Off the Cuff Video Series: Little Sunshine

Hi there! I'm really excited to bring you video two of my "Off the Cuff" video series where I design an entire layout on the spot, and you get to walk through my decision making process, as well as my hesitation! This month, I'm working with Scraptastic Club's Sweet Child of Mine main kit, digital files and stamp to create a new favorite layout about my daughter's happy moment during story time at our local library.

The lovely, peach vellum bag that I included on the layout was actually part of the kit packaging, but I couldn't resist pairing it with the lovely teal patterned papers from Crate Paper's Little You collection, included in the main kit.

It could be that the colors in the kit were made for me, but I had such an easy time putting this layout together. The entire process took me about 30 minutes, but I've reduced that time a bit in this video, so put up your feet for a few minutes and grab a cuppa to see my complete process:

Thanks so much for joining me today. If you like my video and want to see more from me in the future, be sure to follow my YouTube feed for more in my Off the Cuff series next month! Have a great weekend!

Elle's Studio Travelogue Release!

I'm pretty excited that Elle's Studio is now releasing product in-between the exclusive kit reveals on the 10th of each month, and this month, the Travelogue release is sure to get you excited for road trips and high flying adventures!

This series includes journaling tags, labels, "go, see, do" acrylic, the "adventure" wood veneer tag and an awesome stamp set and matching tab die, which you can see in action here: 

I also created a fun layout recording a road trip I took with a friend in the fall. I was just waiting for the perfect product to scrap this photo, and the Travelogue items certainly made the cut! 

"Adventure" supplies | Travelogue journaling tags, Travelogue labels, "adventure" wood veneer, Travelogue stamp set, tab die, Little Moments 12" x 12" paper collection, Little Moments 6" x 6" paper stack, acrylic stars- spring mix.  

I had so much fun creating this layout! I rarely ever stamp on my photos, but the "here we go" stamp was perfect for this photo at the start of a road trip to New Orleans. I created the tab by stamping the shape in yellow, cutting it out with the tab die and stamping the tiny star 5 times at the top. On the "adventure" wood veneer, I simply backed it with a piece of yellow patterned paper from the Little Moments 6" x 6" paper stack.

The "live, travel" tag was cut down from a Travelogue journaling tags and punched on the side, to resemble a ticket edge. I used a bit that I cut off below my journaling to stamp "notes from this day," and placed it underneath my journaling. I framed it at the top with a Little Moments blank label, which I stamped "details please" from the Travelogue stamp set. A few Crate Paper travel-themed chipboard pieces coordinated perfectly with the Travelogue items to finish off my layout!

Be sure to stop by the Elle's Studio shop and check out the Travelogue release today, so that you can get your road trips and travels documented!  

Jot Magazine Issue 13: Project Life Spread

In the latest issue of Jot Magazine, I had a Project Life spread featured in the pocket page section, and it may be my favorite spread, EVER. 

August spread supplies | Cards, flair, wood veneer, stamps and acrylic: Scraptastic Club's This Life Noted kits, Die cuts: Shimelle True Stories for American Crafts, Chipboard: Crate Paper Wonder; alphabet chipboard: Making Memories; chipboard frame: Simple Stories I Am; yellow alphabet: October Afternoon Daily Flash. Other: striped washi tape, chipboard stars, wood veneer people.

Starting out, I had originally decided to use teal and yellow for this spread, but once I picked up the Shimelle True Stories die-cuts tag that said "look on the sunny side," I knew I had to add pink in, too. This month was especially hard for me because I was dealing with a cancer scare while planning a big birthday party and tackling life in general, so this tag was needed, as well as the "embrace life" flag from the same die-cut pack.

The right side was filled with exciting occasions, including my husband's induction as an American citizen, and my goddaughter's birthday. 

This "Oh Happy Day" 3" x 4" card from Scraptastic Club is my favorite in the spread. I added the "fave" acrylic word to add something different than just my handwriting.

Be sure to check out Jot Magazine issue 13 for more pocket page inspiration from the Jot Girls! 

Elle's Studio Highlight on Stamping: Picture Perfect

Today on the Elle's Studio blog, I'm sharing a new layout that focuses on stamping. If you know my style, you know that I use stamps on almost every layout, but on this layout, I decided to create my title and embellishment with stamps, and make stamped images the highlight of the design on my layout.

