Project 12 February in March

Well, February certainly swooped in and out like a flash, lol.  You wouldn't think 2-3 days off the end of the month would make such an impact but they certainly do.  

I was happy to have an opportunity to use Basic Grey's True Love paper pad for my layout this month. I adore any color palette that includes a shade of teal.  I'm not a huge red person, so this was a great mix for me.  

I had more photos than I thought I would to choose from this month.  Most were taken with my phone. I still made sure to get out my Canon to make sure I had higher quality digital photos in the record books as well.  On Valentines Day I took a photo of my girls holding a cardstock heart with both, to make sure I had images from both places.  

I got a very special note from a very special friend in my class at school this month.  I am so glad I have a great way to preserve it.  It was just a little heart on a folded piece of paper but my heart about split in two and doubled, it touched me so.  It's proof that I'm totally doing the right thing with school.  I get so much out of knowing I'm making a difference.

I had fun creating the printables for this month's layout too.  I used the color palette in the Bits & Pieces Add-on to influence the look of these two pieces.  

As you can see on my layout I always trim a big border around my cards.  I also like to add layers and attach embellishments and stitching to my cards as well.

The quote is a fun one.  As always, I shopped my "Words" board on Pinterest for just the right quote to use.  Of course I was looking for something love related this month, and found this quote by Jack Karouac to be a perfect choice.  

You can download both printables together or individually here:

Calendar and Quote

Calendar

Quote

I am excited to use the March Bits & Pieces Add-on for my next monthly spread.  I like the paper pads a lot.  For March it was Color Me Happy from Glitz Designs.  FUN.  You can check out my layout and Michiko's layout using the March kit on my blog post here.

My friends at SCT are playing along this month with a fun prize which includes Cards Map and a subscription to SCT.  Having these issues in your hands is always a fun treat so it's a good prize!

Thank you for playing along and supporting this challenge!  I am working on getting .png files for my calendar and quote cards, so let me know if that interests you and whether you have any trouble with these items.

Davinie

Masking with Misting and Stitching

A few years ago I hosted a blog post on the SCT blog about masking with mist and stitchery.  I just happened to see it linked on Facebook and realized I never did post about it here so thought I'd share since this trend seems to be coming back again.

Originally posted on the SCT blog September, 2011:


I decided to play with the ampersand mask for this layout.  I’m going to creating a mask with the ampersand and spray over it with Mister Huey mist.  So to start, I needed to determine where on my layout I’d like this element to be.  Then I put my base paper in a box, to help contain the spray, and layered the mask over it.

After doing that, I stood back with my spray, and lightly spritzed it over the ampersand.  I wanted a monochromatic look, and for the mask to stand out just a little, so used the color Clay over this mask.

Remove the mask, and you’ll see the ampersand shape, with the misted color around it.

I still wanted to maintain a monochromatic look, but I wanted my ampersand defined, so hand stitched around the edges.  To do that I used the same needle that I hand stitch with, and pierced holes around the edges of my shape.  Its hand stitching and I don’t want it to look perfect, so it was okay that each stitch wasn’t evenly placed.  You’ll also notice that the piercing was closer together on corners, etc., without being too close or you’ll perforate the paper.

I then took my DMC floss, which comes in 6 strands, split it into 3 strands, and hand stitched around the edges of the shape.  This created a fun detail to this element on my page.

For the rest of my layout, I created layers to add more texture, and a fun photo of my daughter with one of her chickens. 

A year and a half later and I still like this layout.  :)  That's a good sign!  Sunshine is still clucking along in the coop too as Morgan's favorite chicken.

Gossamer Blue - February projects and March LookBook

I thought I'd get around to sharing some projects I made with the February kit from Gossamer Blue this month.  Most products are sold out but you can still get your hands on some of the paper, and since this kit was full of love and lots of Crate Paper Fourteen, that means there's still plenty of good stuff to be had.  Check out what's left here.

The first project I have to share was made with the main kit only.  This is what I came up with.

Note:  I thought the base paper design would be dead center and trimmed off the first side before I realized it was a wee bit askew.  If you want to create an 8.5 x 11 layout with this print and want it centered like I did, be sure to measure better than I did.  It's only a wee bit off, but it's enough to drive me crazy.  :)

The photo I used for this layout is currently my lock screen on my phone.  I love looking at it every time I unlock my phone and check my "countdown to graduation" app (which is currently at 72 days).

