:: mad hatter ::

It's Pinspire Me Monday on the Paper Issues blog and I love this challenge! Here's my take:

This photo shows off my daughters crazy personality. She's reading her assigned reading (which isn't always her favorite thing). She spiced it up a bit on this night -- she came out with two hats on, sunglasses, and a cape! Love these moments captured. 

Here is the Pinspiration that Leah came up with to inspire us this month.

Don't you love it!  I saw all that black and white with pops of aqua and red, and then boom!

Here are a couple of close ups:



I started with papers from Pink Paislee's Memorandum collection, added in some Crate Paper's After Dark.  Of course I used some watered down gelato in the back ground. :-)

These days a layout isn't complete without at least one (or two, or three) flair buttons from {a flair for buttons}.

Click here for a free cut file.

..:: november : what's in my planner ::..

hello november.

What's in my planner: I love using stickers and embellishments from collections that I have purchased for scrapbooking. It just works for me. I purchase many collections (my motto is 'buy all the things') and I always have stuff left over.  The 6x6 pads are perfect because the patterns are smaller than the 12x12 papers, but I also love to use the branding strips from the larger papers, the embellishments (like die cuts or vellum pieces), and the stickers (even the alphas)!  This month I used items mostly from Simple Stories Pumpkin Spice collection. I added some washi tape from my stash and I used water color pencils to highlight a few items through the month.

Grab this collection, or anything else you may need (buy all the things), from the Paper Issues store and use the code 'orangegearle' at checkout for 20% off your purchase!

:: just spokin' ::

I'm up on the Paper Issues Blog with a product spotlight!

When I took this photo of my daughter, I knew the After Dark collection from Crate Paper would be the perfect papers to help tell this story.

I started by adding some watered down, orange, gelatos to add a splash of color to the background paper.  Just for fun I added some peach Heidi Swapp Color Shine.

I loved the bats from the ephemera pack, so I designed a cut file of bats to add as my next layer.

I backed some of the bats with patterned paper from the 6x6 paper pad, and others I left open to let the orange shine through.  I also used the 6x6 paper pad and a few pieces from the ephemera pack to create layers behind my photo.

I stitched everything down with black thread, including the little strips of paper at the top and bottom of the layout.

I wanted to tell the story and I needed a place to put it that wouldn’t take away from the design of the layout, so I hid it behind the photo in a vellum envelope that I cut with my Silhouette Cameo. I added a couple of other tags to the envelope, just because! Pop dots pop that photo right off the page to help keep the focus on the photo, even with all the other stuff going on around it. I also think it adds a bit more texture.

To finish this one off, I grabbed some cards, tags, and vellum shapes, also from the After Dark collection.  I added a couple of flair pieces from {a flair for buttons} and placed the title (and subtitle).

Don't forget to stop by the Paper Issues Store and grab some awesome from the store!  While you're at it, use the code 'orangegearle' and get 20% off your order!

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a fun, safe, and spooky Halloween!