SMASH Sunday - One Little Word

I added two more page spreads to my One Little Word SMASH book this past week. For the first one, I went with a "home" theme and peach/green/black color palette:

I recently picked up a bunch of Basic Grey goodies, so you'll see those all over my pages today. This page also features some Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic, as well as a vintage playing card. I thought the blueprint tag and the home bingo card were perfect.

And see this flair? Isn't it great?! You can find a whole set of One Little Word flair in the A Flair for Buttons shop here.

The next pages shift to a pink/kraft color palette. More Basic Grey, as well as an envelope saved from the trash.

I went with a "bird" theme for these pages. I wanted this spread to be encouraging, so the thought of "singing" was a great sentiment to add.

You can see more photos in my flickr photostream. Thanks for stopping by! My next SMASH Sunday post is just two weeks away. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Tessa

Simply Wonderful - The Studio, MLK, Jr. Day

A new sketch challenge is up at The Studio! Here's my take:

I've had this pair of instagram photos printed for awhile, and this sketch was the perfect spark for a two-photo page.

I used mostly bits and pieces from recent Studio Calico kits. I don't think I'll ever tire of those KI Memories banner stickers (title). I love those things!

If you would like to play along with The Studio, you can find the challenge details here. The Studio is a fun bunch of international girls, so if you like to see a great variety of styles and personalities, it's is a good place to be :).

On a non-scrappy note, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the US. My boys and I have been discussing his contributions to society all weekend. One of my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quotations is this:

Thinking of my 2013 One Little Word - best - I am finding that many of his words inspire me to be my best. This quote about faith inspires me to have more, comforts me to know that I don't have to see the big picture, and makes me grateful for people who did their best to make the world a better place. U2 is my favorite band, and I always think of this song on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Enjoy :).

Have a good one! Tessa

SMASH Sunday - One Little Word

I'm excited to be starting up my SMASH Sunday posts again! I resolved to do this on a regular basis this year, so you will be seeing a SMASH Sunday post twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. To kick 2013 off I am sharing the start of my One Little Word SMASH book:

My One Little Word for this year is BEST.

This is the title page. It's a mix of all sorts of bits and pieces that have been hanging around in my scrapbook room. One of the things I am determined to do with my SMASH books this year is to use my stash.

I'll buy something that I fall in love with, but I pledge to shop my stash first. This also includes being creative with leftovers from my everyday life. I've already saved an opened envelope from this week's mail and a tag from a pair of new jeans.

I haven't decided what's going in the little envelope yet. And that's okay. I can always come back to it.

Here are pages one and two. I left the right side pretty much untouched other than a rhinestone, some washi and some mist splatter. I liked it as is.

The left side is another story :). I used a Jenni Bowlin postcard for some journaling, and doesn't that Dear Lizzy hello tag make a great accent for the first page? The flowers are fussy cut from one of my favorite DCWV stacks.

Here are pages three and four.

I based this spread on the quotation: "Do what you love. Love what you do." I have learned that I do my best when I love what I'm doing. Sometimes I have to get creative to make myself fall in love with all the things I have to do, but in the end, it's worth it. One thing that's easy to love is my job - teaching dance.

The image on the left is a thank you card from a student. Isn't that little girl adorable? The card reminds me of why I love what I do, so I thought it would be the perfect anchor piece for this page. And the orange/pink/green combo was really fun to work with!

One of my favorite parts is the glassine envelope filled with orange and green sequins. I've had those sequins in my stash for years - at least five! It felt great to finally use them, especially in such a cute way.

So, that's it! I plan to share this SMASH book with you often, but I will likely revisit some of my other books, too. I hope your weekend has been great! Thanks for stopping by today :). Tessa

SMASH Sunday is back!

By popular demand (and because I really, really want to), SMASH Sunday is back! I hope you'll stop by tomorrow to check out my newest SMASH book adventure :).

See you tomorrow! Tessa

Handmade Gift Pledge 2012

Last January while Facebook surfing, I came across a handmade gift pledge. You probably saw it, too. The one that said:

Pay it forward 2012: I, (your name goes here), will give something handmade by me to the first 5 friends who leave a comment here. They must in turn, post this on their status and send something to the first 5 friends who comment on their status. The rules are that it must be handmade and delivered in 2012!

