justem: little bits of this and that

Road Work Stories {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 July inspiration for those of you who are currently knee-deep into this month's kits!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have heard me mention that the road I live on is under major construction this summer. It began in May and won't end until November.  We have decided to embrace the chaos and sometimes let our kids do fun and crazy things like ride their bikes down the torn up road and climb on the equipment - well, the equipment that is just sitting around and totally safe!  I wanted to remember these crazy times and made a layout including this photo of my two older kids in the unused bucket of a digger! 

I scoured my July kits for as many green, yellow, and wood embellishments as I could find and tried to include most of them on my layout! I also loved making a mixed title using the bold black alphabet combined with the scripty gold stickers!  

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
Brenda Smith
Brenda Weaver
Caylee Grey
Chantal Philippe
Diane Payne
Emily Spahn **That's me!**
Erin Taylor
Eunyoung Lee
Felicitas Mayer
Heather Leopard
Jill Keller
Joy Taylor
Katarzyna Przybyt
Kathleen Graumüller
Katie Ehmann
Kellie Winnell
Kelly Xenos
Michelle Wedertz
Patricia Roebuck
Rebecca Luminarias
Sandra Dietrich
Sian Fair
Stephanie Buice
Yana Smakula

Buddies {Gossamer Blue Pinspired}

 Another layout in my alphabetical catch-up! I'm a bit concerned that this is my third post, and we are still in the "B"s!  This layout was for my monthly Pinspired challenge on the Gossamer Blue blog back in March.  I adore this photo of my son and his friend - and their jacket colors worked perfectly with the blues and greens in the March kits!

This is yet another "stuff" layout. It seems to be something I find myself doing more and more lately...and I can't say that it bothers me! ;) I like stuff...and I like stuff on my layouts, ha!  To see the original inspiration piece, check out the post on the GB blog! Have a great day! :)

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 March 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, love, love that wood veneer hearts from Pinkfresh Studio and knew immediately I wanted to use it on a layout Although I've never been the biggest fan of pink, it works so well with all the black and white in this kit! It all worked perfectly to showcase this photo of of my sweet daughter at her first Father Daughter Dance.

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!

Anabelle O'Malley
Beshka Kueser
Brenda Weaver
Caylee Grey
Cindy Liebel
Danielle Flanders
Diane Payne
Emily Spahn **that's me!**
Erin Taylor
Eunyoung Lee
Heather Leopard
Jessica Lohof
Jill Keller
Joy Taylor
Katie Ehmann
Laura Crosby
Mel Blackburn
Rebecca Luminarias
Sabrina Alery
Tara Anderson
Yana Smakula

Queen Fivelia {Gossamer Blue March}

Good morning!  I can't believe it's already MARCH?!  I am not going to lie...I'm looking forward to spring's arrival and warmer weather, but I am not a fan of how quickly this year is flying by!  Today I have my Gossamer Blue March Main Kit Only layout to share! I took these photos of my daughter last year on her 5th birthday. She was SO proud of the crown she got at school.  Her outfit is hysterical...and I hope someday she looks back on it and laughs with me and doesn't just want to destroy the photos, ha!

This month's kit is filled with soft, pretty colors and lots of fun embellishments!  I am totally in love with that acrylic alphabet!!  SO cute!  Hope you all had a great weekend!!  

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! ;)

#summer14 {gossamer blue july}

Happy Monday!  We had a fantastic weekend and have a fun-filled week of swimming lessons, tumbling camp, a dance recital, and a 10 year anniversary!!  Today I have one of my July kit layouts to share! This uses the pie chart cut files - did you know that all Gossamer Blue kits come with printables and cut files?? Good stuff!

This is a week filled with announcements over at Gossamer Blue - starting with a fun grab bag sale today! Be sure to check back every day this week...I can promise you won't be disappointed! ;) 

Explore {Gossamer Blue July}

Happy Monday. I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted - and how is it already July 7th?!  This summer is flying by!!  Today I have my Main Kit-only layout using the Gossamer Blue July kit! This kit (and its add-ons) ranks up there with my favorite GB kits of all time!! 

I didn't take any close-ups, but there's nothing too out of the ordinary here!  I took this photo at a beach not too far from our new home.  We've been exploring all the major parks in the area, and one day last month they requested a beach...so we found one! ;)  Stay tuned for some some big news coming to Gossamer Blue in a couple of weeks! Can't wait! :)

Her Own Sunshine {Pinspired with Gossamer Blue}

Happy Friday!! Now only is it Friday, but Spring (or maybe Summer, ha) has finally arrived!  It was 80 degrees yesterday!  We spent the entire day outside, and I'm in a pretty fantastic mood because of it all!  Today I have my monthly "Pinspired with Gossamer Blue" challenge up on the GB blog.  This layout includes a few bits and pieces from all of the May kits.  As with most of my "Pinspired" layouts, this one doesn't really resemble my original inspiration...but I love it nonetheless! ;)  

The most prominent element here is the Simple Stories DIY die cuts - they came in both white and cream and I used all the white on my page. And look - it's my favorite black & white letters - yes, I used them on every layout this month!

The Pink Paislee Hello Sunshine ephemera pack had SO many cute elements!  I love these transparent flowers!

For more information on my layout, including the original inspiration, check out the Gossamer Blue blog!

What is on your agenda for the weekend? My husband and I are going on a date!  This is the second time in six months this has happened - so it's kind of a big deal. ;)  Have a great weekend!

Hey, Rain!

Hi!  Happy Tuesday! Today I have another Gossamer Blue May layout to share.  This layout is an example of what happens when a good idea goes very wrong. ;)  I started out envisioning a diagonal title across the page with smaller photos above and below it. I placed my title along the gray strip (the blue hadn't been layered yet) and moved pictures and shifted things around trying to make it look right...it just looked bad.  Finally I gave up on using four photos, stuck a blue chunk of paper over the entire diagonal, and ended up with something totally different.  Sometimes you just have to know when to give up and move in a new direction! ;)

My favorite part of this months kits is all the bits of black and white!  Whenever I make a layout, I try to incorporate colors and elements through various parts of the layout. In this case I used the black and white chipboard letters, the strip of paper, the clear tag, and other black elements.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day! 

Always Enjoy {Gossamer Blue May Reveal!}

Happy May Day! Do you celebrate May Day? When I was a kid, we would make May baskets and leave them on the doors of all our neighbors. I'm not sure if this is something that people still do or not! Maybe next year when we know some more of our neighbors we will have to give it a go. ;)  May 1st also means a new kit from Gossamer Blue! This month's kit is filled with a great mix of bright colors and black & white products.  It's super fun!  This is my "Main Kit Only" layout.  If you look closely, you can see that there is a little something up with the photo.  I enlarged and cropped a single photo into four pieces and then overlapped them to create this effect.  I'll be honest, I was hoping to have a bigger photo, and the whole thing would have probably worked better had I used a "profile" oriented photo, but I loved this one so much I just had to use it!! I might try this technique again sometime with an even larger photo!

I am totally in love with those Pink Paislee chipboard letter. In. Love.  

And, how cute is this exclusive Happy flair?!

Be sure to check out all of the other talented Gossamer Blue design team members, and have a great day!!