Birthday Flowers

This layout was inspired by this one by Sheree Forcier that I'd pinned to my scrapbooking inspiration board on Pinterest. Supplies came from My Own Kit, July 2013, except for the card stock and ink from Stampin' Up! I used a tag and pocket to hold the card that came with the flowers, and I always love when I can include memorabilia on my pages. I also love using a stencil with ink and a blending tool to add some fun detail.

Hot Matt

(I don't like to post layouts with obscured photos like this, but because I don't have one of the subject's permission to post his photo online.)

The design for this page was inspired by a Laura Whitaker sketch, and supplies came from My Own Kit, July 2013. I also used some Stampin' Up! ink to add the hearts, and the color fits this collection perfectly. That rick-rack trim I used has been in my stash for years. Literally. That's one of the things I love about putting together my own kits: getting items from my stash onto pages.

Birthday Night Out

For this page about my husband's birthday, I used a sketch from Shimelle, number thirty from July of 2013. I also went back to My Own Kit, July 2013, selecting the supplies from that collection in blues and greens to coordinate with the photos. My favorite detail: the outlined little blue hearts I traced from the stencil in the kit with a marker by Stampin' Up!

Hello, Story - Week Eight

The Hello, Story class I took at Big Picture Classes last year was so full of content and inspiration, I'm still working on the layouts I planned from it. It is rare that I percolate page ideas as long as I did the basis for the following page, inspired by the subject of week eight of the class, maps.

I've moved around quite a bit in my life, and I wanted to do a page that listed and told the story of the states I've lived in. From the first time I saw it, I loved that USA map stamp by Hero Arts, and it became the anchoring element for this layout.

I used Stampin' Up! markers and coordinating card stock for the four states, selecting those particular colors to help me illustrate the tone or feeling each state has in my memory. Bright yellow mimics Florida's persistent and plentiful sunshine. Rust harkens back to the red clay mud so prevalent in Texas. For Minnesota, I chose green, reminiscent of the lush natural beauty of that landscape during the summer months, lightened by the constant memory and reality of winter white. And for Michigan, the blue of water, which surrounds us here on three sides, that lighter shade one of my favorite colors.

Originally, I meant to do the journaling on tags that would slip into pockets decorated by icons of each state. But then I thought of drawing arrows to and from the states to indicate the years I moved back and forth, and tags coming out the top would've obscured that design element, so I changed my mind.

I struggled with finding appropriate letter stickers for the title, until my husband was trying to help me find black letters at JoAnn, and I noticed the map print Thickers I knew I had at home. How perfect! I used asterisks and periods from that set as embellishments on the three groupings, and I used black letter stickers from Jilliebean Soup to finish the title and name the states.

The heart die is an older one from QuicKutz, and the pinked circles were cut from a newer set from Stampin' Up! The arrows are Thickers, and the stamps are from Ali Edwards (how fitting!) for Technique Tuesday and Studio Calico. I also used a grid stamp from American Crafts to add just a bit of texture to the blue die cuts and an arrow stamp from a Studio Calico kit to add a subtle border.

This page is one of my favorites ever. I love how it came together, piece by piece, that I took my time with it and created something that I will enjoy for years to come, especially because it tells an important part of my life story.

Hello, Story is being offered through Big Picture Classes again in April, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Oh, Cupcakes!

After a very long hiatus from scrapbooking, due to illness in the family and the packed schedule of the holiday season, I finally started making scrapbook pages again.

This one contains the last remnants of My Own Kit, June 2013, and I added a stamp by Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday to the mix, along with some mists by October Afternoon and Studio Calico.

While it was a challenge to create a design I liked with a few scraps of paper and some stickers, it's one of my favorite ways to make a scrapbook page, and I always feel so happy with the results. This page, no exception.

The Year of Me - 2014

Each January, I choose a word to focus my attention, guide my intentions, and establish goals for that year. Usually, I participate in Ali Edwards' class, One Little Word, which provides monthly thought-provoking exercises and activities to help keep the word visible and affect change as the year progresses.

