Have you seen the new Hazelwood line by 1Canoe2???

I'm so glad  I had the foresight to take pictures of Zoe in this field of bluebonnets. Last spring we didn't know we weren't going to spend another bluebonnet season in Texas. This field was about a minute away from where I worked and covered, I mean covered, in flowers. Zoe danced and twirled for several minutes among the tiny little buds, pure childhood joy!

This line is a knock-out for me. The page came together so quickly. The shades of blue and purple just make the most fantastic monochromatic look. Zoe loved the 3D butterflies. The trick to getting them to stick up like that is to bend them before you glue them down.


XOXO,

I snapped this quick photo while we were singing "Happy Birthday" to her. I thought about including it in my 4th of July spreads, but I felt this milestone deserved it's own page.

This page came together so quickly. Normally, I spend half an hour just sorting through supplies, pulling items I may or may not want to use. For this page, I knew which papers I wanted to use. I grabbed them and a few star embellishments and I was off to work. Since I was only using one photo and little embellishment, I used depth to add visual interest, in the form of pop-dots behind the photo.


The crepe paper circle is actually from a Valentine's Day embellishment. I ripped off the heart sentiment and covered it up with the chipboard star. I love being able to re-purpose supplies, These inkable Heidi Swapp alphas have been a new favorite of mine. A little gold ink and voila! A perfect color match.

I still need to add journaling to the page, but it will most likely go on the back, because there are just too many words to fit on the front. Plus, I feel like the words would take away from the design in this instance.

Do you ever favor design over journaling?

XOXO,

If you follow me on Instagram, you have heard me talk about Zoe's freckles more than once. See I don't have cute freckles. I have a husband with cute freckles and a best friend with cute freckles, but I just have random freckles/beauty marks/moles. I've always wanted freckles sprinkled ever so perfectly just on the bridge of my nose. Thankfully, because of her father and his cute freckles, Zoe has inherited the perfect amount.

Since this particular story involved my own tale of ugly crying, I didn't really want the journaling front and center. I used a 3x4 journaling card and a plastic tab to hide the story.

Some stories are harder than others to tell. This one was hard for me. It was a reminder of those frustrating feelings I felt as a mother. All my worry and stress rolled into one scrapbook page. But, it was important for me to write down my true feelings because one day Zoe will read those words, maybe in a year, maybe in a few years, and maybe when she has children of her own. When she reads those words she will see how much I cared, how much I worried, and how everything turned out okay.

This story is more than just pictures of the first day of school, and that's just one of the reasons I love scrapbooking so much.

Where do you write down your stories? A journal, scrapbook pages, twitter?

XOXO,

As Zoe is bridging the world from little girl to girl, my role in her life is also changing. I'm trying to let go, while still letting her know I'm always around. It's a delicate balance. It's hard to let go when she is my whole world. Having only one child is a double edged sword sometimes. She has me all to herself, but then again, she has me all to herself. For now she still lets me decide most everything, but I have a feeling those days are sooner coming to an end.

It's these tender times that make me want to document every day, and every feeling. I love looking back at these moments and being able to see how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same.


XOXO,

Scrapbook tools are one of my favorite purchases for scrapbooking on a budget. They usually save time and money, overall allowing for more options then their pre-made counterparts. Enter the Photo Sleeve Fuse by We R Memory Keepers.

When I first saw this tool, I thought it was kind of a gimmick until I was putting away some of Zoe's school projects. I generally shove all the projects she makes in the school year into a 12x12 page protector. At the end of the year, I go through, pick my favorites and then slide them into their own page protector.


This year as I've been going through her projects, I found oddly shaped papers that require a custom page protector. If I use a 12x12 it's too big and an 8.5x11 is too small. That's when I really had a desire to try the Fuse tool.

The best parts: You can make custom size page protectors, perfect for odd size memorabilia (like the pressed penny and souvenir photo). I love that I don't have to buy pocket pages anymore. It's compact and easy to store. I like the permanency of it - I hate things falling out of page protectors.

The worst parts: It can be temperamental.  There is a learning curve on how to get good line and not accidentally press too hard. There is no temperature control either.

Overall Feeling: Worth it for what I need it for. I don't think this is a must have, but it helped me achieve my desired effect. I'm glad I purchased it.


Have you tried it?

XOXO,

One of my favorite things about smart phones, is being able to snap decent pictures at any moment. But it does leave me with a lot of photos that don't necessary mark an event or mean something significant. This page is a collection of those every day moments.

I recently just got a bunch of phone pictures printed through Shutterfly. They have tons of monthly promotions on 4x6 photos, and I just get my 4x4 photos printed on 4x6 and trim them when they get here.


Most of the products I used are from Bloom, Maggie Holmes' new line with Crate Paper. This line is full of petite flowers, gingham and beautiful spring colors. Just perfect for pictures of little girls.

Besides the new Dear Lizzy papers, I discovered a perfect shade of Prima Chalk Ink from several years ago, Studio Calico kit pieces from the last time I bought some old kits on sale, and Basic Grey tiny alphas from when I was doing Project Life.

For years I've longed to have a perfectly organized craft room. I would love to have all my stamps in a binder and all my patterned papers in slotted shelves, but I'm learning the process of discovery, actually adds to my scrapbooking and crafting experience.

Zoe has been getting more and more into scrapbooking as well. Having a stash is great for crafting with kids. I usually have a leftovers or giveaway box always in place, and she can go through that and pick out whatever she wants. She gets to pick out what she wants, and I don't have to share my brand new goodies, Win/Win!


XOXO,
       

The weather this week has been reminiscent of our summer vacation and the day we spent at Carmel Beach. The part of the beach we were on had a big hill. We ate a lovely picnic at the top of the hill, then headed down for a dip in the ocean.

Reluctantly, I took my iPhone to get some quick pics of Zoe playing in the ocean. The last time I brought a camera to a beach, I ended up getting sand in the lens and ruined it, so I left my big camera at home. I spent 5 or 10 minutes taking her picture and then I put my phone down and we played in the ocean.


The water was cold but the delight on her face with every wave that came was worth it. Zoe couldn't remember the last time we were at the beach, so this trip was like the first time all over again.


I love Instagram for captioning these moments right as they happen. It's so helpful to be able to go back through my feed and read exactly what I wrote about that moment 6 months ago.