Scrapbook Monday: Easter

Happy Monday, and Happy Labor Day! It's been a few weeks since I last posted, and there is a good reason for that....I promise. We threw Adelaide a 1st Birthday Party, and I'm so excited to share all the photos with you all. Stay tuned the next few weeks for photos and DIY ideas for your next party. 

Spoiler alert....the theme was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Stay tuned!

For now I wanted to share a few photos of some quick pages I did. I cranked these out in about an hour or so while Addie was napping. Typically I spend a lot more time planning out pages, but for these I just went where the inspiration took me. I love these Basic Grey papers in various floral patterns, and they were the perfect colors for the photos I took of Addie on Easter. I love the bright colors.

For the first page, I used several small prints, and framed them with Studio Calico frames to make them look like polaroids. 

For the second, coordinating page, I wanted to use my favorite photo as the focal piece. I printed a large format photo on 11x14 photo paper, an about a 12x6 size. I then used the same patterned papers, and layered them beneath the photo. The title is Prima fabric letters that I've been saving for a special page. With the yellow in Addie's hairband, this was the perfect one. I added some journaling about how much she loved the plastic eggs (cheapest toys ever!), and slipped it inside a little envelope. The last minute touch was the kites, as I needed a little something extra.

I typically don't like doing two-page layouts, as they never seem unique enough to me. I'm very pleased with how these turned out though. They cordite well with the papers, but they are distinct enough to stand on their own as separate pages. I have them side-by-side in Adelaide's first year album. Hopefully she'll enjoy looking through these pages in the years to come!

Hope these provided some inspiration for you tonight! Try a coordinating two-page layout, and feel free to scrap-lift these design layouts! If you do, share the results with me - I'd love to see them!

Scrapbook Monday: Addie & Dada, Father & Daughter Layout

I subscribe to the monthly kits from Studio Calico - which I absolutely adore - and I just received this month's kit last night. For the first time, I immediately had to go complete a layout. I was so inspired by the paper combination, and already had the perfect photos of my husband and daughter in orange hues sitting on my desk. You can find this month's kit Penny Arcade on their website. If you're an avid scrapbooker I highly recommend it, especially if you're like me and your local scrapbook store has recently gone out of business, as well as your online store (Two Peas in a Bucket)! Both went out of business within two months of each other! Makes me worried about the future of the hobby. Luckily I receive supplies each month, so I'm not in a shortage...at least not yet.

The Studio Calico kits piece together papers and embellishments each month so that you'll have a coordinating kit to complete your pages. It started as a kit incorporating other companies' products, but they're now offering more and more exclusive Studio Calico products which you can't get any other way. I absolutely adore their products, from the patterned papers to the wood veneer letters. Everything on this page is from their kit, other than the orange twine which I had  in my giant stash of twine.  ;)

These photos are from mother's day...a little strange considering it's supposed to be a day about me...but as most other scrapbooking moms, the camera is usually around my neck so the photos tend to be of my husband and daughter. I don't mind, and I love how these photos turned out - especially the one with Justin on the bench holding her hands.  

I originally wanted to machine-stich along the edge of each strip of paper to create a quilted look, but I had pink thread in the machine at the time. For some reason I thought that it would be too much work to switch it out, so I decided to hand-stitch a border with orange twine.....notice I didn't do more than one border!  ;)  This took much more time, and I probably won't do it again any time soon, but I do like the way it turned out. It adds some texture to the page. To save time, I did some criss-cross designs in the corners of the feather card stock to match. 

The frilly crepe paper across the bottom is from Studio Calico, and added a bit of whimsy to the page, as it was looking a little too serious to me.  ;)

For the "title" I knew I wanted to mix the letters on the paper with the wood veneer letters to spell their names. I was going to do words for each letter across the top, such as "Family" for the "F", but I decided it would look to crowded. I liked the simplicity after just doing their names. With the letters attached using adhesive, I noticed that the words didn't stand out enough, and there was no cohesion between the paper and the wood veneer. So I pulled out my handy Glossy Accents which I've mentioned in previous posts, and added a glossy layer to each. For the paper, I simply drew an outline around the letter and filled in between.

