art journal page inspired by the march magpie box

i made a new art journal page for st. patrick's day!  i took my inspiration from the cute leprechaun and green ephemera in the march magpie box.

in the top half, i painted the rainbow with watercolors and colored in the exclusive #lucky diecut with sharpies.  the journaling at the bottom is also a combination of watercolors and sharpies. 

this bottom rainbow is done with watercolor pencils.  the ephemera background was glued onto a piece of cardstock and then attached to the vintage ledger with glue, washi tape, and staples.  it's not going anywhere!

two pages done this year!  woot!  better than last year.  ;)

holiday mini: december pages

i did it!  i finally finished the last few collage pages in my holidays mini-album.  december is now in the books and i'm filing them away for another time.  i still need to go back and finish the calendar, quotes, and recipe pages for 3/4 of the months, but for now i'm needing a little break from it.  i'm putting it on the shelf, putting the leftovers from my decemer jbs mercantile kit in my christmas crafting box (along with my 2014 december daily that i've decided to finish in november of 2015 - i figure i'll be much more in the mood for christmas crafting then).  i am almost ready for spring.  almost . . . 

we just have to get through snowmageddon this week.  yes!  the south is finally FINALLY getting some snow.  i hope.  please, snowbird, don't let this be another case of you crying wolf.  you've done that a few too many times in the last few years.  i will keep you posted.  i am hoping to wake up to a winter wonderland photo op.  in any case, teachers don't have to go to work tomorrow.  we got the call right at 3:00 this afternoon.  i call that poetic justice.  teachers shouldn't be scheduled to work on a federal holiday ever.  so there.  ;)

valentine mantel 2015

i think i am finally getting the hang of this mantel thing.  i've gotten the valentine decor up in a timely manner and have taken it up a notch since last year.  you can read more about the details on jenni's blog.  have a "lovely" day.  :)

deck the halls 2014: christmas mantel

the stars (unexpectedly) aligned yesterday and i was able to get my christmas mantel up!  then the sun shone today and i was actually able to get some decent pictures of it.  oh!  don't you love it!  it makes me so happy!  the santa/reindeer print is one that i got at "a vintage affair at haven farm" on saturday.  i actually got three christmas prints and a couple silhouette prints as well.  luckily, they are all available online HERE.  if you are interested in the christmas ones, you should act fast.  they are in limited supply currently and once they're gone, they probably won't be restocked till the 2015 holiday season.

now, let's talk about that map, shall we?  i honestly cannot believe how lucky i am.  i had been wanting a map of some sort to frame and hang above the mantel, but had not had extra cash for the purchase yet.  i happened to be at my morning elementary one day earlier this fall and visiting in a room i don't normally go in and saw this very map on the floor leaning against the wall. upon seeing it, i exclaimed, "oh! that is gorgeous!  i'd LOVE to have a map like that to hang over my mantel!"  the teacher i was chatting with said, "really.  you can have it.  we've been trying to get rid of it.  we thought we had a taker last week, but she bailed on us.  pull your car up to the (classroom) door and we'll load it for you."  and it even (barely) fit in the backseat of my corolla!  oh happy HAPPY day!

here are some nicer photos of the garlands i made last year.   the knit garland is just knotted strips of striped knit shirts that i bought at goodwill.  i went on sunday and only bought half price/99 cent shirts, so the total cost was just $4.00.

the pine cones were collected at our cubmaster's house, sprayed with paint leftover from a valentine's day project, and then glittered from my stash.

reindeer string art that i also made last year.  i need to get on the stick and make a new christmas décor project this year!

close up of the stitching, vintage flowers (from jenni), and glittered leaves (from joann's).

and vintage bells from my mom.  have yourself a merry little christmas!  let your heart be light!

jbs mercantile: december reveal

the december jbs mercantile kits have arrived!  while they are decidedly christmas-y, they are also very versatile.  i enjoyed the red and green color scheme that i don't use very often, but chose to work with a black and white photo that is unrelated to our current holiday season.  i especially love the mix of patterns here. they all blend so well in this tight color scheme.

product:  jbs mercantile december papercrafting kits (plus a little kitty flatback i've been hoarding).

photo:  taken on my iphone 5.  edited in pictapgo using the lights on and powder filters.

story:  gabriel has been into drawing cartoons lately.  he is accompanied by his favorite kitty.  the journaling is on the library card in the pocket.

design:  i went with a loose grid in a patchwork quilt look.  i added lots of stitching to enhance the homespun look.

technique:  i used my blender tool and both stick candy and seed packet inks to color the manila library pocket.  i then stamped the exclusive star stamp with versamark and used red embossing powder on it.

jbs mercantile: changes

if you are one who follows the scrapbooking industry, you may have read the news that jbs mercantile will be discontinuing their monthly papercrafting kit club.  i am very happy for jenni and her decision to pursue her new passions.  this is so very good for her and i'm so glad to live nearby and still get to help her and spend time with her.  she is truly one of the amazing ones. 

the thing i am sad about is to not have regular contact with the team of amazing women i have worked with these last few years.  it has been wonderful to surround myself with not only brilliant talent and inspiration, but such integrity and kindness.  at least i can say thank goodness for facebook and instagram.

december is our last month with the current selection of kits.  i decided to make a little christmas ornament as a momento of my years with the jbs mercantile kit club.  this little guy is very sweet and makes me happy.  he is a fitting reminder of treasured memories.

jbs mercantile gallery updates: tree fort part one

the photos of the boys building and playing in their tree fort have been begging to be scrapped.  i finally got one set done with my jbs mercantile november kits.  the "do" tag and "work hard" (used on the accompanying project life half page) tags were just beyond perfect.

this page talks about the actual process of building the fort and how much fun that was.  i'm saving the other set of photos of the two boys to do a page about their friendship.  these two have been together since they were three months old.  eleven years now.  how crazy is that?

look at me stamping again!  i might just turn into a stamper yet!

i printed out the journaling from the blog post about these photos, tucked it in the top slot of the project life page, and attached it with a little paper clip.

jbs mercantile november reveal: simply messy

 the november jbs mercantile kits have arrived on our shelves just in time for fall!  yes, the leaves are finally turning here in the south and i have photographic evidence of that fact.  i couldn't wait to scrapbook these two shots i nabbed with my iphone.  just a few bits from my november kits along with some artsy fun from my stash, and this layout came together easy peasy.

here is a quick peek at my artsy dabblings before i stitched the golden leaves on.  this literally took me a couple minutes.  i simply painted some messy areas of bright fall colors with my watercolor palette and then added some splats with tim holtz tumbled glass distress stain.

i love this look!  it's subtle, but adds great depth to the design.

the little girl was also quick and easy.  i stamped her with stayzon, painted her with the same set of watercolors, then trimmed her out.  she didn't quite have enough presence on the page on her own, so another quick dig through my kit bits produced this photo frame that made her shine perfectly.

i have barely gotten started with these kits.  they are so very beautifully fall.  it's a good thing it's too cold for me to go outside now.  i'll have lots of time to sit in front of my space heater and scrap in these next few months.

happy birthday banner

what is it with this week zipping by at lighting speed?  how can tomorrow be the last day of october already?  i'm not ready!  i never did get a halloween mantel put out, but i did manage to make this happy birthday banner for my little pumpkin who turned eleven a week or so ago.  ELEVEN?!  how can that possibly be possible?

i hate to blog and run, but my to do list is still calling.  if you're interested in making a banner of your very own, you can check out the supply list on the jbs inspiration blog.  thanks for stopping by!

holiday mini album: an update

goodness.  i feel like it's been so long since i last shared pages from my holiday handbook that you all have probably forgotten what the heck it is.  in a nutshell, i decided to document my one little word "holiday" in this mini-album format all year.  it was an excellent idea at the time and i really do still love it.  the problem is that i don't still like doing it.  or rather, i am too flighty to want to stick with something all year long.  herein lies the problem.  when it gets closer toward the end of the year and i start talking about my goals for 2015, won't someone please remind me that i don't like year long projects?

one thing that i will say that i totally appreciate about this project is my decision to incorporate a photo of my son and i each month.  i initially started documenting what we were into each month.  then when i got behind and didn't write these things down and thus couldn't remember what we were into, i started just asking him (and myself) what three things we enjoyed most about a specific event that month (like cub scouts, north carolina, etc.).  it's been a great way to record my thoughts and his and our different perspectives on things.  i love it a lot, really.

at this point i have begun just doing my intro page, the holiday collages, and the page of the two of us each month.  the quote collections, recipe pages, and birthday calendars will have to be added in some other year.

currently, i have this much done through mid-august (i'm sharing the best from  may and june today).

i am annoyed that i fell off the wagon again after getting caught up a couple months ago.  and getting caught up was such a struggle then, i remember, as i felt like i had lost all creativity with it at first (april was ugly).  then i found my groove again and loved my pages.  i just really hope that when i dive back in they will come effortlessly and not be a struggle.  but creativity does ebb and flow, doesn't it?

this page was to commemorate father's day.

wasn't my dad a cutie?  he's the oldest one in the foreground.

what about you?  behind on any projects/goals?  do share.  i would feel better.  :)

jbs mercantile: october gallery updates

i had so much fun with this one.  i do love a whimsical layout.  i also love playing with patterned paper bits and this is a design that i don't think i've used often, but i think i will now.

i wrote a little more about it on the jbs inspiration blog this morning.  thanks for visiting!