"Picture Perfect" Elle's Studio supplies | March exclusive kit, Noteworthy stamp, Little Moments 12” x 12” paper collection, Little Moments bits and pieces, Little Moments stamp, Jonah alphabet stamp, Label It stamp, The Story Of stamp, letter and number stickers- black.

After printing my photo at 4" x 4", backing it with white cardstock and the Bloom paper from the Little Moments collection, I placed in the horizontal center of the 8-1/2" x 11" paper. I then stamped "right now" from the The Story Of stamp, which has so many useful phrases for scrapbook layouts! The grey tab that said "this moment" from the March exclusive kit was perfect for my title, but I just needed to add "at" with the black letter and number stickers. 

The second half of my title was placed underneath my photo. I started with "you are" using the The Story Of stamp, and adding the label frame from the Label It stamp around it. I then stamped "absolutely" using the Jonah alphabet stamp, and to keep it centered on my layout, I have some techniques that I use often when stamping titles. You can check out my tricks for that over at the Elle's Studio blog! 

The adorable camera image was cut from a 3" x 4" tag in the March exclusive kit, and underneath, I added the phrase "picture perfect" from the Noteworthy stamp.  Once my title was in place, I stamped little flowers from the Little Moments stamp from the top to the bottom of my layout, creating an ethereal feel on my layout. 

To finish off my layout, I tucked a tag from the Little Moments bit and pieces pack, which held my journaling, behind my photo and stamped "favorite photo" in a similar colored ink from the Noteworthy stamp. This really is one of my favorite photos of my daughter, and now, this is one of my favorite layouts of all time. 

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out the Elle's Studio blog for daily inspiration from the design team and monthly guests, and don't be afraid to stamp on your layouts! 

Scraptastic Club Sunday Morning Kits: The Sweetest Friends

I just received my Scraptastic Club March package in the mail, so I'm busy playing with the Sweet Child o' Mine kits! Until I have something to share from the new kits, I'm here to show you another layout created with the February Sunday Morning kits: The Sweetest Friends.

Supplies | Sunday Morning kit, Sunday Morning add-on, Sunday Morning stamp set, February 2016 This Life Noted stamp set.

I absolutely loved the pennants in the Sunday Morning stamp set, and wanted to base my layout design around them! Instead of hanging them across the page horizontally, I decided to hang them vertically like flags, and use other pieces from the kit to add in some different elements. 

Since I had such a bold black polka-dot paper on the right side, I wanted to echo that black on the left side of the page and stamped the outside of my pennants with black ink. Other pieces from the We R Memory Keepers Crush accent stickers and Crate Paper Hello Love chipboard stickers filled in the spaces between the pennants, and I stamped heart outlines from the February 2016 This Life Noted stamp set directly onto the Crate Paper woodgrain print from the main kit to crate my own tiny embellishments.

A 3" x 4" card from the cut-apart sheet in the add-on started my title, and I added the word "friends" from the Amy Tangerine Better Together Thickers just below it, adding a little strip of colored paper from a manufacturer's strip under the word to help it to stand out against my photo. I printed my journaling directly onto the background patterned paper, placing it just below my title. 

I love this sweet layout about my daughter and her bestie, and it came together so easily with the Sunday Morning kits! Thanks for stopping by! 

Tutorial Tuesday: Easter Egg Tree

Last year, while shopping in a high-end home store in my area, I found the cutest Easter egg trees, standing about 8" tall, planted in little terra cotta pots, with a big price tag of about $40 each. And I thought: 

I can totally make that.

And I totally did. 

So today, I'd like to share how you can make them too, at a price of way less than $40.

First, gather your supplies. For each tree, you will need: 

• Foam cone form: I used one 12" high, and one 9" high form, as I like the difference in height on my mantel, but they both fit snugly into the same pot.
• 22 gauge wire & wire cutters: Look in the floral department of your craft store for this.
• 3 different types of burlap ribbon: 4" wide wired burlap, 2-1/2" wide colored burlap, and 1" wide metallic burlap & scissors to cut them. I purchased all of my ribbon at Michaels. (Watch for ribbon to go on sale at this time of year.)
• Decorative foam eggs: I used about 20 eggs for the 12" cone tree, in two different sizes. The tallest egg was 2-1/4" and the smaller egg was 1-1/2". (This is your most expensive supply for this project. I picked mine up at Michaels in the Easter sales last year, which have already begun. Also look at JoAnn Crafts and World Market for different colored eggs.)
• 2 decorative pots: You will want to be sure that the bottom of your foam cone fits snugly at the top of the pot. (I bought one of these at a time, using a coupon at Michaels.)
• Hot glue gun and hot glue.

Now, cut your ribbon according to the photo above. To get a good jump-start on your tree, cut about a dozen pieces of each ribbon, then you can cut more from there so that you do not waste any of your ribbon.

Cut the wire into 2-1/2" pieces, enough for the amount of ribbon you've already cut. Go ahead and bend the piece in half, like hairpins. Picking up a piece of ribbon, hold it in the center with your thumb and pointer finger, pinching the sides into the center to create a bow. 

While holding the ribbon bow tightly between your fingers in one hand, carefully slide the wire hairpin over the front of the bow with your other hand and squeeze to keep the bow in place, twisting the wire tightly at the back side, then twisting the length of the wire over itself to create one wire leg to stick into your foam cone.

Once you've created several burlap bows, you can begin pushing the wire end into your form, making a triangular shape with three different bows, so that you leave a space in the middle for a decorative egg. After a while, this process can start to hurt your fingertips, so gloves can be handy for this part. Because of this, I can only complete one tree per day. I need to let my fingers rest afterward! 

Use one of the bows from the first triangle to create another triangle, and then keep going until the entire cone is covered, from top to bottom.

Now, add a big daub of hot glue in the space between your ribbon bows, being sure not to attach your bow with the glue! Be aware of the colors that you are using, so that you don't put too much of the same colored egg in one space. 

Once you have all of your eggs glued on, fill in any gaps where you may be able to see the styrofoam with additional ribbon bows. In this photo, you can see the styrofoam right underneath the yellow egg, so I definitely filled that piece in. The widest burlap ribbon takes up the most space, so I typically used it to fill in any gaps.

Now that your tree is finished, add a large amount of hot glue to the inside edge of the decorative pot you've chosen. Quickly set the base of the cone in your pot to adhere the tree to the pot, being sure not to trap any of your ribbon bow ends between the foam and the pot. I had a hard time doing this fast enough before my glue began to harden, so I ended up squirting daubs of glue to secure the tree once I had it in place on the pot.

Lastly, fluff your ribbon. You can bend the ends of your wired ribbon to give it a pretty bow appearance. Leave your tree as is, or add a few wired floral butterflies flying out of the tree, to add extra springy-ness! 

This really is my favorite home decor DIY project to date. These egg trees look like they cost a fortune, and were picked up at an expensive store! 

Thanks for stopping by, and please share your egg trees with me if you make one! 

Elle's Studio March Reveal!

Hello! Today is the 10th, which means that Elle's Studio has a brand new set of supplies perfect for your memory-keeping in the shop! Let's start out with the March exclusive kit!

What a rainbow of beautiful colors, right? To coordinate with the kit, Elle is also offering the gorgeous acrylic stars, Noteworthy stamp, Easter acrylic, Spring acrylic, and the Easter and Flower Acrylic Mix.

And don't forget about the useful digital files! The March cut files and Lucky Clovers background cut file and Happy Easter can be sized and customized just for your project, and the Spring Break and Smile printables will bulk out your kit to help you document even more memories.

In addition to the new monthly exclusives, the Little Moments collection is also now available in the Elle's Studio shop, and I've been having so much fun creating with it! 

My first project is a layout that records my daughter's love for building blocks. The square stamp with the star inside from the Noteworthy stamp gave me the inspiration to create this layout, and I knew I would have to create my own building block towers with it.

"Block Star" ES supplies | March exclusive kit, Little Moments 12" x 12" paper collection, Smile printables, Jonah alphabet stamp set, "The Story Of" stamp, acrylic stars. Other supplies: Studio Calico silver puffy stars

My second project is a card, which I haven't created for a while! I loved the Lucky Clovers background cut file, and paired it with the "I'm so lucky to have you" tag from the kit to create a multi-layered card for someone special.

"Lucky card" ES supplies | March exclusive kit, Lucky Clovers background cut file, Little Moments Bits & Pieces, Little Moments 6" x 6" paper stack, Little Moments 12" x 12" paper collection. Other supplies: green & gold sequins, green & white striped ribbon, Studio Calico gold puffy heart, metallic gold paint pen (to outline some of the cutout clover.)

I just had to add a bit of glitter on this tag! 

Be sure to check out the design team gallery for all of the new, beautiful project inspiration, and watch the Elle's Studio blog for exciting special guests this month! 

Scraptastic Club February Sunday Morning Kits: So Much Love

I'm still working with the February Sunday Morning kit and add-on from Scraptastic Club, and I just received the notification that my March kits have shipped, so I'd better get on and share these with you, huh?

I struggled to figure out what to do with the Crate Paper photo frames paper in the kit. These lovely little squares are so great to look at, but when used them as a background on a layout, they completely took away from everything else. So, I decided to take a deep breath & cut each one individually! 

After cutting the squares out, I decided to arrange them in a shape, and since this month's kits are all about love, I decided to create a large heart, and sewed a heart shape around the outside.

I didn't want to throw too much embellishment on the heart, but I added a small cluster to the upper right side. I also added tiny stamped hearts from the February This Life Noted stamp set. 

This is one of those layouts where I don't have much to say in my journaling, but I wanted to get this favorite photo, taken by Donya Luana, printed and on a layout. I don't feel that you have to write a novel on every page.

I'll be sharing the rest of my Sunday Morning kit and add-on layouts here over the next few days. In the meantime, be sure to check out Scraptastic's March kits in the shop! 

Technique Tuesday: Creating a Stamped and Watercolored Floral Background

As promised, today on my YouTube feed, I'm sharing how I created this soft, stamped and watercolored background on my Jot Magazine March mood board layout, which you can find on yesterday's blog post below!

This technique is so easy and fun- all you need is a solid shaped stamp, some water-based ink pads, an inexpensive watercolor set and an inexpensive brush, as well as water, of course! There is no need to be an artist to create this lovely, custom background, because you are starting with the shapes you stamp first. 

Please leave a comment or a thumbs-up on my YouTube feed if you liked this Technique Tuesday post and be sure to follow me for more scrapbooking and papercrafting videos! 

Jot Magazine March Mood Board

Chase those Monday blues away with the beautiful March mood board from Jot Magazine! 

I can't believe how gorgeous this board is! It reminds me of a warm, spring day, and I began my creative process by choosing a photo that gave me the same feel.

Supplies | Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Avalanche. Patterned paper: Scraptastic Kit Club, Crate Paper (woodgrain). Embellishment: Crate Paper ("wild spirit" chipboard, flower die-cuts & tag), American Crafts (kraft Thickers), Pink Paislee (arrow), Studio Calico (journaling spot), Stampin' Up! (twine), enamel dots. Other: Stampin' Up ink, Elle's Studio "you are" stamp.

I knew I wanted to use a watercolor technique to match the board, and decided to do a partial stamped, partial watercolor border along the left side of the layout. I was surprised how much I loved this process, as I typically don't do things so "loose."

The "wild spirit" chipboard piece was absolutely perfect for what I wanted to document on this layout- my daughter's fearless attitude toward life. I layered it on top of my photos and topped it with floral die-cuts and the Pink Paislee arrow. With the floral border on the left side of the page, I really didn't want to go far with embellishment.

I'm pretty excited about the way this layout came out- it is exactly how I envisioned it, and to me, it really captures the feel of the mood board. Watch out on my YouTube feed this week for a video on how I created my floral stamped/watercolored border, and be sure to upload your own project to the mood board page for a chance to win!

Products used in this project:

Jot Magazine Issue 13: Greatest Adventure

Jot Magazine Issue 13 is live, and it may just be the most beautiful issue yet! 

There are so many beautiful projects to inspire you in this issue, and today I'd like to share my favorite project that I submitted, from the Mothers gallery. I knew I wanted to journal about my own journey as a mother, and my friend, Donya Luana Photography, gave me the perfect photo in which to document.

"Greatest Adventure" supplies | Paper: Bazzill Basics avalanche cardstock, American Crafts (pink polka dot), Crate Paper (green grid), Carta Bella (green floral, yellow hearts). Embellishment: Carta Bella ("the best" & heart stickers), American Crafts (large floral sticker, small, and black foam alphabets), Crate Paper (metal clip, kraft alphabet & stitching rub-ons), Elle's Studio (yellow tag). Other: Studio Calico Stamp ("everyday").

I'm not completely sure how this color scheme came together, but it is definitely not one I have ever used before. I started with older papers from Carta Bella that I had in my stash, and wanted to use. Given that my photo was black and white, I could have started with any product! The yellow, geometric hearts were a must-use on this layout, and it felt entirely wrong to cut the paper horizontally, so I opted to cut the top edges of the heart out, framing the bottom of the layout. 

Once my papers were selected, I went through my stash to find pieces of embellishment that fit the color scheme. I wanted the layout to be quite bold, so I chose a contrasting black as my neutral. I love that this layout feels simple and graphic, yet feminine and detailed at the same time. That's a perfect combination in my mind! 

Be sure to check out Jot Magazine Issue 13 in its entirety to be amazed by the gorgeous inspiration provided by the Jot Girls, as well as contributing designers! 

Jot Magazine: Boston Pocket Page Spread

The next issue of Jot Magazine is due to release tomorrow, but before you have a brand-spankin' new issue to drool over (I've seen some of the projects from my DT members, and you will be so inspired!) I'm here to share a pocket-page spread from Issue 12 that may be my favorite in my 2015 album.

If you've ever had a look at my pocket pages before, you would see that I use a monthly format and the Collect App for my journaling. With this spread below, I'm documenting in more detail a trip that we took, so I tend to go with full-size photos and longer journaling. This isn't something that I can keep up with on a weekly, or monthly basis, but I love doing it for special events throughout the year when I have a lot of photos to document. 

Boston supplies | Ali Edwards Go Story Kit, Cards: Scraptastic Club ("today & days of the week); Embellishments: Scraptastic Club (labels), Pink Paislee (star, arrow & "itinerary"), Studio Calico (flair, chipboard hearts); Stamps: Elle's Studio ("love you and me" & cutlery), Scraptastic Club ("today's story").

This spread documents our trip to Boston in September, and I took cues from my photos when choosing my color scheme. It's quite photo-heavy, and embellishment light, which I prefer. I typically only embellish my filler cards and small amounts of the negative space in my photos. 

The Ali Edwards "Go" Story Kit was perfect for these photos- both in the color scheme and in the theme to document our long weekend away in a city that we loved. I also used a lot of labels to jot down specifics from my photos. I get coordinating labels with my Scraptastic Club kits each month, but you can also find some (for free!) from Kaitlin Sheaffer. 

To add embellishment to the "Go" kit, I used pieces from the Pink Paislee Atlas collection- it paired perfectly with the kit and worked well with the travel theme. 

Negative space in my photos were the perfect place to house small groupings of embellishment. This photo is one of my favorites from the entire trip, and printing it in black and white made it really stand out in the spread.

Be sure to check out the Jot Magazine home page tomorrow, when Issue 13 will be ready to peruse with a cup of coffee! You will be amazed at what the Jot Girls have in store for you! 

Principle Power Preview Process Video

Hi there! If you need a quick tip to create emphasis on your layouts, and have 5 minutes to spare with a cup of coffee this weekend, check out my new process video and preview of my class, Principle Power, at Big Picture Classes.

This class, which includes 5 lessons, 14 layouts and 5 videos, will walk you through the principles of design, and teach you how to use these principles to create well-designed, intentional layouts that get your stories told!

You can start your free month-long trial to Big Picture Classes by clicking through to the Principle Power classroom, creating a new member account and using the promo code LOVE.

Have a great weekend & I hope to see you in the classroom!

Tangerine and Vanilla Bean Marmalade

There are a few things that I look forward to in winter: cooler temperatures, allowing us to spend extended periods outdoors, winter holidays, and citrus fruit. Here in southern Texas, our winters are quite mild, and come December and January, the tangerines and lemons are ripe for picking. Having a good friend with a humongous tangerine tree definitely has its perks, and I don't mind picking for a couple of hours in the beautiful weather to take home a few bags of the sweet, juicy fruit.

