Painted Backgrounds

This picture of Nico makes me laugh, it so him. Laid back + funny + waiting on the world to cater to him. That's my kid. The sole picture tells the story perfectly so it's all I needed. That left we with a lot of space to get creative. I started the canvas by brushing some acrylic paint on the white background to match the aqua in the photo.

 All of the things I used on this page came from Scraptastic's July Sail kit. While it has a definite nautical theme, it also includes a lot of pieces that can be used for telling any story.

 The circle die cut is the perfect place to add little bit and pieces. I love details - they're one of my favorite things to design.

I cut up strips of aqua paper and layered them under the photos and embellishments. This adds a layer of texture and shape to the base. I used Staz-On ink to stamp on the painted background.

The paint anchors everything on the layout. It made putting the rest of pieces together easy and highlights the photo. Layers of tags by Scraptastic and a journaling card from Carta Bella add just the right punch of bright color.

Marco Island meets Scraptastic Ki

DESIGN NOTES:  I was recently sorting through a big pile of layouts, putting things away when I came across this layout created not so long ago with the Worth Wondering kit over at Scraptastic. It's based on a sketch that the team worked with in April. I love that we get to work with sketches, it frees me up to concentrate on color and embellishment and less on figuring out how things are going to fit together. My favorite part (other than the photos) are the stitched circles. They add movement, texture and ground all the important elements of the design.

THE STORY:  I can't believe it was almost exactly one year ago that I was taking in this view from our balcony. Marco is an idyllic little place located on the Gulf of Mexico with white sand beaches and turquoise waters. This was a very laid back, relaxing vacation for us which is unusual for us, but sometimes so very needed.

All of these pictures were taken with my iPhone. The vacation was so relaxed that I couldn't even be bothered to take out the heavy DSLR. It was risky, but I'm happy with the shots that I was able to get. I liked them so much, I made this mini and video for 2Peas last July:

Here's a process video that explains how to organize, sort and scrapbook vacations in a mini album format:

Bella Boulevard

Back in May I was asked to be a guest blogger for Bella Blvd. I was excited, because I love color and Bella does it really well!

The first thing I pulled out to work with is the Lucky Starz collection. A rainbow of color and stars in 8 beautiful shades - perfect for this idea of a stitched page I had:

I chose the colors that would best complement the photo and then set on handstitching color coordinated x's in between layers of patterned paper. This adds a little whimsical touch, texture and underlines the color.

The photo is one of my favorites from our trip to Disney this Spring. The Dumbo ride has been completely redone and I was thrilled - but the look on Nico's face, yeah...not so much. I laugh every time I look at it. The journaling reflects on how I remember bringing him on this ride at 10 months old and how fascinated he was with it all. Now, Mom is the only one with her hands in the air!

My second page focused on the Bella boy-themed line, Max. The all-over shark print caught my eye and I decided to base the page on this patterned. 

I stacked the photos, layers of patterned paper, stickers, die cuts and enamel dots all on the center of the page and overlapped them to create a strong focal point. The rest of the layout is pretty straightforward and linear. This is a really simple and easy design base that I keep coming back to over and over again.

Thanks to Stephanie and Laura over at Bella Blvd for giving me the chance to create with their colorful, cool designs!

Scrapbooking the Past: Simple Stories Hello Baby

When Nico was born I was on a scrapbooking hiatus. Something about pregnancy sucked the creativity out from under me. Then he was born prematurely and I was too busy with all that brought to my life. I kept a journal so that I would remember the big and little details and I took photos of everything. I took almost 3,000 photos during that time - crazy, I know! But that also means that eight years later I have piles of baby photos to reminisce over.

I was able to do just that while working on a recent assignment for Simple Stories. They have a new baby release (Hello Baby) that is gender neutral, soft, beautiful and just my style.

I used a Silhouette cut from Kerri Bradford Studios to create the scattered x's background. Then embellished it with enamel dots and mini staples. I built up layers in the center to create a 'shelf' to place the photo. Not sure why Nico looks so red in this photo of a photo? I promise he was not the color of an oompa loompa. I had the hardest time getting the right light for these pictures.

I love the touches of chalkboard in the collection. It adds just the right amount of contrast to the soft colors in the palette. The title was cut out of vellum using a Kerri Bradford Design title cut.

I never consider myself 'behind' in scrapbooking. I don't scrap chronologically and I'm not in a rush to complete my boy's story - life is moving fast enough as it is! Slow down, reminisce and enjoy the creative journey.

May Project Life

I've been doing a monthly Project Life spread since the beginning of the year and I'm happy to say that 5 months later, I'm current and sticking with it! I avoided Project Life because I have enough deadlines in my life and I didn't want a project like that hanging over my head week after week.

Thing is, I love the look of pocket scrapbooking and documenting the everyday things. The solution for me is to do a monthly spread using the Scraptastic This Life Noted kit. Here's a look at one side of my May spread.

I didn't have much time to dedicate to project life this month. Between end of school parties and getting ready for vacation, I had 2 hours left to print, document and decorate.

I love that type of flexibility where depending on how much time I have to spare, my spread can range from super simple (above) to more detailed (below).

Last month I had more time to add hand stitching, sequins and tons of photos. 

Keeping it simple or embellishing it up. Making Project Life fit your schedule makes for a happy scrapbooker!

To subscribe to the Scraptastic This Life Noted kit, you can sign up here. They sell out every month, but if you want to try it out just for one month, check back on the 1st of each month to see if it's available.