blackflipflops

Shooting

2012-01-26T08:03:00.002-06:00

The last few months have been busy ones for me on the photography side... I've been doing shoots for people here and there, and it's been so fun! One day I hope to make this more of a full time thing, but for now, it's fun to do on occasion.

Here are a few fave photos from a couple of recent shoots. Just thought I would share them today!

I can't believe...

2012-01-25T08:08:00.001-06:00

that tweets about raising money and gathering supplies from tornado survivors are blowing up my feed again.

That I'm seeing photo after photo on my facebook page of destroyed homes.

(source- and more photos- here)

That I'm passing by random strangers in the store and hearing bits and pieces of stories all based on who was where on Sunday night.

It hasn't even been a year since last year's generational tornado event here in Alabama. It feels very surreal.

The fact that it was mere minutes away from my dear aunt who is like a sister to me... and another couple of really good friends... I can't even go there in my mind.

I'm grateful and heartbroken at the same time.

#WeareAlabama

Charm School Kit

2012-01-24T15:56:00.001-06:00

The new Valentine's kit from NoelMignon is now up for sale- Charm School! It is so cute!

Here's a layout I whipped up with it:

Here's a great slide show of all the details:

Make a video of your own at Animoto

And here I am with my monthly video review of the contents of the kit! (Click over to my blog to view the video if you are reading this in a feed reader!)

Making Project Life Work for Me!

2012-01-06T08:14:00.000-06:00

So I've done it. I've jumped on the bandwagon and decided to do Project Life.

After being on Instagram for a while, several of my scrapbooking friends on there would be posting little updates to their Project Life albums. I was intrigued and I loved the artsy look to theirs... I had originally discounted the idea of doing Project Life because the main examples that I had seen looked really rigid and not really up my alley. Plus the whole idea of documenting every week of our life for a year?! That sounded OVER.WHELMING.

A discussion was started on the NM message boards about it, and in no time at all, I found myself saying that I was going to jump in with it this year!

This is how I'm making it work for me.

1. No fancy boxes of product for me... in other words, I'm not buying the pre-set Project Life products, other than some of the page protectors. I'm pulling from my stash of stuff. I have a drawer system for my PL, and one of my drawers is just for stuff that I'm going to use. So far I have the Lily Bee Memento line and Elle's Studios products in there, along with some Authentique die cuts. My main plan is to use my NoelMignon kits each month. The Cabin Fever kit is the perfect start to my album. Noel's kits are always seasonally appropriate, so I can make each month stand out in my album... I know how I am, and I will want a large variety of product in my album or I will get disinterested quickly.

2. I'm keeping organized via social media...a large portion of my life is simply documented through twitter, facebook, and instagram. They are all, unfortunately, not very easy to search for. EnterMemento, a journaling app. You can write daily entries, add photos, and most awesomely, import feeds from all your social networks.

Then you can go to your calendar, click on a day with a blue dot underneath....

And see your entries for that day. It has become a lifesaver for me, with scrapbooking in general, with my December Daily, and now with Project Life. I can very easily track what we did each day, photos snapped, and things we're interested in with this little app.

3. I'm not going to make this more complicated than it needs to be.

Last night I made my cover page for the album. I printed off several shots that we used for our Christmas card.

Culled a pile of goodies from the Cabin Fever kit.

Cut and laid out the photos/paper.

Starting adding some embellishments.

And slid everything into it's spot. I actually added some items on top of the

page protector for a little dimension.

And here's the final product. Simple, easy, and definitely my style!

Are you doing Project Life? Let's do this together and keep each other encouraged!

Please join me on the message board and we'll keep each other going!

Teaching youth

2012-01-05T19:46:00.002-06:00

I've been teaching the senior high girls at our church for a couple of years now.

Those creatures that are intimidating, confusing, amazing, and humbling.

My own youth pastor made a tremendous impact on me. A tremendous impact on my understanding of the Gospel. God used him in such sweet way in my life. He showed me, through mr. jeff, a small glimpse into what Jesus looked like.

I never thought I'd end up working with teens myself. Even as a teen, they scared me. But for some reason, mostly because of my own inadequacies I suspect, God has chosen to use me for the time being in a small part in their lives. And the funny thing is, along the way, I really love those girls a whole lot.

(us, a year ago, at a Christmas party... several of those girls are gone now to college!)

I pray that I'm able to share the Gospel with them, to show Jesus to them, like mr. jeff did with me...and that all of the junk of me is washed away.

Favorites of 2011

2011-12-31T21:07:00.001-06:00

Scrolling through all my photos this year, I went through a lot of emotions.

I saw:

photos of lots of people not in my family; my little photography side job grew a lot this year! I am thankful this is a way I can earn a little extra cash and get to explore my creative side... plus I get to hang out with a lot of great people!!

the kiddos at Mom's Day Out and the group of teachers there that I'm growing closer to all the time.

the amazing community at my church.

my fun, nerdy family... Dr. Who, sci-fi, Sonic runs, laughing 'til we're crying, and growing together.

saying goodbye to our dear friends, the Morgans, as they headed away to Ireland.

dabbling into mixed media art.

lots of instagram pics.

my high school girls at church... several of them that went off to college this fall.

my little guy starting kindergarten and my big girl in 1st grade.

the horrific destruction of the tornadoes across on the south on April 27th.

my sweet husband at my side... us growing together. 11 years!!!

Enough musing from me... here are my favorite projects of 2011!

Talk to ya next year, friends!!! ;)

Unto us is born a Savior...

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

who is Christ the Lord!

Merry Christmas!!!

I've got Cabin Fever...

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

and it's going to get worse in January and February.

Good thing this will be around to keep me company. :)

Get one for you, too.

A new scrapbooking kit from NoelMignon goes on sale, December 23rd.

December Daily update!

2011-12-19T18:57:00.002-06:00

I'm busy working away at my December Daily! :)

I'm including all sorts of stuff in my album, whether it is Christmas related or not. This page is how I got the crazy bug to paint my kitchen one day.

The next day, we didn't have really anything major happen, so I made sure to include these cutie pie pics of my youngest in some Christmas pjs and my slippers. :D

Some more just "daily" type pages... a playdate and then the next few pages are about the MDO where my two youngest attend and I teach.

The last spread is about the teachers' Christmas party. I had quite a few little photos, so I decided to create a little flip up feature for those with masking & decorative tape.

happy birthday, sabby dabby doo

2011-12-17T14:49:00.001-06:00

4 years ago, this happened.

my little manic pixie dream girl.

such a tiny christmas surprise.

now, she's still my "tiny girl," but she seems to be getting awfully big.

(birthday party at school)

(special day out with mommy and a couple of friends)

i love you sabby dabby doo.

Murray Stories

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

My children are all really afraid of animals. I'm not really sure why. But it doesn't matter how big or tiny, they kind of freak out. We don't have a pet so unfortunately our exposure to other animals is not as frequent as I would like.

