The January BOAF Kit is Fantabulous!

I have LOVED the kit this month from Birds of a Feather!  I love the projects I've created and the BEST part is that most of the papers in this kit, I never would have picked out for myself. I didn't see "me" in these papers, but somehow Amy creates magic kits that help me to make projects that I really like! And, the beauty of a kit is that you get to try papers, styles and embellishments that you may not have picked out for yourself. Kits stretch your creativity, your imagination and your style!

Today I want to share a layout that I've created to remember my daughter's 5th grade year. I try to scrap their school pictures every year and include key things that they are into or are doing.

Here's a close up where you can really see the gorgeous papers and the fun layering! I love putting mats on my patterned papers when I'm layering to really make them stand out!

And, here's one more closeup where you can read the journaling strips.

I also made a card to share with you today. I just love how the yellow pops right off the black. And, I loved that the patterns on the yellow and black patterned papers lined up (anal-retentive people like me get a kick out of things like that). And, the flowers and glittered cardstock that Amy put with the kit match the yellow in the papers perfectly. I tried and tried to make this card more complicated. But, in the end, it just needed simplicity. And, I really like it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed my projects and that you already have your hands on your January Kit! If you don't, hurry over to the BOAF Boutique and get one before they're gone!

Every Ornament Has A Story...

Well, I finally created the mini-album that I've had in my head for almost two years.  Every year we hang the ornaments on the Christmas tree and I tell the kids about where the most speical ones came from.  Some I made when I was a kid, some have hung on the tree since I was a little girl, some  were given to us by someone special and some are ones that we got that have special meaning to us.  I wanted to make sure that the kids have these stories in their hearts and memories to share with their kids someday, as they hopefully hang these very same ornaments on their tree.

So, what better way to document than with a mini-album?!  I used the beautiful Simple Stories Handmade Holiday collection to make it, along with some of the stickers from the Carta Bella Christmas Day collection.  You can find out more about how I made the album using leftover sheets of chipboard on this AWDML Blogpost.

Here's the cover of my album:

And, here are a few of the inside pages:

This one is about the bird in a nest that's supposed to bring good luck.  It was given to us by my BFF's mom.

And this one I bought in Chicago at the Art Institute.  Shortly after I returned home from that trip, I found out that Miss Elizabeth was on the way!

Sweet Fergus will always be represented on our tree!  The photo was taken when he was about a year old and he'll be 16 this spring!  And, the little wrestler dude is Chris reliving his glory days as a wrestler at Lenape High School!

We have quite a few more pages in the album, and lots more photos to add!  The kids have already enjoyed the album and shared it with friends who have come over.  Elizabeth even said, "Mom, I really didn't know some of these stories- I'm so glad you made this!" 

Mission Accomplished.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Since I've been a slacker on my blog lately, I've got lots more to share!  Come back soon!

A New Layout and a New Sketch to start off 2013!

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope 2013 is off to a rockin' start for everyone!

Today I want to share a new sketch from My Sketch World and a new layout (based on the sketch) using the January 2013 kit from Birds of a Feather!

First of all, the sketch!  The sketch is by Lucy Chesna and is the January sketch at My Sketch World!

Lucy makes wonderful sketches and has a fantastic online scrappy community.  AND, it just so happens that there's a DT call going on right now!  Just pop over to the MSW Forum or Blog to see the details!

And, my layout based on the sketch uses the fantastic January 2013 kit from Birds of a Feather!

 

Here's a closeup so you can see some of the details:

Stop by the BOAF Blog for a tip on how I printed the journaling on the small piece of yellow paper!  And, check out the kit HERE-- there are still only a few left, so don't wait!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope 2013 is a fantastic year for us all!