Studio Calico September - Cotillion - breaking down my projects

I loved this kit! Loved this kit! I had a lot of fun with this kit. And the stamps were delicious and I can't wait to use them on other projects. The kit is still available and I think a couple of add-ons are too, so head on over here if you want to check them out.

We had some great friends over for dinner last night, so I wasn't able to be on the boards for the reveal, but I checked out the gallery at the first opportunity, and the girls rocked this kit! I could not pick a favorite layout overall. I think everyone really enjoyed this kit, and look forward to seeing Kirsty's gallery as soon as she can get it loaded too (she's in the UK and the snail mail that is often that system hasn't managed to get her a kit yet. boo).

Without further ado, here's what I came up with.


I had these three photos of Morgan,and when I saw the Scenic Route chipboard frames, I knew what I wanted to do. I always trim a white border around my photos, so I painted my frames white. Then I layered the photos and frames so that they mimicked each other, and mirrored each other in their placement. Then I had fun choosing bits of paper to use inside my frame. I needed some more color, so I trimmed the kraft about 3/4 of an inch on two sides and used the blue print as the border to the layout. I took a pair of scissors and trimmed out the bulk of the inside of this paper so I could use it on another project, including a small piece for the inside of one of my frames.
I used buttons to help carry the eye through the design, and decided to do my journaling on the edges. I've seen this done but haven't done this one myself, but I think it adds to the design on this layout.
Ugh, this was a horrible day. That good witch/bad witch day. But when I was outside in the hammock, playing with my camera and counting to 4327, Morgan came out and showed me that no matter how much we argue, she still has the love for her mama. And then I snapped some photos. This layout means a lot to me.




I had fun with this layout. A couple of weeks go I went shopping at Anne Taylor's Loft and walked in to small boob heaven. There were ruffles. Everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I bought a couple of things and came home inspired to create. I went a little crazy with my ruffles, pleating paper AND using my scallop punch, but I love how it turned out.
I cut strips that were 2x12. I then pleated them and when the paper ran out I folded another strip into the fold and kept going. It was a little tricky to adhere but it had to be pink, and I had to use photos of my little mini me for this one. She's such a doll. She really cracks us up and gives us a run for our money.


This layout was all about this photo, so I printed it three times. This month was therapeutic for me, because I expressed some feelings and concerns for my sweet Morgan. I think I"m having a sort of early midlife crisis with my fears about my baby heading to Kindergarten, but I'm sure it will all work out.
Anyway, the focus was on the photos. I layered that Basic Grey chipboard flower around the photos and used a stamped butterfly to help keep the design clean. I REALLY loved that butterfly stamp, as well as the exclusive butterfly paper from Studio Calico. I am going to get more of that, I tell ya!
I used pinking shears on my black ribbon, and since I don't have a pinked border punch, I used this older punch I have from Martha Stewart that's pinked and scalloped too. It's very versatile! Because the butterfly paper is busy I typed my journaling for this layout.


This two pager is one of my favorite things this month, because it's not always about the fabulous design, etc. The thing I love about this layout is the photos. I was at the beach with my dad, and some great friends, and I got to use a little bit of everyone's photos. My step-mom took the train photo and the photos of my kids, and my friend Marci took our family photo. I took the rest. I love how I was able to pool my favorite photos that told our story and use them all together.
I wanted to keep the design fairly simple, but had to stitch somewhere. I haven't been hand stitching as much as I usually do, so I decided to do that, and train tracks were the thing to do! I also punched the log out of our train tickets for this layout as well. I love using a bit of ephemera when I can.



I had fun with this last layout, and you wouldn't even know it. The Jenni Bowlin memo books have tan pages. I wanted to use it at the top of this layout with the past due stamp, but it was bugging me, because the apple paper and the library cards were all white. So, I took out my blending tool, and using some antique linen ink, I muted the color of my apple paper and the library card. Then it all matched! :)
I was really excited to see these items in my kit. My kids and i have been going to the library for story time all summer long, so I was happy to have a fun way to document it. And I didn't feel weird at all, hauling my Rebel to the library.
Sometimes I feel weird saying I'm a scrapbooker, or wanting to take a photo inside a store or something, and wonder what people must think, but in the end, I do it anyway. I'm the historian. I'm documenting our life. And sometimes, the outside of Target and the school supply aisle MUST be documented, lol. So I just grin and take my photos. Fast. heehee.




I also managed a couple of sweet cards with this kit.

If you have any questions about anything else I did, please let me know.

