otherwise. Makes the whole of me feel icky.
I had a lot of fun putting this layout together. I love the stamping in the background- its grungy and terribly imperfect, but I like the effect it lends. I also love the dark shade of teal paper paired with the retro square patterned paper. The colors look fabulous together! The unexpected burst of colour the orange card stock adds is a lot of fun, too. I just wish the orange of the letter stickers was closer in tone to the paper. Oh well. The brightness of it really makes it pop.
My favorite aspect of my design is that giant flower. It came from Rebecca (beyondbzr) over at Scrapbook.com, and I'm finally getting around to using one (of the two) she sent. It was part of a prize I won last year. Whoo! What do I love so much about it? The inked edges of the flower. I used my More Mustard SU ink to color the edges, and I love the way it turned out! It gives quite a bit more dimension to an already beautiful flower. And, the leaf? Love.it!!! That came from a silk hydrangea flower (one of many, actually), that were used in a little project for my house, and I thought I'd hang onto the leaves instead of throwing them out along with the stems that the flowers came off of. The leaf may be a little large for the flower, but it still works well. In my humble opinion.
So, there you have it! I've caught you all up on my last couple layouts- all in one blog post. How about that for efficiency, hey?!
Speaking of winning prizes...I checked into my email this morning, and found an email from Emily Anderson, who works for Scrapbook.com. Those of you that are familiar with SB.com will be familiar with this name. I won $10 off my next purchase, just for uploading a layout to the gallery this week. And, you know what's funny?
I was thinking about just that very thing last night as I was trying to fall asleep in bed. I was just thinking to myself how nice it would be to win something like that from sb.com (though, I was day dreaming of winning $100). Meh, $10 is better than a boot in the pants!
Hopefully Kyle buys me another pre-paid Visa so that I can use up what's left on the one I currently have, AND the $10 off coupon that I just won. Before March 30. I've been hinting that Valentines would be a good opportunity to buy me another one...heh
Till next time!
~a
Sketches really help me out. I feel like I lack in the creativity department all on my own, and as a result, I have come to find that I rely quite heavily on sketches. They're a great tool- may as well utilize them!
So, lets see...where do I begin?
Oh...my Klutz layout. I nearly broke my toe trying to use my foot as my weapon of choice to move the kids' potty out of my way one afternoon this past summer, and I wound up stubbing it instead of gracefully moving it. It didn't hurt so much that I passed out (which has happened to me before), but I sure did see stars! The bruise is testimony to that. I don't bruise often, and when I do, it takes quite a bit of force (or the right end of a certain object).
As far as my design goes, the blocking and the space for journalling really inspired me. I wanted to have enough space to journal about my aptitude for klutziness, and I wanted to find a design that was clean and simple. Lately I just don't want too much clutter or things going on. I've liked the clean and simple design style for quite some time. Now I'm adopting it as my own! You'll find that's true of all my layouts recently. I'm not sure if it will change, or if it does, it won't happen any time soon.
My By Herself layout is dedicated to Miss Maren, and her eagerness and desire to accomplish things on her own. It makes me really proud (and relieved, in a way) when she grabs the wash cloth from my hands and insists on washing herself after I've done washing her hair. She's growing up and showing her independence while she's at it, and that's what makes me so proud. Sadly, she soon won't need me for anything...I suppose I should enjoy helping her while it lasts!
I really liked the punching aspect of this layout, and think I might try and work more of it into my layouts and cards- especially full page punching. I love the way it looks! My favorite part of this layout: the journalling spot. Such a fun place to put it!
Since I made a layout all about Miss Maren, I figured I should do one all about Miss Addison. Both girls are so unique; I still marvel at how different they are, and they were born only 9 minutes apart! Addison is the thinker. She will sit and figure things out- try and make sense of how things work, or why they do the things they do. Sometimes the questions she asks impresses me- they are so deep for a soon-to-be-three-year-old!!!
She is also our affectionate little sweetheart. She's constantly asking for hugs and kisses and telling us she loves us- and not just loves us, but loves us very much. She's a beautiful little soul!
She's our clown. She's sharp, and often has witty comments in response to things we say or ask.
She's such a neat mixture of both Kyle and I; she's the perfect little package.
Both girls, as I tell them often, are just right.
What drew me to this sketch was the simplicity of the design. Just the picture and banners poking out from underneath. Tons of white space, and I think that's what initially pulled me in. Instead of banners, I wanted to use a round scallop circle stamp, but I wasn't liking it poking it out from the bottom; so, I moved it to the side. I feel it balances the design a bit better, with the third scallop circle functioning as the title mat and journaling spot. I absolutely LOVE the teal paper stamped in white, and then matted on top of the black card stock. That's my most favorite part of this layout!! (So is that sweet little lady bug brad that's hanging from the white ribbon. Way too adorable!!)
Lastly (for now), is my Fork Please layout. The girls are funny- they ask for forks for everything. Seriously. Ev.ery.thing!!! They would rather eat finger foods with forks than their fingers. They must have inherited their dislike of dirty hands from me. Even though I'll eat certain foods with my fingers and not utensils, I cannot stand dirty hands otherwise. Makes the whole of me feel icky.
I had a lot of fun putting this layout together. I love the stamping in the background- its grungy and terribly imperfect, but I like the effect it lends. I also love the dark shade of teal paper paired with the retro square patterned paper. The colors look fabulous together! The unexpected burst of colour the orange card stock adds is a lot of fun, too. I just wish the orange of the letter stickers was closer in tone to the paper. Oh well. The brightness of it really makes it pop.
My favorite aspect of my design is that giant flower. It came from Rebecca (beyondbzr) over at Scrapbook.com, and I'm finally getting around to using one (of the two) she sent. It was part of a prize I won last year. Whoo! What do I love so much about it? The inked edges of the flower. I used my More Mustard SU ink to color the edges, and I love the way it turned out! It gives quite a bit more dimension to an already beautiful flower. And, the leaf? Love.it!!! That came from a silk hydrangea flower (one of many, actually), that were used in a little project for my house, and I thought I'd hang onto the leaves instead of throwing them out along with the stems that the flowers came off of. The leaf may be a little large for the flower, but it still works well. In my humble opinion.
So, there you have it! I've caught you all up on my last couple layouts- all in one blog post. How about that for efficiency, hey?!
Speaking of winning prizes...I checked into my email this morning, and found an email from Emily Anderson, who works for Scrapbook.com. Those of you that are familiar with SB.com will be familiar with this name. I won $10 off my next purchase, just for uploading a layout to the gallery this week. And, you know what's funny?
I was thinking about just that very thing last night as I was trying to fall asleep in bed. I was just thinking to myself how nice it would be to win something like that from sb.com (though, I was day dreaming of winning $100). Meh, $10 is better than a boot in the pants!
Hopefully Kyle buys me another pre-paid Visa so that I can use up what's left on the one I currently have, AND the $10 off coupon that I just won. Before March 30. I've been hinting that Valentines would be a good opportunity to buy me another one...heh
Till next time!
~a
Sunday, February 3, 2013
My Inner Nerd
I'm dropping in once more tonight before I get my scrap on to share one more thought with you.
For some, it may not be possible to view my online gallery. That would be due to the fact you are not a member of Scrapbook.com. Either I would need to provide the direct link to the layout I made, or I could direct everyone to another site, that requires no (I think) membership.
Such as Pinterest.
I don't know. I was just thinking it might be easier to view my projects, if you're interested.
So, if you're interested in seeing what's inspired me and what I made using that inspiration, follow along. I'll include this link to every post I make here so nobody has to go searching for it!
I hope that makes things a little easier on you kind folks!
Till next time!
~a
For some, it may not be possible to view my online gallery. That would be due to the fact you are not a member of Scrapbook.com. Either I would need to provide the direct link to the layout I made, or I could direct everyone to another site, that requires no (I think) membership.
Such as Pinterest.
I don't know. I was just thinking it might be easier to view my projects, if you're interested.
So, if you're interested in seeing what's inspired me and what I made using that inspiration, follow along. I'll include this link to every post I make here so nobody has to go searching for it!
I hope that makes things a little easier on you kind folks!
Till next time!
~a
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Scrapbook.com
Well, sorry its been so slow here on the home front! I've been debating whether I'm going to keep my blog going, because I hate that I have no storage left, and my husband isn't keen on spending money (monthly) to beef it up. I'm actually on the same page as him. So, since I said that, I find it annoying (personally), that my beloved readers need to view what I've made in another location.
On the bright side, my blog is still being read! I had two lovely comments, and its encouraged me to keep blogging, despite this minor little blip (and really, that's all it is).
So, without further adieu, here's the link to my online gallery, so you can go and peruse it at your leisure!
Hopefully it works. Let me know if it doesn't!
On the bright side, my blog is still being read! I had two lovely comments, and its encouraged me to keep blogging, despite this minor little blip (and really, that's all it is).
So, without further adieu, here's the link to my online gallery, so you can go and peruse it at your leisure!
Hopefully it works. Let me know if it doesn't!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Dream A Little Dream
I'm a bit behind here, there's a few projects that I need to share, but for now, I'm just going to share my latest layout.
As I was scouring Pinterest for anything and everything, I came across this layout. Hello, inspiration! I was also inspired by my newly acquired Carta Bella goodies- from the Alphabet Junction collection. I wanted to pick up the blue and green in the girls' dinghy, and the floral paper fit the bill. (You will be able to find my layout here.)
I desperately wanted to use a coral colored patterned paper, but didn't have anything that matched that description, so once again turned to my new Carta Bella goodies, and pulled out another sheet of patterned paper.
