An Amazing Year

 Hello! Merry Christmas! The December 'Fresh' Take 10 Kit is so fun and the perfect kit to kick start your 2016 album. I was so excited about the background stamp as soon as I saw it! So here's my card using a variety of 'Fresh' products...

I used a few of my new Christmas goodies too. :) I love my new Ranger craft mat. I just scribbled a blue and turquoise distress markers on the mat and sprayed with water. I dabbed my stamp in the ink and then all over my moist watercolor paper for the first layer of my background. After it was dry I make another sharper layer with a little less water. That gave me some darker dots and also some lighter ones where the new water took color off the previous layer. I love how it turned out!

Then I layered on a bunch of goodies from the kits to create a cute 2016 themed card. I used my new Tiny Attacher to anchor the label. My white ink didn't turn out very crisp on the '16 so I traced the edges with my new white gel pen. And I used a puddle of blue gelato on the 'have an amazing year' stamp. I can't wait to put this card in my 2016 album!

This is one of my last posts for Take 10 Kits and I just want to say thank you! It has been an amazing year on the creative team. I've loved sharing all my projects with you and being inspired by all of you. I'm excited to see what you all create in 2016! Happy scrapping!

Stay Cozy!

Hi! I have one more page to share with you using the November 'Today' Take 10 kits plus a few of my favorite things from the December 'Fresh' kits. 

I was able to use most of the back sides on this page. I love it when I can use both sides of the cards! It makes my kit go further makes those few pages more cohesive. I've been mixing most of my cards with the Project 52 core kit this year (2011) too. I love having an eclectic, mix and match album but there needs to be at least a thread that ties it all together!

I love how this pocket turned out! I knew I had to pair the picture of my rosy cheeked girl with the red cheeked emoji. Sometimes you just have the perfect picture! She was rosy cheeked and happy about it. This girl just doesn't feel the cold because she loves playing in the snow so much. 

Since most of you are getting your December kits any day now, I wanted to share a couple of my favorite pieces. I love the washi! The 'I love you' sentiment and something I'll use often. I usually stick to documenting the good moments because honestly I don't want to remember all the complaining and discipline that goes hand in hand with little kids. That's just life and when I look back I don't want to read about how tired and worn out I was. I want to remember fondly my sweet little girl and all the cute stuff she did! And I don't take pictures of grouchy faces! I know I'll have a perfect spot for the 'life... live it!' flair. 

I hope your happy mail arrives today and you have a few moments alone this holiday season to scrap your memories or prepare pages for 2016. Merry Christmas!

Snow!

Hello! The page I'm sharing with you today is about one of the first snow's I remember experiencing with my daughter. It's so fun to watch her see new things! 

I love how the cards in each Take 10 kit are 2 sided.. sometimes the same and some a little different. This month a few of the very colorful cards were just grey tones on the backside. I used a bunch of them on the page I shared last week. And I try really hard to use both sides of my cards if at all possible. So this week I have a much more mellow looking page. But I really like how it turned out! 

 I added a couple cards from my stash (the BH Project 52 core kit) to finish it out. And the November Glam Bag embellishments added the perfect pops of color! I love the cut aparts to add just a little something special to a card.

Harvest of Love

Hello and happy Friday! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are getting a sorts of great Black Friday deals today. Or just having a great day if you're international! :) The November 'Today' Take 10 Kit is just so much fun and I have another pocket page to share with you. 

The football game I blogged about last week was the day after thanksgiving and these pictures are about the time my daughter spent with her grandparents while we were there. The bright colors of this kit just make this page so cheerful! I love it! I had 3 pictures that I had to create backgrounds for this time...

In this pocket I used some gray paper from my stash and layered on a card from the kit and created a banner. I cut up one of the 2x2 squares in the glam bag to create another pendant to go with the ones from the cut apart sheet. Don't you just love those cut aparts!

For this background I pulled out some previous months' supplies. I used the book stamp from last month with my gelatos to create a background. I used the frame and puffy tag from another month. My little girl is a bookworm so it was a perfect fit!

