The Studio || Scraplift Challenge

Hey, everyone!!

 

Today's challenge at The Studio is a really fun one! We want you scraplift a member of our design team.  All the design team ladies picked another designer to scraplift for this challenge.  I chose to scraplift the amazing Tessa Buys.  Her layout for the August Tic-Tac-Toe challenge immediately caught my eye and I knew that I wanted to lift it.  Here's her layout:

Here's my take on it:

I kept most of the elements the same (why mess with a good thing?), but did add in that thick strip of paper across the top.  I wanted to bring in a bit more color to my layout and I just really love that patterned paper and was looking for an excuse to use it.  ;-)

 

I hope you can stop on by The Studio and play along with this month's challenges!

 

Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye, Fancy Pants; Alphas: Pink Paislee, Simple Stories; Diecuts: Fancy Pants, Heidi Swapp; Enamel Dots: Doodlebug Design; Wooden Stars: Studio Calico; Mist: Heidi Swap; Sewing Template: We R Memory Keepers

My Last Queen & Company Share!

Hey, everyone!  My last layout for my guest designer work is up on the Queen & Company Facebook page today.  It was made with the Darling Diva collection, which I totally fell in love with.  The colors and patterns in that line were just awesome!  Here's what I made:

A lot of "white space" on this one, but I'm actually pretty pleased with how it turned out.

And with that, my time with Queen & Company is over.  I had such a blast designing for them and am truly grateful for the awesome experience!

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Cut file: Heidi Swapp; Everything else: Queen & Company

Scrappy Blog Tour!

Hey, everyone!! Have y'all seen the fun scrappy blog tour that's been happening in Blogland over the last few weeks?  I was lucky enough to have Jody "tag" me last week. Make sure you stop by her blog to be inspired - she's my Co-Captain for the Clique Kits design team and I'm having so much fun getting to know her!

Okay, here it goes...

1.  What am I working on right now?

I've been playing with my October Clique Kit.  I love this kit - it's colorful and fun and I think it will be a big hit!

2.  How long does it take me to create a project?

Hmmm...I'm usually a pretty fast scrapper.  Most pages take me about 30-45 minutes.  But I get distracted easily, too.  So, sometimes when I'm watching TV and scrapping it will take me well over an hour to create a layout or Project Life spread!

3.  What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

-Enamel Dots

-Wood Veneers

-Paint/Mists/And I've been experimenting with Gelatos

-Sequins

-Doilies

-Tags

-My Tiny Attacher

4.  How does my writing/creative process work?

For my creative process, I usually pick the photo first and find products to coordinate with them nicely.  I also pick embellishments that I am attracted to and move them around A LOT before gluing/stapling everything down.  As far as writing, I do not do a lot of journaling on my layouts.  I think a lot of my pages speak for themselves.  If not, I usually just write a tiny blurb.  I create layouts for relaxation and an emotional release (and I do not like my handwriting very much!).  However, I write a lot more on my Project Life spreads.  I love having a recap of my weeks.  I started PL last year and I've already gone back a few times to see what I was doing at-this-time-last-year.  So cool!

5.  How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

Like most people, Pinterest is a big source of my inspiration.  When I get in a rut, I love to look at layouts by others that I find inspirational to try to get some new ideas or to encourage myself to try new techniques.  I also love to look at sketches and figure out how to modify them to fit my own style.

6.  What is my signature style?

This is always a hard question for me.  My style is usually pretty simple and  colorful.  I love bright colors on white or neutral backgrounds and I leave a lot of empty space.  I almost always use a sprinkling of paint/mist and sequins/wood veneers.  I love to get messy, but I don't think I have quite mastered the messy look.  I'll keep trying, though.  Here are some of my favorite layouts that I've created:

From 2010:

 From 2011:

 From 2012:

From 2013:

From this year:

And now, I get to "tag" some of the scrappers that inspire me most (and they will be answering these same questions on their blogs next Monday):

-Tessa Buys:  I have always loved her work.  I was super excited when I was able to work with her on The Studio.  Her layouts are clean, yet colorful.  I love her graphic pages and she is one of the designers I scraplift most when I'm in a rut.  In fact, my 2012 layout above was done for a sketch challenge at The Studio that was based off of one of her layouts!

-Elizabeth Hellum:  I love to stop by her little corner of the Blogosphere.  Like Tessa, her layouts are also very clean.  She works wonderfully with patterns and she is always sharing inspiring papercrafts.

-Anna White-Sharman:  Anna is my leader on The Studio design team.  Her style is so much fun - so bright and colorful and she works with patterns so well - I'm jealous of her skills!