After that, everything fell into place beautifully, until I began working on the title. Orange just didn't work with the color scheme, so how was I going to weave that into my layout? With some ribbon, of course! I searched my ribbon drawer for something that would compliment the chipboard title sticker, and I stumbled upon my American Crafts ribbons. Perfect!!!
The intention behind the colors I chose, other than to incorporate the blue and green theme into my layout, was to play up the sleepy/dreamy aspect of the photos. The motion of the waves, and being pulled through the water in their dinghy nearly put the girls to sleep. They've always loved water; they love it enough to be put to sleep by it! Its also where the chipboard title sticker comes into play, as well.
Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate the time you've spent with me tonight!
As I was scouring Pinterest for anything and everything, I came across this layout. Hello, inspiration! I was also inspired by my newly acquired Carta Bella goodies- from the Alphabet Junction collection. I wanted to pick up the blue and green in the girls' dinghy, and the floral paper fit the bill. (You will be able to find my layout here.)
I desperately wanted to use a coral colored patterned paper, but didn't have anything that matched that description, so once again turned to my new Carta Bella goodies, and pulled out another sheet of patterned paper.
After that, everything fell into place beautifully, until I began working on the title. Orange just didn't work with the color scheme, so how was I going to weave that into my layout? With some ribbon, of course! I searched my ribbon drawer for something that would compliment the chipboard title sticker, and I stumbled upon my American Crafts ribbons. Perfect!!!
The intention behind the colors I chose, other than to incorporate the blue and green theme into my layout, was to play up the sleepy/dreamy aspect of the photos. The motion of the waves, and being pulled through the water in their dinghy nearly put the girls to sleep. They've always loved water; they love it enough to be put to sleep by it! Its also where the chipboard title sticker comes into play, as well.
Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate the time you've spent with me tonight!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Sketch #30
Sketch #30 is up at Miracles' Momma Designs, which means I have another layout to share with you, too!
And, just a reminder, I haven't added more storage to my blog yet, so head over to my online gallery to have a little look see at the project I created (and others too)!
I hadn't sat down to scrap in quite a while, and my first attempt at it in the New Year was completing sketch #30 for Heather. I'm still working away on August long photos, and this layout was no exception. I thought I'd change the focus a bit, and create a layout about the girls first best friend- their cousin. They often get to see her if they're having sleep overs with their grandma- Chloe is usually there, too. They get so excited at the opportunity to see her! It warms my heart that they love their cousin so much.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, and wishing you all the best in 2013!
~a
And, just a reminder, I haven't added more storage to my blog yet, so head over to my online gallery to have a little look see at the project I created (and others too)!
I hadn't sat down to scrap in quite a while, and my first attempt at it in the New Year was completing sketch #30 for Heather. I'm still working away on August long photos, and this layout was no exception. I thought I'd change the focus a bit, and create a layout about the girls first best friend- their cousin. They often get to see her if they're having sleep overs with their grandma- Chloe is usually there, too. They get so excited at the opportunity to see her! It warms my heart that they love their cousin so much.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, and wishing you all the best in 2013!
~a
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Hide and Seek
Long time no see!
You should drop by my online gallery- I've got a new layout up. You can find it here.
This layout was done for the latest sketch (#160) over at LCTS, which you can find here.
And, once again, this layout (and sketch) has been added to my favorites list. It was so simple and quick to put together! The ideas started flowing as soon as I sat down to get to work. When that happens, beauty is hard to resist!
Addison, the moment we got to Shining Bank (where our annual family reunion was held), began to play hide and seek. She hid behind a tree and began counting. This picture is one of my absolute favorites, as well. I'm incredibly happy I caught this moment on film- now I can share the beauty with you!!
Our family reunion happens every August long weekend, and that weekend was no exception. In the next layout, which will be posted in the next few days, you'll see some of the wild weather we experienced this past summer- from flooding to tornadoes (which isn't common for areas this far north).
But, that's all I can share about that for now!
Take care and thanks for dropping by. I appreciate it!
~a
You should drop by my online gallery- I've got a new layout up. You can find it here.
This layout was done for the latest sketch (#160) over at LCTS, which you can find here.
And, once again, this layout (and sketch) has been added to my favorites list. It was so simple and quick to put together! The ideas started flowing as soon as I sat down to get to work. When that happens, beauty is hard to resist!
Addison, the moment we got to Shining Bank (where our annual family reunion was held), began to play hide and seek. She hid behind a tree and began counting. This picture is one of my absolute favorites, as well. I'm incredibly happy I caught this moment on film- now I can share the beauty with you!!
Our family reunion happens every August long weekend, and that weekend was no exception. In the next layout, which will be posted in the next few days, you'll see some of the wild weather we experienced this past summer- from flooding to tornadoes (which isn't common for areas this far north).
But, that's all I can share about that for now!
Take care and thanks for dropping by. I appreciate it!
~a
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)