Thanksgiving

I've been working on finishing up my 2016 layouts and finished this one for Thanksgiving. This was the first year Joe and I hosted the dinner at our house. I think that's deserving of its own page.

I used a sketch from my Simple Scrapper membership and this page came together really quickly. It was an 8.5 x 11 page but I just kind of added extra to the sides to make it 12x12.

I dug through some old embellishments and used paper from Simple Stories Hello Fall collection. I bought a mini kit of it at the Scrapbook Expo.

Fall paper is my favorite!

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October and November Project Life 2016

October was a fun month and I made it fit into a 2 page spread.

Left side: Mom and I made cards for the Caring Heart Card Drive, a coworker gave me the most hilarious card, we celebrated another coworkers birthday

Right side: I did early voting (for life, now!!!), Joe replaced the burners and fixed our stove, and we went to Six Flags over Georgia for Halloween.

November was just one full size page and then an insert. I made 2 12x12 layouts for November (Cubs Win! and a Thanksgiving one I will share soon).

Hubby and I took a weekend trip to Chattanooga so I could go see Rob Bell. A friend of mine used to live there and gave us AMAZING restaurant recommendations.

One of my good friends from high school passed away unexpectedly. This is the first real friend I have ever lost. His death brought a lot of our high school friends back together to visit and reminisce. I created a private Facebook album so that all of us could view and upload photos. It sucks not having digital pics of those years. This tribute is just short and sweet and not fancy (just like Sean would have liked it).

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Look Up

Elle's Studio gave away some free printables for the solar eclipse and they're so cute! I used some paper I've been hoarding for a while - a piece from the Moonstruck collection and and one from Webster's Pages. I also used the Thickers arc guide to perfectly place my title.

I've been hanging on to this sun flair from Feed Your Craft and it was the perfect touch for this layout. I'm not sure if it's available anymore, but there's lots of other cute stuff in Elise's shop.

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100 Days Project Days 11-20

I'm back with 10 more days of the 100 Days Project.

Day 11: I was camping and had pretty limited supplies. I just threw a few things in a box and didn't think about what I was going to do with them. I used the Blah Blah Blah stamp from HoneyBee stamps and created this pattern. I will either put this on a card and send it to someone that's going through a rough time or is sick... or I will cut it down and put it into Project Life.

Day 12: I used this stamp I got from the Scrapbook Expo to create this bright and fun floral background. This will probably end up as a card.

Day 13: I made a card for a friend and used the technique from Day 11.

Day 14: I tried some of the wooden block stamps I bought at Michael's earlier this year. I was super disappointed in how unclear the stamped images were... the leaf one is from Studio Calico and it does work well though.

Day 15: I used a technique we learned at the Scrapbook Expo to make these two backgrounds for cards.

Day 16: I used a turnabout stamp from Concord and 9th and LOVE how it turned out!

Day 17: I went through my (12!!) roller stamps and stamped them onto cards and numbered the card and the stamp. I don't use these stamps as often as I used to, but I think by organizing them this way, I'll remember to grab them!

Day 18: I didn't use the exact same colors, but I used distress inks on the left photo, and distress oxides on the right. The oxides are so creamy and they mix really well. I spritzed water on them and let them dry. These may end up as card backgrounds.

Days 19 & 20: I tried to use a triangle turnabout stamp. I need a lot of practice, as this one's really tough to line up. Although i was frustrated with how it went, I kind of like these now...

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June and July Book Report

Reading has slowed a little and I'm going to have to get serious if I'm going to reach my goal. I'm on Book 24 for the year (which means I'm about 4 behind since I set my goal for 48 this year). There's still time to make it happen and I have some Audible books to listen to as well.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan - This is an awesome WWII book based on actual events. So good!

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum - I didn't realize this was YA until I started the book, but it was cute. It's about a new girl at school and someone is trying to help her. They communicate via text for most of it.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - This book was great, but seemed long. I read on a Kindle and don't have an idea of how long books are.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - Great read. I loved another book of hers (We Never Asked for Wings)

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Bachman - I really wasn't sure if I was going to like this book - but I ended up LOVING it!! I liked it so much that I followed up with another book by the same author:

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman - This was a sweet story and a fantasy at the same time. So good! I have a couple of his other books on request on Overdrive.

