Happy Moments {The Cut Shoppe}

It's time for another TCS project! This time I created a layout focused on a shape from the "Let Them Eat Pie" set of cut files. 

I love how you can use so many patterned papers on one page without it being overwhelming when you use a large diecut shape. I was really excited to use some Heidi Swapp "September Skies" products on this page that I have been accidentally hoarding for a couple months now. 

I have told myself that I need to try new techniques this year, and so I used some hand stitching on this page to make the diecut stand out more. After an hour or so and a few finger pricks, I was done with that tedious part (whew)! Sometimes I think I have ADD. I have no patience. 

Another new thing I tried on this page was cutting my picture into a shape. Honestly , I have never cut my photos anything other than a rectangle or circle. I will have to do this more, because it's so cool! :)

I had traced a circle a little behind the starburst shape and I used that as a guideline to place my enamel dots, wood veneer, and journaling. It was a bit of a pain to erase the pencil lines, so don't look too close. I might not have erased it all...

Be sure to check out my full blog post on The Cut Shoppe blog! Thanks for stopping by! 

-Heather 

Card Making: You're a Gem

Happy Monday! 

I'm super excited about this week. Why? I have no idea. Really. Sometimes I just feel more productive and positive than other times. Right now I'm feelin' good. :)

Probably has something to do with the fact that I won, like, five scrapbook giveaways last week and so I will be getting some awesome happy mail within the next month. I haven't won anything in a while, and it's crazy how it goes in spurts. No just one win, seriously. Five. 

So here's a happy card I made a couple of weeks ago. I used a Studio Calico sketch along with some random items from past kits and also some stuff from my stash. 

I mentioned something last week about my friend Melissa sending me some fun stuff to play with. One of those items was a Dear Lizzy paper from her "Lucky Charm" collection with all these mason jars on it. I am going to use mason jars on EVERYTHING. For real. I love that paper. I am going to be so sad when it's all gone. 

So who would you consider a GEM in your life? I love puns, and this stamp set is just so cute, if you ask me. 

xoxo, Heather

Scrapbook Layout: Make Magic

I'm back with another layout today! 

For this page, I used a Scrapbook Circle sketch and several of my Studio Calico kits. I mostly used the Walden scrapbook main kit for the papers and the embellishments are a mix of different kits. 

One thing that I LOVED using for this layout was the silkscreens that Studio Calico sells. They only come in the kits (boo hoo), but I do have a few of them to use. The white plus signs on the background were made with a silkscreen from one of the current add-on kits, Magic Carpet. My new penpal, Melissa, sent it to me. (Isn't that awesome?!) Of all the silkscreens, I think that one is my fave! The "Make Magic" title was made with a silkscreen as well. 

Here is the sketch I used for the page:

And here's my interpretation of the sketch! I mostly make 8.5x11 page now, so I narrowed the sketch for my page. :)

Sometimes I have a hard time finding stories that I want to document from the photos that I have that I haven't documented before. Or sometimes the story is too "big" to document on one page. It needs, like, a whole mini album. BUT, I found these pics of my sculptures I made in college last semester and thought, "YES! Those need to be in my scrapbook." So one day if all my sculptures break or something at least I'll have photos of them! And a side note here, I did finish all my sculptures although two of them in these photos are in-progress. I liked the contrast of raw clay look to the finished projects in the photo collage. :)

So, do you have problems deciding what stories to document? Let me know in the comments! 

-H

Scrapbook Layout: Brr!

Honestly, I told myself a little earlier in the year that I wasn't going to be making scrapbook layouts, just Project Life spreads and cards. But then I got the urge to play along with some challenges and make some pages. In the last week I think I have made three layouts, which hasn't happened in a loooooong time. 

I quit my Studio Calico scrapbook kit subscription after December of last year, and I decided to put all of my kits together. Sometimes I think the kits look too much like a kit (that's their purpose, right? lol). Mixing the kits gives a different look to the kits. 

And of course I like adding embellishments like the awesome wood veneer pineapple that my awesome friend and mambi design team coordinator Amanda designed (how cool is it that she has her own line?!).

I actually used a sketch for this layout, but I will leave that out since it was a Facebook challenge. ;)

I guess I should say that I will indeed be making layouts this year. I miss them. 

-Heather

Project Life 2015: Title Page

I'm pretty excited to be doing Project Life again this year. I really missed doing it last year. Through the year, I longed to do some pocket pages. I LOVE the small space of each pocket and how it looks overall. I didn't do it last year simply because I thought I'd be repeating a lot of the "everyday" photos that I had had in the previous year.  Foodie pic. Selfie. Scrapbooking pic. Same 'ol, same 'ol. I regret not doing it though. I really would have loved seeing what happened through the year. 

But, I'm back at it!

 In 2013, I did half of the year in a 6x8 format and then the other half in 12x12. I decided I like the look of the smaller pages (easier to store and look through too!) over the big pages. I actually have a LOT of 12x12 Project Life page protectors left because I bought a big multi-pack, but I'm sure I'll use them for something. Maybe Project Life 2016. 

I went with the black 6x8 Studio Calico handbooks this year. I bought two albums, but we will see if I fill those up and have to buy more! 

