justem: little bits of this and that

39* {Gossamer Blue Pinspired Layout}

 

Good morning!  Today my monthly "Pinspired with Gossamer Blue" challenge is up over on the GB blog!  This month I chose a great collage that I've loved for a long time as my inspiration!  Here is my layout, which includes one of my now favorite photos - taken when I was 39 weeks pregnant, just a day or two before Oliver's birth!  I love how my kids are just oblivious in the background! ;)

 

My creative process with all over the place with this layout. First I inked the random squares, then I outlined them, then I added this and that and this again.  It doesn't really look at all like what I had originally envisioned, but I'm happy with the final result!  I also used my super helpful Perfect Layers tool to mat my photo in black, which gives it a "double mat" look, since I had already used the boarder option on my printer to give the photo a whilte border. I love how easy it is to just create a perfect mat!!

If you'd like to play along over at Gossamer Blue, check out the original post where you can find all the information and my original inspiration! Have a great weekend!

you & me

Good morning!  The poor blog has been lacking lately...my apologies!! I'm finally starting to get the hang of this whole "parenting three kids" thing...and hopefully I'll find time to post lome long overdue updates soon!!  Today I have my "main-kit only" layout from the October Gossamer Blue kit.  This kit is fantastic...I love the colors and all variety of fun products!!  I am also realy loving all the great new GB exclusive products that Lori has been including lately...the awesome dark patterned paper I used as my background, the yellow that I used on my title, and the "love this life" stamp are a few examples! 

This was the photo that I shared with "the world" after little Oliver arrived!  When I saw the cool ampersand die cut in the Amy Tangerine die cuts, I knew I wanted to make a layout about us...technically his "first" layout! :)  I also used my awesome Perfect Layers tool to create the mat behind the photo.  I love how much easier it is to mat my photos using this tool than my old method of "cut out a piece of paper a bit bigger than the photo, and hope I get the picture on their straight." ;)  Hope everyone is doing well!!! Have a great 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! :)