Happy Birthday Bella Blvd!

Two of the new Bella collections for CHA are Birthday Boy and Birthday Girl. They are featured on the Bella Blvd blog today along with a loads of inspiration.


Here is a little bit of what I created with all the goodies...

I love this photo of my family skyping with Grandma and Grandpa Mac. I can't remember what everyone was exactly cracking up at, but I do remember there were some technical difficulties on the other end. Sometime all that techy stuff is such a srtuggle, but in this case well worth the effort in order to have them on the kitchen table at the party!

What's My Password?

Oh my! it has been so long since I posted that I almost forgot how to log onto blogger. But here I am back with some scrapbook fun.


Okay, as predicted I get a FAIL at completing the "31 Days". It was more like "One Day" for me. But give me a deadline and hold me accountable and I will deliver. And that is the case for the new Bella Blvd products for CHA. I was given the assignment of creating 6 layouts, and this week I am able to share them on the blog.


All this week on the Bella Blvd Blog there will be loads of inspiration with the new products. But today we start with some old favorites from Sophisticates mixed with the new Sienna Alpha.

Here is my take...


In the summer my daughter gets up to go to swim practice Monday through Friday. On most weekends she has meets. So that means she is up and at the pool at or before 9am almost every day of her summer vacation.


Yuck! you say. That's what I say too, especially since I am the rising with her early in the morn. But she would not have it any other way and never complains about the task.


So I created this layout about her practice schedule...

This layout seems a bit crooked don't you think?  Darn! But let's ignore that, and move on by looking at the great alphas Bella has to offer! The possibilities are endless to create any title.

 And all the chipboard!

Had to use some negative space on this layout and cut some days out of the calendar to fill with photos.

Wow it is good to be back! Stop back later this week for some more reveals. I will also be posting my layouts in my Two Peas gallery and tagging some of my favorite Bella layouts on my Pinterest Board. 

 But for now go over to the Bella Blvd blog to see more....

31 Things

It's good to be back on the blog...


I am taking a class this for the next month or so called 31 Things. It is hosted by  Big Picture Scrapbooking and taught by Ali Edwards. A brief description of the concept of the class is that for the next 31 days I will receive an email message from Ali with an inspirational word and some prompts to help me reflect and journal about different aspects of that word and how it applies to my life in detail. 


Those of you who know me are probably thinking....another project that Katherine will fall behind on or not complete. Haha, I'm thinking the same. But for better or worse why don't you follow along on my 31 day of 31 Things...Maybe my pace will be 90 days of 31 Things. Stay tuned to find out.

Blog Vacation

Seems like so many people are gearing up for a spring break trip next week. Not us...we will be hanging out here in the great state of Wisconsin like we do every year.

But as you can tell I have been on a vacation of sorts, a vacation from my blog. And I am tuning in today to say that I think that vacation will be extended for a while. But don't give up on me...I will return...most likely at the end of April.

See you soon...

Olloclip

Taking pictures...it is so much fun. And that is big part of the reason I like Project Life. It makes me think daily of reasons to take photos, possibly photos I would not normally take. But ask my family if they like Project Life for the same reason, and they might say otherwise. So sometimes it is good to give the kids a break from being the target of my lens and take pictures of objects instead.

And to take a photo through a fish eye lens can make the world from the 24th floor look like a glass marble.
The best part about these recent photos I have taken, is the lens I used is one that clips onto my iphone. It is called an Olloclip. Since I never got my Nikon 1 camera from Santa, I made this much less expensive impulse buy last week.

And my kids and I are having so much fun!

Besides the fish eye lens it has a wide-angle lens, and my favorite...

a macro lens that lets you get in so close!

Yes, that is a picture of Myrtle's nose.

The pictures it allows, remind me of the photos that use to be in the old National Geographic World magazine, the ones that asked the reader to guess what they were looking at.

Like this budding plant in my back yard.

The spicket screw

Computer speaker

and tree bark

I have wanted a F1.8 macro lens for my Nikon camera for quite some time (but Santa hasn't brought that either), and although this is not a 1.8, it allows for some pretty up close images, and better yet, it's very portable.

I have to say I love my new little Olloclip!

March Photo Shoot

This is a photo of a March day in Wisconsin when the temperature reaches the 60's. It is a photo of the elation that it just might be tank top and short weather (even though it really isn't). It is a photo of anxiously awaiting for those warm summer days that are soon approaching. And it is a glimpse at the pale legs that emerge after hibernating during the long, cold months of winter.

Now this is the other end of the photo. The surprise through the lens on a warm windy day. While I'm behind the camera my girls keep saying "Mommy, look up at how fast the clouds are moving!" Then, when I looked at them, looking up at the clouds, the photo becomes a reminder of how beautiful God has made my life right here in my backyard.

Equation Egg

At our grade school they have the younger grades practice a thing called "Rocket Math". Basicly it is a test of 40 equations that needs to be completed in 1 minute. The tests are labled by the letters of the alphabet, and as the children progress, the equations use larger numbers and are more difficult.

Let me just say that after 4 children, I am really sick of rocket math! But because of all that math practice Delaney had math on her mind last year for Easter egg decorating..

She was working hard writing math facts on her egg...

...thinking.

...and then coloring

Today on the Bella Blvd blog my layout about this equation egg is featured along with some other great spring inspiration. Check it out here.

In the Red

I got me a new look this week!

Let's just say it is really RED!

The only instructions I gave Cassandra was to work her magic.

Last time I colored my hair Ricky and I did it together...Saved money but I have had better date nights.

I figure since I am shelling out the cash, that new color should be noticed I should have some fun with it.

Ormolu

Today I received and email from a company called Ormolu telling me that they were going to post a photo of my project life cover page on their blog today. You can see the post here.

I guess they saw my project in the Two Peas gallery

and wanted to share how I used some of their great products.

Like the tags...

And "flair buttons"...

They come in great sets...

And they tons of other fun products.

I could do a whole project life book just with their goodies.

And since I am 8 weeks behind on my PL

I could certainly have time to add some of their products.

In fact, I may have to spend a little time and money today

on the Ormolu website and do some shopping:)

Hapy V-day

Because "Happy" with two p's doesn't fit well on a cookie.

Hope your day is filled with sweetness and lots of love!

Life is a Project

I think I said earlier that I am embarking on a challenge this year to join in on Project Life. For those of you who are not scrapbookers, Project Life is a creative project where you put together an album by taking photos and adding journaling to document an entire year. There are many variations of it. Some people choose to take a photo a day, some make it about a certain theme. My book is just random ramblings about what goes on in and around the McElvain family. And sometimes that is a project in itself.

A week ago I had a great addition to my project. Thanks to a nice man who was not very attentive, I had a crash to my van:( Couldn't have happened on a nicer day in January, the temp was 50 degrees, the other driver was honest and kind, no one was hurt, and his insurance company has been cooperative and paying 100%; so all is well, except my van of coarse.

But moving forward after the accident is a project in itself. So as I spent the day last Wednesday talking to insurance, police, and rental companies.... I completed the opening page of my Project Life book.

Earlier in the month I had taken photos of our new front door. Some inside, some outside, some with it open, then shut. Probably spent way too much time on that photo shoot. But I did get a picture I liked...

I cropped to an 8x12. Not every photo center will print that size

so I sent it off to Arts Cameras.

I cut the photo to fit into my page protector slots. I had cropped the photo specifically so that Myrtle would fit perfectly in the 4x6 pocket on the bottom. I wanted the opening page to hint to the theme of the book, documenting what goes on inside our home and outside our home with our busy, run around lives.
Added some of the embellishments, cards, and letters from my stash, which should be easy, but that took way too long also.
I attached some of the pieces directly to the paper inserts, but added some to the outside of the photo sleeves. And the first page is complete.

I'll have you know we are through week five of 2012 so I am already a bit behind, but that is to be expected. I am going to work on it a bit today and hopefully will have more to share soon.

More Inspiration Baby

Today on the Bella Blog the Inspiration is all about Unity Stamps. And here is my creation. I used an ultrasound stamp to make a half circle on this expecting card.

And we got to love those Bella Stickers. Always a perfect one to add to anything!