baby book

I'm just popping in to share some pictures of a recent baby book I made. Enjoy! :)

 Here's the cover. I used the SNAP binder and it worked perfectly.  I just added some gold and cream twine and was done.

  The binders come with some patterned paper (like the polka dot below) and I used Elise Blaha Cripe's Project Life patterned paper to supplement.  For the first page, I sewed on a small sheet with the birth information.  

The book is divided into three sections: letters, pictures, and keepsakes.  

pocketed page protectors for photos with journaling cards:

  In the keepsakes section, there is a pocket for ultrasound pictures, birth announcement, first birthday, and special cards.

This book was super fun to make - simple, sweet, and easy to use.  Score!

{scrapbooking post} dadda loves his boy

I posted this layout on my Facebook page awhile back but realized I never shared it here!

I'm so in love with this picture of Matt and Jonathan when he was just a little over a week old.  I like to have a good amount of negative space on my page so they eye has a place to rest and so the photo shines. Usually I use a plain white, grey, or kraft background but it was fun to use a neutral graphic print instead.

I have some project life pages to photograph and then I'll share them here.

Have a great day!

{scrapbooking post} love & happiness

Being a stay at home mom, I've had to learn a whole new way of managing my time.  Yes, I'm home all day so I'm sure it seems like I should be able to get a lot done, but that just isn't the case.  Jonathan is now napping about 3 to 3 1/2 hours a day.  During that time, I need to get myself ready, fed, clean the house, do laundry, pay bills, do anything else on my to-do list, and be creative.  

The whole "be creative" part is super important to me.  I feel like myself when I'm able to work on something creative - preferably using paper.  But, I also have to balance this because there is much else to do.  I'm often working on a project for a client so I don't have a lot of time to do project life or other scrapbooking layouts.  

In a recent episode of Paperclipping Roundtable (I'm sorry, I can't remember which one) the panelists were discussing how to complete a layout in small stages.  This was such a revolutionary thought for me! Up to this point, I would wait until I had a large chunk of time to work.  I realized that I could do bits and pieces and over the course of a couple of days, I could have a layout complete.  

That's what I did for this layout. 

I started with the picture.  It was taken by the super talented The Why We Love photography team during our maternity shoot.  I love this picture of Matt.

Once I knew I wanted this picture, I just gathered a few supplies and as I had time, I added something.  The layout was always on my table so each time I walked by it, I added an element or changed something.  I didn't glue anything down until I was sure I liked it as is. 

I love the heart stitching and the sprayed ampersand.  The color combo of aqua, yellow, and grey is definitely my favorite right now.

Another close up of the handsome man :)

If you are having a hard time fitting creativity into your life, try this idea.  Just do a little bit here and there.  You'll be surprised by all you can get done!

scrappy post: sweet boy

It's been awhile since I shared a scrapbooking post here!  It's about time!

This is a layout I made several months ago.

That glorious yellow chevron is an old Amy Tangerine sheet that I saved and saved until the perfect time....then I bought a few more pages.  I also took a lesson from her book and hand stitched the title.  

He looks so little there!  I can't believe how fast it goes and how much he's already grown!  

The grid matting and the people strip are also Amy Tangerine.  I used some Elle's Studio and that's about it!

Here's one last look of the page.  I always like to leave plenty of white space so they eye has somewhere to rest.  Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed if every spot of the page is filled with embellishments.  

It's funny how much my style has already changed since making this page.  I really am working on trying to look for the story of each picture and making sure I tell that somewhere on the page.  

Thanks for stopping in!

adore you (again)

I was going through my scrapbook and saw this oldie but a goodie.  I blogged it here back in June of 2010 but thought I'd photograph it again and do a little repost.

Lots of Elle's Studio here.  This was the beginning of my misting - oh, I was so excited about it but so uncertain of how to do it!  I guess I still feel kinda the same way.  I love my inks and mists but am still constantly figuring out different techniques to make them look how I want.

 A close up of the paper flowers.  I still love that heart paper I used as a matte and used it on a recent project life week!  Yeah, I keep my supplies for a loooong time.

Have a fabulous weekend!!