One of the hardest things I know

...is to see my daughter sick. Unfortunately, that's something I get to do pretty often. I took this picture of her last week when she was ill (yes, she is finally better now!) and I simply had to make a layout about it. This time with focus on journaling.

I have used the old November kit from My Scrapbook Nook. The kit was featuring Echo Park Times & Seasons. Like before, I've used a little bit of Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe to add a touch of pink. 

I really like how this one turned out. But it took me sooooo long to put it together!!! I don't get it. I couldn't stop adding the cut out doilies. I started with three. I always do. But I simply can't stop there! Ooonly one more... I did the same thing with little stars on my Bookworm layout, and with tiny flags on my Playmo layout and with the buttons on my layout about Leah... yep, I think that's my thing right now - repeating "randomly" placed elements. The only problem - there is nothing random about it! It takes me hours (!) to get happy with the so called randomness. Getting tired of myself... :-)

Have a lovely Wednesday my dear scrappy friends!

Thanks for peeking in!

Oh my goodness!!!

Pinch me someone!!!

This morning when I woke up I had the happiest email in my inbox. It was from the sweetest Liz telling me that I've made the Swoon Cycling Team over at My Little Yellow Bicycle!!! Yezzzz! Go and check it out! That 's my name on that fabulous list! Oh, yes it is! *doing my happy dance*

I am so excited! This is the first time I get a chance to design for a manufacturer. Have you seen their gorgeous Swoon collection? Those goodies are on their way to my scrap desk now! I have so many wedding photos that have been waiting for this opportunity. It's going to be perfect! Can't wait!

*taking a deep breath*

I am kind of nervous though. LOL

Thanks for letting me share my happy, happy news with you!

She may look sweet...

...but she is a tough little girl.

Oh, yes she is!

I made this layout for a Scraplift Chain Challenge over at My Scrapbook Nook. I've mixed Crate Paper and Echo Park for this one. I wanted to add a touch of girly pink to the tougher black and green combination.

I am not a fan of my own handwriting, but it felt like a right thing here.... something I kind of regret :-)

Hope you are having a nice weekend! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Little Bookworm

A good thing about being at home with Linnea every single day is that I get a chance to take a lot of pictures of her :-)

Here she is, "reading" all the books we got from the library (plus a couple we bought on our way home!).

She never seem to get enough of the books! That's pretty much the only thing that can keep her still for more than 15 minutes.

For this layout I have mixed October Afternoon Sasparilla and 5&Dime. Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love LOVE October Afternoon!

I was actually inspired by the sketch on their blog. It's so fun with all the weekly challenges they have. I really enjoy them! The bad news - I'm almost out of my OA goodies! So now I have a dilemma - buy some old OA papers or wait for the new beeeeautiful collections to start shipping? They are known to be late with their releases... can I survive the wait? Sigh....

Anyway, want to see some closeups? Hope so, 'cause I have a few ;-)

I was so happy when I saw this "We make learning fun!" sentence on one of the 5&Dime papers. It felt so perfect.

Another thing that felt perfect for this layout was this trim from Jillibean Soup.

I hope that you are not getting tired of my creations made with the February kit from My Scrapbook Nook. I am sure I've told told you before - it's addictive! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Have a nice weekend!

♥

Fun Time!

Sometimes I can really enjoy making fun, playful layouts. Layouts like this one:

I remembered this photo from our stay at Playmobil Fun Park in Germany and I instantly grabbed my pair of scissors. OA Sasparilla is made for fuzzy cutting!

Fun, huh? :-) 

I should probably get back to the reality now. We are fighting against streptococcus. Fever, constantly runny nose, ear infection, headache. Poor kid. 

Thanks for taking your time to stop by!

♥

You make me... scrap!

She makes me happy. She makes me smile. She makes me love. She makes me forget the time. She makes me crazy. She makes me a better person. And yes, she makes me wanna scrap! My sweet little girl. My living doll. My muse :-)

. 

This is my take on Lily Bee's Sketch Challenge #5. I have used Lily Bee Head over Heels. I can't wait to get some new Lily Bee papers! I love every single collection they've had this CHA. Pretty, pretty, pretty!

I cut out these cute little stripes from the journaling card I have behind one of the photos. Like how it turned out.

And here is the sketch that inspired me. I chose to flip it this time.

Now off to entertain this little girl. She has been at home sick for couple of days now. Both she and I are starting to feel pretty bored. Sigh... Thank God it's Friday! Wishing you all a nice weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

♥

My Mind's Eye Challenge 32

So, I was actually able to put down October Afternoon and play a little with My Mind's Eye. I was inspired by the sketch on their blog challenge and I decided to give it a try. The outcome? A wedding layout! I made this page for my dear husband instead of giving him a Valentine's card. He can have it at work instead of his ordinary photo frame of us.

