My Guilty Pleasure

I missed the deadline to enter this at Once Upon a Sketch, by minutes I think!! Arg...that is what being a zombie after a night up with small children does to you! She was better by morning, but I was dragging! I really did have fun pulling out some flowers and photographing my drawer of flowery goodness though, so am still glad I did it.

Here is the gorgeous sketch:

The theme this month was Guilty Pleasures :) I decided buying scrappy supplies and quite possibly my flowers were my guiltiest pleasure at the moment. While chatting with a scrappy friend online I said, "Geesh I have a crazy amount of flower packs, I bet I have 50!!" Well, I started counting them and got to 110...on the first row of two in the overstuffed drawer! And I don't buy flowers anymore...very often!! I swear!

I used my June C'est Magnifique kit, full of Maja Designs Spring Basics, gorgeous flowers and embellies. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

First Communion Preparations

I am so excited to say this layout is being
published in a print magazine, my first ever!! 

I did this layout for the Once Upon a Sketch May Challenge to use their sketch and a number somewhere in the layout. Here is their gorgeous sketch:

I covered my bases pretty well using numbers with a "1" sticker, the title First Communion Preparations and with the date! My journaling is hidden on the back side, where I say: "This is my favorite photo of you on your Communion Day. You look beautiful and I can see a rare smile from you in the mirror's reflection". I am so proud of you my baby girl!"

I used my Scraps of Elegance kit Prima Fairy Rhyme paper and just love the May Arts ribbon and gorgeous die cut doilies from Gina's Designs that are in the kit. I used a stencil and modeling paste, lots of Prima flowers and a trinket.

Don't you just love the Molossi chipboard dress form? So big and beautiful! I applied gesso to it then cream colored acrylic paint. I stamped a script stamp on the dress form in Victorian Velvet and Broken China Distress Inks.

I'd also love to enter this in the Zeus and Zoe challenge and the Berry71Bleu challenge.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look!

The Best Day

I used my gorgeous April C'est Magnifique kit to do this layout, Pion Alma's Sewing Room, Prima Engraver chipboard and some gorgeous Cheery Lynn die cuts (I have four here: the Lace Light Deco Border, Celtic Whimsy, Mini Fanciful Flourish and Cuties 2), there is also some gorgeous Prima flowers and vine pieces, antique buttons and lace from the kit...

I have used the gorgeous Once Upon a Sketch sketch and the theme of Best Day, using journal strips this time... One our BEST DAYS?? The day our family was complete, the birth of my second daughter Aisling!

I'd also love to enter this in the Cheery Lynn Purple challenge, and the Scrap for Help book paper challenge

Love Never Ages

This photo is of my great grandparents, gone long before I was born, but isn't it a great photo, they both look like such fun characters and still in love after all their years together! I journalled a bit about who they are in the tag behind the photo.

I stamped with my Timmy chicken wire stamp and part of the title, using some transparency film from a report cover. The papers are all Pion as well as the fussy cut butterflies. I used a gorgeous Prima vine, a Dusty Attic chipboard lamp that I embossed with Midnight Obsidian Pewter Lindy's embossing powder, and finally some Zva Creative bling. I had a great time doing the paper ruffles having recently been inspired by some of Gabbie Pollacco's layouts like this one here.

I would like to enter this in the OUAS sketch challenge, it was based on this gorgeous sketch:

I was looking back on my blog and I haven now been playing at OUAS every month for a year now. I love Nadia's sketches and think I have learned and grown from all the DT's inspirational layouts and fellow challenge players, such amazing work shown there each month!

I am also entering this in the Pion Valentine challenge and the Inkido black and white challenge, I have done several entries there, 3 actually, since they said you can and I do lots of black and white photos!!

Believe

I'm excited to say this was featured at Berry71Bleu website for the January challenge!

This layout is a very personal one for me...It is about my struggles with my weight and my self confidence and choosing this year to finally break free from the negative images I have of myself and my abilities and soar. The photo behind the birdcage is one my daughter took of me just before I started to work on this layout, and the photo above is a photo of me at a healthier weight and much more content...I can get there again!  I found papercrafting in 2011 and started really focusing on layouts instead of cards this past summer in 2012. I feel I have improved since my start, but am always doubting myself. This year I choose to ignore those feelings of self doubt and continue to follow my heart and find my own style by exploring!

I have done well this first month with my weight loss, but I could still make better choices. I believe I will succeed, but I have to continue to believe in myself. It isn't easy, but in 2013 I am ready to believe in myself!

Here is the gorgeous sketch from Nadia that I used:

I rotated once to the right...

I have used some gorgeous Ruby Rock It Mother Nature papers, lots of fun metal and other embellies from my stash, fussy cut elements, and lovely chipboard lettering... Thanks so much for taking the time to stop and look!

I am entering this into the Once Upon a Sketch challenge, the Berry71Bleu all about me challenge, and the Zeus and Zoe one word challenge.