Mediation Monday

Good evening blogland friends! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I know I sure did. I just got back late Thursday night from a trip home to New Orleans &Mobile. It was a great trip and I was sad to leave, so many people to see and things to do while I was home! Hubby wasn't able to make the trip with me, we have been really focusing on our finances this year to try and get in the right position to buy a house in the next 10-16 months. So when we got our tax money back, paying off some bills was top prority and getting an extra plane ticket wasn't. He was sad to not be able to go with me, and visit my parents, but he also would have exhausted all his vacation time for the rest of the year. Here are just a few photos from the days in New Orleans, for my best friends wedding, and then some from home. When I got back hubby and I had two great days enjoying the fabulous weather here, Fleet Week in Downtown Portland then a drive out to the coast to meet a contracter at the beachhouse, we are trying to get the renovations done and his mom moved out there asap!! Enjoy the pics:

Fairhope, Alabama :

Amos my parent's cat

Fleet week:

Oceanside, Oregon:

During vacation I did have alot of time to myself, on the plane rides and such and I was able to think about somethings. An upcoming promotion that I will hopefully be getting by the end of the summer, which is ideally bringing more hours on my plate than I already work but more $$ as well which we need. Also I thought alot about my creative journey and how I would LOVE to one day have it soley as my job. But it takes alot of hard work to get there. I have been on an international design team for over a year now and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on it. Not to mention the inspiration from other ladies, and the exposure it has given my blog. But the more I thought about it, with what lies ahead, I think it may be time for me to take a break. I have so many creative things in the works and I barely get free time to myself in between work, trying to stay fit by planning heathly meals for us for the week, walking as much as possible, and all the other responsiblities of life. So I have decided to take a leave next term from this team, and regroup and refocus and see where I am in 6 months. I had so many people from the wedding (bridesmaids and family members) tell me that I should be selling my custom guest book and wedding signs etsy. Well that is another story. I have alot of ideas and have listed etsy items before, but I guess now with renewed interest I should try again. I hope to head in that direction and at least have a few things listed by next month. That is the goal! Pics to come soon from the wedding of the signs I did, just waiting for the photos to come to me from the bride ;)

 Enjoy your week and I hope you get some creative time to yourself this week! I will be spending the next few hours in my studio and I hope to have lots more to share with you soon!! Until next time, Peace Y'all~

A Girl and Her Coffee... {Graphic 45 LOVE}

Hello friends! Can you believe it's already September? Fall is probably my most favorite season, there are lots of things coming up to be excited about (besides football) ! First is Scrapping Frenzy's annual convention coming up at the end of the month! There are going to be fun classes to take and of course little goodies and inspiration from the Design Team, I hope to see you there!

Okay, well on with my post for today. I did a layout today using some new papers from Graphic 45. At first I thought it might be difficult to pick which ones to use because the patterns on them are so intricate but I mixed some of the same color palettes and threw in another color so my photos would pop off the page. I also used some instagram-sized 3x3 prints that I recently ordered and I love them cause they are perfect for putting more than one picture on a page! They are the perfect size! So here is my layout:

 

So I came up with the idea for this layout because well... I LOVE COFFEE! I have to have at least one cup every single day. Sometimes I think it's really important to scrap the little everyday things in your life, because years from now when you look back it will be fun to remember some of those random moments! Here are a few close ups:

I used some Smooch first to add texture to my background, two different colors- pralines and cream and caramel mocha. On top of thatI started layering my Graphic 45 papers and my leftover Starbucks bag. I also backed all my photos in kraft paper and some teal colored cardstock and placed them on the page in the arrangement I liked. After that, I started building my clusters. I knew I wanted room for a fun title at the top, so made my clusters work around that.

For a fun twist on my clusters I fussy cut some of the little 'girl' from one side of the Graphic 45 papers and decorated her a bit. I colored in her dress in coffee bean brown to make it go with my title. I also added some stickles in gold glitz.

I also added to the bottom a piece of vintage lace, some tulle, a strip of basic grey paper (out of print my fav!!) and some resin embellishements. The little coffee girl was my inspiration for the color palette of the page, I pulled the teal and blue and yellow/gold from her and put it all over the page.

 Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope I have inspired you to scrap some of your 'everyday moments'. Until next time my scrappy friends, Peace Y'all~VV

Supplies Used: Graphic 45 "Malt Shop Collection" 'On the boardwalk' (I used both sides) , Graphic 45 "Le Romantique Collection" 'My Beloved' (swirly side of paper), cream, teal, kraft, and chocolate cardstock- Bazzil, cardstock cutouts by Crate paper- blue roses, & sign, circle. Colorbox cat's eye inks in blush, mint, and chestnut, Smooch Spritz by Clearsnap sprays in pralines n' cream and caramel mocha, Queen& Co twine, Stickles in gold glitz, Glossy accents, sticky thumb pop dots, Brown Zig marker, Cricut Cartridge in 'Don Juan'. paper and felt flowers, stick on pearls, tulle, chipboard circle and flourish-Prima, vintage lace, leftover Starbucks bakery bag, felt circle, spotty button and resin elements-Purple Pumpkin crafts

{Star Quality} with BG 'Out of Print'

Hi everyone! I am here today to share a very special layout I did this month using one of my favorite paper lines, Basic Grey, the 'Out of Print' collection. This is my last post this month for my LSS, Scrapping Frenzy. I think the name of this line is really very fitting since I swear I own probably every sheet in double but I can't seem to get enough of it when I see it I always buy more! LOL! So now you know why it's called 'out of print'!! Another special thing about this layout is that I used a very old photo of my Meemaw sitting on Orange Street pier in Fairhope, Alabama. I love this photo and the expression on her face, even though I didn't know her back then it really shows her grace and personality!! I knew it would be perfect for the type of layout I was wanting to do. So, here's a peek of the whole thing:

 To start the layering under my photo, I first matted it with one side of the BG paper and distressed the edges, then inked that. Under that I layered a piece of black cardstock to make the photo 'pop' off the page. I didn't want alot of dark colors going on but I knew I would have to tie in the black somehow into other elements of the page so I used a black paper flower, the black cut out words from the Carte Bella paper, and the black also came in on the Echo park paper with the film reels.

This photo was a sneaky-peek I took with instagram! I love that app, just need a figure out a cheap way to order some of my prints from them that will be printed square!!

I would have to say my favorite thing about scrapping is 'building' my cluster, to me it's the best part about working on a page, digging through your stash and combining just the perfect mix of embellishments to get the look you want. For this cluster, I started off with a grey tulle flower from Webster's pages 'Florettes' then I added some color- drawing most of my color scheme from the flower paper behind the cluster. I used the yellow, pink, and pale green to complement the grey flower and off course topped it off with some stickles and pearls! My fav :D !!

For the title, I used some Tim Holtz type-writer looking salvage stickers to add to the vintage look. I underlined each one with stickles in 'platinum'.

And this is my favorite shot! The light was really great in the window when I snapped this one :)

 Well, that is all for today. If you don't already have this line, Basic Grey 'Out of Print' stop by the store today and get some! It is really so versatile and by far probably one of my favorite paper collections. Until next time my scrappy gal pals~ Peace Y'all~VV

Supplies used: Basic Grey 'Out of Print'- storyteller and , Echo Park 'Note to Self' 6x6 papers, Black cardstock by Bazzil, Colorbox pigment inks in blush, lipstick, and black. Smooch Spritz in 'Pralines and Cream', Tim Holtz distress stickles- 'dried marigold' and 'scattered straw' also Glitz stickles in 'platinum'. Webster's pages Florettes-grey tulle flower, Queen &Co twine-brown/white and yellow/white. Carte Bella 'life is beautiful' word sentiments. Crate paper cardstock cutouts-American Beauty and stamp, Sticky Thumb pop dots, paper flowers/roses- Prima and Recollections, pearls-Michael's, vintage buttons, rhinestone ruffle- Prima, Tim Holtz salvage stickers 'crowded attic'. Pier 1 paperclip flower, vintage buttons, cardboard piece and fabric from my stash.