A few years ago, however, we met Murray (the big orange fella in the pic below). He's one of the Russell family that I mentioned in the post below. Since we are in a community group with them at our church, we have been over to their home a lot over the last few years, and my kids have- for the most part- become comfortable around him. Especially Atticus.

He became really fascinated with him a few years ago, even getting a couple of stuffed animal cats that he named after the dude. He would tell me about them having all sorts of adventures, including them riding bikes together. (You can see a layout from 2009 here about them.)

Usually, Shaun puts Atticus to bed while I get the girls snuggled down, but on the rare occasion, I will put Atticus to bed. Instead of reading him a story like Daddy does, I will make up a story about him and Murray. I quite often picture a little Calvin and Hobbes duo in my imagination as I come up with the tales.

A few recent stories include:

-Murray & Atticus going trick or treating and getting lots of candy

-Murray and Atticus sneaking to the North Pole & hearing Santa talk about the nice & naughty list... Santa happened to mention that no one can be good all the time, and that's why we celebrate Christmas: for the gift of redemption God provided us in His gift of Jesus. And then Murray happened to also spot some gifts wrapped up for Atticus. ;)

-Murray traveling back in time on the TARDIS with the Doctor to get a glimpse of baby Jesus in the manger, with all the animals around. Murray got to chat it up with a sheep and a cow.

I love this little special tradition we have.

I'm hoping on making him a little book of the Murray stories. :)

Family Pics!

2011-12-12T12:40:00.001-06:00

When you're the one behind the camera all the time, whole family pics rarely happen. We were blessed enough yesterday to grab a few shots in front of our friends the Russell's home before our community group lunch. They aren't the most perfect pics, but they make me happy. I always treasure the ones of us all together!

Me and my love. :)

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The picture below was taken in 2009

Here's this year's! I love it!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

2011-12-10T12:45:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope today is NOT full of you have to rush around and go to lots of stressful stores, and more full of making fun memories with your family... or maybe just cuddled up on your couch with some hot cocoa and a fave Christmas movie. :)

I've got a tutorial up on the message board for making this fun decor/gift item! Come check it out! It was made from the Mistletoe and Holly kit.

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I've also been busy catching up on my December Daily. It's been so enjoyable to capture these memories as they happen. I feel like it helps me to stop and reflect on what's happening around me rather than just checking things off of the calendar.

I've been using the brag book from Fancy Pants and the Mistletoe & Holly kit.

I also added some vintage numbers from Elle's Studio.

One of the fun things about this album is that you can just tear a page out if you need to- which I did! I didn't need an extra page in there so I pulled it out and saved it for later. Easy peasy.

I love that already my album has fun bits sticking out. I can't wait to work on it some more this afternoon!

Dear Diary...

2011-12-04T20:14:00.001-06:00

As soon as I could cobble a few letters together to make phonetically spelled words (I once wrote a note for a "pnut buddr" sandwich), I journaled. I have stacks of journals from my young girlhood.

Reading back through them, if I had lapsed for a time in writing, I would always feel the need to apologize to my diary. Or sometimes, in despair of being consistent and with a new resolve to write every day, I would just start a brand new journal.

I remember always writing with the feeling of someone reading over my shoulder... not feeling completely private. I often read books that were written as if it was someone's journal (one of my favorite types of vehicles for telling a story!), but I think that influenced me into thinking someone would some day read my ever so intimate thoughts about which boy I had a crush on.

Now here we go, I actually do have a place where someone reads my thoughts. I'm much more inhibited on what I share on here because I'm alwaysalwaysalways too self aware of that audience. I wish I could break through that barrier sometimes, but the judging voices in my head are way louder than the quiet voice of freedom.

Anyways, all that popped into my head as I went to click on the "Compose Post" button, because it seems as if the span of time gets longer and longer in between posts, and I feel this compulsion to apologize. It's silly.

:)

Since I apparently have spent my words for the evening with my blathering, I figured I'd post a few pics for you guys of a peek into our home right now.

Our suitcase full of Christmas books. Usually I do the whole wrap up the books and then unwrap one each night thing, but I didn't this year. It's okay. We probably don't need the mess and the fighting over it each night right now anyways.

In love with this EP and wish it were longer.

I saw this fun idea on Pinterest and am so glad I did it.

Before:

I have a prettier cake stand that I'll be using here after Christmas time, but right now it's serving a decorative purpose on my mantle. :) Still, this small solution has made dish washing time just a little more pleasant, and we can all always use that!

In preparation for my December Daily, I needed to reorganize my craft bag as well. I mean, wow.

Before;

After:

And here's my December Daily, just started! I'll share more as I fill up the insides. :) I used the Mistletoe and Holly kit from NoelMignon. You can see my video review of it here!

We've been reading Christmas stories and our Jesse Tree devotional at night. My friend Carrie wrote her own Jesse Tree devotional for little kids, and it's really good. Perfect for the 1st grade and under crowd at our home!

I let the kids go to town on our Christmas tree. It's quite overloaded with decorations. Just the way we like it. ;)

Mistletoe & Holly!

2011-11-24T20:00:00.000-06:00

The much-anticipated Christmas kit from Noelmignon up for sale! Get yours today!

When you pick yours up, you may want to go ahead and add a Fancy Pants Brag book to your package.... Noel has them in stock in the red & the black and they will make a great December Daily book! It's what I'll be using and I'll be posting all about it on my blog. :)

Thankful

2011-11-23T21:49:00.001-06:00

For this crazy, sweet, grace-filled, loud, hopeful, precious life that I've been given.

Hope your Thanksgiving is full of all those good things

that bring your mind & heart to a place of gratitude!

(This photo is a year and a half old. It's time for us to get a new one!)

By Hand Boutique

2011-11-18T10:40:00.001-06:00

Tonight and tomorrow is By Hand Boutique! Come see me- I'll be sharing a booth with my dear friend Michelle. There will be lots and lots of cool things to see and buy!

Here's a sampling of my items... I've got other things I haven't taken pictures of yet! :) I look forward to this show all year and I can't wait for tonight. I'm on a strict time schedule today so I must get off of here but I just wanted to share with you guys in case anyone local wants to come!

Shutterfly Winners!

2011-11-14T17:51:00.001-06:00

Paige Meyer, Linh. C., and Rachel Cathey, email me at 2blackflipflops at gmail dot com and I'll send you your Shutterfly codes for 25 photo cards!!! :) Thanks for playing along!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards Giveaway!

2011-11-11T11:20:00.001-06:00

I’ve been working my little editing fingers to the bonelately taking Christmas card pictures for friends- it’s that time of year! I’vegot a great idea for our Christmas card photo and I can’t wait to get it taken.I love capturing this time of year!

