..:: one little word ::..

Hello friends! I am participating in Ali Edward's One Little Word again this year. I have chosen a word each year for quite a few years, and I have never finished all the prompts and ended the year with a documented word. No regrets, I've gotten something good out of each word!  This year I decided to document my word using a traveler's notebook, similar to my December Daily. Also similar, I am going to create videos of my process and share them on my youtube channel and other social media. It is my hope that this will be the thing that helps me stick with the documentation.

Today I am sharing two videos on my You Tube channel. The first video I am actually in front of the camera for a bit and I explain my reason for the videos. I show how I've organized my supplies, and then I move into the process of creating my cover and title page. Here is a look:

My cover is from Color Cast Designs, and I've added items from the main OLW kit.

And here is the video of my process:

Once I got that taken  care of I got busy on the prompts. Here are the pages:

I stamped sunbursts all over the page & added some enamel dots to some of the centers.  Then, I used a red lightbulb flair from {a flair for buttons} in the center, with a sticker that says, "illuminate". 

Love that thought. Illuminate.

I made a pocket with the "January" card from the main kit and a card from the light kit is on the back. In side the pocket are two cards back to back. One side is my reason why, and the other side is a decorative card.

 

This is the back of the pocket.

I used a 3x8 page protector for the cards included with the main kit, and to work through the January prompt.

I made a flip out on the page protector so that I could add a couple of extra cards without adding all the space of another 3x8.

I used some new Heidi Swapp Color Fresh papers and washi to create an flip out insert to house the deeper journaling.

To see more details of my process, check out this process video, if that suits your fancy!

Thanks for stopping by, see you again soon! XO o.g.

:: hello february, hello one little word® ::

Doesn't Ali Edward's One Little Word® start in January?

Why, yes, yes, it does, why do you ask?

Well, the title of this blogpost....I'm confused.

Yep, it's already February and it took that long for my word to find me. If you've hung out at my blog at all you know that I have participated in One Little Word® for several years now.  I have never had a difficult time deciding on my word for the year.  Never.  In fact, most of the time it finds me before December. Yet, here I was, a few days before February was to begin, and I had not found a word. In fact, I was just about to settle on a word that I thought would "work", but I knew it just wasn't it.

Then, it popped in my head.

I'd seen the word a zillion times and many people have chosen this word as theirs for the year, but still it didn't click for me until this past weekend. Then BAM!

Hello February.  Hello Choose.  Hello One Little Word®.

More information on Ali's One Little Word® can be found here.

:: TIME :: amy tangerine product feature

It's time for another product feature on the Paper Issues blog!  Today we are using Amy Tangerine's Rise & Shine Collection!

The story that I am documenting today is about the passage of time.  The photos of B. with the binky were taken two years ago at Morgan Creek park.  The other photos were taken this year at the same park, climbing the same fence.  The park is a go to place for us, and apparently climbing the fence is a favorite (but if you follow my blog and stories of B. you know that climbing anything has always been a favorite)!

The templates for the cut file came from an Ali Edwards story kit, and when I saw all the lovely colors and patterns in this collection, I knew I wanted to use them with this cut file! So. Yummy.

I added stitching and I journaled around the biggest circle.

The layout wouldn't be complete without a flair from {aflairforbuttons}! I used a piece of flair from this batch.

Seriously loved working with these patterned papers! 

Grab some of your own at The Paper Issues Store!  Don't forget to use the code orangegearle at checkout for 20% off your total order!

❃ have more firsts ❃

This background is created by me with papers, paints and stamps. The words are from Ali Edwards' kit club brushes.

My One Little Word this year is DO. I knew I really needed an action word this year. There are so many things that I need to accomplish! As I was searching for my word, I sat down with a pen and paper and made a list of things that I really wanted in my life, or to accomplish, and a list of things that I wanted to eliminate in my life. When I did this I had "DOs" and don'ts. Then it hit me…DO is the perfect word for this year.  That was in December.

Also in December I received my first Story Kit from Ali Edwards. The theme was "Firsts".  When I saw the stamp set, I knew that I really wanted to start a project. Instant inspiration to do. In fact, I almost changed my word to 'firsts'  when I saw it.  But I quickly realized that first is a great match with do. So, a project was born.

