December Daily - Days 1 - 7

Okay, now's the time for a little confession...
I have had my December Daily that I am using this year done... since 2009.  :)  I made it several years ago using stuff from my stash, and never followed through to get it filled.  This is the year that it is happening!  I have gotten more than half way through so far, but have had to pause for Christmas, travel and recovery from a sinus infection.  I took advantage of the sale at Snapfish to get my latest batch of pictures developed, so I am at a pausing point right now until those arrive.  Below you will find completed days one through seven and the front of day eight.  

If you are interested in seeing the foundation pages, I have them all posted in a Flickr album that you can find here.

Cover of the album.

Inside cover and the front of Day 1 detailing our trip the Houston Zoo Lights.

The Back of Day 1 and the Front of Day 2

Day 2 and Day 3

Day 3 and Day 4

Day 4 and Day 5

Day 5 and Day 6

Day 6 and Day 7

Day 7 and the front of Day 8.

Hope you enjoyed looking, and I will get the other half of the pages I have already finished posted tomorrow.  I am off to put the little one down for a nap. Wish me luck!

I hope everyone has a  SAFE and WONDERFUL New Year's Eve today and this evening!

-A

Checking in and a Coupon!

Hi Everyone!!
I am SO SORRY that it's been a while since I updated here.  With the holidays and then we had a death in the family, so I haven't had a lot of time lately to get things photographed and  shared.  I am planning on getting my December Daily up to date and photographed soon.

As a little bonus for checking in today, below is a great coupon from Suzanne, over at Flamingo Scraps for 35% off all of the Pink Paislee items she has in the store.  She is already carrying their new line Secret Crush, just in time for getting those Valentine's cards and layouts ready!

Enjoy!!

Above the Clouds - Flamingo Scraps

Hi everyone!  I am back with another layout using some of the great items that you can find at Flamingo Scraps http://www.flamingoscraps.com/

For our honeymoon, my husband and I spent two glorious  weeks in Hawaii, visiting the islands of Oahu, Maui and Lanai.  On the island of Maui, we made the trek to the top of the inactive volcano Haleakala and saw some of the most amazing views I've ever seen!  While working our way to the top, we actually drove through the clouds and eventually came out above the cloud line (which you can see in the background of both of these pictures.)  

There is a slight dimensional element to my layout and lots of layers! I am loving Pink Paislee's Portfolio line, lots of which has made its way to my recent layouts .  I really like to get multiple pictures on my layouts.  There are actually three pictures on this layout - the elevation sign in the middle is a separate picture.  

Here's a little view from the side so you can see the dimension and the great sequins on that black arrow.  The Artisan Chipboard stars are great on their own, or stacked for a little extra height!

Specifics for this look:

• Pink Paislee - Portfolio Paper - Incredible
• Pink Paislee - Ephemera
• Pink Paislee - Artisan Chipboard - Stars
• Pink Paislee - Portfolio Photo Tabs
• Heidi Swapp - Vintage Chic Notes
• Heidi Swapp - Sequin Shapes - Disco Arrows
• Heidi Swapp - Color Shine - Tinsel
• Studio Calico - Mr. Huey's - Water Cooler

Some cardstock, Thickers and alpha stamps and it's done!  

Until next time!

Alicia

November Flamingo 4

Hi everyone!  
One of the activities that the team over at Flamingo Scraps participates in is called the Flamingo Four.  Each month, four of the design team members are sent the same four supplies and we are challenged to see how we can each use them!  This month, our supplies were Maya Mist, a Maya Road tin, some wood veneers and some awesome trim.  

I decided to create a shadowbox out of my Maya Road tin.  I dug through all of my stuff that I collected while we were in Hawaii, and found this awesome postcard (that I had completely forgotten that I had picked up).  I also found and loved the turquoise paisley background paper, but it was too bright to go with the colors in the postcard, so I just spritzed it with the Clam Bake Glimmer Mist and did the same with the bright white trim.  The mist gave a great color to the trim, and a little shimmer to the background paper!  I painted the rectangular wooden piece with a light coat of gesso and then wiped at it with a damp paper towel so I got a kind of whitewashed look, then I used some Jenni Bowlin rub-ons for "aloha".  I sprayed the heart veneer with both Color Shine and the Clam Bake glimmer mist to give it a bit of dimension and used some paint, Stickles and another little spritz of glimmer mist for the flower.  I decided to keep the slogan portion of the tin, so I rubbed it with a little teal Staz-On and added a little more of the patterned paper around the edge.  I just glued the flower and butterfly on the edge and presto!  Done!