Thanks so much for stopping by to get to know me a little better.  And I do hope that you will check out the other ladies mentioned in this post - all us creative types have got to stick together and support each other!  :o)

**For individual layout product lists, click on the hyperlink to take you to the original layout post.**

Beach Girls || Queen & Co

Hey, everyone!!

 

I have another layout to share for Queen & Company today.  I cut up some of their fun journaling card paper to highlight a photo of my friend and I at the beach:

 

I had a lot of fun with this one - mainly because of the color combo.  Turquoise and orange is one of my favorite combos and I think those two colors combined just make the happiest pages.  I also had a lot of fun with that Heidi Swapp circle mask.  And isn't the wooden fish pretty much the cutest thing ever?!

 

What's your favorite color combo to scrap with?

 

Cardstock: Bazzill; Wooden Alphas: Recollections; Mask: Heidi Swapp; Everything Else: Queen & Co

Simple Does It...

Hey, everyone!  I am popping in real quickly to share a layout that I made this past weekend.  It seriously only took me about 20 minutes to make...and that was because I was measuring to make sure that things were properly centered (which is usually something I do not do...)

 

 

I have been loving these stars from Studio Calico and really wanted to use them on a layout.  Finally, I decided on a design that would make them the star of the show (not trying to be punny...not really).  This has become one of my go-to layout designs when I'm feeling a little bit stuck.  I sort of love it, though.  It's simple and easy, and I usually end up loving the results.

 

What's your go-to layout design?

 

Cardstock: Bazzill; Stars: Hello Forever; Patterned Paper: Paislee Press; Wood Veneers: Heidi Swapp, Studio Calico; Sequins: Studio Calico; Banner: Heidi Swapp; Blue Paper Borders: Doodlebug Design; Staples: Tim Holtz

The Studio || Sketch Challenge

Hi, everyone!

 

For today's challenge over at The Studio, we have a lovely sketch created by Valerie.  Her sketch is based off the button layout that our August Guest Designer, Kerry Bruce, created.

 

Here is the sketch: 

 

Fun right?  I rotated the sketch a bit to fit my needs and here is what I created:

That circle threw me a little bit.  I'm still not sure I totally like how I incorporated it, but it will do.  I used one of my favorite color combos on this layout: red and turquoise.  It's a trusty color combo that I think always looks good.

 

Hop on over to The Studio to see what the other ladies created and to play along!

 

Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: Teresa Collins; Vellum, Alphas: American Crafts; Transparency: Hambly; Washi Tape; Tim Holtz; Chipboard Stars, Wooden Arrow, Mist: Studio Calico; Enamel Shapes: Doodlebug Design; Diecut Tab, "Smile" Stamp: October Afternoon; Badge: Hello Forever

Project Life Update and a Clique Kits Challenge

Hey, everyone!  I hope you have had a wonderful weekend.  It's been very rainy and overcast here, but sometimes I like those weekends...there's an excuse to be unproductive!

 

I wanted to share a few Project Life spreads with you and let you know about the current challenge at Clique Kits.  Basically, this month's challenge is to create....anything :-).  Pretty easy, right?  If you have products from this month's sponsor, Pinkfresh Studio, then use them...if not, that's okay, too.  The winner of this month's challenge gets a goody bag full of Pinkfresh Studio awesomeness.

 

My first PL spread uses some of Pinkfresh Studio's awesome wood veneer hearts...and some of Simple Stories' DIY Collection, which can be found in the Clique Kits Simple Stories Store.  I love  that stuff...so bright and colorful!  Psst, if you see anything in the store that you like, use the code KAT10 to get a 10% discount!

My Week 35 spread features some Heidi Swapp and Becky Higgins goodness.  I had NO idea that they had teamed up to create mini kits until I was in Michael's last weekend...awesome surprise!

 

 

And thanks to my rainy weekend, I am right back to where I want to be with my 2014 Project Life!  Have a happy week!

 

Week 34: Page Protector: Becky Higgins: Design A; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Journaling Cards: Hello Forever, Studio Calico, Ali Edwards; Alphas: Simple Stories, Studio Calico; Labels: Simple Stories; Wood Veneer: Pinkfresh Studio, Studio Calico; Enamel Stickers: Doodlebug Design; "Documented" Tab, Flair, Plastic Diecuts: Hello Forever; Staples: Tim Holtz

 

Week 35: Page Protectors: Becky Higgins (Designs A & I); Journaling Cards: Studio Calico, Becky Higgins, Heidi Swapp; Chipboard Shapes: Studio Calico; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Alphas: Amy Tangerine; Stickers: Simple Stories; Mist: Heidi Swapp; Staples: Tim Holtz

Curtsey Boutique Favor Bags

Hey, everyone!