I have challenged myself to have more firsts this year.  This year, I will be intentional about creating opportunities to do something for the first time each month.  I anticipate that I will have firsts that are simple, easy, and risk free like going to a new restaurant for the first time.  But I am hopeful that I will also take some real risks, put myself out there, and create new experiences for myself, and maybe even a few new experiences with my family.

I've started my firsts and will be sharing them here soon and as the year progresses! So exciting!


If you want to know more about One Little Word, visit Ali Edwards site, here.  If you are interested in receiving her story kits and/or stamps, you can find that information here.

:: toni from designs : new flair shop ::

Hi friends!  A friend of mine just opened up a new Etsy shop, and she gave me some flair to play around with!

This flair is from her back to school set!  It was the inspiration for most of the colors in my layout!

I grabbed the colors from the flair (and added one from B.'s dress) and found ink in my stash.  I used Ali Edward's new stamp set, on textured white paper and stamped on the diagonal across the page. Viola, patterned paper.

I also stamped on the insert between this two page layout to pull it together.

(more awesome flair from Toni)!

This LO is really a few stories that happened the same morning.  The morning that B. turned five, happened to coincide with her first day of AK (alternative kindergarten) and she got an awesome present!  So I put the stories in the middle in a 6x12 pocket, so I had more room for photos!  :-)

Thanks Toni for letting my play with your new flair!

Toni will be adding new flair to her Etsty shop every Monday!  You can follow her here:

Blog :  http://tonifromdesigns.blogspot.com
IG: tonifromdesigns http://instagram.com/tonifromdesigns
Twitter: @ToniFrom https://twitter.com/ToniFrom]
Pinterest: Toni From http://www.pinterest.com/tonifrom/


PS.  I'm also linking this one up to the Current Issue at Paper Issues!  Anything goes!  Have you linked up yet?

Scrap Your Story :: Almost 4

It's FRIDAY!  That means so much more now that I am back to work! :-)

This week is a theme week at Scrap Your Story, and we are scrapping birthdays -- could be a party, or an age theme, too!  I have never scrapped a birthday (I know, right?).  I also don't really do holidays (Gasp!). I have no idea why. Mostly, I'm an everyday scrapper, and those "big events" freak me out or something!  But I did make this:

Yep, ladies and gentleman -- it's a two pager and 8.5 x 11!!  I used to scrap exclusively in two pages.  I just couldn't make a one pager happen until about 2 years ago. And now I'm usually one-pagin' in. And I cannot remember the last time I used the smaller size!  This was fun!

For this layout I was once again inspired by Ali Edwards. I am taking her Hello Story class over at Big Picture classes.  One of her prompts included using a "fill in the blank" as a way to tell the story. I made several modifications to fit my sweet B. and interviewed her.  FUN! She will be 4 later this month, and I wanted to capture what she is like right now.

I grabbed a bunch of photos from July that I thought really showed off her personality, and made a collage in photoshop. I cut a little hole in the middle (because the collage turned out that way) so that the patterned paper could be seen in the middle.

For the story telling part, I wrote everything with my own handwriting, then filled in the blanks (her answers) with alpha stamps.  I made them a bit wonky so it looks more like a child (or I messed up once and then decided to make the rest match, you pick which one you think it was) and I used some of her voice by writing the words as she says them, not as they are spelled.  I added some hearts with an Ali Edwards stamp and a little paint, and then a few paper strips and wood veneer hearts. Done!

We are packing our things to go camping this weekend.  We haven't been all year, but the weather is going to be so great this weekend we cannot resist!  Have a great weekend!  Hope you find a little scrappy time, and hope you join us at Scrap Your Story!

:: b & a ::

I don't know about you but I love kraft and white together. I also love Ali Edwards. I think that she is a genius when it comes to telling stories, documenting life, and making it beautiful; artful; all at the same time. That's why, when I saw this layout on her blog November 2012, I pinned it with the idea that I would use it as inspiration at some point. What I didn't know is how little I would change the basic design. Why mess with perfection, right?

