PAPER GIRLS CHALLENGE BLOG: Challenge #170 - Now & Then

Today's challenge is to compare two different things. I chose to compare snowstorms five years apart. Snow is pretty rare in the Pacific Northwest, so it's kind of fun to look at the two very different snowstorms. 2014 was pretty tame, as it dumped between 12-14 inches at our house in the span of just a few days.

I used my Lindsey kit from Felicity Jane. I loved being able to use all of the great Valentine's style for a non-lovey project. I used a few Silhouette Online Store cut files (#104197-Felicity Jane, #220866-Paige Evans). The only thing that wasn't from the Lindsey kit from Felicity Jane was a single Thicker from YEARS ago. 

Supplies Used: Lindsey kit (Felicity Jane), Silhouette Online Store (#104197-Felicity Jane, #220866-Paige Evans), Thickers 

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Totally Tulip!! (ScrapbookSteals Mid-Week Mojo)

I finally finished a Mid-Week Mojo Series! Tulip to be exact! I have kept the layouts that I've already shared small, and enlarged the ones that I haven't shared at some point. Each is in order, with the sketch link below. I had quite a few that I had created throughout the ten weeks and just hadn't shared, one or two that I think I lost somewhere in my house (or I'm going crazy and imagined creating them!?!?!), and a few that I knocked out during a marathon create-session with the kiddos in my studio. However they happened (or got lost...) I finished! I'm TOTALLY TULIP!

Tulip #1 Sketch - Uses Authentique Playful Collection

Tulip #2 Sketch - Uses Webster's Pages Ocean Melody

Tulip #3 Sketch - Uses My June 2015 Shop Your Stash Kit

Tulip #4 Sketch - Uses a modpodge of Crate Paper, Pebbles, Authentique, My Mind's Eye, Webster's Pages and some other random stuff...

Tulip #5 Sketch - Uses Sassafras Lass Nerdy Bird

Tulip #6 Sketch - Uses My June 2015 Shop Your Stash Kit

Tulip #7 Sketch - Uses My June 2015 Shop Your Stash Kit

 Tulip #8 Sketch - Uses Echo Park Sweet Girl

 

Tulip #9 Sketch - From THIS LINK

 

Tulip #10 Sketch - Uses My June 2015 Shop Your Stash Kit

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Sunday Prepping! (ScrapbookSteals Sketch)

While the subject of this layout isn't exciting, or interesting, or even beautiful, it's what happens on a weekly basis. I try to keep organized. It's the thought that counts, right? I simplified this layout, layering all of the extra patterns, and made sure to pull colors that were located in the set of my favorite markers. All of the paper and embellishments are from my October Shop Your Stash kit that I created. 

I totally changed this sketch up, but I'm really pleased with the results. The sketch is the Gardenia #7 from ScrapbookSteals.com.

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December Pocket Pages Kit and Covered Christmas Notebook using Xyron Products

For thirty days, the Xyron Design Team is creating and sharing various tutorials focused on the holidays. Today, I have two projects: my December Pocket Pages kit that I created to document the holiday season, and a Christmas notebook that I can use to keep myself organized throughout the season. Make sure that you keep checking back on the Xyron Facebook page daily for more inspiration.

To start today's post, I want to share my December Pocket Pages kit that I created. I love all of those fantastic kits that are all around, but really wanted to create my own. I had a few pieces of amazing Christmas paper from the Gossamer Blue Get Happy line, and a great mini kit from Paper Issues.  

The kit is pretty basic. I really wanted to have something that I could take with  me, so kept everything fairly easy to work with and portable. If we do something great over the holiday, I wanted to be able to write about it in the moment. This means that I also kept my Xyron products portable as well. The Iris 12x12 Portable Project Case was a great holder for everything. From my Xyron items, I included  my Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape, Xyron 3" Sticker Maker, and Xyron Wedge Shaped Glue Stick. 

I also found some great things in the Target $1 Spot that I could add to my kit. I LOVE the gold!

 And some fun, bright papers!

So to make this fun cover, I pulled out my Xyron 9" Creative Station and got to work. The thing that I really love about Xyron products, is that because the adhesives are edge-to-edge, they completely cover vellum, without seeing any of the adhesive. So that gorgeous gold vellum is in perfect condition.

I manual die cut the circles, then ran those through my Xyron 9" Creative Station.

Then I stacked those and adhered them to the Simple Stories 8x6 Sn@p Binder. 

To add some interest, I then took the die cut from the Merry Memories Limited Edition Swag Bag and ran that through my Xyron 3" Sticker Maker. This way, it wouldn't peel off of the cover.

Those $1 Spot stickers aren't the greatest sticking stickers, so I took a strip of Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape and placed it on a piece of striped paper. Then I adhered the stickers to the Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape, and cut it out and adhered it to the cover with some more Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape.

Add a quick die cut, some Thickers and a red nose (Liquid Pearls) on the reindeer, and there's my cover!

And of course it needed a title, so to make sure that the little title stuck in place, I made sure that it wouldn't move or shift by adding some Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape to the back of the die cut.

