Autumn | Digital Layouts

I was delighted when Scotty Girl Designs' newest kit, This Year 2014 Fall, popped up on my Facebook feed... it is absolutely gorgeous! 

We don't have traditional fall weather here, so I had to go through my photo archives to find photos for both layouts. The first layout features photos from our year in Ohio (2010). Mark's parents were in town and we visited an air museum with the kids. It was October and the leaves were turning colors... it was beautiful. 

My second layout features a Layered Layout V. 12 template from Deena Rutter and the same This Year 2014 Fall collection from Scotty Girl Designs. These two kits worked so well together. Digital templates were my initial draw to digital scrapbooking, and Deena's template is exactly the reason why.

On this layout I used photos from way back in 2005. Mark took the camera to campus and took some beautiful fall photos for me. I was pregnant with Evan (and very sick), but he knew I wanted photos of the campus in autumn. He is such a great husband. :)

You can check out Shannon's newest collection here, and Deena's template set here.

Back to School | Digital Layouts

Last year I created a scrapbook layout to celebrate Evan's first day of school. I love how that layout turned out (you can see it here), and I used that layout as a template to create layouts for this year's first day of school photos.

I used a new collection from Mommyish, called Scholastic, for Evan's layout. He has changed so much from last year! I used a color photo instead of a black and white photo, but the basic layout is the same.

For Jack's layout I used the same Scholastic kit, plus First Day - Journal Cards & Stamps. I also changed the layout size from 12 x 12 to 8.5 x 11.

I am going to upload these to Persnickety Prints and file them in their respective albums. 

I am off to take Bailey for a walk. She is getting so much better on her leash, but now we are working on the barking issue... she's rather protective of her new family and loves to bark at strangers. It's like trying to train a toddler! 

I'll be back in a bit with a card for this week's RetroSketches challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Digital Layout | Super Star

Hello there! I hope everyone is having a great week. 

This month Pixels & Company is having their annual Dollar Days sale, and there are so many awesome new kits in the shop! My personal favorites are this one, this one, this one, and this one. I used Deena Rutter's template set for this layout. 

Layered templates are great for quick pages, but they are also fun for creating layouts that are layered with lots of papers and elements. I clipped papers and cardstock from several different kits to each of the stars, circles, and photo mats. The font is one of my favorites: Rough Typewriter.

Thank you so much for the comments and wonderful words of encouragement regarding my new DT position. You guys are the best. :)

Have a great week! 

Digital Layouts | Pixels & Co.

Friday is always release day at Pixels and Company, and I have two layouts for this week's release. 

First up is a layout for Anita Designs. I used one of her new templates from A Story Captured Vol. 8 and the Far & Away collection. We just got back from a road trip, so this kit was a perfect match. I used three photos from our drive across the state, all from inside the Suburban Cindy and Ray rented for us.

(Supplies - Template: (Anita Designs) A Story Captured Vol. 8. Paper, wood veneer, border, brush, stickers: (Anita Designs) Far & Away. Staple: (Mommyish) Basically.)

My second layout features a new collaboration between Scotty Girl Designs and Mommyish called Q&A. Lots of neon, handwritten word stickers, graphic prints, and bright patterns. I toned it down a bit by using a neutral background & vellum overlay, a large 4x6 journaling block, and a 4x6 black and white photo. 

This kid? Totally rocks. And I love his genuine smile. Not his I'm-smiling-but-it-looks-like-I'm-in-pain smile that I'm getting way too much of lately.

 (Supplies - Background paper, journaling card, arrow, word stickers,brads: (Mommyish/Scotty Girl Designs) Q&A. Staples: (Mommyish) Basically. Date stamps: (Scotty Girl Designs) Date Stamps 2. Alpha: (Scotty Girl Designs) Stamped Alpha. Font: Georgia.)

I posted a three traditional layouts last night. You can view them by scrolling down or clicking here.

Is anyone else thrilled it's finally the weekend? It has been a l-o-n-g week and I am looking forward to some family time and sleep. And reading by the pool with a big glass of wine. :)

Have a wonderful Friday, friends. 

Pixels & Co. | Creative Team Blog Hop

Good morning and welcome to National Scrapbooking Day with Pixels and Company! 

Pixels and Company has a ton of fun challenges going on today that I can't wait to participate in! My favorite challenge is the Template Challenge using this free template. If you get a chance, download the template and play along! 

The amazing P & Co. designers have put together a beautiful kit to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day. Below is a preview, and you can purchase it here.  

I have a fun little freebie for you using the Bermuda Triangle collection. I designed two journaling cards for you: one vertical 3x4 inch card, and one horizontal 4x6 card. These cards are perfect for your pocket scrapbooking or digital layouts. A preview of my cards is below, and you can download them here. 

Here is a complete list of the blog hop participants. If you get lost along the way, head back to the Pixels and Company blog!

• Pixels & Company  
• Lynnette 
• Amy  
• Jenn 
• Linda 
• Laura 
• Barbara 
• Anna 
• Kelly 
• Mandi 
• Jen H 
• Erin << YOU ARE HERE
• Jen E.  
• Carey 
• Kat 
• Rachel 
• Nettie 
• Becca 
• Pixels & Company Forum

To kick off  iNSD, I have some digital inspiration for you. I am obviously on a one-photo-and-neutral-backgrounds kick. It might be time to branch out a little bit! The Bermuda Triangle kit has a fun color scheme (and no black or kraft!), and I hope to have time to play with it today. You can view my gallery here to see a list of supplies for each layout.

Jen E. is next on the hop! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful National Scrapbooking Day! 

#LegoMania | Digital Layout

For years, I have been buying Lego sets for the boys, but they haven't been interested. Sure, they open them up and maybe put a few pieces together, but usually the very expensive sets end up in one giant bin, and the firetruck/airplane/whatever is never actually assembled. 

Then we went to Lego Land in December. They boys loved every second of it, and they quickly put their new Lego sets together. A couple of months later we saw the Lego Movie in theaters, and Evan discovered the TV show Ninjago, and an obsession was born. 

Of course I had to document Evan's new hobby. I used a 6x12 inch digital template from Simply Tiffany Studios and elements from Karla Dudley's Life Story March & April kits. I usually create 12x12 inch or 8.5x11 inch layouts, and occasionally 8x8 inch layouts, so this was a fun change.

Jack is following in his brother's footsteps and received several new Lego sets for his birthday, too. I used my phone to take this photo of Jack. He is playing with his new Lego Juniors and Lego City sets. According to both Evan and Jack, Legos are the best. 

They boys are already looking forward to spending their summer playing with Legos.

Jack decided that Ninjago Legos are cool, but too hard for him to assemble. He likes the City and Juniors Legos the best.

Jack always gives me the "bad guy" to play with, while he is the good guy.

The best part about his new set? The jail where the bad guy has to go when he is naughty. 

Oh, how I love having little boys. And so far, ages 8 and 5 are pretty awesome. 

Digital Layout | Us

When we had our professional photos done in November, I really wanted a few pictures of just Mark and me. And I am so pleased with the results! This photo is especially sweet, and the Pillow Talk collection from Creashens was perfect for it. I also used a digital template from Scotty Girl Designs called Singled Out.

The next time I'm at Ikea I am going to pick up a frame for this layout... I love it. I love the photo (Katie Rosado Photography), the journaling, and the beautiful elements from Creashens' kit.

This layout, plus two more, are featured on the Scrapaneers blog today. Here is the link if you want to check it out!

Have a great week! 

Digital Layout | Mye's Hopscotch Project Life Kit

I had the privilege of working with Mye's new Hopscotch collection last week... a fantastic new Project Life style digital scrapbooking kit. Well, kits. She has created so many new products that coordinate, including templates, 2x2, 3x4, 4x4, and 4x6 cards, vellum cuts, flair, and many more!

I used one of her new templates and a handful of other Hopscotch products to create a layout with some cute photos of Evan. He has the sweetest smile... I just wish he would allow me to photograph him more often!

