So Happy Together - Scrapbook Circle

Today I am sharing a layout on the Scrapbook Circle blog. I used the Only You kit and was inspired by the February Technique Challenge - Heart Strings:

The challenge is to include a stitched heart on a layout. I decided to go big, and I'm so glad I did. I love the look and it was actually fairly quick and easy.

First, I drew a heart lightly in pencil. Next, I pierced holes with my needle evenly around the heart.

Using three shades of pink, I stitched back and forth across the heart, somewhat randomly. I secured the ends of the thread on the back of my layout with tape.

I added my photos (love those gold foil polaroid frames!) and fussy cut flowers last.

If you'd like to join in, there's still a week left! Check out today's post here and the original challenge post here. Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Journey - Pretty Little Studio

Hello all! I love using travel-themed product as a metaphor for life - the journey, the adventures, etc. - and I did just that on this scrapbook page for Pretty Little Studio:

I used the Let's Go collection to document my little man's kindergarten graduation. You can get all the links to specific products on the Pretty Little Studio blog here.

Kindergarten for this kiddo went much differently than it did for his older brothers. It was an adventure, with a lot of learning (for him and for me) and growth. It has been interesting to watch first grade unfold and to see how he is continuing to overcome challenges and find success.

I'm off to do laundry and disinfect my house ;). I hope you're doing much better! Thanks for visiting today. Tessa

Stateside Map - DCWV

Hello! DCWV has a new collection (paper pads, alterables, embellishments) coming to JoAnn Stores called Stateside. It's all about maps, travel, and the United States. One offering from the line is a set of three maps, sized 20x36. I chose to work with the traditional style map for a nook in my livingroom:

To personalize the map, I took inspiration from this pin (totally not my idea!) and stitched around the states we've lived in.

I coordinated the thread color to the color of the state. Tip: While the map paper is great for wall art, it isn't meant for embroidery. When stitches are small (like around the Bay Area in California), your needle may tear the paper. To keep this from happening, put tape on the back side of the map before you pierce your holes. Yes, I learned the hard way!

I love the look so much that I am considering stitching all the states! Wouldn't that be even more fabulous on the wall?

Check out my post on the DCWV blog here, as well as more Stateside inspiration from the design team. Look for Stateside at JoAnn stores soon! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful week :). Tessa

C'est La Vie Spiral Notebook - Pink Paislee

The C'est La Vie collection by Pink Paislee includes this gorgeous notebook, not unlike their Christmas-themed notebook or Memorandum notebook. I love them all, but I especially love this one because of the chic floral touches.

I decided to make a gift out of this one, a quote book that I would fill with special sentiments and decorate with C'est La Vie papers and embellishments.

I decided on a topic for each section. I embellished the first page in each section with handwritten and typewriter font quotes, acetate, patterned paper, stickers, and cork, as well as ink splatters and gold thread.

I'm going to share all the pages on Periscope this Friday, so look for that (username PrecociousPaper).

After that, I'm wrapping it up in more delicious C'est La Vie product and shipping it off to the sweet recipient. I hope she likes it :).

Check out more photos on the Pink Paislee blog here. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day! Tessa

Crush Valentines - We R Memory Keepers

I have more Valentines for you today! This time, I played with the oh-so-fun Crush collection by We R Memory Keepers:

Each of these cards was made with one of my kiddos in mind. First up, my oldest son, Colten:

When Colten was little, about four years old, he called cupcakes "pupcakes". One day, while I was cleaning in my bedroom, he popped in with a top hat on his head and said in his best British accent, "Hello, Pupcake!" I nearly died of laughter! It's a memory I will treasure forever, so when I saw the "hello" die cut and the cupcake die cut from the Crush die cut pack, I knew I had to pair the two together for Colten's card.

This one is for Carson.

You know that song, "I can't feel my face when I'm with you...." Carson loves to make fun of that song, mixing up the lyrics and putting the word "face" in place of lyrics in other songs. He's almost twelve, so, you know - normal behavior. When I saw the sticker that read "I love your face", I knew it would be perfect for Carson's card.

Jaxon's card is covered in x's and o's.

Every day, sometimes more than once, he will come up to me and say, "Guess what time it is?" I usually pretend I don't know, and guess silly things like lunch time or bed time. Then he giggles and says, "Hug and kiss break time!" So I stop whatever I'm doing and I get a hug and a kiss. I'm crushing on this kid and I wish he could stay my little man forever.

Addie's card was especially fun to make because I could use florals with abandon! She loves flowers, like her mama.

I recently had to teach her that they weren't called "bows" because every time I put a hair clip in her hair that was a flower, she was thinking it was called a bow. I didn't realize that she was associating flowers with bows until she called a bouquet of flowers bows. We're good now, so when she sees this card she will probably shout, "fowers!" We're still working on the letter "l". :)

Do you make your kids Valentines? It's so fun, especially with a collection as great as We R Memoy Keepers' Crush collection. Be sure to check out my cards on their blog today (if you didn't just make your way from there). Thanks for visiting and have a great day! Tessa

You Are Amazing - Pretty Little Studio

I'm not big on Christmas cards, but oh, do I love Valentines! There's something especially fun about making lovey-dovey cards for my friends and family. Today, I'm sharing one I made with the You & Me collection by Pretty Little Studio:

I have a friend who could use a pick-me-up, and with Valentine's Day so soon, I decided to make her this Valentine. 

My favorite thing about making cards is that I can use scraps from my layout projects to put them together. I tend to save every little piece of Pretty Little Studio patterned paper because I love it so much, and a few pieces of floral and stripe papers layered up perfectly for this card.

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa 

Hello Baby Love - Pink Paislee

I'm excited to share another layout created with the C'est La Vie collection by Pink Paislee!

My last C'est La Vie layout was all about pink; this one is totally different color palette-wise. I love it when I can pull a variety of color schemes from the same collection :).

The Pink Paislee blog is all about Valentine's Day this week and next, and we're celebrating with BIG titles. I used the "hello" acetate pieces from the ephemera pack as well as the black acetate alphas to create my oversized title.

You can read more about my process over at the Pink Paislee blog here. Something I didn't share there, though, is my journaling for this page:

I like to make mushy-gushy love letter type layouts for my kids, especially around Valentine's Day. I hope they appreciate them one day :).

I have a running joke going with my kids. I randomly ask, "Did you forget?" Sometimes it catches them off guard and out of context, so I act flabbergasted that they would forget. What are they forgetting? That I love them. Most times, though, they smile (or, in my almost 13 year old's case, smirk) and they say they remember. I hope that these scrapbook pages are another way that they will always remember that I love them.

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa