Spring Around Here

I had a layout up on the Fancy Pants blog a few days ago, and wanted to share it with you here too.  My task was to create a "Spring" themed layout.  For many Spring means sights of tulips, and daffodils, and budding trees, with signs of new life emerging all around.  Here in the middle of Canada, however, Spring looks more like Winter than it does like the beginning of Summer, and in our home it looks even more different.

I live with 3 competitive dancers. Spring around here brings signs of super full schedules, innumerable dance classes and practices, cheque writing, costume fittings, 3 big Dance Competitions, a few hundred photos, and a million little things in between.  

I decided that it was time to create a bit of a keepsake to remember the craziness with which Spring begins for our family, so I grabbed, just a handful of photos from the 3 month experience, and the newly released Office Suite collection and set to work.

I knew I wanted a large title on my layout and these cardstock letters from the Office Suite collection were perfect.  To add a little more dimension to them I added some hand stitching with embroidery floss.

When I have a longer story to tell, I love to do it by running vellum through my typewriter, and laying it over a co-ordinating piece of patterned paper.

As beautiful as projects of traditional Spring are, with all their pretty colours and whispers of Summer on the horizon, I know I can't be the only one living in a climate where Spring is more of a thing that seems to arrive overnight and be gone 2 weeks later.  I hope you have been inspired to create something beautiful to document what Spring looks like in your corner of the world.

Thanks for popping in today friends!

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Date Night Mini Album

It has been a while since I created a mini, and this one was so fun, it made me wonder why I don't make them more often.  I used several elements from the American Crafts DIY2 collection.

I really wanted to create a project that would incorporate all the "paper" elements in the collection into one.
The hubs and I love to watch our Winnipeg Jets play, and are fortunate enough to have tickets to see them play live several times throughout the season.  With the kids heavy Dance schedules taking up so much of our time, we really value these few date nights throughout the winter to do something just the two of us.

At a recent game.  I had snapped a few photos and thought they would make a cute little mini album.  I often think of a mini as having to be to commemorate some special occasion or event, when really it's simply a collection of photos possessing the same theme.

In my mini I've used the 12x12 burlap, the dictionary paper, the black dot burlap, the kraft tags with gold glitter, the gold foil dots on black cardstock, and a few other co-ordinating American Crafts products.  You can get your hands on the DIY2 collection in the Paper Issues shop.  Use my code and save yourself 20% off everything in your shopping cart.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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The Perfect Day

Hello friends, in case you missed it I wanted to share with you my latest post for Pink Paislee.  The soon to be shipped Citrus Bliss collection was a fun match for a photo I managed to get of just the hubs and I at Seaworld (photo credit to the teenager in our home).

When our family enjoyed it's most recent vacation to Orlando, I was determined to get a photo of the hubs and myself.  If you are anything like me you have thousands of photos of your kids, your pets, landscapes, random everyday images, and only a handful of you with your significant other.  I noticed this fact recently and am determined to change it.

I believe that when we're old and grey, looking back over our life together will be even more enjoyable if we are able to look back and laugh at photos of ourselves together, taking in how much will have changed or remembering what may have been going on in life during that chapter in our lives.
 

The photo really doesn't do them justice, but the flamingos at Seaworld in Orlando were such a vivid orange/pink I just had to get a photo in front of them, thankfully the hubs obliged my request.

When I saw this gorgeous flamingo transparency in the Citrus Bliss collection, I just knew I'd have to scrap 'flamingos-on-flamingos'.  You'll notice that I layered the transparency onto the pixelated look ombré patterned paper, giving it a little more depth, and support knowing that I would be layering and stitching onto the transparency.
 
I believe that journaling is an important part in my memory keeping.  That said, I don't always manage to create a design that allows for it to be exposed.  The solution: shipping tags in all sizes.  If you don't own shipping tags, no problem, as even just a scrap of cardstock will serve the purpose.  Here I have used a tiny glassine bag to hold my tag, but you can achieve the same effect by strategically placing your adhesive behind your photo, creating a pocket to hold your journaling.

 

I love that the chipboard flamingo from the sticker pack is the exact same size as the one printed on the Insta Kit card from the same collection, perfect for layering.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the Insta Kits from both the Citrus Bliss and Atlas collection are going to be BIG this summer. So easy to put together a mini album with these little cards and frames.

 

Ever finish a layout and feel like it's missing just a little something?  The multitude of pieces in the ephemera packs help to solve that problem in a pinch.  Choose a few coordinating pieces, add a little 3D adhesive to the bottom piece, and layer the second piece directly atop.  Create a cluster by adding some enamel dots, mist drops, or paint, and a veneer piece or two in the corner of your layout and voilà, layout complete.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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Our Summer Thing

The March Kit from Paper Camellia was full of the fabulous new I AM collection by Simple Stories.

I just love the colours and the textures of the chipboard elements. The journaling in the layout pretty much says it all.  I love musicals, and we are lucky enough here to have a fantastic amphitheatre that draws world wide talent to the city every summer to perform 2 different musicals over July and August.  I am thrilled that my girls (and even the hubs for the most part) love the singing and dancing as much as I do.  We try hard to make it to at least one show of the summer.  It's a little on the pricy side but so worth the money for a musical filled family night in Winnipeg.

I don't know about you, but I am still a sucker for banners, and this chipboard banner is no exception.  To prevent the adhesive from wanting to lift I added just a little machine stitching to the white portions of the pennants.

It was way to perfect a match to not add this gold doily from my stash to the chipboard cluster at the top of the page. And I kind of wish I had a lifetime supply of those perfect gold sparkly Heidi Swapp alphabets.  That way I could hoard some and use the rest.  I know you know what I'm talking about.

The March Add On Kits may be sold out, but there are still a few March Main Kits available in the store, you can get your hands on one right here.

This layout was based on the March Sketch.

Did you know that you can play along for a chance at a $10 gift certificate to the Paper Camellia store?  Link up your take on this sketch in this blog post.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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Bags & Tags *Pink Paislee*

Popping in to share my very first project over on the Pink Paislee blog this week.  I was so excited, and equally as nervous to share these.  I am still pinching myself that I am really on the team of my dreams.  So happy to be sharing the experience with all of you!

Tags, ephemera and layers, a perfect combination for embellishing any project.  You will often find each of these elements on my layouts, and pocket pages.  Today I want to take them off the page, and show you how easy it is to create gorgeous little tags for use as gift bag accents.

I love the mix of chucky and flat combined together. Pairing up that cute little polka dot frame, with a few strips from the 6x6 paper pad, and a few pieces of ephemera from the Bella Rouge collection is a quick and easy way to create a little beauty out of a plain old shipping tag.

Finish it off with a fabric flower and a few enamel dots, and you've got a sweet tag ready for that next unexpected gift.

Sometimes chunky looks even better with more chunky.  In this case, the sequin butterfly adds just the right amount of softness to the bulky layers of the fun and colourful chipboard pieces.

And here they are all prepped and ready for the next gift I have to give away.  It's like 2 gifts in one really, and who wouldn't be happy with that?

Thanks for popping by today friends!

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The Many Faces of Belle

The Paper Camellia March Kit is full of the beautiful I Am collection by Simple stories, complemented by some of the brand new Jen Hadfield accests.  For my first layout of the month, I chose to shine the spotlight on this funny kid.

I loved all her whacky faces while capturing her beauty the last time she let me take photos of her.

I layered a few of the chipboard pieces here to create some dimension and balance out the layout somewhat.

Once again I created a design that didn't allow for me to journal anywhere.  Hence the journaling down the side.  It actually worked out nicely, as I was going to put a thin piece  of cardstock there anyhow.  The ink worked nicely as a substitution.

And there you have it.  The March kits, and my girl, with her multitude of faces.  If you have yet to get your hands on one of the March kits, both the main and the Add on are still available right here in the Paper Camellia store.

Thank you for stopping by today friends! Pin It

The Beard

My husband has never been able to grow a full beard.  Ever.  This year, much to his surprise he was actually able to start a pretty decent one, there were still some bald spots but it was filling in nicely enough for him to want to give it a real effort.

Me, I am not a beard girl.  I don't love the scratchy-ness of it.  And the fact that it's not even a real beard, makes it somewhat pathetic, in my opinion.  Needless to say he couldn't go more than 4 weeks, it just kind of stopped growing, much to my delight.

This scruffy looking face is now my clean shaven hubs once again.  It's a win-win situation really.

I love the look of these We R Memory Keepers cork embellishments on the Hall Pass wood grain paper by Webster's Pages.

Hop over here to the Paper Issues store and have a look at all the coordinating elements, of the Websters Pages Hall Pass, and Beautiful Chic collections.  The We R Memory keepers goodies can be found right here, many of the pieces work so nicely with one another.  

There are a TON of new goodies in the Paper Issues store, including Simple Stories I Am and Say Cheese II, Heidi Swapp Memory planners goodies, and Lawn Fawn dies.  

Feel like a little retail therapy?  Use my code at checkout and save 20% off your entire purchase.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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Breaking News

I have been keeping a secret....

I have been asked the joing the Fancy Pants Designs team.  I cannot believe my good fortune to have been invited to 2 of my most favourite teams.  Would you believe I got one invite the day after receiving the other?  I will be joining them in showcasing their gorgeous and fun to work with products over the next year.

I was able to jump in right away as we teamed up with Pagemaps for their March release.  I grabbed the newly released Flutter collection, and a few photos from our recent trip to Disney and set to work on the sketch Becky sent me to use.

Although we do not watch the Simpsons in our home the girls of course recognized Wiggum, and wanted a quick pic with him.  I just love the fun summer colours of Disney World, they go perfectly with this collection.

So many great elements in the ephemera packages.  Great value for your dollar with plenty of die cuts, including gold foil.

Gotta love a collection that includes flair buttons!  If you hop over to the Pagemaps blog you can enter to win this entire collection.

Here is the Pagemaps sketch I worked with.

I don't often work with sketches, but when I do, I am always happy with the way they make my work look new, and different, but yet still me.

You should keep you eye on the Paper Issues store for Flutter and Office Suite, the 2 new collections by Fancy Pants designs.  I know they'll be available in the shop soon, possibly even by the time this post goes live.  Don't forget to use my code:SHERRI to shop, and save yourself 20% off your order.

Thanks a bunch for stopping by today friends!

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