I haven't been in my office in almost a week (my Uncle is in town and I've been spending my evenings with him!), but that will change tomorrow. I have several new challenges I want to create cards for, plus two layouts that are "in progress" and need to be finished. I also need to use up my February Studio Calico kit before my March kit ships in a few days. I might resort to bribing the kids with extra xBox time tomorrow so I can get some work done!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Digital Layouts | February Edition

**This is my second post of the day. To see my Paper Smooches Sparks Designer Drafts challenge card, scroll down or click here.

I've had another busy month for Pixels & Company, creating layouts for Scotty Girl Designs and various P&Co. designers. Working with so many wonderful people is one of my favorite things about being on the P&Co. creative team.

Baseball
The kids and I met our friends, the Kriners, at a Brevard Manatees game last year for dinner and a late game. The little boys were a little antsy before the game started (due to a rain delay), but we had a fun evening together.

Instagram 2013
These film strip/photo slides are awesome! I used them as "homes" for 6 Instagram pictures.

evan & jack | november 2013
I love, love, love these pictures, and this frame shows them off beautifully.  

Playmobil
Jack-a-boo and his favorite Playmobil sets.

Pool Day
Evan and Jack are counting down the days until it is warm enough for a swim. Hopefully by spring break they can dive in. These photos were taken during our last trip to the pool last year... a sad day for Evan and Jack! They want to go into the pool year-round. :) 

Love This
A perfectly sunny day at the soccer fields. The spring season starts next weekend and our weekends (and most week nights!) will be full of soccer games and practices for the next 10 weeks.  

New Room
Jack and Evan now have their own rooms, and I captured this shot of Jack playing by himself in his new room. Jack didn't want his own room at first, but he had a habit of waking up at the crack of dawn and turning on all the lights, waking poor Evan up early on the weekend. Evan was more than happy to kick Jack out so he could get some sleep.  

Reading
My two sweet boys... look how little they are! And Jack with his pup-pup and hippo. He was such a cuddle bug. Still is, most of the time. Evan was a reluctant reader when he was younger, but now he goes through books faster than I can download them onto his Kindle.  

Snow
I can't believe it's been four years since our first winter in Ohio... and Evan was a little munchkin in these photos! I bundled him up and sent him out to play in the snow, but I couldn't find his mittens, so he was wearing layers of socks on his hands.

I am off to bed... my uncle is in town for the next week and we have some fun things planned. Have a great week!

Digital Layouts | December

It's been another busy month at Pixels and Company and I had the privilege of creating layouts using some awesome actions by Jennifer Valencia Photography. I used two of her actions: Color Pop and Beautiful Black & White. 

The photo on my first layout was edited using the Color Pop action. The photo was slightly under exposed and now it looks great!

My next layout uses the Beautiful Black and White action. I took these photos of Jack at lunch time in October... but I really wanted to capture his relationship with Foxy, his favorite lovie right now. Jack was sitting right in front of a large sliding door/window, so I had some lighting issues. The black and white action really makes Jack pop in the photos. 

Now I just need to get all these digital layouts printed! It's on my to-do list, but December is such a crazy month that I will probably put it off until January. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Digital Layouts | November Edition

Happy Friday! We had a l-a-z-y afternoon here. The boys watched Monsters University and A Bugs Life (oh how we love Pixar movies on our house!), while I did some scrapbooking. We can be so busy that sometimes it's nice to just relax and watch a good movie (or two!).

I have been busy creating layouts for the designers at Pixels and Co., Karla Dudley, and Scotty Girl Designs. It's been a while since I've posted layouts, and I have quite a few to share today. You've been warned... this is a photo heavy post!

Our sweet kitty, Lilly, is making a couple of appearances today. She is just so darn cute, and has a habit of being underfoot (or on the table, or in the cabinet, or on the couch, or wherever else I am. All. Day. Long.). She is a very social cat and manages to be photographed often. We have another sweet kitty, Gabby, who is skittish and anxious, so I only have only a few photographs of her... and non in the presence of our kids! They tend to overwhelm her. Gabby's favorite spot is sleeping behind the couch in the master bathroom closet (Mark's "man cave"). It's hard to photograph a cat who sleeps in the most secluded part of the house all day!

