2.5 years already?!

May marks 2.5 years in my house. I can hardly believe it! It seems much longer and much shorter at the same time. I thought I'd share some updates and projects I've done in the last six months because I've been posting updates every six months.

Last summer I spray painted my shutters black. They were the same color as the house and it's on my list to have the house painted (aluminum siding), but for now the black shutters add great contrast.

Last spring and summer I added tons of new flowers. My yard is one of my favorite parts of my house. Is that weird? I spend so much time outside and it's a lot of work, but it's a source of pride.

Last summer I started reworking this area of my yard.I pulled out the little white fencing and starting putting in black landscaping edging. The dogs stepped over the fencing anyway and it was getting tangled and misshapen. I got most of this section redone in one day and then I noticed I had chiggers! That was a major set back. My legs itched so bad for an entire week; it was miserable! I hope to finish the rest of it this summer.

I found a new kitchen rug at Target and I love it. In the kitchen I'd still like to redo the counter tops and backsplash and I still need to paint the ceiling and find a new ceiling fan. I've been looking for a new white ceiling fan for two years so if you have any ideas, I'd appreciate it!

Here you can see the black landscape edging in that area of my flower bed.

The upstairs bathroom was redone last fall! I found a shower curtain I loved at Home Goods, got paint to match, and boom, done. The upstairs bathroom is finished now.

I found the mirror at TJ Maxx for a reasonable price and hung it by myself! New lighting from Shades of Light and I love it, plus it's so much brighter in there now.

Then the spare bedroom... drum roll... I found a daybed on the garage sale site for around $100 and it's a trundle. I used twin bedding from Target because cute day bedding is hard to find. I'd been looking for a large dresser for a while and my mom had one she had just painted so she let me have it. Finally I have a legit spare bedroom.

and this Valentine's day I spent the time and money to replace all of the door knobs in the house! A simple thing to do except not really because the previous owners hadn't installed the prior ones correctly that makes the house look put together and modern!

I think that about wraps it up. Next on the list is a deck for the backyard, which I hope to have done this summer, and the master bedroom, which is currently in progress!

captured.

I'm playing along with sketch #200 at Sketches In Thyme. This is a great sketch for something you only have one photo of and you really want to keep the focus on the photo. This is a photo collage of my friend and me with her daughter at the children's museum last year. I included our ticket on the page.

supplies
ink: Versafine (onyx black)
stamp: Elle's Studio Travelogue
die cuts: Jillibean Soup (Healthy Hello Soup); Elle's Studio (May kit)

get away.

I'm playing along with one of the sketches at ScrapMuch? this month. I was originally thinking of using some washi tapes or some patterned paper scraps for this sketch, but when I got started, it just wasn't working for me. I kept the idea of the embellishment clusters in the opposite corners, but scaled back on my strips behind the photo.

This is from our trip to Florida in March.

supplies
patterned paper: Fancy Pants (Office Suite); Elle's Studio; Teresa Collins
enamel dots: My Mind's Eye
rubber shapes: Amy Tangerine
die cut pieces: Bella Blvd (Let's Go); Chic Tags (Happy Place); 
wood veneer: Fancy Pants
stickers: Studio Calico; Simple Stories (You Are Here);
stamps: Technique Tuesday (Going Places); Echo Park (Summer Party);

Paper Wings Productions:sparkly tiara

Hi everyone! Today you can find me on the Paper Wings Productions blog sharing details about this card I made using the Sparkle and the With Some Sparkle stamp sets.

supplies
embossing powder: super fine detail silver (Ranger); shocking pink embossing glitter (Wow! embossing powder); white fine detail (Simon Says Stamp);

loving this day.

I used the May 1 Stuck?! Sketches challenge for this layout of my brother and his girlfriend. I only had one photo so I used a project life card in place of a second photo and since my papers were so busy already, I didn't use as many layers behind the photo as the sketch. This page is totally different from anything I've done, but that's why sketches are so fun!

 

supplies 
stamp: Echo Park (Sunny Days); Kelly Purkey (Out in the Sunshine 2015);
ink: Staz On (jet black); Versa Fine (crimson red); 
wood veneer: Fancy Pants (Making Waves);
stickers: Simple Stories (You are Here!); Kelly Purkey; Studio Calico/Hello Forever
journal tag: Chic Tags (Let's Go)
patterned paper: My Mind's Eye (Cut and Paste)

Stick It Down design team call & prize for May

It's time for a design team call! Stick It Down is looking for new members for the single page layout team and the double page layout team and they're also looking for sketch designers.

The next term will run from July to December 2016. Please do not apply if you cannot commit to this time frame.

What you will do:

• provide one project per month, with possible special events during the six month term
• comment on all submissions as you are assigned
• post our challenge to your blog and other social media outlets 
• have projects completed and posted one week before the deadline

What you need:

• an active blog
• a Facebook account as this is where the DT "meets"
• a love for sketches
• organizational and time management skills

What SID will do:

• provide the sketches one month in advance
• provide your posting schedule and commenting assignments
• be supportive and encouraging
• share your photo and your blog link on the SID blog
• share your project on various social media outlets

How to apply:

• send an email to Stick it Down at StickItDownChallenges@gmail.com with the subject line "Design Team Call"
• include your name and location
• include a list of current commitments (no experience necessary!)
• include three of your favorite layouts that best display your style and suit the requirements of the team you are applying for (ie submit cards if you are applying for the card team)
• introduce yourself in few brief sentences
• If you have experience or are interested in designing sketches, please include a few of your sketch designs in your application as well.

This call is open to everyone, including our current team members, and will run until 11:59pm on May 31. This will give us the entire month of June to prepare for the next term. The new team will be notified by June 4 and announced on the SID blog on or around June 10. The new design team's projects will be revealed in July. If you have any questions, please let me know!

Also. 

We are celebrating national scrapbook day by doing a giveaway this month! If you participate in any of our sketches this month, you will be entered to win this:

We have three sketches each month and you can enter each sketch so you can have THREE chances to win! Go HERE for more details.

Stitch Fix #9.

I recently decided it was time for another Stitch Fix. I asked for some spring and summer items because I think the weather is warming up finally. Unfortunately, this fix was a total fail. I feel like I was on a roll this winter getting fixes twice/month and was keeping just about everything in my boxes. I think I've been on a break too long and although I asked for the same stylist (Britt), I returned everything she sent me. Here's what I got:

Skies are Blue Alise Embroidered halter top size medium $48

Dear John Finnegan roll cuff chino shorts size 6 $58

All of my tops she sent me were too big. I had told her before with my winter fixes that I'm small on top. I wear small and sometimes extra small and if I'm being honest I may have something in my closet from Gap kids. Yeah, I know. Despite my big hips and thighs I have a tiny little waist and unfortunately a small bust so I have to have small tops! Like size 2 or size 4. She sent me size medium. They just looked terrible. I didn't like the shorts enough to spend $58 on them.

41Hawthorn coral Shalley split neck blouse size medium $48

I look pregnant.

Gilli Reilly printed maxi skirt size medium $54

I've never even tried on a maxi skirt before but I just don't think I'm coordinated enough to pull it off. Besides, why do you think I do all those lunges and squats?! Not to wear a maxi skirt!

Brixon Ivy Arachna lace detail blouse size medium $58

 Damn, I loved this top. I needed it in a sizes small.

Wanna try it? Use my referral link.

Paper Wings Productions: espresso makes the world go 'round.

Hi everyone! I'm on the Paper Wings Productions blog today sharing my love for the Frothy Concoctions stamp set!

First I stamped my coffee cup onto coordinating patterned paper and fussy cut the images. Then I grabbed the Art Textures stamp set and used brown embossing powder to heat emboss a couple of coffee ring images onto my card.

My sentiment comes from the Earth and Sky stamp set. In its original form it says ' love makes the world go round,' but with a little masking, you can make it say anything you want! I masked off 'love' and heat embossed the rest of the sentiment. Then I used the 'espresso' stamp from the Frothy Concoctions stamp set with brown ink to replace 'love.' What do you think?

supplies
ink: Tim Holtz distress ink (gathered twigs);
embossing powder: Simon Says Stamp (white fine detail); Sparkle N Sprinkle (coffee EP459); 
patterned paper: Fancy Pants (Wish Season);

Mae.

We fostered Mae in May - July last year and I've been including one page layouts in my scrapbooks about all of our fosters. She is such a pretty cat and she had quite the personality.

I used this sketch from Stuck?! Sketches because it's super simple and the layout came together quickly.

supplies
patterned paper: Jenni Bowlin
stickers: Studio Calico/7 Paper
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black)
stamp: Paper Smooches (Charmed Cat)

prom.

I can't believe my baby cousins went to their junior prom last weekend! They're not babies anymore!

I'm playing along with the ScrapMuch? sketch this week.


supplies
stamp: Elle's Studio; Ippity (A Moment in Time);
ink: Versafine (onyx black);
patterned paper, die cuts: Crate Paper (Hello, Love)
alphabet stickers: American Crafts 
embossing powder: Simon Says Stamp! (ultra fine gold) 
wood veneer: Crate Paper (Close Knit)

travelogue.

I found Tic Tac Toe challenge number 8 to be really inspiring and I used 3 of a kind/holiday (spring break)/color inspiration for my pocket page about our recent Florida trip.

I used my Travelogue collection from Elle's Studio and my March spring break kit from Kelly Purkey. Love both of these sets.


supplies
stamp sets: Scraptastic Club (Sail stamp set); Elle's Studio (Travelogue); Studio Calico (Aloha); Simon Says Stamp! (Life's Journey);  Technique Tuesday (Bring on the Sun); Kelly Purkey (Spring Break);
ephemera pieces: Pink Paislee (Atlas);
chipboard: Freckled Fawn
flair: Kelly Purkey; Chic Tags (Let's Go); 
stickers: My Mind's Eye (Hello World); Studio Calico (washi strips);
project life cards: Elle's Studio; Kelly Purkey;

Paper Wings Productions: the stars danced.

Hi everyone! Today Today I'm at Paper Wings Productions sharing a card I made using the Earth and Sky cling stamp set. This is sort of a baby themed card, which I don't typically do a lot of, but my cousin just had a baby boy so it fits.

I used some white sparkle flocking on the cloud stamps. For the stars I grabbed a stencil and embossing paste and used a light blue shimmery blue embossing powder. The sentiment is stamped with white fine detail embossing powder.

This stamp set has many sentiments and can really be a versatile set to have in your stash. It's by no means a totally baby themed stamp set or I wouldn't get much use of it!

Here's one final look at my card:

supplies
stencil: Hero Arts (Sky Stencil Pair);
embossing paste: Dreamweaver
embossing powder: Sparkle N Sprinkle (Stickum Powder EP300); Lindy's Stamp Gang (Madonna Robe Blue Gold); Simon Says Stamp! (white fine detail);
flocking: Sparkle N Sprinkle (Twinkling Clouds SS107)
twine: May Arts

Paper Wings Productions: I've got sunshine

I don't know about you guys, but my flowers are starting to pop up in my yard and I am really excited to see some color after months of drab winter. When I saw this Black Eyed Susan stamp set, I wanted to make a card immediately!

I stamped my image with Versamark and used white fine detail embossing powder to heat emboss the image. Then I used my Copic markers to color the stamped image and used some distress ink blending around the very edges for the sky and the grass. I thought the colors of my flowers were too bright for the black center of black eyed Susans so I just colored the center the same color as the flowers.

My sentiment is from the Earth and Sky stamp set and I thought it was perfect for these yellow flowers. I adhered my flower to the card base and tied on some twine.

Visit me at The Aviary today!

supplies
ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shabby Shutters; Weathered Wood); Memento (Tangelo);
embossing powder: Simon Says Stamp! (white fine detail)
Copic markers: Y15; Y17; G24

love.

I have been working 50+ hours a week since January which has left almost zero time for scrapbooking. I saw the Stuck?! April 1 sketch and wanted to get some scrapping done tonight.

These photos are from last June, at my grandfather's funeral. It wasn't an unexpected death, but it is still sad. I wanted to use black with pinks and reds to represent mourning and love. Here's what I came up with:

Thanks for looking!

supplies
patterned paper, stickers, washi strips, date stamp: Studio Calico
patterned paper: Doodlebug Design (Sweet Cakes);
stamp: Elle's Studio; Technique Tuesday (It's OK);
ink: VersaFine (onyx black); StazOn (jet black);
die: Kelly Purkey/Simon Says Stamp! (feathers);
journal tag stickers: Chickaniddy Crafts

Paper Wings Productions: Hoppy Easter

Today I'm sharing an Easter layout for Paper Wings Productions! This is my cousin's daughter last Easter. I recently made a card using the Easter stamp set but I wanted to use the little bunny stamps too.

Here's my layout:

I stamped the bunnies with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic markers. Then I fussy cut them and went around the edges with a black marker for a finished look. I kept the page simple so that the bunnies were the main embellishment. I stamped the sentiment with VersaFine and called it done.

Here's a couple of close up shots of the bunnies. I think they're so cute!

supplies
washi tape: Doodlebug
Copic markers: R20; R30; R22; R32;
patterned paper: Studio Calico
enamel dots: Prima Marketing