Favorite Page Ever

I cannot even begin to express how fun it was to make this page!  I was blog surfing and saw this layout by ingvild bolme.  Her work is so beautiful.  I can't imagine having all the pages in my scrapbook be that beautiful.  I would probably only have 2 lol.  Anyway, check her blog out if you get a chance.  She is always doing something interesting and always pushes the envelope.  I wish I could figure out how she gets that black, smudgey, speckly look on her white pages. 

The first thing that I did was break out the paint and a couple of pieces of heavy scrapbook paper that had the cream and blue tones that I was looking for.  I used a mix of liquitex glossy white and regular acrylic cream colored paint.  I painted the cream on loosely and then drizzled the white on while the cream was still wet.  I used a large brush to loosely push & brush the paint around until I got the look that I wanted. 

I really liked the look of the white and the cream together.  I actually use it all the time with paper and did not realize that it is one of my favorite color combos.  The white just makes the cream stand out so well. 

I then pulled out some pink on pink polka dot paper and stamped a rose using red distress ink.  As I paintd the rose with white, the distress ink tinted the paint pink.  I then went back over and highlighted a couple of places with the white.  After everything was dry, I cut around the edges so that I would have a border to peek out from handcut and distressed swirl.

Two sheets of white Bazzil turned into a inked piece of subtly patterned paper.  I used distress inks to stain and spatter the white and then I spritzed it with a ton of water and literally scrubbed the paper down with a paper towel.  I penned the border with black and red fine line markers then cut the swirly edge out.  Cut it down so that the distressed paper and rose border would show and what I ended up with was

Several (hundred lol) handmade flowers, fussy-cut details, scalloping

It is so chunky from the side! 

This is my next project.  A summer album.  Love the SUMMER title!  It's not done yet but I like where it is going.

I tried a new to me technique on the next page.  I have done paper quilting with squares b4 but never a whole page in an album.  When I started it, I thought it would be too busy.  But it was not at all.  It is very interesting and so easy to do. 

Use a  square punch to punch enough squares to cover your background.  Use as few or as many different papers but remember b-a-l-a-n-c-e.  You can find balance by using the same color, pattern, quantity or color value throughout the page.

Ink the edges of each square (or not if you don't like inking.)  It adds a softness to the edges of the squares that helps them blend together as one. 

Cut a piece of background paper (does not have to be white.  Use scraps if you have them) to the size of your page.  Add borders, etc to the edges than glue your squares down so that the edges are touching each other.  Try not to overlap.

The end result

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great humpday!!!!

What's Been Up......

We have been doing lots of traveling this summer. It is absolutely fantastic! There has been so much for our family to celebrate this year. Graduations, marriages, new homes, new jobs, promotions. God has truly, truly showed up and showed out for us! I really don't have a ton to say/describe but I do want to share pictures.


Aaron graduated from airmen basic! He is in Alaska now and he loves his job. This was him on graduation day. He was so happy to see us!!

 These are just a couple of pictures that I love from the over 600 that we have taken. The first is of my girly and my niece. Love it so much. And the second is of me and the hubster. Love him so much.

 My baby sister graduated from college! I can't even express how happy we all were this day. She smiled so big all day long. This is a picture of all of us girls after the grad.

 My brother graduated from Officer Candidate School. He worked so hard for this and I am so proud of him. My MIL and his girlfriend are pinning on his bars. The look he has on his face says that it hurts but I promise he is tougher than that and was just holding back his emotions.

 This was taken the day my little guy got to meet the Vice President. This is a photo of him at his home right before he went inside. Q was nervous and would not talk to VP Biden unless he asked him questions but we are working on that. He looks so grown up in his tie.

 I finished this layout and am in love with it. It is so pretty! I will post more about it later.....

 We found and bought a home in Maryland. We absolutely love it! It has enough room for everyone to come visit.  A big yard for the kids and future grandkids.  Plenty of entertaining space and it is so bright and sunny.  We plan to stay here for the rest of our days.  I joked with my realtor about being buried in the nature preserve out back.  I have to take pictures of the inside (I have been promising the girl for over a month now) and will post them soon. We have so much decorating and painting left to do!!

Well that's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by and holla at ya later. And don't forget to have a great day!

Two Weeks Ago

I made a decision to not eat any more fast food and so far so good.  I was finding myself "supporting" McDonalds 2 times a day (WHAT!).  Seriously.  I had gained 10 pounds on top of the other pounds that I have been needing to lose for years now.  I had to stop.  Had to.  And I did.  So far so good.  I feel so much better.  I am not nearly as tired (I would feel that I needed a nap as soon as I finished my meal whenever I ate at MCD's) and I have a ton more energy.  I am not saying that McD's is bad for you.  I don't think it is if you eat there in moderation.  But I am saying that I was out of control and if I was eating at McD's for that many meals, I was not getting enough fresh fruits and veges and other good things.  Since we bought the new homestead, we have been eating out significantly less.  Significantly.  Less than once a week significantly.  That is big for us bc we LOVE to eat out.  Love it.  But anywhoo, moving on.

On my desk

I am just getting ready to start a summer mini-album.  I took a few pictures of my crazy process.  I don't know how anyone can work like this!  I set my studio up in the family room downstairs until we finish my actual space.  I can hardly wait for it to be done.  I am envisioning craftovers with the chicks, classes, super productivity.  The list is endless.  Back to my desk...
I am going to use 7gypsies board album for the base.  I love their products bc they are soooo sturdy. 
I did not like the fact that it was accordian so I am going to cover the holes I don't want with paper and use larger rings to hold the entire album together.  It is bound to be as thick as a phone book when I am done.

The papers are all over the map.  I can't even begin to name all the companies.  I am sure there are some you recognize.  As always, I use a few oldies but goodies and mix them in with some new kids to keep it interesting. 

I also picked out K&Co's summer stickers for my embellishment base.  But I plan to use all this other stuff to fill it in and out.  No skinny mini's here!  I covered the entire table in possibilities....

Thanks for stopping by and I will update progress tomorrow with a couple of new techniques I have been playing with.