 

I am popping in to share some favor bags that I made for the Curtsey Boutique.  They were so quick and easy to make!

 

CarrieAnne's felt butterflies are already embellished beautifully so it was easy for me to just attach them to a doily with a sentiment tag and use them to top a brown paper bag...these bags only took minutes to make and I think they ended up looking pretty cute. 

 

Supplies: Bags, Tags, Buterflies, Doilies: The Curtsey Boutique; Sentiment Stamp: October Afternoon

Queen & Company in Coin Pockets...

I have been eyeing coin pocket pages for a while.  If you've followed along with my blog for a bit you know that I love making pocket pages, but I've never used coin pockets.  I used my guest designer stint at Queen & Company to finally experiment a little bit...

 

I used the Darling Diva line to showcase photos of my niece from the day she was born until she turned 1.  As a side note, I love the monthly photo idea...

Have you made any coin pockets recently?  If so, leave a link...I'd love to see!!

 

Supplies: Sequins: Studio Calico; Staples: Tim Holtz; Cardstock: Bazzill; Wooden Letters: Recollections; Everything Else: Queen & Company

Clique Kits!

I am just ecstatic to share this news...I am officially a member of the Clique Kits Varsity Team!  Pinch me! 

 

Here is a list of the full team:

Tyra Babington (USA)

Kat Benjamin (USA)  

Cassandra Chen (Singapore)

Danielle de Konink (Netherlands)

Marcia Dehn-Nix (USA)

Aliza Deutsch (USA)

Mariah Hechler (USA)

Stephanie Ho (Canada)

Nicole Martel (USA)

Wendy Morris (USA)

Donna Ong (Saudi Arabia)

Carolina Schulz (Chile)

Sophie Sim Lawerence (Singapore)

Allie Stewart (USA)

 

I can't wait until I begin working with this team in October! 

The Studio || Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge

Good morning, everyone!  I'm so excited about today's challenge at The Studio!  It's a Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge and I was lucky enough to get to create the board this month.  Check it out:

 

Of course, I loved the board since it includes all of my favorite things! ;o)  However, I chose to work with the top row across: hot pink, at least 2 kinds of washi and stars:

 

I've been playing around with washi tape a lot recently and have been bouncing this idea around for a while now.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out...and I always love being able to make a dent in my huge washi stash!

 

The coolest part about this challenge, though, was seeing how the other ladies interpreted the tic-tac-toe board that I made.  I gotta say...I LOVE everything that was created.  Go check out The Studio and play along!!

 

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Washi Tape: Love My Tapes, Target; Doily: Curtsey Boutique; Star Clips: Two Peas in a Bucket; Wooden Stars, Cut File, Mist: Studio Calico; Paper Bag: Queen & Co; Alphas: Teresa Collins

I ♥ Pink & Orange

I have a deep love for the pink & orange color combo.  I'm not sure why.  I just love the 2 bright colors together.  So much so that they were my wedding colors a few years ago!  So when I saw Basic Grey's Highline collection, there was no question that I needed it in my little, scrappy hands!  I bought the 12 x 12 paper pack for scrapping and the 6 x 6 paper pack for Project Life.  I am totally set now! 

 

When I purchased the paper, I didn't buy any of the coordinating embellishments.  I already had the Favorite Things ephemera pack from Heidi Swapp, which I thought would look pretty good with the colors in Highline.  I finally found a little time to sit down and play with the two.  This is what I came up with:

 

I recently pinned this layout by Kim Stewart and totally loved her off-centered strips of patterned paper.  I used that as inspiration for the starting point of this layout.

Most of my layouts are pretty bright and colorful, but I think this takes bright to a whole new level.  I love the colors and I'm excited to sit down and play some more!

 

What scrappy/PL supplies are you loving right now?

 

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper, Alphas, Stickers: Basic Grey; Wooden Letters: Recollections; Paper and Plastic Diecuts, Mist, Picture Frame: Heidi Swapp; Tag: Amy Tangerine; Wooden Stars: Studio Calico

Project Life Update (warning: photo heavy post!)

Hey, everyone!  This weekend I made it my goal to get some scrapping done.  I didn't make very many traditional layouts, but I did get A LOT of Project Life done, which is good because I really hate falling too far behind.

 

Week 31:

Not a lot happened this week.  It rained a bunch, so it was a lot of sitting inside and watching old TV shows (Charmed, to be exact).  I used the August Studio Calico kit for this one.

