hello, summer

sharing a layout with my favorite photo of our first trip to the beach for the summer... I have tons more, so I'm sure I'll be boring you with them as well, but for now, I love how I got all of my guys together in this one shot!

I'm loving the Shoreline line of products from American Crafts! I used more watercolor on my cardstock background and layered a darker blue over to create waves! So much fun.

You can see detail photos of the layout in my gallery posting here if you're interested!

And I still wanna share how to create that wash background from my last project, but I had technical difficulties with equipment when I tried to record. Wah. Wah. Here's hoping I get a chance to try again this weekend!

Happy Friday!

universal self pronouncing i love you

This month is all about stamping over at JBS! {Well, not ALL about stamping - BUT lots of the stamps are on sale, so we've been sharing some fun ideas to use Jenni's fabulous stamps!}

For more details on the supplies for this card, check out the JBS Inspiration blog! Happy Friday!

photogenic - May JBS kit

I have one final layout to share from the May JBS Mercantile kits! As always, the goods it contains are amazing...

she art and punky sprouts for the win

I finally get to share the project I put together using the fabulous "she art" line from Pink Paislee and the new "tutu" album from Punky Sprouts! Yay! I used lots of inks and mediums to make this fun book - and I'll be posting a video tutorial on how to create that washed background that I've been using on so many of my recent projects. I'm a little nervous about sharing my first video, so hopefully you'll be gentle with me, ok? Ok.

For a complete list of the supplies, check out the post on the Punky Sprouts blog.

Have a sweet and awesome Monday!

break out of your comfort zone - with gauche alchemy

Paper Issues is hosting a new challenge! Isn't great when you can push yourself to break out of the comfort zone that you can sometimes find yourself falling into? That's what our new challenge is all about! So cut loose and play along! And be sure to stop by and see what the other girls have come up with to break out of their's!

This challenge is also hosted and sponsored by Gauche Alchemy. I had the chance to work with one of their super fun and quirky kits from their shop to create for this! This is what I came up with. If you know me at all, you know that pink is definitely not in my comfort zone! LOL I rarely use it. But I do love how this turned out! I just used a few sheets of patterned paper, the thickers and tape from my stash. {Gauche Alchemy kits are all about the vintage and quirky ephemera!}

For the hop, they've offered up a 30% discount code to their shop! Such a deal. And a great way to try a kit out! Just use code PAPERISSUES2012 at checkout. And don't forget to link your "out of your comfort zone" project to the linky party for Paper  Issues, and the Gauche Alchemy flickr group to receive your coupon!

As always you can shop the Paper Issues store with a 20% coupon here from me - just use code BLUEBIRD at checkout to receive your discount.

Don't forget to pop over and see what Patricia, Melissa, Christina, Cassie, and Lori have made, to!

Happy Sunday!

US family canvas - diy/tutorial

I shared this project tutorial for the American Crafts blog this week! You have hop over there and check out a bit of the "how to" and a supply list if you're interested! I really love how this came out... Have I mentioned that I've pretty much burned through the entire Neapolitan collection? So quick. It was just a pleasure to work with. I'm sure I'll be doing heavy damage to the Sketchbook collection as well. American Crafts has always stocked so many of my favorites!

Check out the diy details here. Happy Friday!

happy national scrapbook day!

Are you doing something crafty to celebrate? I'll be working on a few projects later on this afternoon, but I wanted to share a couple of layouts I put together last week - before I forget about them! LOL

More Amy Tangerine Sketchbook goodness - it works for boys, too. ;)Scrapping photos documenting watching our seedlings grow...

And this fun one for Hambly:

More about our seeds I guess - but I was really thinking a bit more deeply when I created this one! ^_^

Hope you enjoy all of the scrapbooking fun going on today!