justem: little bits of this and that

Home {Gossamer Blue Inspiration Blog Hop}

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the 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 September inspiration for those of you who are currently knee-deep into this month's kits!

My favorite part of the September kits is the adorable Crate Paper puffy house stickers that come in the September Life Pages kit.   I decided to create a layout using those houses, and I thought it would be fun to share the story of how we came to own our home, which we moved to two years ago in November. The journaling was the key part of this layout, and it takes center stage with the large title and the photo.  Or course, by the time I finished the layout, I didn't have a good space for the puffy houses, so they never even made it on the layout!  It's funny how you can start a layout with a specific item in mind and then change it so drastically that you don't even include that item! I love it nonetheless, and while it's super simple, it tells the story!

To hop along with everyone, here is a list of the blog hop participants this month!  Remember you can always reference the Gossamer Blue blog for a full list of participants! Have a great day!

 Alex Hunter
Andrea Gray
Anabelle O'Malley
Brenda Smith
Brenda Weaver
Caylee Grey
Chantal Philippe
Diane Payne
Emily Spahn
Eunyoung Lee
Jill Cornell
Jill Keller
Joy Taylor
Kathleen Graumüller
Katie Ehmann
Kellie Winnell
Kelly Xenos
Michelle Wedertz
Michelle Wooderson
Olatz Garaiyurrebaso
Patricia Roebuck
Rebecca Luminarias
Sandra Dietrich
Sian Fair

Summer on Two Wheels {Gossamer Blue}

Happy Friday!!  I hope everyone had a nice week! Today I have another Gossamer Blue August layout to share! My daughter learned to ride her bike without training wheels this summer, and we've been biking everywhere! I wanted to create a layout sharing this cute photo of her biking on the trail through the prairie!  This month's kits included not one, but TWO bike die elements!!  I decide to use the cute Crate Paper bike sticker from the August Main kit. 

I love how this layout has such soft colors to it.  My other layouts are all pretty bright - the softness is a nice change! Have a great weekend!! :)

Celebrate {Gossamer Blue Inspiration Blog Hop}

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the 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 May 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:

 I love a good "burst" layout and this one was inspired by a graphic design piece I came across on Pinterest.  I loved the chipboard numbers that came with the Crate Paper chipboard, and I wanted to use as many of them on my layout as possible.  I used a ruler and just created the lines freehand, so they are not all the same - some are big, some are small.  In fact, I was thankful when I finished that there was an even number of sections so I could alternate numbers and blank spaces!! I also included some of my favorite little wood heart veneer in the extra spaces!

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!

Anabelle O'Malley
Beshka Kueser
Brenda Weaver
Caylee Grey
Cindy Liebel
Diane Payne
Emily Spahn **That's Me!!**
Erin Taylor
Eunyoung Lee
Heather Leopard
Jill Keller
Joy Taylor
Katie Ehmann
Laura Rahel Crosby
Tara Anderson

Have an inspiring day, and happy hopping!

We love the Capitol {Gossamer Blue Pinspired}

Another layout today.  This one is brand new, though.  I keep thinking that I will find the time to blog "for real," aka: something other than a layout. The truth of the matter is that it takes me about 10 minutes or less to post a layout, and often that's all the time I have. I have been thinking a ton about this blog and my One Little Word (I swear I am going to post about it...just reread everything I wrote to know why I haven't yet!), and I am really hoping to blog more this year, but it's just not happened yet. Anywho, this layout is featured today on the Gossamer Blue blog as part of my monthly Pinspired challenge.  I went a little outside the box this month and created a layout based on a dress, yes, a dress. ;)  Here is my final product - for a look at my inspiration, check out the post over at GB.  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!! 

Document {Cocoa Daisy}

As I was looking back at my blog posts over the past couple of months, I realize that there are a number of layouts from 2014 that I totally neglected to share here! I think in most cases, they were layouts were I was unable to get a decent photo of (like today's layout...the layout is blurry and the picture is all distorted, argh). I planned on taking a new photo to share on the blog, but obviously never got around to it! ;) So, for the next couple of days I will be sharing some older layouts!  This is a layout that I made back in October when I guested for Cocoa Daisy. It's a super simple layout that includes some meaningful journaling. Often my layouts are all scrap and no words...this one is a bit reversed! 

