New Release + Inspiration + Freebie

Happy Friday! I have a new release in the store + a freebie for you!

BUY HERE!

INSPIRATION

Melody here: This is my own layout & I just love filling up a page! I wanted the photo to really pop, but used light clustering throughout the page to achieve a balanced look. My favorite part of the layout is the Christmas tree branches & hanging stars!

Wanda here: Sometimes you just like a little more white space, right? This kit had some very serene colors in it, so I shrunk all of the elements of this great template from the "A New Beginning" pack and allowed more of the white paper background show. I created the cluster in the bottom corner, and duplicated it for the one at the top. I swapped journaling strips for a title, and I was done. I used a kit called "Special You" by New E Designz along with the New Beginning template.

Amanda here:
This one photo large template was perfect to help me scrap this memory. I made sure to put pretty much all the focus onto the photo itself, and a little on the journaling as well. I did this by taking away some of the elements and clusters used in the template. I also took out the strips for the journaling but however kept by journaling in the same space. I captured this memory using Boy Basic by Bella Gypsy and used stitching from Michelle Godin's Sew Artsy Stitching

And here is your Friday freebie! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Blessing Jornal

Last month, I was working on a birthday calender to give to my aunts for Christmas. As I scrapped, I thought about all of the things I experienced in 2012. It was a difficult year for my family. We have dealt with some very serious medical issues, my husband started graduate school, we sold our home of 12 years and moved to a new community, our oldest child graduated and left for college, and we are raising three teenage daughters. I admit, I was so tired from everything that we dealt with last year, that I really wasn't into the commercial aspect of Christmas. I didn't want to shop, bake, or buy presents. I just felt too drained.
As I worked on the birthday calendars for my aunts, I felt like I didn't have enough energy to personalize their calendars. So I made one generic page per month, and then added different pictures to each calendar. I scrapped up until September, & still need to complete the last 3 months. Oh well, I guess they will be birthday presents instead. :)
But getting to the point, as I scrapped a generic page for each month, I reflected a lot about the things I was thinking about as I scrapped. Mainly, all of the hard times that we experienced over the last year. I realized that I needed to make an effort to look for the good things in our life, because surely life can not be all good or all bad. It then dawned on me that I need to write down at least one good thing, or blessing that happens each day so I can remind myself (and my family) that there is a lot of good in my our lives! I decided to use the calendar pages I was making for my aunts as a blessing journal for myself, with the goal to write down at least one blessing each day.

 

As I wrote a blessing for each day, I realized they will also serve as great journal prompts as I scrap, or help me remember what happened so I can go back & write in my journal later.

For example, here is my entry for January 1st (which I wrote this morning)

2013 started off with another difficult life challenge. We celebrated New Years in a Travel Lodge in Elko, Nevada. We had left two days before at 5 am to travel to San Francisco to help my sister and two kids move from their home to our home in UT so they could start a new life. We drove from San Francisco & arrived in Elko at exactly 12 am. The temperature was -9 degrees. As we left the hotel this morning, I knew the daunting task of blending two households, plus taking care of dad lie before me. But I am determined to make this a happy time. One that everyone will look back on and remember with fondness. Jen & the kids will move to their own home as soon as she is on her feet. The time we have together is but a small moment. They have a lot of adjusting to do, as do we, but if we stay positive and focus on loving one another, this challenge can bring us closer together. "O Lord, let thy tender mercies come upon us." Psalms 119: 3

I used Blue Heart Scraps Birthday Calendars templates to create the page. Other than templates, my digi scrapping files are such a mess that it would take me hours to go through & find the kit I used to create the page. But that is post for another day! :)

Winter Sunset Template + Inspiration

As I mentioned in my last post, my goal for the year is to post a little something each day, provide a little scrapping inspiration. I also said that my sister's family moved in & we went from a family of 5 to a family of 9, with my 18 year old son coming and going! I have been busy with only snatches of time to get on the computer.

You would think that with two different families in the same household, and so many different personalities in the family, there is utter chaos. While we have our moments, we are having a lot of fun too! I am finding that building simple traditions like eating dinner every night together, a weekly pizza and movie night and establishing a weekly routine for homework and chores really helps to bring order and peace into the home. I know that very few people have 9 people in their home, but I think doing simple things can go a long way for any family!

I also try to take time for designing and scrapping to help my own sanity! I really enjoyed designing this week's template pack and as always my creative team did an amazing job creating layouts for inspiration!

Buy Winter Sunset

 

I think this is one of my favorite template packs that I have made and I can hardly wait to scrap with it! Today, I want to show you all two layouts that Amanda and Wanda made. Both are beautiful layouts, but Amanda added tons of clusters and a blended photo while Wanda basically stuck to the template. Both layouts are stunning!

 

Amada's take on the template, "When I started working with this template, I was able to envision the great potential it had. The placements for the photos were just right for scrapping those memories so I didn't change a thing about them. I did however add a photo mask on the background paper and used plenty of clustering on the left side of the page to help my layout stand out more. I loved working with this template, I used Bella Gypsy's kit Moody Blues"

 

Wanda's Take on the Template "I love a vertical design, so this template really called to me. I liked everything about it, and pretty much used it "straight out of the box." I changed the photo framing up a bit and created some thin black frames to put on top of the pictures to match the thin black frame around the entire page. I used Luv Ewe Designs' new kit The Best Of Times."

 

 

Starting next Friday, there will be a freebie on my blog every week, so be sure to come back & visit! Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 



Busy, busy new year!

Wow, I had such a relaxing Christmas vacation that starting back to work and school has been sort of a rude awakening! LOL! I didn't make too many New Years resolutions, but I want to blog a little about my day & provide you with a little scrapping inspiration each day. I also love home decoration, recipes, and inspirational thoughts, so you may get a little of that too! Oh, & my hubby & I gave each other Iphones for christmas & I am on the hunt for cool apps that help preserve memories. When I find one and figure out how to use it, I will share!
  Onto today, I currently have 10 people living in my house! Tomorrow, my 18 year old son goes back to college, and that will take us down to 9. I will miss him when he leaves, My husband & I have 3 daughters ages 10, 13, & 16. My dad is retired and lives with us. My sister and her two kids just moved to Utah from WARM California & we spent the day shopping for warm clothes for them. They are staying with us until my sister finds a job and a place to live. It is a little wild, a little crazy, but I love having them here & the kids are having a blast with their cousins playing in the snow & sledding!
Here is a recipe I picked up at a Christmas party last month that has become a family favorite:

HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE

1 Package Chocolate Chips
1 pint whipping cream
4 cups milk

In a big pan, add 1 package of chocolate chips to 1 pint whipping cream. Stir on medium low heat until  chips are melted. Add 4 cups of milk (or more to taste) to mixture. Warm & serve!

Now on to my favorite part, showing off a layout Amanda, one of my fabulous CT made with my Wintertide Bundle, on sale now at Brownie Scraps! Isn't it fun to see Christmas pictures right now! I love it!

Amanda wrote a little about how she used the template to prove you with a little inspiration. Here is what she said:
Sometimes too many picture spaces in a template can overwhelm me. So here, in Wintertide Vol.1 I used only two of the photo spaces with actual photos and then the other two spaces for my artistic side I thought it flowed lovely with the photos, alternating. I used Hipster Holiday by Mommyish to capture that adorable shirt my son was wearing in these photos!

Have a great evening everyone!