monday . . .

So we are on the early schedule - before we left for the beach 8:30 wake-ups, now 5:45 :( I will say I was actually able to shower in the morning today & get a bit of cleaning done so that was good :) Guess who turns 6 months tomorrow . . .

He is babbling, and lifting himself up so well, and grabbing EVERYTHING in site!!!! He can sit on his own briefly - then topples so mommy is always nearby :) He LOVES playing with his pacifier and twisting/shaking toys all over the place. He LOVES his brother - no matter how much he sometimes manhandles him. He smiles ALOT - happy, happy, baby :)

Thanks to Michelle - I was inspired to get out of auto on my camera & play around. I do ALOT of editing in iphoto but these are completely raw, no tweaking . . .

I need to explore ALOT more but I was happy with these for a beginner :)

With CHA just around the corner, the scrappy world is overflowing with sneaks . . . have you seen what SEI has in store???? Check out these fab new lines!!!!

Can't wait to see them all in person :)

Speaking of SEI - the new sketch for July has been posted . . .

And here is my take on it using their "A Fair Day" collection . . .

A close-up showing a bunch of their fabulous die-cuts I layered behind the pic . . . believe it or not the circle border strip was actually lollipops, I just cut off the sticks :)

Hope all is well out there - be back soon with more Jillibean Soup & my August page kits for A Page 4 All Seasons!!!

ttyl - julie :)

tuesday . . .

Sorry everyone - was hoping to pop in yesterday but got caught up in fireworks & some family fun!!! Hope everyone had a fab 4th!!!! Here is the project the project I mentioned the other day - a fun 4th of July themed silverware caddy for Jillibean Soup!!!

Sideview . . .

Covered the handled in LOTS of Jillibean twine :)

And a close-up of the star embellishments . . .

Oh & before I go . . . some new to me tunes I am diggin' right now - enjoy!!!!

Be back soon with some SEI goodies!!!
ttyl - julie :)

sunday . . .

Hello everyone - sorry for the lapse in blogging . . . we have been beachin' it :)

Although I didn't scrap at all last week - I do have a few past assignments to share. Guess what - I may just have become a cardmaker thanks to Jillibean Soup. Because we have to do at least one for our monthly assignments, I have really been trying hard to work up some "card mojo". I played around with their Spotted Owl Soup line & this is what I came up with :)

Yes - it's true - I stamped!!!!! And gems too - I'm out of control over here - hah :)

Ribbon - say what??? :)

Believe me - my love is layouts, but dipping my toes into the cardmaking world has been fun :) I did dive into some serious scrapping this weekend, trying to finish up CHA assignments for Jillibean Soup. Here is the line I was given to work with (by the way - it's just FABULOUS!!!!):

Jillibean just previewed another line this past Friday - check this awesome one out:

If you leave a comment on their blog, you could win the entire Sweet & Sour Soup collection so head on over!!!

Oh & if you are still looking for some JB soup of your own, check this out. Remember Tammi from My Scraps & More (she sponsored a blog giveaway here) - well she shared with me that here entire store is 50% off to make room for new CHA goodies & guess what - JB Blossom Soup, Dutch Mustard Soup, Spotted Owl Soup, Chilled Strawberry Soup, and Watermelon Gazpacho are in stock (as well as tons of other scrapbook goodies) so head on over & use coupon code CLEAROUT50 :)

Check back tomorrow, for I have a special 4th of July project I created to share :)

ttyl - julie :)

thursday . . .

It's funny - I was so excited for us (J & I) to get away - a break from the kiddos - an overnight escape. It was freedom, for any better word - as you mothers out there know, being a mother means always being responsible for another person - always helping, always worrying, always caring, always being there - and as wonderful as it all is - it is exhausting too. So to get away, even just for 24 hours was an exciting event to me & I don't think I felt this relaxed in a LONG, LONG time . . .

(Yes, I bought an Instax & it is just pure fun - love it!!!!)

Forgive my lack of self-timer skills - chopped off half my head :)

But the next day, when I returned to be with this one . . .

and this one . . .

well, being home felt even better :) It is so easy to get bogged down with the day to day, and to come back to it - even one night refreshed - well you can see things so much more clearly :) And the welcome home from these too - well - I felt like a million bucks :) Love my two little men :)

Being a slacker in the blog department . . . I have 2 layouts that are totally overdue being posted :( Sorry!!!

First up - some Watermelon Gazpacho from Jillibean Soup - this line is AWESOME!!!! Love how between a few sheets of patterned paper & embellies from the collection, I was able to create this fun Fourth of July layout :)

Here is a close-up of the title work - featuring my most favorite corrugated alphas ever!!!

LOVE all the new Pea Pod die-cuts & those kraft mini alphas are so fab!!!

Wait until you see all the other NEW Jillibean goodies coming out for CHA - they are RIDICULOUSLY FABULOUS - I mean it (and I am not just biased because I'm on the team - seriously WOWZER kind of stuff people) :)

Looking for some sketch inspiration???? Well this month's SEI sketch is up - full of multi-pics & these fun little pennant embellies :)

Here is what I came up with using their I'm An Athlete line - a GREAT sports themed collection people :)

Here is a quick close-up - love the tickets and die-cut stars from the collection :) See those cute pennants - just took some of the die-cuts and added a toothpick to the back - voila - instant pennant embellie :)

I haven't seen any pics of SEI's new collections yet, but I'm anticipating some WONDERFUL new collections - can't wait!!!

