Seriously Layout

I really love the Open Book collection by Maggie Holmes.  And I love that I could make this layout about my dad, husband and I going to a gun range and make it a little girly without being over the top.  I mean, how perfect was this target paper?  I still don't know why I chose the title of Seriously except for the fact that it was from a new pack of Amy Tangerine thickers that I had just gotten so I needed to use something off of it.  As much as I like journaling and words, titles are not my strong point, seriously.  Lol  Anyway, thanks for watching!

Project Life Weeks 39-41

Do you know that at this point in time I am actually behind on Project Life again?  What??  I was doing so good!  But here's to hoping that I am finished up in time for New Year's because if I'm not caught up by then I'm going to have to really re-think Project Life because I refuse to be perpetually behind...I am so frustrated with myself.  And maybe a little frustrated with life in general for throwing such a crazy year at me?  Not at all what I expected out of 2014 but you know what?  I guess I'll just have to take what life throws at me and hope that 2015 is a better one!  One thing that I'm thankful for in 2014 is creating my YouTube channel and this blog.  Watching my channel grow throughout the year has been such an incredible, inspiring experience.  Thinking back on it, this was definitely a year of ups as well as downs.  Because my channel has been an amazing thing, something that has cheered me up, kept me going, and made me scrapbook even more!  So thank you, each and every person, that has watched, liked, subscribed, left a comment, followed me on Instagram, etc.  Because it has really made a difference in my life.  Over the next year I hope to grow the channel even more and I hope that it brings even more opportunities.  Now, on to the real reason you're here--the video!

Selfie Thursday Layout

Can I just say that I absolutely love the new Serendipity collection?  This is definitely one of my favorite layouts because of the colors!  And I really love the fact that I actually used a photo of myself that I like!  There are definitely some papers in this collection that aren't my favorite, but I love using them as background layers!  Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you soon!

Project Life Week 38

My new biggest Project Life tip when you're behind is to stick with one kit.  This happens to be the Crate Paper Notes&Things collection that has beautiful gold foil on every card!  It was honestly so easy to embellish by sticking with one collection and I actually felt that it was easier to try new things since everything went together.  Not to mention the fact that it was super quick!  This is definitely one of my favorite layouts (and collections) to date.  And it happened while I was months behind!  Thanks for stopping by!

Captured Layout

I love making layouts.  They are honestly more fun for me right now than Project Life.  Maybe it's because I can use all the fun embellishments or that I try out more techniques.  Or maybe it's because I'm behind on Project Life and so now it's starting to feel like a chore.  Or maybe it's because I just love those gorgeous 12 by 12 papers.  But whatever the reason I am loving my layouts lately!  So here's my latest layout video!  Thanks for watching :)

Project Life Weeks 36 and 37

Combining weeks for the win!  Seriously, this isn't my all time favorite layout, but after being so far behind, I'm just glad to be getting caught up :)  One thing that wasn't included in the video was the insert that I made for my husband and I's 5th anniversary.  Go me for not having a single PL card journaled on or a single photograph of the entire day.  So bad!  But I copied and pasted our Facebook posts from that day into Microsoft Word and just sort of typed up what we did that day and why we didn't celebrate a lot even though it was big number.  I like adding these inserts and I've seen Elise Cripe do this a lot and I think it's a great way to insert things, especially if you're a little wordier than a 3x4 or 4x6 card.  If you have any questions, let me know and I'll be happy to answer them!  Thanks for watching!

Fall Words Layout

Long time no see on the blog!  When I get busy I still want to share videos with you guys and it's way easier just hitting 'public' on a video than to write a short post and put the video and photos up.  So if you ever wonder why I'm such a flake it's because I get busy (and lazy) lol.  I'm working on a big project at work and have been going nonstop it feels like.  Between work and the holidays I've barely had time to see my husband, read a book or scrapbook.  Somehow I found time to order lots of stuff though so I have plenty of share videos on YouTube if you're interested in those!  Anyway, thanks for stopping by and checking out what's going on.  So, here's today's video :)

Project Life Week 35

I know I don't blog much on these types of posts, but I'm mainly just trying to share the video and have a place to put the photos since they're never ready when I upload the video.  So, basically, here's another video with photos below and I hope that I have more time to actually blog someday lol :)

Noble Paiges Book Club--Leaving Time Discussion

It's time for another round of the Noble Paiges Book Club with Paige Evans and myself!  This time we read "Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult and I loved it!  Be sure not to read Paige's blog or watch my video if you haven't finished the book.  I never saw the ending coming and there is no way to discuss the book without revealing the ending!  So without further ado....



