Capture Summer Cuteness

Today I have a great layout to share with you using the July Take 10 kit! My page is full of cuteness and purple! :) Purple is not a color you find much in pocket scrapbook kits so I admit, I wasn't sure how I'd feel working with it. But I love combining it with blue. It's my favorite color! So with purple, blue and gold accents my cute page came together. 

This page captures a few more moments from our day trip to Lititz, PA. I still laugh thinking about the moments these pictures record. After a long day at the park and walking around little shoppes, my daughter was worn out. But the last stop was a Toy store. She did love the toy store but she wasn't a fan of the big bear on the front bench. So instead of a cute picture next to the big stuffed bear, we have tears next to him. I still think it's cute! 

All the glam bag elements really helped pull my page together. I love the puffy phrases! Here's a couple close ups. I used the transparent frame to highlight our faces in the bear picture but not obscure anything. I added purple gelato splatters to my blue tag with the camera to tie the blue and purple elements together. And I cut apart my polka dot frame to spread that element around my picture when the frame wasn't the right size. I also added some gold gelato in random places for a little more sparkle. The watercolor theme of the whole kit made it easy to add gelato elements to tie cards together. I just love my gelatos!!

Now that we're moving into August, I hope you've been inspired and are creating multiple gorgeous pages with your July 'Refresh' kit! I sure have enjoyed seeing all the beautiful pages. Each kit ends up having a few cards or elements that don't speak to me right away. But when I see fellow scrappers using them, I get so inspired. Please share you work with us!

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'.

Head in the Clouds card

Good Morning! Morning.. right? I don't know about you but fireworks do not make for restful nights at my house. I might need extra coffee this weekend. :) This week our 10th wedding anniversary and my husband had time off work. So while I didn't forget our anniversary, I wasn't exactly prepared. Eek! I needed to whip up a card and fast! So I turned to my Take 10 supplies. 

I used all this from the pocket kit and glam bag (minus the 2 things noted): 

• blue cardstock from my stash (light blue for one of our wedding colors)
• Simple Stories Summer Vibes ephemera
• pineapple vellum that I trimmed
• Citrus Bliss paper (add-on)
• an Evalicious Wood veneer
• Enamel Dots
• Turquoise alphas
• White alphas from my stash

Can you believe it!? All those goodies to make a really cute, well coordinated card! I think my 5 year old is more in love with it than my hubby since it's so bright and cheerful and a little girly. But he loves the personal message and the loving thoughts it came with. :) 

I hope you're enjoying the Breathe kit this month! I've been able to create multiple pages and this card with my kits. Have you come up with any unique projects using your kit this month or are you getting lots of cheerful layouts from it like me? I can't wait to see your creativity. Have a happy and hopefully restful 4th of July! Or just a great weekend if you're not in the States!