Head over to the Flamingo Scraps blog to check out what Erin, Ramona and Cindy did with the same supplies!

Flamingo Scraps Sale!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Suzanne over at Flamingo Scraps has a couple of great sales this weekend for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Just an example of some of the great deals you will see:  Prima products are 40% off, Maya Road is 30% and FabScraps are 40% as well.
So... go over, check out the new and improved shop and website at www.flamingoscraps.com and pick up some great deals on some beautiful products for all of your holiday projects!

Holiday Handbook - Flamingo Scraps

Hello all!

I don't know about you guys, but it seems to me that the thing I do most often around the holidays is make lists!  It starts right before Thanksgiving every year and continues into the New Year.  I like to have one place to keep all of my holiday lists, that is compact enough to fit in my purse (because you never know when you are going to have to add something to the list!)  So, I decided to make a cute little notebook with divided sections that would make it easier on me to stay organized. 

Park Fun!

Good morning everyone!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and if today is a holiday for you, BONUS!  :)
Below is a layout that I created for last week's Sunday Sketch over at Citrus Twist.  First, here is the sketch that Design Girl Nathalie Leonelli came up with:

And here is my take on it.

It was a lot of fun to play along with the Sunday Sketch, and I got to finally break into the October Citrus Twist kit.  I am really loving these nesting pinked circle dies and the Pink Paislee Portfolio line.

Until next time!

Flamingo Scraps - Vintage Finds

Hello! I just wanted to show off one of my latest layouts using some of the great papers you can get at Flamingo Scraps! Don’t forget to check out the AWESOME selection of embellishments, spray mists, and bling that they have as well!

For everyone who is linking through from the Flamingo Scraps blog, welcome to my little space on the web!  Have a look around, and if you like what you see, feel free to follow me!  :)  My name is Alicia, wife of Eddie, and stay-at-home mom to a great little two year old boy named Sam. We live in Houston, TX, and love getting out for adventures as a family (and I love to take pictures to preserve the memories, which gives me lots of material to scrapbook) ! 

I recently scrapped a weekend trip my husband and I took for his 35th birthday. We left Sam with my parents and took off for the New Braunfels area for a tubing trip with some old friends. Along the way, we found this cute little winery called Three Dudes and A Dog so we made a pit stop for a quick tasting.

Here are some specifics for what I used to get this look. 

Patterned papers: Heidi Swapp Vintage Chic line

"Handwritten,"

"Bookingkeeping,"

"B" side of "Worldwide"

“B” side of “Beautiful Songs." 

Title plaque: Heidi Swapp's Vintage Chic

Other embellishments: Pink Paislee's Portfolio ephemera collection. 

Throw in a little dark brown cardstock, pop dots and adhesive and there's the whole thing. :o)


I am really excited to be working with Flamingo Scraps and can't wait to show you what I come up with next! Don't forget to check out their blog too, and see what is new over there! 

Until next time!

Lighthouse

Hello Everyone!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday morning!  Here it is a little chilly, but nice as I sit on the back porch watching the boy play and the dogs chasing squirrels as I drink coffee and share some of my latest creations.

Today on the Flamingo Scraps blog, my fellow DT member Melissa has posted a really awesome sketch, so I decided to do my own take on it.

Last summer, we took our first trip without the boy, and went to Miami for a wedding for one of E's friends.  The day after the ceremony, Eddie and I took off with the Groom and one of his friends from high school to just drive around and see the sites.  We randomly ended up at a park on Key Biscayne and found this lighthouse and climbed to the top.

This layout was done with scraps from Heidi Swapp's Vintage Chic 8x8 collection and the chipboard stars are Pink Paislee.  A little Mr. Huey's in Water Cooler and white card stock and it all came together pretty quickly!  I am really loving the EK Success Notebook edge punch.)