This next layout was fun to make and inspired by sweets.  We like to watch Cupcake Wars when we can and my girls wanted to have their own war one day so I let them loose in the kitchen.  They had so much fun but wouldn't you know it....  they TIED.  Funny how that happens (wink, wink).  

The little circle embellishments are inspired by all the little cupcake decorations they used.  Some of the hearts are the paper backing to the chipboard stickers.  I LOVE this Basic Grey alphas and they were very easy to sew right through.

This last one is a labor of love that isn't quite finished yet.  As I opened up and stared at the hearty heart love fest that was the February kit I couldn't help but get Valentine-y and as I went through my files I realized that 2013 marked the 10th Valentines Day with my baby girls.  Morgan was born in January 2004.  That inspired me to make a very treasured mini album full of photos of my girls and little bits from the kit.

Lori always packs the kits with care and chipboard.  The only thing I added to this album were the jump rings.

This is the cover.

I'm a little behind and don't have it finished yet.  Of course I wanted to also include a photo from this year and I think that led to the procraftination.  Procraftination.  Yes.  I have started seeing this word on Pinterest lately but I swear to pete I coined this phrase years ago at Studio Calico.  Yes I did.  That along with kit clues, which started as a game of Pictionary.  The whole last minute thing worked with my mojo over the years, but unfortunately, doesn't translate well to school work and student teaching so it's been a bad habit to break.  But procraftination.  Yes.  It needs to be added to the dictionary.

The heart with confetti inside was made using a glassine envelope in the kit.  I used different hole punches and this teeny little heart punch I got at Walmart, I think, a few years ago.  Love it.  I made the frame with my Silhouette.

That was all I had time for with the February kit.  I had big plans to make a heart garland with the digital files and other fun things but just ran out of time.  Heck, I still have some Christmas stuff out.  Time is flying!  I did save the February Bits and Pieces add-on to use for my Project 12 February layout though.  That will be fun.  I'm searching out the perfect quote to use in my layout as we speak (I'll be sure to make a file to download from the Gossamer Blue site too).

In the meantime, check out the March LookBook:

Elle's Studio, Glitz, MME, and Echo Park, among others, played very well in the kit this month.  My friend Nik also played along as our Guest.  I LOVED this kit more than I thought I would.  There's also some fun bits I've never seen before.  That's why I love having someone shop for me!  Lori did a great job with the kit this month so be sure to check it out.

While there, did you see these stamps?  I was looking to see if Lori started stocking jump rings, because I told her she should since she includes all this chipboard, and saw these cute stamps for a great deal in the stamp section.  The handmade by stamp would be PeRFECT for the back of my layouts.  Just sayin'.

Back to the books.

Davinie

Project 12 January 2013

Hi!

I'm excited to share my January Project 12 layout with you.  You can also check it out on the Gossamer Blue blog here.

January flew by.  As I've mentioned before I'm currently in my final student teaching placement before I get my teaching and Master's degree.  That means school all day and homework at night and kids in between.  It has been a big undertaking but my family is a house of rock stars so with....  86 days until graduation, the end of the tunnel is near and we are all very excited about that!

I got a new iPhone for Christmas and have been taking a lot more photos now that I have a better camera.  I take all the event photos with my Canon, but the everyday stuff that tells a deeper story of us is usually captured with my phone.

In planning my layout for the month, I started by emailing myself all the photos I wanted to use from my camera roll.  I use a standard Earlybird wash for my photos, and anything I hadn't uploaded to IG was edited and sent.

Tip:  Put your phone on Airplane Mode, edit, and it'll save the photo to your camera roll without flooding the IG gallery.  IG says the upload failed but still saves the photo.  

I print all of my IG photos at 2.5 x 2.5.  I had 8 photos this month.  I laid out my page protectors and then organized my photos from there.  I wanted to be chronological without bunching the photos up.  One of the reasons it takes me so long to get my layouts done is because I'm actually really methodical about how I do things.  I wish I could be more spontaneous but it just isn't in me, lol.  

Once my camera photos were organized I went to my digital files for other photos that told our story.  Morgan's birthday monopolized our month so I had to pick between them.  I took a lot of portrait shots on her birthday so that made a photo easy to choose as I had to pick between the horizontal shots for a 4x6 slot.  I then chose two other photos of my girls that also told our story.  As you can see by their placement on the layout, I'm intentional about those two.  Two words:  visual triangle.  I'm all about having a visual triangle without it being obvious.  

I created a card for my layout "title".  I'm going to have it on the upper left of every layout.

I was then equally intentional about patterned paper placement.  I think I'm going to use this same layout in my page protectors all year.  I chose several prints from my Gossamer Blue January kit leftovers as well as bits from my stash.  I'm all about using up bits from my stash.  I like letting the prints be seen so that future generations will know what design was like "back in the day" and such.  In fact, in one 4x6 slot it's nothing but a piece of Pink Paislee patterned paper.  I love the color palette and the overall design and didn't see a reason to add to it.  Like I said, photos were scarce this month and I didn't want the whole layout to be about Morgan's birthday weekend.  I am planning layouts and mini albums with all of those photos.  

I also had to include kid art.  Payton draws the best dogs.  She told me this was the best dog profile she had ever done so of course I had to include it.

I also have to make a quick note about grief.  We lost our pup Cooper this summer as you know.  The kids seemed to recover quickly unlike their parents.  As time has gone on, however, Cooper has started to come up more and more often.  Grief works in mysterious ways.  They really miss him.  We all do.  I still think I hear him outside sometimes and things happen all the time that remind us of a story with him in it.  That stinker.  

I also included a quote on my layout.  One of my favorite Pinterest boards is my "Words" board, and I want to start including some of the fun quotes I come across.





I know I've used my little chevron arrows a lot but I'm not tired of them yet, lol.  As you can see, they were intentionally placed too.  You can also tell by the colors used in the design that most things were placed with a purpose.

Bonus:

I'm going to be creating digital files every month for my Project 12 layouts, and thought I'd share my work with you!  Each month there will be a month card sized to fit in those 4x6 slots, as well as a quote card.  Right now my plan is for those to fit in a 3x4 space every month.  I always size my digital elements a little smaller, becuase I'm a girl who likes a border as well as a good fit, so I wanted to share that too.  You can download a copy of the printables here.

Have a great day!  Davinie

Gossamer Blue January and the February LookBook

I was super excited to Guest Design for Gossamer Blue for the month of January.  I've missed having a kit at my door and was really looking forward to working with coordinated products.  I don't have an LSS so it's always been nice to have a personal shopper.  It's been so long since I've felt inspired in that way.  It's been a long time since it felt like art and expression and telling a story.  

Of course my first layout of 2013 had to include a photo of myself in it.  For someone who doesn't like self-portraits I sure have my mug out there lately.  Not sure what that's all about.

Payton took this random photo one day and I thought it turned out really well so I have been using it all over the place.  This first layout includes the main kit only:

I really really liked the bokeh paper so had it include it.  That color palette is gorgeous.  Then it was just a matter of playing with some supplies I haven't touched in a while, like circle punches and my DMC floss.  I have been hand stitching long before it became popular on layouts.  I used to cross-stitch as a kid.  It's nice to see it getting so much attention in the industry now, and because it's so easy to do, I had to include it on my layout.

I love chipboard, and while I'm not a speech bubble person, I like the effect with the buttons on this page.

This next layout was made with photos we took at the Reindeer Ranch that is just 2 miles from our house.  These reindeer live there year round.  That has been an interesting conversation with the girls over the years (especially if they forget to tuck Santa's Sleigh in a storage building or something.  Must they leave it out for the kids to see every time we drive by?????)  We stopped by for a visit with a couple reindeer, hot cocoa, and a picture with Santa that supported a local high school sport team.  We also got our tree from their lot that day.  We were too busy to get to the hills on the weekend in December this year.  

I mixed a few prints from the kit in a patchwork of sorts along the bottom of this one.

The title was cut with my cameo.  I wasn't sure what I'd think at first, but the color kit and that gold pearl pen was SO FUN.  It's almost like puffy paint.  I applied it to the title and let it dry overnight to be sure it was set before I added it to my layout.  I also squeezed a few drops at the top.  I love that it dried with dimension.  It was more fun to use it than I anticipated.  I want another one in a different color!  

This next layout was fun too.  I made some wonky angles at the top and cut out that polka dot vellum from the color add-on, added a snowflake from the digital files that come with the main kit, and had fun with color.