In late 2013, I started contemplating what I wanted to see happen in 2014. That's how the selection of my word begins: I ask myself what's missing or what I want in my life. For 2013, the answer was writing, and that was the word I chose. When I thought about what was missing in my life in this new year, the answer was unequivocal.

More than three years ago, I began taking care of my mother who has dementia, and last March, when my nephew was diagnosed with leukemia and embarked on the long, difficult journey to recovery, I became his full time caregiver, too.

Sacrifices went without saying. Exhaustion, too. Being torn between two or more equally important priorities became almost de rigeur. I juggled, and I dropped balls, and I felt woefully inadequate. For someone like me who has spent most of her life doing her best to please others, it was all too easy to put aside my own needs to take care of these two people I love who needed me.

It was necessary, and it was appropriate, but I wound up neglecting myself in every arena of life, and I needed to put Melissa back on the list of priorities, sometimes even at the top of that list.

That's not an easy commitment for a veteran people-pleaser to make, believe me.

I decided to select me as my word for 2014.

That choice shifts my focus, at least in part, to my body, my mind, my needs and desires, my health and well-being.

That choice reminds me, I matter, too.

Just selecting the word me has already altered the tone of my everyday choices in subtle ways. Doing the assignments for the first two months of this year has already begun an adventure back to myself that would not have happened otherwise.

As my nephew and my mother transition into new phases of their lives, I am transitioning out of full-time caregiving, embarking on an adventure back to myself.

Tags Aplenty

With limited time for papercrafting fun this busy time of year, I love to make tags.

Tags are (usually) small and can be elaborate or simple or anything in between, and it doesn't take too long to whip up a tag or two, indulging in some crafty goodness with a few minutes between other tasks. This year, I wanted to add a bit of creativity to my present-wrapping, and creating some tags was the perfect way to do that with just a little bit of extra time.

My first step was to assemble some supplies, and I used a lot of bits and pieces left over from last year's Christmas album. I also made good use of my Silhouette Cameo. Oooh, I love that little machine! :) Some ink, stamps, bit of paint, some glitter and bling, and a strong need to relax and play: that was my recipe for this year's tags.

These were inspired by a tag I saw on Pinterest. The stamps are from Stampin' Up!, and I purchased them with a matching punch so it was easy to stamp and punch and put together. On some, I added little strips of patterned paper; on others, I let the vintagey colors stand alone. I absolutely LOVE the festive berries shade from Tim Holtz, and that vintage green of evergreen boughs grows on me a little more the more I use it.

Okay, how cool are those jingle bells? I've loved jingle bells since I was in high school. Every Christmas season, I'd put bells on my shoelaces so every step I took added a bit of jingle. These I found at Target, a little box about half silver, half gold, and I love the extra sparkle and fun they add to these (and other) tags. The skate and snowman chipboard were leftover from last year's October Afternoon collection. I painted them with Distress crackle paint in picket fence then inked with Distress in blue. So much fun to make!

Little bit less work on these four. The lower left tag is part of a Christmas card, trimmed down, glittered, and tied with twine and some jingles. The upper left is a scrap of patterned paper I love with a bit of gold twine (borrowed from a cluster of gold jingle bells I used elsewhere) and some gold glitter. The other two were actual gift tags I've had a long time, bought at a garage sale several years ago. I just added some glitter and twine, and they're ready to go! (I stamped the to and from inside those so that after Christmas, I can cut the fronts off and use them again.)

Probably my simplest tag and one of my favorites. I cut the square out of a piece of patterned paper, stamped the to and from, tied it with twine and bells, and instant pretty. Love using up scraps of paper this way.