And for next time we will be reading "The Rosie Effect" by Graeme Simsion.  This is the sequel to "The Rosie Project" that we read a few months back.  I can't wait to discuss the new book with you on February 7th, 2015!

Index Card 8

A quick index card to share with you guys.  This might be my favorite one...so far ;)

Project Life Week 34

I am finally getting caught up on PL--for real this time!  So I'll be posting several videos in the next few weeks before the end of the year!

Project Life Week 33

Looks like I totally spaced on getting this posted to the blog.  So here's photos if you're interested and I put up another Project Life video today, so keep an eye out for that!

In the Stacks November 25

Hey everyone!  I'm back with another quick review of the books that I've been reading that are at the top of my stack.

1.  Shopaholic to the Stars--You might be familiar with the Shopaholic series about, what else, a shopaholic.  Through the years we've seen Becky overspend, get married and have a little girl and now she's moving to Hollywood.  I don't know if I picked this book up at the wrong moment or if I've just phased out of these books or if the writing just wasn't as good as the past ones but I just couldn't get into this book.  I gave up and returned it but I would possibly pick it up at a different time to see if it struck my fancy then.

2.  Kiss of Deception--This teen fantasy is the first in a trilogy by Mary Pearson and it started off a little slow but with a great premise.  I ended up enjoying it and I recently saw the cover for the second book on Instagram, and I am waiting eagerly.  This was a good read if you like YA or fantasy or an adventure.  And I just have to know what happens because there was a good cliffhanger at the end!

3. The Firewish--Another young adult fantasy and another first in a series but this one has a jinni/human twist.  This was good but I wished there would have been more details about the Middle Eastern setting and about the jinnis and the mysteries and myths surrounding their race.  Overall the book was good and I would read another in the series but this just didn't satisfy my desire to read an updated 'Aladdin' type story.

4. Maid Marian--I love a good historical fiction, especially one set in Arthurian times.  Admittedly, my bar is set pretty high with "Mists of Avalon" but this book just did not grab my attention and I gave up on it within just a few pages.  Bummer :(

5. The Monogram Murders--For those that may not know, this was a book written under Agatha Christie's name with the permission of her grandson.  It features Hercule Poirot and I think that's why I didn't get into it as well.  Honestly, I read until the part about the cuff links and I am still curious about what happens, but it just didn't hold my interest well enough to continue this book.  Maybe it's because I'm a Miss Marple fan?

6.  We Are Not Ourselves--This novel by Matthew Thomas started out good even though it is a more dry book.  But that's its style, and it kept me interested, for awhile.  But then it just felt like it dragged.  I got distracted by other books that had more action in them.

7.  Good Girl--This is an update from last time.  I did finish this book and the ending surprised me, although later I felt like I should have figured it out.  Overall, I liked this book but I think I didn't like the style with the way it went between the past and present.  I already knew what happened to Mia, so I felt like there wasn't enough suspense even though there were obviously some unknown elements.  But it was good.  I would recommend it.

So, it feels like I set a lot of books aside this time.  But honestly, I just like to give my opinions. And this is a portion of the books I read/tried since the last book update.  And I didn't really include any e-books this time.  That's why I check so many books out--because there are duds and life-changers.  And because working at a library I get a ton of recommendations :)  Any you've read lately that I need to check it out?  Any you want me to read so you can get an idea of if you'd like it?  Let me know!

Until next time!

Love You Layout

I made this layout with an older photo of my husband and I used a lot of new products that I wanted to work with and I tried a new technique by another YouTuber, Ashley Laura.  A photo of the finished project is below the video.  Thank so much for watching and stop by tomorrow for another 'In the Stacks' post.

Grandma Layout

Today I'm sharing a layout that got lost in the shuffle for a long time.  I love making a layout about my Grandma--and it's the perfect way for me to dig out all those floral embellishments because my Grandma always had a house and yard full of flowers and plants.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Rockin' Our Shades Layout

Even though it's a little different from my normal layouts, I still really like this layout.  I used the Shimelle collection, as well as a few pieces from the Open Road collection by Crate Paper.  There is a photo below of the final layout.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Me Layout

I am loving the Open Book collection by Maggie Holmes and I know that I am not the only one because I see it everywhere!  Enjoy the video and thanks for stopping by!

