Life In Details : Challenge #1

The first Life In Details challenge is to use the following items to create a 4x6 card: 

* ribbon or washi tape

* flair

* bling

* chipboard or wood veneers

* 2 different patterned papers

Here is my card: 

 I used items from a couple of Scraptastic This Life Noted (PL) kits to create my card. I love how quickly my spreads come together when I use the fabulous Scraptastic kits with exclusive cards and flair by Ormolu! 

And my entire spread: 

Lately I have been loving the WRMK 4x4 pocket pages as I can print 9 Instagram photos, slip them in, and call it a day! It speeds up the process and saves having to change the size of my IG photos. 

How do you speed up the process of documenting everyday memories? 

Simple Organization: Scrap Cave V1.0

I have been tweaking the layout of the Scrap Cave while waiting on baby to arrive.  A while back I wrote about WHERE I Scrapbook. I have now evolved from lap scrapper, tray table scrapper, and coffee table scrapper to a scrapper with her own space! This room will be a multi purpose room eventually, but for now, I get it all to myself! Here is version 1.0 of the Scrap Cave. (Still a major work in progress!!)

So far, this is what I’ve got: our former dining room table (aka card table), my paper cart, and the following: 

Storage cubes- the plastic drawers hold my stamps, ink, and paint. I have only unpacked a few of my albums and I’m going to keep them on the top of the unit for now. I am looking for a bookshelf that has tall enough shelves so that I can store all of my albums in one place- any suggestions? 

Oh, and I have to leave a box empty for Eureka to climb in and out of. This does not just apply to the scrap cave. This is a rule throughout the house! 

I keep alphas, bling, tags, and other commonly used embellishments in the basket. 

Other essential items to have nearby are my commonly used punches, twine, ink, mists, ATG, and some prepackaged kits of paper and embellishments. 

Last, but not least, a basket of tapes. Until I find a better way to organize them, I am keeping them nearby in a cute little basket! 

And my partner in crime. 

Layout: {My Love}

I love the simple ways that Ry challenges me to be a better person and I cannot wait to see what a wonderful father he will be. 

Supplies: Paper and Alpha: Lily Bee Design, Rhinestones: Kaiser Craft, Recollections, Punches: Martha Stewart, Mist: Tattered Angels. 

I hope to be back soon with news of a baby who has made their appearance into this world! 

Layout: The Perfect Toss

These fabulous photos by Pixels on Paper have been waiting around for the perfect inspiration. As I was sorting my paper the other day, I decided to see if these papers by Lily Bee would work for a wedding layout. I have been using the Buttercup line for a lot of nursery decor and layouts about baby showers and such, but I had no idea just how perfect the papers were for a wedding layout!  

Supplies: Paper and Alpha: Lily Bee Design, Tape: K & Company, Tags: Ormolu, Rhinestones: Recollections, Mist: Tattered Angels.

The reason I titled this layout “The Perfect Toss” is because I spent an entire summer in a show where my role involved tossing a bouquet six nights a week. My bouquet toss was perfect- right down the middle, didn’t hit the ceiling, and went right to my cousin!

Layout: Typecast

This past spring, I was joking around with a long time friend who had just cast my step-dad as a lead in the play she was directing. I jokingly said “Are there any roles for a pregnant chick?”. To which she responded, “actually, yes”.  The level of commitment was perfect for my busy schedule in that I had about 5 lines and was in one scene. I loved sharing the stage with Wes again, and had forgotten how much I miss community theatre. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Layout: Kiss The Bride

On of my favorite wedding photos from our photographers, Pixels on Paper is this one:



I love this picture because we did not rehearse the kiss, and this shows our authentic love 100%.

Layout: From Top To Bottom

Oh hello there!

Finally started scrapping the official wedding pictures shot by Pixels on Paper, our wonderful husband and wife photographers! They shot our engagement pictures, my bridals, and our wedding. We intend to use them for years to come.

What a better way to get back to scrapping than with a nice Crop at My Scrapbook Nook!
This challenge was to use 10 different patterned papers- a big challenge for me! I don’t usually use that many different papers on one layout!



The journaling reads: From top to bottom, I love all of the beautiful ladies who stood with me on my wedding day.

Layout: Hula Hooping

Last weekend I went to a fantastic workshop on the healing nature of hula hooping. I got some fantastic ideas of how to use the hoop in the therapeutic process, but mainly, I had fun and made my own pretty hula hoop.

I have started hooping as a daily practice and find it very centering (and fun!!).




I’m so happy to dive back into scrapbooking with this layout about that awesome day:

Layout: Personal Training

I have been participating in a journaling class at My Scrapbook Nook with the fabulous Leah Killian. I loved the idea she had about using ‘found’ journaling. On this layout I not only documented my feelings about working with a personal trainer, but also some of the exercises she had me complete.



I used the tissue paper from the new running shoes I purchased following the 5k I ran. I decided that if I was going to be serious about becoming a runner, I needed to be serious about what I put on my feet.

I’m exploring with a slightly messy style this month, playing with paint, mist, and gesso. What do you think? Keep it? Keep working on it? Get rid of it?

Layout: Father & Daughter Dance

At my wedding I was lucky enough to have two father daughter dances. For my first father daughter dance my step-dad, Wes picked out the song and it was a complete surprise to me what we were going to dance to. It was light-hearted and fun, but still very special.



I’m so happy to get some of my favorite wedding memories scrapbooked, but I’m thrilled with the wedding album my photographers provided me with, because I have the wedding day bound from start to finish and anything I scrap from the wedding is just a bonus! No pressure!

Weekend Pool Lounging

So this past weekend was refreshing and much needed, but I didn’t spend time by the pool. As summer comes to an end I feel that I didn’t fully take advantage of summer activities available in my area. One activity I was able to take advantage of on an occasional Saturday was our gym pool.

Maybe we will have nice weather for a couple more weeks and I can do some more relaxing by the pool before it closes!

Layout: Wild & Crazy

One of the most memorable moments from my Bachlorette weekend was trying to fix six grown women into a photo booth. We went to the mall to do a little shopping and pampering before our night on the town and I saw the photo booth and wanted to capture all of the beautiful women who shared that special weekend with me. It was hilarious trying to move around so that each person could be seen. While we didn’t accomplish that, we had some fun pictures to share!



Last weekend, I participated in a crop at My Scrapbook Nook, one best scrappy hangouts online. Leah puts together the best kits and I love them each and every month. This layout was created during a scraplift challenge and I scraplifted the talented Pam Brown’s layout A Boy and His Box. I love her linear style and how she uses color!

Layout: Wedding Cake Fail

One of the funniest things to happen at our wedding was when we dropped our first slice of cake on the floor. By that point in the evening I was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed and when the cake started falling over, I missed it completely and in landed on my foot. Needless to day we had to cut another piece to feed to each other! I was so glad there was no cake smashing (This is not a judgement on cake smashers, I just loathe being sticky) rather a slight tap of the cake on my nose before I insisted Ryan go ahead and give me a bite!



If you are married, was your wedding day perfect? What happened on your wedding day you will never forget?

Layout: Starting Point Challenge

Another layout inspired by Shimelle!





These pictures were taken in the summer of 2008 when I traveled to France and Germany. On our trip we saw many beautiful sights and places, but this was my favorite part of the trip. Moving from the hustle and bustle of the big city of Paris, into a smaller city of Strasbourg, then into the Black Forest. Getting back to nature- more like home and less like a concrete, foreign land. I love traveling and experiencing other cultures, but Paris was overwhelming for me. After a long layover and overnight flight, we had just enough time to set our luggage down and hit the ground running. I don’t think I was able to process being abroad, let alone in a land where I didn’t know the language . Outside of my ballet knowledge, I could say hello, please, cheese, and thank you. Yep. I was ill prepared for the trip but I fared better once we arrived in Germany!

Layout: Sweet Cousin

Today Ryan assembled a new paper storage unit for me and I sorted my paper by color. I have been skeptical about doing so, but taking Shimelle’s Explore class allowed me to see the benefit of organizing by color rather than keeping all of my kits and collections together. I am able to see new combinations and mix things up a bit!

This weekend Shimelle has been offering lots of challenges on her site- one of them was to scrap a page only using half of the paper. I love using white space so this challenge was meant for me!



Happy Sunday!

Explore: Creating with Color and Adventure

I am still loving the prompts of this class and they have opened my eyes to new ways of scrapbooking, documenting, and thinking about life as an adventure.

I have started several new adventures lately. One of the more challenging is my job. I love working with youth and their families and find it challenging and rewarding. Part of counseling is being creative and seeing different ways to address challenges. One of my youth lives for nature, fishing, and wading in the creek. I find being by by creeks, rivers, and waterfalls relaxing and refreshing. As a reward for when the youth participates, I reward them with time by the creek. Even when nothing is said, I feel that it is a therapeutic time for them as well as for me. I am able to relax and be fully present while I prepare to close one session and move onto another. It is very grounding for me.



It was fun to create this layout using new techniques and ways of thinking. I picked the color combination based on the pictures, then built the embellishments, layered the main part of the layout, added the title, then picked the background paper. I usually build from the background up, but this was very freeing and resulted in a shift in my style. I will surely try this again!

What grounds you? What can you do to relax and renew your spirit?

Explore: Explore with Color

Anyone who knows me knows that I love blue. I have always wanted to dye my hair bright blue, but have never had the courage. When Ryan and I were discussing becoming engaged I mentioned that I would prefer a blue stone over a diamond. We debated between blue topaz and sapphire and I was so thrilled to receive a blue topaz as my engagement stone. (Ryan mentions replacing it with a diamond every couple of months, but I love my ring!)



I loved what Paper Source had to say about my favorite shade of blue, or what my friends call Rachel Blue. I paraphrased what they said in my journaling here:


I've been hanging onto those letters for about a year because I used them to mask the title for this layout and knew that I would use them someday. So glad my hoarding tendencies paid off!


What is your favorite color and what do you think it says about you?

Explore: Maps and Perfection

Prompt 3 asked us to include a map in our play book. I picked up a few free maps and brochures as I left the gym on Wednesday night. I settled on the map of the area highlighting must-see nature spots and outdoor sports in the area. I love hunting waterfalls, wading in creeks, and rock jumping. I have set a new goal to use that brochure (or a duplicate copy that I haven't destroyed for a scrapbook) as a guide for my upcoming East TN Bucket LIst.



I loved the colors of the map so I just halved it and pasted it straight to the cardstock of my playbook. I have yet to work on the map themed embellishments, but I have the supplies ready for when I have some more time to craft.


What is perfection?
I have struggled with the idea of being perfect for a long time. Striving for the perfect body, the perfect grades, striving to be the perfect person in all of my roles. Over time I have softened to the notion that imperfections and difficulties are what make this life more precious.

The idea of a perfect body type has shifted from one of thinness to one of overall health. I will never have the perfect dancer's body. I wish I could have told that to adolescent me. I doubt she would have listened. I will, however, find a place in life where I'm learning to love a sport that tortured me from middle school through college.

I will never be the perfect daughter, sister, friend, spouse, or employee. However, I will strive to be authentic- honest and consistent with my words and actions to represent my true self in all aspects of my life.

Perfection is no longer about being afraid to make a mistake. Fear has immobilized me for far too long in this life. Perfection is about living life, mistakes and all, and learning how to be a better human being throughout the process. Perfection is an end result of how mistakes are dealt with and the growth that can come out of difficult times. Perfection is a life well lived, full of adventures, authenticity, and love.



The journaling behind the photo reads:

This photo isn't perfect and I don't think our love is either. I do think that we are a perfect pair. We compliment each other really well and build on each others strengths. This picture shows the sheer joy we felt on our wedding day.

And now...

Playing catch-up with photos:




This is the postcard I sent myself:


This was the journaling I wrote on the back of the card: