June 2016 Projects From the June Gossamer Blue Main Kit

I had to wait a few days to break into my June Main Kit from Gossamer Blue. Summer just started, and we are already having a blast at a our house. The girls and I crafted quite a bit today, and here is what I ended up with!

I loved this Pinkfresh paper. It went perfect with this lovely black and white photograph of the wonderful spot in the painting studio of my alma mater. The flair is from my stash, and the sequins are from an older GB Life Pages kit.

This photo sums up my littlest to a tee. She's funny, she's silly, and she's all mine. I added a little bit of black cardstock and a print and cut file by Simple Stories.

We have spent much of our Spring at some lovely T-Ball games. My little player is fierce, bold, and such a good team player.

I think I craft about this little monster every time I have a set of projects. The past month or so, he has put us through the ringer. A few issues and a few visits to the vet. Thank goodness that's over now. I love all of the pops of black, and the enamel dots.

And of course a few cards. I snagged an older GB Life Pages card, using some Glossy Accents on the balloons for a great birthday card. The other two use another print and cut, this one by Amy Tangerine.

I think I will try to figure out how many extra cards I can make with the little bits and pieces that are leftover from the June Main Kit. I'm guessing about eight more :)

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GOSSAMER BLUE: Delight in the Details Class and Class Kit!!!!

I am SUPER excited to share with you that I was asked earlier this summer to help contribute for a Gossamer Blue class. The fabulous Jill Keller put together this course, and chose all of the contributors: Monika Wright, Emily Spahn, Sabrina Alery and ME! It's called Delight in the Details.

From Gossamer Blue: Delight in the Details: a class focused on taking your layouts from good to gorgeous! Learn to layer and embellish while focusing on techniques for enhancing page backgrounds, clustering embellishments, creating dimension and all of the little things that will make your finished projects stand out and be noticed. Register now, as class begins September 28th!! And best part, if you register soon, you get a fantastic stamp set designed by One Little Bird.

There's also a class kit! And seriously... This class kit is AMAZING! I really loved all of the details, the embellishments, the sequins (oh, the sequins!!)...

I couldn't resist snagging you a little sneak of one of my four (4!!) projects that I created using this kit. Let me know if you join the class! I'd love to see what you come up with.

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Quick Cards from Gossamer Blue Kits

EEK! Sometimes I seriously just take the last little bits of a kit and toss it with some cardstock and card bases to see how many different cards I can make. This set was made using the Gossamer Blue March Main Kit waaaaaaay back from March 2014. I've been hanging onto these beautiful leftover bits since then.

How do you use your scraps? Leave me a link and I'll come check them out!! Pin It

Celebrating 100 Posts for Creating Us!!!

My lovely (and über-talented) friend Jill Keller is celebrating her 100th Blog Post on her blog today! I met her through the Gossamer Blue community, and she has recently started to design for them. She does a fabulous job and is one of the reasons that I decided to re-sub starting next month!! Make sure that you check out her blog today, as I know that she is having a super-fabulous giveaway! Pin It

Using Up Those Old Kits... (Gossamer Blue August 2013)

It's probably ironic that it took me an entire year to use up this kit (Gossamer Blue August 2013). It was just too darn pretty to use quickly. I even added a little more cardstock to complete these. The first two are baby cards for school. We had (and more are on their way!) quite a few babies on staff this last year. A few were, and are to be born this summer. It's super exciting!

The first is rather unisex. The blues and pink balance out, and the touch of yellow makes it not too gender specific. The second is obviously for a boy. I love the Lawn Fawn dies (Scripty Hello and Stitched Party Banners) and think that both of these shine because of them.

The last card is really not specific. It's a congratulatory card... But for what? I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure that it will be used somehow.

And that finishes the August 2013 Gossamer Blue kit. I think there are just a couple of buttons left, but I'll find uses for those at a later date. Pin It

Drink Love (Gossamer Blue September 2013 kit)

Life has been a bit crazy lately. So much so, that I had these layouts sitting in my "Drafts" folder until today... That was since October 13th. Yeah... I'm just now catching up :)

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Gossamer Blue Life Pages (January 6-12)

This was a fun week. Mostly. We got back into the routine of non-Christmas vacation. Had a bit of 12th Man fever. GO SEAHAWKS! Miss I was able to go to TinkerTopia (and be on local TV!) and I figured out how to comb those My Little Pony dolls from Build-a-Bear (wig brush, warm water and detangler).

