Happy as Can Be

Happy Monday! I have another layout to share with you using pretty papers and embellishments from Pink Paislee. I used one of my favorite photos from the fair of Edward and Sydney on the swing together. I love the colors in this photo. And I like how the subject is not looking at the camera. All I see is their back of their head.

 

I used the Happy As Can Be speech bubble to point to where Edward and Sydney were on the swing. LOVE this speech bubble. I hand-cut it from a patterned paper and used foam squares to adhere it to the photo.

 

 

I clustered a few embellishments at the bottom right-side of the photo using a tab, chipboard star and a tag that I added a piece of white string to add a homespun look. 

I used a piece of ribbon to help frame the photo with a die cut heart.

I love the fee of this layout. Such a happy layout..

Thanks for visiting today! Hope you have a wonderful week.

-Nicole

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Soccer Mama

Hello family. I apologize for not posting more pictures of Edward! He is doing so much better playing soccer than last year. He's made a lot of improvements over the past two years. This is his 3rd year playing and of course, he's already telling me he doesn't want to play next year...

It's the same story every year. The problem with Edward is he doesn't like to lose... and he doesn't want to hear, "you can't win them all" because he wants to WIN them ALL. LOL.

Their team lost 3 and won 3 so far this season. Not bad! They have a lot more to learn such as spreading out and playing as a team... passing the ball to each other instead of trying to score a goal. Edward had two assist this season so far and when he complains that they weren't his goals... I tell him that if it hadn't been for him to pass the ball to his teammate, they might not have scored at all! He is starting to get it... and he scored his first goal last week. It was a long shot and I couldn't have been more proud.

Edward is number 7 in case you couldn't tell from the photos and he gets a kick out of this since he's 7... Seven year old humor. I really enjoy watching him have so much fun on the field. He's such an awesome kid. They only have two more weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more photos but it's starting to get dark out early which makes it hard to get decent photos.

And there you have it... my soccer update! :)

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See the Good

Happy Sunday everyone. I've been pretty lazy this weekend. And while I've been lazy, I've been scrapping. It's been awhile since I've just scrapped for fun, random projects. I think my mojo is creeping back... finally. I created this layout for the Awesome Ladies Project using Pink Paislee's Turn the Page collection. Love this collection!

 

 

For the background, I used a few hand-cut triangles and scraps of paper to frame the photo. I stamped on the tabs to create my own sub-titles for the layout.

 

 

 

I layered several buttons on top of the floral sticker o make it pop using foam squares.

 

 

 



It's hard to keep a layout simple with all of these gorgeous embellishments. What do you think?!

 

Thanks for visiting today!

-Nicole

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Spooky friends

Hi friends and family! Just recently, Scrapbook.com had an awesome deal on Bella Blvd. collections and I took advantage of it! I bought their cute Spooktacular Halloween collection. Since Halloween hasn't come yet and I do not have pictures to scrap using this adorable collection, I got creative!

There are several patterns, colors and phrases that can work for other subjects besides Halloween. I used the "scary, spooky friends and little spooks" stickers, tab and clips since they go with the fair theme of the layout! Nothing spooked these kids. They got on every ride, including the big Ferris Wheel. I was so proud of him. I don't think I could get on half the things he got on. LOL

 

I love clustering stickers, die cuts and paper clips together. Such a simple technique and very effective for making your layouts pop.

A closer look at the embellishments. Love that Scary tab!

Initially, this is how the bottom of the layout looked... but I felt like it was missing something so I added the other embellishments to help pull this layout together.

I used the washi tape and swirly sticker to create a fun background for the photos. And I used foam squares to pop the star stickers and heart off the page a bit to add dimension.

What do you think of this collection? Cute, isn't it? I am thinking this collection would be perfect for a fall layout as well. Problem is, it's been too warm outside and it doesn't quite feel like fall around here... Hopefully, soon, I'll be able to take some fall photos!

Thanks for visiting today!

-Nicole

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You and Me

Hello everyone. I created this layout for Bad Girls Couture using the September kit. Today, I want to share with you, how I created this fun, colorful layout. The Twinkling H20's are so vibrant on this layout. It just screams fun!

 

Before, I started doing anything with this layout, I coated the white cardstock with gesso and let it dry overnight. Once dried, I splashed the pink Twinkling H20's onto the cardstock. I used a black Sharpie to draw a 1/2" border around the layout.

 

 

I coated the chipboard alphas using the gesso. Once dry, I splashed blue and pink watercolor paints on them and let them dry.

 

 

I matted the collage of photos using a few pieces of patterned paper then I hand-cut the hot air balloon and photo corners from the Crate Paper and colored them using markers.

 

 

 

 

I recycled the packaging from the Crate Paper embellishments to use as a fun border for the bottom of my photo collage. Since I was running low on embellishments, I stamped flowers onto patterned paper then used scissors to cut it out. I used a foam square to pop it up off the page. Also, I painted the Prima flower using the Twinkling H20's so that the flower would blend in more with the layout.

 

 

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Nicole

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LOVE THIS

Hi everyone. I've been playing with the Dream Big collection. A few weeks ago, Edward's Meme took him to the dog park and they had a blast. While there, Meme texted me this photo and my heart nearly stopped. I love this candid shot of Edward playing with the dogs. This is what being a kid is about! Playing outdoors..., not playing on the computer all day.

This collection is so soft and pretty. This layout came together pretty quickly once the mist was completely dry. I used three journaling cards to frame the photo.



Then I added a few die cuts and stickers to the frame to make it pop. I love that little heart sticker! And I can never get enough of tiny word stickers. They are my favorite.





Here's a closer look at the die cuts layered together. So very pretty. I used the die cut frame to help pull the viewer's eyes to the photo.



Pretty Little Studio Dream Big Journaling Cards/Shine Bright, Die-Cuts/Happy Heart, Stickers/Lovely Words/White, Stickers/So Sweet, Vellum Tape/Say Cheese.

 

Thanks for visiting today! Have a wonderful day.

-Nicole

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Dream

  Hi everyone. Hope you're having a fabulous weekend! Today, I am sharing a fun layout using my 2" circle punch. Usually, when I am running low on my kit paper, I will pull out my punches to use on my scraps to stretch the kit. While I'm at it, I will look at the patterns on my scraps to see if I can hand-cut an image to use as a die cut on my project. I just love making the most things possible from  my kit!

 

 

I hand-cut strips of patterned paper to create my own banners for the top of the layout. Then, I used the ribbon from the packaging of this month's kit to create a nice, big bow at the top of the layout. It's been a long time since I created a vintage layout and I LOVE it! It's nice to try new things every now and then.

 

 

I punched a few 2" circles from my scraps and layered them to the center of the layout. Then I added the hand-made frame with the banner and the gold puffy word sticker. The gold looks so good next to the 7gypsies vintage papers. Since I felt like the layout was missing something, I decided to pull my gold mirror stickers from my stash to add beneath "dream". I think it was the perfect touch.

 

 

I used a fine-tip Sharpie pen to hand-journal my story at the bottom of the layout. I think with the 7gypsies paper, you'd have a hard time writing on the paper with a regular pen because it is a glossy paper, not matte.

 

 

 

Remember, the next time you're running low on your kit, pull out those scissors and punches and see what types of embellishments you can create on your own.

 

Thanks so much for vising today!

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Hello

Hello, everyone! Hope you had a fabulous week! Today I have a layout to share with you using the Dream Big collection. I've been waiting for two months for this pretty collection. The colors are beautiful and have a serene look to them. I really like the Stay Awesome paper. The design is fab and I thought it would be neat to cut the patterned into a big triangle to use as a fun background for the photo.

 

I kept this layout pretty simple. Lots of layering, die cuts and a few stickers pulled this layout together in a snap!

 

 

I layered a die cut frame over the Remember This journaling card then added a clear "hello" sticker and a word sticker "together" at the bottom of the frame. Then I used a pen and ruler to add a little bit of journaling inside the frame.

 

 

Pretty Little Studio Dream Big Papers: Follow Your Heart, Stay Awesome, Journaling/Shine Bright, Die Cuts/Happy Hearts, Vellum Tape/Say Cheese, Stickers/Happy Day, Lovely Words.

 

Thanks for visiting today!