I have used My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Sunshine collection. It's a really elegant line. I was not sure if I would be able to handle it, but I actually like how this layout turned out :-)

And here is the sketch that inspired me:

I have applied the design on the small cluster of photos, papers and embellishments. 

And now, please allow me to brag a little *lol* I won the January inspiration challenge over at Get Picky! I am so, so, happy! And I think I forgot to show you this!

My project was featured on 2 Peas! It may seem silly, but things like this can really make my day :)

Okay, enough bragging ;-) Thanks for stopping by! ♥

The Skies Are The Limit

I can't stop playing with the February kit from My Scrapbook Nook! I can't even look at any other papers! I am addicted...

I made a pep talk layout for myself. I am feeling a little bit nervous about starting a new job, needing to prove myself all over again. Deep inside I know that I am good. I know that I can do it. I just need to keep believing in myself and see this as a new, great opportunity. This layout is a note to myself: The skies are the limit.

And here are some closeups. A lot of 3D-dots on this one :-)

I love making these little notes to myself. Scrapbooking is such a great therapy. What would I do without it...

Thanks for stopping by! Have a nice scrappy Sunday!

*love*

Sasparilla Miracle

Meet Leah.

She is my youngest niece. Our little miracle. She scared us all when she was in her mom's belly. She taught me what a precious gift life is. I am so grateful to have her. I am grateful that I am able to see her grow, to get to know her. I am grateful for being blessed with this huge love I feel for her.

I made a pocket behind the photo to hold my journaling. I also stamped an arrow on the journaling card (in case I forget that I am supposed to pull it out ;-) )

I chose to place my title in two opposite corners of the layout. I used "A" from the Sasparilla Flower Sack to make it more interesting.

Aaaaaand just one more closeup, it's the last one - I promise! :-) I punched these large butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch all over the page punch. Being able to punch wherever you want instead of only at the edges opens up for so many new possibilities! I love it!

So, did you notice that I have distressed my edges with the distress ink? Hihi! I have finally ordered a few! This beautiful red color is called Barn Door. I love it! I have also stamped and splattered some turquoise mist along the edges. Fun, fun, fun! This layout is just perfect for the Nook challenge #10.

Now to something else, but just as fun! Marinette and Lilith both gave me this award. I look up to these two ladies and I admire their work. I guess you can imagine how good it feels to get this award from them! Thank you ladies for making me happy! Be sure to check out their blogs 'cause they are seriously amazing! 

So, what is this award about? (I wondered the same thing! :-)) It's pretty simple. The idea of Liebster award is to bring attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers.

One of the conditions in accepting the award is to pass it along to five more blogs (or 6 if you can't narrow it down). For those interested, the Rules are:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogshare-other bloggers.
5. Finally and the best rule of all..........have fun and spread the love! 

So, these are some of my favorite blogs and I'll be more than happy to share my love with you. Take a minute and visit them. I promise you, you won't regret it.

1. Carol: http://carolmonson.blogspot.com/

2. Hilde: http://scoobieslilleblog.blogspot.com

3. Maja: http://stokk-eyovine.blogspot.com/

4. Nenne: http://www.creativenenne.blogspot.com/

5. Pam: http://happytobecreating.blogspot.com/

Have fun visiting these super talented ladies!

This must be one my longest posts ever :-) Thanks for reading it! 

Happy Friday my friends! 

Oh, give me a sweet kiss!

I got my February kit from My Scrapbook Nook!!! It's gorgeous!!!

Seriously, I would have never bought a cowboy inspired line by my own (the kit features October Afternoon Sasparilla). But believe me, Leah, she's got an eye for this stuff! I am so glad she can see things that I don't. I would be missing so much if I wasn't part of that fabulous place!

So, what's all this excitement about? Well, this!

I had so much fun making this one! The colors are wonderful! They are even prettier in real life than here (I don't get this Blogger!) And it was so easy to scrap. The layout took me 1-2 hours to make, and for me that is F.A.S.T! 

A wanted the word "kiss" to pop a little bit so I layered the green alphas on top of the Sasparilla alpha stickers.

I created this layout for an October Afternoon challenge called "design. repeat". The challenge was to choose a design element and repeat.I think it's obvious what I've been repeating here...

But just in case you've missed it - it's the circles! :-)

Can't wait to play with this kit again! :-) I had no idea that Sasparilla was this gorgeous! Did you get surprised by a specific paper line lately? 