In the midst of the January Gossamer Blue kit, I mixed in some of my Elle's Studio stash, and whatever letter stickers I could find. This month uses some Fancy Pants chipboard, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type and Basic Grey stickers.

If you are in the greater South Sound area, I suggest checking out TinkerTopia. It's a "Creative Reuse Center" that blends recycling and art. It's pretty darn fun!

I loved the sweet pics from this week. I love capturing honest, wonderful moments of pure joy. Pin It

Gossamer Blue Life Pages (December 29-January 5)

I started this year by snagging the wonderful Gossamer Blue Life Pages monthly kits. I really adored their Scrapbook kits, but life was getting in the way of me using them as much as I had liked... So I made the switch, and will scrapbook using past kits and my stash instead of the monthly kit. I had made a deal with myself, that if I didn't complete the four layouts needed for the Album Challenge, I had to give up my scrapbook kit until I could make that happen. I also really liked seeing the great things that came out of the Project Life style of scrapbooking, but really wanted my layouts to express myself, and think that the GB kits really do that.

This is the first full week of January. I started with Gossamer Blue's January 2014 Kit and their amazing die cuts! As you can see, we hung out, I added a few pics of what we did, and my sweet date with my oldest.

Can you tell that my littlest figured out how to snap her own pics?? I also have the same version that my oldest took when she was this age!! Too sweet!

Most (if not ALL!) of my pics are taken with my iPhone... LOVED the movie Frozen. If you haven't already seen it, I highly suggest going to see it!! Pin It

August Gossamer Blue Layouts!! (The Non-Travel Edition)

I will admit, when I saw Gossamer Blue's August kit, I was stumped. We had no real trips planned, and I was getting caught up on the subject of the papers, rather than simply embrace the wonderful colors that were available to me. Once I made this layout, I felt that I had captured the spirit of the papers even though I hadn't really gone on vacation.

This fun (and bright!) layout was created to display the airplane that my oldest was able to see. I loved all of the travel/airplane elements in the October Afternoon paper and Basic Grey elements. I was even able to use the Elle's Studio stamp! The cut is from the GB kit, but it got a little "weathered" in the making of it, so I just went with it and distressed it even further. Happy Accidents!

I loved this picture of my oldest (and her two friends). Mainly because I felt it was the worst space/alien/robot costume ever. I totally forgot about making her costume and it was the last week of school. Hence the box with tin foil. And markers. I'll do better this next year, I promise! I have no idea what the song they sung was, and Google is no help lately, but the title comes from one of the lines.

I absolutely loved this sketch, and am in love with this layout. It is a direct translation of this Silhouette Blog Sketch. I adore sketches. Most of the time, when I have creators block, I turn to a sketch. Sometimes I completely lift the idea, sometimes I totally change and alter it. During the beginning of this layout, I was not in a creative space, and once finished... Had found my mojo once again!

This is one of my favorite non-kid photos. It's a Instagram of the Murray Morgan Bridge in Tacoma. It's this crazy moving bridge that is a local landmark. It seems like the city has been working on it forever, but that's only because someone messed up the construction at some point. I love how the sun's rays just made this amazing. Plus, it gave me another way to use the fun BG location papers.

I hope you enjoyed this month's layouts! Pin It

And That Makes Peridot 1-10: ScrapbookSteals.com

Most every week, I try to do a layout alongside of ScrapbookSteals.com. My lovely friend Melodee has been the Mojo Mama for this series. It's lovely to see her (and a guest designer or two) create wonderful sketches each week. I've used some of my Gossamer Blue June kit, some MME Alphabet Soup, and leftovers from my April Gossamer Blue kit.

 Peridot 1: Your Grin is Beautiful

Peridot 2: PDZA: What do you mean I cannot go pet the tigers?


Peridot 3: We Get to Keep Her?