I used the July Scrapbook Circle Kit and Ali Edwards stamps for this layout. In fact, I got the stamps in the mail the same day I took the photos of this tea party. As soon as the stamps arrived, I thought I'd try them out with my new frost white ColorBox pigment ink. When I stamped it, I loved the sentiments and the softness of the white on kraft. It reminded me of the Ali layout I had pinned, so I got to work!

At the same time I had been working with this awesome Studio Calico Mister Huey's Mask that I'd gotten in the Scrapbook Circle July Embellishment add-on kit. I tried the mask with Mister Huey mist, then stamps, then paint, but none of them really gave me what I wanted. So, I tried the absolutely magnificent White Signo Pen (an aside: I was about halfway finished making this background paper when the mail arrive with the Ali Edwards stamps.....). Here's a close up of the mask + pen:

Remember me saying that I like the softness of the white ink on the kraft? Well, the signo pen, while usually perfection, is very.....WHITE. Not soft. So I covered the whole background with vellum. Love! It brought the focus back to the photos (another aside: the photos were taken right after I stamped the stamps for the first time....I added the softness to them in Photoshop, because I knew I would use the photos, with the stamps).

I added a bit of tiny circle stamping (from an Ali Edwards December Daily stamp set that I can't seem to find to link up)! 

And pretty much nothing is complete these days without a bit of stitching! :-)

Thank you to my friend Kirsten for taking my scrapbooking emergency text while I was creating this LO. (I couldn't decide on b&w or color photos)!

I will have another LO to share with you tomorrow, using the same Scrapbook Circle Kit.  Here's a sneak:

Did you know that my blogaversary is coming up (it's Sunday)!!??! I will be doing a special giveaway on my blog -- don't forget to check back later this week for the details.

It's not too late to play with Scrap Your Story and the great sketch this week! Check it out here!

Scrap Your Story :: a picnic for SUPERS

It's FRIDAY! And we are having a great time this week at Scrap Your Story! Embrace the sunburst!

That awesome sunburst paper is from American Crafts, Shoreline collection. I got it in a Scrapbook Circle kit (I think last summer?).   I used my sewing machine to stitch a bunch of circles and lines on the paper to make it even more sunburst-y (it's a word, really).

The banners are stamps from Ali Edwards.  First I misted some plain white card stock with orange and yellow Mister Huey, then I used orange ink and clear embossing powder to heat emboss them.  After cutting them out, I popped them on with some pop dots for a bit of dimension. For the title I added some DIY Thickers (that I misted with orange Mister Huey) to the picnic tag from Elle's Studio.

This was a fun layout.  I will likely add some journaling to the page, but I haven't decided exactly what or where, and I hate to rush these things!  However, I did print and scrap these photos the same day that I took them!  The girls were having such a good time eating a picnic in their super hero costumes.

Hope you link up over at Scrap Your Story! It's the perfect time of year to embrace that sunburst!

PS, I am counting down the days to when my summer begins.  I cannot wait to have more scrappy time one week from now!

Scrap Your Story :: welcome flowers

It's Friday! You know what that means -- a new challenge!  This week at Scrap Your Story Challenges we are playing with stamps!

I use stamps all the time now that I get stamps from Ali Edwards (@Technique Tuesday) in the mail every month. They are perfect and totally match my style. This layout was no exception. All of the stamps I used were from Ali. Nearly all of the papers and other materials were found in the May Scrapbook Circle kit : My Favorite. Are these papers fun?!  It's early in the month and I've already used most of the papers in the kit!  WOW!

Here are a few close ups:

I used the flower stamp from Ali's "Favorite Circles" stamps all over this page! I love that stamp! It's super simple and can be used for pretty much anything!

This welcome stamp was from "Memories of Home" by Ali Edwards.

In this photo you can sort of see the phrases that I stamped all over the vellum (along with that flower stamp again). The phrases are from Ali's "This Story" stamp set.

The journaling is in a vellum envelope that cut out using my Silhouette Cameo (I've been doing that a lot lately), and I used this blog post for my text. :-) So happy to get this fun story documented!

I hope you play with us this week!

Scrap Your Story :: growing love

UPDATE:  I'm linking this up to Paper Issues Feb. 7, 2015 Issue Hip to Be Square (I used square photos and some {aflairforbuttons} flair.