I hope you're enjoying all the inspiration from the creative team for your 'Today' kit. If you haven't read all the posts this month, feel free to browse while you're online shopping or snacking on leftover turkey today!

Family Football Traditions

The November 'Today' Take 10 kit is full of color! In Nebraska fall is still in full swing but my mind has started to wander to winter thoughts. There's frost on the grass in the morning, the wind has a new bite to it and we saw our first flurry of snow this week. The November kit has that hint of winter too! The colors and patterns are the perfect transition from fall to winter.

If you live in Nebraska you're probably a Husker football fan. Or fanatic if you're in my family! And we always have a big game the Friday after Thanksgiving. Some people dedicate black Friday to shopping but in our family the afternoon is for football.

In this layout I documented the year we attended that game. It's not very often that I go to a game with my hubby, especially now that we have 3 kiddos. Attending a Husker football game at Memorial Stadium is one of my favorite things! Especially when we win! :)

I love how these 2 cards turned out together! I combined them to make my football time title with the clock embellishment.

I can't wait to see how you use the November kit to capture fall memories your thankful for. Happy Friday!

Fri Yay Card

Happy Fri-yay! I'm not sure who came up with that expression but it's kinda fun to say! :) As the count down to moving day kicks into gear at my house, I decided to whip up a few quick cards before packing up my desk. I had a few cards from the Take 10 September kit that were super fun but didn't quite fit with the pocket pages I'm working on. Fri-yay doesn't go with my toddler or 2012. :)

I also just added whipped spackle to my mixed media arsenal so I was itching to use it on a project. I used the whipped spackle with one of my homemade stencils I recently cut with my cameo. The circles added just enough texture and visual interested to my plain black card. Drawing from the mood board colors I misted the circles with purple. I used my gelatos and mini mister bottles to create my own purple mist. I love that I can make my own! Then I layered on the Fri-yay card and the bicycle ephemera.

Now I have an adorable card that I can send just to say 'hi' or 'I'm thinking of you' when I want to send a smile. Have you been able to create any fun 'out of the pocket' projects with your Homestead kit?

Pumpkin Patch

 Hello! Today I have a festive fall page about our trip to the pumpkin patch to share with you. This month's Take 10 Kit just immediately made me think of fall when I opened it. The purples, reds and cozy feel of Homestead was the perfect match for these pictures from 2012. I finally have all of my pictures from 2012 printed and in my album. Now I'm going thru and adding cards and journaling to complete it. If I get a kit like this month, I'll often jump around to complete a spread that fits. 

This is page 1 of 2 (you'll see the other one next week) documenting a trip we took with friends to a local pumpkin patch. This was my daughter's first pumpkin patch experience and we all had a blast. It was a really windy day but that's normal for fall in Nebraska. She also wore her PSU shirt in support of Daddy's team but only because it was an off week for Nebraska. ;) 

All the embellies that came with the September pocket kit and glam bag really worked to make my page pop! I really love this new take on washi tape! The strips are so easy to use. The 'together is our favorite place to be' is my favorite card in this kit. I love the barn wood look and it made the perfect title card for this outing.

I hope you're all having a wonderful fall! I can't wait to see how you're using your Homestead kit!

Making Today Count

 Today I have a fun page with the August Take 10 kit to share with you! This the the first page of a very fun trip we took the the Children's Museum with friends in 2011. It was one of my daughter's first times at a place that has become a favorite. Then we stayed in the toddler area and enjoyed all the activities that were just her size. These days we roam all over the museum and enjoy hours of fun! All the color in the Wonder kit is the perfect compliment to this fun day trip.

I used my new distress markers in couple different shades to color my 'go 'wood veneer the right shade of pink as an accent on this picture.

I used yellow alphas from a previous Take 10 kit for my title card. I loved being able to use the airplane and letters here. Even though at this age we hadn't discovered it, later the airplanes and post office became a favorite place to play in the museum. I hope you have moments of fun this weekend! Happy Friday!

