I love my Free For All assignments from Bella Blvd. Basically on those days I get to take any collection I want and any photos I want and scrap about any theme that I want, which usually means that I start flipping through my photos until I come across one that just hits me and then I run with it.

For this layout, I landed on a photo of my niece, Sophie Clare, that I shot last Father's Day while she was just hanging out in her crib and basically being her adorable little self. No big story, not a ton of writing, just a cute photo and some pretty paper from the Spring Flings and Easter Things collection.

Can you tell I'm still loving the banners? They're such a fun way to include little bits of lots of different papers.

And, yes, the doily obsession is still hanging around, too. My latest love is to layer them over white cardstock for a tone on tone look. You'll see that in another project later in March, too!

scrapbook circle | cards with the february 2012 kit

Last year I managed to find my layout groove, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I still struggle with cards on occasion. Something magical happened with the (now sold out) February 2012 kit from Scrapbook Circle, though, and I managed to make not one but four cards that I'm proud to describe as "not hideous." Ha!

I don't know if it was the awesome array of supplies (everything on the cards is a combination of Rhonna Farrer's Follow Your Heart collection, some Elle's Studio tags, and the Flower Sack from October Afternoon's Farmhouse line) or the fact that I actually put very, very little on my cards that made these work, but I'm so very happy with the way they turned out!

All of the stamps (excluding the one on the card bove that's from one of the older Dear Lizzy lines by American crafts) are by Papertrey Ink. I also found myself getting slightly addicted to heat embossing (thanks to some silver Zing powder by American Crafts) on these, and now I'm finding myself using it on layouts and projects all the time- you'll be seeing lots of it in the next month!

Am I finally finding my card groove? Will I be able to "up the ante" on my next set (I'm thinking dry embossing would be a nice touch)? Only time, and maybe the next Scrapbook Circle kit will tell!

And speaking of the next kit, Best Day Ever and the coordinating add-on for March, Scatter Sunshine, are now live at Scrapbook Circle!

Here are just a few peeks at the kit...

 

 

 

 

 

...and at the add-on. Such gorgeous stuff!

 

 

 

project life 2011 | december 18-24

I thought I'd back things up a bit this week and show one of the older Project Life layouts (if last December can be considered older...I mean, it's sooooo 2011, right?) that I'm working on catching up on. I actually finished up several of them while at a crop a couple of weeks ago- which reminds me to say that Project Life makes great "packing for a crop" material. All I had to do was toss the album (I already had all of the photos and ephemera ready to go and grouped by week) and a few kits/paper lines into a bag, grab my generic tool kit and my Project Life tray, and off I went!

For the week including Christmas Eve, I actually included two inserts (how's that for stretching my "I really try not to have inserts rule)- one was a 6x12 page protector to hold a few more photos since it was such a busy week, and the other is a plain 8.5x11 sheet protector (from Office Depot) that I stuck the Sunday program from church (since it showed the Christmas Eve service times) in.

Here's a closer look at the left side:

The shot above shows it without the insert, and below you can see it with the insert(s) flipped open. I really like how the 6x12 protector lines up and looks like it's part of the page!

I used several little Elle's Studio tags this week along with lots of supplies from the Holiday Style line by October Afternoon. I love those papers and found that I used the 8x8 pad, the chipboard, and the Miscellany Pack the most.

I couldn't help using this "Naughty List" tab over the photo of Tigger. He could not keep himself away from the tree, and in fact used one of the chairs in our living room as a "springboard" several times to launch himself right into the middle of it.

The cat is crazy.

I've been pulling out doilies more often to scrap with lately, especially for Project Life. The alpha stickers are by American Crafts, and I cut the ticket strip using my Silhouette Cameo.

I didn't do a ton of embellishing on the photo insert, but I did add a couple of little things.

And here's the right side...

And the right side with inserts...

See? Another doily. And another Elle's Studio tag!

I had a lot of fun dressing up some of the plain Project Life Grid Journaling cards with the Holiday Style items. Here I placed a little strip from the Miscellany Pack right down the side just to add a touch of color.

And here's one of the small Elle's Studio cards that I backed with a piece of Holiday Style paper to make it fit the 3x4 pocket.

I used a bit of chipboard and a few stickers on this side of the insert. With all of the busy Christmas goings on in the photos, these pages really didn't need a whole lot more added to them!

I was on a roll with the Holiday Style papers and embellishments, so I kept them out to work on the next week's spread that included Christmas day. I'm thinking I might share that one next week- we'll see!

cha winter 2012 | behind the scenes

Finally, finally, finally, I'm getting around to posting pictures of something other than pretty paper and stickers from CHA Winter 2012. I wanted to get the "business" end of things out of the way before I jumped into other fun stuff, since this is more of a personal post. There are definitely things here that need to be documented!

One of the great things about attending this show was that I got to hang out with this amazing girl.

May Flaum and I had been emailing, chatting, and Skyping for more than a year, but this was the first time we actually met in person. She's so completely awesome that I secretly (or not so secretly now :) ) want to move her next door to me. But, alas, she lives on a completely different coast. ::sigh::

There are definitely more photos of me at this show than from the summer one. Part of that's because miss May was around a bit to take photos for me, and the other part is because I looked for opportunities to take them myself...like this one I shot in a mirror at the Sizzix booth. :)

I also had the chance to meet designers like Elizabeth Kartchner for the first time. Liz is an absolute sweetheart, and I adore the new additions she's made to Dear Lizzy!

I met Amy Tan at the summer show, and I was happy that we had the chance to catch up again in Anaheim. I love that she's so down-to-earth and just plain approachable! I can't wait for her new Sketchbook collection to be released next month.

May introduced me to Margie Romney-Aslett at the Bazzill booth. I was quite excited to meet her since I'd adored her designs for The Girls' Paperie, and I'm happy to report that her new collection with Bazzill is just as gorgeous!

I didn't see nearly as many Tim Holtz demos during this show as I did at the last one, but I love this shot I got of May using her iPhone to photograph him in action. I got completely lucky that her phone's screen was in such sharp focus!

Sunday afternoon we attended a media event at the EK Success booth, and the "beer o' clock" jokes started. One of the servers caught me taking photos of the spread and arranged the bottles for me. :)

Speaking of food photos, I had a total scrappers' experience when I went to dinner that night with May and Shimelle. I have to say that Shimelle is as absolutely adorable in person as she is in her videos- loved hanging with her!

You see, when you're at a table full of scrapbookers, nobody bats an eyelash when you pull out a camera to photograph your food before eating. In fact, they'll pull out cameras of their own and then proceed to help you arrange everything nicely and clear away clutter before you all start shooting.

Many thanks to the staff at California Pizza Kitchen for not thinking we were total weirdos. And for the amazing fried macaroni.

Monday at the show May had a book signing...where I completely embarrassed her (on purpose). It's okay...she got me back for the entire rest of the show. :)

I almost missed getting to catch up with the Scrapbook Circle girls because we never seemed to be roaming around in the same place, but luckily they caught me while I was eating lunch and we were able to chat a bit and take a photo at the Ranger book.

Dinner Monday night was a bit more low-key. May and I headed down to the lobby bar and ordered up appetizers to split. Soooo happy to find out that she and I have the same taste in food- it makes ordering and sharing so easy!

Tuesday morning I just happened to end up sharing an elevator with the Education Coordinator for EK Success, which led to May and I being in invited to a make and take session at their booth that morning. Much to our surprise (and May's delight), we were able to meet the owner of French General while there, as well! Yes, May went totally fangirl for a minute. :)

Being fab at the Jenni Bowlin booth.

And also being silly at the Jenni Bowlin booth. :)

Please ignore how tired I look in this photo with Celine Navarro. So, so happy to meet her, too!

And also one of May and I. In which I look even more exhausted (truly, I was nearly zombified at this point in the show).

May went home Tuesday night, so on Wednesday it was pretty much just me on the show floor. I ran into Noell and Izzy of Paperclipping as they were shooting a video at EK Success. So cool to see them in action!

Post-show I trotted down to the hotel's food cour and snagged a shrimp taco salad from Baja Fresh. Sooooo good!

And I also clicked off a few shots of the hotel...which I actually wasn't too pleased with. I mean, what $200 a night hotel charges $14 a day to use the gym? Seriously. Will not be staying here again.

And then flew back home. And, boy, was I ever glad to be there!! As much as I loved meeting everyone in person, I'm not sure I have it in me to do another trade show- at least not anytime soon! This girl has totally decided she's more "designer" than "industry" material, and I'm happy with that. But I wouldn't trade the experiences at either of these shows for anything and, who knows, maybe I'll feel like going again a few years in the future,