justem: little bits of this and that

Gossamer Blue Inspiration Blog Hop {Play}

Hello, and welcome to our  second Gossamer Blue Inspiration Blog Hop! Have you noticed that in the world of kit clubs it's always go, go, go and often before you've even received your kit in the mail there are is already buzz about the next kit? It can be frustrating. We at Gossamer Blue want you to know that we feel your pain and are here with some November inspiration for those of you who are currently knee-deep into this month's kit! Today, I have a layout to share that I created using a mix of the main scrapbooking kit and the scrapbooking add-ons:

If you know me, you know I'm not a stamper. At all. But, this little plus stamp in the Life Pages kit was so perfect, I just had to use it! I stamped it all over and then stamped a few pluses on some of the coordinating patterned paper and then layered them onto my paper.  I will admit, I had a really hard time with a title for this page. I love the Crate Paper rub-on, but it just didn't feel right as a title, nor did it fit anywhere on my page in its original format, so I cut it apart and put it on the top right. Now I kind of regret that decision and wish I would have just left the layout as is. Oh well. I decided on on the short white title of Play after I added the rub-on. Oh well.  You win some, you lose some. ;) Overall, I love the fun bright colors of this Kelly Purkey Basic Grey line, and again...that stamp!!

To hop along with us, here is a list of all our participants this month!  Remember you can always reference the Gossamer Blue blog for a full list of participants! Have an inspiring day, and happy hopping!

Gossamer Blue Blog

Anabelle O'Malley

Beshka Kueser

Brenda Weaver

Cindy Liebel

Diane Payne

Emily Spahn **That's me!**

Erin Taylor **Go here next!**

Eunyoung Lee

Jill Cornell

Heather Leopard 

Jill Keller

Kasia Przbyt

Katie Ehmann

Keisha Campbell

Laura Crosby

Maria Lacuesta

Melanie Blackburn

Michelle Wooderson

Nicole Harper

Rebecca Luminarias

Sabrina Alery

Vanessa Perry

Summer Adventures {Gossamer Blue August}

Good Morning! Today I have another Gossamer Blue layout to share with you. This was made a mix of the different add-on kits + the main kit.  I will admit...this layout was one that did come together well. Sometimes I sit down with a plan and it works perfectly. Sometimes...not so much. I was pushing things around and adding elements and this is the final result. While I love so many individual parts of this layout (music paper?!, the black and white, those awesome Basic Grey flowers), I don't love the layout as a whole.    You win some...you lose some, I guess! ;)

See You Grow {Gossamer Blue Pinspired}

Happy Monday! Today I have a layout to share that was created for my monthly Pinspired Challenge at Gossamer Blue!  This layout uses teeny tiny index prints and lots of little paper snippets.  I used only a scissors to create this layout, which was a big challenge for me!  I am really happy with the final result...

For more information about the layout, including the original Pinterest inspiration, check out the post on the GB blog! Have a great day! :)

Swingset Superstar {Gossamer Blue June}

Happy Thursday!  Today I have my Gossamer Blue June Main Kit Only layout to share with you! I love the fun primary colors in this kit, mixed with the black, white and gold.  I have to be honest - this is one of those layouts that just did NOT come together well. I am going to blame it on my overall lack of sleep the past month (teething baby = no fun).  I started out with an idea in mind, and it didn't look the way I'd envisioned. So, I added a bit here and a bit there and changed this and that until it was finally finished:

Scrabooking mojo is a funny thing. I honestly LOVED every single element in this main kit, so it's funny that it was so difficult for me to put this together. I've had the opposite, too...were there are colors or items that wouldn't have been my first choice, and it just falls together quickly and I love the result.  For the record, I'm totally in the "It's okay to NOT love everything you make" camp.  I don't love this. I just like it. It's definitely not going to make the 2014 favorite layouts list, and even though it looks pretty much nothing like I'd originally planned, it's fine. ;)

**Note - the gallery at Gossamer Blue is undergoing some maintenance right now. Be sure to check back later to see the work of the rest of the fabulous design team.

Thirty-Four {Gossamer Blue Pinspired Layout}

Happy Friday!  My monthly "Pinspired with Gossamer Blue" post is up on the GB blog today!  
This month my inspiration came from a very unlikely place...a cake!

source: Martha Stewart Weddings

 The cake inspired this layout, which features layers and stripes just like the beautiful cake!

