the moments in between

saying goodbye...

for the past two years, i've considered myself to be "pinch me" lucky to be a garden girl at two peas. two peas is where i discovered scrapbooking, where i learned to find my own voice. 

as of the first of the year, i'll be stepping down from my place in the garden. as my role behind the scenes at studio calico has grown, there simply aren't enough hours in the day to do all that i'd love to do.  i'm sad to say goodbye - but incredibly thankful for the two years of friendships made and layouts that i have to shown from my time there.

here are a few of my favorites : 

(love - 6/2012)

(one day - march 2012)

(bam - feb 2012)

(the perfect end - aug 2011)

(lots to say - october 2012) 

(hanging out - 1/2012)

(routine - oct 2011)

(and everything i made for my start here workshop. because i can't pick)

saying goodbye is never easy. i've had some time to work up to this one and am still finding it hard. i can't wait to see what 2013 holds for 2peas, even if i'm watching from the sidelines. i'm also excited for MORE SLEEP in 2013. ;)

day by day sneaks + last call

since day by day registration closes at the end of tomorrow, i wanted to share a couple sneaks of what i've been working on for the class.

this is my cover page - i had to use that my name is stamp again, it's too perfect. 

and of course...  there's confetti. ;)

here's a little peek at my week for the class - still in progress. totally digging the digital stamps lately - here i used ones from the jan PL kit and from the day by day stamps.

you can see even more class sneaks here - i've been working on putting together all of the class tutorials and i can say that there is SOOOOO much project life knowledge being shared in this class. i've learned a thing or two reading through them. =) you can see a list of all of the tutorials and sign up for the class here.  it's well worth the price, even more so since there are still stamp sets available.

also? the last call this month is a BIG one! all items are while supplies last and quantities are limited, so hurry over. =) happy sunday!!

block party reveal

so. block party. i mean - LOOK AT IT. could  it be more perfect? but you're probably tired of hearing me say that, so i'll just show you what i made with it. ;)

your mark : as soon as i saw the "hello world" badge, i knew i wanted to use it on a page with these photos. what better sentiment for a photo of ben leaving his mark on the shore of lake michigan?

every now and then you have to go big for a background - and since i'm in love with this patterned paper, i decided to go for it. the patterned vellum worked perfectly to create a mat for my photos and title. i added a few bits of patterned paper and embellishments here and there to the background, but kept this page fairly simple.

(kits used - block party scrapbook kit)

t5 : family self portrait in the bean? been there, done that. ;)

i'm in love with the stamps in woodbrooke road, and they kind of drove this design. i stamped them in different colors on little bits of ledger paper, then arranged them around my photo. i filled in the empty spaces with more patterned paper and some of the printables.

(kits used - block party scrapbook kit  + woodbrooke road + pioneer drive + wildberry court)

snow day : we had a crazy mild winter last year - with no snow days. so that made this one that much more special. =)

i arranged 3 photos from our day in a grid on my page, and then brought in lots of blues and aquas and greens and grays - perfect snow day colors! i used some yellow and oranges to add a little pop.

the title letters are misted with mister huey's shine - it's perfect for a little freezey shimmer! the stamps in pioneer drive are super fun - i love that they can be used just as blocks or as thought bubbles. the bags and tag in that same addon were a perfect way to add some hidden journaling to the page.

(kits used - block party scrapbook & PL kits + woodbrooke road + pioneer drive + wildberry court + pollard ave)

shared : we live in a little old house in the best neighborhood on earth.. and my bigs share a room. while this is tragic every now and then (heehee), and a pain in the neck more often (fighting about getting clothes / getting dressed, who made what mess, etc) more often than not, it's really good for them. and i love that.

this layout is bits and pieces from most of the kits. i basically pulled all my favorites that i hadn't used yet and went to town! the labels on the page are the printable labels that come with the day by day class.

(kits used - block party scrapbook kit + block party card kit + wildberry court + pollard avenue + pioneer drive)

week 18 // april 28-may 4 : well. the bonus of having a bunch of missing weeks in my 2012 album is that i have a lot of choices when i sit down to work. ;) i decided to go back to a missing spring week because i thought the brights in this kit would be a good fit with my photos.

i tried a few new things with this week - i used the stamp brushes on a couple of my photos, and i converted some of the brushes into silhouette cuts and used those as well. i love trying new techniques in my PL album - a small canvas means that if they're an utter fail, i haven't lost too much. ;)

