the moments in between

happy new year's eve!

i hope 2011 has been beautiful for you. i can't believe it's time to move on to 2012, but i'm looking forward to all that it may hold. we have a mellow evening planned - appetizers for dinner and watching the first harry potter. the boys have seen all of the movies, alex has read all of the books and ben is midway through the 5th - matthew and i figure it's time we joined the party.

i've got one last page to share this year. =) this one was made with a mix of studio calico's autumn press & memoir lines. and confetti!!! ;) rather than share my supply list here (i'm anxious to go hang with the fam!), you can find it  at studio calico (last day to shop for subscribers!) or at twopeas (last day of free shipping on $35 or more, code is NKFFRL -non phase out & non digital purchases only), depending on your shopping preferences. =) 

 

top 11 layouts of 2011

this. was. hard. but here they are. at least the ones i could share. that helped narrow it down. ;) i'm looking forward to 2020, maybe 20 favorite projects would be easier??? i think i've had a lot more fun scrapping this year, and it shows in these pages.

(tight - for studio calico's brooklyn flea gallery)

(tempted - for studio calico's lawn party gallery)

(routine - for twopeasinabucket.com)

(aim for the stars - for october afternoon)

(ride - for october afternoon)

(closer - for studio calico's glee club gallery)

(the perfect end - for twopeasinabucket.com)

(super three - for studio calico's paper moon gallery)

(busted - for american crafts)

(catch - for twopeasinbucket.com)

(skipping waves - for studio calico's county fair gallery)

(and an honorable mention goes to sam's super boy mini, which i still need to finish!)

happy friday! i haven't had a chance to wrap up week 51 of project life - i'll be sharing that in the coming week, along with week 52 (ack!!). in the meantime, i've got boys to hang out with and pages to make. 

mish mash

it's a mish mash. a hodge podge. a jumble of colors. store bought. handmade. not coordinated. but ours.

(mish mash // copyright www.twopeasinabucket.com)

this page is a bit of a jumble as well - just lots of my favorite colors & products. i am loving the cameo to cut fonts to use as masks - i used a stencil font to do my title here. crazy to think that it's almost time to take it back down! we will leave it up for new year's eve - and then i am SO ready to get back to normal around here.

InLinkz.com

(ps : don't forget that 2peas is offering shipping on orders of $35 or more with the code NKFFRL (non phase out & non digital purchases only) - it's good till the end of the year. i've taken advantage of this a couple of times - i'm hoping to get my ormolu goodies tomorrow.)

happy thursday! my bigs are off to a zoo camp for the day, so it's just sam and i. first stop - the hardware store for paint samples. phase 1 of operation bathroom (sand walls, paint walls, paint woodwork, new light fixture, new mirror) is underway soon. i'm a little bummed that my original shower curtain pick - which i tried to grab on clearance at UO - was out of stock when my ordered shipped. this one might be plan b, but i can't decide between aqua or gray. hmmmm. this is why house projects never get finished around here!

studio calico's COUNTY FAIR

it's COUNTY FAIR time!! my favorite part of the kits this month? hands down, the stamps.

this page was made using just the january main kit, COUNTY FAIR. when i saw the chicken and the eggs on the jenni bowlin paper, i knew i wanted to do a layout about our breakfast out on the first day of winter break. and i have to admit that the chicken makes me giggle a little. ;)

the woodgrain + letter "paper" is actually from the packaging of the exclusive woodgrain alpha in the kit. i loved it so much that i decided to use it as a main element on my page. i lined my photos up next to it and then grouped my embellishments on top of it. i used a martha pinked circle punch + the gorgeous green crate paper to cover up some of the words on the "best" chipboard circle since they didn't fit the page. the number stamp is stamped with malted milk ink, and i stitched under the three to represent my three boys. to finish off the page, i looped twine around each of the veneer letters to hold them in place.

the blues and greens that pop up in all of the january kits brought to mind my photos from our trip to lake michigan. as soon as i printed these photos of ben in the waves, i knew it would be a perfect match. =)

i misted the text paper from RING TOSS with mister huey's heirloom blue and the intertwined circles mask, and then went back over with with mister huey's shine. i matted my main photo on the map paper from SHOOTING GALLERY with lots of other circle elements - a sticker, brads & buttons. i love how the break up this fairly linear layout! i loved the ormolu tags in PHOTO BOOTH and altered them a little for this page. i trimmed the yellow map tab down using pinking sheers, and then added a stamped arrow and a stitched "x" on our location. i cut "here" from there "here and there" tab to go above it, and then added a couple of cut banners alongside of the tags. i also added a scrap of a paper doily from my desk and cut the word "skipping" using my cameo + the pacifico font.

oh.this.STAMP. i love it. so.very.much. and i love how the shape echos the ladder of the playground. ack, he looks so little on that big ladder!