Peridot 6: Untitled

Just in case you want to check out my versions of the rest of the series:
Peridot 4
Peridot 5
Peridot 7
Peridot 8
Peridot 9
Peridot 10

I cannot wait for the next in the series!
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Two Summery Sketches (Paper Bakery & ScrapbookSteals)

I love sketches. I know I've said it before, but I do. They let me not overthink projects, which for me and Summer... Totally a good thing.

My first project is using the Paper Bakery Sketch Challenge #6. I used some of my Echo Park Everyday Eclectic products. I got the entire set last summer... And then never did much with it. My bad. Those darn new babies ;)  I really loved using it this summer, as the colors are just perfect with bright pictures.

I did snag a little bit of fun from the new Paper Bakery Sketch Challenge 7. DOODLES!! I loved how they were used on Juliana's version, so snagged the idea for myself. 

My second project for your enjoyment today is using Melodee's sketch over at ScrapbookSteals.com. I love this page. There is a second sketch for the entire two pager, but I used pics of Miss I's birthday with her friends. I'll save that for my own album.

It's not completely noticeable, but there is a hint of vellum underneath the photos. I just loved how subtle this was. I used one of the "life cards", and just blew it up as large as I could. Again though... The Cameo just doesn't like the vellum. I think I just need a stickier mat. Oh well... I'll restick it this week. And the Crate Paper The Pier from the June Gossamer Blue kit... Swoon!! I just loved all of the bits and pieces.

This week is supposed to be a scorcher. In the 80's. Don't laugh... It usually rains (no joke!) in the Pacific Northwest over the Fourth of July weekend. Thank goodness for the heat pump! I'll be prepping for CHA and Authentique over this week as well. Maybe I'll post a few sneaky peeks.... Just maybe... Pin It

Sisters: And Best Friends... MWM: Amber 6

I love my little monkeys. They really are pretty darn funny. This was created before my computer went all wonky... Hence the Silhouette file. I actually used an older Gossamer Blue kit (August '12) for this layout. I really liked all of the yellow that was in this kit. Yellow isn't a normal color that I go to, but because it was tempered with aqua and pink... It was perfect.

For this layout, I used the Amber 6 MWM from Scrapbook Steals as my sketch. Rather than the separate photos, I combined them into a collage. I really liked using the three photos. So cute!! Pin It

Movie Date (Gossamer Blue April Kit & Paper Bakery Sketch)

I love this memory. It was right before I went into the hospital to deliver Ro. Miss I wanted to see the Disney movie Brave. It was her first movie, and our last real Mommy, Daddy, Miss I date. It was important to make sure that it was exactly what she wanted as very soon, she was not going to be an only child. We went to the movie. I dumped popcorn all over everywhere. Then, we went to Ben & Jerry's. Miss I was so pumped, that she couldn't even sit through the movie, she kept standing up the entire time.

For this layout, I used pieces from my April Gossamer Blue kit, and the coordinating Bits & Pieces Add-on. I normally don't ever get any of the add-ons... But with all of the lovely Maggie Holmes/Crate Paper products, I couldn't resist. I also used the most adorable Elle's Studio stamp. Pin It

Inspired by AtomicVenetia...

I love finding inspiration from my local sources (meaning... snagging ideas from my lovely friends). In this case, I used a layout that my friend Venetia created. I used a few of the ideas that she had used in her layout, to inspire my choices.

I was inspired by splattered ink, floral washi, banners, little embellishments scattered and tilted journaling. Hers was hidden, but I used a tag from the Gossamer Blue April Bits & Pieces Add-On. The paper, washi tape, and frames are from the April Main Kit. I'm really loving the combo of navy and pink that seems to be everywhere now!! And the Maggie Holmes products were lovely!! Pin It

MWM Amber 7 & Gossamer Blue's March Kit

I've been pretty lame on the MWM front this term. There is no possible way that I would remotely finish all of the Amber sketches... I do have a few that I actually did finish. Here, I used the Amber 7 MWM by the wonderful Melodee Cloud.

I loved this photo from Easter. There was so much pink loveliness. I also snagged some cute sequins from Michael's in rainbow colors. They just HAD to be glued to the rainbow hearts on the fantastic Glitz paper that was in Gossamer Blue's March kit. It really was an amazing kit; full of bright colors and fun patterns. Pin It

10 Minute Craft Dash... Creating Cards in No Time at All!

WOW. I have scrapped in 10 minutes before, and I thought that was hard. Making a card in 10 minutes that I actually wanted to use was even harder. You really don't want to see the first one I did. It had banners and fussy cutting, and marker. Not pretty. Created in under 10 minutes, but a total trainwreck. So... I went and looked at the challenge examples again (at PrettyPinkPosh) and kept it simple.

To make sure that I could stay within my 10 minutes, I first set out all of my supplies. Keeping everything close to hand made it easy to create without having to make too many decisions. 

See all of that stuff? Nope. Didn't use everything. I'm okay with that. Having it out gave me options. I went with what felt natural instead of forcing something that wasn't to be.

And just in case you were wondering... Here is my time left out of the 10 minutes. Seriously... It didn't even take 5 minutes!!! I can only credit that to a pre-folded card base, stamping directly onto the paper (a risk since I'm NOT a stamper... I credit some great stamping advice a few friends have given me lately), washi tape and embellishments that already have adhesive on them. The faux stitching was the most difficult and time consuming thing for the whole card.

Seriously FUN challenge. Really. I think I'm going to try it again. :) Pin It

March Layouts with Gossamer Blue

Just a couple of layouts to share today using my March Gossamer Blue kit. The first layout is a lift from one of the Gossamer Blue subscribers, Elmatt27. I just loved her layout, and for the Gossamer Blue Member Scraplift Challenge I wanted to use the bright colors and graphic feel that she had in her project. I used one of my Hipstamatic pics that was pretty blurry. It made for a perfect photo for this project though.

 

The second layout used the Elle's Studio Today paper on which I created a blackboard feel with the white gel pen title and some chalk ink. I then layered some bright colors with an Elle's Studio Summer Lovin' journaling box, some tags, and yellow washi.

Enjoy! Pin It

For a Lovely Friend

I created today. Which is big, because we've been complete sickies in our house. Finally, I and the little Miss are okay. The Big Miss was still out today. Although she's started arguing with me today, which I'm going to take as a good sign that she's feeling better.

Here is the lovely little card that I made for my lovely friend Melissa. It's her birthday today, and I know that she'd LOVE some well wishes!! I used the August Gossamer Blue kit that I won last year, some October Afternoon Sprinklers in Hopscotch and a Stella & Rose sticker. I just love those kits, especially when I get to the ends and get to start using them as card kits.

PS. Melissa... This is going to be a little late :) Pin It

I Love How Much You Love Her (GB February)

I love when my girls get along. Really, it is the most perfect thing to see. Miss I wants to read SOOOO badly. So, until this summer comes about, she "reads" to Ro. Which is pretty amazing to see. Both of the girls had no clue that I was snapping photos until Miss Ro checked me out. I was being pretty sly for about a second. 

This layout pretty much fell together using February's Gossamer Blue kit. I double matted the photos. They were originally going to be separate, but I really didn't like how that looked, so matted them again in pink. I used one of the title pieces from the Carta Bella paper. Then used the Carta Bella, Crate Paper and some Basic Grey letters I had to complete the title. Lastly, I embellished using a combination of Pink Paislee hearts, My Mind's Eye enamel dots and a Studio Calico heart.

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It's a Good Day (GB February)

The only problem (and it really isn't a problem!!) with using a kit service, is you do run out of full 12x12 sheets. My solution, (OH DARN!) is to go into my extensive stash and find something that both works with the kit, and the photo. In this case, I went searching through my Sassafras Lass papers. I found this great sheet of Simply Smitten, and checked the back for the most fantastic matching page. It even has journaling lines!!

I even was able to use up almost all of the Amy Tangerine letters that I got earlier! I love when a title makes me use a bunch of otherwise wasted letters.

What isn't shown, is the little kraft envelope behind the photo is actually filled with another photograph taken about seven months after the main image. It's of the two girls laying together on the bed. My hope for the two girls to get along is so far happening. I couldn't be happier! Pin It