I also wanted to share my fun way to keep organized throughout the Christmas season. I love small Moleskine cahiers, as they have enough pages for a larger event, but not too much that I don't use most of the pages. Plus, if I see something I really like, I can always sketch something out.

These are super easy and quick to cover and decorate. I started by running a piece of paper through my Xyron 9" Creative Station. Once that was sticky, I adhered it to the journal, making sure that it would still open easily and lay flat.

Once it was positioned correctly, I trimmed the edges with a kraft knife. If you overcut, just scrape the knife around the edges to rough them up and hide any imperfections.

To start decorating the book, I cut a strip of paper, ran it through my Xyron 3" Sticker Maker, and attached it to the book. 

To add some decoration, and again play with some non-traditional papers, I ran a die cut and a piece of glassine envelope through my Xyron 9" Creative Station. Just like the vellum, the glassine can be difficult to work with as most other adhesives you would notice. 

Once that was attached to the book, I tied it off with some Lawn Fawn (Lawn Trimmings-Gold Sparkle Single Cord) and stamped a sentiment using the Catslife Press stamp (1185B). 

Thank you for stopping by to see today's tutorial. Make sure that you check out all of the Xyron's Design Team member's blogs (links are to your right), and the Xyron Facebook page regularly this season to see all 30 Days of Holiday!

Supplies Used:

December Pocket Pages Kit

Xyron 9" Creative Station, Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape, Xyron 3" Sticker Maker, We R Memory Keepers Nesting Circles Die Set, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Target $1 Spot (tags, striped tags, mini gold alphas), American Crafts (Shimelle-Haynes, Daiquiri gold Thickers), Elle's Studio (Good Cheer paper), Crate Paper (Notes and Things-So Simple; Maggie Holmes-Openbook), My Mind's Eye (Necessities-Metallic Stripe), Gossamer Blue (Get Happy papers and envelopes), Liquid Pearls (Rouge), Catslife Press stamp (1185B), Paper Issues (Merry Memories Limited Edition Swag Bag), Iris 12x12 Portable Project Case, Simple Stories 8x6 Sn@p Binder

Covered Christmas Notebook

Xyron 9" Creative Station, Crate Paper-Sleigh Ride (papers and chipboard), glassine envelope, Catslife Press stamp (1185B), Lawn Fawn (Lawn Trimmings-Gold Sparkle Single Cord), Moleskine cahier

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October's Shop Your Stash Kit...

So, as you may have noticed, I've renamed the kits that I make as Shop Your Stash Kits. There's a few reasons, and if you're a reader of my blog, you've noticed that I've been wrestling with what to call these creations. The short version is, I didn't want to use a name that I was not 100% comfortable with. There are ton of challenge blogs that all create themed kits, based on other companies' kits. I've done them, it's totally fun. But I don't want to imitate the amazing kits that others make, I just want to use up what I have. No challenges, no prizes, (unless you count all of the projects you make!) and no pressure. If you want more information on my process and what exactly I'm doing, I've made a PAGE to better explain how I go about Shopping My Stash!

Now for the pictures, and October's Shop Your Stash Kit!! Reality moment: this kit has been made for almost a month. Seriously... I'm in love with this kit, and the mood board that inspired it. I have SO many plans... But they have to start somewhere, and this is the lovely inspiration picture that started it all:

OMGoodness!! Isn't it just divine! So gorgeous, so Halloweeny without being all cheesy... I was just in love. Vanessa over at lbg studio created this amazing "Mood Board" and I swear, it spoke to me. I loved all of it from the apples (you'll see them!), to the pumpkins, feathers, woodgrain, stars, hot cocoa (which I'm totally translating into coffee...) and the patchwork. And those pocket scrapbook cards... that I may have just purchased because of this board. Look forward to a month of Halloween, Autumn and fun family pics!

Paper Top Row L-R:
Dancette (Spirited) - Authentique
You & Me (Stella & Rose) - My Mind's Eye
Remember (Lime Twist) - My Mind's Eye
Summer Dress (Indian Summer) - WeRMK
Polka Polka (Count Me In) - Sassafras Lass
Teal Large Dot (Dots & Stripes) - Echo Park
Juniper (Into the Woods) - Lawn Fawn
Clove (Nutmeg) - Cosmo Cricket
Tube Socks (Boyfriend) - Cosmo Cricket

Paper Bottom Row L-R:
Hoot of Owl (Witch Hazel) - October Afternoon
Picnic (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Stripe (Uncharted Waters) - Glitz
Victorian (Random Collection) - Crate Paper
Big Sky (Open Road) - Crate Paper
Fun & Games (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Grove (Countryside) - Studio Calico
Acorn (Nutmeg) - Cosmo Cricket
Fitting In (Boyfriend) - Cosmo Cricket

Shaped Paper
Smile (Lime Twist) - My Mind's Eye

Cardstock
black - American Crafts
Eggshell (Simply Spring) - WeRMK
reddish - American Crafts
light orange - American Crafts  