 

Week 32 was a lot of fun.  My niece came to visit us and stay for the week.  I took time off from work and we went to the beach, played mini golf, and just had a ton of good times!  I used the August Cocoa Daisy kit for this one.

 

Week 33: This was my birthday week.  Our niece left us that week and we met up with a bunch of friends to move out some remaining items from my husband's old house.  I used a random assortment of goodies for this spread.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope your weekend was a good one!

 

Week 31: Page Protector: Becky Higgins (Design F); Journaling Cards, Wood Veneer, Alphas, Sequins, Vellum Stars, Washi Tape: Studio Calico; Labels, Plastic Shapes: Hello Forever; Staples: Tim Holtz

 

Week 32: Page Protectors: Becky Higgins (Designs A & F); Journaling Cards: Cocoa Daisy, Evalicious, Fancy Pants; Diecuts: My Mind's Eye, Evalicious; Alphas: Kaiser Craft, Jenni Bowlin; Washi: Little B; Label Sticker: Pebbles; Tickets: Fancy Pants; Enamel Shapes: We R Memory Keepers; Staples: Tim Holtz

 

Week 33: Page Protectors: Becky Higgins (Designs A & H); Journaling Cards: Hello Forever, Birchbox, Becky Higgins, Clique Kits; Wood Veneers: Studio Calico, Pinkfresh; Diecuts: Jillibean Soup, Chic Tags, My Mind's Eye; Stickers: Heidi Swapp; Enamel Shapes: Doodlebug Design; Alphas: Kaiser Craft; Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye; Staples: Tim Holtz

Queen & Company Layout and Sketches!

Hey, everyone!

 

I am up on the Queen & Company Facebook page today with my second guest designer project.  The really cool thing is that Queen & Company made a layout sketch and a card sketch based on my layout...how cool?

 

Here is my page:

 

And here are the 2 sketches that they created: 

 

 

If you end up using the sketch, let me know...I would love to see the finished product!

 

Cardstock: Bazzill; Clothespin: Recollections; Everything Else: Queen & Company

The Studio Challenges || Mood Board

Hello!!  There's a new challenge up at The Studio today...and it is SO MUCH FUN!  One of my favorite scrappers, Tessa Buys, just rejoined the team this month and she created an awesome mood board to inspire us for this challenge:

 

Seriously?  How fun is that?

 

I was really inspired by everything on it: the beach, the colors, the individual photos.  The sign in the bottom middle slot inspired my title work and the turquoise sequins inspires my home-made shaker card:

 

Go check out The Studio's blog and see all the other layouts the rest of the team created...they are all so amazing!

 

Cardstock: Bazzill; Journaling Cards: Studio Calico, Simple Stories; Star Clips: Two Peas in a Bucket; Alphas: Jillibean Soup; Patterned Paper: Cocoa Daisy, Echo Park; Enamel Dots: My Mind's Eye; Tab Stickers, Stamp: October Afternoon; "Escape Now" Diecut: Evalicious; Doily, Plastic Bag (for homemade shaker card): Curtsey Boutique; Resin Badge: Hello Forever

August 2014 Stitch Fix

Hey, everyone!  It's been a while since I posted a Stitch Fix review.  I got a fix in July, but it was really disappointing and unimpressive, so I didn't post a review or even take any photos.  However, this month's fix was quite a different story!

 

For an in depth run-down of Stitch Fix, click on my first “review” here.  Here are the basics:
 

1.  Fill out a style profile.

2.  Schedule a fix!  This can be as frequent (or infrequent) as you would like.

3.  Pay $20 – this is the “styling fee.”  However, if you keep anything from your box, it is automatically applied to your purchase.

4.  Get the clothes and try them on in the comfort of your own home with stuff you already have.

5.  You have 3 days to mail everything you don’t want back to Stitch Fix in a pre-paid shipping envelope.  If you keep all 5 items from your fix, you get a 25% discount.

 

Here's a look at what I received:

 

Arynn Tie-Back Chevron Print Tank and Naara Cuffed Denim Short 

This shirt is too cute!  It is shear but it came with a white cami to wear underneath it.  I love the colors and the fact that it will transition well from Summer to Fall.  The shorts are super, super comfy.  Before I tried them on I thought I would hate them, but I was pleasantly surprised!

 

Cayla V-Neck Hi-Lo Maxi Dress

This was another one that I was not impressed with out of the box, but when I put it on, I pretty much fell in love.  It's comfy, yet elegant.  It can be dressed up or down.  The only downside - its needs to be ironed...which is very apparent in this photo!  :o)

 

Ventura Chevron Keyhole Detail Tank

I had this shirt pinned on my Style board on Pinterest.  So glad I did.  I love, love, LOVE it.  The pattern, the colors, the fit, the price ($38) were all perfect!

 

Galen Polka Dot Tie Waist Dress

I also had this dress pinned, but when I put it on, I thought it looked a little baggy.  However, the bagginess was nothing that a cardigan can't fix.  Plus, I'm a sucker for some polka dots.

 

I wouldn't have ordinarily purchased the polka dot dress, but since I had to decided to keep the other 4 items, that dress also found a place in my closet since I got a 25% discount...

 

Final thoughts: After a really crappy July box, this box was just what I needed to restore my faith in Stitch Fix.  And it was my first keep-all-5 box...yay!  Needless to say, I was very happy with everything I received this month.

 

You can see all my Stitch Fix reviews here.

If you are interested in signing up for your own Stitch Fix, just follow this link!

 

See?  Cardigan fixes everything:

 

*I have no affiliation with Stitch Fix except that I am one of their customers.  I will not receive any compensation for this review.  However, the link provided is a referral link that will give me Stitch Fix credit if anyone decides to use it.*

Queen & Company Guest Designer

Hi, everyone!  A few months ago I participated in a really big challenge over at Queen & Company for National Scrapbook Day and was ecstatic to find out that I had been selected as one of their guest designers.  They sent me a TON of awesome products to work with and asked me to create some projects with them.  Today they shared my first layout on their Facebook page:

 

This page is a scraplift of another page that I completed a little while back.  They sent me so much washi tape that I could not resist making a rainbow out of it!

 

I have a few more Queen & Company projects to share with you over the next month and another Stitch Fix review will be in the works soon.

 

Layout: Cardstock: Bazzill; Paper Punches: Martha Stewart; Cut File: Ali Edwards; Washi Tape, Patterned Paper, Alphas, Bling, Photo Corners: Queen & Company

Cherish Layout with Curtsey Boutique

Good morning, everyone!  Happy Friday!  It's my favorite day of the week!

 

I'm up on The Curtsey Boutique blog today sharing a new layout that I recently made:

I'm still so in love with those sparkly butterflies.  I need to get about 20 more packs of them because I can use them on everything...and of course, I still have an obsession with those hand-dyed doilies.  They are definitely my favorite product in all my stash right now!

 

Cardstock: Bazzill; Title Sticker: American Crafts; Patterned Paper, Mask, Label Sticker: Heidi Swapp; Phrase Stickers: Cosmo Cricket; Stick Pin, Butterflies, Tags, Doily: The Curtsey Boutique

Cocoa Daisy vs. Studio Calico: July Project Life

Hey, everyone!  I am popping in to share the PL spreads I made with the Cocoa Daisy and Studio Calico July kits.  The kits were very different last month, so it was a little bit difficult to compare them.  See what I mean:

 

The July Cocoa Daisy kit was travel-themed, and therefore perfect to highlight a trip we took to Iowa for a family get together:

 

 

The Studio Calico kit had a lot of woodgrains and bright colors, although I seemed to gravitate more towards the subdued journaling cards for this spread:



In the end, I am a bit undecided on which is my favorite.  I guess if I had to pick, Cocoa Daisy would be the winner this month.  They pack a whole lot of product into their kits and I am always such a fan of the Evalicious exclusives!

Thanks for stopping by!

Week 28: Page Protectors: Becky Higgins (Design A); Journaling Cards: Cocoa Daisy, Evalicious; Alphas: Jillibean Soup, Studio Calico; Stickers: October Afternoon; Paper Labels: Evalicious; Staples: Tim Holtz

 

Week 29: Page Protector: Becky Higgins (Design N); Journaling Cards, Stickers, Wood Veneers: Studio Calico; Alphas: Studio Calico, Basic Grey; Staples: Tim Holtz

The Studio || Buttons!

Hello, everyone!  And hello, August!  You certainly snuck up on me quickly!

 

A new month means new challenges at The Studio.  The first one this month is about buttons - find a way to use buttons in your layout.  The layout I created is very simple, but I actually really like it.  I've had my pink and purple Studio Calico Color Theory buttons sitting around for awhile, begging to be used.  This challenge was the push I needed to get them on paper!

 

Also, the new design team is up at The Studio today.  Their layouts are super inspirational...make sure you go check them out!!

 

Supplies: Patterned Paper, Giant Tag, Paper Star Stickers: Studio Calico; Glittered Cardstock, Puffy Star Stickers: Doodlebug Design; Buttons: Studio Calico, Doodlebug Design; Star Clips: Two Peas in a Bucket; Staples: Tim Holtz; Label Stickers: Simple Stories; Paper Tag: Chic Tags