Have a great day! It's Friday. That means the weekend is just about here. Soak up summer while you still can!

Davinie

Don't forget

to pop by Studio Calico tonight! The September kit has a lot of Anna Griffin Darcey, Basic Grey June Bug, and other deliciousness that's all SC.

Check out the blog too: Cosmo Cricket up for grabs tonight!

I'll be back tonight with my projects this month: 2 12x12 layouts, 2 8.5x11 layouts, 1 12x12 double layout, and 2 cards. And I have plenty of kit left.

Have a great day! Davinie

Project 12 and Studio Calico Sneaks

First things first. Project 12. ACK! I don't even have any really really good excuses for you, so I'm just going to announce the winner instead. ha!

Jenny, you are the winner! But Jennifer T, Elisa, and Kimber-Leigh are winners too. Email me about a $5 gift certificate to my favorite scrapbook kit club, Studio Calico. (Zorina, you might email me too. I couldn't find yours and wasn't sure if you were linking me).

THANK YOU for playing along. Really. This challenge is something I'm going to continue doing. I've already picked out what I'm going to use next year and it's going to be much more user friendly and fun. I think that's part of my problem. Those 6x6 calendars really are big and I'm getting burnt out on my design, I think. Time to mix it up! PLUS, my challenge got a little toot, but I'll share more about that later.

Okay, on to Studio Calico sneaks.
YES, I know you want the sneaks! I know! I'll post later about the clutter that's overtaking my life, which prevented me from sharing these earlier. But I hope you'll think they were worth the wait! Without further ado:




Have a great Monday! I'll be back with more to share. Soon.

Davinie

A better day....

Last night we had chocolate chip cookies as part of our dessert, and tonight we had cupcakes for dessert. Apparently sugar therapy is working, because all in all, today has been a better day.

Thank you for all your encouragement! I knew I could vent and find some support from mama's who have been here and done this.

The girls and I made banana cupcakes today, courtesy of Bakerella's recipe here. They were DELICIOUS, and I considered the one banana used in the entire recipe a serving of fruit for the day, so there you go. ha!

I post again with a lack of craft, but I wanted to post a positive update, and I also have a video to share.

I've told you about my mama before, and her blindness. I told you about her new service dog Phoebe, here.

Another thing about my mama is her kick butt paddling skillz. My mama is part of a Dragonboat racing team. When she first moved to Portland, she was part of the very first blind dragonboat racing team, sponsored by the Blind Commision. They were called Blind Ambition. Sure, at first, it was awkward watching them race, because paddles would hit each other, and they were a bit of a mess, but eventually they got their rhythm. They usually mixed blind paddlers with sighted paddlers to help keep them organized. And they also had someone up front, banging a drum to the beat of the paddling rhythm, to help keep them in sync.

If you ever get a chance to go to the Portland Rose Festival, you have to go watch the Dragonboat races, and this team in particular. There is NOTHING like being at the top of the stairs when this team finishes a race. There is always someone on the boat who is racing for the very first time, and the tears of joy they share, being part of a team, being able to do the same things as a sighted person, will change you.

Below is a link that shows my mama, training. My mama is on Team USA and is leaving in about a week to go to Prague to race. Prague! Last year she was in Malaysia. The year before that she was in Sydney Australia. My mama, my blind mama, is headed to Prague. That is baffling to me!

Anyway, watching even a nibblet of this video brings tears to my eyes. I am empowered by watching such a strong group of women, mothers, grandmothers even, kicking some serious tush! My mama is on the left, in the red tanktop, with the smokin' hot arms! I *think* her BFF Char is behind her on the left side. If that's Char, Char is completely blind. Well, she has the same eye disease that my mother has, but she has a little bit of her peripheral vision, mostly shadows. And they are kicking tail! DANG, I am proud.

Wish her luck! They race on the 25th, I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfMwQcsZiew&feature=email


Back with projects soon!

Davinie

ETA: After watching again, I realized that's not Char sitting behind my mama. Char is an awesome paddler though!