Now there is a glossy texture to all of the letters, and when the light catches it, it helps the words stand out against the rest of the page. 

Hope this provides some inspiration for your next family-themed scrapbook page. Try to do a unique, unexpected title for your next page. 

Happy Monday!

Chalkboard, Lace and Vintage Mason Jar Invitations

I'm excited to release a new line of invitations, featuring a chalkboard background and a lovely mason jar filled with flowers. I've been meaning to create this design for some time now, and finally had a few minutes to do it. I love how they turned out, and hope you do as well. 

The invitations are available for a rehearsal dinner, engagement party, bridal shower, baby shower, bridesmaids luncheon or brunch, or any other event you can think of. There are a few color schemes available, as shown below. You can find these in my shop here.

I love the rustic feel of these invitation, with the chalkboard background and lace along the sides. If you're planning a shower or dinner party and need some coordinating decorations, look no further. These lovely items are available from other Etsy shops.

Pastel Stripe Ice Cream Cups and Wooden Spoons

from thebakersconfections

Pastel Striped Paper Straws

from 3SweetMemories

Custom Name Cake Topper

from ThePinkOwlGifts

Polka Dot Cake Stands

from marionsvintagebakery

Chalkboard Mason Jars with Lids

from WedLovely

Chalkboard Escort Cards

from Teomil

Chalkboard Mason Jar Sign

from CrimsonHollow

And my absolute favorite....

Personalized Chalkboard Mason Jar Party Favors

from thefavorbox

I hope the chalkboard mason jar invitations and matching party supplies have inspired you for your next event. If  you'd like to customize an invitation, or any matching paper products such as thank you cards, recipe cards, etc, just let me know and I'm happy to set up a custom listing for you. 

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Scrapbook Monday: Baby Brag Book Mini Scrapbook Album - Gift for Grandmoth

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! And hopefully it was better than mine....I feel on my foot on Friday and have been wearing a splint since. Hobbling around while trying to chase after a very mobile 9-month old is not my idea of a fun weekend.

Let's just say I'm glad it's over. ;)

I wanted to share a quick baby brag book with you, which I made for Addie's Grams. It's extremely simple. Typically I use thick chipboard or a pre-made cover for my mini albums, but for this one I decided to just use patterned paper. It probably won't hold up as well, but since there won't be little hands grabbing it to thumb through it, I think it will be alright. I used a mixture of pastel and bright colors, and lots of baby accents. 

For the entire album, I simply cut out 6x6 pieces of patterned paper, which is great because you can get four pages for each piece of card stock. Be sure to use double-sided card stock if it has a pattern, so that you don't have to glue to pages together. Then I used the 7 Gypsises Binderie punch to punch out two holes in each for the o-rings. Creating an album from scratch can't get much easier than that. 

For the cover, I spritzed it lightly with a glitter mist to give it some dimension. I added a few simple accents, and a title from foam thickers. 

I kept the embellishments pretty simple. In order to unify each page, I used a consistent design for the background: a strip of a different piece of paper, and a border punched using the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch. I alternated sides for each page.

Since the album was for Justin's mom, I tried to include several photos of him and Addie.

To help show how much she's grown in the past months, I added small strips of paper to each page with the date of the photo, using Dear Lizzy's date stamp.

It's that simple. Just some patterned paper, card stock, a few embellishments, a date stamp, and some photos! Try making your own album next time.

If you're not quite that crafty and would rather purchase one, you can find this adorable "Growing Up" pre-made scrapbook in my shop. It features ten pages of owl-themed goodies, so you can make your own baby brag book with your child's first ten months or even years. It comes with adhesive, so all you need to do is add your photos to the photo mats on each page. Easy peasy! Keep it for yourself, or give it as a gift to a grandparent.

Looking for a baby shower gift? This would be the perfect shower gift for the momma-to-be to document her little one's growth - and the unisex colors are perfect for a boy or girl. It's all ready for her to add her photos after the baby comes. And trust me, with a new baby there isn't much time to make your own scrapbook album, so having a pre-made one ready would be great. 

Hope you found some inspiration in this album, and that you'll try making one yourself next time!