Now, if you're one of my British friends, who are often marmalade purists, you appreciate the bitterness that comes with traditional marmalade. I, however, do not, which is why I was on the hunt for a different recipe. After a bit of searching, I found the best solution to my marmalade malady and tweaked it a bit to fit my tastes. Be warned, that when you finish the last jar, tears will be shed, and you will be wishing for winter's return.

Tangerine and Vanilla Bean Marmalade

(recipe adapted from Lemons and Lavender)

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. tangerines, washed, blemishes cut off of the skin, and cut in half lengthwise
• 2 Meyer lemons, washed and cut into quarters
• 9 cups of water
• 4 vanilla beans, cut in half and split down the center with a sharp paring knife
• 6 cups sugar
• 8 8oz. canning jars, seals and rings

Process: 

• Put the tangerine halves cut side down on the board and cut into 1/8" slices. Do the same with the lemon slices and place all of the fruit in a large bowl. I like my tangerine rind to be quite thin, but if you like your marmalade quite chunky, you can made the slices wider, at 1/4"

• Add 9 cups of water, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature overnight.

• Transfer fruit & water mixture to a large pot (mine is 8 quarts and it works well for when the marmalade is boiling.)

• Using a sharp knife, open up the slit that you made in the vanilla bean & scrape out all of the seeds, placing them in the pot with the fruit and water. Don't worry that they are all stuck together- when the mixture boils, the seeds will separate. Add the vanilla beans themselves into the pot as well. 

• Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow it to simmer, uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

• Remove the pot from the heat and add in all 6 cups of sugar. Stir well, and the sugar will dissolve in the hot mixture. Add a candy thermometer on the side of the pot so that you can check the temperature of the marmalade. Put the pot back on the stove and bring to a rolling boil, until the thermometer reads 220 degrees Fahrenheit, which will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes. You will start to hear that the boiling sounds differently, since the mixture is getting thicker. Start watching it closely around the 1 hour mark, and as soon as it reaches 220, take the mixture off of the heat. When it is getting close, you will want to get another large pot of water up to a boil, so that you can process your jars in the next step.

• Divide the hot marmalade into eight 8oz. canning jars, placing a vanilla seed pod half into each jar. Put the seal on top and tighten the ring. Bring another large pot of water to a boil and place the jars of hot marmalade into the boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and place on a rack to cool. You will hear the tops pop as they come down in temperature. By the time they are room temperature, you shouldn't be able to pop the top of the seal, and they are safe to keep in the cupboard. If you prefer to skip this step, you can keep your marmalade in air-tight containers in the fridge for 2 months.

Off the Cuff Video Series: Be You

Have you ever had a photo that just seemed like it was "made" for a certain kit or scrapbooking product? That's how I felt putting together this layout with the Just a Girl kits from Scraptastic Club. 

This layout was so fun to put together! Want to know why I did what I did? Check out my YouTube feed for the process video in my new series: Off the Cuff. In these videos, which I hope to do once a month, I will show you my process from start to finish, on a layout that I have not designed beforehand. I just have a photo and a kit, and I'm starting without a plan in mind! 

So, if you have about 30 minutes to spare, grab a cuppa and join me for Off the Cuff: Be You. 

Color-blocking with Scraptastic's Just a Girl Kits

I'm still enjoying the lovely January 2016 Just a Girl kit & add-on (both are sold out, but click on the links to see contents!) from Scraptastic Club, and today I'm here to share a new layout with you that utilizes a fun technique: color-blocking! 

I absolutely loved the background paper from Studio Calico, and wanted to use the four different triangles of color as a starting point in designing my layout. 

There were so many pieces of embellishment in the kits to be able to create a color-blocked design, keeping the pink embellishments in the pink triangle, the yellow embellishment in the yellow triangle, and so on. The 'live out loud' sticker was absolutely perfect for the photo of my daughter shouting during our family photoshoot last fall. 

To make my photo stand out, I backed it with a Scraptastic exclusive black painted stripe patterned paper and adhered it with dimesional adhesive.

The white triangle was the most difficult to fill. Using a 3" x 4" journaling card from the cut-apart sheet, I cut off the colored top and kept the white polka-dot bottom. I typed my journaling in a light grey instead of black & embossed a '3' from the Just a Girl stamp set in the bottom corner. A few Project Life chipboard pieces, a speech bubble cut from patterned paper and an enamel heart later, I was finished.