the stamp + the kesi'art paper inspired the design for the page. i arranged rays cut from patterned papers in ring toss with their points meeting in the middle, and then stamped right over the top of them. i stitched the patterned paper down, and added a bit of extra stitching as well. then i layered a pinked circle cut with my cameo (it's actually a to/from tag from ki memories) and added a circle sticker and my photo on top of that. everything on this page was from COUNTY FAIR + RING TOSS.

i did a lot of mixing and matching for this one, pulling my very favorite items from each of the kits. i used the main kit, COUNTY FAIR, as well as RING TOSS, SHOOTING GALLERY & PHOTO BOOTH. the graph paper under the photo is in KISSING BOOTH .

i started this page with the map paper - it was a perfect fit for the theme of the page. since it has a fairly subdued pattern, i was able to use it as a background for most of my elements. i kept the journaling as a record of our conversation - i'm not ready to start delving into the emotional side of this one. sigh.

i echoed the circle stamp from RING TOSS and the target stamp from SHOOTING GALLERY with lots of other circle elements - a sticker, brads & buttons. i love how the break up this fairly linear layout! the "you are here" was cut with my silhouette, and the pinked circle next to the photo is a martha stewart punch.

when i saw the envelopes from the old school letter set in the KISSING BOOTH addon, i knew i wanted to make a mini with them. to make the body of the mini, i folded several of the papers in half, and then wrapped two envelopes around them and stitched down the edge to hold everything in place. i'm planning to do a how to on my blog later this week.

the front is misted with mister huey's clay - i used a doily as a mask. the letters were cut with my silhouette - i used the blackout font.

the stamps from SHOOTING GALLERY were perfect for this book - love how boyish they are! i used them throughout, stamping each image several times without reinking for a distressed look. the label on the opening page is from the old school letter set. i'm so glad i picked this up - i think the extra ledger papers & envelopes will come in handy both in finishing off my december daily and in my project life album.

each page is fairly simple - a monogram + banner, a sticky note with journaling, and some little bits and bobs to dress it up. i made sure each page had something overhanging the edge for added interest.

InLinkz.com

happy just barely wednesday! ;) we have another busy day of friends, lego assembly and video games planned, so i'm scheduling this post in advance. trying to enjoy as much of winter break with my boys as i can!!

december daily 2011 // days 17-20

getting closer to done!!! i've been debating whether i'll stop at 25 or go to 31 - and my plan right now is to include a couple of stories after the 25th to wrap up the album. my bigs always camp by the christmas tree on new years eve, and i'd like that to close my album. i also have my not quite sent out christmas / new years cards to include.

day seventeen, our wreath. i added the tinsel + stars that we used on the wreath to the divider page.

day eighteen, snowflakes. again, i added a snowflake to the divider.

day nineteen, breakfast out. the weekly planner paper came from a cute noetbook that i picked up at anthro last week.

day twenty, part one. a shopping trip. the orange tissue paper is from anthro - LOVE it. the snowflake is from a loft bag.

day twenty : part two, gingerbread men.

this paper is from the old school letter set in the studio calico shop this month. i punched the stars from it and you can see the orange tissue paper from the previous spread peeking through. 

i typed "20" in the bebas font in the silhouette studio software, then moved the numbers to overlap and welded them together and cut them from kraft cardstock. that little tab is a new amy tangerine embellishment. 

day twenty : part three, more gingerbread.

i printed these instagram pics to fit on the back of my other photos, then added pp + tape + letters.

confetti!!! but i kind of ran out of steam by the time i made this page. ha! it may get a little more pretty-ing up when i get back to work on my album. =)

InLinkz.com

i've also got my winner for the photo a day class at studio calico!! remember, if you didn't win - registration goes through the 31st. check out all the info here!

congrats, joyce!! check your email - you should have one from me. =) thanks to everyone who entered!

 

happy tuesday! i'm wondering where today went. i was hoping to have this post up this morning, and suddenly it's after 4! the bigs and i spent some time cleaning and organizing their room - that job is going to take more than one day. ;) i'm trying to reclaim the house from the christmas chaos as well. wish me luck!

more county fair sneaks

we've got one big day behind us (and i don't know about you, but i'm planning to do as little as possible today to recover from all of the prep, planning and FUN of yesterday) - but it's nearly time for another big day! the january kit, COUNTY FAIR, goes live at studio calico tomorrow. i've made a couple more pages with the kit since i last posted sneaks, so i thought i'd better share them today.

(my favorite for the month. COUNTY FAIR + RING TOSS + SHOOTING GALLERY + PHOTOBOOTH)

(second favorite. COUNTY FAIR + RING TOSS + SHOOTING GALLERY + PHOTOBOOTH)

(and another little peek at my COUNTY FAIR layout)

InLinkz.com

happy monday! i'm off to sort through my christmas photos and make a plan for catching up my december daily. i hope you and yours had a fabulous holday!

