Quotes Portfolio - SMASH Sunday

Hello! I started a new portfolio. I bought another pink Pretty Style portfolio and have made it my quotes book. I collect favorite quotes in notebooks, art prints for my home, and on my Words board on Pinterest. I decided it was time to house them in a SMASH book, too. So, last night after Addie went to bed, I made a few pages:

First up, this colorful page. I just reorganized my SMASH book cart (the raskog IKEA cart), and I realized just how many die-cuts I have. I decided to use up some by creating a grid of die cuts at the top of this page. The die-cuts are by Basic Grey and DCWV. DCWV needs to put out a package of just typewriter die-cuts. I think I'm all out now :(.

Some of my favorite parts of this page are 1) the paint chip, 2) the polka dot bag, 3) the orangey-red woodgrain washi tape with hearts (Freckled Fawn).

My next page is this mosaic quote page made with Love My Tapes washi, fabric and lace tapes (plus a couple of other washi tapes I had in my stash):

You can read more about this page on the Love My Tapes blog today.

The third page I made is one of the bird pages in the book. I instantly thought of one of my favorite quotes about flying, which led to a quote about challenges and the sticker quote about dreams. I left spaces for more quotes to be added later, as I find the right ones.

The birds on a wire are cut from a piece of a Hambly transparency. I am hoarding the last bit of that sheet, as well as some others. I'm so sad they aren't in business anymore. I saved the gold floral die-cut from a project I did several weeks ago. I punched birds from the same gold foil paper (Chickaniddy Crafts) and placed them in the glassine bag. On the opposite page, I used the negative from punches.

You can see more photos of these pages in my flickr photostream. Thanks for visiting for SMASH Sunday! Tessa

SMASH Sunday - Love My Tapes

Hello! Today I am sharing another page from my couple selfie smash book, the book all about selfies that my husband and I take together. You've seen today's pictures before in layouts, but I wanted to be sure to add these to this smash book because they are in my top favorite pictures of us.

I used a combination of Project Life cards and American Crafts patterned paper. The fabric rose stickers have been in my stash for years (so happy to finally "let go" and use them!). The butterfly (top left), hashtag stamps and "forever" stamp are Heidi Swapp. The striped journaling card and black and white rectangle (top right) are from Scrapbook Circle. The gray flag on the top photo is Elle's Studio. The yellow alphas are Sassafras Lass (I miss them!). The washi tapes are from Love My Tapes.

I tend to go big with washi tape, using bits here and there and everywhere. This time, though, I went for more of a peek-a-boo technique. I saved the washi tape for last as a way to add color in places that I thought needed it. I used two tapes - pink scalloped and aqua hearts - to attach the bottom photo. The aqua brought out the aqua of my necklace in the photo and contrasted with the pink "me & you" card. By layering the aqua over the pink at the top of the photo, I got the benefit of both colors without the pink being too strong.

Over here, I used more of the heart tape to put a contrasting color between the yellow polka dot card and the yellow rose sticker. Because I had used a pink butterfly on the yellow card, the aqua tape was a great compliment and a good way to coordinate with the neighboring aqua-colored card.

Here I used pink scalloped washi tape between layers of patterned paper and a doily. The blue-green leaves of the rose sticker called for the pink tape, again to balance colors and bring out the pink in the patterned paper.

I have to say my favorite part of this page is my title. I don't always add a title, but this was perfect. I cut this phrase out of a magazine awhile back. I "bubble cut" (as my kids say - they learned this term at school for when you cut just slightly outside of the lines instead of on the line) around the letters so that as much of my background as possible could show through. My journaling talks about how we may not have a lot of material things, but we are still richly blessed.

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Smash Sunday - Love My Tapes - Date Night

Hello! Thanks for joining me for another Smash Sunday post. I've been playing in my blue retro portfolio again, the one I've dedicated to selfies of the hubby and me together. Since it's father's day, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate the father of my children :).

This is a photo from a date night we had in April. We ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant, then did a little shopping.

Some of my dancers spoiled me with an end-of-the-year present - a gift card to Michaels. I made a dent in it this week and came home with this fun haul. I used the Dear Lizzy paper on these pages, as well as some of the Project Life cards and a bow. The rest came from my stash or from Love My Tapes.

The green and red washi tape is from Love My Tapes. I love the dots and circles :). The lace tape is also from Love My Tapes, as well as the fabric tape that I used to create ruffles. For more on how to make the ruffles, see the Love My Tapes blog today.

I had a lot of fun with my rub-on stash, too. I believe all these borders are by Basic Grey, but they're several years old. They still work beautifully and I am so sad to be almost out.

You can find all of my SMASH book pages on my flickr photostream here. You can also follow me on instagram for more scrapbooking and smashing stuff. Thank you for visiting, and I hope you have a wonderful week! Tessa

SMASH Sunday - Cheap Thrills + a Sale

Hello and happy Sunday! Today I am sharing from my blue retro portfolio. Last time I shared from this book, I wasn't sure which direction it was going in. Now, I know. This is going to be my hubby & me selfie book. I think this will be a great way to collect all of our date nights and us moments in one place. So, for the second set of pages in this book, here we go:

We took this photo at the Train concert that we went to last summer. I already scrapbooked a layout about it here, but I had an extra print of our selfie and this purple-pink page was perfect for it. I used lots of Heidi Swapp goodies from my Scrapbook Circle May kits - acetate tickets, acetate butterflies, glitter heart polaroid frame, acetate hearts.

One of my favorite details is the glassine envelope filled with sequins. I wanted some sparkle, but I wanted it to be muted like the bokeh paper on the right. Plus, it's fun to tip the book and watch the sequins move around.

I picked up some Project Life mini kits and this "admit one" card is my first Project Life addition to my SMASH books. I love the variety of cards and I'm sure I'll use them often.

Mini staples are my favorite way to attach acetate pieces. Just be sure you don't staple through too many pages of your SMASH book ;).

Oh yes, I mentioned a sale in my post title! Before the baby arrived, I turned my scrapbook room into a nursery. One wall is an Expedit unit from Ikea and that now houses almost all of my supplies (I kept the closet for my scrappy stuff, too). Now that I've had some time to experiment with how I store my supplies in the Expedit, I've decided to only have on hand what will fit, and that will help me keep my stash down to what I am likely to actually use ;).

So, I pulled a lot of great stuff from my shelves and have listed it in my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper. Almost everything is brand new, still in its package. You'll find alphabets, stickers, stamps, embellishments, tags, journaling cards, etc. Leftovers from Studio Calico and Scrapbook Circle kits. Extras from manufacturer exchange projects. I also put together some great SMASH kits, filled with die-cuts, pocket cards, journaling spots and more from a huge variety of manufacturers and lines, all ready for your smashing pleasure.

You can find all of these goodies in the "destash" section of my shop here. Every fifth item from the "destash" section is free (refund via PayPal within 24 hours). AND, just for you lovely readers, use code SMASHSUNDAY to receive an additional 10% off of the already discounted prices (and everything else in the shop, too).

Happy shopping, and thanks for stopping by for another SMASH Sunday! Tessa

SMASH Sunday - Love My Tapes

Hello! Today's pages come from my couture portfolio:

I was drawn to the green background pages because I just received a few fabulous green tapes in my design team box from Love My Tapes (polka dots and damask). The two shades of green match the watercolor greens on the opposite page perfectly.

I also used my Love My Tapes tapes to create flag paperclips. For an easy tutorial, see the Love My Tapes blog today.

I kept these pages fairly simple because I didn't want to cover up much of the background. Matting my photo with a tag was simple and cute.

On this side you see a magazine cut-out (hello) and some fun Basic Grey alphas. I love the Maggie Holmes photo frames and this one was a perfect fit.

Be sure to stop by the Love My Tapes blog for my post. Their new website will be up and running soon! Thanks for stopping by today. Tessa

SMASH Sunday - Silver Selfie Book + a Tutorial

Hello! Last week I shared on instagram that I picked up a couple of new SMASH books - the silver couture style portfolio and the large pocket portfolio. I couldn't let them sit untouched long and started the silver book. I've decided to make it my "selfie" book. I only take a selfie when I need a new headshot for facebook or a blog, so it may be a challenge to fill a whole book, but I think it will be fun. This is the first page I did, with my latest selfie:

I LOVE the yellow and fuchsia! The fuchsia was a perfect match for my selfie and I love yellow, so this page came together fast. I layered pieces of patterned paper from my scraps drawer, magazine clippings (the giant flower), and washi for the right side.

On the left, I added a polka dot glassine bag, another magazine clipped flower, thread, washi, and an old Elle's Studio tag (love those things! Still hoarding a bunch...). I left the rest of the page as is because I didn't want to cover up the gorgeous illustration. Plus, there were the perfect little spots for journaling. I only added mist splatters.

I couldn't stop at just one page, so I also created this one:

I love the combination of orange and green (can you tell I'm drawn to color?). The left page reads "looks I love", so I smashed some magazine clippings and stickers and then journaled about why I love those things.

The right page was just the sketch of the face, and I didn't want to cover up very much, so I kept my design to the right edge as much as I could: some patterned paper, my selfie, washi, word tiles and Prima flowers.

I didn't have any flowers that would match the orange/yellow across the page spread, so I decided to make my own. A new instagram friend recently asked for Color Shine tips, and this is an easy one with fabulous results:

Make sure you let the flowers dry before shutting them into your book. I used three and spread them out this way not only for the design but also to help the page stay as flat as possible when the book is closed to avoid warping.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Feel free to visit my flickr photostream for more shots of these pages, as well as my SMASH book Pinterest board for more inspiration. You can follow me on instagram here, too. Have a good one! Tessa

Smash Sunday - Hi There

Hello! I started a new SMASH book this past week - the light blue, retro portfolio. This one features bright colors, fun designs, and quirky images and phrases. I decided to get started on this book when I opened up the May kit from Scrapbook Circle, High Five. I absolutely love this kit (and the two add-ons that are also available)! It's filled with Basic Grey's Highline collection, new Heidi Swapp, Amy Tangerine, Pink Paislee and other bright papers and embellishments. It was fun to work with bright pink and orange, yellow and green:

Everything you see except for the thread, mist and washi tape is from the main kit or add-ons. The left side barely had any pink on it, so to pull that color across, I used the mask from the kit and some Color Shine. I filled a few of the circles with patterned paper (my 1 inch circle punch came in handy!).

The "Hi there" tag is an exclusive design from Scrapbook Circle, available only in the kit. I embellished the sweetness tag with thread and a puffy heart by Heidi Swapp. The camera sticker is Amy Tangerine (and super cute!). The date stamp is also an exclusive design by Scrapbook Circle for the kit. I want to make more of an effort to date my pages with the dates that I create them. I think this stamp will help!

The right side is more about stickers and paper. The patterned paper is from the Highline 6x6 paper pad. The speech bubble stickers, corner sticker and flower sticker are also Highline. The gold glittered polaroid frame is by Heidi Swapp.

The "you + me" is another exclusive stamp. I love the stamps that come with these kits - awesome quality and the kind of designs and phrases you can use again and again. I also traced inside the pre-printed "like this" words.

If you'd like to get your hands on this kit and the add-ons, I have a coupon code for you! If you are new to Scrapbook Circle, use code tessa20off to get 20% off of your first order. If you are a current subscriber, use the code to get 20% off of add-ons and extras in the shop. You will LOVE the add-ons for May, so hurry and pick them up! Find Scrapbook Circle here, the main kit here, an add-on here, and the other add-on here.

Thanks for stopping by today! I feel more bright SMASH pages coming on :). Have a good one! Tessa