An amazing weekend!

I just got back from a wonderful weekend scrap and spa retreat in Sacramento at Green Tangerines.

I joined about 30 other women in the workspace at GT. We scrapped and chatted and helped each other from 5 pm Friday until 5 pm Sunday. Our only breaks were to eat, sleep or get pampered - a manicure, pedicure and an hour long massage. We also had challenges and raffle prizes completing the fabulous experience.

I finished 10 layouts (16 pages total) which I will photograph and post as soon as possible.

I really hope I can attend again next year!

Dinner Party

The week before Halloween, my friend Jennifer and her husband hosted a formal dinner party with a Halloween theme. It was so fun getting together all dressed up for fabulous food and amazing decorations! Thanks Jennifer! And here is her layout for the same event. =)

Details: All papers and embellishments are by Making Memories Spook Alley. Jennifer and I could not get enough of this line! "Dinner" was cut using the Lyrical Letters Cricut cartridge. "Party" was written with Making Memories glitter alpha stickers.

Halloween Hay Maze

We joined some friends right before Halloween and went out to a hay maze. We had a lot of fun exploring the whole area and finding our way out!

Details: Patterned papers are by Basic Grey Eerie. Chipboard accents and fence sticker are by Making Memories Halloween. "Hay Maze" was cut using the Stamped Cricut cartridge.

Entryway Display

This is our new display in the entryway to our apartment.

Details: The dark corkboards on the sides are from Michael's. "Home" metal sign is from Marshall's. Middle frame is the Everyday Display by Creative Memories. And I also got the Day to Day pack to use on the display. Thanks Marianne!

Our (Christmas) Tree

The second photo shows the colors of this layout much better! It's so cloudy and rainy and dark here, I can't get a good photo of the whole layout.

We went out of town for Christmas this year, so we couldn't get a real tree. *pout* All of my holiday decorations are just for the tree and I refused to not make our apartment festive. So I found this cute ornament stand at Crate and Barrel. It made the perfect mini tree!

Details: Background paper is the back side of Scarlet Holly by Chatterbox. Tree patterned paper is Joyful Evergreens by ki memories. Mistletoe strip was cut from Mistletoe paper by Heidi Grace Jolly & Bright. Epoxy stickers are by SEI Christmas Mint. "Our Tree" was cut using the Ashlyn's Alphabet Cricut cartridge. I welded the lowercase letters with my Gypsy. "2009" was written with Making Memories glitter alpha stickers.

Happy Halloween!

I've been using the words "quick" and "simple" a lot recently to describe my layouts. I've found this is necessary if I stand a chance getting caught up!

So here is a quick and simple layout of the cute cards I received from my friends Jennifer and Courtney for Halloween. And Jennifer gave me the cute paper, too!

Details: Green paper (complete with glittery witch scene) is by Martha Stewart.

Planes and Automobiles

When my mom was visiting in August, we took a trip up to Sacramento to visit my cousin. We stayed the night in the area and then took a scenic route home. We may have also pit stopped at craft stores. ;) I added a couple photos from our flight back to NH together. No trains were involved, so I shortened the quote for the title.

Details: Brown patterned paper is by Jillibean Soup. White foam embellishments are by Thickers. Title was cut using the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge.

Fondue

This was a pretty quick and simple layout. Pictures are from introducing my mom to The Melting Pot. The bottom photo is what remained of the chocolate fondue. =P

Details: Patterned paper is Bliss "Friends" Brocade by My Mind's Eye Bohemia. Title was written with Making Memories glitter alpha stickers. Ribbon from Michael's.

Pregnancy Mini Album

I decided to put together an 8x8 album with my ultrasounds and bump pictures. I may also do some pages that are like journal entries. I'll post some layouts here as I make them, but it may not be everything.

Details: I am using a line of pregnancy papers by Creative Imaginations. I am pairing these papers with some of the Earth Love line by Cosmo Cricket (papers and ribbon). For prompted journaling, I found a perfect set by Little Yellow Bicycle.

Happy Birthday Kitties!

Our vet sent these cute cards for our cats to wish them a happy 5th birthday. I just had to keep them. =)

Details: Patterned papers are by DCWV Pet Stack. "Happy" was written with Making Memories glitter alpha stickers. "Birthday" was cut using the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge.

Just the Two of Us

Here we are all dressed up for a friend's wedding at the Salt Lick. Mmmmm, BBQ! We had an impromptu photo shoot to get photos of the couples. I separated these out from the rest of the wedding photos to scrapbook. It's always hard getting cute photos of just us and I wanted to highlight these. =)

Details: Papers and sticker border are by Basic Grey Wisteria. Fabric embellishment reads "my best friend" and is by Jolee's boutique. Title was cut using the Lyrical Letters Cricut cartidge (Loop de Loo feature). I welded the letters of the title with my Gypsy.

Shoutout: Thanks Marianne for the title idea! I didn't want anything too sappy and this is perfect.

An Evening Hike

This layout had a quick turnaround! On January 10, we went for a nice hike in the evening at the Windy Hill Open Reserve. We got a bit of a late start, so it was dark when we got back to the car. We really enjoyed the location and we plan to go back (and get an earlier start!)

Details: Leafy paper is from the DCWV Green Stack. Large journaling block by Making Memories. Small journaling block (date) is by Scenic Route. Title was written with two different alpha sticker sets by Making Memories.

Sandra & Shawn

The title looks a little weird because I edited out the rest of the last name (for privacy). It looks more complete in person. =)

These are pictures from my cousin's wedding in New Mexico in September. I traveled out with my mother to attend. The couple is so sweet together and we were very happy to celebrate the day with them!

Details: Back floral paper is from a black and white set I bought at Joann (but I forget the brand). Red glossed paper is Fine Lacquered Paper in Ruby by Chatterbox. Heart clips are by Making Memories. Bride and Groom stickers are from the "A is for Always" set from Hobby Lobby. "Sandra & Shawn" was written with Making Memories alpha stickers. Last name was written with puffy (polka dot) alpha stickers also by Making Memories.

Washington DC

My scrapbooks at home are a series of chronological albums. At some point I decided it was too confusing to have multiple little albums for different trips or themes, so now every last page goes into the appropriate book by time frame. (And I've been asked this before... What do you do when your 1 vs 2 page layouts leave a gap? I conveniently fill that gap with an adorable layout of my cats. Because who really cares if those pictures are in order?)

When I have a series of layouts that go together for a trip, etc, I like to pull them together by using the same line of paper throughout. That way, as you flip through one of my albums you can tell when there is a "mini-album" inside. For these layouts, I chose the SEI Moravia line of paper. The colors were perfect for the 3 layouts I needed to complete.

Warren and I traveled to Washington DC for a friend's wedding back in October. Before the wedding, we met up with my sorority sister, Anna, and her husband to explore the city. We wandered by the Washington monument, and visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Warren and I also went to the Natural History Museum before ending our day. For these layouts, the majority of the journaling ended up on the final page where I detailed the day.

Details: All papers are by SEI Moravia. Journaling blocks are by Deja Views. "WDC" and "Natural History" were written with Thickers Jewelry Box chipboard letters. "ashington" was cut using the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge. "Air & Space" was cut using Lyrical Letters.

Denver, CO

This layout is a wee bit out of order. I did the other Colorado layouts months ago. You can see them here and here. This layout was quick and easy to document our (quite tasty) BBQ dinner and short walk through the city before heading home.

Details: Background orange patterned paper is from the SEI Moravia stack. Yellow patterned paper is by SEI Silk Road. Journaling block is by Little Yellow Bicycle. "Denver CO" was cut using the Lyrical Letters Cricut cartridge. I welded the letters "enver" together using my Gypsy.

My First Apple Pie

On Halloween, I used apples from my mother in law's apple farm and made an apple pie from scratch. To make it festive, I added cat cutouts as decoration on the top. It was a huge hit at our party that night!

