How to choose scrapbook papers

Thought I'd show you something a little different today... I've been using my phone while I scrapbook (no surprise to anyone that knows me!) and hope this could be helpful to someone. Sometimes I have a difficult time deciding which paper to use... so I just take pictures of my options! Then I can quickly scroll back and forth between options to see which one I like the best.

I recently made a Halloween scrapbook layout and mixed and matched papers from different collections to complete it. I gathered some embellishments and I wanted to use and then picked out 3 12x12 papers that I liked. I took pictures of all 3 and compared them before deciding which one to use.

Once I choose the background paper, I then took pictures of different options of 6x6 papers I wanted to put behind the photo.

I also used this technique when I made this layout about Harley. It took me a minute to decide exactly which papers to layer and where to place the vertical strips. I moved them around and took pictures until I found my best combination. I also cut out a couple of die cut titles for that page and took pics of those before deciding which one to use.

How do you decide which colors or papers to use?

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Project Life Weeks 36 & 37

I combined weeks 36 & 37 into one layout and went back to my Coral kit to make a simple layout. I really love how it looks. I have to remind myself how striking pages can look when you just use a few words, photos, and core kit cards. I added a little bit of embellishment too, of course!

Full spread:

Left side: Project Runway recording fail, Magic Bands arrived, a beautiful ray of sunshine through the rain clouds, and a long day of errands.

I like mixing bits and pieces to accent cards.

Right side: Grocery shopping before camping, lunch at Dan'l Boone Inn, and Joe's birthday celebrations.

Are you keeping it simple with your Project Life pages?

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Pirate Halloween - I Treasure You

I have a secret. I have a slight obsession with Halloween scrapbooking paper. It's ironic, because I've never actually MADE a Halloween page until now. I've just been collecting for... a while. Then, I bought some vellum die cuts from the Maggie Holmes "Open Book" collection and was totally inspired by a piece that said "I treasure you". Perfect title for my page!!

This photo is from the first Halloween that Joe and I were together. He dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow and I was his pirate wench. I had fun clustering lots of embellishments on one side of the photo.

Basic Grey's "Persimmon" line is one of my favorite fall lines (ever!) but I used up all my 12x12 papers making my fall wreath last year. I used 2 papers from the 6x6 pad and some embellishments from the collection. My background paper is from American Craft's Lucky Charm and the plaid 8x8 is from October Afternoon's Witch Hazel.

I used another Starting Point from Shimelle to help decide how to lay out my page. I prefer to use a sketch or a starting point to get me started, then spend my time mixing and matching paper and embellishments to complete the layout.

I used pop dots on the back of this stamped vellum banner to add more dimension to the page.

This gold polka dot tag and "my heart" tab is from Paislee Press's Solstice line. Gorgeous!

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Project Life Week 35

So week 35 has been a bit difficult to do. This was the week we lost our 15-year-old pup, Harley. I can't really decide how I want to document it. Obviously it's a HUGE event. For now, I settled on a few cards on the left side. I think I will add an insert later.

Full spread:

Left side: Just a few words about Harley.

I used gold Color Shine on this black and white card to give it a bit of color.

Right side: Being silly with Dad at Hobby Lobby, signs of fall, and a friend's wedding.

I used a 4x6 bifold card to tell the story of hanging out with my parents later in the week.

How have you documented the loss of a favorite pet?

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Yoga Project Life cards

Another Project Life card swap I joined this month was titled "zen". You could do anything related to yoga, meditation, zen, etc. I ended up making a 4x6 and a 3x4 for each person, because I couldn't decide which one I liked better!! I used washi tape, embossing, and stamping to create these cards.

I love the texture I got from using this Moroccan inspired Sizzix embossing folder. The embossed area was a little smaller than 4x6, so I used washi tape on the edges to make it full size.

How cute is this stamp from Studio Calico? I got it last year during their Mystery Kit sale.

Ive had this orange/purple paper FOREVER and love how it looks embossed.

Look at that texture! <3

These are the washi tapes I used. 

Namaste!

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Disney World vacation

I thought I'd share some stories and pictures from our recent trip to Disney. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back.

First of all, how cute is this little notebook?? It had prompts and space to document 5 trips. It's definitely geared towards kids, but I seriously contemplated buying it. Too cute!