It's FRIDAY -- and you know what that means -- another challenge at Scrap Your Story Challenge blog! Ready to play along? This is a "theme" week -- and the theme is "favorite(s)".  You can interpret that anyway you wish, as long in your journaling or title we can see that you are sharing something that is a favorite!

I have the word "favorite" a couple of places on this layout.  First I used an Amy Tangerine stamp that I got at Target and stamped "You are my fave" all over a piece of patterned paper.  Then I used one of Amy Tangerine's templates to make a speech bubble with a heart in the middle.  The second place, also involved stamping.  This time it was an Ali Edwards stamp "SUPER favorite" that I stamped over some Elle's studio tags (all supplies are linked below). Most of the rest of the supplies came from the Lucky You Scrapbook Kit by paperissues available here. And of course there is flair from {a flair for buttons}!

This photo was taken on the anniversary of Mikaela's death. It was a difficult day for us all. My daughter Hollyanne came over just to be with us for a while, and I was ever so thankful. I journaled a bit about that, but also about how B. was obsessed with her baby belly! Either way, I wanted the journaling to be hidden. I'm really happy with how this one turned out!  Love that green/yellow combo! Hope you play along with us this week at Scrap Your Story Challenges!


Supplies
Crate Paper :: Party Day :: Happy
My Minds Eye :: Collectable :: Remarkable Smile Grin
American Crafts :: Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm :: 6x6 paper pad
American Crafts :: Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm :: Wild Hearts
Studio Calico :: Here & There :: woodgrain thickers
Glitz :: Color Me Happy :: 6x6 paper pad
Glitz :: Color Me Happy :: woodgrain paper
Glitz :: woodgrain washi tape
Jillibean Soup :: Sunshine Resin Sugar Picks
Studio Calico :: Sundrifter :: flowers and leave wood veneer
My Minds Eye :: Collectable :: Remarkable Day Decorative Buttons
My Minds Eye :: The Sweetest Thing :: enamel dots
a flair for buttons :: arrow 1 flair
a flair for buttons :: lovely words flair
TCW :: Minivine mask
Elle's Studio :: Day to Day tidbits
American Crafts :: Amy Tangerine :: stencils
American Crafts :: Amy Tangerine :: authentic phrase stamp
Technique Tuesday :: Studeio AE :: super fantastic
Heidi Swapp :: Color Shine :: Mustard
Heidi Swapp :: Color Shine :: Mint Green

Scrap Your Story Challenge :: you are my favorite color

It all started with an idea and some white card stock. 

And it's probably one of my favorite LOs ever.  I love it when my vision actually turns out exactly like (or even better than ) I expected!

This week at Scrap Your Story, we are all about STITCHING.  This was not difficult for me, since I am obsessed with machine stitching!  This week I machine stitched, but I also hand stitched (something I don't do quite as often).

First I added some chalk...next some machine stitching. Let me tell ya, it was SO MUCH FUN to add the stitching.  I matted my photo with some Amy Tangerine vellum (purchased at Michael's -- Recollections "Signature" pack), and some regular vellum.  I used more of the Amy Tangerine vellum for my title, then traced around it with a pink Sharpie.  I actually did the trick again where I wrote "favorite color" with my finger on my iPad, and then used my Silhouette Cameo to cut it out. "You Are My" is April's Studio AE stamp set from Ali Edwards.

I actually did a practice page with this one before starting. I didn't want that page to go to waste, so I used it for several items on this LO. First I used Amy Tangerine's Yes, Please template and hand stitched a flower (totally fun, right)? I cut it out and popped it off the page with pop dots. I also used some of the practice page to write my journaling on (cut it and hid it behind the pic -- just pull the yellow washi tab).  There is a stamp set with the same Amy Tangerine collection, and I used the flower stamp on that practice page, cut it out and added a little colored pencil to it before gluing it on. Added some washi tape and sequins and I was finished. I cannot tell you how much fun this was to pull together!

Here are a few closeups!

"You Are My" is a new Ali Edwards stamp!

I also linking this up with Paper Issues.  Their current issue is all about using instagram photos! You have until April 20th to link up!

I'm headed to my friend's wedding this weekend!  It's local....it's outside....and it's been raining hard for what seems like weeks and weeks.  Cross your fingers!