gossamer blue & elle's studio "love you more" blog hop...

gossamer blue & elle's studio have teamed up this month to bring you a blog hop with tons of inspiration.  the february kits from gossamer blue are loaded with elle's studio's newest collection "love you more".  everything is so beautiful...especially those limited edition wood veneer!  :)

i put together a project life spread using the elle's studio's goodies, as well as a few other supplies from the gossamer blue february kits.  i customized this page protector for my photos and i'll be sharing more about that process later this month on the gossamer blue blog!  stay tuned!!

here's a look at my project life insert... 

and since the above are front/back, here's a look at both sides together... 

thanks so much for stopping by and happy blog hopping!  the list is below in case you get lost!!

Adrienne Alvis- http://adriennealvis.blogspot.com
Anabelle O'Malley- http://anabelleom.blogspot.com
Becki Adams http://beckiadams.blogspot.com/ 
Cindy Liebel- http://cindyliebel.blogspot.com
Elle Price http://ellesstudio.blogspot.com/
Emily Spahn- http://justem.typepad.com/scrapbookery/
Evgenia Petzer- http://evgeniapetzer.blogspot.com/
Heather Leopard- http://thespottedleopard.blogspot.com
Jenny Evans http://jennygevans.blogspot.com/ 
Jessica Lohof- http://talkaboutpriceless.blogspot.com
Jill Cornell- http://jillcornell.blogspot.com/
Jina Jean- http://atelierbjina.blogspot.com
Juliana Michaels http://www.17turtles.com/ 
Kasia Przybyt- http://antilight-craft.blogspot.com
Katie Ehmann- http://neverlandcrafts.blogspot.com/
Kim Moreno- http://www.livingthecircuslife.blogspot.com/
Magda Mizera- http://magdamizera.blogspot.com/
Michelle Wooderson- http://michellewooderson.blogspot.com
Michiko Kato- http://s-phototime.blogspot.com
Naomi Atkins- http://www.inspiredandenchantedphotographyblog.com
Nicole Harper- http://seriouslybrains.blogspot.com
Patricia Roebuck http://roebuck-adventures.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Bryan- http://stephaniemakes.blogspot.com/ **YOU ARE HERE**
Valerie Bishop http://myhere-rightnow.blogspot.com/ 
WaiSam Ho http://happie-scrappie.blogspot.com/ 
Yuki Shimada http://lovetodaybyluvbear.typepad.jp/love_today/

Don't forget to stop by the Elle's Studio blog http://ellesstudio.blogspot.com/ and the Gossamer Blue blog! http://www.gossamerblue.com/blog/ Each company is giving away some great prizes on their blog. Leave a comment on their blogs telling us what inspired you along the hop to be entered!

elle's studio: december gallery & december kit mini

the elle's studio december design team gallery and the december kit are live today!!

the kit is awesome, as always!  here's a look at what's included:

i used the kit to create a little mini book to hold memories from our first christmas as a family of four.

i used a piece of white card stock as my base and created a pocket by folding up the bottom part of the paper.

i used my sewing machine to stitch around each pocket so everything would stay in place.  then i filled the pockets with photos, journaling, tags and embellishments.

i love making little books like this.  so simple and easy, but so full of memories!!

be sure to stop by the december gallery for more amazing inspiration!

elle's studio: november gallery

hi and happy sunday!!

the november gallery is live at elle's studio today!  and that means a new kit is out today too!!

i created a lovely layered layout using the november kit and a few of the november cut files.

"thankful"

the leaves are from the tags in the cut file set.  i just trimmed around the leaf part of the tag and cut those individually.

and i had so much fun playing around with the new noel collection this month.  and those wood veneers….swoon!  the wood veneers are going fassssst so get yours before they are gone!!

i'm loving white space with a pop of color this month.  the reds just jump right off the page to me!!

here's a look at my favorite layout for this month!  you can see my other project in the design team gallery and i'll post it to my blog later this month!!  :)

"believe"

i love this photo of my daughter and son picking out a tree last year.  so beautiful and so simple.  

i wanted my photo to be the main focus of my page, so i kept my background very neutral.  i started by layering on a piece of the snowflake patterned paper from the noel collection on one side and then sewed it into place.  then i trimmed a piece of the snowflake vellum (so pretty) and added it to the other side of my card stock.  to add a little more dreaminess to the page, i only sewed three of the sides down and then sprinkled in some of the wood veneer on that side.  then i sewed the top up!!  i love the effect and blur!!  

thanks so much for stopping by today!!  be sure to check out the design team gallery for much more inspiration!  everything is so lovely!

and don't forget that every order in november and december gets a free set of pull apart gift tags!!  happy shopping! 

elle's studio: the boys

when i sit down to create a layout, i often find myself drawn to some sort of "design element".  sure, sometimes i have a color in mind, or a "softness" in mind, but frequently i want to achieve some sort of "design" on my page.

 i started this page with the photos, title and journaling in the center of the white cardstock.  it looked nice and loved the grid of photos and words, but it needed something else to me.  i liked the way the woodgrain paper from the elle's studio saltwater collection looked with my photos and tags and i played around with different ways to layer it onto my paper.  when i laid the paper diagonally across my background i was in love!!  it made the center grid pop from the background and that was awesome!!

here's a look at my finished layout...

what about you? 

what draws you into your page?  do you look for a "design element" when putting your layouts together?  i'd love to hear how your pages come together!!

happy tuesday!

xoxo

elle's studio: project life week 38

more project life goodness.  i just can't believe we are already 42 weeks into the year.  the home stretch to album completion is among us!!  i always love finishing an album....and i always love starting a new album.  i'm not quite sure what my plans are for 2014...maybe a smaller format?!?  who knows!!

anyway...onto week 38!

this week, i used the october kit from elle's studio.  the colors were perfect for the fall activities we've been doing!!  

here's a look at both sides together....

and a closer look at each side...

the "i (heart) our family" card seemed perfect for this week.  i loved how it looked and just jazzed it up a little by adding a trimmed doily.  (i love doilies....).

i also wanted to play around with the vellum ampersand card and decided to write my journaling directly in the shape using a white gel pen.  i ended up backing it with a piece of black paper to try to help the ampersand and the journaling stand out.

same here...more photos and words.

nap time is gone in our house (except for on sick days, it seems), so i wanted to really highlight that on this spread.  i typed my journaling onto one of the journaling cards and then added some thickers to a piece of vellum to layer over top of the journaling.  i love how you can see the journaling is there, but that you get the main idea from the title!!

and some detail shots...

that's it from me today!!  

how is your project life coming along??  are you all caught up and ready to finish this album??  what about next year?  do you know what direction you are taking??  leave me some ideas!!  i'm struggling over here!  :)

happy tuesday!

elle's studio: october gallery

it's the 10th of the month and that means that a new design team gallery is up at elle's studio today!!  

the october kit is awesome this month and i had so much fun putting together my project life week using the kit.  the colors are perfect for this time of year.

this month's kit features 24 journaling and embellishment tags! there's also brand new cut files that coordinate with the monthly kits!  how fun is that???  and just to make it that much sweeter....every order in october ships with something good to eat!!  did somebody say trick or treat??

here's a few peeks of my project life spread using this month's kit...

stop on by the design team gallery to see more of my projects, as well as the amazing projects from the other design team members.

be sure to pick up your october kit, as well as the new penelope, noel and 2014 collections while you are there!!  happy shopping!

xoxo

elle's studio: new collections are in the shop

happy monday!!  i'm about to make your day better!!  :)

the new elle's studio collections are up in the shop today!  yippee!!  the noel collection, the penelope collection (my favorite) and 2014 are all ready to be added to your cart!!  

just look at all that goodness!!  heaven in a picture, right??

elle's studio is also launching a new layout kit that you will have to check out while you are there.  there are four kits available based on layouts by Megan Klauer, Janna Werner, Becky Novacek and Elle herself!! how fun is that??

and just to tempt you even more....i thought i would share a little peek of the elle's studio monthly kit for october!! it is so perfect for this time of year!!  

happy shopping!

elle's studio: the penelope collection & watercolors

the elle's studio penelope collection is just divine.  i love all of the soft pinks and the dark colors.

of course i just had to play around with it for this month's design team gallery.

i started by using watercolors on my background.  once that was dry, i lightly misted over the pink watercolors with some studio calico opaque white mist.  it's a subtle touch, but it softens the pink watercolors some.

then i pulled out my favorite pieces from the penelope collection, as well as the black and white strip paper.  i layered everything together and added a few strips of typed journaling.

love that sweet face.

here's a look at my finished layout and a few detail shots...

a mood board & a sketch, oh my...

 there's a lot of fun out there this week in the scrappy world!!  

jot magazine has a new mood board up that's bright and beautiful!  kim jeffress was the guest pinner this month and she did an amazing job, didn't she??

here is my layout...

i decided to use watercolors on my background to great a softer orange effect.  from there, i added lots of layers around my photo and used one of the "very much hoarded" crate paper frames as an accent.

and i'm playing along with the thursday sketch challenge at elle's studio this week.  the sketch is based on becky novacek's beautiful layout.

and here is my layout based on the sketch...

i followed the sketch pretty closely except added a few extra tags and cut outs from elle's studio.  i'm trending back towards more "white space", don't you think??

thanks so much for stopping by today!  i hope you can play along with these challenges!!  be sure to upload your layouts to either the jot magazine or elle's studio gallery!  can't wait to see what you create!

xoxo

elle's studio: september design team gallery

the september design team gallery is now live over at elle's studio.  i went a little crazy with the new penelope collection.  i joked with elle that she must have made that collection just for me.  it has all of my favorite colors......i just love it!!

here's a little peek at some of my projects for this month.  i created two layouts...one using the limited edition september kit and one using watercolors and the penelope collection.  and of course i just had to create another mini album....

stop on by the design team gallery to see my projects and for more amazing inspiration.  i will be sharing them here throughout the month of september so be sure to check back too.  

pick up your limited edition september kit while you are over there!  they are now on sale and are discounted to $9.99 until midnight tonight!  it's jam-packed with goodness!!  

check it out...

as always, thanks so much for stopping by!

happy tuesday!

xoxo

elle's studio: 100% boy

when i was pregnant with my son i remember thinking "what in the world do little boys do? surely this one will be into dolls and jewelry like his big sister.".  little did i know....my boy is 100% boy.  for sure.  he loves trucks, trains, cars and basically everything with wheels. monster trucks are his new favorite.  i'm pretty sure he has slept with two every night this week.

as soon as i saw the "100% boy" card in the cameron collection at elle's studio, i knew i wanted to make a layout all about my sweet boy!!

i went through the ga-zillion printed photos i have in my craft room and found a few of him "being himself".  i created a photo grid on a several different paper layers and then added the "100% boy" card to the right of my pictures.  to add a little texture and dimension to my page, i trimmed out the pie chart and words on the "100% boy" card and then sewed them onto a trimmed piece of paper.  i love adding dimension to my pages!!

here's a look at my layout, as well as few more detail pictures!

do you have a "100% boy" on your hands?  they keep you on your toes, right??  don't forget to document all of those sweet boy memories!!

happy day everyone!

xoxo

project life: week 30

today i wanted to share a few more images from my week 30 of my project life album.  this week i used the wonderful august kit from elle's studio.  all of the cards and sentiments were so perfect for our fun and relaxing week!!

in my usual style, i used a few layered digital templates and brushes before printing out my photos.  i have found that i really like this process and it seems to save me a little time when putting my weeks together.

here is a look at my week 30...

and a closer peek at each side...

on friday of this week, i took a day trip with my two kids and my best friend in the whole wide world to the beach.  it was pretty awesome and i got a few fun photos of the kids together.  of course, i just had to include them all.  

some weeks i have pictures from each day, and others have a few from one day.  i try to keep it plain and simple and not too complicated.  trying to remember to document our days and that there is no set process for doing so!!

hope you are enjoying your last few days of summer.  we sure are.  school starts back all too soon.  although i'm kind of ready for a schedule again!!  

xoxoxo