At Home: Girl's Fashion Party

How can time go by so quickly?

I look at my Ella and she is not a baby anymore...she is taller, has lost that double chin.  She wants to grow her bangs out and has begun pinning her hair back, by herself.

Her opinions are stronger and louder.

She is seven in two days.

To celebrate, we had a weekend of parties...family on Saturday and friends on Sunday.

Today's party was all about fashion.  We did hair, nails and everyone wore their favorite look.  The girls used stencils to create looks for Barbie and styled doll's hair.  It ended with a fashion show.

We had a great time.  Ella laughed with her friends...she had a blast and I loved being able to watch every little bit of it.

Strong opinions are not.  She will always be my baby!

Thursday Tip: Make it Girly

Creating a layout about a girl?  Make it girly.  Trying to convey sweetness?  Make it girly.

I decided to go pretty and oft and blingy on my most recent layout.  It is about my daughter who is all diva, all girl.

I used the new Summer Stories collection by Teresa Collins to make this page!  It is a mid season release and it is so pretty!  

To add girly touches, I started with the graph paper with the gold scroll along the side.  I placed the floral along the top and proceeded to add feminine details.  The banner, buttons, and borders are all meant to enhance the page.

I love this photo of Ella.  It captures her...silly, dramatic, adorable!    I framed the photo with the journaling cards along the top and the brad along the bottom.

If you are going girly, go all the way.

I think you will end up with pretty!

Monday's Musings: It was a Great Trip

It has been almost a week since I posted.  It was a busy vacation time... we traveled to spend time with family.  It was a special trip...a reunion with my brother and sisters and everyone's families!  It amazes me how easily we all got along.  How quickly there is a rapport and affection.  It was natural.

The fact that I get to have these relationships, these chances don't go unappreciated by me.  I thanked the universe a million times last week.

My kids felt the connections, they didn't want it to end.  But all good things must come to an end. Until the next trip...

I have many pictures to show and more thoughts to share...soon.  It is a lot to process and I want to find the right words.

For now, there is happiness.  Respect, joy and peace.

These pictures are from our last vacation, this past summer.  We had the chance the visit DC then and now.   It is one cool place.

Here is a two page layout using the Far & Away collection by Teresa Collins.  I scrapped the major monuments we saw last summer!  I cut the map and placed the enamel dot right on Washington, DC.  

DC is a special place.  It will always remind me of special times.  

Monumental times.

Tuesday Tip: Make it a Two for One

Have a great vacation or party you want to scrap about?  Too many photos to fit on one page?  How about a double pager?

I have been a bit intimidated by the 12X12 double lately.  A nice alternative is the 8.5 X 11 variety times two!

It is an easy size to work with...just enough space to add those extra details you love!

For this page, I scrapped about one of our favorite summer days.  Unforgettable memories!

These are all Instagram photos.  The phone is always available to capture life's important moments.  I wanted the one of Nathan to be the focal point so I placed it right under the sun!  Love to create suns!

I used the Teresa Collins He Said, She Said line for this layout!  There is a cool sheet of paper with diagonal lines...I cut them up and created the rays!

Life has so many unforgettable moments.  I shared so many this weekend with my siblings...sisters and a brother together.  Four families were united and we had a blast (Tom McGee, Tom McGee, Tom McGee...) There were a billion kids running, eating, laughing and making loads of noise.  Every second was fabulous.  I feel so unbelievably fortunate.  Pictures to come soon!

Tuesday Tip: Add Bits and Pieces

Start with a simple design...1/4 and 3/4...add in some borders and a journaling card.  How do you make it stand out?

Add in unexpected bits and pieces.  Little cuts of interesting papers placed here and there.

It was my technique for completing this layout.

I love the honeycomb paper and knew I wanted to cut it to include under my photos.  But I just kept cutting little amounts.  I placed them under words and titles.  The triangles were cut from leftover squares. 

I used the Composition & Color line by Allison Kreft to create this.  I truly, hopelessly love this line.  I recently got the sticker page and it makes me so happy.  Those blue letters...I will use them a ton!

My favorite part of this page is the title and how it captures the everyday!  I love how much my son loves to draw.  This was a simple moment caught on my camera phone.  He is wearing his pajamas and coloring as I scrapped right next to him.

Bits and pieces of real life...

At Home: Enjoying the Wait

We are waiting, watching as the last of the renovation job is being completed.  It should only be one more week of dust and paint and grout and design solutions.  It has been a blast to imagine a space, a home and make it come to life!

At home, this week....it looked like this:

Shower is so close to being done...gorgeous tile and granite.  I am in love!

The faucets are waiting to be installed in the countertop...the same countertop that had to be redone.  Yep, one of the sinks was cut off center.  It took us days to notice...our granite guy is great...he fixed it...ripped the first one out and put a new one in.

This week brought running around.  Lots of coffee.

I have been to Ikea three times this month.  Thank god for reasonable prices when a girl needs a renovation solution.  And for the lunch counter...

It brought character dress up day at school.  I am glad my kiddos are still into this.  Life with changing kids has been interesting to say the least.  Sometimes, I just want them to stay young and innocent!

This week has been full of challenges and blessings.  I am very grateful!

Thursday Trending: Maps

I am currently loving all things maps related!  It is a trend that has hit scrapbooking and home decor...timeless, meaningful!  It makes me happy!

I was recently planning my design team challenge for the Lily Bee blog, which is all about inspiration.  I went to my Pinterest boards and starting looking.

Here is the layout I created.

I was struck by this image....

I love that stitched heart...I knew that I wanted to replicate the look on a page so I went to work.

The Lily Bee map paper showcases Europe so I got creative!  I realized that Ireland is on the map and the restaurant where I meet my hometown friends is an Irish pub.  Any idea was born.

I stitched my heart and built the layout.  I included this little detail that resembles a road.

Come over to the Lily Bee blog to see details about the challenge I am hosting!  Be sure to participate for a chance to win a prize pack at the end of the month!

Be My Guest: Craft Storage Ideas

Happy Tuesday!  I have a couple of cool announcements to share!

First, I am sharing information and photos from my craft space over at the Craft Storage Ideas blog!  I have spent some time over there and it is a a fun and informative site!  Come on over and hear about my storage solutions!  Stay a while and check out all the great posts!

Secondly, Teresa Collins has introduced a new, mid-season release called Summer Stories.  It is so pretty and I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Yummy colors and I just adore the chipboard pages!  

Thanks for letting me share!

Monday's Musings: Photo or Live it?

We had a beautiful Easter Sunday yesterday.  Great times with my family.  We ate, laughed, had debates and just enjoyed each other's company.

The kids played together, watched movies together, and opened up Easter baskets.

I set the table using pretty, yellow daffodils and my ceramic bunnies.

I didn't take one picture.

I decided to simply live in the moment.  To focus on preparing the food and joining in on conversation.  I decided to not worry about how the lighting was or worry about bringing everyone outside for photos.

I wonder if I did the right thing.  I know that life is short and moments with family should be captured.  But shouldn't life also be fully lived for those same reasons?

I wonder.

In the spirit of Easter, I am sharing a gift box I created using Webster's pages goodies.  It is simple packaging, but the intent is to bring joy in little ways.

I made a folded card with an envelope flap.  The inside looks like this:

I used a mini bag to hold small candy.  A couple of punched holes and some twine, and it is all fastened!  I used the New Beginnings collection to make these goodies!

In the spirit of Easter, I decided to just be present yesterday.  I will find a time in the near future to take those photos.  Whether or not they are taken, the memories have been made!