Since my girls were babies they have gone over to Steve's parent's house to make Christmas cookies.  Many time it happened on a day where I had to work so Steve would take them over there and maybe take a phone photo or I'd see a photo they took at some point.  But I rarely have been there on a time when I also had a camera with me.  I was thinking about that tradition the other day so searched around and did manage to find a photo from 2010 documenting this event.

The kids really look forward to it every year.  This year we were too busy before Christmas to find a day to get them there (we were busy every weekend and kids were in school until the Friday before Christmas) so it was after Christmas before they got a chance to bake.  But we made it happen because it is important.  I am so lucky to have such involved extended family for my girls.  These are precious memories for them.  

With that, there are 3 contributions from me for the Gossamer Blue gallery this month.  It was a really nice kit to work with and had some of my favorite manufacturers included.

I loved the atmosphere and working with Lori so much that when the opportunity came up, of course I decided to keep my feet firmly planted and will remain on the team going forward.  I am so excited!  She is genuine and warm and has her finger on the pulse of the industry, makes customer service a priority, and has a beautiful vision on what products will work together.  Sure, I'm totally busy with school right now, but I graduate in just a few short months.  I finish student teaching with my first grade classroom in mid-April and then I graduate the first week in May.  So bear with me as I work to make time for this art I love.  I have a notebook filled with all sorts of ideas and inspiration.  I am just waiting for the time in order to be able to share what I've been thinking about.

In the end I hope to share how scrapbooking can be included in the lives of regular people.  I'm not going to school to be a Graphic Designer.  I'm not fancy.  I live in a regular house in a small community.  I'm not trying to impress you with my grandeur.  I want to be a teacher.  I want to enrich the lives of children.  I am a hands-on person and feel I have so much to offer that I had to go back to school to make a difference.  There are schools in my community where most students qualify for free and reduced lunch.  My heart pulls me to those kids.  I am also a regular Mom who wanted to be on the same schedule as my family, who loves the outdoors and can't stay cooped up indoors all the time.  My husband doesn't work a M-F schedule, so for me to get on the same schedule as our kids frees up so much time for our family.  Holiday breaks and summer adventures.  Our family is SO excited at the possibilities for us going forward.  Most people live like me.  They are busy with their life and have to carve out time for hobbies  There is still a way to include art in a regular life though.  That's one reason I created the Project 12 challenge.  Freedom to live the life that you photograph.

It looks like there may be a few January Main Kits available.  As you contemplate that, check out the look book for what is coming up in February.  I am working with this kit right now and all I can tell you is:  Crate Paper Fourteen.  LOVE.    

Have a great day!  Take a photo with your kids as part of Aleida's challenge and take time to enjoy this precious life.    Davinie

ETA:  Had to include a Monday morning not wearing makeup letting the wrinkles hang out morning after a slumber party windy day wild kids in the backyard but this is us pic, with each of my girls:

                        

a note to myself - 2013

Profound.

Enlightening.

Inspiring.

and a bit of magic.

To read a note I wrote to myself on 12/31/12, written one year earlier, was a truly super cool thing.  Nobody knows me like me, right?  Nobody knows what I truly want for myself like I do.  And nobody knows just what to say.  I am SO glad I did this.  It was easy to commit to doing it again.

This year I did a different approach.  I created a layout.  There's a lot of layers here, but in the center is an envelope and in that envelope is another letter to myself, that I won't open until 12/31/13.  

I'm really excited about this one, because I have some serious goals and I'm really looking forward to opening it up and checking off a few things from the bucket list at the end of the year.

I had fun with design on this one.  I used goodies from my January kit from Gossamer Blue as well as items from my stash.

And just like last year, I included a recent family picture, this one was from New Years Eve, as well as a self-portrait.  I took that one with my new iPhone.  I'm not normally a fan of self-portraits but you need to get yourself in the picture every once in a while.

I hope you had a chance to play along with this challenge.  It isn't too late!
My plan is to tuck this layout in at the end of my scrapbook so it'll be easy to find at the end of the year.

2011 is here.
And the first time I did this I created a pillow box.  You can check that note here.

InLinkz.com

Have a great day!  The kids and I are both back to school tomorrow.  I'm headed to a first-grade class this time.  I'm super excited about it!  I graduate in May!

XOXO Davinie