Have a great day!  Hopefully it's warmer where you are than it is here!!! :)

XO, I love you so! {Gossamer Blue January}

January first = a brand new month of Gossamer Blue goodness! Today I am sharing my Main Kit Only layout. I had a title picked out and planned on using the little X and O shapes before I even chose a photo! I decided to really go all out with my XO theme and used my Cameo to cut out a bunch of random XOs all over my page and layered my cardstock over another piece of white cardstock for a white on white effect.  

 

My friend Mel Blackburn rocks the triangle corners...I totally stole this from her. ;)

 Have a great Saturday! I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of Winter Break! I have really enjoyed having my family all together...we don't get to do it often enough. :)

Fall '14 {Gossamer Blue November}

Happy Monday! I had a busy weekend full of visitors, family and Halloween fun! Today I'm back with my first layout using the November Gossamer Blue kit! It's a super fun kit with great colors and fun products! My Main Kit only layout is a little crazy busy. The photo is a weird one to scrap, because you can't even really see my daughter behind all those leaves, but I still loved it and I wanted to include it on a layout. My favorite thing about this month's kits are the pops of yellow!  I used some yellow elements here to showcase the yellow leaves in the photo!

I am also loving all the black and white papers and embellishments lately - this kit is full of them!  I believe the main kit is now sold out, but definitely stop by Gossamer Blue to check out the work of my fabulous design team teammates!  Have a great day!!

Love x3 {Cocoa Daisy Guest Designer}

How is it possibly Thursday night already?  Did you ever have one of those weeks that flew by, but you couldn't really even say what you did that took up all your time? ;) Today, tonight I have another layout I made as the Cocoa Daisy guest designer.  So...the Cocoa Daisy main kit came with those gold thickers - you know the ones I'm talking about. ;)  Truthfully...I'm over the gold thickers.  This was third time I have been given them to use...once in my September Gossamer Blue kit, once in the Citrus Twist kit I got when I guested for them, and now in the Cocoa Daisy kit. It's not that I dislike them...I actually like them a lot...I was just a little gold thickered out. ;) When I guest design, however, I really do try to use many of the products and showcase the kit as much as possible...so it became a little contest. Me vs. the gold thickers. I'm happy to say, I think I won...maybe...

To make the heart, I simply cut out a large heart from a piece of cardstock, and then I used the negative space as a template and just fit the letters in there the best that I could. It was pretty easy, yet looks pretty cool visually. 

The bottom half of the layout is super plain.  I guess when you have a giant gold thicker heart at the top you can leave the bottom plain.  I love that I made four layouts with this Cocoa Daisy kit, and looking at this layout versus the one I posted last week, you probably wouldn't even know they were from the same kit!  I have two more layouts I will share at some point. Maybe if these weeks slow down... ;)

M & L {Cocoa Daisy Guest Designer}

Happy Monday!  We had a fabulous fall weekend that included cupcakes, a football game, dinner overlooking Lake Monona, a trip to the Capitol, a walk along Lake Mendota, and lots of work around the house!  I mentioned on Friday that I am the guest designer at Cocoa Daisy this month! Their kits went live last night, and I have my main kit only layout to share with you today!  The kit is filled with fun colors and great little elements! 

I made four layouts using the Cocoa Daisy main kit + parts of some of the add-ons. I will be sharing more of my work later this month!  To check it all out now, here is a link to my gallery there! Have a great day!!

Thirty Five

Yesterday I turned 35. I had intended on sharing this layout that I made with the Gossamer Blue September kits!  As you probably noticed...that didn't happen. ;) So...we'll try today (well, tonight!), when I am 35 and 1 day old! This was a fun and fast layout to make. You all know I'm a sucker for anything with a rainbow!  All the bright papers in the September kits + add-ons were just screaming to be used on a rainbow layout!

 

I used the black and white photo of top of the black and white photo to mirror the way I used the color-on-color embellishments in the rest of the layout.  I also love the little bits of kraft and cork to mix things up a bit!

I had a wonderful birthday with my family yesterday.  I'm totally at that point where fun and flashy is not nearly as appealing as sweet and simple.  I have no problem with my age - because even though I keep reminding myself that I'm getting a bit old...I don't feel it!  I feel just as young as happy as I was 15 years ago...better, even.  So, 35 - bring it on. It's going to be a good year. :)