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Recycling trash into a beautiful mini album

Hello everyone. I have a fun mini album to share with you today. I used Bad Girls Couture's September kit to create this adorable mini. As soon as I saw the adorable Carnival patterned paper from Crate Paper and popcorn bag, I knew exactly what photos I'd use to create a cute little mini album. I took several photos last year at the fair and never really scrapped them. This is nothing new for me. Sometimes, I'll hold onto certain photos until I have the right papers and embellishments to scrapbook them. I do not scrapbook in chronological order. I scrapbook photos that inspire me at that moment.

 

I am an avid re-cycler. I recycle anything I have at home so that it doesn't need to go into the trash. It makes me feel like I am helping our community! My husband just shakes his head at me. Having said this, I hate throwing away pretty packaging. This month, I decided to re-cycle the packaging from the embellishments into a cute little mini album cover or insert. I used the packaging to trace onto the patterned papers to create my insert pages so they were the same size then cut them out using a pair of scissors.

 

 

I tore the Bingo Card in half to use with on a layout last month so that I could use it on more than one project. I like to stretch my embellishments as far as they will go.

 

 

I painted the Twinkling H20's onto the paper by Prima Marketing Inc. using the Sea Spray and Playful Peony watercolor paints. This is such a pretty color combination. These paints look so vibrant once dry. I am thinking I am going to need lots more of these Twinkling H20's.

 

 

Once I had my pages cut down, I punched a hole at the top of each page then used the ribbon from this month's add-ons to bind the album together.

 

 

 

I used the tickets throughout the mini album to keep a nice balance between the pages.

 

 

I cut the puffy word sticker in pieces to stretch it out.

 

 

 

What do you think? Are you inspired to create a mini album of your own?

Thanks for visiting today!

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38

Hi everyone. I am soooo excited to share this colorful layout with you! After I finished prepping the layout with gesso and it was dry, I immediately started painting the background using the orange and pink Twinkling H20's. Once the watercolor paints were dry, I splashed blue watercolor paint on top of the pink and orange to make it more messy. I actually messaged Wendy the beginning stage of this project and said, "I hope this doesn't look like shit when I'm done." LOL... Have you ever started something and thought, "uh, I don't know about this." Sure, the idea in my head looked good, but getting it on paper is a bit tricky.

I am seriously loving how vibrant these watercolors are on this layout! Just a heads up, you may want to get some gesso before you start using these babies because it really helps prevent the paper from warping and it helps make the watercolors keep their color!

 

For the flowers, I used the ribbons from this month's add-ons. LOVE THEM. Ah, they are so pretty and I am so lucky that I was able to play with them. Thank you Wendy! I forgot that I had these Glubers in my stash so I decided to pull them out. These adhesives make it so easy to create flowers from ribbon! It's been awhile since I've made my own flowers so I though, why not since I had all of these pretty ribbons.

 

 

The Glubers are easy to use. Simply pull the top plastic off of the base. Then place the end of your ribbon to the center of the Gluber and twirl the ribbon around in a circle, pressing down every so often so the ribbon sticks onto the glue. Once you've covered the entire Gluber with ribbon, you might need to cut the ribbon and tuck it behind the flower.

 

 

Aren't these flowers gorgeous? I am not normally a flower girl, but these ribbons had me thinking... and they look gorgeous against the orange and pink background. And since I love the orange Prima flower that came with the kit, I decided to use it. These colors look so vibrant against each other.

 

I  used stamps by Altenew to create the leaves for the flowers and I used the sentiments for my journaling. I was lucky that I had magenta ink in my stash! It worked so well for this layout. And because I am totally digging the chipboard, I used the number "38" which, now that I think about it, buy the time this post goes live, I will be 39, but Oh well.

 

 

 

 

I decorated the center of the flowers using enamel dots of different colors, sizes and shapes. They really makes the flowers pop. I painted on the Prima Coloring Paper and cut a piece out to mat my photo. This coloring paper is awesome! I used it on three of my projects this month, using bits and pieces here and there.

 

 

Thanks so much for visiting today! I hope I was able to inspire you to use those Twinkling H20's and ribbon (if you bought them) on your next project.

 

Have a wonderful day!

 Nicole

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