Attitude of Gratitude 2013 - Day 3

Pinned here. Cannot find original source. If that's you, please let me know so I can give credit.

For a very long time, we lived too far from church to walk. There were times when we'd have to drive for miles. Even though it was never really that far, I always wished we lived close enough to church to walk. There's something about walking and being in nature that prepares you a bit more spiritually, and helps the messages from church to sink in a little deeper before arriving home. When we moved back to California three years ago, we were fortunate enough to move into a place just one street over from our church building. Now we walk whenever we get the chance!

When I do drive, the boys usually still walk home. It is so fun to "race" them! I basically let the car crawl along while they huff and puff to reach home first. When they are older, and too cool to race the car, I am sure I am going to treasure memories like this :).

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Attitude of Gratitude 2013 - Day 2

Pinned here. Illustration by Jen Troyer.

One of my goals this month is to think about the small, everyday things that I often take for granted. I pinned this image during the past year and have enjoyed the reminder that I am blessed - I just need to take the time to remember that.

So, I am grateful for hot showers, especially after a long weekend of dance. I've always loved a good, long, come-out-of-the-water-red kind of shower. I'm grateful that I get one from time to time.

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Attitude of Gratitude 2013 - Day 1

I am grateful for the privilege I have to bring children into this world.

As I woke up with pregnancy aches and pains, feeling like I must not have slept because I was still so tired, I chastised myself and remembered - be grateful that you can actually do this. This print, pinned here and found for purchase on Etsy here, is something I think I could use in my bedroom.

Honestly, I do not really enjoy being pregnant. Sometimes I have to remind myself that rather than complain about my temporary discomforts and challenges, I need to be grateful that carrying this baby is possible. I am. I am grateful that I can hear her heartbeat. I am grateful that I can feel her kick and stretch and - I swear, she does this - do cartwheels. I am grateful to know that she is growing well. And, even though I'm so excited for her to arrive in January, I am grateful for 13 more weeks to get ready!

Are you celebrating gratitude this month? I'd love to know how! Feel free to link me up in the comments. I'll be continuing my Attitude of Gratitude posts here and on Facebook, as well as joining in with Paper Issues on instagram. I'll be sharing projects throughout the month, too. Thanks for stopping by, and happy November! Tessa

Halloween Framed Tags - DCWV Spooky Time Stack

This year for Halloween, my theme is Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. I have decorated with ravens, feathers, and quotes from the poem alongside my pumpkins. I spiced up my living room gallery wall with photos from our recent pumpkin patch trip and decided to make this framed set of tags to go accompany my pictures and go along with my theme:

I used the Spooky Time stack by DCWV, as well as black cardstock by DCWV. Each tag is inked and/or stamped, as well as flicked with black mist. This particular tag also features the Gauze stack. Perfect for Halloween, I hand-cut leaves from the gauze-covered paper for my flowers. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the "nevermore". DCWV cardstock works great with this machine!

Three of the tags feature this cluster of a black feather, wood veneer feather, and small paper rose. The trio of black pearls is also by DCWV.

This orange flower is by Prima. The black flower is by Jolee's.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the raven shape, then adhered it with foam tabs. The eye is a DCWV black pearl.

If you're looking to decorate with a little Poe yourself, here is a graphic I made to slip inside one of my 4x6 frames in my gallery wall. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Autumn Printer's Tray - DCWV

I haven't made a printer's tray like this in a few years (see my first here), and I thought my favorite season would be a fantastic theme for another. So, I gathered together my favorite DCWV papers and raided my stash for coordinating embellishments. In one evening, I was able to fill every nook and cranny with orange, mustard, gold and aqua - my favorite color palette for fall!

Here are the papers I chose to work with, labeled with their respective stack:

Before gluing anything in, I measured each cubby and then decided which patterned papers to place in each one. Next, I figured out which embellishments to use and where to put them. When I was happy with the look, then I started adhering things to the tray. Some of my favorites include this flair, by A Flair for Buttons:

Of course, I love the large orange flower by Prima. The metal leaves are from Freckled Fawn.

Another favorite detail is this mini spool of thread. I picked up a bag of these spools at my local JoAnn store. I wound the thread around and paired it with a paper flower. Because of the pretty gold foil and glitter details on several of the papers, I wanted to embellish with gold things, too. I spray painted a couple of resin flowers gold and paired them with more Prima flowers and felt roses from my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper.

I used DCWV's burlap stack to add leaves to some of the flowers, as well as a backing for some of the compartments.

 

I filled these Tim Holtz vials with glitter for some more sparkle.

I just added my tray to a photo frame collage wall in my living room. Once I've got it all decorated for fall, I'll share a photo. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Please help us find Brisa

This is Brisa, my five-year-old niece. She is the daughter of one of my husband's younger brothers, Jacob. I've only had the chance to see her a handful of times, but she is a sweetheart and adores playing with her cousins (my boys). Brisa's mom and dad divorced, and unfortunately, the situation has been difficult, messy, and so very sad. Ultimately, after a thorough and lengthy court process, Jacob was given full custody this past July. Her mother was supposed to return Brisa to California from Maine in August. Instead, both Brisa and her mother have disappeared. A warrant is out for Brisa's mother's arrest. The FBI is investigating, but at this time, they have no leads to Brisa's whereabouts.

Last night, our local news here in Sacramento, California ran Jacob's story. You can see the report here.

Please watch, share on social media, and keep your eyes open. I know many of my readers, facebook friends, and dear customers are scattered across the country. Maybe you, or someone you know, has seen Brisa and can notify authorities so that she can get home safe and sound. I know these kinds of custody battle situations make many people squeamish, uncomfortable. Yes, there are two sides to this story, but the courts have heard both sides, and they place their faith in Jacob. Please, we just want to see Brisa with her daddy, getting the help she needs, starting school, and blossoming in a healthy, stable, loving home. Thank you. Tessa

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm - DCWV

Last night we went to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm. It's a tradition that we go the first Monday night in October. The farm is a local, family-owned place where there is a huge pumpkin patch (complete with hay ride to get to the patch), a giant pumpkin patch (where we tend to take our photos), a train, animals, a corn maze, a sunflower labyrinth, mining for marbles, slides, a playground, vintage farm equipment, shopping, food...so much good stuff! Here are a few shots from last night:

Last week, I scrapped a photo from last year's outing:

This layout is based on this sketch, the October sketch challenge at DCWV:

I used a combination of the Homeroom and Pumpkin Patch Stacks. I wanted to throw in some blue and gray, so that's where Homeroom came in. Love the pretty oranges from Pumpkin Patch, though! I also used a pretty gray, textured paper from the Pebbled stack.

The washi tape is from an old Studio Calico kit. The boy and girl silhouette flair is from A Flair for Buttons. I just cannot get enough of her flair!

The corrugated people are from an old Scrapbook Circle kit. The gold leaves are by Martha Stewart. I really raided my stash for the perfect embellishments ;).

If you'd like to play along with the sketch challenge, or the color theme card challenge, you can find the details here. Tomorrow, I'll be sharing more DCWV fall goodness with a printer's tray that I put together recently. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa