Out for Publication

I'm really excited to share the news that I am going to be published in the next three issues of Scrapbook Trends magazine (see sidebar for titles and issues)!  I had never submitted anything, anywhere before, so I was thrilled beyond belief when the very first page that I ever submitted got picked up.  Then I submitted the following two months and got picked up for those two layouts also!  I had never shared the layouts that I submitted on any public website, so I never had to take it off a website and replace it with an "OUT FOR PUBLICATION" notice.  I'm kind of bummed about that!

I decided that on the off chance that I ever get a layout published again that I would create an "Out for Publication" layout to use.  I got this idea from somewhere on Two Peas, but I can not find the page now.  (I can't believe I didn't bookmark it - it was such a great idea!)  

I hope that I will get to use this sometime and that I didn't totally just jinx myself!  Even if I did, the layout will be a nice way to remember that I did get published and will try again.  I used all Crate Paper patterned paper (mostly Restoration)and used by Slice for the word 'publication.'

I hope everyone is enjoying CHA this weekend!

Have a great day!

Travel Layouts

I feel like I rarely do travel layouts.  I think that I get overwhelmed with the amount of photos.  I came home with over 1,000 photos from our trip to Italy last summer!  Where do you even start?  

Well, this weekend I managed to finish not one, but two travel layouts. (Yay!)  The layout above is from our trip to Florence, Italy in July 2010.  I love this photo that my husband took of me from behind while I was walking down a narrow street.  I love the lighting and the layout of the photo.  I just wish that little old lady wasn't in the photo!

We went to Paris, France a few years ago and I love this photo that we got of the Eiffel Tower.  I used the January 2011 Studio Calico kit for the most part, but the die cut paper was from an older kit.  It was originally a different color, but Mr. Huey took care of that!

I'm sad to say that tax season begins tomorrow.  For those of you that don't know what that means for a tax accountant - it means 55 or more hours a week and working on Saturdays.  For months!  (Until April 15th.)  I probably won't be getting as much scrappy time in, but I sure will try.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

The Year in Books 2009 and 2010

In 2009, I started to write down all of the books that I read throughout the year.  I wanted to write them down because I would frequently go to the library and not remember if I had read a book or not (and also because I just love writing lists!)  At the end of the year it really bothered me that I had only managed to finish four books.  I really love reading, I just don't find the time to do it as much as I would like to.  I made a scrapbook page about the four books I had read with the very first Studio Calico kit that I had purchased - January 2010.

I decided to make a similar layout for 2010 and I used the January 2011 kit for this one.  I did manage to read a few more books in 2010.

The bookshelf stamp that came with the kit could not have been more perfect for my page!  I like the way this corner of the page turned out.  I actually used some of the packaging from a package of Studio Calico Notions - the colors just matched so perfectly with the rest of the page I couldn't resist.

I've started on my first book for 2011 - Heat by Bill Buford.  My husband's cousin sent as the book as a gift after we had dinner with her and her boyfriend at Mario Batali's restaurant in Los Angeles - Osteria Mozza.  I'd love recommendations for my next book if anyone has read anything great lately.

Have a great day everyone!

Summer Vacation 2010 layout

My January Studio Calico arrived in the mail this Thursday, but I wanted to get at least one layout done with the December kit before I started to play with January.  I had a layout in mind and was able to finish it late last night.

 I had a nine day vacation in Door County Wisconsin with my family this summer.  The first part of the vacation was spent with my family, staying in a cabin and exploring Door County.  The second part of the vacation was spent with my husband's family for his grandmother's 90th birthday celebration.  I thought this calendar paper from KI Memories would be perfect for the layout.  I chose a favorite photo from each day and labeled each photo and put the descriptions below.

You might notice that I got my sewing machine back from the repair shop - very happy about that!

Have a great day everyone!

Gerber Girls

Good morning!  I finally finished the scrapbook page that I started on before I left for my holidays in Wisconsin.  I love the way it turned out.  I think the BasicGrey Curio line was perfect for this old photo.

I couldn't find the perfect embellishment for this page in my stash of products, so I ended up making these rolled flowers.  I love using these flowers on pages now that I figured out how to make them.  The center of the flower is a Prima Marketing beaded flower that came in one of my Studio Calico kits.

My mom has volunteered to write a little bit about each of the women in the photo (her aunts, mother, and grandmother), so eventually this will turn into a two page layout with the stories on the second page.  That gave me a good excuse to go out and buy more of the beautiful Curio paper!

Have a great day everyone!

Heading Home for the Holidays

I fly out this Thursday afternoon heading to stay with my family in Wisconsin for the holidays.  One of my favorite parts about going to my parents home is the boxes and boxes of photos they have for me to look through and sort.  They have some really great old ones of grandparents and great-grandparents from both sides of my family.  Take a look at this one:

This is my great-grandmother (far right), my grandmother (third from left) and the rest of the Gerber sisters.  I had my mother write down what she knows about the photo (for example: the names of the girls, where it was, and when it was) or anything else she could tell me about the photo.  I think it is so important to get this information written down in some way so that we don't forget about our heritage.  If I didn't have my mother to remember and tell me about this great photo, I would have only recognized three of them even though they are all my great aunts.  I think that is what makes scrapbooking so important!

I'm just starting a page with this photo, and have no idea how it might end up looking, but I think I'm going to be using the BasicGrey Curio collection that I bought two weeks ago.

What do you think?  I love the colors - just not sure where it will end up from here.  I'll share the finished product after I return from Wisconsin.  

Happy Holidays everyone!

What I came home with from my LSS - 12/4/2010 edition

I am so lucky to have the best local scrapbook store (ever!) just a short 20 minute drive away.  I have been to scrapbook stores in five states (MA, VT, NH, TX, and MN) and Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, MA, is by far the best!  I'll admit that I do some online shopping and I do use my 50% off coupons at Michael's, but I spend most of my money at Absolutely Everything.  I'm single handedly trying to make sure they stay in business!

So here is what I came home with last Saturday:

These Christmas Chestnut Journaling Sprouts by Jillibean Soup were just too cute to pass up.

I couldn't wait to see this new line from Cosmo Cricket, Circa 1934, in real life.  I loved it.  Had to have all of it.  

Same with the new line from BasicGrey, Curio.  Had to have the WHOLE line!  Just my luck, the January 2011 Studio Calico kit is going to have some goodies from both these lines.  That just confirms that I really needed them!

The Christmas line from BasicGrey, Jovial, is beautiful.  This is the first Christmas line that I have loved in a couple of years.  The colors and patterns are gorgeous!  I chose a few of my favorite papers from this line.

I also came home with this random piece of paper from Graphic 45.  I just thought it was too pretty to pass up!

I justified this rather large purchase with the fact that I had a $20 off coupon.  At Absolutely Everything, for every $200 you spend, you get a $20 off coupon.  So, technically, the entire store is 10% off of everything, all the time.  (If you want to think about it that way, which I do!)  

Have a great Sunday everyone!