For more details on how I made this layout, as well as a chance to play along with the challenge, check out my original post on the Gossamer Blue blog!  Tomorrow, my friends and I are having our annual Bake-a-palooza! I will be sure to share photos of this great (and slightly crazy) holiday tradition!!  Have a great day! :)

 

seriously... {december gossamer blue}

December's Gossamer Blue kit is filled with all kinds of pretty papers and fun products.  I haven't had as much of a chance to work with it as I would have liked...but today I wanted to share with you my "Main Kit Only" layout for this month!  I love that for a December kit is is not filled with just Christmas product - but that you CAN buy some fun holiday add-ons if that is your thing! ;) This layout includes a lot of great Basic Grey, Webster's Pages, Chic Tags, and Carta Bella products. (Wildflower!! Designed by Kaitlin, who I had the pleasure of getting to know when I was on the first ever Ormolu DT way back when!!!)

 

This is totally not a great quality photo (taken with my phone) nor is it exactly a stellar photo of me - but I guess that is the point! Having a newborn is tiring...and I wanted to document just that!!

Have a happy Thursday!!

You & Me

Friday, my monthly Pinspired challenge was up on the brand new Gossamer Blue Blog! (Which, by the way, is awesome!  Have you checked out the new site yet? There's also a message board and a gallery!) I used two different Pinterest pieces as inspiration for my layout.  My layout features the cute exclusive circle stamp in the Life Pages kit, which is unfortunately sold out.  

For more information about the layout, including the two original inspiration pieces AND a chance to play along, be sure to check out the original post on the Gossamer Blue Blog! I am back to work today with students!  Wish me luck...it's going to be a long day!!!  ;)

Birthday Train Ride

Happy Friday!  Today I have another Gossamer Blue August layout to share.  This uses a mix of the main kit and the add-ons.  As soon as I saw the awesome subway paper from Basic Grey I knew which photo I wanted to scrap! This birthday photo of my daughter standing on the L-train steps is one of my favorites! And it just so happened that all of the kit colors perfectly matched the colored labels on the steps!

I also wanted to share with you some fun information regarding some new products that I was sent to try out.  I was contacted by the fine folks at Perfect Paper Crafting, asking me if I'd like to be a Brand Ambassador.  They sent me a few of their Perfect Layers products to try out, and this was the first time that I used them.  I must admit, I was a bit nervous, as I'm not much of a "tool" girl, but they assured me that they would be fun and easy to use, and they were right!  I used my Perfect Layers Border tool and my craft knife to make a perfectly straight and even mat for my photo:

I must admit - it's a big step up from my "guess and stick" method of matting photos in the past!! ;) I was really impressed with how simpe it was to use and how "perfect" the result truly was!! As a Brand Ambassador, I got this very cool blinkie (look to the right!) and by clicking it or using my code "Emily5%" you can automatically get a discount. :)  Just thought I'd pass this along! I'm looking forward to using more of my Perfect Layers products on my upcoming projects, and I'm so honored that they chose me to be Brand Ambassador!

I hope everyone has a great day and a fun weekend! :)

San Fran Sights

Happy August!  The new Gossamer Blue kit has been revealed!  I must admit, this is probably up near the top of my "all-time favorite kits" list.  I LOVE this kit and it's add-ons!!  This is my main kit only layout. We do not have very many opportunities to travel, so I had to go back through the photo archives to find these pictures of our San Francisco trip!!  I was pregnant with my daughter at the time! (That's how old they are!!)  

Be sure to check out the gallery and the debut of the new design team members and the brand new Life Pages kit!  There is so many exciting things going on at Gossamer Blue right now...and I'm so, so honored to be a part of it all!

Choose Happy

Friday, my monthly "Pinspired with Gossamer Blue" challenge went up on the GB blog!  I had a number of inspiration pieces, all with the same message.  Here is one of them:

(source: mereleemade)

I received some not-so-great news last week  (no worries, everyone is healthy and fine!), so "Choose Happy" seemed like a perfect sentiment for a layout.  Those big Crate Paper acrylic letters were just the right thing to emphasize the "happy" portion!!

To see the other inspiration pieces and to find out how to play along for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Gossamer Blue, check out the original post!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!