I will be using Shutterfly this year for our Christmas cards; I’ve used them for the past few years, and I have been really happy withthe quality of products. They are consistently good- great photo books (we always do at least one of those as a gift!), greatprints, great diversity of designs, great cards. I recommend them to anyone whoasks!

As a scrapbooking & a photographer, I am picky aboutdesigns for cards being on trend, with the quality of colors, and theconsistency between the photos I upload and the final product. I can’t wait tobe able to share our final Christmas photo card with my friends and family because I knowit’ll be exactly what I want – if my kids cooperate for the photo. hehehe

Just to give you a peek- here's a few of my favorite card designs:

(found here)

To share some of the fun with you guys, Shutterfly has given me three coupon codes for 25 free cards to give you guys! Leave me a comment and I will draw from them by Monday, November 14th and will announce the winner that night!

Hudson Valley Kit Review Video

2011-11-11T11:04:00.001-06:00

I got my Hudson Valley Kit in the mail yesterday and was so very excited to open it up. It's like "Autumn" in a box. The colors and textures are completely up my alley. I made y'all a little video so you could get a peek at the insides!

Remember the Halloween display I made? I just revamped it and added a simple little banner made from the NM Hudson Valley Kit for my Fall decor. I see all sorts of gorgeous mantles online, but for now, simple is really good for us. :)

Today, I'm hopeful.

2011-11-09T08:15:00.001-06:00

because it's my sweet love's birthday.
because it's a rainy day and those are the best.
because my library fine wasn't as bad as I thought it was, so now we're going to the library to get a fresh stack of books (and I'll swear once again that I won't let them be late).
because I finally went to the doctor after hacking & coughing 'til my whole body hurt and after 3 days of taking meds, I'm starting to feel normal. And not exhausted all the time. Yay!
because I'm starting to feel creative again. And pinterest isn't a reminder of all the things I'm not doing, but of all the things I could do.
because the Hudson Valley kit will hopefully arrive today. :)
because every time I leave my house, my heart kind of swells up with awe at the God that created trees to change color in the fall, and the gorgeous contrast of colors I see in the blue sky, the white fluffy clouds, the golden rays of sunshine, the glow of yellow and red and orange leaves.
because my hair is finally starting to get long again.
because I know that God is faithful. I see His story wound in my friends' lives and my family's lives and mine. Even when I'm feeling discouraged, I am reminded by the patter of feet in my house and the leaves of the trees outside of my window.

Today, I'm choosing hope. For the little things and the big things, and all the things in between.

Finishing Up Something Wicked

2011-11-04T13:50:00.001-05:00

I am not a chronological scrapper. I'm rather haphazard in both my style and my perspective in scrapping. I sit down and work on what's fresh on my mind, whether it's something we are celebrating in life, worrying about with a particular child, a routine we've picked up, or a holiday we are in the middle of. I've still got Halloween on the brain (I need to take down my decorations!!!), so I wanted to see if I could use up the Something Wicked kit (7 left!) on some of our pictures from last weekend.

I was inspired on this layout by a layout I'd pinned on Pinterest by Wendy Sue Anderson. I loved her quick and easy banner and created my own. I think I have all the papers in the kit represented in this banner!

The next layout is just a costume layout of my youngest, in her "ghostie" costume. I loved the shades of blue and of course, the fun ghost elements in the kit.

The last layout I made was this one of our group of friends that we trick-or-treated with. I have pictures from my childhood like this and I love looking back at them! I hope my kids have good memories of Halloween that these pictures trigger. :)

I've created 6 layouts, one home decor piece, one card, and one tag from this kit so far. And I still have PLENTY to finish up my Halloween pics with. I. love. it! Get yours now!

Hudson Valley Pre-order!

2011-11-02T08:12:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to remind you guys about the Hudson Valley kit pre-order. This is one of my favorite kits Noel puts out all year... it's the "fall" kit and it's beautiful! There are only 11 left so you need to grab this before it goes out of stock!

If you order it while it's still on pre-order (we're just waiting for October Afternoon products to arrive), you also get two free gifts (pictured below the ad!). Woohoo!

Free Gift #1

Free Gift #2

5 Sheets of Cardstock
-Spinach
-Vanilla
-Rust
-Peacock Blue
-Latte
LilyBee Harvest Market
-Peach Crisp
-Hayride
-Squash
Pebbles Fresh Goods
-Come Again
-Simple Joys
Basic Grey Picadilly
-Farm Fresh Eggs
-Eggs and Bacon
-Bread Box
Hambly Screen Prints
-Yellow Latice
American Crafts Nightfall
-Autumn Cider
-Autumn Feast
-Fall Leaves
Crate Paper Farmhouse
-Accent Cuts
-Countryside
-Cross Stitch
-Homemade
Jillibean Soup Apple Cheddar Soup
-Milk
We R Memory Keepers Autumn Splendor
-Linden
October Afternoon Farmhouse
-paper1
-paper2
-paper3
Embellishments
-1 sheet October Afternoon Farmhouse Stickers
-2 October Afternoon Farmhouse Tin Pins
-6 (i think) October Afternoon buttons
-1 sheet Crate Paper Farmhouse Border Stickers
-1 sheet Crate Paper Farmhouse label/alpha Stickers
-1 Package Jillibean Soup Chipboard Alphabeans (Burlap)
-1 Elles Studio Lil' Snippets "Gratitude"
-1 Elles Studio Lil' Snippets "Explore"
-1 American Crafts Precision Pen (.05) Brown
-1 5" Square Denim Fabric
-1 5" Square Red Ticking Fabric
-48" Blue Jute Twine
-1 We R Memory Keepers "Notes and Banners" acrylic stamp set
-2 Artchix Wooden "Victorian Windows"
-6 We R Memory Keepers Paper Flowers
-8-10 Basic Grey Canvas/paper flowers
-2 American Crafts Nightfall Felt Shapes
-1 WeR memory Keepers Embossed Tag - Autumn Notes
-1 WeR memory Keepers Embossed Tag - Pumpkin Patch
-2 Elles Studio Journaling Tags
-1 MME "Fun Day" title
-1 sheet Hambly Screen Prints Rub ons "Owls" Blue

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:32:00.000-05:00

From my spooks to yours! :)

NoelMignon Spooktacular Blog Hop!

2011-10-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Noel Mignon Spooktacular Blog Hop! This will be a two day event, so be sure to join us both Saturday and Sunday to join in on all the fun.

Each member of the design team has created a fabulous tag with a letter featured prominently on it; collect a letter from each blog and unscramble them to discover a word.

The first stop on the hop is the NoelMignon LO/Project blog. So if you are stopping here first, please head back over there and start over to be sure you collect all the letters:

http://noelmignonlayouts.blogspot.com/ .

Be sure to leave comments along the way.... once you've collected all the letters and think you've unscrambled the word, email Virginia at 2blackflipflops at gmail dot com with your entry. We'll draw one random name from the correct entries for a fun My Mind's Eye Halloween prize pack!

The Hudson Valley kit goes up for sale bright and early Tuesday morning! Get your order in early, as this one has the lines that have been getting a lot of attention since they debuted at CHA, and it won't last long!

Your next stop is Diana!

A Random October Saturday

2011-10-22T15:13:00.002-05:00

Thank you guys for your comments from my "adieu" post. It meant a lot to me. And I love that the internet is such an amazing tool for joining together people that may have never met in real life, to allow authenticity, and to create friendships & community. It's very cool.

I'm still working on trimming down other areas of my life... saying "No" is a hard thing for me. It's wrapped up in complexity. I don't want to disappoint anyone. For the first time in my life, I'm really learning freedom from that. I won't say it's not without some discomfort in the changes, but the growth feels.... good. :)

Also, I wanted to just make sure I clarify that I don't think judgmentally on anyone else that's doing a lot of things (designing, for example). There are seasons when it has been a really good thing for me; it's just not the best thing for me at the moment. Okay. Done! Enough rambling about it! LOL

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Right now it's a lovely, chilly October day. The sun is shining. My oldest has a friend over to play and they are having a lovely girly time. I just put up the groceries and am washing my duvet cover so my bed will be fresh and snuggly tonight. I'm thinking about making taquitos for dinner.

Here's a few pictures from our month so far. It's one of my favorite months of the year. I just love this time.

Me and the little girlies on "orange day" at MDO. (My bangs are driving me crazy in this pic!)

My gorgeous, crazy Sabby... we spend a lot of time together these days. It's good for both of us. I have to remind myself to slow down and just listen to her. I think it's pretty hard to be the 3rd kiddo.

She makes sure that she gets noticed, no doubt. ;)

And this one wants to do EVERYTHING "Pabby" does.

She's a priss pot. She has to have a hair bow. She cries for one at nap time and must have one to sleep. She also loves "shooos."

It's really fun just having the two little ones at home... I feel like I get to slow down a little with them and do little girl stuff.

I get to go on two field trips this week with my bigger kiddos and I'm looking forward to those days with just them. :) Getting the kids one on one can be a challenge, but not impossible, and oh-so-important.

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Today is quite the random day on my blog, isn't it?

As I was going through pics, I came across these I took of my Halloween mantle and thought I'd go ahead and share them too.

Enjoy your weekend!

A spooky good time

2011-10-21T13:46:00.000-05:00

We've been having a great time at Spooktacular Week on the message boards... come join us if you haven't had a chance to pop in yet!

Come check out my project today on the blog, along with all the incredible other projects we've had!

You should really join me tonight....

A bit of an adieu

2011-10-19T14:23:00.002-05:00

I've been reading the amazing book, "Grace for the Good Girl," and teaching through it with my Sr. High Sunday School class. It resonates so much with my heart... I don't think I would have ever described myself necessarily as a "good girl," but I've definitely always been a self-professed people pleaser. It has been a mask I've hidden behind for a long time.

Last week, as I struggled to go to a birthday party, post to two blogs, prepare for teaching Children's Worship, rush off to my Sunday School class, bake something for an event later, meet with a few other ladies for a committee, gather ideas for our fall festival, and you know.... be a wife and a mother, I read this section in the book:

"My incessant need to be better than, to be important, to be liked and right and good on my own and by myself- these things pulsed just under the surface of my smiling exterior."

Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman, page 45

That stings. It stings because it's true.

"Good" means I never mess up. Good means I weigh the perfect amount. Good means I can handle everything, I don't look like a fool, and I never lose my patience. Good means my husband will never be disappointed in me, my kids will always obey, and everyone basically likes me. Good means I am enough. My goodness is all about me.

Grace for the Good Girl, by Emily P. Freeman, page 25

As beautiful and freeing it is to bare my soul and to realize how twisted up I have become in this, it brings about changes in my life... some of them harder to give up than others. This book is divided up in three sections: The Hiding, The Finding, and The Freedom of Being Found. While I could nod and agree with everything in the first section, I'm finding the rest of the book a little harder to get through... because it's where I have to give up what I've clung to for so long.

Fortunately, I don't have to do it on my own.

In this process, I'm discovering that the things that I believe God gave me as a way to honor Him, like being a wife and a mother and an artist, have become joyless so many times because I'm rushing through them and using them as a way to make myself "approved" of by others. They've lost some of their innate satisfaction.

With that said, while I would never give up any of them, I am stepping away from designing for manufacturers for a while. I want to get back to the root of WHY I'm doing this. The heart of creativity. The joy of motherhood. The pleasure of being a wife. For me, those are all intrinsically connected.

This will be my last month of designing for the amazing companies (Lily Bee Designs and Authentique) that have allowed me to be a part of their teams for some time. They both create inspiring products for paper crafters of all sorts to use, and they have my full support. I love seeing people succeed in this industry, especially as bigger and bigger companies get in the game... please support these guys. They've got passion behind what they're doing, and we need lots of that.

I don't pretend to think that most of you guys will care about all of what I've written, but I feel like to be authentically me on my blog, I needed to sort this all out and share it with the few of you who might read through this. It's a little bit scary and definitely not within my comfort zone, but this is also who I am.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I will be continuing to work with sweet Noel at NoelMignon. That has always been a safe place and a home for me as a creative person... I believe my place is still there. It's a constant source of inspiration and challenge for me as a creative gal.

Thank you all for your support and kind words.... I always enjoy reading your comments. :)

Spooktacular Week starts tomorrow!

2011-10-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

This week is Spooktacular Week at NoelMignon. We've got lots of ideas "brewed" up for you! ;) It's going to be so much fun! And to top it off, Noel is offering free shipping on orders over $50 for the next 24 hours! Check our facebook page to find out how!

How I Pack Our Lunches

2011-10-14T18:36:00.001-05:00

I know this is a really random post, but I thought you lunch-packers out there might not know about these nifty little containers.

I really like the idea of bento boxes, but since they are sometimes time consuming and/or expensive to put together, I kind of made a scaled down version for my kids. I've been using a Fit & Fresh container for Emerson for a while, but a friend at our MDO introduced me to these boxes, and I promptly ordered four. They make lunch prep super easy! The Fit & Fresh boxes would probably be better for an older child that eats bigger meals. Sometimes I found it hard to fill up the whole thing for her. These Lock & Lock ones are perfect!

One of the features I like about them is that all four sides lock down.. it keeps spilling at a minimum and they are fairly easy for little hands to open up. The only downside is that the little containers on the inside don't reach all the way to the lid, so you wouldn't want to fill them individually with anything sloshy, otherwise it may leak onto the other containers if this isn't kept flat the whole time.

The inside of this one has four "trays" as they are called in the item description. You can remove them for cleaning or if you needed to customize the box for whatever size of the items you are including. (You could remove two trays and have a longer open area for a hot dog or two sandwich halves stacked or whatnot.)