Embellishments:
Sculpture Flowers - Prima
Layered Stickers (Lost & Found 2) - My Mind's Eye
Circle Garland (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Fla!r (Spooky) - American Crafts
Orange Chevron Washi (Amy Tangerine) - American Crafts
Chipboard Alpha - Sassafras Lass
Delights (Spice) - American Crafts
Dimensional Stickers - American Crafts
Word Stickers (Witch Hazel) - October Afternoon
Bingo Card - Pretty Little Studio
Various Die Cut Cards - Elle's Studio & October Afternoon
Mini Market Alpha (Pumpkin) - October Afternoon
Stickers (Hattie) - My Mind's Eye
Tickets (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Twine (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Kraft Borders - Anna Griffin
Happy Harvest Printable - Life Love Paper
FREE!! Back to School Printable - OneHappyMama.com 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

Just a Fun Card

Sometimes I really just need a card. In this case, it was actually to place a long set of stickers that I had purchased for one of my dear scrappy friends. I needed a long card, so measured one that would fit in a long, traditional envelope. I also had snagged a set of the Lawn Fawn Stitched Party Banners Lawn Cuts, and wanted to play with those on the card.

Like many of my cards, I used the leftovers of a Gossamer Blue kit from August of 2013. I don't subscribe to the Main Kits anymore (I do the Life Pages kits now), but when I did, I would toss all of my leftovers in a Ziploc bag and pull them out for cards. That way, I could toss anything together and it would all go.  In this case, I pulled a few other pieces from other items together as well. I think the green patterned paper was from something else, I cannot remember.

Anyway, it's a cute card. I still love that My Mind's Eye floral paper. <3 br="">

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Back to Scrapping, and My One Little Word

The past few weeks have been extremely busy, although I'm not sure I did much at all. Christmas was a blur, we hosted for the very first time. I made an amazing dinner of turkey, all of the traditional sides, and multiple deserts including Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls and a Yule log. Seriously, an amazing feast.

Regardless, I've had a thought throughout this season that I was overdoing it. So my word* for this year is Simplify. I really want to focus on what is really important, for myself, my family, my work, and my life. I feel that although I like to take on the world, I don't need to in order to prove that I am good enough.

Part of Simplying my life was upholding the promise that I made to myself concerning my wonderful Gossamer Blue  kits. I had to cancel my Monthly Main Kit. I had made a deal with myself that I was going to participate each month in their Album Challenge and create at least for layouts by the 14th. Come December 14th, I hadn't finished my four layouts and honored my word. I didn't want to give up completely (mainly because Gossamer Blue puts out some amazing kits, and one day I would like to re-sub again!!!), and instead joined Gossamer Blue's Life Pages kit. I wanted a Simple way to document life, and wanted unique products to create with still. I will still create layouts, just by using my large stash of awesome products.

This was my first layout in awhile not using a pre-fabbed kit. I used my Crate Paper DIY Shop kit that I snagged from ScrapbookSteals right before September's Crop in Utah. I loved pairing the soft hues with these beautiful pics of my girls. I even used the Iolite #6 sketch from ScrapbookSteals.

 

*The One Little Word is part of the Ali Edwards brand and philosophy. While I am not currently doing her class, I am taking a personal look at life using a bit of this philosophy. I'm not sure yet if adding another project within this would truly Simplify my life right now... Maybe in Summer! If you want more information on both Ali's classes and information, please see her 2014 post on her blog. Thanks!

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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

Winner Winner!!!! Maria & Her New Card Kit!

Congratulations Maria!!!! You were commenter Number 4, and you have won the mini card kit. I will contact you later today and get mailing info.

And yes, sadly I went old school with my number drawing system. My computer has been loading documents/photos/etc. for days...

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Scraplift with Crate Paper's Fourteen...

I was playing around this weekend with my February Gossamer Blue kit and ran into a challenge... How to use the Sparks paper from Crate Paper's Fourteen line. It's a pretty fantastic chevron-ish paper. Super bold, super pretty, but kind of hard to use.

I knew that I had already pinned a fantastic layout using this paper, so found it and scraplifted away!! Here is the original image from one of Crate Paper's Design Team members, Katie Ehmann. I loved how she used vellum and her Cameo to create a background design.

I decided to use a fun background that I had not used yet, Chevron Stripes from the Silhouette Online Store. I didn't want the entire square, but wanted all of the fun pattern, so squished it into a 4x11" rectangle. The vellum was from a Studio Calico kit awhile back, and had feathers on it, but since the pattern was pretty complicated you cannot even tell.

Rather than all of the patterned papers, I simplified the color scheme to mainly grays, and used pops of red and fuchsia from my GB kit.  I also used just one photo of my biggest, Miss I. She's one of my absolute favorite people in the world. I just love her spunky nature and all of the funny things she says. Pin It

Cute January GB Card

I love when my kits get down to just enough paper and embellishments to create cards. Because all of the elements already go together and match so well, it's easy just to take pieces and create great little cards to send away. This sweet little card is for a scrappy friend who just had a little baby. And not to leave out the new Big Sister, I created a little badge for her using my Cameo. Cuteness!

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