Ranger Texture Paste

Today I'm experimenting with Ranger Texture Paste.  Spoiler alert: I think it's awesome!  Can't wait to play more in the future!

Give Thanks Wreath

So this is going to wrap up (haha) my fall crafts.  It's a wrapped wreath!  And it was super simple to make.  I just used a Styrofoam wreath, some yellow and brown yarn, burlap ribbon, yellow ribbon (to hang it by), an alphabet stamp set and some fabric.  And I also used a hot glue gun.

To start out, wrap a little over half the wreath in brown yarn.  Wrap the other half in yellow.  Watch some TV or YouTube videos while you do this.  It will take about an hour, give or take.  It's super easy and there are tons of tutorials out there if you want more detailed instructions.

Then, use some burlap cloth and cut it into triangles.  You can use regular cloth, but I happened to find some burlap ribbon and it made cutting the pennants even easier.  Then I used these Amy Tangerine letter stamps that I had, but you could use any alphabet set that you have on hand.  For mine, I spelled out Give Thanks, but you could definitely use another phrase.  And you could switch out the colors and do this for another occasion (wouldn't a Happy Birthday one be cute?). 

I then glued a piece of yellow yarn to one side of the wreath and hot glued the pennants onto the yarn, spelling 'GIVE' on top and then repeated the process to spell 'THANKS' on the bottom.  I wanted to do a zigzag with the banners, but it didn't work out right.

And then to cover up the spots where I had to hot glue the yarn to the wreath, I made these super easy rosettes.  I had never made one before but I had seen the idea and figured it would work.  I just pulled some fall-ish fabric out of my stash and went to town.  I can make a video tutorial to share with you guys if you're interested!  Just let me know in the comment section and I would be more than happy to do that!

I pinned the rosettes to the wreath with some straight pins and then pinned a piece of ribbon to the top for the wreath to hang from.

This was a fun, easy and cheap fall wreath and I absolutely love it!  Fall is by far my favorite season and I felt like I missed it this year with my surgery in September. But I will have this wreath for years.  I had to take all the photos inside because my door has an ugly doorknocker on it, but here it is, hanging on my front door where I see it every day when I get home from work or errands.  It just reminds me to be grateful that I have a job and money and a car and a home.  A good reminder for when I get home.  The cute little dog in the window makes it easy to be grateful too.  But the wreath is definitely easier to care for ;)

Embellishment Series--Foil

Today I'm sharing some unique embellishments made out of foil using embossing folders.  Also, I had two posts today so make sure to scroll down to see a fall craft that I made that would be perfect on a layout!

Gold Tipped Feathers

This craft falls somewhere between scrapbooking and fall.  To me, feathers feel so fall, even white ones.  But maybe that's just me.  You will definitely see me trying this technique again in the future though and they will be on layouts from fall to summer because I think they would look awesome in any season

The only thing I don't like about this project is the feathers that I had on hand.  They had weird tips!  So don't buy these feathers.  I got mine from Wal-Mart but they're probably sold other places, so make sure to avoid these.  Find some nice, feather-looking feathers instead!

The other materials I used were Martha Stewart glitter (I think I used the Florentine Gold, but I can't swear to it.  And I also used this metallic Inca Gold acrylic paint from FolkArt and I purchased this at Wal-Mart.  I am loving the metallic paints from FolkArt and have used them on multiple projects lately.  I also used a Mini Mister from Ranger.  You can get a three pack of these from Michael's or Hobby Lobby and can make your own mist!  It's pretty awesome and I will share a video soon of how to make your own.  Basically just put a few drops of paint in the tube, fill with water and shake.  It can take a few tries to get a good, sprayable consistency.

I did try multiple ways to get color on the tips of the feathers, including trying to paint the feathers with a brush and spraying them with the new Tarnished Brass spray from Tim Holtz.  Ultimately making my own spray worked the best by far!  Remember to just spray the top third or so of the feather.  While the mist is still wet, sprinkle on some glitter, leaving part of the paint exposed.  So beautiful and elegant!  I could definitely see using these as a decoration on a party table or in a vase maybe.  But I will be using mine on my layouts.

Note: these will take a little bit to dry.  And don't spray the feather too close or the feather will start to droop and look funny.

Thanks for stopping by!  I will see you again tomorrow with one last fall craft!

Project Life Week 32

Here is my process video for my Project Life Week 32--photos are below the video.  Thanks so much for stopping by!