A Little Girl's Wonder

Hello! I don't know about you but this end of summer thing is giving everyone at my house vapors! So today it was so nice to sneak away for some me time with my August 'Wonder' kit. This page captures some special everyday moments of my then 1 year old baby girl. She's 5 now and I hope I'll look back as fondly on these days too. The pinks, blues and pop of orange were the perfect compliment to these pictures! My little girl fell asleep in the car on the way home from church and I just had to snap a pictures. There's just nothing sweeter than a relaxed sleeping face of a toddler. This page also records her first pigtails! Oh how I waited for her baby hair to be long enough to fit in these cute little stubs!

I can't wait to see how you're using your August Take 10 kit! I hope you all are having a wonderful Friday and are taking time to enjoy special everyday moments!

Hot Air Balloon Card

Good morning! 

Today I have a cute birthday card to share with you. My Dad's birthday is this week and we're getting him a special gift. So when I saw the hot air balloons in the August kit, I knew I had to use them for his card. I paired the hot air balloon ephemera with one of the cut apart strips, a watercolor background, Take 10 stamps from the March kit and some masculine paper in my stash. I could've also used the stamps that came in the August kit to get a great sentiment that was less specific to a birthday. Sadly my black ink doesn't want to show up as clear on the slick balloon paper but you've got to work with what you've got! 

I hope you enjoy the August 'Wonder' kit! It's so bright and colorful! I can't wait to create more cards and a few pocket pages. Remember to pop over to The Studio 29 Designs website to pick up your August Take 10 pocket card kit and glam bag tomorrow (the 15th) at 6pm EST. Use the code 'take10' to get 10% off your purchase. This cheerful kit will be the perfect compliment to your end of summer and back to school pictures.

Take 10 Tuesday | Containing Clutter

Hi! Today I'm sharing some of my storage solutions with you. Whether your version of pocket scrapbooking is just cards and photos or includes lots of embellishments, it's easy to all of a sudden bury your workspace. And though a creative mess is usually part of my process, I like to keep my space organized. I like to clear my desktop every week or two. It helps me focus, use my supplies better and have time for other projects!
So here's a few of my solutions for my small scrap space:

I love my Ikea desk and all its cubbies! I have stamps and project life cards and other random box type items on the lower shelves. I keep my albums and other constant use and small stuff up top. I have to remember the little curious fingers in my house. :) I have a variety of small containers for those items and this part of my system is still evolving...

I got this storage tower from my mom when she purged her scrapbooking supplies. It's awesome! It's not fancy out stylish or eye catching on any way but it's very usable. I keep paper and flat embellishments in the drawers. The top has always been small stuff but is mostly washi right now.

This looks like a mess but this is where all the random papers I want to keep go. I have a box for our family and for each of my 3 kids. Every time they have a doctor appointment or we go to the zoo, I save their stats and our tickets, etc in these boxes. So it's very handy to be able to look thru these boxes as I scrap our pictures. They're mostly in order by date and I try to mention what I have in my journal so I know to look for something to include on that page. I have one box from Ikea and the next time we go there I'll get 3 more. The closest Ikea is now about 3 hours away and we've only been once. Our list was so long that by the time I picked out these boxes at the end, I had to cut back to one for now. Gotta save the budget! :) 

I hope this peek into my storage solutions will inspire you to organize your crafting space with what you have on hand. I'll be sharing more of my organization solutions on my blog this month as well. Find out more about Take10 Tuesday here. Have a great Tuesday and find 10 minutes to bring out your creative side!

Summer Fun at the Park

 Hello! I have more cute stuff to share with you! This page is a continuation of our day trip from my last post. We split our time between watching the ducks and the playground that day. I am a big fan of parks with multiple levels. This park had tunnels and little slides that were perfect for my one year old. 

The Pinkfresh ephemera and puffy stickers were a great compliment to my pictures. How much do you love all the goodies in the glam bag this month! I created a couple simple filler cards with the HS Serendipity paper pad in my stash. I love how the yellows play off my daughter's bright dress and add to the cheery overall feel. I almost left the hearts card blank but with every other square having something extra, I decided to decorate it. I really like how the 'here & now' stamp fills the extra space in the corner. 

What little surprises have you found in your kit this month that have added just the right pop to your projects?

Summer Day Trip

 

 Hello! I just love all the watercolor in the July 'Refresh' kit! I love to use my gelatos and to get cards that just go with my creative style is a treat. I said this last month and it's true again, this kit is full of goodies! This is the first of multiple pages I'll be sharing with you this month. I'm getting a lot out of the 'Refresh' pocket kit and glam bag.

In July of 2011, we took a trip to PA to visit family. While we were there, we took a day trip to Lititz for some family time and to give our hosts a break. Lititz is a cute little town with shops and this great park to explore. There's a man-made creek that crosses the park and it was full of mama and baby duckies. We spent the day playing and watching the ducks swim!

This month I was determined to use my stamps better. I love the stamps we've been getting in the kits this summer but I still wasn't using them. It does take a little more effort to pull out ink and do the stamping thing. So before I started embellishing, I stamped all the shapes I thought would be useful on these pages on a white paper with black ink and cut them out. I put them in a tray with my other embellies. This way they're in front of me and I can just add them to my already colorful cards or use my gelatos to add color. My favorite is the heart stamp! So cute!

What's your favorite part of this month's kit? I can't wait to see what you do with it!

Summer Mixed Media

Hello! Happy Friday! Today I have some mixed media journaling pages to share with you. I love everything that came with the June 'Breathe' Take 10 kits and I've been able to create loads of projects with them! Not only was able to create the 2 project life pages and card I've already shared with you, but I have 2 more pages you'll have to catch here on my blog in the future and these fun mixed media pages! 

I'm playing along with Little Paper Projects summer class about Little Summer Joy.  The pitch: Here at LPP, we focus self-reflection and personal growth through journal + photography projects. Little Summer JOY Project is a practice in the essence of that mission: we want to find our joy, capture our joy, and reflect on our joy this summer. We’ll share our own personal celebrations, fun times with family and friends, and unique and inspiring ways to get yourself in the picture and become a part of your summer story. Find out more at LPP.

I find myself scrambling to fit everything in and forgetting to enjoy my summers, which is actually my favorite season. Really I feel that year around. Days are long with little ones and anything that helps me remember to enjoy the everyday moments is a plus for me. So I took on this project as a way to remember to treasure the little joyful moments this summer!

This week I created my title pages and my first entry about my summer manifesto. I used the Pineapple stamp and coordinating sentiment in colors that complimented my gelato background on the next page. Once I started water-coloring, I found out this paper is not made for that. So once it dried I added more gelato color and just tried to go with it. Sometimes mistakes are fun! :) (Sorry about the odd blue lighting on that one.) I used the Summer 2015 card and blue dot washi tape from the June Pocket kit. 

To create my Summer Manifesto pages, I used the Summer Vibes ephemera and alphas from the glam bag and a couple things from the May kit too that I layered over my gelato 'wind'. I really enjoyed pulling this page together with embellishments, definitions and my thoughts! I hope your finding joy in your summer and if not let me encourage you.. You can do it! Each day always has at least something small to be thankful for. And thankfulness brings joy.

Summer Time Page

Hello! I have another great page to share with you using the Breathe kit! I am just loving this kit! Between the Pocket kit and the Glam bag, I've been able to create almost 4 pages for my album. Now that's an amazing deal for $10! The June kit is full of so many cute cards and fun embellishments. 

This page documents more of the pool time we had with family on our summer vacation in 2011. What can I say, I just loved all these shots and couldn't leave out a single one. So yes, I have about 3 pages of swimming pictures. Sometimes you just get those perfectly cute and awesomely lit photos that you can't live without! :) I used cards and embellishments from the Breathe kit and even a card from a past kit that I hadn't found a home for yet. I really enjoyed the addition of the cut apart labels in the June kit and love the added touch they can lend to a picture or card. And I also added a splash of gelato mist the 'summer time' card to give it some extra dimension. I hope you've enjoyed creating cute projects and pages with your Breathe kit this month!

Did you get any goodies from the 4th of July flash sale?? And don't forget the July kit will be for sale on the 15th. Sneaks are already popping up on the Facebook group. Get your July kit 10% off with the code 'take10'.