Happy Halloween & the Gardeners' Digest WINNER!!

I hope you have a wonderful Halloween today (if you celebrate Halloween). It's supposed to be lovely today--one of the warmest Halloween's I've ever experienced. In between packing, working, and getting ready to fly out to CKU, I plan to attend my son's school party and costume parade. Then later in the evening, we'll hit a few streets for some trick-or-treating. We're pretty excited this year.

I also wanted to announce the winner of the Gardeners' Digest blog hop from my blog. The winner is . . .

And Rachel won the following prize:

Thanks to all who participated and took the time to leave a comment! Look for our next blog hop on November 22nd!

2Peas Project: Noted This Week

Sometimes I just need to challenge myself when working on a layout. I simply need a little bit bigger of a push to get something done or to record a memory. For this layout, I gave myself a tool challenge. I challenged myself to use stamps, die cuts, and embossing folders. I love all three of those tool types, but sometimes once they're put away I forget I have them.

In order to showcase the different tools I cut out a page of hearts using my Silhouette machine. Then I "filled" the hearts with paper that was embossed, stamped, and I even included patterned paper. I had a lot of fun with this layout, and it reminded me to use some tools that I truly do love. Now I just need to keep them out where I can see them so I'll use them again!

Here's the completed layout:

Here's a close-up photo of the layout:

To see more photos of this project, be sure to check it out at 2Peas HERE!

Below are the products (and some additional suggested tools) you could use to recreate a similar layout. Do you have products like these already on hand? Perhaps you're looking for some new patterns or shapes to add to your tool set. Either way, give yourself a similar challenge to use some tools you already have on hand.

Suggested Products (click photos for links to the products):

InLinkz.com

Hurricane Sandy

Watching the beast of a storm very carefully. This looks to be a monster, and I'm so worried about all my East Coast friends.

I'm supposed to be flying out this weekend to teach at CKU Stamford. I'm not sure yet what will happen on that. I just want everyone to be safe: no one stranded at airports or hotels without power. I'm waiting to hear what CK decides to do.

In the meantime, I'll be praying and worrying about all those in the monster storms' path. Be safe, everyone!

Fall Fever

I have always felt that fall doesn't last quite long enough. When I start to notice the color on the mountains, I'm typically neck deep in school preparations. When I start to see the leaves within town changing color, my kids are too busy to be bothered for photos. Then suddenly I start to see newscasts that predict snow, and I start to panic a bit. I LOVE fall. Fall here is absolutely gorgeous. Near our home is a river with a beautiful walkway filled with Cottonwood trees. And while my allergies hate those trees in the spring and summer, I love them in the fall. This is what you'll see as you walk the pathway:

One afternoon, a lovely friend of mine posted a photo of hers on Facebook taken on this very walkway. The lighting was perfect! So without thinking too much about it, I picked up both kids from school and stopped to take some photos. I'm glad I did. Although it was crazy windy, I ended up with some lovely shots and memories.

James looks rather carefully down at the river. (He gets his fear of heights from his mother.)

Katelyn had just kissed James, and he is recovering. I promised not to show that picture (at least for now), but she's quite pleased with herself.

This is the one Katelyn chose for her Facebook profile photo. She specifically wanted one with her little brother. How sweet is that?

And I love the movement in this one. She was worried about wearing a pony tail, but I like capturing her at every angle. She's a beautiful girl full of sweetness and fun. (James had fallen down during the chase and was trying to crawl away from her as quickly as possible to avoid more kisses and photos of kisses. You have to love having a big sister who adores you.)

Sometimes it's just about making time. I definitely need to do more of that.

Memory Keeping Monday: Wonderful You!

Yes. I recognize it's not Monday; however, it seems a bit like Monday with all that I've had going on these days. I've been busily packing up kits for CKU- Stamford. I hope I'll get to meet some of you there! I've been prepping for a big release for Echo Park Paper. I've been working on my upcoming holiday blog posts. (I'm a little bit excited for Christmas now from seeing all the projects I've got to share with you!)

Today's project is a layout called "Wonderful You." This layout combines several manufacturers' products to create one layout. It's soft and feminine with touches of modern elements. My approach? I start "shopping" my own stash to find paper and embellishments that will work well together. Then I lay it all out and print the photo in the exact size that I need. This particular layout focuses on the personality of my niece, Zadie. Here is the layout:

Here's a close-up photo of the layout (you can find more photos of this project HERE):

Here's the helpful start-to-finish video featuring this layout:



Looking for more ways to document your stories? Looking for a new spin on sharing your thoughts? Be sure to check out my "Words Unsaid" journaling mini workshop for 2Peas. It focuses on layouts just like this! Whether you want to document the every day or whether you want to focus on a special event, this workshop shows you several new approaches for creative journaling design. This class includes 30 NEW layouts, 3 helpful videos, and a beautiful instructional PDF.

Check out this $12 Journaling Workshop HERE!

Below are the suggested products for the "Memory Keeping Monday" layout. Add a 6x6 paper pad or two to your stash for a great resource for grid design. Add some mistable stickers from Studio Calico for some easy-to-customize embellishments.

Product Suggestions (click photos for links to the products):

InLinkz.com