Blessed Family

Just a quick update to show another layout using the October Cocoa Daisy kit and pictures from our trip to the Halter Farm Pumpkin Patch last fall.  Eddie didn't have to travel very much last fall, so we really had a lot of fun going to all of the great fall activities.
On a fun note - I am really working my way through the kits from last month!

Items used on this layout:

• American Crafts/Amy Tangerine - Ready Set Go - Lounge Fest
• Simple Stories - Harvest Lane - Homemade Happiness
• Simple Stories - Bingo Cards
• Cardstock - Chestnut & Leaf
• Maya Road - Hexagon Chips
• May Arts - Mustard Striped Ribbon
• AC Flair - Halloween - Eek!
• Punch - EK Success
• October Afternoon label
• Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Bronzer 
• Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Mustard

Explore your crafty side!

One Finger Test

Hello All!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween, and a great (and crafty) weekend!  We made a quick trip to my hometown to attend a "Touch the Truck" event that the city was putting on, and Sam had a blast.  They assembled all sorts of trucks, fire trucks, SWAT trucks, Mayflower moving truck, UPS, etc. and let the kids sit in them and climb through them.  I took lots of pictures, so there will be layouts coming featuring those.

Today's layout features a group of pictures that I took of Sam last year at a pumpkin patch.  He has always been super curious about things, and he just has to touch them.  The first touch has always been with just one finger.  Here are four pictures of him touching new things with that little finger.  I just thought it was hilarious that I was able to get him doing it so many times at the same event.  :)

Most of the items on this layout came from October's Cocoa Daisy kit.

• Cosmo Cricket - S'more Love - Picnic
• Cosmo Cricket - Forest Trails
• Studio Calico - BFF
• American Crafts Pumpkin Patch - Pumpkin Bread
• October Afternoon Label Sticker - Road Map
• AC/Amy Tangerine - Remarks Baxter Letters
• AC/Amy Tangerine - Weekender Thickers
• K&Co Journaling Tag - Wild Saffron
• Doodlebug Designs Mini Pearls
• Sizzix Sizzlet - Pumpkin #3

The Shady Park

Summers here are just SO STINKIN' HOT that a trip to the park is sometimes just out of the question. But, occasionally we do get days that are just sweltering and not fiery inferno hot.  On one such day, I decided that we could go play at the park, because the little man just LOVES to be outdoors, running, jumping and climbing.  After a quick pit stop at Sonic for some yummy drinks we were ready to go.  I don't know which Sam enjoyed more, the playing or the lemonade!  :)

Please forgive the wonky cardstock base, it decided to curl up on me after I sprayed it with the Color Shine.

I used papers from the October Cocoa Daisy kit for this layout.  Cosmo Cricket - Forest Trails, Studio Calico - BFF; Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Bronzer and Mustard; AC Amy Tangerine - Ready Set Go stickers; Martha Stewart Crafts - Journaling Card; OA - Fly a Kite Word Stickers; Jillibean - Today Hexies; Lawn Fawn - Smitty's ABC stamps; MM - Giggle Kids Boy Stamps; HA/SC - Be Awesome; and Stampabilities - Banner Border.

Big Announcement (at least I think so!) :)

Hi Everyone!  Just wanted to check in, post a new layout, and announce that I have been selected to join the design team at Flamingo Scraps!  

For everyone who is linking through from the Flamingo Scraps blog, my name is Alicia and I am a wife to Eddie and stay-at-home mom to a great little two year old boy named Sam.  We live in Houston, Texas, and love getting out and having adventures as a family (and I love to take pictures to preserve the memories, which gives me lots of options to scrapbook!)  

Trunk or Treat 2011

First off, sorry this has taken me so long to get posted!  I have had it finished for the most part since Sunday, but just kept picking at it for a while and then finally finished the journaling this morning.  It is one of those layouts that I just couldn't get everything where it sat right to me, but finally I decided it was good enough (for now.)  :o)
Last year for Halloween, Eddie was out of town for work, and since Sam was only 14 months old, I decided that he really was too young for trick or treating.  One of the local churches was holding a "Trunk or Treat" event, and I thought that would be the perfect solution... he still got to get into costume and do something fun, but it wouldn't run too late and would be more his speed.  I found this Halloween onesie at Old Navy and just thought he was adorable in it.  It was a comfortable costume.  :o)  They had fashioned a "ball-pit" out of a baby swimming pool and a bunch of plastic balls, and I couldn't keep him out of it!

