Playing with Paint

Ooooohhhhh, I got to play today! I had signed up for a class at Scrapbook Centrale (my LSS) because the last time I did a class was probably about 2 years ago. I was intrigued by a canvas bag they had on display and decided I should see what it was all about. I am so glad that I did! This is what my bag ended up looking like:

I love bright, bold colors, so this was right up my alley. We layered and layered and layered...and layered some more. Even doing the free hand white outlines was fun. I am totally going to work with canvas again (I am already eyeing other bags I have lying around that are plain). I may just have to use this idea for a wall hanging in each of my girls' rooms. I think that having a lot of bright colors with their name right across would look awesome on their walls. Whaddya think?

Amber #3, 6 and 8

I'm slowly getting caught up on the Amber sketches for Scrapbook Steals. Friday night I scrapped at a friend's house and got all 3 done. I will list them in the order that I did them. Here is Amber 8:

As you can see, I moved some elements around and changed the overall look of the layout. I really like how it looks. All the papers are from My Little Shoebox's line "Home Tweet Home". The colors are so lively and cheery. They just make me smile. I also added the title using Thickers foil chipboard in cinnamon.

Next, I did Amber 6:

This color scheme is completely different from my first one. I used the My Mind's Eye "The Sweetest Thing" line in tangerine. The title was done with Thickers once again. I am quite pleased with how this turned out as well (I am not always a fan of softer colors). This was from when my little one was starting to become more independent and check out her surroundings. She's got a strong character, that one!

And here is Amber 3:

I changed things a bit on this one as well so that I could use it as a complementary second page to the first layout above. These pictures were on the same day, so they do go together. I continued with the MLS papers so that they went together. I also added another picture to the layout so that I didn't have to choose one not to use.

Overall, I was really happy to get so much done in one night! Apparently my focus was all on the little one. It works out well since last time it was all about her older sister. Now I just need to add the date on each of the pages so I now when the pictures were taken...

The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

I went scrapping tonight and was just happy to be around my gal pals. I did not get much done, but was so happy to be amongst people I really care about and who make me smile and forget about the stresses of life. I did get one layout done (thank goodness), though. I took these pictures a few months ago and tonight was the night I decided to scrap them. Look at how cute my oldest is. She just cracks me up. She was on my mind all night because she has been quite sick with a gastro this week and it was just heartbreaking to see her feeling so awful and having very little energy. She is on the mend and is starting to act like her normal self once again!

So here is the layout I did:

I do not know the make of the base paper as it was something I bought on a discount display. The paper I distressed was the "Baby Mine" line from Fancy Pants. The starburst was punched out using a new cutting system my mom gave me from Martha Stewart's line (it cuts from 6" to 12" and is so easy to use!). The letters are all Thickers. It's a simple page, but I love it!

Amber #1 and #2

Well, I got some scrappy time in tonight (Friday night...since I am not in bed yet) and got 2 layouts done. I was really happy to get these scrapped. The first one is Amber #1 from the Midweek Mojo over at Scrapbook Steals:

Can you tell I am out of practice doing my posts? I forgot to note what I used on this page! The only thing I know is that the scalloped paper is Bo Bunny (surprise, surprise). Too bad this picture does not bring across the amount of bling this layout has. Oh well...this was a moment that I really wanted to get scrapped: look at the serene look on my daughter's face on the big picture. That says it all. Even her toes are curled with the excitement of having her very own castle :)

Here is Amber #2:

Usually I go back and forth between my daughters so that on any given scrap session, they both reap the benefits of my scrappy time. This time I solely worked on my oldest's pictures. Here she is in all her curly glory (she comes by those curls honestly...I can certainly attest to that). I love these pictures because they show her playful side. She is just a ton of energy and makes me laugh all the time!

My First Time as a Guest Sketcher

I was so honored to be asked to be a guest sketcher for the Scrapbook Steals blog. If you'd like to check out what I did, head on over to their blog. I was lucky enough to work with My Mind's Eye The Sweetest Thing Tangerine Collection. So, here is a sneak peek of what I did:

All-Day Crop

All-day crops are great. I get to spend time with friends and get really productive churning out layouts. The particular one I went to today (or I should say "yesterday" since it's past midnight) is that I can bring my oldest with me for some Mommy & Me time. I usually bring her from 10am-2pm and then drive her home for her afternoon nap and then return for the rest of the time (3pm-10pm) on my own. Today was no exception...I spent time with my daughter doing crafts with her and playing Hide 'n Seek. Once she went home, this is what I managed to get done...

So here is my youngest a year ago. Now that she is walking everywhere it's hard to remember her being this small! This was a very simple layout that came together quickly. I went through my stash, pulled out a sheet of patterned paper (I believe this is from American Crafts) and then used some cardstock so that nothing would compete with the busy pattern. Add some Thickers for the title and ~ voila!

These next 2 pages were done with Bo Bunny's Hello Sunshine! line as I love the colors for outdoor shots. I have a kit, so putting these together was quite effortless as well. I love the bright cheery colors (but then again, that's why I am a Bo Bunny fan to begin with). The title "Upswing" was cut using the font from the Cricut "Life's a Beach" cartridge. The pictures are from our Labor Day Weekend in the Lake George area in NY (Bolton Landing). I love how these turned out:

This next one was a bit of a departure for me because I usually work with bright, bold, saturated colors. However, there was plenty of color in the pictures and I wanted them to stand out without a pattern that fought for attention. I used Fancy Pants' Wishful Thinking line and really like how this came out. I cut the title and date on the Cricut cartridge "Jasmine" and the embellishments next to them is from the cartridge "Elegant Cakes". The pictures are of my youngest and the rest of the mommy group we were a part of. The babies are in order of birth from right to left (2 days apart, 2 weeks apart, 2 months apart). It just all works...

And here is the last layout of today. My oldest loves our dog, Boomer. They have a really special bond. Boomer will let her do anything to her. Erica loves hugging her. When Erica was a baby, she would grab Boomer's face and also tried climbing on her and Boomer never even tried to nip at her. She would just sit there wagging her tail. She is definitely Erica's dog! For this layout I used a lot of plain cardstock and used the Cricut cartridges "George and Basic Shapes" as well as "Sweethearts". Even with the absence of patterned paper, this came out really nicely.

That's it for me...time for bed!

Busy Day

I went scrapbooking at another all-day crop on Saturday. I brought Erica with me for the first few hours and did crafts with her that whole time. She loved it all! Once I brought her home and returned, I got 3 layouts done as well as a card and a tin can to hold candies on my desk at work. The first layout is based on the Midweek Mojo at Scrapbook Steals (Jade #1b):

I completely forgot to write the list of materials, but I do remember that the paper with the trees and polka dots (the reverse side) are from Doodlebug. The glitter tape is America Crafts and the title was done with Thickers.

Here are my other 2 layouts:

The other items still need to be photographed. It seems like lately I am scurrying from thing to thing trying to get some sort of sanity. I just returned to work last week after a year of maternity leave. Hopefully things start to calm down and I can get some semblance of order back in my everyday life...