..:: Swag Bag ::..

Hi!  I'm up on the Paper Issue Blog today with a couple of layouts that I made with the December Swag Bag. One of the things I love to do with all the goodies is create tons of layers with the included cards.

This story is all about Bea and her art!  We had an art day together, and she made all kinds of things -- one of which is actually included on this layout!  (See the far back reddish-pink layer?  That's hers)!

See that die cut right behind the bow?  That's one of Jen Chapin's FREE cut files, available here.)

  

So believe it or not, I made this layout about a fall visit to one of our favorite parks using the same kit I used with the first layout. I'm telling you, these kits are so versatile.  One of my favorite things included in the kit is that piece of polka dot burlap that is in the top left corner.  I liked it so much, I had to buy a whole sheet of it from the Paper Issues store!

I'm kinda digging the fox trend.

And I love this wood veneer!  Once again Cassie Box completely outdid herself when she put together this kit!

A Paper Issues Swag Bag subscription would be an awesome Christmas gift, just sayin'! :-)  And if you use the code 'orange gearle' you will get a 20% discount off your entire order!  

Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon!

:: sketchy saturday ::

I'm up on the Paper Issues blog today with a layout inspired by another fabulous sketch by Jennifer Chapin.  Here is my take on the sketch:



And here is her sketch.

If you play along, and you link up, you can win a $10 gift card to the Paper Issues Store!  Spoiler alert: there is also a free cut file to go with this lovely sketch.  Sherri Funk, another PI girl made it and shared it for you all!  While you are in the store you may want to pick up some of the new Bella Rouge collection by Pink Paislee.  I had so much fun using it for this layout!  Here are a few close ups.

Don't you love these alphas that are part of the collection???  They are to die for (and there is a paper that looks just like it, too)!  

There is a washi booklet in this collection that has different strips of washi tape and washi shapes.  Love it! See the banners with the hearts?  They are in the booklet!  I also used the cover of the booklet and pretended it was patterned paper!  See the circles that have text on them?  I cut those circles from the front and back cover of the book of washi shapes.  :-)  Then I used a little gelato and a water brush to highlight the words I wanted to highlight.  

This was a fun sketch -- don't forget to play along for the chance to win!  And don't forget to use the code 'orange gearle' to save 20% next time you are in the shop!

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back tomorrow with two more layouts to share!

:: un-BEA-LEAF-ably YOU ::

Did you know that there are free cut files at the Paper Issues store?  Did you know that each month there are new ones -- with a chance to win stuff? Now that I've got your attention, I'll show you what I made with some of this months files.  See that awesome, squiggly circle?  I was in love the moment I saw it! 

Then I took this photo of my daughter being SO. BEA, and I knew that I needed to use those fab leave cut files too!

For this layout I used a bunch of stuff from the Sweater Weather collection by Simple Stories (you can get it in the shop, here). I threw in some Elle's Studio cork shapes, some scraps from Fancy Pants, True Friend collection, a few things from my stash, and a bunch of stuff from past SWAG bags!  A little bit of stitching and away we go.

You can get any of the above products (and much more) at the Paper Issues store.  Use the code orangegearle and save 20%, yo!

Are you getting excited for the holidays?  I started working on my December Daily this past weekend, and it's helped put me in the mood!  Here's an 'in progress' sneaky sneaky and I'll share more soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

..:: birds of a feather : latest issue at Paper Issues ::..

I love new issue Mondays! Our current issue is "Birds of a Feather, Flock Together" and it is sponsored by Ruby Rock-It.  Here is my take on the prompt, using Ruby Rock-It's Country Cookin' collection!

B. and her cousin truly are 'birds of a feather', two peas in a pod; and they love spending time together!

Check out the current issue and DT inspiration here.  There are so many ways to interpret this issue! Won't you join us?

:: you are loved ::

Did you know that the fantastic Jennifer Chapin creates sketches for Paper Issues????  This month I got to play with the November sketch, and I had so much fun!  Here is my take on the sketch:

I pulled out a little bit of Gossamer Blue's Gramercy Road & On My Desk collections, and added some Crate Paper, Maggie Holmes' Open Book and a few items from my stash. It was so much fun to play with this sketch!  Wanna play? You have until November 21 to link up.  Check out the sketch, the link up, and what a few members of the design team came up with right here.

I don't know about you, but I am totally loving this gold trend!!!  And Gossamer Blue has nailed it with the two collections mentioned above (and don't even get me started on the awesomeness of Get Happy)!  If you want to pick up some of the items I used (or just about anything else), everything you need is in the Paper Issues store.  Use the code "orangegearle" to get 20% off your order!

PS, that little cherub in the photo is my grandson.  He and his mommy (also pictured) are pretty much magic. 

:: halloween cards ::

Cards?  Did I say cards??  Yep. Outta my comfort zone for today!

There's a new issue up at Paper Issues this week -- "Witchin' You a Happy Halloween", sponsored by SRM stickers.  One of the things that I love about Paper Issues link parties is that they really are open.  You can get the details for this link up here.  You will see that it doesn't even have to be about witches or Halloween -- so many options!

I'm not a theme-y kinda gearle when it comes to scrapbooking, and I am certainly not a card maker.  But when I saw this awesome collection by Simple Stories called Frankie and Friends, I had to have it all (well, most of it anyway).  I may not be a theme-y gearle, but I do have Paper Issues, yo!

I started by cutting one 12x12 piece of kraft card stock into 4x6 inch strips.  I used these for my base.  Then I grabbed my Halloween Swag Bag (from Paper Issues) and the Frankie and Friends collection and got to work.

The 3x4 cards that come on a 12x12 sheet in the collection are so cute and simply perfect for what I was going for.

I think this one is my favorite:

If you want to grab the Frankie and Friends collection, or anything else, don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' to get 20% off your entire purchase!

I'm working on Week in the Life this week (my first attempt)!  More on that one coming soon!

:: it's a horse of a different color ::

It's Pinspire Me Monday over at the paper issues blog!  Corri found this great color palette on Pinterest, and asked us to use it as inspiration for a project!  I took on the challenge.

Not only do I love these colors together, I also love that water color look.  So I grabbed a white piece of card stock and my gelatos and got busy:

I started with the background.  First I slathered a bit of gesso on the white card stock to prep it a bit.  I only put it through the center of the page, where I knew the gelatos were going to go.  This helps the color move across the page a bit easier.  If you are interested I did do a video showing a few techniques I use often with gelatos (it also talks a bit about gesso).  I created a bit of texture by not smoothing the gesso out when applying. After it dried, I applied the gelatos, and moved and blended the colors with a water brush.

While that was drying, I grabbed some patterned papers from Heidi Swapp's September Skies collection (they go PERFECTLY with the color palette).

As you can see, this paper is a lovely blue, with white (and black) flowers of various sizes.  It's beautiful on it's own.  But I wanted to add a bit of color.  So I grabbed the above gelatos and painted some of them with a water brush!  I think you can see it in this photo (along with the texture created with the gesso under the color on the white card stock).

I was going for the look that Amy Tangerine has in some of her watercolor inspired patterned papers, so I didn't really "stay in the lines" while I was painting, I got a bit messy with it.

While that was drying, I grabbed another piece of white card stock and added some color with more gelatos and a water brush.  I used this piece of paper to cut out (freehand) the letters for the word "COLOR".

Finally I used a few more scraps of that same paper and made the triangles.  Of course I had to add some stitching and pop dots.  ;-)

If you'd like to play along with us over at the Paper Issues blog, click here for details.

If you are interested in gelatos, Heidi Swapp's September Skies, a water brush, or anything else that suits your fancy, check out the Paper Issues Store.  Don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' to receive 20% off your order!