(kits used - block party PL kit)

week 31 // july 28-aug 3 : i sat down recently and made a list of all of my missing 2012 weeks, and as i did, i noted the weeks that had big events. vacations. birthdays, last week of school... that sort of thing. even those these are the sorts of things that will get their own scrapbook pages recording more specific memories, i love to get the overviews into my PL album - and i really love how having it in my PL shows how that event fits into the everyday.

this spread is a mish mash of all of the kits, as well as some keepsakes (the wrapping paper + lego batman packaging). i went BIG with the pic on A & B's birthday pages, so i did the same for sam. the hello diecut and blue label are files from the day by day class. i also added in a few tags from the shop - they are perfect for tucking in extra journaling on a very busy week! i'm trying to use as few inserts as possible in my album, so little tricks like this let me squeeze more into a spread.

(kits used : block party scrapbook, card & PL kits + woodbrooke road + pioneer drive + wildberry court + pollard ave)

InLinkz.com

and that is all she wrote. for now. digging back into the leftovers to make a cover page and spread for the day by day class. =) let me know if you have any questions about any of these!! and don't forget to check out the three awesome galleries for this kit - scrapbook // card // PL. SO much inspo!!

december daily 2013

so, back at the beginning of december i made a title page and a day 1. and that's as far as i got. finishing the workshop, catching up on real life after our thanksgiving trip and getting ready for christmas sort of took priority. and having the kids in school right up till the friday before christmas really threw me off - normally we use those days leading up to christmas for catching up on holiday specials and making santa cookies. instead, we rushed to get it all done!

i did spend the rest of the month taking notes and tossing things into a pile. that counts for something, right?  and now i'm ready to look at that pile, and start doing something about it. my goal is to go through my list and print off a bunch of pics before the weekend, and then attack this baby. i don't think it will be daily, but i have a list of things i want to include. so who's with me for december daily making in january?!?

i made a little something to add to my album this morning. this ampersand is one of the studio calico stamps this month - i used the .png version of the digital stamp brush and converted it to a silhouette file. i can't wait to add it to my book. probably with confetti behind it.

happy thursday! it's reveal day at studio calico - i posted a few more last minute sneaks this morning. it's cold and sort of snowing, and 4 out of 5 truesdells are enjoying another lazy day at home - the 5th went to a robotics camp with a friend.  

block party sneaks

say hello to my new number 1. yep. block party has knocked paper moon out of my fave kit ever spot. reveal is tomorrow (how did that come so quickly?!?!), and here's a little peek at what i put together. i'll be using these kits + some stash for my day by day cover page and PL week as well - i'll have sneaks of those to share soon! 

(block party scrapbook kit)

(block party scrapbook kit + block party printables + woodbrooke road + pioneer drive + wildberry court)

(block party scrapbook & PL kits + woodbrooke road + pioneer drive + wildberry court + pollard ave)

(block party project life kit + stamp brushes)

(block party scrapbook, card & PL kits + block party scrapbook & PL kits + woodbrooke road + pioneer drive + wildberry court + pollard ave + day by day class cuts)

InLinkz.com

i also wanted to share a peek at my gift tags for this christmas. i did a combo of large and small tags with the "hello my name is" stamp from the studio selections shop at sc, and the "open me" stamp from penn station. a little washi, a little twine and they were perfect. i made some extra to have on hand for this year - these designs can definitely go way past christmas!

happy wednesday!! it's cold today..  so most of us are having a stay in and be lazy day. alex is at a friend's for the afternoon, but me and ben and sam are staying in jammies. the house is a disaster, christmas presents are everywhere...  and they can stay there for now. =)

 

wishing you...

wishing you all things wonderful this holiday season.

and lots of moments like this. xoxo from my house to yours.

memory keeping monday : shine

happy christmas eve, friends! i've got a very merry memory keeping monday up this morning at 2peas. =) this month's video is a peek into my new workshop, start here. i used an inspiration piece for the design of this page and talk a bit about that process.

InLinkz.com

i'm off to finish tagging presents, decorate some cookies, and try and get this house into santa ready shape - wish me luck! ;) i hope you and yours have a fabulous holiday together. 

 

day by day + SC PL sneaks

this week? it's been a blur. there was a sick day and a snow day. 2 winter programs. a huuuuuuuuuuuuge amount of online ordering and running to target. and suddenly it's friday, and all that's standing between me and christmas eve is the weeked. eeek!

in the midst of all that crazy, i got to play with the new studio calico project life kit. i'm definitely excited about working with the new kits this year... want a peek?

in other project life news - our january class is the perfect way to kick of your 2013 album. all twenty members of the new studio calico project life team are contributing to this class - there will be a variety of tutorials and cover pages, and each of us is sharing a PL spread as well as an in process look of how we work on our album each week. i am really looking forward to seeing how other PLers approach each week - i am always trying to find ways to make PL faster for me, and i'm hoping to pick up a few tips myself!

registration is open through december 31st, and while supplies last, you'll get a cool stamp set shipped FREE with your enrollment. my favorite stamp is that circle arrow - LOVE that the days of the week all fit inside!

there's also a bunch of digital goodies - from printables to cut files. here's a few of my favorites, but you can see them all here.

 

you can find full registration info here : studio calico day by day. you can also pop over to the studio calico blog for a chance to win a spot in the class. i'll be working on my class week and cover page soon, and will be sure to share sneaks before registration ends!

happy friday! matthew is out running some errands and grabbing dinner. i'm looking forward to a weekend of cookie making and scrapping and christmas movie watching - how about you? 

2012 : captured // project life weeks 48 & 49

it's time for my december 2012 : captured class at 2peas - which completes this year long class. CRAZY. it seems like i was just putting the first one together!

i'm ending the year with an easy product focus - use what you love. because that's what it all comes down to. reach for the products that make you smile, that inspire you - and putting this album together week in and week out will be less of a have to and more of a want to.

this month, i asked two of my favorite PLers - michelle wooderson and monica mcneill - to share a week as part of a class. you can see michelle's week here and monica's week here. thank you both again for contributing!!

i put together two weeks for the class - one had not enough photos, one had too many. so a couple of photos/stories from week 49 ended up in week 48. sometimes, you have to be willing to break the rules. =)

week 48 // nov 24th-30th : madison, wi and visiting with friends. laundry. raskog carts. snow and field trips.

week 49 // dec 1st-7th : foggy mornings. badger shirts. science fair. paper airplanes and national lampoon's christmas vacation.

InLinkz.com

happy monday!! i'm finally feeling caught up with real life after my start here workshop release... next up, i try and catch up with christmas prep!

(project life is a system created by becky higgins to take the stress of of scrapbooking. for me, its a reminder to pick up my camera and capture the everyday. you can learn more about how i use project life here, and you can find all of my project life updates here. if you want tips + tricks to use the supplies you already have in your stash in your PL album, check out my 2012 : captured class at 2peas.)

introducing : start here

so. 15 pages. 45 pages of PDF. and 3 videos later. i'm back. and i've got news. =)

i have a  new workshop up at 2peas - start here with lisa truesdell. this class features 27 brand new pages - 15 by me, and 12 by my fabulous contributors. the class is divided into three chapters, and covers using inspiration pieces to inspire color combos, design and techniques. not a bad deal at $12. ;) here's the class description :

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." - Pablo Picasso 

Get a jump on inspiration with Start Here. In this workshop, Lisa Truesdell will give you the tools to turn almost any image into a jumping off point for your next layout. You'll learn to break down images into smaller elements and use them to inspire your page's color combo, design, or even new techniques. We'll talk about finding images you love and identifying what grabbed you about them, and how to put that inspiration to work! Lisa is joined by twelve talented contributors who will each be sharing a page based on one of Lisa's inspiration pieces, as well as their thoughts on finding starting points in unexpected places. 

putting this class together was totally the creative kick in the pants that i needed. it's been a crazy year of trying to juggle a lot of roles, and i've been feeling a bit burnt out the last couple of months. but while working on this class i had no choice but to open my eyes, get inspired, and PLAY with paper + glue. and i needed that.

as i said, i made 15 new pages for this class. if you're a numbers person, 8 are 8.5x11, 7 are 12x12. 9 are multi photo, 6 are one photo. want a few sneaks?

the inspiration pieces in the class feature two takes - one by me, and one by a friend. and i was totally blown away not only by the work they turned in, but by how different each of our projects turned out. it's really amazing to me how differently the same piece can be viewed and intrepreted. they helped round out this workshop with their gorgeous pages, and i am so thankful for their help. most of them will be posting sneaks + giveaways soon, so check out their blogs!!

Allison Waken + Ashley Calder + Becky Novacek + Doris Sander + Erica Hernandez + Emily Spahn + Kelly Noel + Kristina Nicolai-White + Laura Kurz + Lexi Bridges + Lisa Dickinson + Marcy Penner

now that i've told you all about what i've been up to, how about a giveaway for a spot in start here? leave a comment here with your two peas username by sunday, december 16th. i'll post a winner on monday morning. if you've already registered, 2peas can refund your class fee or pass your spot to a friend.