I don't always get caught up in these kinds of things, but this one sounded fun. I commented on my friend, Diana's post and then posted on my own page. I quickly got my five friends and after a few days of thought, I knew what I wanted to make. It was something new, something I hadn't made before. Problem was, I was really busy. I thought I could put it off until summer. Summer came and went. Then I figured once school was in full swing I would be able to find time. Ha! That never happened. Determined to stick to my promise, I finally went to the craft store to pick up what I needed at the beginning of December. I collected all of my materials in a basket and whenever I had a few minutes, I sat down to create. Over a couple of weeks I was able to finish all six (I made one for Diana, too) gifts. And here they are:

For Diana:

For Amanda:

For Audrey:

For Aubry:

For Shannon:

For Heather:

I think I had even more fun with the packaging than I did with the hoops :). I learned how to make pom-poms from yarn and went to town with a hot pink, mustard and gold color palette.

This was such a fun project! I'm really glad I didn't give up and was able to finish these before 2012 was over. There's a new Pay it Forward pledge floating around Facebook these days. Should I sign up again for 2013?

Have a great day! Tessa

Me and 2013 - The Studio

Hello! A new challenge went up at The Studio on Sunday. The theme is New Beginnings. I decided to create a layout about my enthusiasm for the new year:

I used the January kit, Only You, from Scrapbook Circle. My favorite piece of paper in the whole kit is that large green chevron. I edged the chevrons with gold washi tape from a previous kit. I pulled the star sequins and brads from my stash.

I love the "me" cutout. The Only You kit is filled with different phrases like that. Can you tell I'm still on a bit of a gold kick? :)

I didn't have a current photo of myself for the layout, so I snapped one really quick in my craft room using instagram. No make-up. Unwashed hair thrown in a messy bun. Thank goodness for black and white and tiny photos ;).

If you'd like to play along at The Studio, the details are here. And if you'd like to pick up one of these amazing Scrapbook Circle kits, you can find them here. Have a great day! Tessa

Celebrate This - Epiphany Crafts

With the start of a new year, we are celebrating at Epiphany Crafts! I get to kick off this fun week on the blog today with this layout of our sister trip to San Diego:

On my sister's birthday we went to the San Diego Zoo. We started the day with a tour of the park, and this is us on the top of the bus. The driver sang Caitlin Happy Birthday (well, kind of - his own goofy version) over his loud speaker. It was funny, and I wanted to document that moment on a page.

I used Epiphany Crafts' pennant tool to create arrows to accent my title and lead your eye to the journaling. I simply cut the corners off of the flat end.

I also used Epiphany Crafts' vintage charms in red to create the fun red flowers with yellow centers. I love those charms!

Speaking of Epiphany Crafts, have you seen their new products? Debuting this weekend at CHA, Epiphany Crafts will now offer a HEXAGON tool and bubble caps! I am so excited for this shape! And that's not all. They've introduced more charms for the jewelry makers - rhinestone circles and squares! Be sure to stop by the blog to check it all out :). Have a great day! Tessa

SEI Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who visited and left such sweet comments about my latest SEI projects. It was really fun to see some new faces, meet new followers, and to read that I'm not the only one who needs a little help organizing those printed recipes :). Random.org has selected a winning comment. Is it you?

Congratulations, Cheryl! Please email me at precociouspaper (at) yahoo (dot) com with your shipping information and I will pass that on to SEI. 

I have a Precocious Paper giveaway starting tomorrow, so be sure to stop by. If you love flowers and you love Valentine's Day, you'll definitely want to enter :). Have a great Friday! Tessa

Lego Star Wars Mini Album - A Flair for Buttons

Hello! Happy New Year! I'm kicking off 2013 here at the blog with a post featuring my new favorite project - this Lego Star Wars mini album featuring flair from A Flair for Buttons:

As soon as I saw this flair in the shop, I had to have it to document my boys' love for all things Lego Star Wars.

The cover features no one other than Darth Vader himself, along with a Star Wars tag. About a week before putting this album together, my little guy asked me to cut out the tag in his shirt because it was itchy. I knew it would be perfect for the album!

I put the album together by cutting two pieces of chipboard to 4 x 6 inches for the cover, gluing patterned papers back to back, and including two pockets (graph and manila). I kept the recipe simple, too: a piece of flair, a wood veneer speech bubble, and washi tape.

The flair is so cute and perfect that I really didn't need anything else.

The best part is that not only does A Flair for Buttons carry the set I used for this album, but also three other sci-fi collections! You can find them all here. I've got photos of the whole album in my flickr photostream here, if you'd like to take a look. I hope the New Year is treating you well :). Wishing you the best, Tessa