Stitch Fix #11.

I know, another Fix again so soon?! But it's my birthday month and I told my stylist (Britt) to surprise me! I know she looked at my Pinterest board and got some ideas from there and I loved all of the tops she chose.

41 Hawthorn Moni geo print & camisole blouse size medium $58

I actually have this top pinned and I have recently found it available on eBay for much cheaper, but I am going to go ahead and keep it. I like the color and the pattern and I love the embellishing.

 Pistola Caterina frayed hem ankle zip skinny jean size 29 $88

 

Loved the color of these jeans and the style but the legs were too tight. They fit like leggings but since they're jean material it made them uncomfortable.

 Papermoon Mula knit tank size small $38

I love stripes and I'm keeping this.

Le Lis Lavania lace knit top size small $48

I love little details like the lace in this shirt. It's a small and it's a little big for me but it's a cotton blend so I'm going to keep it and try to shrink it a tiny bit.

DV8 Dena strappy sandal size 9 $65

I've never gotten shoes in a Fix before and these were way overpriced for me to keep. They also felt a little big, but they were comfortable.

Thinking about trying it? Use my referral link.

Stitch Fix #10.

I recently received my summer fix box and was a little nervous about a few of the pieces because they didn't seem like ME. Turns out, that's a good thing.

Papermoon Bennette multi strap blouse size small $44

After my last Fix where everything was too big, I asked her to send me small tops. This fit pretty perfectly - it's a little droopy under the armpits it wasn't too bad and I loved the fit of this so I kept it.

Skies are Blue Lumely embroidered top size small $48

I just didn't love this one enough to justify the cost of keeping it. The colors, the cut, it was all just ehh.

Collective Concepts Katelynn dress size medium $78

I loved this dress. The style, the colors. It's bra friendly. It could be dressed up or dressed down. Unfortunately I hate the way my legs look when I wear dresses that hit at the knee. Also it was a little droopy under the armpits. I really needed it in a size small, but instead of hassling with the return/exchange, I sold it to a girl from the B/S/T board.

Market & Spruce Nic Knit dress size medium $64

I could have liked this but I'm fat right now because when you're working 50+ hours a week, you don't have time to work out I didn't feel like the strips did my hips any favors. Plus, it's too long.

Collective Concepts Neely dress size medium $78

I am probably going to regret sending this back. This is one I thought I would hate when I saw it in the box, but I actually quite liked it. Problem is that I don't have shoes to wear with it and for the price, I couldn't justify keeping it. I also probably needed a size small But this just goes to show how great SF is because it pushes you out of your comfort zone and makes you try things you normally woudn't!

Wanna try it? Use my referral link.

July Stick It Down sketches reveal!

We revealed the Stick It Down July sketches a few days early since we took  a break in June. I hope you'll play along!

meeting September.

Sharing a layout today using my new Elle's Studio Sunny Days collection. I am loving everything I bought from this collection and this page isn't even a summer/sunny day themed page.

In December 2014, we picked up our next foster dog, "September." My boyfriend snapped this photo of me bathing her. She smelled so bad we had to stop on the way home at a local dog grooming facility and give her a bath. She was a hot mess. Anyway, fast forward a few months and we named her Bella and adopted her ourselves. When the Timehop app brought this photo back up this past December, it brought back memories, and I shared it on my Facebook page. I wanted to use the photo from 2014 and my post from 2015 in a scrapbook page.

I usually hand write my journaling but I had a lot to say so I knew I was going to have to print it. When I print my journaling, I print on a scrap piece of paper first so I can get the sizing and spacing right. Then I will tape the paper I want to print onto directly over the text on my scrap paper and re-print.

Pretty much everything I used here is from the Sunny Days collection. I shared my haul in THIS video.
 
 supplies 
patterned paper, die cut pieces: Elle's Studio (Sunny Days) 
stamp: Paper Smooches (Lucky Dog);
alphabet stickers: Sassafras; Studio Calico;
ink: Versafine (onyx black); Versacolor (turquoise);
washi tape: Glitz Design;

laugh.

Still working on using my May Clique Kit! This yellow patterned paper from Fancy Pants' Attwell collection was great for documenting our trip to a Pacer game earlier this year. Everything is from the kit with the addition of some stamps and some die cut pieces from Elle's Studio.

supplies
May Clique kit 
die cuts: Elle's Studio (Sunny Days and June kit)
stamps: Elle's Studio; Simon Says Stamp! (Life's Journey); Studio Calico;

Paper Wings Productions: where flowers bloom...