:)

Refocus

I have nothing scrappy to share tonight.
I feel like I'm being tested in a motherly way. And the last couple of days, I feel like I've been failing that test.
Today I locked myself in the bathroom at one point, went outside and counted to 100, and then 200, and then 300, and probably would have gotten to 4375, still steamed, if the kids hadn't found me, lol. It was a rough day.
But earlier tonight I made some cookies, and everyone went to bed with smiles, sugary though they may have been, and tomorrow I am going to try and start over renewed, refreshed, and on the right track.
I know this is the way it goes with little ones sometimes, but I still have that anxiety sometimes that I'm sending them down the wrong path and that I'm the world's worst mommy.
In the end, I really think we three ladies spend far too much time together and that once school starts and other things are going on, things will be much easier.
We are T-minus 27 days to test that theory, and I'm okay with missing the rest of August in order to test that theory, lol.
June and July went by really fast with swimming lessons and camping trips, but the trailer was unpacked, and then the weather cooled, and we lost our momentum I guess. I heard a rumor that it'll get to 100 degrees on Wednesday, so I'm hoping a healthy does of popsicles and the kiddie pool will revive all spirits and we'll get back on track.
In the meantime I can't help but wonder...... why was it so hard for them to clean their room? Because that's all I asked them to do.

Good witch or Bad witch? Today, it was a little of both. At least Daddy will be home tomorrow. I need my Co-Captain of this little ship.

bah.

Chin up.
Shoulders back.
Measly chest. out.

Laundry. fold.

Carry on.

:)

i love the smell of fresh cut grass

Steve is outside mowing the lawn, and I could easily take a nap right now. When we were little kids, my mom would always do house chores during nap time, so turn on the vacuum cleaner or the dishwasher and I'm a gonner, lol. Combine that delicious white noise with the scent of a freshly mowed lawn, and you could say my Sunday afternoon is heavenly, well, except for the pesky children, anyway. ha!

I can't wait for school to start! Only a few more weeks and then perhaps they will be focused on something else. As I was driving into town I saw a bumper sticker that asked, "are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" which made me laugh out loud.... I guess it depends on the moment. I am trying so hard to keep a good hold on my patience, but these two make that extremely difficult sometimes!

Suffice it to say, they have sufficiently sapped the craft right out of me, lol. I usually do most of my work at night but lately I've been too busy settling them back into bed or just plain wiped out to get anything done.

I am also completely enraptured in my latest read. When she first came out with the Twilight series, I took the book from my 12 year old neice while vacationing at the beach and read it and it's three companions in the space of a few days. But I haven't read anything since. However, last week I picked up the Host, and I can't put it down! I love when books do that to me, and this one is supernatural. I don't do Supernatural!

Even with the kids, the husband, summertime, pesky housework, I did manage a wee sneak for Studio Calico. I have a second layout almost finished, but it's waiting for some additional product before I can share it.
That's it! Project 12 girls, thank you for sharing your layouts so far! If you haven't, get on it! Only a few more days left before the 20th deadline.

Have a great Sunday! Davinie

Somebody.....

go to Dairy Queen for me today, will ya? On Tuesday I packed up the kids and drove them down to my local DQ and bought them their first Blizzards. I even took photos, see?






and then I got home and re-read the thread on Studio Calico, and saw that I should have gone today, THURSDAY, and not on TUESDAY, which is when I went. You see, DQ is having a big promotion today only, and if you buy a Blizzard you will be supporting the Miracle Network charity.

Good. Grief. I'm such an idiot.

The girls did very much enjoy their first Blizzards. Morgan got Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and Payton had some M&M's.

So go! Eat ice cream in support of me and my mistake! And charity. Do it for charity!

In other news... Morgan bit her sister the other day. She's 5 1/2. Where that idea came from, I have no idea. It's been years since she bit anyone, and it was never a big deal. Doing it one month outside Kindergarten at the Elementary school scares me though, because if she did that there she'd be sent to the principals office, before or after she was decked by the person she laid teeth on. So, yah, little concerned about that. Any thoughts on that would be greatly appreciated.

Don't forget to head to Studio Calico tonight for sneak night. The latest kit is delicious and has some of my favorite stamps to date. It also has a lot of Anna Griffin Darcey in it, which is delicious too.

Before I go I wanted to share a recent layout. I saw with the January calls for Scrapbook Trends that they were looking for scraplifts, so I went to my June issue, because it was the latest issue I had on hand, and sifted through it. I'm a huge fan of Lisa Truesdell's work, so when I saw her Peek-A-Boo layout I decided to give it a go. I loved her flowers with the punched circle petals, and the use of hearts in the middle. I used a recent kit from Studio Calico for this lift.


Lisa's layout was 8.5 x 11 and looks completely different. But that's where I saw that flower with the punched circle petals and the heart brad. If you saw these layouts side by side you probably wouldn't even realize I was inspired by her. But I was!

It didn't get picked up for January, but I still love it! :)

Have a great Thursday! I'll be back tomorrow with sneaks.

