Stash Busting 2018: Layout 1

The Stash Busting Challenge has proven to be a major motivator and it took me no time at all to make my first layout with the kit. It seems that a kit full of my favorite colors and glittery Thickers is all I need to get going!

Helping me get started in a design direction was a fun challenge over at the Paper Issues Friend Group on Facebook called "What's Going Down?"  The prompt for this challenge was to focus all our attention on the bottom of the page. Easy right?? Well, yes.....and no. LOL. I'm no stranger to designing on the bottom, but leaving the rest of the white space blank was too tough and I just had to have those sequin stars float up!

With this being the inaugural layout for the challenge, I wanted to include as much as I could from the kit. I used four patterned papers, two specialty papers, diecuts, stickers, a bow clip, and star confetti. I even fussy cut a flower out from a paper! What?!  

The best thing about putting this layout together though, was that I was playing with product that had been hibernating away in Iris boxes. I'm always excited about the latest and greatest, but working with this older product didn't feel any different than when I create with brand new supplies. Now that's something to think about...…

Michelle

Gossamer Blue: March Reveal

Happy March!  Today is reveal day at Gossamer Blue and I am super excited to share my projects with you this morning!

The March Kits are full of all new releases from Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, and MME! This kit was incredibly motivating and my layouts came together with ease--a sure sign that the kits are great :).

This first layout is a combination of the Main Scrapbook Kit, Add-On #2, and the Main Life Pages Add-On:

If I had to choose a favorite layout from my projects this month, this would be it.  So many things that I love about this layout--the color scheme is just so spring;  the cut file, which is included in March's batch of printables and cut files, is so pretty and delicate; I totally surprised myself by not using any cardstock; and it features my dog Rincon whom I believe to be the coolest dog out there ;).  

For my second layout, I pulled products from both the Main SB Kit and Main Add-On:

I had been hoping that MME's new collection On Trend 2 would make it into the kits and I was not let down! The word "Smile" is a beautiful glassy gold and had me wishing that I several packages of the word phrases and shapes (also from MME.)  

The last project I am sharing today is a match up of the Main SB Kit, the Life Pages Add-On #3, and Add-On #2:

This colors in this kits, as I am sure you can tell, are very springy, but they work well with all subjects including these very wintery pictures of my daughters.

Well have you seen anything that you like?  Personally, I think I hit the jackpot with these kits! It's almost as if I handed Lori (owner of GB) my wish list from CHA and she put it all together for March!

If you have the time, please head on over to the gallery--the projects created by the Design Team are pretty terrific!

Happy crafting!

Michelle

  

The Cut Shoppe: Feel the Love Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my stop on The Cut Shoppe's Feel the Love Blog Hop!

The Cut Shoppe is starting off this Valentine's Day Weekend with a fun blog hop full of heartfelt inspiration from the Design Team! In celebration of this lovely holiday, The Cut Shoppe is holding 2 giveaways, giving away a free cut file on The Cut Shoppe Blog, and we also have a discount code for you! That's a whole lot of love going on!

For my project, I chose the love themed Feel the Love cut file and put it to work on an layout documenting my daughter, the artist!

Often times I find myself looking for a bigger element to stand out as the "main" embellishment and thought the heart would work just perfectly.

I really liked how the heart brings the attention straight to my smiling daughter and her work of art.

Now earlier, I mentioned 2 giveaways and here are the details: 

GIVEAWAY #1:  Each Designer participating in the Hop, is giving away one Cut File.  Make sure you visit each Blog and leave a comment for the chance to win.  Winners will be announced on the Designer's Blog on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16th, so make sure you check back on their Blogs to see if you're a Winner!  

GIVEAWAY #2:  You can win 14 of your favorite cut files, just by commenting throughout the Hop.  Leave a comment on each Blog, starting with The Cut Shoppe Blog, for the chance to win.  One Winner will be chosen from all of the Blog comments, and announced on The Cut Shoppe Blog on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16th.  The Winner will be able to choose 14 cut file sets from The Cut Shoppe Etsy store! 

**For my stop on the Hop, I am giving away the Feel the Love cut file, so make sure and leave me a comment telling me who your valentine is!

Here is a list of the designers (with links!) participating in today's fun:

The Cut Shoppe

Katrina Hunt

Amy Madern

Allie Stewart

Jennifer Haggerty

Missy Whidden

Michelle Wedertz<---You are here.

Laura Mooney

Madeline Fox

Finally, here is the discount code that you can use on your purchase from The Cut Shoppe:

Wishing you the sweetest of days!

Michelle

Old and New: Priorities

I love watching new scrapbooking supplies role out--nothing gets me more excited than seeing the new releases and then finally getting some of them. The side effect though is that some of my not-so-new supplies get pushed to the back of my mind and they get buried as my brain processes the new "hot" stuff. 

Lately this has been bothering me quite a bit because a lot of my older stuff is still totally awesome and I want to use it. This past week I decided that I needed to do something about this and brainstormed a bit on how I could go about using my older stash more efficiently.

As I was thinking about possible solutions, I kept coming back to the fact to a few things. First, nothing motivates me more than receiving a box of new goodies--just being honest here. And second, I prefer mixing my products up-it is very rare that I make a layout with only one collection.

One solution I came up with-a solution that is in no way mind blowing-is to mix in my new products with my older ones. Wow. I'm a real genious, right?? Ha ha. Well, this is at least something I haven't done in a really long time, so I committed to the idea and hit my stash.

My first move was to hit my older products. This made sense for me because I really didn't remember all that I had and figured it would be easier to find some newer products to co-ordinate with them because they are more fresh in mind.

What I picked out were some papers and products from what I believe is this past Winter's release. I had a mix of Pink Paislee's Bella Rouge, Pink Fresh Studios' Cloud Nine, Fancy Pants's Flutter, Maggie Holmes, and My Mind's Eye. The new items that I added were the sticker sheet and diecuts from Dear Lizzy's Documentary collection. Here is what I came up with:

Putting this layout together was lots of fun! I could not believe I had been hiding away the super cool plus sign paper! And the floral sticker from Dear Lizzy really pulled my layout together as well as added in some of that beautiful blue color. 

How about you-do you have any stash busting strategies??  Another idea that I have is to add some more hours to my day ;). Or how about goal setting or challenges? Lots to think about....

Wishing you a great day and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

Citrus Twist: October Reveal

This month at Citrus Twist Kits, I had the opportunity to work with the Main, Embellishment, and Pattern Play Add Ons. The kits are a mix of Pink Paislee's Memorandum, the latest from Dear Lizzy, and B Side from Basic Grey. Today I want to share two of my projects with you!

I went super crazy for the pieces of lavender in the kit! I know I am in the minority in this, but I really like purple and this shade is just so pretty.  I had a really fun time mixing it with the black and woodgrain in this layout. 

For this next layout I introduced more colors from the kits by cutting apart the patterned paper from Pink Paislee's Memorandum that features labels and paired them with the fun floral and some black diecuts from the package of Basic Grey frames.

To make the labels a little bit more interesting I added in washi shapes from the Memorandum collection. The "#lovethis" is actually a strip of washi that I layered over the label. 

I am also super excited to say that I have also contributed to the newest class over at Citrus Twist!

I really went to town when I created my project for this class--major layers going on! And the best part was that I did it all with my left overs from my September Kit. If you're looking for ideas on how to use up your scraps and/or kill a kit, this technique is perfect! 

Wishing you a great week!

Michelle

Gossamer Blue: October Reveal

Good morning! Today is reveal day for the newest scrapbooking kits at Gossamer Blue and I want to share my first two projects with you!

This month the October Kits are super versatile and I was able to scrap a range of photos. First up is Apple Season--my first official "fall" layout of the season-yay! I used a combination of both the Main Scrapbooking and Main Life Pages Kit:

I was so excited to receive the cork Thickers and bows from Dear Lizzy's newest collection Documentary and was happy to find a place for them on this layout. Another fave are the magenta alphas from Simple Stories because I think they are such a cool and totally underrepresented color in scrappy supplies. I am already wishing I had more of them.

 

Up next is Lucky Us, a layout I made using Add On Kit #2 that features a great mix of We R Family from Simple Stories, Pink Paislee's Cedar Lane, and some more Dear Lizzy.

I went with a simple grid design because I wanted to highlight the journaling cards I cut from a piece of the Cedar Lane paper that is in this kit. I loved the little saying "everyday is a blessing" and the mix of little acorns and leaves was just too perfect. The chipboard pieces from Simple Stories were a great choice for embellishments!

Well what do you think?? I don't know about you, but I think fall kits are my fave. Certainly I am always excited to see what every new season brings to scrapbooking, but the colors and the motifs in fall are always just so beautiful. Also the whole vibe of gratitude and counting your blessings that comes with the fall months makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, not to mention the hot drinks, falling leaves, and sweaters! Now if I could just channel these fall feelings into the middle of winter when I am cranky and cold ;).

Will be back soon to share more projects!

Michelle