Both pages together:

Left side:

Right side:

Like I said in the sneak peak, I am really glad I am not submitting this to anywhere that had to know who made what on the layout.  All of the patterned papers are at least six years old.  I started with two pieces of kraft cardstock that I spritzed with Heidi Swapp's Color Shine in Bronzer.  The "Happy Halloween" and "Trunk or Treat" letters were white letters that I also spritzed with the Color Shine and then dabbed off the excess with a paper towel which gave them a great textured look.  The little badges are American Crafts Flair in Eeek! (the skull) and Boo! (Jack-o-Lantern and Date) and the orange, black and white tape is Queen and Co. Trendy Tape.  

A Little Sneak...

I hope everyone is have a wonderful weekend!  The boy is feeling good again!!  Thanks to everyone who left the sweet messages wishing him well!!
Since he is up and about again, I thought I would post a sneak peek of a Halloween layout that I am working on of last Halloween's pictures.  This is going to be a two-page layout, and it's taking a little longer than usual because of that layered chevron pattern that I am putting together.  I saw it on Madeline Fox's blog and knew I would have to try it out soon.  :o)

For the most part I am liking how the layout is coming together, but am glad that I don't have to submit this to anyone, because all of the patterned papers came out of my stash, have NO identifying markers on them, and are at least six years old.  Hey, but at least I am using them.

A little time out...

Taking a moment to check in and say I'm sorry that I haven't had much time to post here this week... The little man has been sick all week and has spiked a fever around 102 pretty much every day.  I took him to the doctor yesterday and they think it's a virus, so we just have to wait it out.  All of that to say, I haven't had time to create ANYTHING!  It's a bummer, but little man comes first and he wants me to sit on the couch and watch the Incredibles and Cars.  :)

Hopefully, he gets to feeling better soon (and stops drooling on the couch cover.  :) )  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoys the great weather (we are even supposed to have good weather here in Houston for a change.)

Good Life

Here is another layout using the supplies (the Roller Rink kit and the Toe Stop add-on) I got from Studio Calico this month.  I really have gone a long way to knocking this kit out.  I only have a few (like 3-4) of papers that I haven't cut up at all.  Will be gone before I know it.

**Updated to load a better picture than I was able to take last night.**  The picture on this one isn't great, but Sam has been sick the last couple of days so I had to take the picture tonight while he was asleep, and hope for the best.  I think it turned out pretty cute, and came together pretty quickly.  Everything except for the labels came from the kit.

My Boy

I don't get to use flowers very often, since it's just me and five boys (Eddie, Sam and the three male dogs), but I thought that the colors in this paper and the pinky color of Sam's shirt would work okay.
I used the Studio Calico "Toe Stop" add-on kit for most of the elements here.  The doily item was actually cut off of another paper in the kit.  I used a little Diamond glaze on the flowers on the doily to give them a little dimension and pop.  I really like the way this one turned out.

There were so many dimensional elements to this layout, I thought this would be a good angle to show it from as well.  :)

This in no way the best picture of me ever taken (I think we had only been awake long enough to get dressed) but I really love how happy the two of us look in this one.  I perfected taking self-pictures with a point-and-shoot so long ago (I started with film) and it sure has come in handy through the years!  :)

Hello Pines

I have been a busy little Mama this week, so I have a couple more layouts to post today.  :)  Here is one I did using some of the Amy Tangerine "Ready Set Go" papers, some elements from the Creative Imaginations "Studio Basics 101" line and some of the embellishments from this month's Studio Calico main kit.  

This first day of school was so awesome, that I am glad that I got so many pictures to remember it.    They eased the kids in to the idea of school by only going half a day the first couple of days.  Sam was sort of apprehensive to us leaving at first, but never really did cry, and was happy to see us when we returned.  He really is a great and confident little boy.  :)

Up Close on the left side:

Up close on the left: 

The Bird's Nest at Discovery Green

In August, Eddie actually had a trial in town (SUCH a rarity for us.  :)) and needed to go down to the courthouse to move some things around so Sam and I went along for the ride.  After we were done with that quick errand, we decided to go check out Discovery Green and let Sam play on the playground there.  Here are some of the pictures that I took of him playing on the "Bird's Nest" which is basically a huge circle of criss-crossed straps that he had so much fun running across.  