This tag was created last year, only the handwritten to and from were added this year. Before my paper-crafting life was enriched by a Cameo, I used a Slice for my electronic die-cutting, and that's how these bells were made. I then heat embossed the shape with silver embossing powder, added the gems, and used festive berries Distress ink to color that crinkle ribbon that delectable shade of Christmas red. I'd planned to use the die cut on a scrapbook page last year, but since that didn't happen, repurposing it into a tag was the thing to do.

Simple and pretty. Little Distress ink, little shimmer mist, a stamped snowflake, clear embossed, tied with some silvery riboon, a wisp of white craft thread, and a jingle bell. The finishing touch, a glittery enamel dot leftover from one of My Own Kits.

Another favorite. I clear-embossed an ornament stamp from Echo Park onto a white card stock tag, then used a paintbrush to add spray ink since the sprayer is broken. (Already? Dont' even get me started...) I took a little scrap of patterned paper, also from Echo Park, cut into a banner, then strung with twine and added a couple jingle bells. I really love the look!

Another favorite, this one using a shape from Silhouette. I heat embossed the top layer of the die cut in silver and inked the background layer with Distress in a few blue shades. The tag itself is blue card stock splattered with spray inks, some shimmery. I used white craft thread to tie the jingle bell and the die cut to the tag, added a small rectangle of white card stock for the to and from and called it done.

Probably my favorite of all, and the photo doesn't do it justice. This was also a Silhouette shape cut from plain white card stock with the Cameo. The background I heat-embossed in silver, while I colored the top layer with a gorgeous blue ink from Stamps of Life by Colorbox, sprayed with Studio Calico's Mister Huey in shine. The to and from tag tied with craft thread is a piece of blue card stock. As I was putting this together, I thought how cool it would be to make paper ornaments for the tree with this shape. In fact, I could make sure the die cut part is saved, and cut the tag off, save it for next year's tree.

More shapes cut with the Cameo, paired with leftover gold polka dot vellum from last year on plain manila tags. That vintage style button on the left tag is from Stampin' Up!, and both ornament die cuts are painted with the red mist, then sprayed with gold.

I do love the art of heat embossing. Stamp from Tim Holtz, embossed with white embossing powder this time. The tag on the left was colored with Distress ink, then sprayed with gold mist and stamped with to and from. The poinsettia was a leftover stamped image I fussy cut last year and accented with four gems. A bit of green twine and ribbon finish off that tag. The one on the right, I used festive berries to add some color, used some leftover letter stickers for the to/from, and added a cluster of jingle bells to finish it off.

These three? Cute and easy. The one on the left was part of a little vintage kit from Making Memories a few years back. I stamped the to/from, then used some white Stickles to add a bit of glitz to the mistletoe berries. The light die cut was leftover from a Bo Bunny collection last year. I stamped the to/from, punched three stars from gold glitter paper and adhered them. The tag on the right was attached to a package of candied nuts my husband bought for us, to/from printed on the back. I simply cut a piece of patterned paper to conceal the logo and added a sticker and punched star to finish it off.

The tag on the left is a piece of patterned paper tied with gold twine, stamped with to/from, embellished with a fussy cut poinsettia stamped in red and sprayed with gold, finished off with five gems. The one in the middle was clear embossed, sprayed with green ink, embellished with a chipboard die cut and tied with twine. The tag on the right was painted with Distress paint in picket fence, then sprayed with green ink. I added a piece of patterned paper and those same stamped, fussy cut poinsettias, accented with gems and an epoxy dot. Fun, fun, and fun!

And last...pieces from a Bo Bunny cut-apart sheet, turned into tags. The one on the top, I cut out, adhered to a tag inked with Distress, and then letter stickers for to/from and a bit of twine. The one on the bottom, I trimmed into a tag, heat-embossed with a couple snowflake stamps in silver, stamped with to/from, and finished off with a snowflake die cut embellishment that was in my stash from last year or the year before.

I love how tags add a personal touch to the presents and give me the opportunity to fit something I love, creating with paper, into my life at a time when I really need to relax and unwind and de-stress with creative fun. I think this is a new tradition I'll carry on for years to come.