Pages, just because

I have not 1, not 2 but THREE lovely Carta Bella Paper projects to share today!  First up is a photo from my wedding, when the hubs and his band did a special performance just for little 'ol me :)

I used the Rustic Elegance kit for this page, punching confetti bits with a EK Success punch and adhering them down here and there on the page.  Major glue fingers and I stuck to everything for a minute, but worth it for the fun look on the page.  I added a few gold paper clips from my stash to give the page a bit more edge.  Apologies for blowing out a few of the stickers in the photo, I messed with my camera settings and can't get them back the way I would like.

Next up is sweet Liam!  My friend Rebekah (please read her blog HERE) hosted a playdate this past winter and I caught this moment when Liam was watching out the big picture window.  I used a Silhouette file and took out some of the cut lines to get the page background the way I wanted.  I used papers from the Boy Oh Boy collection and sequins from my stash along with an Ali Edwards cut file for the title.

Last is a page featuring the girly and her hatred of birthday cake!  Ok, she doesn't hate cake, but she hates cake tipping over in her lap!

Love these photos by Tracy Perrett!  I had to include a Bella Blvd feather to mimic Miss Q's fancy headband, and what birthday page isn't complete without sequins?!?!?  The papers are from the precious Baby Mine collection.  The pat-a-cake card fit perfectly with the photos and I used Silhouette files for the 1 circle and scallop and turned it into a rosette ribbon by notching the ends of some scraps.  Another Silhouette file was used for the title, off set with gray card stock.

These are photos I've had ready for scrapping for a while, but was waiting for the right papers to come along :)

Keep on keepin' on, friends!

There's Always That One Sister

I had to make a layout with my three sister's in it.  HAD TO.  The photos are from my Q's 2nd Birthday Party and I think they show what a goofball dork I can be.  I'm the baby out of 6 kids, and I am the youngest child in every sense of the word.  My oldest sisters, Susan and Michell, were like moms to me, while Amy and I just kind of steered clear of each other until she moved out and we had some space to miss each other ;)  Now we're the best of friends, but growing up she was definitely the mean older sister!  And the tallest.  And skinniest.  And blonde-est.  (no jealousy there, right?).  So here's the 4 girls and our Mama, who hates having her picture taken.

I used Gossamer Blue September kits, which included the awesome Jen Hadfield gold dot stickers, and those cork camera's from Shimelle are SO AWESOME.  Given the color range of our clothes in the photos, I wanted to stick mainly with neutrals for the layout.  The stamped black frames around the cameras are a Gossamer Blue exclusive stamps for September (designed by the amazing Mish Wooderson, you must click on her name and read her blog!).  

A few randoms about my sister's:

• Susan and Michell used to fight like crazy, which included tossing each other down the stairs.
• At one point Michell lived across the street from my parents and Susan lived 1.5 blocks away.
• Susan and Amy still live in my hometown, as does our Mom.
• Michell lives only 30 minutes from me.  We can't seem to get away from each other (in a good way)!  Which puts Michell and I only 1.5 hours from our sisters and mom.
• Our mom made Amy babysit for Susan's and Michell's kids.  All the time.
• I was the baby so I never had to babysit.  Ha!  Probably the main reason for that was because I accidentally gave my niece April a concussion while babysitting :-/  In my defense, I was playing with her and she fell off my shoulders!  She still has a dent in her head.  Oh, and there's that one time I had to watch my niece Angie and I fed her crunchy mac-n-cheese.  I still can't cook.
• Age differences:  Amy is 5 years older than me, Michell is 14 years older and Susan is 16 years older than me.  
• When I was about 6, I punched Amy and knocked the wind out of her.  That's what she gets for being a meany-pants!  And for french-braiding my hair so tight I could barely blink.

Have a great weekend!

Whew! Some days it's a marathon...

OF SCRAPPING!

I finished another three layouts from my Gossamer Blue July kits.  First up is 3 Generations, a layout featuring my super cute, bubble-blowing hubby, Miss Q and my youthful mother-in-law.

Next is We Are Related...it seems not a one of us looks alike in my family, but we can sure make stupid faces!!!  My sister Amy is on the right and my nieces Shelby (dark hair) and Katie (blonde) are in the middle.  I'm trying to use my handwriting more on layouts, but this didn't turn out as I would have liked, darn it!

I also did the Gossamer Blue Scraplift challenge this month, lifting the lovely Erica's Snow Day layout.

I loved her misting from corner to corner, and the snowflakes are sooooo pretty.  I did a little bit of misting, but mainly used an ink pad + stencil to get a similar effect on my layout, Sister.

I feel as if I get into a bit of a rut and my layouts are a bunch of the same, so the scraplift challenge helps me get out of my same 'ol, same 'ol.  And holy cow, how unattractive is my face in that top right picture?  I had no idea I could look so incredibly constipated :-/  HAHAHAHA!

A Few Family Pics

The amazing Tracy Perrett took Miss Q's 9 mo. pics and our family pics for Christmas cards.  Here's a few from Q's session way back in early December:

The last one is my very favorite, love how Q is cradling the tree with her little legs and feet.  Tracy is a great photographer!!!!

It's been a month?!?!?!

Aaack!  Where did the time go?

I made 4 layouts w/ the GB December kits:

And we celebrated Miss Q's first Christmas!!!

Yes, we opened presents in Q's room under the pink tree while sitting on the pink rug.  Pink is popular in these parts ;)  I made our tags for our gifts and think they are adorable!  Created using GB December kits/Snap papers.

So that's a super quick update...I have so much to do, I have only finished my December daily up to day 5!  It's time to focus....

On another quick note, I took inspiration from the Amazing Ali Edwards and decided to choose One Little Word for 2013.  Mine is NURTURE: to cherish; to embrace and watch something or someone grow....there's better definitions but I thought it was a perfect choice for me and where I am right now.  I need to nurture my relationships (husband/friends/family), as well as nurture my creativity and myself.  And the #1 is Miss Q.  I want to raise a healthy, kind and loving daughter.

A Little Sadness

We got some very sad news about my little nephew last week.  He was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia.  This little guy is only 4, and it made me terribly sad for my niece, his mama.  I have a huge family, with nieces and a nephew only a few years younger than me, and many great nieces and nephews.  Regardless of the number of us, and the distance that separates us, the deep hurt is still there.  Please keep my little nephew, Jase, in your thoughts and prayers.

On a happier note, we spent Thanksgiving with my Dad and one of my sister's + her family.  The food was fabulous, thanks to Dad's lady friend (I'm sure Dad helped!), and it was quite the time for Miss Q! She gets lots of love from her cousins.

On Tuesday I got a new 'do!

And this past Monday we made a trip to do a bit of shopping with my sister.

If you can't tell, I'm a bit obsessed with the light filters on #picfx!

I'm going to try and finish up my foundation pages for my DD this weekend.  I have a few birthday cards to get together as well, so hopefully Miss Q is ready for some Daddy time!!!   Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are getting prepared for Christmas.

A Quick Pic

Have to share this dolly in her new owl stocking cap:

Miss Q, Queen of the House