Details: Orange apple overlay is by ki memories. Striped paper is by Making Memories Autumn Splendor. Journaling blocks are by October Afternoon Report Card Label Stickers. Square bling is by Basic Grey. "My First" was written with mls alpha stickers. "Apple Pie" was cut using the Lyrical Letters Cricut cartridge.

Fauxchet Club

Back in October when I was visiting Austin, I was able to track down a couple of my friends from a group we call the Fauxchet Club. We went to Zocalo Cafe for lunch and snapped a few photos before saying goodbye.

Details: Green circle paper and striped paper (title) are by Pink Paislee Office Lingo. Pink/white border is by Sassafras Lass. Pink photo corners are by My Little Shoebox. "Fauxchet" was cut using the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge.

Mini Makeover Complete

View when you walk in the door:

View from the side of the bed back toward the door:
Pictures of our redone bedroom (sorry, we have crappy lighting in there still). The corner of the room that I'm not showing is currently a mess. It will eventually be the mini nursery.

Close up of the artwork over the bed can be seen here.

Pedernales Falls

In order to enjoy the nice, sunny weather and convince Jennifer's BIL to move to Austin, we went to explore Pedernales Falls. This is a very large state park in Texas with a wide open rocky area with rapids. We spent the afternoon scrambling around the rocks and sitting to enjoy the view.

Details: Brown background paper is from the DCWV Green Stack. Blue/green patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye Penny Lane. Green grid paper is from the SEI Bridgeport stack. Journaling block is by Making Memories. "Pedernales Falls" was cut using the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge.

The Blanton Museum of Art

On a rainy day in Austin, Jennifer and Chris took us to the Blanton Museum of Art. We really enjoyed the new entranceway (pictured) and the special exhibit.

Details: Orange patterned paper is Fresh Squeezed by Basic Grey Ambrosia. White paper with light blue circles is Enchanted by Crate Paper Lillian Collection. Journaling block is by Jillibean Soup. "Museum of Art" was written with Making Memories cork alpha stickers.

Birthday Treat

For Jennifer's birthday back in October, I took her out for pedicures at a fun salon in Austin. We sat in the comfy pink couch and got pampered!

Details: Clear overlay with black flowers is by Prima. Aqua patterned paper with "feathers" is by SEI Charlemagne. Striped paper is Amherst Stripe by Fancy Pants Designs. Black vinyl accents are by Thickers. "Birthday Treat" was cut using the Ashlyn's Alphabet Cricut cartridge.

Birthday Girl

Back in August, my mom came out to visit and we went up to Sacramento for my cousin's daughter's 1st birthday party. It was a great mini reunion with my cousins, aunt, and mom.

Details: Pink/yellow patterned paper is Two Scoops Dreamsicle by Basic Grey. 'K' chipboard accent is by Heidi Grace Bouquet. Journaling block behind 'K' is by K&Company. "Birthday Girl" was cut using the Storybook Cricut cartridge.

Local Cravings

More layouts about food! Apparently I'm a fan. Between the ceremony and reception for a friend's wedding, we went around Austin collecting up our favorites. Jimmy John's (there aren't any where I live now), Tiff's Treats, and Amy's Ice Cream. I also went to dinner at Chuy's with Jennifer.

Details: Background paper is Beachy Shadow Wash by Paper Adventures. Pear paper is by Basic Grey Nook & Pantry. Journaling block is by Jillibean Soup. Metallic chipboard photo corner is by Colorbok. Green squiggly border is by Doodlebug Design. "Local Cravings" was cut using the Lyrical Letters Cricut cartridge.

Art Project

Our bedroom has been lacking in decoration for a while. I've been getting ready to move the furniture around and had this exciting idea for artwork that involved mostly items I already owned. I picked up a canvas frame from Michael's and went to town!

I'll try to add a post once the furniture is moved and this piece is hung (over the bed).

Products: Tapestry fabrics. Patterned ribbons are by DCWV All Dressed Up. Then I used some random flowers and buttons from my scrapbooking stash.