We stayed at the Coronado Springs resort. We actually got a free upgrade to a Junior Suite. We enjoyed having extra space to spread out! The Magic Kingdom was decorated for fall. I can't imagine how many feet of garland they used to decorate!

We were so lucky - we got a last minute (like, the day before we left!) reservation to Be Our Guest for our first dinner at Disney. It was pretty fancy and very French. We liked our food and I had The Grey Stuff for dessert (it was delicious!)

We always take silly pictures while wearing 3D glasses. These glasses are from Star Tours at Hollywood Studios. I brought my Minnie ears I got at Christmas a couple years ago - and also bought some purple ears with a green bow (sequined just like these classic Minnie ears).

We had an amazing time on Friday. We took a behind-the-scenes tour at the Magic Kingdom called "Keys to the Kingdom". It was about 5 hours long and we learned about why Disney does things they way they do, and how every little thing has a lot of thought behind it. We got to go in before the Magic Kingdom opened. A cast member asked if we wanted to ride up to Cinderella Castle and back since we had a few minutes to kill. Obviously we said yes! So fun!

We got to take a picture of an (almost) empty Main Street!

We ate at Tusker House restaurant in Animal Kingdom (so good!) and it's a character buffet. We just had to take a selfie with Donald. Apparently he calls it a "Duckie".

Asia is my favorite place in Animal Kingdom. This bus is actually an ice cream stand. The prayer flags and bridge are in the tiger enclosure. So cool!

We went during the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. There's tons of extra booths set up with food and beverages. We knew we couldn't hit them all, so we decided to go to an event called Party for the Senses. There were maybe 10 stations and each had tapas style entrees, desserts, and drinks to form a small meal.  Cirque du Soleil performed during the event. These were some chocolates we got. They were so pretty, I almost didn't want to eat them!

We got to eat at the Sci Fi Diner. You sit in cars and watch vintage commercials and cartoons while you eat. I got a great salad and a milkshake. Joe got a burger.

I had to document my Magic Band (the orange one), my FitBit (the blue one), ponytail holder, and Disney inspired Jamberry nails.

Speaking of my FitBit, I had set a goal to reach 30,000 steps in a single day while we were gone. I didn't achieve it, but got pretty close!! On a busy day at work, I walk 7-8K (sometimes 10K), so this is a huge deal!

And to end it all, here's a quote from Walt. I found it inspirational and applicable to crafting. We could achieve so much if we quit talking and got to work!

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MAMBI Wall Art

Have you seen the large clear stickers from Me and My Big Ideas? I've seen them at Michael's and at Hobby Lobby. There are several different categories, like Home and Life and Love. I just had to pick up a couple of them and create some wall art for my home!

 The "Hello" is a beautiful shiny gold, but looks a little green here with the light.

I got some cheap canvases and simply put these stickers right on top. They've held up really well (except for one!) I just used some spray adhesive on the back of that sticker and now it stays just fine.

Have you made a project with these stickers yet? I love them!

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Project Life Card Swap - Fall cards

I decided to participate in 3 Project Life card swaps for October. I'll make 8 cards for each group and get 8 back. Fun stuff! This first group is called "Get Cozy for Fall". Fall is my favorite season so I need some fall cards! I was inspired to use a paper pad I got last year at Michael's, a little coffee cup stamp from Freckled Fawn, and a stamp from Ali Edwards' new Story Stamp.

I used a paper punch to stamp out the stamped coffee cup. Then I created an offset image on my Silhouette Cameo and cut out the brown circles. I used 2 strips of washi across the card (just match up the pattern for a seamless look). I LOVE the "Around Here" stamp. Simple and cute card!

I actually started by making this card first but didn't have enough paper to make 8 cards. Guess I'll just have to keep it for myself :) I sprayed the whole card with Heidi Swapp Color Shine. It caused the paper to buckle a little bit, but I think it will flatten out just fine in a pocket page.

Happy fall!!

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Project Life Weeks 33 & 34

I combined weeks 33 & 34 into one Project Life spread. I used Studio Calico, a WRMK set called "Simply Happy" from Target, MAMBI cards, and Happy kit cards. I think the colors ended up looking sweet and dreamy. Full spread:

Left side: our current balance on Walmart's Savings Catcher and Joe's Disney countdown.

I layered a couple of embellishments to make this little tag.

Right side: the Appalachian Fair and my brother's weekend trip home.

This ticket was fluorescent green. I colored over it with an orange marker to tone it down and make it blend in a little better.

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