Reading

Hello! Reading is my number one hobby. I couldn't imagine a life without a shelf full of books. I always have something going. Of course, with the arrival of the girls my reading time shrunk a little and when I do have the time, I am almost always too tired.

My solution for reading more is to sneak it in and take advantage of any free time that pops up. This means I always have a book or two in my bag, ready to go. This really comes in handy for the time I spend waiting in my car for kiddos to get out of school or finish practice. Not to mention the heavy bag full of books could come in handy if I am ever in a situation where I need to defend myself ;).

Once in a while though, I will have a very rare few hours without any small children or chores to distract me and then I am off and running to my books! This next layout shows you just how I can ready anywhere, anytime.....

Yes, I am at a NASCAR race reading The Magicians :). Now I go to watch the races, but we are at the track three days in a row and there is a little downtime between practices, qualifying, and races. I take advantage of this time every year and always pack several books. I also read on the way to and from the track, but this might be more because I am attempting to ignore how fast my brother is driving ;). 

Now in all my trips to the races, I have never seen another person reading a book. At least that was until this trip. I gave a mental high five to the lady when I spied the book packed in her bag!

I made this layout using the leftovers from my May Citrus Twist Kits. The colors in this this kit are pretty great, but the real gem is the pack of ephemera from Becky Higgins that is in the now sold out, PL Kit. 

I loved this entire pack of diecuts. First, they are printed on a bright white cardstock which is a fave. Second, they are so "useable." Really, I can see myself using the entire package (the "reading" title that I used is from this pack.)  And I love the silver foil!

Thanks for letting me share my project with you!

Michelle

The Cut Shoppe: These Days

It's confession time:  I totally stink at coming up with titles. Honestly, I am awful at it. So you can bet when The Cut Shoppe comes out with a new set of titles, I am all over it! Today I want to share a new layout featuring the Daily Grind cut file set from The Cut Shoppe which includes some fun and creative titles!

Most of the time when I am using a title cut from my Silhouette, I like to adhere it with pop dots. My reason for this is that since I almost always cut the titles from patterned paper, the added dimension provided by the pop dots helps to create more definition which makes my title easier to read. This time though, I tried something different. Instead of using pop dots on each word, I only did one word and slightly layered it over the second word.  This is what it looks like:

I really liked the difference between the two words and thought that it added a nice bit of interest. It also placed a little more emphasis on the "these," which quite acurately reflect my thought regarding this particular picture and time. Time is moving at lightening speed with this guy and boy am I soaking in "these" last few years with him at home. 

Here's a look at the completed project:

Next time you are working with a title or phrase, try varying the dimension and see what you can come up with. I can imagine all sorts of possibilities! 

Wishing you a great day!

Michelle

Gossamer Blue: Here + Now

Hello! Today I want to share a new layout featuring the beautiful May Kits from Gossamer Blue. Before I can go any further though, I must admit that when it comes to my creative process, I am very happy working inside my comfort zone. I know what I like and I like what I do, so why try something new, right?? Every once in a while though, I actually get the wild idea to go a little outside my box and create something that isn't quite so typical of my usual projects and today's layout is a such an example.

Circles. I am a little obsessed with this fabulous shape and it makes regular appearances throughout my scrapping. However, despite my love for all things round, I have NEVER once cut a photo into a circle. Now, this certainly isn't a ground breaking technique, but it definitely requires a little more thinking than just printing the photo as a square or rectangle.

When it came to cutting my photo into a circle, I went with my manual diecutter. My first thought was to use an app to make my photo into a circle and then cut it out with scissors after printing. However simple and quick this method is, I don't have the greatest scissor skills. Using a metal die would guarantee a perfectly round circle, so this was the method I went with.

To continue the circle theme of my layout, I cut two similarily sized circles out of patterned paper from the Bit's and Pieces Add On Kit and used them to create a visual triangle. Using the triangle as a guide is a simple, surefire way to get good placement. With the bigger elements in place I went to work on the embellishing.

Cutting my photo into a shape was a pretty simple technique, but I sure felt bold doing it! While it's certainly okay to hang out in your comfort zone, I really believe we need to push our limits a little from time to time. Anytime I try something new, I never have regrets for doing it even if things don't turn out as planned. 

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope I have inspired you to try something new!

Michelle

The Cut Shoppe: Yes

Good morning! Today I am excited to share my latest layout featuring an oldie but goodie cut file--the Pie Hearts Cut File--which is probably my most favorite and most used cut file from The Cut Shoppe!

What makes this my most used cut file, is that it makes a good embellishment.  Whenever I  feel like a project needs a simple and classic embellishment to help make a focal point, this set of hearts almost always comes to mind. They are also super versatile. I can enlarge one and back with patterned paper to make an impact or I can use them in a smaller sizes to move the eye around the page like I did in this layout:

Now, the only challenge I have when using these hearts is adhering them. If I want them flat on my page--no problem--however, I usually want at least one popping off the page and this requires some sort of foam adhesive. Most of the time I only have foam squares available, which are too big. What I do though is simply cut them up with my scissors into small strips to layer underneith the thin lines of the hearts as you can see here, in this photo.

How about you--Do you have any special method for making your cut files dimensional or do you roll like me and alter foam squares??  Whatever gets the job done, right? Wishing you a happy day!

Michelle

Ell'e Studio: May Reveal

Good morning! Today is reveal day at Elle's Studio and I am here to give you a look at the fun, exclusive May Kit and all of it's additional goodies!

Exclusive May Kit

Printables and Cut Files

Extras

For my first project, I used the "The Good Life" cut file because I thought it made a great title:

My second project is a pocket page and showcases my personal favorites from the kit: the green script card and the fun rainbow card:

Make sure and check out the gallery too--it is full of brand new projects today!

Michelle

Citrus Twist Kits: May

Good morning and happy Friday! Before we all dive into NSD fun, I wanted to share my projects that I made with the May Kits from Citrus Twist. Citrus Twist offers a variety of kit that help both fit your need and your budge. This month I worked with several of them:

May 2016 "Beach Glass" Main Scrapbook Kit

May 2016 "Beach Glass" Pocket Life Kit

Sprinkles Kit

Embellishment Kit

The kits were so gorgeous I couldn't resist them all! Surely you understand???  If I had to list my top three products they would be the phrase Thickers from Paige Evan's Fancy Free Collection in the Main Scrapbook Kit; the Becky Higgins Project Life Ephemera pack in the Pocket Life Kit; and the flair (also from Becky Higgins) in the Embellishment Kit. I found myself reaching for these again and again!

This first layout features the Main Scrapbook Kit only:

This layout is a 6x8 size but the design could easily be transferred to a bigger layout. Sometimes I find embellishing these smaller sized layouts a little difficult because it is hard not to "overwhelm" the page. The light grey patterned paper helped to keep the page light while still providing contrast to the colorful photo and Thickers.

My second layout is truly a fave. I love the bright combo of yellow and turquoise, but add in a happy cloud and some fun stitching and I am one happy scrapper.

The stitching in this layout is truly a minor detail. All I did was was run my sewing maching in circles--starting tight and then spreading out--but it helped to bring the attention straight to my four year old while also anchoring down the layers of paper underneath. For this layout I combined items from all the kita including the colorful sheet of 6x6 patterned paper from the Pocket Life Kit.

For this last project, I took the wonderful sheet of patterned paper squares and cut them apart to create a border at the top (Does anyone struggle with getting things lined up and straight like I do?? It's a constant challenge for me.)  

I kept the embellishing sweet and simple for this layout.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my projects with you! If you would like to see more inspiration from the other CTK Design Team Members, please make sure and stop by the Gallery!  

Wishing you all a fun weekend full of scrappy goodness!

Michelle

Gossamer Blue: May Reveal

Hello and Happy May!  The beginning of the new month at Gossamer Blue brings the reveal of new kits and projects. This month the kits are full to the brim with new products from Pink Paislee and Simple Stories--products I have been waiting not-so-patiently to get my hands on.  When I opened my packages a few weeks ago I gasped! Really, these kits are literally what my scrapbooking dreams are made of! LOL.

Here's a look at my projects:

The diecut heart from Pink Paislee's Fancy Free, found in Add On Kit #2, was one of my favorite pieces. The heart comes with an already made background, but I altered it a bit by adding in a few pieces of patterned paper from the 6x6 paper pad in the Bits and Pieces Add On.

The glassy "shine" acrylic word really made this layout! 

This layout set the personal record for scrapping multiple pictures. I fit seven pictures on this "year in review" layout for my youngest! One of the things I have learned when scrapping these types of photos, is to use a patterned paper that features mulitple colors and the circle paper from Pink Paislee was just the ticket. 

To see even more projects made with May's kits, make sure and head on over to the Gossamer Blue Gallery!

Michelle