They are also stain-resistant, BPA free, and dishwasher/microwave safe. I handwash all my dishes and we don't have a microwave, so I can't vouch for that part, but I can say that they are holding up on all other ends really well!

You can order them here on Amazon for really cheap (and I don't get anything for you clicking on that link, I just wanted to share with my readers!). :)

Noel Mignon kit giveaway!!! :)

2011-10-10T18:53:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! Noel is going to be doing a kit giveaway and all you have to do to be eligible is follow 3 easy steps! (Contest runs from today - Oct. 28th!)

#1) "Like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

#2) Follow the LO/Project blog

#3) Become a message board member, and sign in on this thread.

If you already have done all three of those thing then you are eligible too! So head over and sign in! One lucky winner will be announced on Oct. 31st to win THIS LOVELY KIT! Good Luck!!

Trick or treat!

2011-10-08T08:48:00.002-05:00

The Something Wicked kit has been making this month so much fun for me! I love pulling out all the contents and inevitably thinking back to Halloween memories.... that of my own kids' and of my own.

I wanted to capture the essence of trick or treating in this layout. I used a blurry picture from last year that shows the magical, fuzzy-around-the-edges, mystery of the night, and then the classic standing on the porch, waiting for some ghoul to come to the door with a bowl full of treats shot.

I did a ton of fussy cutting on this layout.... from the pennant banner cut out of patterned paper, to the delightful little scene of trick or treaters, to the ominous clouds and stars.

It makes a great use of those great elements from papers and lets them stand on their own as embellishments.

I added some of the distress stickles on the roof of the house. I love the subtle texture it adds.

Starry, Starry Night

2011-10-07T08:06:00.002-05:00

I'm blogging over at Lily Bee today with a small tutorial on how to make these little autumnal stars! Enjoy!

Lily Bee supplies:

Patterned Paper:
Peach Crisp-Harvest Market
Black Licorice-Harvest Market
Turtleneck-Harvest Market
Hayride- Harvest Market

Pumpkin Seeds- Harvest Market

Squash- Harvest Market

Other:
cardstock, scissors, twine, burlap, black ink

*ETA: I just was looking at the pictures and realized I would love this even more if I'd hung the stars from a branch... so here it is!! :)

Spooky jewelry

2011-10-03T17:53:00.001-05:00

If you're hankering for some cool new jewelry to sport during the month of October, swing by the NoelMignon Tips & Techniques blog to see how you can make a leather cuff bracelet, using some of your crafty supplies!

You've Been Boo'ed.

2011-10-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about the fun Halloween neighborhood activity, "Booing" your friends?

You can go to beenbooed.com to read all about it, but basically it's a fun way to surprise your neighbors with an anonymous little treat during October.

I am beginning to prepare little treat bags for this fun activity (and other upcoming Halloween activities), and I wanted to make some out of the adorable Glowing line from Authentique.

Start with a 12" x 5" strip of double sided paper (I used the Black Gingham/Orange Brocade piece). Fold it so that the bottom portion falls about 3/4" from the top of the back side.

Punch the edges with the border punch of your choice. Then adhere down the left and right sides to form a pocket.

Begin decorating the front. I cut a 1" strip of the Newsprint paper, notched the ends, and accordian folded to create a dimensional banner.

Crumple it, distress the edges, and add brown ink with a dauber to age it. Then run a strip of adhesive along the back to stick it down to the pocket.

Cut out a spiderweb from the Lace Spiderweb paper, and distress the edges. (Tip: I just use the open edge of a pair of scissors to distress quickly!)

Add dimension and sparkle to the web by applying a bit of Stickles!

Add on a strip from the Tabloids diecuts under the banner, a piece of twine wrapped around the card, tiny clothespins, and another diecut from the Noteables collection.

A stick pin and a tag die cut, embellished with a few Diction stickers complete the embellishments.

Punch two holes to string ribbon & lace through and simply knot the trimming. Fill with candy and hang on a lucky recipient's door! :)

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that this helps you whip up a fun few surprises for your fellow spooks this month!

The Beginning of Something New

2011-09-30T20:11:00.001-05:00

This was our biggest birthday packed week for our family. My aunt (who is more like a big sister and is definitely a best friend) started out the week, then Ariana and I had ours on Wednesday and Thursday. There was much cupcake eating to be had, and there will be much more over the weekend!

My biggest gift so far has been this next one.

We've lived in our old southern home for 5 years now. It's a little squishy around here sometimes, and we (read here as: me) are constantly getting creative with the way we use our spaces.

My other closest (non-related!) friend, Michelle, saw the beauty in our detached garage (aka a carriage house... our house is along an old horse & buggy route) that I had long ignored.

Sure, the outside was cute, but the inside was full of piles of leaves, old strollers, and random debris that ended up in there. It was the gross place I avoided..... definitely not where I thought I could one day make art!

She came over today with the intentions of us creating a new space out of this yucko one. We rolled up our sleeves, pulled out the brooms & buckets o' soapy water, and grabbed the bug spray.

It still has to be functional to hold our lawnmower, so we began covering up that side. I want to continue building a wall with two more stacked pallets on top of those. How cool will they look eventually? I think I may paint some words on them. I'd also like to add a shelf unit in that area between the curtain and the pallets.

One of the cool things about this project is that all the "art" and architectural pieces are from things that were already in the garage. This is an old footboard to a bed. I'm planning on painting the middle part with chalkboard paint.

Some old bike tires, hung up on the wall, become a place to clip small pieces of art onto in the future.

The old tin roof is going to sound AMAZING when it rains.

The was a mirror stashed in there that was a great accent piece on the main wall. We quickly painted it blue and hung it up. Oh my word. LOVE it.

To some of y'all, this may just look like an old yucko garage... but to me, it is a small piece of heaven. I see so much potential in the space... so many things I want to do with it. I don't want to say too much yet because I need to check out a few things, but I very much would like to see classes here in the future. :)

Welcome to the Carriage House Studio... a work in progress!

The area non-pictured on the right side has a little corral for the kids' bikes and scooters. The kids were pretending it was a jail today and wanted me to share this picture with you guys.

Sillies. :)

There's a touch of fabulous fall in the air!

2011-09-24T13:41:00.005-05:00

I received my "Something Wicked" Kit in the mail Thursday (don't hate me!) and immediately set out to create a video of it and then whip up a card.

I mention in the video that I think that the spooky looking tree stamp from We R Memory Keepers would look great as a little happy fall tree... well, I tried to make one and I think it turned out pretty cute for this non-stampin' girl! :)

I just used an eraser head and a plethora of Tim Holtz distress inks to make the "leaves." It was really quite easy!

I'll be sending this card to my Grams &Mom... we have a long standing inside joke about a "touch of fall in the air," and I know that it'll brighten their day. :)

In case you missed it, click here to see the full kit contents of "Something Wicked"- and get yours today!
CLICK HERE to order!

(Oh and one final note- in my video you can hear my girls start to freak out at the end.... no worries, all three girls snuggled down into one bed together and had a sleepover last night to keep each other company in the scary storm! Hee!)

A Patchwork Heart

2011-09-23T11:15:00.003-05:00

I made this canvas for my aunt a while back... her office is in a beautiful purple & green color scheme. She asked that I make her a piece of art that would go with her colors.

The special thing about this canvas is that there is something meaningful for both of us written underneath all the layers of paint and paper. She knows it's there, but it's hidden. :) I love that added private touch to the artwork.

Authentique Supplies Used:
Splendid Patterned Paper- Magnificence, Brilliance, Richness, Foundations

"Studio" Tour!

2011-09-22T21:42:00.001-05:00

You guys should go here to check out the Lily Bee blog today, if you feel like having a nosy around my "studio." ;)

Authentique September Color Challenge

2011-09-18T21:13:00.002-05:00

Authentique has it's first color challenge up... you should come play along! There are prizes! ;)

Here's the color story for the challenge:

And my take on it!

Come play along here!

She inspires her friends with her kindness and creativity.

2011-09-16T18:52:00.000-05:00

I have this really inspiring friend that I've been wanting to make a gift for, for a while. She's pretty amazing. She started off as just an internet acquaintance and a kit club owner that I worked for, and over the years has become a dear friend.

I created this canvas for her using some of the new Crate Paper Farmhouse line and the Study Hall kit.

My friend has checked on me while I've been sick, hung in there with me through computer losses, comforted me in grief, supported me through natural disasters, and surprised me with baby showers.

Not only that, but she has been a constant source of inspiration every month. I'm not sure what I would do without her at this point!

Thanks for being my friend, Noel. I love ya! (Look for this coming to you in the mail!)

Layout Tag!

2011-09-13T21:26:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about being a part of the community on the NoelMignon message boards is this fun game we have called "Layout Tag." The basic gist is that we are given a layout to draw inspiration from to create our own layout; we submit it back to Noel and she sends our layout to the next person to do the same thing with. It's kind of like a game of "Telephone," with a scrappy twist!

I created this layout for our most recent game of Layout Tag during this summer, and today was the reveal (ours ends up taking quite a while because we have a lot of people that play along!). I'm so glad to be able to finally share it.

(click here and here if you want to check out the other participants!)

(created with a mixture of the Jump & Jive kit and Mary Ellen kit- both of which there are a couple still available!)

When the rain makes your internet go out...

2011-09-09T10:18:00.000-05:00

what do you do?

Well, you read good books.

You light yummy candles. (I love that Bath & Body Works has the 3 for $5 small sample sized candles! They are perfect for trying out new scents.)

You scrapbook.

Created for NoelMignon using the sold out Study Hall kit.

Created for Lily Bee Design using Picket Fence, This & That, and Stationery.

You organize your closet.

Before:

After:

All my tops are rolled and sorted by color in the bins; greens & blues, pinks & purples, blacks & neutrals, browns and yellows.

(We have a super small closet, and we're lucky to even have one! Our house was built before closets were popular. Crazy, huh? This hanging down shoe organizer is something I should have bought a long time ago. My closet is so much more tidy now. I love it.)

And that's what you do when the internet goes out! :) Maybe it should happen more often? Ha! May it never be!

I am thinking about taking a day each week to be "disconnected." Do any of you do it? What day do you pick- one that you know you'll already be busy on and you won't miss it as much, or another day where it's more noticeable?

There's 104 Days of Summer Vacation.....

2011-09-02T08:19:00.004-05:00

I'm so glad Noel started the challenge blog back up just in time for me to create a quick layout about our summer adventures! I tried to decide if I wanted to do a collage of photos from our summer, but decided upon this great pic of my littlest's ruffled bum of her swimsuit to represent "summertime."

If you're a Phineas and Ferb fan, then you'll recognize the beginning lyrics to the theme song as the title of my layout. I love using quote or lyrics for song titles because I'm NOT good at coming up with titles on my own!

The little kraft pocket is stuffed with a couple of Pink Paislee Soiree Mini Notes (on sale for $4.79!) and has some of our summer activities listed on them.

Created with the Salt Water Taffy kit.

A Blissful Welcome Sign

2011-09-01T07:15:00.000-05:00

I love finding little odds & ends at the Dollar Store and decorating them with scrapbooking products to suit my taste... and this little sign was the perfect candidate for what I wanted to do with some Authentique products.

I covered it with some of the "Foundations" cardstock from the Blissful line, and then add some fun touches using coordinating patterned paper from the Blissful & Uncommon lines, and vintage book pages.

Authentique Products Used:
Uncommon- Gifted Patterned Paper

Blissful- Tabloids, Foundations Cardstock, Happiness Patterned Paper, Felicity Patterned Paper, Euphoria Patterned Paper

Journey- Classic Type

My many colored days.

2011-08-30T21:27:00.002-05:00

"Some days, of course, I feel sort of brown.

Then I feel slow, and low, low down."

Good ol' Dr. Suess. He knows how to describe me, whether I'm 3 or 31.

I've been struggling with some health problems this last week; nothing that some people have to deal with, by any means, but still difficult for a busy mama of four kiddos. I'm grappling with the fact that I can't do everything I want to; that this is a broken body in an imperfect world. It's frustrating.

The verdict right now is either I have shingles affecting the nerves in my lower back, or a slipped disc (or something of that nature). I go tomorrow to get a CT scan and to try to eliminate/determine what's going on.

I sit here and think, "I'm ready for my 'normal' life back." And I want to complain that I've been to the doctor three times this week, and I'm tired of it. Then I think about Kristi, a girl I knew from college who has three young girls (younger than mine), and is battling Stage IV cancer.

I bet she'd like her normal life back too.

I get confused when faced with stuff like this, where I see that I am actually weak, that I can't do it all myself. I want to chastise myself for being wimpy or for complaining; but then I see that it is in the weakness that I can truly see my place- that in weakness is where I need a Savior... someOne to save me.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)

I want to count it all joy. To be made steadfast. To be lacking in nothing. To become like Christ.

Kindergarten

2011-08-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

Just like Tifany on yesterdays post at the Authentique blog, I love the woodgrain paper (Brilliance) from the Splendid line. I really liked it for a masculine, yet whimsical background to this layout about Atticus' start to school!

I love to layer and add lots of small clusters of embellishments on my layouts, so I have several spots on here that I did that. Pieces from the Richness and Renown papers add part of the main block, while pennants from a variety of the papers add a fun touch across the top of the page.
A stickers and some die cuts add a tiny punch at the top of the page.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope this gives you a little inspiration for your weekend scrapping!

Authentique Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Splendid line (Renown, Magnificence, Richness, Majesty, Brilliance); Journey line (Promenade)

Stickers: Petite Type Circles, Diction (Splendid line); Classic Type (Blissful line)

Die cuts: Noteables (Splendid line)

A Book Friend

2011-08-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

Have you managed to snag your Noel Mignon"Study Hall" kit? I hear there are only 5 left!!! Trust me when I say, this will be your new favorite. :)

I excitedly opened mine up to play with yesterday, and squealed like a school girl when I came across this great page out of an old school book that had the title "A Letter About A Book Friend." I don't know it was talking about, but I knew it would go PERFECTLY with this shot I have of my friend Laura that I took with Instagram last week.
As you can see, this kit is not so "themey" that you have to do school layouts with it. While I'm planning on doing plenty of school days type layouts, I have several others in mind to make with this kit, completely un-school related!
The burlap trim? Yes. To die for.

I hope this layout has convinced you to go grab it! And while you're at it, check out this thread so that you can see the other items in the shop that go along with it. :)

NM Study Hall kit up for pre-sale!!!

2011-08-25T07:21:00.002-05:00

Noel is offering free shipping** this month to all U.S. orders over $100, or if you purchase 2 kits. So get your orders in early as the demand for this offer is going to be high! :)
**Please use the "pickup" option if your order is within the U.S., and is over $100, for your free shipping. She is very sorry, but she can not apply it towards international orders.

I'll be posting a video of the kit very soon- it's super yummy. :)

Shout out!

2011-08-24T18:03:00.003-05:00

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give a little shout out and let you know that the Authentique blog is now live!

You can check it out daily for inspiration from the new Authentique team. :)

Here's a sneak of something I'll have live this weekend on the blog!

On menu planning and perhaps a little of my own insecurities

2011-08-20T13:13:00.005-05:00

Confession: I do not like to spend time in the kitchen.

I do like to bake, but when it comes to food prep or regular ol' cooking, I'm not really a fan. I'm surrounded by many friends & family that are really good at this, some of them being self-professed foodies (the hubs included), so all of that combined has kind of intimidated me about mealtimes.

Well, a few months ago (I know, I'm ashamed to say that it's really only been this year that this has started!!!), I began meal planning in earnest.

I finally feel like I'm starting to get into the swing of things. I'm not dreading, even, I dare say, enjoying preparing meals sometimes because I'm not as stressed about figuring out what to make or if I have the ingredients.

A large part of this came about because of Pinterest, and in particular, my menu board. I pin things during the week that we'd like to try, and every Saturday, I sit down and peruse my selections and fill out our menu plan.

To make things easier, I use this free printable as my menu planner. I have great plans of making something "cute" one day, but this works for us now.

After a little discussion I had today on facebook with a few friends, I decided I would *gulp* start sharing my menu plans here each Saturday after I make up my list.

It's kind of scary for me to do this, because I'm afraid of people thinking I'm a bad mom (because not everything is super healthy) or that I'm gross (because I am not eating super healthy). Just being 100% honest. Eating/food & body image issues are, I think, pretty sensitive topics for a lot of women, myself included. So on that note, I ask you to throw me a little grace and pray for me that I continue to grow in what we put in our bodies, and that it be with the purpose to take care of what God's given us. :) And that I don't worry so much about what other people think about me. Ha!

With all that craziness aside, here's this week's plan! :)

Breakfasts:

We rotate between low-sugar cereals (plain cheerios, chex, kix), muffins (apple cinnamon is a big hit around here; we just buy the little bag mixes from the store and they are fast to make), and we're going to try these yummy sounding banana biscuits this week.

Lunches:

Monday- Faux lunchables (I put together crackers, cheese, and turkey slices in a little container for the kids, along with a go-gurt and some apple slices. I use a tiny cookie cutter on the cheese and turkey. It makes it fun and it's way cheaper than buying them.)

Tuesday: Hot Dogs, Pringles, String Cheese

Wednesday: Tortilla Roll Ups (turkey and cheese rolled up in a tortilla and then sliced), Veggie Straws, Go-gurt

Thursday: Grilled Cheese & Pretzels

Friday: PBJs, Veggie Straws, String Cheese

*I work on Tuesdays & Thursdays, and I bring granola, guacamole dip & tortilla chips/or/hummus & pita & cucumber slices, and string cheese for my lunch. It's easy to throw together.

*I usually throw a few other things in with the kids lunches, but I don't know what it'll be yet. We eat a lot of fruit, so I'm sure some grapes or strawberries will show up in a few of those lunches.

Dinners:

Monday: Crunchy Garlic Chicken & Corn Fritters

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner (waffles, eggs, & "green" smoothies: strawberries, bananas, milk, a little honey and two handfuls of fresh spinach leaves in the blender)

Wednesday: Homemade Pizza Rolls & Fresh Veggies (cut veggies in a cup with ranch dressing at the bottom)

Thursday: Cheesy Ranch Potato Bake, Green Beans, and Lemon Crockpot Chicken

Friday: Stacked Tacos & Tortilla Chips

*Saturdays are usually a scrounge around the house day, and Sundays we have community group with church members and we have a potluck lunch or dinner.

I hope this is fun and gives you a few suggestions for your week. I would LOVE to hear some of your family's favorite mealtime items. :)

This week...

2011-08-19T09:53:00.002-05:00

I went to a baby shower for my sweet friend Rachel. She's having a baby girl at the end of the month, and it gave me a great excuse to try out this idea I saw on Pinterest. "Cupcakes" made out of receiving blankets and onesies! I love it!

I also made a banner for my friend, which you can check out today on the blog at NoelMignon.com.

I shared a beach album using the Picket Fence line from Lily Bee Designs earlier this week on their blog. You can see all the insides of it, PLUS a companion layout, right here. I think this mini album is one of my favorites! I'm planning on giving it to Emerson to keep when she gets a little older.

Sabriel, Ariana, and I started back at Mom's Day Out this week! I'm teaching my own class this year, and am having lots of fun with it. The two little girls are each in their own class and are loving it already!

One of the things I'm doing in my class is a sensory box. This is a new concept to me, but it is quickly becoming a favorite. I got the idea from here. We are going to change our classroom box out once a month. This month we are just in the learning stage of how to keep the beans in the box and to share. I'm amazed at how long it keeps them entertained! I've also made my kids a box of their own because they loved my classroom one.

A whirlwind week

2011-08-13T10:04:00.003-05:00

We went and got haircuts with our favorite Kari Ann.

I took some family photos of some friends of ours visiting from out of town.

The twins started school. (They're not really twins, that's just what me and the hubs calls them.)

This one's in kindergarten.

And here's our big girl first grader.

We did a LOT of this... many errands run this week, including curriculum night at the school, my parent orientation for my class at MDO, thrift store shopping, going with Kari Ann to a Big Brother casting call, and visiting with friends.

...and I started getting into our new rhythm of just having the little girls

at home with me during the day.

2011-08-12T14:13:00.000-05:00

Hello lovely friends! I hope you've had a great week and are looking forward to a fun weekend!

I know that we've had a lot of requests (coughcoughShannoncoughcough) on the NoelMignon message board for mixed media tips; Britt has shared several great ones on the NM blog, and I wanted to throw in a few too!

I started off with a background I'd already created and cut a simple flower, with circles cut from the Noel Mignon Salt Water Taffy kit and some text paper.
Tip #1: to make it look less like paper just glued to a canvas, add some paint on TOP of the patterned paper. You can see that the big red outer circle is completely painted over, and I've added some streaks of red around the outside of the whole flower. I also began adding a few rub ons (from the Salt Water Taffy kit) around the edge.
Here you can see where I began adding paint to the stem and leaves. This is all just acrylic craft paint.
Tip #2: paint with your mists! I unscrewed the lid of my mists and dipped my paintbrush inside, and began painting on the stem and leaves with a green mist.
Tip #3: let your rub ons do the work! I bought some great Hambly rub ons from Noel a while back, and began adding them onto the outside of the flower. I have a small stash of rub ons now saved just for canvasses!

Tip #4: Outline with pen & marker! This step is crucial to making everything really stand out and look defined. I grabbed this marker a while back from my LSS. It's a big thick marker, and it's made for this kind of art.
It dries quickly and is permanent, so I do small sections at a time. Just outline a little and then rub with your finger to get a smudgy affect.
And here's my final piece!

(Final tip- don't forget to finish your canvas edges! I did mine with the washi tape in the Salt Water Taffy kit!)
I hope you guys start trying out mixed media! Make sure to share your results with us! :)

Summertime Sweetness and Bag Tags

2011-08-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

I *think*, after a long summer drought of feeling mojo-less, it's finally come back! :)

I sat down last night with the Salt Water Taffy kit (3 left), and these cutie pics of my baby girl and started to play. I actually began by punching holes in the piece of patterned paper on the bottom right, with the intention to use the circles as a scalloped border on another layout. I began playing with that, but this cute little paper with the holes cut out began calling to me.... and this layout was born!

Because the glittery thickers were a little too bright for the softer colors of this layout, I dabbed over them with some distress ink to mute them a bit.

Here's the piece that began this layout... I punched holes in the gingham paper, then used the same punch to create circles to nest inside of each hole. I inked/distressed all the edges and added a few embellishments to make this piece stand on its own.

(I added some trim from the Mary Ellen kit- still available!- to mimic the ruffles on Ariana's bathing suit.)

Next on my list was to do a little project for the kiddos. This would be great to do with kids that are a little older! I found self laminating pouches (in the wallet size) at Walmart, and began creating bag tags for the kids' backpacks.

The sheet of Echo Park journal spot paper in the Salt Water Taffy kit made the perfect starting point for these... they were almost the exact size needed (I had to trim them down just a teeny bit).
This one I created from a piece of Pink Paislee patterned paper; the gingham is one side, and the watermelon dots and polka dots are cut from the other side and then adhered to the front. I added a few stickles for sparkle. I punched butterfly shapes to make a see through element.

(I blurred out our personal information on Sabby's tag, but I have it written on the front on her card.)

A rub on, tiny cut out cloud, and stickles make this card a little more detailed.

Once you've finished creating your cards, just put them in the self-adhesive pouch and stick it all down. I used my crop a dile to punch a hole through and tie some cute baker's twine in. I think these will make their backpacks stand out from the crowd!

CHA- Summer 2011 Authentique projects

2011-07-26T19:21:00.004-05:00

I shared some of my Authentique projects a while back (you can see all of them by clicking here), but I had a few more I kept under wraps for the CHA booth.

Here's one I did of a sweet young friend of mine. I had the honor of taking her senior portraits and I wanted to make sure to document them.

(Created with Journey and Uncommon)
Here's one in happy colors, with our mother's day pics!
(Created with Blissful)

If you have been a follower of my blog for a while, you'll know that I LOVE me some Halloween! Any old excuse to play with Halloween products in the summertime is okay by me!
(Created with the Glowing collection)

This next project isn't the most elaborate of items, I know. But sometimes simple just makes a really nice statement, so that's what I stuck with on this little shabby chic home decor block.
I couldn't get enough of the Blissful collection, so I created a little canvas, inspired by the simple song, "You Are My Sunshine."
(Created with the Blissful and Journey collections).

I hope you enjoyed my projects! :)

And it was all yellow...

2011-07-25T18:08:00.002-05:00

Last week we had our VBS, Camp Cornerstone, at our church. And I was in charge of crafts. And it whipped my tail.

I'm finally recuperated, and I have a couple of Lily Bee Designs layouts to share with y'all. :)

Today we have a focus on "yellow" at the Lily Bee blog, and this was my contribution. Totally made me happy!

Piggytails by Virginia Tillery
Lily Bee supplies:

Domestic Bliss- Kitchen Confidential patterned paper, Chipboard Stickers

Happily Lost- Sun Soaked patterned paper

This & That- ABC stickers

Hello Sunshine- Posies patterned paper, Chipboard Stickers, Die Cut frames

Last week, I also posted another Lily Bee layout... this one of the dude!

Lily Bee Products Used:

Stationery- Butter & Tangerine Patterned Paper

Happily Lost- Good Book & Villa Patterned Paper

Picket Fence- Fresh Air Patterned

ABC Cardstock Stickers

I hope you guys are busting through your stash of Lily Bee to make room for the new lines. They've received rave reviews and I can't wait to play with them! :)

I'll be back in the next few days with some of my crafts from Camp Cornerstone, along with some of my Authentique projects for CHA.

Salt Water Taffy!

2011-07-15T20:02:00.002-05:00

Hey guys!

The Salt Water Taffy kit went live for sale today at NoelMignon.com! Be sure to check it out!

And here's my dorky video about the kit contents. ;)

I'll share my layout with you tomorrow! :) Get your kit, here, before they're all sold out!

Authentique- Glowing

2011-07-14T20:22:00.003-05:00

The new company that I have the pleasure of working for, Authentique, has two new lines coming out for CHA (in addition to their 4 regular lines!). The first up is Glowing- a Halloween line.

You know how much fun I was having playing with Halloween stuff this early in the year! My kids have been TOTALLY confused, though.... they keep asking if it's getting close to Halloween. Poor dears! :)

I made this fun banner out of "Glowing" (plus a little bit o' green from the "Splendid" line). I hand cut & designed the pumpkin and the bats, but the other fun embellishments are paper die cuts from the line.

I love the addition of Stickles and bling to contrast against the spooky feel of this line. I can't wait to hang this up and leave it up for the whole month of October!

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In other sneak peek news, make sure to check out NoelMignon bright and early tomorrow morning- Salt Water Taffy goes on sale and I'll have a video for y'all tomorrow, showcasing this kit!

Come check out the facebook page for lots of sneaks tonight to whet your appetite! :)