The Little Things

I seem to go through a lull when it comes to creating projects for my personal album during the late spring and summer and it sure felt great to finally get the urge to make something purely about myself and the things that I like.

I took this photo on the way into the theater to see Fantastic Beasts (which I loved!) and really liked the reds and yellows that I was able to bring out with a filter from the Color Story app. I went ahead and used a recent kit from Studio Calico and combined it with a package of Thickers that I had on my desk. The kit featured a wintery theme, but I felt like since it was almost technically winter, I could get away with documenting a fall moment.

Where I live, fall starts a little later, but I was still surprised to have found the sidewalk covered with leaves in mid-December. It was autumn's last hurrah in my neck of the woods and I was pretty happy to have found such a pretty scene :).

Michelle

Elle's Studio: January

Today is the 10th and that means it is time for the reveal of the latest kit at Elle's Studio! This month the exclusive kit and coordinating extras are bright, colorful, and sweet:

My first project that I made is a Halloween spread...what?! Yes, I know, not only am I way behind in my scrapping, but I also chose to disregard the obvious love/Valentine's vibe that the kit gives off. THIS is what I love about Elle's Studio projects-I am able to make each kit work for me!

For my second project, a 9x12 layout, I relied mainly on the journaling cards to create the layers behind my photo with the addition of a few paper scraps and washi from my stash.  I also incorporated a few of the fun acrylic hearts and sequins that are available this month. For my title I misted the "True Love" wood veneer with a gold color. Unfortunately it did not photograph well AT ALL and I had to do a double take when I saw the picture pop up on my computer. It looks much better and not so splotchy in real life.

Wishing you the best day!

Michelle

Elle's Studio: 2017

I am kicking off the new year with the happy news that I am continuing on with Elle's Studio for another year!  I remember being so excited when I got the DT invite a few years ago and I can honestly say that the same genuine excitement is still there :). 

Working along side these wonderfully talented ladies is going to be a blast this year and I can't wait to get started!

Michelle

Hey Girl

Hello!  Yes, I am still alive and yes, I am still scrapping away! My poor blog. Despite my best intentions, my blogging has slowed way down as I have attempted to compensate for a fuller schedule. Since school resumed mid-August my kiddos' extra-curricular activities have increased and, I am happy to say, I am routinely exercising! These things have cut my free time down a bit and by the end of the day I am usually too exhausted to do any sort of activity that requires my brain! Ha ha.

So with that being said, I am attempting to get back into a blogging routine because I like it and with the return to shorter, colder days and more time being spent inside this is definitely a good time to get back into a somewhat regular blog schedule and with that goal in mind, here is a fun layout that I have really been wanting to share:

This layout was a complete joy to put together. First off, the picture is just so great-Maleia was incredibly happy to be walking in the Halloween Parade at school dressed as Mal from the Descendents and I caught this with my camera. Second, I just loved this cut file from The Cut Shoppe and could not wait to layer it over a misted background. Third, I used a crazy mix of paper here-I used both Doodlebug's Halloween Line and Cute Girl from Crate Paper-and had a fun time mixing the two together to come up with a fun color combination. Finally, it felt so great to reach into my stash of supplies and use some of it up.

One of the challenges that I face when creating layouts for a very themed photo, is creating a layout that is not very themed. I know that might not make sense, but unless it's a Christmas photo, I really feel uncomfortable using themed products. For this layout I felt like I found a good balance between Halloween and non-Halloween product.

Thanks for stopping by today and I am absolutely looking forward to sharing more here on my blog as the year winds down!

Michelle

Right Now

Hello! Today I am sharing a layout that I created with the October "Waverly" Scrapbook Kit from Citrus Twist Kits that documents a knee injury from when I tripped on a baby gate. Yes, I trip on things pretty routinely, but this was the first time I really hurt myself. My husband warned me pretty frequently not to step over the gate, but I obviously did not listen! Ha ha.

This fall actually hurt really bad. I tripped on the gate that goes into the garage from the backyard and the garage floor is cement.  I have fallen once before (slipped on the kitchen counter) and thought I was going to die, but I was able to get up after a few moments and move on with my day. And in full disclosure, I often trip, fall, and run into things-according to my husband I am a walking danger to all those I am around and I can't entirely deny that! This one though, was different. Instead of getting up and walking it off, the tightness/pain just got worse and when I woke up the next morning I couldn't bend my knee or walk. Pretty pathetic. 

Luckily after all was said and done, I only had a badly bruised bone and fluid in my knee. It all healed with time and patience and I am so incredibly thankful that I didn't tear anything. I think the worse wound though was the fact that I did this to myself. It was totally preventable. Do not step over baby gates, they are dangerous ;).

Wishing you a great day!

Michelle a.k.a. "The Klutzy One"

Elle's Studio: October Reveal

Hello!  The 10th of the month always means one thing--Reveal Day at Elle's Studio!  The new exclusive kit and coordinating extras are absolutely perfect for recording your fall memories whether you take a Project Life approach to documenting your memories or you create traditional layouts.  Whatever your approach, I am sure the October Exclusive Kit can work for you.

October Extras

October Printables and Digital Cut Files

Here are the two projects I created:

In The Scrap: October

Happy October! You know, in August right before the kids were getting ready to head back to school, I was so excited to be getting back into a routine and looking forward to life slowing down a bit after a crazy and fun summer. I must have been delusional when I thought that. Life sped up as opposed to slowed down and here we are in October and my brain is a whirlwind (aka mess) of lists, places to be, things to do.....Let's just say I am soooo ready for winter break!  Ha ha.

My blogging has been one of the victims in all this and well, I made a *list* and have plans to get back to a semi-regular posting schedule, and I thought I would start off the month sharing my take on the most recent scrappy challenge at In The Scrap!

October's challenge is to create a handmade background and the beautiful pictures on the inspiration board are just so, well...inspiring :).  I have long been a big fan of handmade backgrounds, especially those created by artists such as Wilna Furstenberg and Missy Whidden, so I found this challenge to be quite fun. This is what I came up with:

To create my background I used the packaging technique with Heidi Swapp's Color Shine in Coral. It may appear that I went a little heavy with the amount of color I put on, but that is not the case. One of my hangups about applying mixed media is that I can't stand my paper being warped and this technique where I spray the mist onto the packaging and then apply it to my cardstock keeps the warping at a level that I can tolerate. 

I REALLY liked how this layout turned out. From the colors to the papers to all the fun embellishments....it's one of those projects where I keep going back to look at it. 

If you have the time, make sure and head on over to In the Scrap to see what the rest of the design team came up with.  One of the things I really like about "challenges" is that they get you to push your limits or try something new. And it doesn't matter at all whether you go all in or keep it simple like I did. If you do decide to give creating a background a go, tag me on Instagram @michellewedertz. I would LOVE, LOVE to see what you make!

Michelle

P.S. Don't you love the the colors in Maggie Holme's latest collection??  Man, I can't get over the beautiful coral and blue and all the great embellishments!