This layout is done with this month's Studio Calico "Roller Rink" kit.  The Subway Art element is pieced together from an advertisement that I saved from a couple of years ago when I worked downtown.  I just knew I would have something to use it on eventually!  :) 

Two posts in one day??  I know!  Unheard of.  :)  Having a boy, I don't really get to use flowers very much, but I had this paper in my stash (Deja Views Mango Flower Medley) and thought it wasn't too girly and would look good with a beach picture.

My New Lovely Desk!

Just a quick update to let you know my newest find!!  I went to the church rummage sale on Friday, and found this adorable desk!  It only cost me $40 and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!  

 When we found out that we were going to have Sam, we had to turn our office/scrap room into a nursery for him, so I have been working out of a hall closet on the dining room table, which was not ideal.  This desk still needs a little work (I really need to replace all of the hardware, I just don't think that the current stuff does the desk justice.  The roll-top is PERFECT for my needs, because I can stop mid-project if necessary (as you can see in the picture below, that's what I did last night with the Amy Tangerine stuff I was working with before bed) and roll the top down and then Sam cannot access anything and it has room for my laptop as well.  Since it's in the front room of my house, it also allows me to hide my creative mess if people come to the house.  Plus, as you can see the wall hanging in the top photo (which I made, and may have to do a post on here in the future), I already had turquoise elements to the decor in this room, (please excuse the horrible shade on the lamp - the lamp was a recent refurbish project - it use to be brassy toned - and I haven't gotten a new shade yet!) so the new lovely desk actually fit in.  :)  Organization is still a work in progress, but isn't it always?  :)

First Shoes layout

We are back in town, and I got some time last night to sit down and play with some more paper last night! I was using another older kit from Cocoa Daisy and had a lot of fun remembering my little boy when he was chubbier and still looked like a baby. :). I am posting this from my phone, so I will have to update later with products used, etc. enjoy!

A New Page (with some Older Pictures)

We have been out of town for a couple of days, but here is a page that I did right before I left last week.  I used some of an old Cocoa Daisy kit (from November 2008) plus some little things from my stash.   

The letters spelling "Friends" are actually some of those foam letters that you get from the seasonal aisle at HL and they were white but I thought that was too harsh for the page, so I rubbed them with a blending foam and Distress Ink in Walnut Stain.  I also didn't like the background paper being so bright white, so I inked the edges with the Peeled Paint distress ink and brushed the ink pad across the paper to give it some character.

Paper:  DCWV (white) Crate Paper (green) Embellishments:  Crate Paper and My Mind's Eye
Ribbon: Prima Ink: Tim Holtz

It's not my favorite layout that I've ever done, but it makes me happy enough.  It was fun to remember a good night with good friends!  With that, I am off!

Baby Frame Before and After

I finally got around to filling up this great frame that Nana got for Sam.  I got all of the pictures figured out and put in the frame and loved the way it looked!  But, when I went to put it on the white wall in the hallway the whole thing just sort of disappeared into the wall.  So, it was spray paint to the rescue!!  :)

Before:

I took the frame into the backyard, and after a few coats of Metallic Charcoal RustOleum, and it had the right "pop" to stand out in the hallway!
After:

Super Cute Card

I have been working with one of my "stashed" kits as part of the "Kit-tastic" class over at Big Picture classes and used some of my scraps from Cocoa Daisy's "A Winter's Eve" kit from November 2008 to create this cute card.  :)

Using this kit has really started getting me out of the rut that I have been in for a while.  I can't wait to start getting the layouts rolling!  :)

Just a little introduction!

Hello!  I have decided that in addition to the family blog, I want a little place of my own where I can post about my current projects that I am working on.  As anyone that knows me knows, I am always working on something!!  This may be scrapbook, sewing, or home decor related, but this will be the place for it to be seen!  :)  Welcome and I hope you enjoy!