Scrap Your Scraps!

So as of now I am a member of the creative team over at Scrap Your Scraps.  This is very exciting for me as this the first time I've ever been on a creative team and I'm loving it!  Every month I'll be blogging about a fun technique or trick or interesting way to use up some of those scraps, as well as organization tips and tricks.  Be sure to come check us out and take a look at all the fantastic ladies who are joining me to bring you some great layouts, designs, and ideas!

Here is a sneak peek of my first ever blog post!

Bath time fun and Birthday parties

So I've been extremely busy lately, what with jobs, projects, and a birthday party to plan.  It only seems fitting that I would forget to post a layout I did, like last month, so here it is.  Just a quick post and show today.

New Job, Less Time, More Fun

So first things first, I have a new job.  Well, not a new job, I'm working for the same company, but in a new temporary role.  I am now full time and am a floral designer.  I knew I would like the job, but I didn't know how much I would enjoy it!  I work 8 hours a day and it literally flies by.  I always want to stay longer and keep working and when I'm at home I'm thinking of new designs and arrangements.  I hope this enthusiasm continues for the summer, and the pay isn't too bad either!

On another note, here are two finished layouts created a little while ago.  I haven't had a chance to post too much new but I was at least glad to get these uploaded.  The first one is a picture of my daughter from last year during Easter.  I created this layout not having any clue where I was going, but knowing I really wanted to use those puffy stickers, so I created a big focal circle.  So happy with it!  My second layout was one I created about the day my daughter finally came home from the hospital after a month in the NICU.  Since the layout was more for me I decided to just go with stuff I love, hence the vellum, the colours, the style, the feathers, etc.

Hope to update more often very soon. I may also post some of my floral arrangements as well.

Her Sunday Best

A New Mom Again

Found My Camera Cord!

I finally found my frickin' camera cord, so I was able to get my pictures on my computer.  I've been rather lazy lately, I haven't worked on anything new in a few weeks, and haven't even bothered trying to clean up my craft room, but well, they call it spring cleaning for a reason.  I'm definitely going to get my butt in gear and get some stuff done.  There are so many unfinished projects I want to tackle that I can't even make a list!
This month has been a bit more crazy than normal, with the company my husband worked for closing, we have been spending most of our time trying to get things ready for when he would be unemployed.  Are we worried?  Hell yeah, but my husband, the ever optimist, is putting a positive spin on our situation, while I the ever pessimist, am having a tougher time.  We'll get through it, we always do.  It's somewhat comforting knowing that in our marriage at least, there is a stability.
Well, onto my post.  Here is one of two layouts that I created back in March, but haven't been able to put up since I had no way of getting the photos off my camera until now.

This one is called "In Her Arms".  The picture is of my daughter and her Great Grammy.  I alway want the kids to know just how lucky they are to have grammys and great grammys, as someone who grew up without any grandparents.  My mother-in-law took this photo of the two of them during my sons birthday party last year.  I don't usually scrap pictures that she takes, since I only get one copy of them, but I just loved the look of it so I decided to include it in my daughters scrapbook.  I know you can't see grammys face, but for some reason that made me like it even more, like she was just a presence, you don't need to see her to know she's there, and that she's got them in her arms.

Typos and Vellum

I originally didn't want to post this layout because one of the BasicGrey elements I used had a typo on it, but since I have no clue when I'll get around to trying to fix it I figured I'd post it in the meantime.  This layout was inspired by Tina Aszmus from the Studio Calico Design Team.  You can check out the  layout here. I liked how she printed on vellum (something I've done before) but then put her photo behind the vellum too!  I adapted the layout to a 12x12 and then just had fun with it.  I'm so happy with the turnout I definitely think I'll be picking up more vellum in the future!   Oh, and yes, that paper piece that says "Lost and Found" is the logo from that paper line.  I liked how it looked so much I added it as an embellishment.  Waste not want not.

Right Behind You

Scrap lifts can be great

Here is one of the last two layouts I managed to get done over the weekend.  This one is a scrap lift from Paige Evans.  I loved her gigantic chevron going down the centre of her page and decided to give it a try.  I was amazed at how remarkably easy this was to piece together.  I just used paper scraps and a 6x6 paper pad to fill it in.  Then I flipped it on it's side and added a few embellishments.  I didn't want to over do the decorations since the paper piecing was so huge.  For this layout simplicity was the key.  I am quite happy with the turnout, it has a nice vintage summer look.

3 New Layouts

I've been bitten by the creative bug it seems, and I've managed to get a few layouts done.  I've also been trying a few new techniques, like working with watercolours and making some of my own embellishments.

This first one shows that sometimes I just don't know when to stop.  See the little red squares, well I wish they weren't there, but since I coloured them in there's not much I can do about it now!
Anyway, these pictures are of my son and daughter on Valentines Day.  We did a little photo shoot in the house and it was hard going until I told them to give each other a kiss!  In other news I had a few mishaps when making this, like not letting the ink spots dry completely thus smudging some chip board, and having some of the paper rip when trying to move around some elements.  Also the chalkboard inspired love heart I used is actually a printable from artsyfartsymama.com

Always Love Each Other

The next layout I finished was this one of my daughter when she first learned to walk.  I took inspiration from her clothing as well as the March mood board at Two Peas in a Bucket . My basic plan when it came to this design was "how much of a cluster *%$# can I make this?" so I just kept adding.  I also added some watercolour rings, which was my first time using watercolours.  I'm definitely going to be using them more though!  This layout was inspired by one created by Ginger Williams.

1st Steps

The last one that I have for now is one of my son in his first rain boots.  These pictures were taken in 2010 and I'm now just finally getting around to scrapping them.  I'm actually happy that I'm making headway with my older photos.  I ended up screwing up while spraying some navy spray and had to adjust my layout to cover it up.  Now I could have just started with a new piece of white cardstock, but no way was I going to waste that paper.