I am doing things a bit differently this year. I am going to document as I go along, not worrying about having to fit one week per spread. Honestly, it's so much easier going with the flow of things. I thought making the weekly cards in 2013 would be fun and easy, but nada. That wasn't the case. I didn't like most of the weekly cards I made. They were the most stressful part of making the spread. Plus it took up a valuable pocket I could have been using for other things. 

So here is my title page of my Project Life album: 2015. 

The top brush script card is a freebie from Cautiously Obsessed. I absolutely love hand lettering. I edited it in Photoshop before printing it out on our home printer. On the card below the two thousand fifteen lettering, I wrote a basic intro to the new year. Nothing super special.

Oh, and excuse my cat. He always loves snooping while I'm taking pictures of my projects on the deck. He will literally lay on my pages. Sometimes it's cute and sometimes it's annoying. ;) 

I have already created several layouts in my PL album (see one in my previous post!), so stay tuned for those! Hopefully I'll get them posted soon. 

-Heather

New YouTube Video- Project Life Spread

Soooo... I added a new video to my YouTube channel this week! I am kinda loving this. Seriously, I have been thinking of making videos for a while now. Sometimes I think, "Pretend you're being videoed!" while I'm working on a project. ;)

This time I made a process video of the making of a Project Life spread. I am trying to keep it simple this year in my 6x8 PL. Sometimes it's hard for me! LOL

Here is the link to the video. But I thought I'd go ahead and share the whole spread here on my blog so you can just look at the pictures if you want. In this spread, I'm documenting this past Saturday when my dad, sister, and I went to Monster Jam. It was a last-minute decision to go, but it was fun! The first Monster Jam I've ever been to! Plus I thought it was cool that only Dad and the daughters went. My brother was out of town with my mom so it was only us girls and my Dad. 

I really really want a typewriter. I think it would make my Project Life pages look so cute! I'm just waiting for the right one to come up. I saw one the other week on eBay that was turquoise blue. I am kicking myself for not bidding on it. It looked like a good one and it was from San Francisco. That would have been really cool. ;)

But. Someday my typewriter will come. 

:) Heather

Diecut Thank You Card {The Cut Shoppe}

Hey all! I'm up on The Cut Shoppe blog today with a new project! I made a card with several different fonts available at The Cut Shoppe. I just love the fun and whimsical vibe the mixed alphas give the card. 

I used the 6x6 paper pad from Studio Calico's Copper Mountain card kit. I think the color combo looks masculine. What do you think? I was just using some new product that I had, and then realized that the combo was quite manly-looking! I'll have to remember this for future guy birthday cards because sometimes all I find to use is turquoise and lime green! ;)

I have more info on The Cut Shoppe blog, so be sure to check out the full post there.

xoxo, Heather

Clipboard Mini Album {me & my BIG ideas}

Hi there! Well, as of tomorrow, CHA is here! I really thought about attending this year, but I ended up not going. It is one of my dreams to go someday though!

Here is one of the projects that I made for the me & my BIG ideas booth. I had an extra clipboard hanging out in my room, and I had this idea to make a mini album out of it! The mambiSTICKS (clear stickers) were perfect for adding a little filler for the space that I didn't utilize at the bottom of the clipboard. That "Be Awesome" sticker is actually GOLD, if you can't tell. It kind of looks like gold foil. Super pretty.

I scored each page where it bent at the clip so it would be easier to turn the pages. I also sewed the pages together once I was finished with them all so they won't fall out and go everywhere if someone is flipping through it. 

I kinda loved collaging all these white clear stickers on this last photo. 

And the thought that Laura is at CHA just makes me happy. :D You can read more about this project on the mambi blog today as well. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! 

-Heather 

First YouTube Video (super exciting!)

GUYS!!! I just uploaded my very first YouTube video! It's definitely not perfect, and I think I will try to make my future videos a tad bit shorter. I feel like this one is a little too long. 

Here is the link for the video.

What would YOU like to see in a video from me? I am thinking of maybe some 6x8 Project Life videos or maybe some card technique videos? I'd love to know!! :)

-Heather

Hello!

Wow. This is my first post for 2015! Yippee! I've already caught myself writing 2014 instead of 2015, but eventually I'll get used to it. Probably just as it's turning 2016. Ha.

I would love to start blogging more, and so with that in mind, I wanted to share a little sneak of a layout I have up on The Cut Shoppe blog later this month. Honestly, I'm kind of getting out of the routine of making layouts. I am so out of practice that now when I make a layout, I usually make a flump-layout that I end up throwing away and then making another page. 

I'm planning on doing Project Life this year. But it's not going to be weekly. It's going to be document-when-I-have-pictures. I think it will be a lot less stressful. I will just have to make sure to add dates on my pages so I know when each event happened. As of right now, I have done NOTHING in my PL album. I blame it on the fact that my albums haven't come in yet. Poor excuse beats none, right? ;)

So, I am thinking that this year will entail more pocket pages and cards and less 12x12 or 8.5x11 pages. I think I like smaller spaces to scrapbook! 

Also, I am starting my next semester of college tomorrow~ pretty excited about it. I love fresh starts. I have two online classes this semester, so we will see how I like those. :S 

-Heather