:: top 16 of 2016 ::

Wow!  Happy New Year's Eve! We are sharing our Top 16 of 2016 over on the Paper Issues Blog! Check it out here! It's fun to see them all in a collage like this!  

Here we go 2017! 

..:: birthday selfies ::..

It's Mix It Up Monday on the Paper Issues Blog and here's my take on the challenge this month!

This photo was taken on my birthday while we were out to eat celebrating together as a family. B. is always ready for the camera!

I used lots of bits and pieces from several collections this month -- it alls started with Simple Stories New Year's collection which I did use a bit of, but mostly the colors grabbed me!  So, I got the black and white started and then I grabbed the colors that I wanted to pop off the page from multiple lines. 

Check out the other inspiration from our Design Team here, and make sure you play along!

..:: the boys ::..

I played along with Sketchy Saturday over on the Paper Issues blog! These photos were taken when my oldest grandson met his new baby brother! Yay!

I used Crate Paper's Cool Kid collection (I've used this several times for layouts of this little many -- and now I have two little men)! 

This is a great sketch! Check it out and play along! All the details can be found here!

..:: oh so loved ::..

It's Take Five Tuesday on the Paper Issues Blog! I played along this month with this layout I made using mostly the Gather collection by Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper.

The challenge asks you to pick five things from a list of twenty and use them on a project. You can check out the list at the link above. I chose: 

1. blue 2. white 10. mist, ink, paint 12. alpha letters 13. stickers 15. fussy cutting (I fussy cut those rectangles from patterned paper)

Play along with us! Check out all the details here!

..:: winter wonderland ::..

There's a product spotlight going on over on the Paper Issues Blog! I happen to love these and this time I was able to play along. Anytime I can use Crate Paper, I pretty much do! This spotlight is using Crate Paper's Snow & Cocoa collection. I've made two or three layouts with this collection already, and I think I'm going to use it for most of my December Documentation. I simply love it! 

I made a cutfile for this one (the trees) and it is free to you here. Here are a few close ups:

Check out what the other girls made by visiting the blog. Still need to get some Snow & Cocoa? Grab some in the Paper Issues Store and use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your purchase!

..:: play more ::..

It's Swag Bag Sunday over at Paper Issues! You may have seen my Swag Bag opening on Facebook (it was my first live FB video).  As soon as I finished the video, I found a photo (taken just that day) and made a layout! It was that inspirational!  Here's the layout:

Nearly everything you see here comes from the Swag Bag! I even used the glassine bag that it came in as part of my layers behind the photo and card. I added the orange background paper and a couple chipboard elements and flair. Most of that came from Cocoa Vanilla Studio's Love Always collection. 

Grab a Swag Bag (or sub) here and tell 'em Orange Gearle sent you (by using the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your purchase)!

..:: love this ::..

It's Mix It Up Monday: November Edition on the Paper Issues Blog today!  This month I challenge you to use some inks and/or stamps. Here's my take on the challenge:

I made a background paper (see all that yellow?) using a yellow ink pad, some water, and the packaging technique.  Next I stamped numbers all over it! It's a perfect match with Cocoa Vanilla's Make a Wish collection and for this layout about Bea's seventh birthday.  Here's a close up of the layer that I made.

Grab some Cocoa Vanilla, or any of your paper needs in the Paper Issues Store today. Don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your purchase!

:: snow shenanigans ::

It's a new issue over at Paper Issues and I got to play along this month!  The theme is Going Cold Turkey in Snowvember. I love it! I chose to go with the snow idea, and used the new collection from Crate Paper called Snow and Cocoa.

The photos are from January. It was such a fun day, and Bea enjoyed exploring the new neighborhood and play in the snow. She also got a little silly. She found these giant snow balls in the play yard of the school across the street.  These photos were perfect for this collection!

Thread and layers for the win. ;-)

Lots of water colors in the background, and I love all the gold pops throughout this collection.

I used the wood veneers in the collection, but I wanted some gold -- so I embossed half of each letter. Then I added 'shenanigans' using a cut file that I created, backing each letter with patterned papers. 

I loved working with this collection! I would love if you would play along with us -- details on how to do that are here.

Grab some Crate Paper or anything else you need at The Paper Issues Store and use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your purchase!

:: the scarved crusader ::

It's Halloween Round up time on the Paper Issues blog! I played along with the October Swag Bag and a few items from Simple Stories Happy Haunting.

Exclusive flair in the October Swag Bag!

One thing I love about Swag Bags -- the potential for lots of layers.

Check out what the other girls did for the Halloween Round Up here!

And get a Swag Bag, or another other paper needs at the Paper Issues Store! Use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your order!

..:: crazy sock day ::..

It's time again to get out the mixed media materials for Mix It Up Monday over on the Paper Issues Blog!  The challenge this month: use stencils. If you are someone that has never used stencils before, just use them! If stencils are something that you do use, try using them in a different way. A few examples might be: use a stencil you make from a cut file, use mist, use acrylic paint, use water colors, use stamping ink, use texture paste, use the negative of the stencil, use the stencil as a stamp, etc.  Here's my take on the challenge:

I used stencils and ink pads for this layout! Here are a few close ups:

And finally I did create a short video of the technique I used, if that suits your fancy.

I hope you play along with us this month! Grab those stencils and get busy!

..:: just a boy ::..

Just a boy and his dogs making dreams together.  That's a long title, but I love it. I'm playing along with the Pawsitively Pets challenge at Paper Issues. The challenge is to use more than one kind of alpha/font.  I used (kinda) 4: alpha stickers, two different cut files/fonts, and a phrase strip! This layout of my grandson and his two puppies sleeping met Crate Paper's Cool Kid collection and I love the outcome!

Yep, that's a shaker. As soon as I saw the star sequins in this collection I knew I had to make a shaker!

Almost always....a bit of flair from {aflairforbuttons}.  Here's a little bit closer up look at all that stitching.

Crate Paper has done it again with this collection. I simply love them. Grab some here, or any other paper needs and use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your purchase.

..:: awesome colors ::..

It's a product spotlight over on the Paper Issues blog today, and I got to play along! Today we are highlighting Pink Paislee's Take Me Away by Paige Taylor Evans.

My daughter is loving the sidewalk chalk this year, and these photos worked perfectly with this collection. You can grab it here along with any other paper needs. :-)  Use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your purchase.

:: love you ::

B. lost her first tooth! Luckily Paper Issues is having a product spotlight on Amy Tangerine's Oh Happy Life and it worked just perfectly to tell this story.

I'm not gonna lie, I bought more than one of that striped paper on the left. I completely dig it, and all the colors in this collection. 

Here are a few close ups:

Make sure you check out all the awesome on the Paper Issues Blog today! Then stop in at the store and grab some Amy Tangerine, or anything else you need at the Paper Issues Store (there are tons of new things that just got added this week)! Use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your order!

:: love you ::

B. lost her first tooth! Luckily Paper Issues is having a product spotlight on Amy Tangerine's Oh Happy Life and it worked just perfectly to tell this story.

I'm not gonna lie, I bought more than one of that striped paper on the left. I completely dig it, and all the colors in this collection. 

Here are a few close ups:

Make sure you check out all the awesome on the Paper Issues Blog today! Then stop in at the store and grab some Amy Tangerine, or anything else you need at the Paper Issues Store (there are tons of new things that just got added this week)! Use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your order!

:: fantastic ::

Hi!  It's Round 2 of the latest issues at Paper Issues and I got to play along. Here is my take on the theme this month.

This month is all about the Unbe-leafable Great Outdoors! I chose this photo of my daughter outside with cattails. She was so excited about them! Here are a few suggestion about how to play along:

• Share your projects about fall, camping, hiking, back to school, etc.
• Use leaves or outdoor items as embellishments.
• Show us those cute back to school photos of your kiddos, grandchildren, even yourself.

Details on how to play along on the Paper Issues Blog today! I can't wait to see what you share with us!

..:: all smile ::..

Hi! It's been a while! Far too long since I've been able to play with paper -- but I'm back today with a layout for Paper Issues' Mix It Up Monday!  This layout features a missing tooth!

I used a bunch of Cocoa Vanilla's recent collection Love Always and I am loving it! The challenge this month is to make something mixed media-ish (I used acrylic paint, water, and water colors) and then CUT IT UP! You can use your die cut machine, your scissors, or punches. I created a 'background' using orange watercolors and pink paint. Then I used several sizes of circle punches to punch out these circles! Here's a process video if that suits your fancy!

And here are a few close ups!

Check out the Paper Issues Blog for more inspiration and details on how to enter your project!