A Weekend Sketch

I was asked to create a non-Halloween layout using Pink Paislee's Phantom collection.  I also created a sketch for my layout.  You can see all the details on the YSS blog, but here's a little peek:

I hope your weekend is crafty!

~Alyssa~

Game ON!

Just a little fun, mixing Halloween papers (Phantom from Pink Paislee) with some other scrap drawer pieces.  I love my scrap drawer.  I think  most of my favorite layouts have happened when i started digging through it.

All the supplies came from Your Scrapbook Stash.  :) Thanks for dropping by!
~Alyssa~

Friday Faves, Vol. 3

I am just sitting down to scrap, at 9pm, and I realize that I haven't posted Friday Faves.  So, here's what I've got going on right now.  :)

1. Gmail.  Love how intuitive it is.  Keeps my email organized better then any other provider I have ever used.  AND, the search function works.

2. Design Seeds.  I said it before, I know... it bears repeating. This is the palette I am planning to use tonight.  Just adore it!

3.Reese's cereal.  A late-night indulgence. :)

4. Zip Dry.  Been using it forever, and love it.  Nothing else has ever come close for me.

5. Ditching my built-in CD storage to make room for more paints.  A girls gotta have priorities!  :)

Have a great weekend!

So Cuddly

 The weekend is nearing, and I have one more Crate Paper layout to share with you today.  I'm hoping to be digging back into the stash this weekend for another go-round. :)

This layout uses Toy Box as well.  I'm noticing myself using way more patterned backgrounds then I usually do recently.  For this layout, I used one of my favorite ways to challenge myself.  I chose the background, cut the block of woodgrain paper, then laid it on and stuck the chipboard frame on top- before planning my layout.  This forced me to work with where I laid those two pieces in building the rest of my layout.  I rotated this page every which way before settling on this orientation.

I love this photo of Elijah- just makes me want to scoop him up for some cuddles.

Thanks for stopping over!
~Alyssa~

Boys in Toy Land

Just a quick post with another Crate Paper Layout.  This one features baby K with some of his favorite toys, and some of my favorite paper.

Thanks for coming by!
~Alyssa~

My goofs...

Crate Paper rocks my world.  I mean, seriously... I just love it.  Every stinking little bit of it.  This is, to date, the one and only company for which I have broken my "no duplicates" rule of shopping.  I own at least 3 pieces of everything from Portrait and Random, and well, let's just say every one of their collections is well represented in my stash.  So it is appropriate to make this week "Crate Paper Week" on my blog, and share with you my latest projects using these collections.

Today, I bring you some Portrait, and a goofy picture of my kids, who had, when this shot was taken, decided they were tired of having their photos taken.  I have been admiring some layouts recently that used this bold stripe as a background, and so I decided it was high time I gave it a shot myself.  Yeah, I kind of dig it.  Watch for anther one coming soon.

I started with some dry-drushing of white acrylic paint, and went from there.  Here are the results:

Thanks for coming by!
~Alyssa~

Precious Nap Times

For mothers of small children, nap times are precious.  They are highly cherished, and greatly appreciated.  These photos of my nephew "Baby K" reminded me of those days in my own household, not so long ago, when I had a few hours of mid-afternoon silence, and how much I cherished those times.

To create this layout, I started with a grid background paper from Prima, then added lots of bits from my scrap drawer.  We have a little Pink Paislee (from Old School), some additional Prima (from Reflections), a few bits of Crate Paper (from Random), and even some MAMBI.

Thanks for coming by, and happy nap time to all you moms out there!
~Alyssa~

Surprise!

 Surprise!  Apparently, there are boy layouts to be had in the Cosmo Cricket Clementine Collection.  Who know, right?  I layered several of the "B" Side patterns to create the background, and used my ink pads to create a dark vignette around the whole page.  The embellies are bits and pieces from Clementine, Upcycle, and a few random things from around my desk.  The "Boy" letters were created from chipboard letters with some inking, stamping, and crackle medium.

Thanks for coming by!  And remember that sometimes, boy layouts are hiding in girly collections too!
~Alyssa~

Friday Faves, Vol. 2

Today's Friday faves were kindly inspired by things I wish were in my house... and maybe they will be someday.  When they are WAY on sale.  Like 75% off sale.  :)

1. Anthropology.com Bedding

 4. Also from Anthro:

 3. More Anthro (anyone noticing a trend?)

4. Yeah, I'd wear this.  Maybe I will, when I am a little thinner.

5. I need a new wallet.  Mine is 10 years old.  This one is cute (http://www.fossil.com), but I haven't seen anythign that really screams at me yet.  Gotta plan on having it for another 10 years, so I really gotta love it.  Suggestions, anyone?

