Hello and happy Friday! You know sometimes you see something and are immediately inspired scrap? Well, that has been happening to me a lot lately. The problem is, I don't have enough time in my day to scrap all of these ideas. This page today is the result of some of that instant inspiration. 

I made this for the Frame it Up challenge at Paper Issues using the new Pink Paislee/Paige Taylor Evans Pick Me Up. But I have to say, this page did not start out this way. Nope. I had intended to cut apart several of the pieces from the foiled vellum specialty paper, using them to surround the photo. When I was looking for a patterned paper to use as a background, I stumbled upon this frame background papers, and well, I guess I don't have to tell you the rest.... 

I filled some of the frames with the vellum paper, chipboard, stickers and ephemera. It was really quick and easy to put together. Well, after I chose what I was going to use. 

We had a visit from the sun a few weeks ago. It was a real treat! I'm not joking when I say a winter day filled with sun is something to celebrate around here. So I did, with sunglasses and a selfie.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Check out all the new American Crafts collections and so much more in the Paper Issues shop. They are always 20% off when you use DEVRA at checkout. See you again soon!

$#@! Everywhere

Hello there on this fine Tuesday morning! Hot topic at Get It Scrapped today. Emojis. Using emojis in creative ways for storytelling on scrapbook pages. This article is filled with some of the best use of emojis on pages that I've ever seen.

The real story here is not that the story is about this emoji, or that it started as a family joke, or that it is now the emoji that my friends associate with me. So much so, that they send me all the things they can find. This emoji has mainstreamed the word that it represents. Kids think its funny, while adults use it as its meant to be. It's even being used as a term of empowerment.

I used the emoji herel as a literal representation of the story & photo and to convey the humor my family and have enjoyed. The title itself is funny but also a play on parts of my story.

There really isn't much more to say about this. Well, there is, but I'll keep the details inside the family, because you now, TMI.   I'm not a huge storyteller anyway. I like to share the little things. Get It Scrapped always inspires me to think outside my box. Between this assignment and the Tell Me a Story challenge at Paper Issues, this was a great opportunity to write more than I usually do. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Take a moment to go look at the incredible projects at  Get It Scrapped today. I'll be back later int he week with more so come back then!

Supplies: cardstock, alphas-American Crafts, Patterned paper,stickers,chipboard, die cuts, brads-Simple Stories, flair-Recollections, mist-Dylusions, Heidi Swapp, Pen-Sakura

Back, Back, Back!

Welll hello!  I have a project on the  Paper Issues blog today for the awesome new Put It on an Angle challenge. Now I know, you are looking at my page thinking, angles? where are the angles?  It's so round! Well, I'll just tell you a little about what I did here.

I like to buy paper.  I may have Issues. It's a fact. My boys are getting older. Also a fact. Truly, I have no need for planets and rocket themed papers anymore. But I needed it! (Issues) It's a good thing that I like to take themes and ideas and put them to work for me interpreting them in other ways. So really, here is a perfect example. Yep, rockets and planets for umm...swimming? Yes I did.

But I have to tell you, the real reason for my having this  My Minds Eye Blast Off  collection was these photos right here! My boy is a back stroke specialist!  I caught his take off (see what I did there) frame by frame. Well, I couldn't just choose one photo out of the group could I? What did I do, well, I put them at an angle!

This My Minds Eye Blast Off  collection caught my eye for another reason. This Plaentoids paper. It screamed "fussy cut" at me.  So I did. I cut it apart, then put it back together into another shape. Itall of those works well as a home for all of those photos!

Fussy cutting also enabled me to use the rockets as die cuts, which I embellished with the puffy stickers  and 6x12 accent stickers.  I love the holographic elements. It makes it plays well with the water in the photos

So this is it. the very last swim meet ever for him. I wanted to take in every moment. I wanted to permanently remember some of my favorite things about him swimming. For years he has been best at backstroke (regardless of what he says). I was so happy to capture his takeoff in sequence. His takeoffs are amazing. He goes so far under water and I don't know how he does it. I have loved every minute of his meets and will miss watching him swim.