Anyway, when Lilly was just a kitten, she followed Jack around the play room, fell into the toy box, and was very mischievous. Jack adores her.

Up next is a layout featuring Evan and Jack, and their friend, Nick. Getting three boys, ages 6 and under, to sit still and smile at the camera is nearly impossible. But I actually like the goofy shots... these photos show the true personalities of all three kids. And I'm shocked that Evan is the one kid smiling at the camera in all three photos... with his good smile! Not his "I would rather be eating worms than smile for one more freaking photo, MOM!" look that I have been getting a lot lately. Sigh. But for now, I get these three adorable, and completely goofy, shots of Evan, Jack, and Nick.

Bikes! Our weekends now include lots and lots of bike riding. Evan and Mark riding to the school and back (9+ miles round trip!). Jack and Mark riding to the park (.5 miles round trip!). Jack falling and scraping his knee twice while walking his bike across the street. Oh yes. The tears. The wailing. The sheer agony my poor, wounded child was in. Yes, it was very sad and I'm sure his knee hurt. He was bleeding some and required neosporin and a band-aid or two, but his carrying on was something for the record books. Jack is a wee bit on the dramatic side (which is one of the things I love about him the most).

Flashback to Jack, circa 2011. Baby cheeks! Chubby hands! Curly, blond mop of hair! Man these kids grow up way too fast. And I love, love, love this photo of Jack. So much so that I might get it blown up and framed. He loves digging in the sand with his beach toys. And only wearing swim trunks. And in this photo, he is so excited the by bird/boat/plane he has spotted in the distance. I miss Jack @ 2 years old. But Jack @ 4 is pretty cool, too.

Now we are going w-a-y back in time. Specifically, 2006. I remember this day vividly. Mark and I really wanted a family photo for our first family-of-three Christmas card. We drove onto the WSU campus (which was 2 miles away), set up the camera on a tripod, and took 100+ photos to get the perfect shot. Which never actually happened. Evan was too distracted by the grass! And the people! And the shiny object to our right! to actually look at the camera. But it was a really fun afternoon. (And this photo makes me miss Pullman like crazy.)

Is there anything better for a kid than baking Christmas cookies with Grandma? According to my kids, the answer is no. And Jack is very fond of sprinkles. :)

The photo template is, well, perfection. I used 7 seriously silly photos of Jack with a few anecdotes about my favorite 4 year old.  

And we are back to cat photos. When I work in my office, Lilly likes to sit on my computer. Or in my box of inks. Or, even more helpful, on my printer. So finding her resting on the spare desk is a welcome change to her usual (obnoxious) ways.

The final layout I have to share features a trio of Jack photos, all adorable (if I do say so myself). In the center photo he has his favorite accessory of the year... his very first mohawk. It's actually a faux-hawk, but he was damn proud of it. And had no problem telling the stylist at Super Cuts when he walked in the door that he wanted "a blue mohawk" after his hair cut. And she sure delivered! Jack sported the look for two days and was devastated when we finally had to wash his hair.

If you've made it this far, thanks for looking! So many wonderful memories captured on these pages. 

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by! 

Pixels & Company DSD Blog Hop

Welcome to the Pixels & Co. DSD Blog Hop! 

First up, a quick tip for those of you who like to upload your layouts to different galleries. When I first started sharing my layouts in galleries, I had a hard time keeping track of all the different products I was using. I am the type of scrapbooker that likes to hop around between different kits, designers, and stores. I like to use a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Then I would try to upload my layout to a gallery and not have a clue where each product was from. It was so frustrating! I tried opening up a little sticky note on my desktop, but remembering to add each new product (and delete products that didn't make the page) was annoying.

A couple of years ago I realized I can simply add the designer and the kit name in the layers palette in CS6. Each time I open a new element/paper, I rename it in the layers palette to include the info I will need when I upload it to a gallery. Simple, fast, easy, and if I need to wait a few days or weeks to upload it (due to an assignment or delayed release), I can simply open the PSD file in CS6 and all the information is there. 

Here is a screen shot of a layout I'm working on right now:

 

This layout is for Scotty Girl Designs' new F-Stop collection, so most of the products are from her. I will admit that sometimes I do forget to update the layers palette with a new brad or tag, but for the most part, it works great. I hope you guys find this little tip useful! It has made my digital scrapbooking work flow so much easier. 

The P&Co. designers have created a gorgeous new collection to celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day, called Piccadilly. I had the opportunity to work with this collection tonight and I've created a fun little freebie frame for you. You can download it here. 

And here is what my freebie looks like. Isn't the wood grain frame fantastic? And I love the transparent banner (both by Karla Dudley Designs).

And finally, I have a double page layout to share using a new release from Scotty Girl Designs called F-Stop. It might be my favorite Scotty Girl Designs collection yet! So versatile, and the colors are perfect for scrapbooking my two little boys. (And I think this might be my first digital 8.5 x 11, two page layout ever... and I love it. I must do it again soon!)

Next up on the hop is Sarah. And in case you get lost along the way, here is a list of all the designers:


Pixels and Company http://pixelsandcompany.com/blog/
Mandi - http://ryanmandi.blogspot.com
Jennifer H http://jenniferhignite.blogspot.com/
Anna - http://scrapownia.blogspot.com
Lynette - http://scrapping-is-life.blogspot.com
Mary - http://justus-photographyanddigistuff.blogspot.com
Becca http://beccanicole05.blogspot.com
Jen F http://jenflaherty.blogspot.com
Erin T http://erintaylor718.blogspot.com/
Sarah http://pinklimeproductions.com/
Jen E https://www.facebook.com/JensCre8tivity

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!

Erin. :)

Digital Layouts | Jack

Hey there! I hope everyone is having a great week. The kids and I are enjoying the final days of summer vacation... I can't believe they start school next week! 

I have a couple of new layouts to share using products from Pixels & Co (and both layouts feature Mr. Jack). The first layout uses Scotty Girl Designs' new Camp S'more kit. And that raccoon? Too cute for words.

(Supplies - Patterned paper, rub-on, stickers, alphabet, buttons: (Dawn By Design) He Creates. Template: (Scotty Girl Designs) Skyscraper template. Stitching: (Scotty Girl Designs) Swirly Stitches. Staple: (Mommyish) Basically.)

I need to place an order with Mpix soon to get some of these layouts printed and in my albums... I have made a ton of layouts in the past year! Not that I need to be "forced" to create, but having monthly responsibilities for Pixels and Co and two different designers definitely keeps me creating. 

 I'll be back tomorrow with a card for Fresh Squeezed Stamps. Thanks for stopping by!

Digital Layouts | July Edition

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope everyone had a great week. I have several layouts to share tonight using some fun new products from the girls at Pixels & Co. Most of these layouts I created while I was in Washington, using photos from our trip. I love that I have fresh photos and memories already scrapped. :)

(Template: Scotty Girl Designs Skyscraper Templates.)

(Papers, metal frame, tag, butterfly, heart, stitching, pearl: Scotty Girl Designs/Mye De Leon Everlasting Kit. Sequins, metal clip: Mommyish Basically kit.)

(Template: (Wild Blueberry Ink) Blueberry Seeds No. 3. Patterned Paper: (Gennifer Bursett) Scarlet Letter. (Mye De Leon) Easy Livin'.. Quote: (Robyn Meierotto) Snippets | Love. Eyelet: (Mommyish) Basically - Full kit.)

(Scotty Girl Designs: Walt's Park, Adventure, Frontier, and Swirly Stitches.)

(All supplies are Karla Dudley Designs. Kit: Mellow Yellow.)

(Using Wild Blueberry Ink's Just a Boy kit.)

 (Patterned paper, washi tape, tag, label, sticker, cardstock: Dawn by Design - Day Tripper. Staples: Karla Dudley - Digi Essentials. Wood star: Wild Blueberry Ink - Just a Boy. Blue star: Robyn Meierotto - Dude. Mist, stitched frame: Mommyish - Basically)

Now I just need to send my layouts off to Mpix for printing... I can't wait to see them in person! 

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by. :)