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New Car layout

One of the last layouts I made for 2016 was about my new car. I bought a BMW X3 in September and I love it. It's the car I really wanted (but didn't want to pay for) when I graduated pharmacy school. Woohoo!

I used the Paper Issues July "Scrap Soup" challenge for this layout... I had to include a 6" square, alphabet letters, 6 embellishments, patterned paper background, and something I had fussy cut. I almost bailed on this because I have fussy cutting... but then I found this key ring in the background of a page from Pink Paislee Oh My Heart. It was perfect!

I used just 6 stickers for embellishing and this page came together quickly. I used a Simple Scrapper sketch again. So easy!

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Project Life September and Universal Orlando 2016

September ended up being several pages since we also took a big trip that month.

Left side: a little snack at Krispy Kreme, a Poses & Pottery event, and more healthy stuff.

Front and back of insert: our new bathtub, books, and relaxing.

Right side: Rhythm & Roots, surgeries, and a weekend trip to Gatlinburg.

We went to Universal Orlando for Joe's birthday and had a blast.

front and back of insert:

Right page:

I LOVE these Harry Potter stamps from Kelly Purkey!!

They are perfection!

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Disney Magic

The Paper Issues Facebook group had a "Scrap n Chat" event a couple weeks ago. We chatted, played Bingo, and had a scavenger hunt challenge. We had to use floral paper, 3 stickers, wood veneer, stars, a frame, polka dot paper, a sun, and a camera. I'm finding that I love to do these kinds of challenges... it makes me think outside the box and use products I wouldn't normally think of to use.

This was one of those magical moments at Disney - we got in early because of a backstage tour we were doing and a cast member offered us a ride on a vintage car. He took us up to Cinderella Castle and we took pictures and walked back down Main Street. We have never seen the park so empty so it was a great time for pictures!

I love stickers and used more than 3... and this camera flair fit the criteria for the challenge.

I reached into the vault and found some floral SoHo Garden paper that blended nicely with my Disney paper.

The sun was the only thing about this challenge that REALLY threw me off. I couldn't think of a single sun embellishment or anything that I had... but then I found this 3x4 cut apart card in my Disney stash and it was perfect!

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100 Days Project: Days 1-10

I mentioned that I was participating in the Scrap Gals 100 Days Project and I have days 1-10 to show you now. I love how flexible this project is, and that I can spend a lot of time when I'm able to, and do quick things when I'm short on time. I'm posting most (maybe all) things on my Instagram and tagging them #EmilyConquersStampsAndInks

Day 1: I used these cute cactus stamps with Memento Dew Drops ink pads.

Day 2: I used some Ali Edwards stamps to make these simple embellishments for Project Life and other layouts. I used Stazon black ink and then cut them out. I didn't have enough ink on the top 2 stamps the first time, so I reinked and did them a second time. 

Day 3: This was Day 1 of Refresh, part of my Simple Scrapper membership. We were challenged to make a card for a loved one in 20 minutes with just the stuff on our desk. I had this colorful background leftover from a class Mom and I took at the Scrapbook Expo... so I grabbed some twin, a tag I've been saving for a long time, a polka dot embellishment a stamp, and 3 enamel dots. Quick and easy and under 20 minutes! 

Day 4: I stamped on a layout (I'll show it to you soon)

Day 5: I followed a Jennifer McGuire video to create a two color stamped background.

Day 6: I used distress oxide inks to create these two cards. They're actually watercolor cards from Michael's Recollection brand, but I figured distress inks would work too. They did!

This one got a little muddy - I'll keep practicing the rainbow color blending.

Day 7: I put distress inks on a craft mat, sprayed them with water, heat set it with my embossing gun, and then put a light coat of a distress ink on top. I spritzed that with water and blotted it with a paper towel.

 Day 8: I worked on creating a background from a stamp set.

Day 9: I got this "three way roses" stamp at the Scrapbook Expo as part of a class. I tried out a few combinations and hope to use these soon (probably with distress inks?)

Day 10: I don't use rubber stamps very often, so I guess I pressed too hard... someone suggested fussy cutting them out and using them as embellishments though. So smart!

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