Well, there you have it!  Want this collection along with so much more?!?!? Get it in the Paper Issues shop. Use DEVRA at checkout for 20% off your purchase. I hope to see you playing along with us this month. We have so many inspiring March challenges. Join the fun in our Facebook group!

Dont Be Such a Blockhead

Good morning!  I'm sharing a project with Get It Scrapped , Paper Issues Pinspire Me challenge and A Flair for Buttons today. Titles are something I think we all had debates about. Does every page need one? Is it important?  For me. the answer is YES! I love a good title. It's an entrance to my page. Check out the Get It Scrapped blog today as we take titles to a new level by talking about Title Orientation. This is when you play with words, letters or angles to add to your story and/or photo.

The mood of the page is playful and I wanted the title to fit in with this too. Choosing a long title enabled me to play with font, color and orientation. I gave emphasis to the word 'block' by using a contrast color, red, using a serif font and finally by placing the letters into a square or blocked shape. Doing this ties the title directly to both the photo and the story of the page.

In keeping with the playful mood, I chose PhotoPlay Boys Rule. In case you haven't noticed, I have a thing for bright colors. The energy of the patterns connects with the energy of my boy playing. The square headed robot sticker was a must use. How could I not? Lastly, to soften all the square lines in the page, I added some circles, particularly the camera flair. Reminding me its a photo moment. 

My son received a set of stacking boxes as a gift. His way of exploring and playing with them was to knock them down, then put them on his head. Then he's laugh and do it all over again.

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today. Check out the Pinspire Me inspiration in the Paper Issues Facebook group. Head over the the Get It Scrapped blog to learn more about title orientation, and everyone needs a bit of Flair on their pages!   

Supplies: Cardstock and alphas-American Crafts, Patterned paper, stickers-PhotoPlay Paper, enamel pieces-Kaiserkraft, Bella Blvd, Simple Stories, Basic Grey, Flair-A Flair for Buttons, pen-EK Success, adhesive-Recollections, EK Success

Sunday Morning Snuggles

Well Good morning to you! I'm up on the Paper Issues Blog today with my first March project. Feel the Beat is a new challenge. We've chosen this record album as inspiration. Not feeling the cover itself? How about a song title or lyrics?

I was inspired by two parts of the cover. The circles, and the line connecting the two 'O's. I knew I didn't want to do a plain circle grid.  The new Dot Grid cut file however, gave me some other ideas! Look! It's a different kind of a circle grid! Wahoo!

So next was what to cut and glue! Since PinkFresh Case of the Blahs and Let Your Heart Decide were both staring at me, I mixed them up and used them both. I love when I can do that. It makes me feel like I'm getting more out of my stash.  The Quirk paper makes a great background in color and pattern don't you think? That grid I mentioned? I guess I didnt get away from it after all.  I surrounded my photo with small clusters of embellishments created with ephemera, frames and stickers. Do you see!?!?! I even connected some of the circles with thread!

Now, I know some of you are sitting here wondering why and how you can use  Case of the Blahs. You don't have to have a bad day to use this collection. Nope. As you can see, this is not a 'Blah' page at all. That's the beauty of interpretation. I took these wonderfully snarky, sarcastic phrases and applied them to a happy photo and story.

Here are a few close ups ion some of the phrases. Sad? No way! Check out the awesome A Flair for Buttons flair! This silhouette is in the Hexagon Boy set. So perfect for this!

Seriously. These are so perfect for my story! Sunday morning snuggles happens where? Oh yes, On. The. Couch! Oh and the Smash Phrases Flair has wonderful little sentiments that fit right into this page!

For the past few months, I've been working on Saturdays. I think he notices. On Sunday mornings when we get up, he takes me to the couch where we sit together for quite some time. Im pretty sure that's his way of telling me his misses me. I'm not gonna lie. I enjoy every minute of it. There is no better way Id like to spend a lazy Sunday morning than snuggled on the couch with this guy. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my creative view today! I'll be back in a few days with more stories to tell and photos to share.  Head over to the Paper Issues shop to get yourself some new things! I'm enjoying all the new releases including this PinkFresh, Shimelle and Crate Paper! Your purchase will be 20% off when you use DEVRA at checkout!