Thanks for peeking in! 

Discover Heaven

...in Paris.

I was in Paris in September, together with my mom and my sister. My sister is the one in our family who is crazy about France and especially about Paris. After seeing Paris with two of my favorite girls, I am starting to understand her love. It's beautiful. And there is so much to see! We could travel to Paris every single year and always find something new to discover.

My sister not only loves Paris, but she looooooves to organize the whole trip (and I love her for that!) Sometimes it was hard keeping up with all the places we were supposed to visit in 3 days :-) The photo I've scrapped was taken on one of our short breaks. You see, even if we were not out there exploring the streets of Paris, we were talking, breathing, laughing and reading about the most amazing city of love.

I made this layout for Crate's February Color Challenge.

The color pallet for this month is: Peachy Pink, Tropical Coral and Misty Grey.

I pulled out some old Emma's Shoppe and Portrait to play with. I just couldn't resist picking up the color of my pants (and my nails!) and adding a tiny little blue accent to the layout.

I love this little bird! I've had it for years but I never really found the right place for it. But now, it has finally found a new home! :-) Sweet little bird, you are too pretty to spend your life laying in a box...

For some reason, I always get a little bit nervous when I pull out Crate papers. I love them so much that I kind of get afraid that I won't be able to do them justice. Even if I like how this layout turned out, I am not 100% satisfied. Must be because Crate (in my opinion) has the best DT in the world. Those girls can do some real magic with these papers. And once I've seen their work... well... my own always feels mediocre  no matter how hard I've worked with it. But the good thing - it makes me wanna work even harder and get better than I am today ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and for all the love you are leaving behind you! It means a lot to me!

Hugs!

Summer Memories

I love the inspiration blog Get Picky! They have challenges for multiphoto layouts, which suits me perfectly.  Yet, I have never created a single layout for them! Now, that is about to change...

When I saw their January challenge about holiday memories, I instantly knew which photos I wanted to scrap. These photos are from our first morning on Gran Canaria. Linnea was so excited that she couldn't wait for the sun to show. We went to the beach early in the morning, just to check it out and collect shells. Something that turned out to be our first early (and pretty cold!) morning bath.

I have used Lily Bee Head over Heels featured in My Scrapbook Nook January kit. 

I feel like I am in a dangerous period right now. I love experimenting! I guess that is a good thing, but sometimes it can result in a catastrophe. I tried to play with paint on the first edition of this layout which resulted in... well... a second edition :-) I had to start all over. The worst part - the layout was almost finished when I got that last (stupid) idea :-D But I did use both mists and stamps on this one, which is not something I often do. So I guess that my experimental side feels satisfied any way ;-) 

Wishing you all a great new week! 

Thanks for stopping by!

An Unusual Post

Guess what? I made a card!

I don't know why I don't do this more often. I actually enjoy the process and it is a great alternative when the fingers are itching but the time is not your friend. Here it is:

The card is my second project for the My Scrapbook Nook challenge #7. It is a color challenge and I chose to use the color triangle of green, red and yellow. Basic Grey Hello Luscious was just the right collection.

This is how the inside looks. I had some fun with distress stains and glimmer mists.

I hope you are having a nice weekend! We are planning to visit the local library after lunch. I'm sure Linnea is going to love it, a bookworm as she is.

Thanks for peeking in!

My Bundle of Charm

Okay... I am not saying this just because Linnea is my daughter, but believe me - she is the most charming little thing on earth! Wherever we go, she puts a smile on peoples face. People always comment on her beauty, her hair, her smile. They always try to talk to her and she's always (well, almost) happy to answer.

This photo is from our holiday on Gran Canaria. She was running back and forth on the beach when we took it. She was so happy, enjoying all the attention from the people around her. My little bundle of charm.

I created this layout using Lily Bee Picket Fence. Love how the papers match her dress :-)  This is my take on My Scrapbook Nook crop challenge #8. The challenge was to create a banner with at least 10 elements of different shapes, and not repeat any shape more than 3 times. My banner consists of 2 fabric tags of 2 different shapes, 3 white little roses, 3 butterflies and 2 buttons. 

I don't usually do banners, so this challenge seemed to be very hard. But I was wrong - it was so much fun! I really enjoyed making this cute little banner :-) 

I used a lot of regular white sewing thread this time. I think it added a great texture to the page.

Can't believe it's Friday tomorrow! Where did this week go??? I just can't believe how time flies... But that's a good thing, I guess. The sooner my old job ends, the better. I am soooo ready for a new start!

Thanks for stopping by! You make me happy!