 Happy Weekend!  Go forth and be creative!  Oh, and leave your wallet suggestions here before you get distracted.  :)  I'd really love to see them.
~Alyssa~

Welcome to the Family

A few days ago, I introduced my new niece, Grace, to you via some photos of my children and their cousin.  Today, I bring you the layout.  I used Cosmo Cricket's Clementine Collection for this layout.  When I first saw the colors of this collection, I thought it was an interesting palette that might prove to be a challenge for me to use.  After being sent this collection by Your Scrapbook Stash, I can tell you that a) I was right about the colors being a challenge and 2) it's an interesting palette.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a color freak.  Papers, and patterns, are liked or disliked by yours truly primarily based on the color combinations. While working with Clementine, I found that I kind of like this palette after all.  Is it easy to use?  Not for me.  But this collection has been producing some really fun layouts that feel fresh and fun, so I've decided that even though it'll never be a personal favorite, it's definitely something I'm glad I tried.  Everyone's gotta break out of the box sometimes, right?

What do you think of these colors?  What have you tried recently that you weren't sure you'd like but ended up producing happy results?  I'd love to hear about it!

~Alyssa~

My Version of Project 365

It's Wednesday afternoon, and so far it has been a productive day.  Dinner is in the Crock-Pot, the dishwasher is loaded, work for Miss Art's is finished for the day, and I've taken a 2 mile walk with the kids to the library.

They say today is as good a day as any to start something, right?  Well, I've never been a traditionalist, especially not about waiting till New Years to start new resolutions or to make changes.  I firmly believe that if I want something to happen, I just need to start... not wait for a random future day when I may or may not be as motivated as I am today.  That's why I have decided to do my own Project 365... starting today, this day in September.  I think it's fitting in many ways, because yesterday my husband and I celebrated our anniversary.  So it is a whole new year for our family, our marriage.

So, because I am the creative type, I've decided to call it my photo-a-day project (haha!).  You will be able to see the accumulating photos on the new Photo-a-day tab at the top of my blog... if you even care.  :)  but my goal is to at the end of the year, have a documentation of our lives for the past year.  This is especially meaningful to me now, since our house is for sale and we are hoping to build a house in the coming year.  We'll see if that happens or not!

Here is my photo for today.

I hope you'll join me and capture a memory today!

~Alyssa~

Athletic Prowess?

 Today is the first day of Labor Day weekend here in the States. I hope that for me that means lots of creating and not too much cleaning and cooking.  At the top of my creative list are the 2 color palettes I shared with you yesterday from Design Seeds, and the new palette from the Color Room.  We're also planning an outing to the soccer field to fly kits.  That should be a great photo op for mom, right?  :)

While I am off enjoying the weekend, here's a layout for you to take a peek at.  It's more BasicGrey Hello Luscious.  It's on my desk now, and I just adore it.  Don't know why I hoarded it for 6 months before finally cutting in.  I need to by using this stuff!!

The photo is of my daughter before her very first T-Ball game.  She's such a new athlete we don't really know yet if she'll be good at it, so hence the title.

Thanks for coming by,  I hope you have a great rest this weekend with lots of great photos and memories.
~Alyssa~

Friday Faves

Ok, peeps, I am SOOO wanting to get back into the blogging routine.  I miss it!  So, starting this week, I am bringing back Friday Faves.  I used to do this every week, and it was a blast, sharing with you some of my favorite discoveries from the week.  So, without further ado, here are this weeks top 5:

5. Our new household puppy.  Apparently, his name is Max, he eats table food and is toilet trained.  He also wears a Barbie dress on his head.  At least I don't have to worry about him biting the neighbors.  I think.

4. Instagram photos.  I LOVE.  Words aren't enough.  So, here are some (more) examples.

3. My Crockpot.  I made this, it was awesome.  Wish I had a photo.

Mom's Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (from Simple and Delicious)
10 medium potatoes, thinly sliced (peeled if you so desire)
3 cubs cubed, cooked ham
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cheddar (use sharp cheddar if you really like cheddar)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. black pepper

In greased slow cooker, layer in potatoes, onions, ham and cheese.  Repeat layers till cooker is full.  Pour soup on top, sprinkle with paprika and pepper.  Cook 8-10 hours on low.

2. Plums.  got some huge, juicy plums this week, and I've been eating them all day long.  Yum.

1. Design-seeds.com.  A-MAZE-ING color inspiration.  Here are a few that are at the top of my list.  See my Pinterest or Design Seeds for more.

Have a beautiful weekend!
~Alyssa~

Pretty In Pink

Just a quick post to let you know that I designed this week's Friday Sketch at Your Scrapbook Stash!  You can see the full post, including close-ups HERE.

Happy Scrapping!
~Alyssa~