Listen to your Heart

Hey there! I made another art journal page for this month at SFTIO. And I get to share the full project today! Yay!

This page was actually the very first project I made when I got my kit, and instead of cutting a half inch strip off of each paper (that scares me because I might want to use a paper later for a background and I have cut half an inch off!), I trimmed off the UPC strips from the bottom of each paper and used those! Some of them have patterns on one side and the information about the paper on the other side. And then some of them have the pattern of the opposite side printed on the side with the information. So that worked perfectly. Gave me lots of patterns to work with and didn't ruin my 12x12 size papers. 

Something a little "Oops!" that I did on this page was… notice anything? The round thickers have paint on them… and it all started out when I was holding the thickers over the still-wet heart to see how they'd look and dropped one. Oops. I think it was the "i" that I dropped originally. So then I just embraced the messy look and dabbed a couple more letters in the paint. I think it looks kinda cute, myself. :)

The washi tape isn't part of the kit, but I thought it added a nice texture to the page. Something that filled the dead space. 

So there you have it- my last project to share for this month of May!

-Heather

June SFTIO Sneaks

Totally in love with the June kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. I can't wait to use my leftovers for more projects. So until June 1st, here's a sneak of my 4 monthly projects. I did a little something different this month so you'll have to check back and see what it is! :)

-Heather

Everyday LBA

Just wanted to pop in and share a mixed media page I created with basically just supplies that I got in the box swap that Katie and I did a couple of weeks ago. 

I loved this paper from the Basic Grey "Soleil" mini pad but it's SO busy. I wasn't sure how to use it! I loved it so much though that I was determined to use it. So, I just patchworked 4 6x6 pieces of paper onto a piece of 12x12 paper and created a very busy background. Then I painted a circle of white paint on the background. Then I added some orange, yellow, and pink watercolors. Just a little color, not a lot. 

I loved this silhouette shape, so I diecut just the pretty floral swags and used those on the top and the bottom of the painted circle. Then I embellished!  

Have a great day! 

-Heather

On My Desk Right Now

Ok , not really. Stuff doesn't stay on my desk. It sits there for a few hours and then it looks all clutter-y and I put it away. ;)

I recently bought some awesome Studio Calico products from All Scrapbook Steals. They were having a 50% Studio Calico brand sale and so I jumped at the chance to check off some things from my wish list! Seems like most of what I have had my eye on lately has been SC products. I wish I could afford to join their kit club, but that would be too dangerous for my pocketbook. Haha. 

New stuff makes me so happy! I've been a creative rut, it seems, and there's nothing like new products to get your mojo going. The other week my friend Katie and I did a box swap and that was so much fun. Even new-to-me products are so inspiring. I've made a few projects with basically just stuff that I got from that box swap and it makes me SO happy to create new things! Some products I have in my stash I've used before or I've had for a while. I still love them, but sometimes you need something different to motivate you! Know what I mean? 

I've been collecting lots of travel themed products lately. I so wanna travel. The Wanderlust collection from Studio Calico is so adorable. Especially these stickers, this stamp, and of course these really cool vellum cards. All of which are in my stash now. ;) 

Also the Mon Ami collection from Basic Grey/ Kelly Purkey is totes adorbs (going all "Laura" here). :) Check out the fun patterns in this collection!

So that's what's been going on here. Getting happy mail. :) OH- I'm also finished with my June SFTIO projects. I'll share my project sneaks SOON! 

-Heather

Love Who You Are

Hellooo! I'm sharing another layout on the SFTIO blog today, and I just thought I'd give you a little extra behind-the-scenes look at this page! 

So I totally scraplifted my own layout for this page:

I didn't copy it exactly, I just went with what my brain remembered from the layout, which was lots of strips of paper in a column form on the right side of the page. The patterns in this month's "Intuition" kit are just GORGEOUS, so you know me-- I had to use them all on one page! I really love that there is so much BLUE in this kit. I'm a blue kind of girl. :)

I totally love those lightbulb paper clips that are included in the kit, but sometimes I don't like using things how they're supposed to be used. LOL So I just glued it straight onto the page with Glossy Accents. Worked perfectly! 

A tip about sprinkling sequins on your page-- literally SPRINKLE them. Sometimes I try placing them the way I *think they would look good and they don't look right. Too perfectly spaced or something. So this time I actually sprinkled them on the page and then went back and put glue on the backs of them. 

Don't forget to read more about this page by visiting the Scrapbooking from the Inside Out blog! :)

-Heather

Playing with Watercolors

I made another mixed media card the other day. I was playing with some watercolors and a straw... blowing the watercolor blobs around on some watercolor paper. It's a really fun technique to try out! 

The one really cool thing about art is that you never know how your project is going to turn out. You have to just keep working on it and it eventually turns out right. Never give up... :)

I'm linking this card up to the Paper Wings Productions "Anything Goes" challenge. 

I pretty much love watercolors. :)

-Heather

Click Click

I just have to share this layout that I created last week that I am completely in love with! :)

I was itchin' to scrap the photos I took of Laura in our photoshoot #41875… so I printed my 3 favorite photos and got to work! I had this die cut in mind that Wilna Furstenburg made for 2peas as a free silhouette download that I wanted to use for the title. I thought it was so cute! And I used one of my current favorite lines: Amy Tangerine's "Plus One" line. I found that background piece of paper and then built my layout from that, using the little brushed colors in the top right corner to dictate my color choices. 

As usual, I layered lots of different patterned papers around my photos. I used different textured embellishments to bring more "fun" to the page. Plus, I'm entering this layout into Scrapbook Circle Challenge #74: Don't Let Anyone Dull Your Sparkle. The challenge was to, of course, use something sparkly on your page! I used some sparkly star stickers from Heidi Swapp, gold washi tape, and also a little resin rosette to add some flashiness to the layout. Just a little bit-- not overwhelming.

I watercolored the "click click click click" title. Originally I wanted the title black, but when I die-cut it in black, my silhouette messed it up. I think the problem was that the cardstock I used was low quality. Instead, I used some of my favorite heavy weight card stock the second go-around and it came out perfect. Yay! White was just too boring though, so I used my watercolors and my handy dandy water brush to color the title bright yellow. 

Thanks for stopping in and visiting my blog! Have a fabulous day! :)

-Heather

SFTIO: Be Still

I'm sharing another SFTIO page today! Check it out on the blog here. 

And here is the page I'm sharing:

Some fun facts about this page: 

1. I was super excited to use a symbolistic photo on this page instead of the regular selfie. Sometimes it's fun to change it up a bit!

2. My journaling was going to be typed on the computer, but then I decided to just handwrite it. ;) More personal that way. And easier. And takes less time. 

3. Still loving me some india ink lately. The white splotches are india ink.

4. Everything on this page is from the SFTIO "Intuition kit" except for the washi tape and india ink! Oh, and the little bag I housed the journaling card in. It's an awesome kit this month!

5. The journaling on this page isn't really secretive, it's just I thought it'd be cuter tucked away. Most of the time I hide journaling, it's just because I think it looks better on the page, not because it's too personal to share.

Check out more about this page on the SFTIO blog today! 

-Heather

Scraplifted Page: You Are Loved

Soooo, I'm getting in on the last minute on this challenge, but Just Two Midwest Girls had a challenge to scraplift one your favorite designers. (Deadline's tomorrow!)  Well, I was looking around Pinterest for a page to lift, and I have so many different designers that I adore. Melissa Stinson, Wilna Furstenburg, Paige Evans, Maggie Holmes, and there are so many more! I found this page by Elizabeth Kartchner that I LOVED. I'm pretty sure Liz is one of my all-time favorite designers. I actually asked Laura when I showed her my finished page, "Who do you think I scraplifted?" And she goes, "Elizabeth Kartchner?" Yep! :) She knows! 

So I found this page by Liz:

And here's my take on it:

I didn't use as many embellishments on my page as Liz did, and the fact that I used lots of circle on this layout kinda annoys me, but anyway... I really liked the strips of patterned paper folded on the edges so you can see the opposite side of the paper. Super cool.

Just a quick post today! :)

-Heather

Busy Being Happy

Hey y'all! I'm back with a just-for-fun layout! 

I made this layout with the super-cute "Daydreamer" collection from Dear Lizzy. I'm pretty sure I swoon over every single one of Liz's collections. I guess her style of designing fits my style of scrapbooking. :) I'd love to think her style of scrapbooking matches my style of scrapbooking, but I don't think that's quite a true statement. Everyone has their own "twang" (that's the Alabamian coming out in me). Their own style. And that's totally fine! What's that quote-- "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken." 

What's ironic about this layout is that I have always said I will never be that person that just layers lots of papers in the middle of the page. Oops. I'm eating my words. I just like trying different things, and layering papers is something that I tried once and it has stayed with me. I just LOVE showing all sorts of different patterns at one time. :) So I guess on this particular page, I'm "that person who just layers lots of papers in the middle of the page." LOL

The title card, "Busy Being Happy" is actually from the May SFTIO "Intuition" kit. And the sunshine and ticket diecuts are from the April SFTIO "Celebrate" kit. Love using stuff leftover from my kits! 

These photos are of my friend MarLeah (check out her photography blog!) at my brother's wedding rehearsal dinner. Well, before the dinner. We had someone take a few pics of us with MarLeah's awesome camera she had rented to shoot the wedding. I totally stole these photos off her blog. :) 

Ok- a question for you! Have you ever found a technique that you didn't really like, and then you tried it and loved? Like my layering, for example? :) Let me know in the comments! Or just leave me a comment! I love hearing from you! 

-Heather

Restyled Pencil Pouch

Hey there! I saw these photos on my iPad the other day and thought, "I haven't shared those on my blog yet!" So, I'm going to show you them now! 

The other week I bought a cute little pencil pouch at Michael's. It was a plain canvas bag printed with a bicycle. I thought it was SO cute. I knew I had to buy it and paint it. :) So I did just that! Here is the before photo:

And here's what it looked like after I got finished with it:

I painted it with plain acrylic paints, and then I used some Glitter Glam from Tattered Angels to seal it. It gave it a shiny, finished look. Plus it was glittery. So two good things in one! :)

I love doing artsy things like this. I was debating over whether to keep it or send it along to a friend. I ended up deciding to snail mail it to my friend MarLeah just because. I love sending "just because" mail. ;)

-Heather

Follow Your Heart

Guys (or gals, really…), today I'm sharing probably one my favorite stories ever. But it's over on the SFTIO blog today. 

I'd rather share that story with you than how I made this page. LOL I think it's more interesting. 

So go check out my story and come back here and leave me some feedback (or if you want to leave it there, you can do that too). >>>>click here>>>>

P.S. Here's the page I'm sharing:

-Heather

Photoshoot #41875

Laura and I went out the other day and took some photos. Well, I took pictures of her. ;) She had on a fun new outfit and it was kinda like, "Hey-- you wanna take pictures of me?" And that usually turns out to be the best photoshoots. If she initiates them, then she will last a lot longer than if I have to coerce her to pose for me. 

We took some pictures on a road near our house, and then we remembered that there is a tunnel bridge thing that we have always wanted to take pictures at. So we hopped on our trusty scooter and went! 

First we went to our favorite place down the road. There's this cute little wooden bridge. But only a few of the photos I took I actually liked. :P

Then we went to this really COOL tunnel. There's actually train tracks on the top of the tunnel. But Laura didn't want to take pics on the train tracks. It was a good thing most of the grafitti is just scribbles. But now that said that, don't look too close... there's probably bad words on it somewhere. LOL

A little bit more serious...

I promise she's not wearing make-up. I just saturated the color! :)

And being silly--

And my FAVORITE!!! The color, her expression, the lighting, her hair (that ombre hair is all natural!)... everything! 

And then what most of the photoshoot really looks like... Laura laughing... She's so cute. :)

And then yesterday, Laura took some pics of her friend Courtney. I edited them a bit, but I love these two:

You'll probably see these photos in a mini album soon or at least on some layouts soon! :)

-Heather