The Rosie Project

During the spring I went on a book buying mini-spree and The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion was one of lucky books that made it into my shopping cart. 

 

The Rosie Project is a romantic comedy. In the story we meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet very socially awkard professor who sets out, in a very scientific manner, to find the "perfect wife." When he meets Rosie, who absolutely lacks all the qualities he deems a "perfect wife" should possess, his life is turned upside down and logic is thrown out the window.  Think Penny and Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. Without Leonard.  And a little bit more hardcore. Ha.

Absolutely enjoyed reading this book.  Don Tillman is a funny, delightful character.  Very honest and hilarious. 

Michelle

 

Glitz: Day-to-Day

Hello!  On Tuesday my first post on the Glitz Design blog went live!  Here is a look at what I did with a focus on scrapping the day-to-day. 
 

Capturing daily life photos has become a great priority to me. I am well aware that time does indeed "fly by" and taking the time to photograph and document the every day moments have become my favorite memories to scrapbook. I still love to scrap the big events, but I find that the moments in between are what I treasure the most. Luckily, with the convenience of a camera phone, Instagram, and apps galore, capturing daily life is easy and fun.

One way in which I document my day-to-day pictures is through traditional scrapbooking.
 

Here, I printed out two Instagram photos of my daughter playing hide-and-seek and paired them with the bright colors of both Brightside and Felicity to put together an 8.5x11 layout.

 

 

To soften the impact of the bright yellow and pink, I layered my papers with white cardstock and a neutral grey patterned paper. The silver glitter tape adds interest to the layout without overwhelming and white machine stitching gives the layout a little bit more texture.

 

 

 

When scrapbooking pictures of daily life, I always try to ask myself "What is the significance of this particular moment?" and let my answer guide my journaling. Certainly, when I saw these two pictures of my daughter I thought that they were were super cute, but that was not necessarily the story I wanted to tell here. What made these meaningful and important to me, were that they were a reminder to myself that even though my job as a stay-at-home mom means lots of chores and cleaning and doing....my day is also full of these really fun, loving, and often random moments that I am so thankful for.

For more inspiration using Glitz Design products, you can visit their blog here. 

 

Wishing you a great day!

Best Ever

A few weeks ago, Shimelle hosted a weekend full of challenges and I managed to participate in one of them! 

I went for a sketch because I had just finished several layouts for deadlines and I needed a mental break.  You can see the sketch here.

 

 

It's funny now that I am looking back, that I picked a sketch that most resembled my own style.  Absolutely nothing wrong with staying in your comfort zone!

 

 

 

 

 

I will say that after finishing this layout I felt good.  Scrapbooking is my thing and I would even go on to say that it is my form of therapy....that I need everyday. Ha.

 

Wishing you the best day ever!

 

Michelle

Citrus Twist July Reveal

Happy July 5th!  Today is Reveal Day at Citrus Twist!!  The July kits have been a blast to work with and I have been so anxious to share what I have created so far.

I worked with both the July Main Kit and the Embellishment Kit and both are featured on each layout.



 

 

 

Please head over to the Citrus Twist blog to see all the beautiful kits and remember, Citrus Twist is currently running two special offers for both New and Current subscribers!

 

Michelle

CCG #251

Color Combos Galore is up with a new release and I would love to share my take on the challenge as a designer on the team.

First, a little bit about this fun paper crafting challenge blog . Color Combos Galore is a weekly color challenge blog....with a twist! CCG takes an Inspiration Photo, a Color Combo, and a Designer's Challenge and puts it all in one inspiration board. To play along, combine all 5 colors and one Inspiration Challenge.

Here is Inspiration Board #251......

And here is my layout....

My focus for this challenge was to use shaped labels.  I found a label file that I liked and cut it out with my Silhouette and simply layered it under my photo.  From photo #2, I drew inspiration from  the typewriter in two ways.  First, I typed my journaling and second, I made an effort to write more than just my usual one liner ;).  I drew the polka dot pattern from photo #3 and inspired by the lightness of the dress in photo #4, I pleated crete paper using my sewing machine. 

 

For more inspiration and to play along, head over here to the CCG blog and you could be one of the two winners to recieve this:

 

What a great prize!!  

 

Michelle

Citrus Twist July Sneaks

Yesterday I shared my first tutorial for Citrus Twist Kits and today I would like to share the remainder of my sneaks for the July Kits that will be revealed on July 5th!

 

 

 

 

 

Look for the full reveal of Citrus Twist's July Kits on the 5th and in case you did not see yesterday's post, Citrus Twist is running two great promotions for the month of July.  You can see the details here.

 

Michelle

 

 

Citrus Twist Tutorial

Wow.  When I accepted my design team position at Citrus Twist, I thought I would have a little bit of time to figure out how everything went.  Nope not the case.  First month as a team member and I have the first post of the month.  I was just a little bit nervous! Ha.

So here I am, sharing my first sneak of July's Main and Embellishment Kits with a look at how I created this 8.5 x 11 layout.

Starbursts can sometimes be a little time consuming, especially when you want to use multiple patterned papers.  Luckily, I recently ran across some advice (that you can find here) that simplified the process.  The basics of this starburst technique is to staple strips of patterned paper together, making you able to then fan the papers out into a desired arrangement without having to painstakingly cut and piece them together.  Since I wanted the starburst to radiate from the photo in two spots, I put together two bundles of paper strips using my standard stapler (I tried this with my Tiny Attacher, but found that the larger staple gave my strips more "mobility.")

To make this already easy technique even easier, I decided to staple my strips of paper directly onto my background paper where my photo would be placed. I then played around with the arrangment and placed a little bit of glue along the strips to hold them down. Here is what the final placement looked like:

 

I find that in most cases when layering paper and embellishment over staples, that staples can be a bit bulky.  To offset this, I applied pop dots to the patterned paper that I matted my picture with. 

Here are some closeups of the finished layout:

Sneak peaks of July's kits will continue up until the reveal on July 5th and for this month, Citrus Twist has two special offers going on!  New subscribers to either the Main or Pocket Life Kit will receive a free kit with their first order!  Free kits will only be available while supplies last. so don't wait too long ;).  For all our current subscribers, during the month of July, you can receive a $10 credit to the Citrus Twist Shop for each friend you refer who subscribes to the Main or Pocket Life kit.  To see the details for these great offers and to check out sneaks of July's kits, visit the Citrus Twist Blog!

Michelle