:: hello brycen ::

Wow!  I have been so busy doing fun stuff!  Love that problem! Let's get to it! The most pressing and exciting news....

On October 3rd, my beautiful daughter had a beautiful son.

He is so loved.

I am loving the October kit from Scrapbook Circle. As usual, everything fits together beautifully, but you can also get very different looks from one kit! I added some kraft cardstock, but other than that, this layout came from that kit.  I went big and dramatic with the photo, but wanted the rest to be fairly subdued. Come back tomorrow and you will see a completely different look from the same kit!

Also, there are a couple of challenges up at the Scrapbook Circle blog! One is all about mixing up the alphas (this layout is inspired by that challenge). You have until October 23rd to link up!  The other is a sketch challenge.  I have a couple of ideas for that one, too!

:: news, other funness and a layout ::

As promised I'm back with some news...and other funness.  I know, funness isn't a word.  It autocorrects every time I type it. Annoying.  :-) On with it...

First, the news:  I am going to be a grandmother again! My oldest daughter, H., is going to have a baby in early October! I have known pretty much since she has (Feb. 1st -- which is  really long time (for me) to keep a secret)! She has now had an ultrasound, and all is well, so I've been informed that it is now "Facebook Official", which means, I can also announce it here!  I am so excited for our whole family. Baby's are good, and we needs some good!

Other funness #1: I finally took the plunge and joined the Scrap Happy community! It has 'the happiest scrapbookers on the web' (so I've heard)! I've participated in a few events that Lain Ehmann has hosted/organized/etc. and that is what lead me to Scrap Happy.  If you haven't heard about it, you should check it out here. I've only just begun to participate, but so far it's rather enjoyable.  :-)

Goal update: (I would also say this is more funness, but then autocorrect steps in...) I talked about my goals a bunch here and here.  March is nearly finished and I haven't updated my February goals! The Pinterest challenge for February was met by making some really awful cookies!  LOL  I made some good ones, too, but the worst where these three ingredient peanut butter cookies (they were still eaten, so...). Major FAIL. Oh well, I won't make them again, instead I will make these (more than three ingredients, but all the fat, sugar, and yumminess required for good cookies). I also met my photoshop/photography goal...more on that in another post!

A layout: I find that since I have been purchasing kits, I usually work out of a kit for the most part...leaving all the lovelies that I have in my stash behind. This is especially true when it comes to patterned papers! I've been stalking CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration for probably over a year, but until this year I've never actually submitted anything! I know, right? I really have no idea why. In fact, when I submitted a layout for the first time, I was shocked that I didn't have anything in my gallery there (because I hadn't submitted anything, and I didn't even realize it)! I think I've always had so many other things going on, that even when I see an awesome case, by the time I get to it, I know I won't get done in time to submit, so I don't do it. Silly. I love recipe-type challenges! Why haven't I done them more? Ok, ok...getting to my point. The point is, I've submitted a few now, (this week's is on my desk waiting to be finished), and I find that I have to venture out of the kits, and into my stash more often, which is nice. I will be doing this much more often.  Here is challenge for last week (it came with a sketch):

As soon as I saw the sketch I knew that I wanted to use these photos that my One True Love took at B.'s first park visit of 2013.

I apologize, the red looks orange in this photo, but really, I did match the colors!  ;-) I painted, I embossed on vellum, I gesso-ed,  I used a mask with alcohol inks, I used washi over patterned paper before cutting circles, whew...there is a lot going on here.  Truth be told, this isn't one of my favorites. I almost didn't share it. But it isn't horrible, just missing something, or something. It's done, it's recorded and I've moved on.  ;-) AND I used up some stuff from my stash!

Tomorrow is Friday...you know what that means...another reveal at Scrap Your Story!  Here's my sneaky sneak...

See you back here tomorrow for the reveal!

~ baby time ~

No, I'm not pregnant!  But, I've never scrapped B's baby photos (I know, right?)!  When I saw this Ashley Horton sketch for the November Sketch It Out Challenge at Club CK, I knew I wanted to use it.  Then I saw the November FITkit over at ScrapFIT and rushed over to Paper Issues to grab one up.  I've never purchased a kit there before, but the day the November "Gather" kit (designed by Audrey Yeager) arrived in the mail I was instantly inspired to scrap a few layouts.  I think there are still kits available at the link above if you are interested.  The layout that I've completed and have to share with you today is a two pager, with page one inspired by the sketch.  Here's page one:

When I saw the scallops on the Studio Calico paper I fell in love (and I was super excited a few days later when my Scrapbook Circle kit arrived and there's one in there, too)!  In fact, I really like all of the Studio Calico Yearbook collection. Anyway, here is page two:

And the pages go together like this:

Here are a few close-ups:

I decided on "Baby Time" for my title and then went with it and added some times to the journal strips and wrote times directly on some of the photos.  I always have such a difficult time with titles!  Why is that??

I like the colors and the mix of washi in this layout.  I made several mistakes while adhering the papers, but I think I was able to cover most of them up!

One of my favorite solutions that I came up with was the title letters.  I wanted something in that green color, but I didn't have any paper that color.  So, I stuck some of the washi on white card stock and put that through my Cricut!  Woot!  Go me!  ;-)

I should have another layout to share with you in a couple of days AND my December Daily is just beginning to take shape!