If you don't have the Just a Girl kits, or the Studio Calico patterned paper to create this quadrant-designed layout, it would be easy to duplicate with four triangles of cardstock or patterned paper! Happy creating! 

Elle's Studio February Kit Reveal!

Welcome! Today is the day for the February Elle's Studio exclusive kit reveal, and I'm excited to show you my projects! But first, let's take a look at the exclusive kit and add-ons:

There is such a great range of colors and themes in this kit to document any story. Plus, there is huge amount of content here with 3" x 4" cards, smaller tags, and even tags perfect for embellishment. 

The Everyday stamp and The Best wood veneers add-ons this month just knocked my socks off! I love the circle shapes and the clean font. 

The amazing digital cut file and Always printables are so versatile, and perfect for using over and over again on your projects! This month, I started with the "always" frame cut file to get one of my favorite photos of my daughter in my album.

"Always Follow Your Heart" Elle's Studio supplies | February exclusive kit, February digital cut file, The Best wood veneers, Cienna paper collection pack, Thankful Bits and Pieces, Thankful stickers, Hugs and Kisses printables, letter and number stickers- yellow. Other supplies: Heidi Swapp cardstock die-cuts and chipboard, enamel dots, Martha Stewart acrylic paint. Photo credit: Donya Luana Photography.

I absolutely love how the "always" frame worked with the "follow your heart" die-cut to create my title. This layout was really created as an excuse to print the photo, so there isn't much journaling required. I only added a row of embellishment along the right side, which included both Elle's Studio product, as well as some Heidi Swapp chipboard and die-cuts from my stash to bring in the plum color in my daughter's sweater.

"You Love Whole Foods" Elle's Studio supplies | February exclusive kit, The Best wood veneers, Love You stamp, Everyday stamp, letter and number stickers- grey, letter and number stickers- red, Thankful paper collection pack. Other supplies: American Crafts gold Thicker word & large enamel dot, My Mind's Eye brad and gold heart sticker, Studio Calico puffy dot and enamel dots, Stampin' Up! ink, Martha Stewart acrylic paint.

This layout definitely feels a bit more "me" than my previous project, although I love them both! This layout records a story about my daughter's love for our weekly trips to Whole Foods, and I also stamped a lot on this layout, something I love to do! I love the versatility of the mid-month release Love You stamp, which I used to stamp "seen & noted" along the bottom of my layout- almost like adding a strip of patterned paper! The Everyday stamp can also be used to create patterns with the broken circle, or to make an embellishment, like I did here. 

This month Elle also has a free shipping special! Orders of $50 or more ship for free with coupon code LOVEYOU and this includes international orders! 

Be sure to check out the design team gallery for new inspiration on how to use your February exclusive kit! Happy creating! 

Jot Magazine February Mood Board: "You & Me Until Forever"

It's a new month, which means that Jot Magazine has a new, beautiful mood board to inspire you! 

Now, if you're not a purple kind of gal, don't be scared. I have to admit, that I was when I first saw this board, because I thought that I didn't have any of the purple tones in my stash. However, I was surprised to find quite a few items that bordered on purple that worked perfectly. 

"You & Me Until Forever" supplies | Cardstock: Bazzill Basics (avalanche). Patterned Paper: Scraptastic Club, Crate Paper. Embellishment: Simple Stories (chipboard heart, chipboard frame, brad, heart die-cut, enamel dots), Heidi Swapp (transparent words, flower die-cut), Amy Tangerine for American Crafts (die-cut tag), Elle's Studio (stamps).

To create the layout, I used quite a few items from the Scraptastic Club Wednesday Night kit (sold out), which featured a lot of the Simple Stories "So Fancy" collection, which matched the mood board colors perfectly. I kept the layout simple, using pretty, feminine layers and just a bit of stamping. At this point, keeping things simple means that they are getting done, and I'm okay with that!

I love this tag from the Amy Tangerine Finder's Keepers collection, and feel like it was just waiting for this photo and this layout! 

My title, which I placed at the bottom of my layout, was made up of the "you and me" globe from the Simple Stories chipboard, and the Heidi Swapp transparent script, which I used because of the script saying in the mood board. I put them on top of two pieces of Crate Paper, the floral of which I am down to my last scraps.

