Well hello again. I did a quick little project for Paper Issues new link party "Hooray for the Red, White and Blue".  I love those colors and I love 4th of July. Since they are pretty much synonymous, this was a perfect match

We love celebrating July 4th with Papa and Grammy. The guys go out and get the fireworks. They are  so proud of their choices, showing them off like kids.  When it is finally time to light them, everyone gets in on the act.

I used a fantastic sketch from Scrapmuch?! I pretty much left it as is, just eliminating one embellishing area, making the title a larger statement instead.

Short and sweet today. Thanks for stopping by my creative view. There is always something going on here so come back again soon. You can find these Doodlebug papers, doilies and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Please use my cousin code BEACHGAL for 20% off your order.

Supplies: PP, stickers, doilies and twine-Doodlebug designs, CS-Bazzill, mist-Dylusions, Tattered Angels, Alpha-Thickers, brad-Echo Park, thread-DMC

Picnic Pix & Bundled Up

Hey there. I have two pages to share today. I'm playing along with both May challenges at Scrap Our Stash.  

This first page I created for Paper Issues Scraplift Sunday. I used the ideas of the EMBOSS stash challenge when I put it together.  Elle's Studio, Mist, Brads, October Afternoon (alphas), Stripes, Squares

Just a beautiful summer picnic on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I liked the cuteness of the hats. These two have a special relationship. He would only sit still to eat if Nani was sitting with him.

This second page is for the sketch challenge.

Yes, I know we are headed into summer, but when I saw the sketch, I thought of these photos and snowflakes.  I almost forgot about the handmade flower. Because I used snowflakes, I made a layered snowflake 'flower'. I cut a larger snowflake on the Silhouette, layered a snowflake sticker, then added another small circular snowflake sticker in the middle. 

I look at these photos now and think about all the time and effort it took to get out the door during the cold winter months. Hats, boots, gloves, scarves, coats. Just to get into the car! He was always such a good sport and so patient. But he loved his crazy hats.

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. Come back gain soon, I have lots to share.

Supplies-Picnic Pix: PP-Echo Park, Elle's Studio, puffy stickers-Freckled Fawn, die cuts-Elle's Studio, brads-Freckled Fawn, Making memories, buttons-Queen & Co, mist-Heidi Swapp, ink-Colorbox

Supplies-Bundled Up-CS-Bazzillm PP-Echo Park, Cart Bella, stickers-Echo Park, sequins-Doodlebug Designs, mist-Heidi Swapp

Woof, I have Issues

Woof! That's good  morning according to my dog.  It's Printable feature day over at Paper Issues. Each month a new free set of printables are available for downloading to use on your creative projects. Today we are featuring design team projects using some of them.

I used one from the June release on this layout about my dog. He had a spazz, tore up one of his toys, then looked at me with his sad puppy face that said, "Ruh Roh..." I used the 'I have Issues' card to write the things that he may have been thinking.

I kept the page really simple. There were lots of elements I wanted to feature. The photos, printable card, the photos and the big WOOF on this new Seven Paper, Baxter Line by Studio Calico. I cut the paper up, tucking under the photos. I added the Doodlebug Designs doilies  to soften the lines on the page, then repeated Bella Blvd chipboard circles down the page for balance and color. 

Yo can get all  these items and so much more in the Paper Issues store. Please, use my coupon code BEACHGAL for 20% off your order.

Thanks, as always for taking a look at my creative view today. Come back again soon, I always have more to share

Supplies: PP, wood pieces-Studio Calico, doilies-Doodlebug Designs, chipboard-Bella Blvd, puffy stickers & label-Freckled Fawn, ink-Tattered Angels, Heidi Swapp

Peace, Love and Mani-Pedis

Hey there. Just a quick post to share I page I created using this week's sketch at Let's Get Sketchy and the May Scrap n Chat Mood board for Paper Issues

I loved this sketch. And it was fun to play in my old stomping grounds too. Instead of using a matte, I created a border around the page with washi tape. I also moved the embellishment cluster to the left side of the page. My title is so large I needed some balance. I used the bright colors from the mood board. All of the papers came out of my May Swag Bag. A few extra bits and that's it. 

My Grandma, Mom, Sister and I all went for mani-pedi's before my son's Bar Mitzvah. the gals at the salon couldn't believe my Grandma still gets manicures and pedicures. What we all really loved though was that she got purple glitter polish on her toes!  We all left with glittered fingers and/or toes. We were prompted and ready.

Thanks for stopping by my creative view. I've got lots going on, so come back again soon.

Supplies: PP-Swag bag, washi-Scotch, Queen & Co, Darice, Recollections, Bella Blvd, MME, Little B, Pebbles, chipboard-Bella Blvd, flowers-Queen & Co, clip-Freckled Fawn, Enamel dots-MME, die cut-Crate paper, flair-Paper Issues, alphas-American Crafts, Doodlebug Designs

#WITWIB

Hey there! It's going to be a busy week around here. The new issue of CREATE magazine, published  by Scrapbook Generation is out today. This magazine is always filled with tremendous creativity and inspiration. 

In each issue are opportunities for readers to be published in future issues by creating projects based on any of several sketches included in the magazine. 

I am fortunate to have my 2 page layout selected for publication in the May issue. The general foundation of the sketch is there, but I changed a few of the photo sizes and placements to suit my needs. 

I was playing with Instagram photos and hashtags while on vacation last year. I stole an idea from Matt Lauer and the TODAY show.  Using BeachGal,  my online alter ego, I  landed upon "Where in the World is BeachGal" or, #WITWIB for short.  The photos are snippets of some of my favorite things and places from our trip.

Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today. Stop back again soon, I always have more to share.

Supplies:Cardstock-Bazzill, Paper Accents, Patterned papers-My Minds Eye, October Afternoon, Echo Park, stickers-Lily Bee, die cuts-My Minds Eye, Paper Mania, wood pieces-American Crafts, Studio Calico, Queen & Co, Twine-The Twinery, Enamel Dots-My Minds Eye, Basic Grey, ink-VersaMagic, Pen-American Crafts

Silly Boys

Good morning! It is Pinspire Me Monday at Paper Issues. Shannon created the board filled with inspiration. There is truly something there for everyone. 

I was inspired by the dark backgrounds in a few of the images. I had this series of photos of my son and his BFF being silly after spending a long day at our neighborhood Memorial Day picnic. They were so goofy! The looks on their faces, their interactions with each other were hilarious. I couldn't choose one or two photos. I needed to use them all. 

I used a sketch from ScrapMuch?!  I didn't change it very much at all. It was perfect for what I wanted to do. I loved the stickers and die cuts from the Echo Park Jack & Jill Collection and thought it would be fun to use an abundance of them in one place. 

You can find Echo Park and much more in the Paper Issues shop. Please use my code BEACHGAL for 20% off your order.

Thanks for stopping by my creative view this morning. It's going to be a busy week, so come back again

Supplies: PP-Echo Park, Simple Stories, Die Cuts, Stickers-Echo Park, brads-Simple Stories, Twine-The Twinery, Enamel Dots-Teresa Collins, MME, 

Academic Scholars

Hello there and happy Friday! It is time for a new challenge at Picture This. Here are the new challenge elements:

2 photos + dots + layers + stars

I decided these elements worked nicely with some photos I had of some school activities my son participated in. I grabbed a very old simple polka dot background paper, layered it over a dark navy paper. I cut some paper strips, layered them up too.  stamped on some white cardstock, stitched 2 stars, then cut them out. Yup. Made my own embellishments to add to the paper corners. But no school layout should be complete without a few gold stars! See how nicely these items work together? 

Wen my son was in 4th grade, he earned a spot on his school's Battle of the Books team. They prepared all school year to compete against other elementary schools. They did not win, but they did very well. Later that year, his art class had their work feature in the district art fair. Two great events for him. I now he was more proud of the book part than the art part though. Regardless of how he felt, we were proud of him and are always happy to see him do well.

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. I've got a lot coming up, so stop back gain soon. 

Supplies: PP-Bella Blvd, Simple Stories, PrintWorks, washi-Queen & Co, brads-Simple Stories, gold stars & word strips-Freckled Fawn, stamp-Kaiserkraft, ink-colorbox, stitch template-American Crafts, thread-DMC, pen-EK Success

Busted!

Hey there. I'm back. I didn't realize I was so behind. Well, anyway, it's a Product Spotlight day over at Paper Issues and today we are featuring a personal favorite of mine, Bella Blvd.

I'll give you my top 3 reason why I love Bella Blvd so much. 1) I love bright colors and use them almost always on my pages. 2) Bella has the BEST small, easily usable on all types of pages prints. Finally, 3) the colors will always match colors in previous lines making them interchangeable. 

So, as a result, I put all that to work in this page. I used 5 different collections on this page, and they all work together perfectly. Sprinkles, Lucky Starz, Classic Calendars, Color Chaos, and Star Student

I chose this design with the wonky strips because they go with the idea of the broken arm. I just balanced the colors and patterns across the page, then finished it off with black accents.

Well, I'm pretty sure I gave you enough reason to go get yourself some Bella Blvd. You can find all of the products on my page and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. Go take a look, and remember to use my coupon code BEACHGAL for 20% off your order.

Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today. I've got more coming soon so come back again.

Supplies: PP, stickers, alpha-Bella Blvd, stich template-American Crafts,  thread-DMC, ink-colorbox, pen-EK Success

More Than a Teacher

Good morning. I have a layout in the newest article on the Get it Scrapped blog. Today's subject is about scrapping a teacher who had a great impact in your life, or your family's life.  For me, this was a fairly simple choice. It was either my 4th and 5th Grade teacher Mr. Keller, or Joshua's Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Santelli. I went with Joshua's teacher.

Ms. Santelli was our teacher for 2 years.  I say our, because her main philosophy in teaching Special Education is building community between, teachers, children and parents. This changed all of our lives.  The photos only show her interacting with my son one school day. I describe Ms.Santelli, her philosophies and why we loved her so in the journaling.  Joshua is now in 7th grade. Thank you Ms. Santelli. Much of what she taught us we still use today. We have kept in touch all this time and consider her a family friend.  
 
I chose the title in black as a strong contrast and to draw the view into the page. I did use some school themed products as well as inspirational quotes and sayings to support the theme of the page and our story. The star attached to the journaling is also functioning to hold the paper down. It is two pages. 

Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today. Come back soon, there's always something going on around here. 
Supplies: Cardstock-Bazzill, Papers, stickers, chipboard-Bella Blvd, alphas-Glitz Designs, Bella Blvd, Enamel dots-My Minds Eye, Paper clip-Freckled Fawn, adhesive-EK Success, Recollections, Ink-Memento, Printer-Epson, Font-Helvetica

Penny for Your thoughts

Good morning, Happy May, Happy iNSD and all that good stuff. Its the first Saturday, which means it's Sketchy Saturday at Paper Issues! We're shaking things up this time around. We found a fabulous LO by Nicole Nowosad on the Fancy Pants blog. 

Using her permission, we created this month's sketch.

I knew right away how I would use the sketch, but took some time to put it together. I did some experimenting with speech bubbles, the Silhouette and vellum. And little bits. Lots of little bits. Let's see, there are so many bits. Crate Paper, Simple Stories, Bella Blvd, October Afternoon and of course, Snarky Stamps make the page quirky! It's pretty cool looking even if it has some of everything!

My younger son is non-verbal. I often find myself feeling like I can see him thinking. Other times, I wish I knew what he was thinking. This photo and page are one of those times. I decorated the speech bubbles with things he may be thinking about. Or not. Maybe things he wishes he didn't have to think about. Or not. Who knows. But that's what the page is all about. 

There is a ton of inspiration on the Paper Issues blog today. By linking your project, you have a chance to win a $10 Gift Card to the Paper Issues Store. 

While you're there, remember to use my coupon code BEACHGAL for 20% off your order

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. There's a lot going on this month. I hope you'll come back again

Supplies: CS-Paper Accents, PP-Crate paper, brads, & tag-Simple Stories, Wood Pieces-Studio Calico, Crate Paper, epoxy & clip-Freckled Fawn, Cork-Michaels,  stickers-Freckled Fawn, Lily Bee, Simple Stories, chipboard-Bella Blvd, Fancy Pants, alphas-Octobe Afternoon, Bella Blvd, Stamps-Stamps, Ink-Colorbox, mist-Heidi Swapp

All the Presents!

Hey there! I am so excited to announce that I am a guest designer at Stuck?! Sketches this week! I was given this wonderful sketch to use for the May 1 reveal.

I have had these photos printed for a while now, and even knew the title I wanted to use, but alas, a design escaped me. That is until I received this sketch. It's the perfect companion. I used some bright, colorful papers that bring some energy to my page. I put most of my creative thought though into the circle. I wanted stuff flying off if it, like wrapping paper flying everywhere. The numbers on the paper and around the circle are an additional element of 'how many presents'. The only things I really did to make this my own, was to split the title into two places on the page.

This is Hanukkah 2014. I thought he was on his way upstairs one morning when I heard some noise in the living room, I walked in to find him trying to grab and open several presents. Of course I had to snap some pictures of him. I had to remove the gifts from the room for a while. his angry sad face makes me laugh. He decided opening the presents was sometimes waaaay more fun that what was inside the presents. Ok, I'll give him that. What he didn't understand was that not all the presents were his to open. 

Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today. Please head over to the Stuck?! Sketches blog to see more beautiful projects inspired by this sketch.

Supplies: PP, Stickers, chipboard-BasicGrey, enamel dots-MME, Sequins-Hazel & Ruby, resin & wood pieces-Freckled Fawn, Alphas-Basic Grey, Pebbles, ink-VersaMagic,