Happy Almost October

I love this time of year. The crispness in the air. The changing leaves. Pumpkins everywhere, even in my oatmeal and coffee. But quite possibly the best part are the Halloween bits. Stores full of crazy costumes, candy galore, spooky decorations, I love it all....

Seeing how we are right on the cusp of October I figured it would be a great time to show off some Halloween-y layouts. I made these last week using the exclusive to Target American Crafts line....

Can you say sequins?! These ones are pretty epic. I think I need them in every color of the rainbow...

On this one I used the adorable washi tapes, 6x6 paper pad, and teeny tiny clothespins. There's also some supplies for banner making, witch hats, and all kinds of other fun stuff available.  Soooo many options to get this months party started...

I Can't Believe It

Today is baby Dezmond's first birthday...

I also can't believe I managed to stick with this monthly onesie photo shoot plan... you'd be surprised to learn how difficult it was each month, even with the simple stitched white t approach. Sheesh! I deserve some kind of good Mom medal... AND I also printed out all of his first year photos (basically capturing every second of his first year of life) AND get this.... put them in an album... already! I deserve TWO medals. Big fat gold ones....

More on this Dezi's first year album soon. I am doing this project life baby edition style but keeping it SUPER simple (cuz sometimes I deserve a bronze.).... and more details from his best birthday ever (since it's his only one so far. hehe, I crack myself up.)

What Time Is It? Washi Wednesday Time!

I realized it's been awhile since I did a washi segment... which is insane because not only do I use this on just about every project, but each time I sit down at my desk I stare straight at my collection...

the way it's arranged fit perfectly with the themes I'd sat down to start creating with, Spring. So I used this rainbow inspiration to create my very own washi rainbow....

Then I threw on some buttons and enamel dots for a little variation in texture and dimension.

What do you think? What have you created with washi tape lately?

Moving On

Big news around these parts. Hottie earned a promotion (Yaaaaaaay! Enter dramatic congratulatory music swell here and pan to look of pride on wife and children's faces.). This means we have to move (booooooos from the audience.).

source

It could not be more bittersweet. I am so unbelievably proud of and happy for Hottie. He has worked his tail off for years for this. He deserves it. He will be amazing in his new position, I have no doubt. But it means we leave Lexington, Kentucky after only being here for a year. There have been ups and downs during that time... but the bottom line is that this move from California has been really good for us. We've grown (by a baby and a puppy) as a family here. The kids are thriving. We adore our house. I've fallen in love with my roller derby family. We are having the time of our lives.

But. It's time to move on. The pros of going greatly outweigh the cons. New chapter, new adventure, and all that jazz (cue stiff upper lip).

It's hard to believe that we could possibly be any happier in Ohio.... but then again, we will be together, so that's all we really need (that and a killer new house... and some snow boots).

and I need to keep this in mind because the next couple of months are going to be a bumpy ride (there is a whole extra element to this I have not shared with you yet).....

source

(end post with the sound of me laughing to myself every time I say, "Ohio," out loud. Why is this so funny sounding to me?... "O-hi-O..." "Oh! Hi, Oh.") This is the only state name that talks to itself in my head... totally random, but true.

American Crafts September Projects

Did you see my introduction on the American Crafts blog yesterday? So exciting... I can't believe I'm a part of this team, thrilling... I also can't believe that I divulged my deep love for Slurpees and car dancing...  but hey, that's me. 

Here are the projects I created for my first assignments...

Love these Cut and Paste pre-hole punched tags. They make sewing a cinch, and another cool thing is you can actually stitch them in a number of different ways (which I plan on showcasing at some point in the future)... it totally changes the look of the tag.

Can't wait to sit down and play with my other AC goodies... has anyone else seen the adorable American Crafts Halloween products in their local target? Can you say sequins?! Washi?! Oh yes, check it out. You will not be sorry.

Project Life-athon Continued

As promised here is the second half of your Project Life-athon. If you want to read more about the Project Life format of scrapbooking click here. For these pages I use the Becky Higgins page protectors, the Jade core kit, and some Studio Calico cards, along with some other random goodies. I keep it all together, bound in a Blue We R Memory Keepers album. Enjoy!

Lots of photos for this spread, since it was vacation week. Luckily I already finished my vacay mini album (which you can view here) so I didn't feel the need to include every single photo. I just hit the highlights....

Now we're caught up. After doing 2 months of project life I have to admit I felt the need to switch up supplies a bit. I'm not someone who likes to have my entire year long project be matchy-matchy.. I create each spread with whatever sparks my creativity at the time. So I signed up to receive the Studio Calico Project life kit. I figure the different products each month will be enough to keep me loving this project.

That and I plan on buying these...

Sunshine Core Kit

Cut & Paste Mini Kit

Flea Market Mini Kit

Polka Dot Party Mini Kit

shhhhh. don't tell hottie.

Project Life-athon

Last weekend I took some time to catch up on project life. I was two months behind. The cool thing about this project is that even if you aren't up to date it doesn't take too much effort to jump in and get back on track... especially if you keep it really simple and streamlined with just photos and journal cards. We all know I like a bit more of an artistic complicated involved version... but it's still pretty easy for me to get it done. 

Get ready for your very own Project Lifeathon....

I'll show you more (I know I've said that before, but I promise I will!) about how I stay organized with this project to help streamline the process... it takes the stress out of the equation when I finally do decide to make the time.... in fact, I actually like doing this one month at a time now.

Stay tuned and stay hydrated... I have another four spreads to share tomorrow (thought I should help you pace yourself).