{it's been an honor...

...to have been a part of The Story Matters. I have gained so many friendships because of it. It was my first kit club dt...& my first co-coordinator experience. I will miss the fun kits each month. I will miss cutting up Charlene's fun buttons each month. {Hee! Charlene always gave me a hard time for cutting them up, but I LOVED that you could do that!} I will miss the gals I got to design along side of.
{I'll miss you all...penny, kim, mandykay, shelley, amy, tania, michelle, bree, laine, candy, andrea...eek..did I miss anyone?}
It has been such a fun experience.

But please be sure and keep updated with the upcoming events over at TSM. Rumor has it, they have some wonderful new things on the horizon!
Thank you to everyone at The Story Matters!!!

{good night...

Created this for Stephanie's {scrap something that makes you laugh} challenge over at Studio Calico...





{Studio Calico, Sassafras, Elle's Studio tags, American Crafts, & College Press}

{it's the little things by fancy pants...

I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with the new {it's the little things} line by fancy pants. Thank you Scrapaganza!







{available at Scrapaganza}
-------------------------------
Check it out Local gals!
Scrapaganza's Favorite Things Crop is just around the corner!
Sign up begins April 1st.
Check out their BLOG for complete details. And hurry! It fills up FAST!!!

{birthday weekend...

What a crazy, busy weekend! A few pics of our little beans first birthday party...

I won't lie, I LOVE the decorating part...





I created my "cake stand" by using a bowl from my collection, and a few simple white plates & green planters I picked up from the dollar spot.



This piece of Cosmo paper was a perfect match with the rest of the decor. A quick run thru my Xyron 150 and these fun little flags were complete...







I love to make cupcakes, so we did vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet...




Besides a few moments of the crabbies...ella had fun eating her cake, opening presents, and playing with family & friends...







I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

{holy cabochons...

Last night I created with these wonderful little pieces called {cabochons} from GCD Studios.


Check them out in the new Fun House line!


Here's just a little sneak for now...


Check back in April for the full layout!
We're busy decorating at our house for Ella's first birthday party.
Lots of pics coming soon!

{sweet, beautiful, jayden...

Today over at Sassafras, we're doing a fun feature on the mini alpha sets. Love these!
Here's what I created...using an 8x12 photo of my cute little niece...

{playing catch up...

It's always wonderful to get away, but I never like the "catching up" phase.
I had a wonderful time on the hunt... two days of being able to walk thru the woods with my hubby. It just doesn't happen very often these days. We usually have to swap our hunting times so someone is home with the kiddos.

It was beautiful in the U.P. of Michigan...


The day before I left, I had the honor of shooting the wedding of this beautiful couple...

{more HERE}

Came home and along with my 4 sisters, we put together the final touches for our mom's surprise 60th birthday party...

It was a day of fun, food, friends, and scrapbooking! She had a ball!

I'll have some new scrappy stuff soon. In the meantime, here's a little sneak...


This week, I'll be busy making cupcakes & decorations for this little peanuts first birthday party...

{a contest with gcd studios...

Find more information HERE.

I'm honored and excited to be joining the team for another year!!!

{Taking some time away...

...to walk thru the woods of Northern Michigan...

{found...

While looking through the camera card from our trail cam, I came across these...





and these...sigh...how I love these.
I hope he remembers these moments with his daddy forever.





I love where we live.

{one year old...

Cosmo Cricket has teamed up with Scrapbook Trends magazine! They are holding a page call using THIS sketch. How could I resist when my UPS man just brought my new Studio Calico goodies!

{strike a pose...

I used a banner from the Count Me In 12x12 Flag Banners to create the fun little flower by simply layering it in a circle! Easy peasy!

{birthday invite tutorial...

I posted the other day the invite I had been working on for ella's first birthday party. So I thought I'd share the process of how I finished them up...

I started with this photo I took last weekend in my "kitchen" studio...


{my "kitchen" studio consists of a roll of white paper, my kitchen window and my external flash bouncing off the ceiling. super simple}

Added text in photoshop...



Had them printed at mpix.com... gathered the extra material {I ordered from HERE when I ordered her dress from HERE}, and my ever trusty Xyron 150...



I ripped strips of the fabric to approx. 1/2" and ran it thru my {X}...


{note: I used repositionable tape in the X}

Then, create a ruffle at the top & bottom of the printed invite...



Ran it through my sewing machine...



And that's it! A few strips of fabric and you have something completely unique!

{Take the challenge with Sassafras...

Kay is hosting a fun challenge over on the Sassafras blog! Go join in on the fun for a chance to win a $50 box of Sassafras goodies!

And here's a quick card I created over the weekend for a little guys birthday party...

{papers & feltie by Sassafras, birthday pennant by elle's studio}

{join me...

...at The Story Matters blog for sketch week!

I created a sketch based on this layout...



Come play along!

{workin on the details...

...for this little event...

{TSM March Reveal...

It's reveal day over at TheStoryMatters! Go check out this fun kit!







and a little sneak of my 3rd layout. Join me on Monday the 7th for sketch week based on this layout...


--------------------------------
ETA: I meant to add that on the second layout {freshie} I created the title by outlining the Jillibean Soup {diced damask} letters with a sharpie & then removing them. They are included in the kit. Yay!