Geometric

Hello? Anybody still here? It's been forever since I've stopped in or done anything social media related. Shame on me! But I won't pretend it hasn't been a relief - blogging, facebooking, instagraming, etc. I barely have time for creating these days and I certainly don't want to spend those few spare moments online, kwim?

But I am here today to share the challenge Liz and I prepared for this week on the Pink by Design blog - Geometric. It's been a big trend for a while now but really the basic shapes never go out of style :) Whether you like circles, triangles, hexagons or squares, link up for a chance at $10 to spend in the PBD store.

I had fun playing with tangrams for this card and used the Lucky half pint stamp set.

And this circle one using the Spectacular set. I went a little inky and embossed the glasses in a masked circle then shaded with the Sweet Sixteen Colorbox Pigment Ink Queue. The glasses die cut was embellished with some Smooch accent ink. I might even be warming up to the color purple :)

 And finally a birthday mini book with the Love With You Is half pint stamp set. I layered lots of scrap paper squares to get a fun mix of prints on the cover piece and then repeated stamped the sentiments from this set on the larger cover paper for a subtle design. Inside are patterned paper sheets, tabbed pages and journaling paper for adding notes. 

You can find the post to link up your take on the Geometric trend here.

Paper Issues is celebrating owner and paper slinger extraordinaire Cassie's birthday all this week! Check us out on Facebook - she is giving away over 25 prizes! Woot!! Also stop by the PI blog for the new theme sponsored by Elle's Studio.

Clearsnap just announced their mid season releases in the last weeks - new colors of Smooch Accent Ink as well as the new pigment ink colors in Cat's Eye form. Lots of good stuff! Check them all out here.

My baby bunny is now 7 months old. He is working so hard on getting mobile but every time he tries to crawl he goes backwards. It's pretty cute but he gets so frustrated! Starting to pull himself up and working on the 2 front teeth as well. Add in the separation anxiety phase and we have a baby who does not want to nap or sleep at night. That leaves one tired mama!

The big kids are getting excited for summer and I am too! See you again in a few weeks maybe :)

I'm Fawning For You

Welcome to the latest Paper Issues hop - Fawning for You, so generously sponsored by Lawn Fawn!
You should have arrived here from the lovely Nina's blog, Waffleflower, but if this is your first stop, be sure to head over to Paper Issues and start at the beginning!

I put together this card using the Flutter By stamp set and an amazing chalkboard art technique from Betsy Veldman. Oh my gosh, so excited about this technique and am wanting to try it on every stamp set I own! I won't distract you from the hop with links but seriously, Google it when you're done hopping if you haven't already seen it!

I used Colorbox Pigment Ink in Frost White - it's the perfect opaque shade of white ink and works great for this technique!

Anyway, I thought the sentiment from this set would be great for a teacher - with the chalkboard, paper clip, file tab and staples. Lots of bright color and fun little bits. Maybe for an art teacher or just a colorful friend.

And that's all from me :)

Since this is the last stop on the hop, click over to the PI Facebook page and do the following to win a stamp set of your choice from Lawn Fawn.

1. Like Lawn Fawn on Facebook (tell them we sent you!)

2. Like Paper Issues on Facebook

3. Leave a comment

Thanks for hopping with us today! And if the hop is leaving you so inspired you want to pick up some new product to play with, drop by the Paper Shop and use my code STAMP for 20% off your entire order. :)

Also linking up to the following challenge:
Moxie Fab World - 10 Embellishments

...And She's All Mine

My sweet and lovely 4 year old. I could just smoosh her tiny face in these photos. Such a little doll and at other times a temper-throwing terror. Gaining so much independence but still prefers to hold her mama's hand. I can hardly believe she'll be going off to preschool in just a few short months.

For this layout with pics from her birthday, I had the idea swirling around in my head for months to use numbers and facts instead of regular journaling and finally was able to put it down on paper at a crop last month. (It was the only project I finished in 13 hours!)

My memory is truly terrible and I'll never remember these small facts about her in the future. Even though they are not really significant facts, it's still a fun glimpse at this moment.

I just love arranging all the little bits and embellishments "just so" and this was the first time I'd actually fully used up a kit from a year's subscription to Studio Calico. Seriously all but scraps of the paper, a few embellies and leftover alphas. Wow.

Anyway, have a wonderful Wednesday!

PBD April Release Blog Hop

Did you come here from Rebekah's blog? If not you're going to want to click here to start the hop - trust me, you don't want to miss a single stop!

Welcome to the Pink by Design April Release Blog Hop! We are glad you are joining us, to see all of the fun, new stamps that are coming out! Besides all the yummy projects, there is also some YUMMY blog candy- that you don't want to miss!

The grand prize is a Big Shot! The Big Shot is PERFECT for the new Pink by Design Dies in this release!

All you have to do to be entered for the Big Shot is leave comments on any blogs on the hop. For each comment, you will get an entry. You can also share the Stamp Release on your own blog, Facebook or Pinterest- and leave a comment telling us you did so. You can really rack up the entries this way! :)

As a bonus, I am also giving away a mini kit of goodies to one commentor! There is some good stuff from Crate, MME, Smash, Cosmo Cricket and more! All I ask is that become a follower of my blog if you aren't already.

Okay, now that we have your attention, this release I am showcasing the gorgeous new Map Background! Lots of layers on this one and perfect whether you like a vintage or modern style!

I really tried to go vintage with this layout but I can never go there completely for some reason! Sigh. To give the map a bit of a realistic look, I stamped it with Antiquing Dye Ink onto a thin paper bag, darkened the edges to give that old paper look, crumpled it up and then taped it down.

It's a great background for any travel themed project! The sentiment is from Subway Art.

You can find all the new releases in the Pink by Design store right now and don't forget to check out the new clearance section to get a few oldies before they are gone forever!

Ustream chat is tonight at 9pm CST.

Okay and that's all the info I have! Next stamp on the hop is the super sweet and talented Anna.

Easter Moments

Easter was wonderful this year and of course it all went by so fast that I was barely able to document it. The egg hunt was on and over before I even realized there was a camera around my neck and brunch was cooked, eaten, cleaned up and most everyone had left before I remembered to pull it out and capture the moment. The only pic I did take was one with the phone camera of my Easter sweetie and her basket of goodies. Oops.

I find it so hard to both document and live in the moment and wonder how so many others can do it so well. Share your secrets please!?

Last year I remembered to take lots of pics and created this 2 pager with several photos from different Easter events. My fav part is the little word banner at the bottom of the page.

Hoping your week will be just as blessed as your holiday was. Hugs.

Out of Town Daddy

Oh how we miss the man of the house. I may have mentioned it before, but the hubby has been working out of town all summer and even though we've drove out to camp with him at least every other week, things just aren't the same without him here. That said, in a lot of ways it has been good because we have really learned to cherish the time we all have together instead of bickering over petty little things. Plus we've had all kinds of outdoorsy adventures and visited many places we otherwise would never have seen.

For this page, I used a sketch by Marcy Penner for October Afternoon and lots of OA goodies from the lines Seaside, Thrift Shop, School House and Fly A Kite. Colored cardstock is really hard to use but I challenged myself to do it here and am happy with the result. Also put the white Colorbox Pigment ink to good use by doing a little stamping on the banner and top of the page. Here's the sketch...

Have a great day!