Did you see the Cut It Out Saturday link party????  It's a new feature at Paper Issues -- and Jennifer Chapin created an awesome FREE cut file!  AND if you participate and win -- you could snag the November Swag Bag!   I hope to be back soon with a layout to share that I made with this file, it's a great one!

See you again soon!

..:: and…she's off : woodn't you know it ::..

September was a big month for B.  She learned to ride her bike! I decided to document the occasion using a little Heidi Swapp -- September Skies --  available in the Paper Issues store here.

Don't you just love that title font??  It's a cut by Ashley Horton, available in The Cut Shoppe.

 

I used these awesome wood veneers from Pinkfresh Studio (who just happens to be sponsoring the Current Issue @ Paper Issues) as kind of an anchor for my journaling.  There were several stages of learning to ride her bike, so I wrote a little about each stage.
 

These Pinkfresh Studios wood veneers were perfect paired with the September Skies collection.

I'm linking this up with Paper Issue's Current Issue ::  woodn't you know it.  You still have another week to join the linky party!  Don't forget to link back to Paper Issues to be eligible for some goodies from Pinkfresh Studios.

And don't forget!  If you use the code 'orangegearle', you'll get 20% off your order!

..:: new issue @ paper issues ::..

There is a new issue up at Paper Issues and it's all about one of my favorite things -- FALL.

I took this photo with my iPhone on the way to work one morning.  The colors were lovely and there was a bit of mist, and I couldn't resist trying to capture it.  It was much more beautiful than the photo could capture, but I still love the photo, and thought it was perfect for this issue.  No fall leaves, but man does it look like fall in Iowa!

The issue is officially called "Woodn't You Know, it's Fall.  Some suggestions are to use wood veneer, fall papers, woodgrain paper, etc.  I used fall colors (which are pretty much my favorite), and I thought this bit of flair was perfect for the theme, and the whole idea of this layout.  Also, my alphas are kinda woodgrain-y if you look closely below!

This issue is sponsored by Pinkfresh Studio.  And Oh. Em. Gee, I totally love these new Wood Drop Chevron stickers!  They are perfection, if you ask me! They also completely fit the 'wood' part of the theme, of course!

I always have a difficult time deciding how to adhere those plastic letters!  I love them, but what it the world do you do to make them stick, without being able to see the adhesive??  Well, this time, I think I totally figured it out.  I put them where I wanted them and used a bit of washi tape across the top of the letters.  Then I sewed one line with the sewing machine, took off the washi (carefully) and sewed the second line.  It was easy and totally worked.

Check out the latest issue at Paper Issues and link up!!  Don't forget to link back to PI to be eligible for the awesome prize from Pinkfresh Studio!  And while you are at the PI blog, click on over to the store ( you probably need something). Don't forget to use the code 'orangegearle' for 20% off your order!

See you again soon!

:: and…..GO! ::

Hi friends!  I'm up on the Paper Issues Blog today with a new layout spotlighting one of my favorite things -- the Swag Bag!  Have you subscribed yet?

The journaling (around the page in white) reads: "go, beatrice, go. you are always on the go and often in costume. your energy is endless and your imagination runs wild."

A bunch of golden deliciousness in the August Swag Bag!  I paired it with a bit of yumminess from the September Swag Bag and some Glitter Alphas from the Shimelle collection.

It's kinda funny.  I keep thinking I'm going to use the Swag Bag for Project Life, (which would be AWESOME), but as soon as I see it all, a layout comes to mind!  I love layering all of the cards, and fun papers!

I sewed a bunch of the stars included in the swag bag together -- gold and maps (cuz she's going places, yo)! 

I have been receiving lots of goodies in the mail from Paper Issues lately.  You can too! If you'd like to receive a 20% discount, use my code (orangegearle)!  :-)

I'm also linking up this layout with our current issue -- You're Sew Cute, You Keep Me In Stitches!