Be sure to check out the other Jot Girl's creations and link up your own design, based on the mood board, to the Jot Magazine February mood board page to be entered to win a prize from Jot! 

Jot Magazine Issue 12: "I Should've Been..."

As I prep my project for Issue 13 of Jot Magazine, today I'm here to share a layout with you that was featured in the storytelling gallery of Jot Magazine issue 12. Our theme was, "when I grow up," and the phrase made me think of myself as a child, and what I didn't want to be when I grew up: A pianist. The photo used on the layout is me at age 7, taken by my piano teacher.

I don't have many regrets in life, but one of them is that I didn't continue taking piano through high school and into college. From the age of seven to fourteen, I went to weekly lessons, practicing for hours in between. The piano always came quite easy for me, and I wish I would have taken advantage of my natural ability. 

The yellow and white stripes on my background paper reminded me of the white keys on the piano, so I adhered black sharp and flat keys along the right side of the layout.

I couldn't quite pass up these chipboard alphas or fun patterned paper from the Crate Paper Wonder collection. I just love those big, skinny alphas! I paired them with the white script alpha from October Afternoon, so that I had a lot of contrast between the two fonts. Because my layout was 8-1/2" x 11", it was easy for me to print my journaling in the bottom left corner of my layout just under my title, once I knew where all of the other elements on the page would be placed.

A few child-like cardstock and chipboard embellishments from Crate Paper and Simple Stories were all I needed to finish off this page, which I wanted to focus more around the story, and how I now feel about giving up on something that I worked so hard on for seven years! 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out all of Issue 12 today! It is full of inspiration! 

Lizzy Turns Three!

On Sunday, we celebrated Lizzy's third birthday, and for the first time, we had a big party with family and friends. Lizzy chose a Frozen theme this year, and for the first time, I didn't have much trouble finding store-bought items, however, I still made a lot for the party! Finding so much snow-themed items on 80% off clearance at Michaels definitely helped keep costs down as well.

My most time-consuming project was the "love is an open door" wreath to greet our guests. The wire mesh and ribbon were all included in the Christmas clearance items at Michaels, so it was a relatively low-cost project! 

As I have done in the past for all of our parties, I bought a couple of yards of cotton fabric from JoAnn Crafts, hemmed it on all sides, added ribbon trim to the bottom and hung it up as a backdrop for Lizzy's birthday banners, which I cut on my Silhouette Cameo. The glittery branches, which were originally $10 each, were only $2 each in the Christmas clearance, and flanked the backdrop on either side in glass vases.

Thanks to some spare cardboard boxes lying around, we created a North Mountain centerpiece and covered the entire island with white tablecloths. Elsa's ice castle topped the North Mountain and held birthday cupcakes, while the entire island had a glittering of snowflake confetti.

Over the breakfast bar, we used the same curling ribbon curtain that we created for the Under the Sea themed party that we threw last year for my goddaughter, only we replaced the fish with foam snowflakes purchased at Michaels. 

Snowflakes, tissue paper pompoms and teal balls hung over the breakfast and entry tables, while Frozen swirl hangings hung throughout the kitchen.

In the doorways into the living area and the kitchen we also hung the same snowflakes on fishing line to create a curtain.

My favorite craft project for the entire party were the three centerpieces I created for the tables and breakfast bar, using paper and foam snowflakes, a #3 cut from American Crafts POW! paper with my Silhouette Cameo, and some floral picks in a Ball jar. 

Most of the food at the party had a Frozen theme, like "we finish each others" sandwiches, melte Olaf Greek yogurt cups and Anna's popcorn snowballs.

The chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with teal buttercream went over really well, and I was so pleased that Lizzy wanted cupcakes instead of the typical large cake I usually create. 

On the way out the door, the kid's favor bags were waiting for them on a tulle embellished table. 

I dressed the part, and wore an Anna-inspired outfit for the day. I really do love hosting parties, no matter how little sleep I get the week beforehand!

At the end of the day, after she had a much needed nap, I had just enough energy to take Lizzy's third birthday photos. What a difference a year makes. I know it goes without saying, but man, I love my sweet girly. Happy birthday, my little Lizzy!