Speaking of NEW collections . . . have you seen this . . .

or this . . .

or this . . .

or this . . .

or this . . .

A new collection coming out this summer at CHA - a collaboration between Amy Tangerine and American Crafts - so fun - totally right up my alley kind of scrapbook supplies - I know I will have to have 2 of everything - better start my Christmas list early :) HAH!!!

Before I go, I am excited to share that I will actually be attending CHA this year!!!! This has been a dream for a LONG time - I have always wanted to go & it has (for one reason or another) never worked out - but thanks to Jill I will be able to attend this year - SO EXCITED!!! A bit nervous though, I have never traveled alone - so this will be a first - anyone else going??? I'd love to meet up with anyone who's going to grab lunch or do some perusing of the new CHA goodies :)

Oh - and I am SUPER excited to be guest designing in August for a manufacturer that I have LOVED, LOVED LOVED since way back when I began this hobby (or obsession - hah!!) - can't wait to be able to share with all of you soon!!!! Hope all is well out there :)

ttyl - julie :)

sunday . . .

I was hoping to have posted this a few days ago, but seeing how hubby was out of town & mommy was on solo - not too much scrapping & blogging has been happening :) As I mentioned in my last post, I had the honor of being asked to be a featured artist at Scrapbook News & Review. I am super excited to share the two layouts I created for the post . . .

As you may see from my close-ups, the technique I shared was a quick how-to on faux stitching. Check out the full post HERE.

While playing with all these October Afternoon goodies for my assignment, I was inspired to also take a bit of time to create with their newest line, Rocket Age, just for fun :) Here is what I came up with . . .

And a quick close-up on the title work - LOVE these sticker alphas!!!

Many of the comments from my post at SNR mentioned my "splattering" & how I did this . . . I also think a few of you have mentioned that in comments before. I took a few moments today to take a couple pics of this super simple process. The real trick is to not actually use the sprayer as intended :)

Step #1 Get yourself an old box to contain you paper - this process is messy so ideally the sides of the box have some height to them. (You can tell mine has been well used!!)

Step #2 Now, instead of using the sprayer, take the sprayer/pump out of the actual container. When unscrewing it and pulling it out, make sure to tap it a bit on the sides so that there is just a little ink remaining in the pump/tube.

Step #3 Fling the end of the sprayer (the tube part) towards your paper (this can get messy, hence why the box is helpful). This allows for some fun splatters here & there around your paper. Also - you can control where they fall a bit by flinging the tube towards the direction of the paper where you want the splatters.

Hope that helps!!! Be back soon to share more :)

ttyl - julie :)

tuesday . . .

over 2 weeks since I blogged . . . tsk, tsk, tsk . . . is everything okay????? Absolutely - just the end of school & start of summer break & being a mommy of two & being a wife & daughter & sister & aunt & scrapping assignments & everything else in between :)

Guess what??? Someone is growing, growing, growing . . . check this 20 week old out . . .

And this one . . . so grown-up these days . . . too fast I say!!!

And the two of them . . . stealing my heart . . .

(don't ask me why Ryan is wearing a sweater when it is a million degrees outside - he's into picking out his own clothes these days & usually I have to send him back upstairs to change at least one thing!!)

Now - on to the scrappy people!!!!

Lots of Jillibean Soup projects brewing these days :) Their new lines are just fabulous - but Dutch Mustard Soup really stole my heart :) Here is a mini I created to showcase the first year of Nicholas (yes a mini by Julie Bonner - doesn't happen often - LOL) . . .

I did put in pics for the first 4 months so far - here are the close-ups of the first 4 pages . . .

See the scalloped border - that's me breaking out the old decorative scissors - you know you have 'em in your stash!!! The base of this album is the JB soup kraft 4" x 4" accordian album - these are AWESOME & super easy & fun to work with - I highly reccommend!!!

I also created a layout of the little man using this collection again - this picture totally makes my heart melt!!!

I love that heart patterned paper & yes the deco scissors are in this project too :) Here is a quick close-up of the awesome JB die-cuts & stickers in action!!!

One of my June assignments was posted early to show a sample of a new sketch I created for the Jillibean Soup blog :) Use the sketch below & your fave JB products to create a layout or card, post it to their Facebook page. They will randomly select a few projects for an upcoming Soup Spotting & at the end of June at least one person will be randomly selected for some JB Soup goodies!!! Fun, fun, fun!!!

Here is the layout I came up with using the Watermelon Gazpacho collection - seriously a must have for summer everyone - such great patterned papers & of course tons of fab coordinating goodies!!!

Check out the adorable sprouts, die-cuts, and stickers with this "soup"!!!

But wait, I have more!!! My second May assignment for SEI features the White Elegance collection as a background & my all-time favorite SEI line Corinne!!! I just love the color scheme - so bright & cheery :)

The die-cut title & stickers are AWESOME!!!

Be sure to check back this week - I PROMISE I'll post again!!! I am a featured artist over at Scrapbook News & Review this week & had LOTS of fun playing with some October Afternoon!!! Can't wait to share :)

ttyl - julie :)