Hey guys! I'm sharing a fun spring card today over on the Paper Wings Productions blog. I haven't played with my distress inks in a while so I got those out today. I used the Mini Flowers rubber stamp set to make my background. I stamped the flowers with Versamark and heat embossed them. Then I used four different distress inks to color my background and make my heat embossed flowers stand out.

Next I stamped the sentiment from Flower red rubber stamp set and heat embossed it with fine gold embossing powder. I wanted 'hope' to stand out more than the rest of the sentiment, so I used some washi and masked off the 'hope' first. Next I masked off the other words and stamped 'hope.' I used a sparkly gold embossing powder on 'hope.'

So my finished card...

Thanks for stopping by!

supplies
ink: Tim Holtz distress ink (scattered straw; mustard seed; dried marigold; picked raspberry)
embossing powder: Simon Says Stamp (ultra fine gold); Sparkle N Sprinkle (EP 434 Cappuccino Star)

Dixie Chicks.

A few weekends ago, my friend and I headed to Illinois to see the Dixie Chicks. We got rained on, but it was a good show.

I'm joining the Just Us Girls challenge this week to use mustard yellow, hot pink, and turquoise. Here's my page. I usually edit with PicMonkey but there was an issue and it wasn't allowing me to save. I used Pixlr to edit this page and it's way more complicated and high tech than PicMonkey. I hope the saving issues clears up quick!

supplies
stamps: Kelly Purkey (Out in the Sunshine and Spring Break);
die: My Favorite Things (Accent It -- Labels and Tags)
die cuts: Jillibean Soup Healthy Hello Soup
stickers, rubber stars: Studio Calico

Elle's Studio June kit & Sunny Days collection

smile

I've made my third layout with my May Clique Kit using this Let's Get Sketchy sketch. This is one of my second cousins and her son.

Everything is from the kit except for the Crate Paper wood piece from my stash.

graduation.

I combined the Paper Issues Take 5 challenge (yellow, white, woodgrain, washi tape, ink, patterned paper) with a sketch from Let's Get Sketchy. I used my May Clique Kit and added the alphabet stickers from my stash.

My picture was taken at my cousin's high school graduation last year.


supplies
May Clique Kit
alphabet stickers: Basic Grey
stamp: Unity Stamp Co (Time for Travel)
ink: Versafine (onyx black)

Chicago memories.

My brother and his girlfriend went to a Cubs game a couple weeks ago and I thought the May Clique Kits had some great papers and embellishments to coordinate with a photo they took in front of Wrigley Field.

The patterned paper from Basic Grey is really pretty but kind of wild. Using THIS sketch from Stuck?! Sketches helped to balance out the robust pattern. The layers of strips of paper under the photo help to ground it and draw your eye to the photo.

I realize now I forgot to do a haul video with my May Clique Kit so I will do that next!

The only things not from the kit are a couple of Elle's Studio labels and the stamps.

supplies
Clique Kits May 2016 kit
embossing powder: American Crafts ZING! (blue metallic finish)
stamps: Mama Elephant (Wanderlust); Kelly Purkey (Out in the Sunshine)

Paper Wings Productions: a friend...

I'm on the PWP blog today sharing a card using the Build a Wreath stamp set and a sentiment from Kind Words.

I used many of the stamps from the Build a Wreath stamp set, inked them with Versamark and heat embossed them to make my wreath. Then I used the sentiment: A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. I felt like playing on the nature theme.

Here you can see a close up of the wreath I made.I tied on some twine at the bottom to add a finishing 'nature' touch. :)

Thanks for looking!

supplies
embossing powder: American Crafts ZING! (leaf; lavender; rouge); Simon Says Stamp! (white fine detail); Sparkle N Sprinkle (EP171 black detail);

Haiti.

My brother and his girlfriend just got back from a cruise and I just love the water and mountains in the background of this photo they took. How pretty!

I'm playing along with the Scrappy Friend's June challenge using Brenda's sketch, Rochelle's this or that (butterflies) challenge, and Kelly's moodboard challenge.

I was inspired by the colorful washi tapes and their patterns + the text + the overall colors in the moodboard. Here's my page:

Thanks for looking!

supplies
journal cards: Elle's Studio (May kit)
die cut pieces: Jillibean Soup (Healthy Hello Soup)
washi tape strips: Studio Calico
stamps: Elle's Studio (Travelogue); Kelly Purkey (out in the sunshine; spring break);
ink: Versafine (onyx black); Hero Arts (ombre ink pad butter to orange)
wood veneer: Color Cast Designs
patterned paper: Gossamer Blue

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!