EDITED TO ADD: Studio Calico Sneak Night Giveaway... some HAMBLY. Here.
Davinie

Q&A and a layout

I've been asked where we went camping a few weeks ago, because it looks like a good spot. It WAS a good spot. An excellent spot! This is our third year in this spot! And because it is such a little gem, I am going to share where I went, as long as you leave some spots open when I want to go there next time, lol. I could write a novella about how fabulous this area is, but I won't because 2 of the 3 people who read this blog do not live in Oregon. But if you want any details, send me an email and I'll be happy to share.

The campground info can be found here.

3 years ago we decided to go camping on a whim, and called just about every campground on the coast, looking for an opening. This was the only placed that had room. It has turned out to be the diamond in the rough, and we love it there! As I said, 2009 was our third year at this spot. We were there 5 days this time, but next year we plan to go for a week.

While camping I actually dreamed about making the following layout. Perhaps I was thinking of the big mess I had left behind in my scrapbook room and was searching for a way to utilize some of my scraps, lol.

My girls and I play Go Fish ALL the time before bed time. A few weeks ago I thought it was a perfect time to try and sneak in the camera, and, crossing my fingers that they'd continue to play rather than disperse the minute the Canon made it's entrance, I got lucky and managed to capture the game.

Supplies:
Cosmo Cricket Snorkel patterned paper / chipboard
American Crafts poolside alphas
Fiskars Boundary Waters, and Scallop Sentiment punch

This layout was very easy to put together. I simply trimmed about 3/4 of an inch off the width of my fishy paper, punched a scallop from another pattern, waves from cardstock, and layered them at the bottom of my layout. I like to trim the width of my paper sometimes because I like the look of the base paper or cardstock as a frame to my layout. I then stitched the perimeter and added my submarine.

I was also asked a question regarding journaling and where I make the decision to use typed journaling over my handwriting. This is what I think: Sometimes I have a lot to say, and by typing it all out, it fits in a smaller space. While my layouts are about the memories, I still want a clean design, and if I write it all out, the journaling might take up more room than I'd like. In this particular case, I had a lot to say, but I was also wanting to say it on a busy piece of patterned paper. I needed the light cardstock simply because you wouldn't be able to read my writing on that fish paper.

In short, if I can write it and you can read it clearly, and it doesn't interfere too much with the design of the layout, I'll use my handwriting. But if I have a lot to say or the spot I've chosen to journal at is covered with a busy or dark patterned paper, I'll use my computer, and most often, I'll use Vanilla cardstock from American Crafts. I swear I'm addicted. If I don't have Bazzill kraft cardstock and Vanilla cardstock from AC in my stash, I feel lost. I use them both on just about everything.

Have a great day! I'm going to be busy doing my Project 12 layout for July. Well, that's the plan, but I put bathrooms on my list of things to do today, so I guess I'd better get that done first.

What are you up to today? Davinie

Cardalicious is back! and a little Pink Paislee

We're back! Janelle was on hiatus but now we are back with a new challenge at the Cardalicious card challenge blog. You simply must check it out!

This is my card for the challenge this round. Lots of fun new Pink Paislee here:

Supplies:
Bazzill textured cardstock
Pink Paislee Cupid Love Potion
Pink Paislee Mistletoe North Pole
Pink Paislee Expressions Berry Blue
Pink Paislee Expressions Whimsies Chocolate
Making Memories ledger labels
Sassafras In Stitch Blossoms
Twine: Studio Calico

Finished size: 4.5" x 5.5"

I also have a little peek to share with you:

Today is Tasty Tuesday and my day to post on the Pink Paislee blog. Head over here to see the rest of this layout and the Pink Paislee Cupid line!

Have a great day! Davinie

Scrapbooking your Vacation

I was at the beach for five days and had so sosososo much fun with my family. The hubby and the kids and I laughed, swam, got our toes dirty, and had a bawl. And as much as I truly enjoyed every second of our adventure, there was still a small part of me, anxious to get back home to my craft table. My messy craft table. My still messy craft table.
We got home late Wednesday night and I have already scrapped my vacation. I have done two layouts with many more memories in mind to document.
The first layout was a new idea for me, but one I think I will continue. It's a bit inspired by my Project 12 challenge the idea of summarizing. I decided to make a grid with cropped 2x2 photos, so I went through the 400 photos that I took, lol, and chose 15 that I thought best summarized what we did that week. Then I printed the collage and scrapped around it. I used my August kit from Studio Calico for this one, although I did add a couple of buttons from my BG button stash.


I carried the eye through the design by bringing the yellow to the bottom and the strip of blue as well.

It wasn't until I went to stitch the perimeter of this layout that I thought stitching a grid at the top would be a fun detail. You know how I love my stitched grids lately.

This is our third year at this same campground, so one reason I wanted to do a layout with multiple pictures was to help distinguish the experiences from the previous years. With the kids still young and in to the same things, the years start to blend together a little. We biked and did the teeter totter and the beach last year. But this year we were able to ride the train and actually got neck deep in the water in the river. I want to remember that this happened in 2009!

After I finished this layout, I went back through my photos and started picking out single photos I wanted to journal about further.

For this layout I couldn't help myself. I used the new Earth Love line from Cosmo.

I have more layouts planned and I love how this process is going. I'm going to try doing collages or multi-page layouts for all of my big days or big vacations, first. Just yesterday we went to the fair and I took far too many photos. And don't the girls ride the big slide every year? What did their face look like when they did it this year? Was anyone crying this time? It's screaming for a multi-photo collage.

Have a great day! Davinie

Project 12 Challenge - July

That's right! It's that time again! Time for the August edition of the Project 12 challenge. I'm working on the month of July, but you can work on any month your little heart desires. The challenge is simple. Highlight your month with a layout. Use one photo. Use 15. Use 31 if you want to, just highlight the month.

You have until the 20th to link your layout on this thread. After that I'll draw from the participants and the winner will get a little goodie from me.

Want to know what you are playing for this month?

First, the sweetest little Etsy shop in Oregon sent me a cute little sampling of their wares to give away. It's called One Bright Spot. I'm loving the little tags and the felties. Those rings are super cute too.

To spice it up I've also managed to snag a wanted item. For some reason, Making Memories isn't making them anymore, but I have right here in my hot little hands one set of bamboo alphas from the Great Escape line.

How do they look? They were one of my favorite things in the August kit from Studio Calico and I know many of the other girls agree.
Okay, so one Etsy goodie bag, and some bamboo alphas. Worth playing for? See you right here on or before the 20th, okay?

Davinie

(For previous layouts and giveaways, see the Project 12 label below).

Studio Calico - August

It's August 1st so while I should be posting my Project 12 challenge, for now I'm going to stick with my August layouts for Studio Calico.
July was a really busy month, so I only managed 4 layouts with the kit, although last night I did a 5th layout with photos of our beach trip. I'll be sharing that one tomorrow.

The first layout has a super cute photo of Morgan with her cousin and BFF Raegan. My sister watched the kids so that Steve and I could go out to dinner a few weeks ago, and when she sent me this photo, I knew I wanted to use it with this kit. These two don't even fight. They are super, super close.


I used the Jenni Bowlin crepe paper ribbon for my flower. To make it I went back to my days in the flower shop, and basically made a ribbon bow, and then flattened it with the Making Memories paper and the chipboard.

I layered the Lily Bee Joy rubon under the Basic Grey doilie paper for some added texture and detail.



I was a little more random with my stitching on this layout. I just used random lines of stitching on the upper left and then the lower right. It added some texture and helped lead the eye through the design.

I made my butterflies with my Slice, and used both pink and brown Maya Mist, the pink first.



My Tailgating layout looks a little different from the layout in my gallery at SC. It was driving me nutty so I had to fix it. The yellow sticker alphas weren't showing up very well against the yellow background. I tried highlighting them with a white pen, but it just wasn't enough. I was rushed so couldn't fix it before I went to the beach, but it was one of the the first projects I did when I got home. Even before some of that laundry, lol. I just added a strip of green to help the title pop.
Rubons scare me sometimes because I like to reposition things, but on this particular layout, I knew it would blend too much with the background paper, so I mounted my flower vine on cardstock and then trimmed it out. For my flowers, I used three different circle punches, as well as the flower stamp from the kit, and layered them and added a brad in the middle.



That Tim Holtz mask made me a little nutty at first. It's a nice idea, the clear, but you had to punch out every little teeny weeny detail in this image, and that's hard to do when the image is clear. Once I got it punched out, though, I did have fun with it. I didn't use mist here. That's blue Colorbox ink.

That's it for me and Studio Calico this month! Check back later for that Project 12 challenge, I think I might enable a couple of people, and I also have some vacation layouts to share as well.

Happy August! We went to the fair this morning and had a blast! What a fun week it's been!

Davinie