 

 

wishing you all the best this holiday

may yours be merry and bright. xoxo.

project life // week 50 : december 10-16

 

week 50 // december 10-16 : week FIFTY? ack. crazy to think that 2012 is almost here!! we've got a ton of people in the studio calico community who are taking on project life in the new year, and we now have project life forum to share tips, help keep each other on track and talk about everything PL. i'm going to be posting weekly threads - starting with PL 2012 // week -1 with tips to get your year off to a good start. i hope you'll join us there! =)

anyways...  on to week 50. chalkboard wall. science projects. decorating the christmas tree. preschool programs. sleepover at grandma's.

i went from worrying i didn't have enough photos for the week to needing an insert. ha. funny how that happens! 

i copied and pasted an email from alex about his school science project onto a printable journaling card before printing it out - so easy.

decorating the christmas tree. this is also in my december daily, but i chose to use an instagram shot of all three for that album.

i went very quick + simple this week - not a lot of extra embellishing on the journaling cards. it was all about getting things done in the midst of a crazy schedule. 

my mom sent me the bottom 2 photos of the boys - love that she snapped a few while they were over.

i used my craft knife to cut along the decorative edge on the details card and then slid my photo under it - i do this a lot and love the effect.

InLinkz.com

scrapbooks etc has an article in their february issue on different projects documenting the everyday. there are some fab ideas in there - and i was thrilled to be asked to contribute some pages / thoughts on project life. this entire issue is a good one - be sure to check it out if you can. 

i also wanted to share that 2peas is now carrying ormolu designs. i love this company for my project life album - especially their fact or fiction line. i just placed an order for a few more things and will be using them in the coming weeks. remember, you can get free shipping on orders of $35 or more through 12/31 - there's more info on that here. 

happy friday! and happy almost christmas!! i'm closing in on being ready... better get back to my list. =)

(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.)

county fair sneaks + photo a day class giveaway!

(just the main, COUNTY FAIR. i have mad love for the veneer alpha. i even used the packaging on this page. i love the chicken, too. bawk bawk.)

(this one was in the sneak slideshow for RING TOSS, but i finished it off with some bits from COUNTY FAIR. oh, that stamp)

(the cover of this mini was in the slideshow for KISSING BOOTH, but once i finished the insides they totally didn't match the feel of the cover, so i did a little switching of papers. in the end, i used bits from COUNTY FAIR + all four add-ons. i hope to do a little tutorial on how i SHOULD have put this together, because i learned a lot by making every mistake possible while assembling it. ahem.)

(more stamp love. it's in SHOOTING GALLERY. i intend to use the dickens out of it. the label sticker is in the old letter set from chronicle books, it will be in the shop this month)

InLinkz.com

i'm also excited to be giving away a spot in nicole samuels' photo a day class at studio calico! the class starts jan 1st - registration closes on dec 31st. i *love* what i've captured through taking a photo a day and cannot wait to see the inspiration from this class! it includes a PDF full of info and projects from nicole + the contributers - i've contributed a fun way to use postalpix + a sc journal for a quick mini to show off your favorites. you'll also get a private message board to help keep you on track and two chats with nicole. the class is $12, with a 10% discount to studio calico kit subscribers and a 25% discount for rewards members. to enter to win, just leave me a comment + a way to get a hold of you. i'll draw a winner on tuesday, dec 27th.

happy thursday! wow, this week is flying by. busy with the to do list (and taking it one item at a time, so i don't freak out about it). busy with the boys - holiday activities, friends, outings, refereeing, video gaming. there's never a dull moment this time of year, is there?

 

2peas page + specials

i've got a new project up in the garden at 2peas - a feature on the simple stories year-o-graphy line.

(quiet // copyright twopeasinabucket.com) 

i LOVE this line. it's filled with usable neutrals and just the right theme-y touches. i'm planning to use some of it for my 2011 title page for project life, since mine is still blank! i also plan to start mixing it into my PL album as well as using it on pages. you can see my full supply list here. =)

speaking of two peas...  they have some rocking specials right now.

the free shipping threshhold has been lowered to $35 till the end of the year. and that won't be hard to hit with the new crate valentine's day line, new 2012 hero arts stamps, new amy tangerine day books + embellies - and for today : 25% off select washi tapes. hello! filling my cart as soon as i hit publish. ;)

and as another bonus - five lucky shoppers will get their order for free. (and how cute is this graphic??!)

happy tuesday! it is grey and cold and ICK out there. the boys are wii baseballing. i'm desk cleaning. we have some gingerbread man kits from TJ's - i'm thinking that sounds like a good plan for today. =)