justem: little bits of this and that

what i learned...

Good Morning!  Finally our "cold" spell is over (and by over I mean, it was still -8 this morning, but at least the windchill is no longer -40!) and M is off to school!  This means I can actually put into play our "routine" that I talked about last week!  Wish me luck!!  Today I have a layout to share made with my Gossamer Blue January kit.  If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that I posted a selfie shot around the first of every month (sometimes I was a day early or late!!). This was a part of a challenge with my "Ventage" girls - Angie, Barb, Katrina and Stephanie.  At the end of the year I looked back at them, and it really made me think a little about myself and my looks. I have to be honest...I have never been a person who thought I looked very good. I have always hated photos of myself. I wouldn't say I had low self-esteem...it's not like I was crying in the bathroom over my ugliness, ha! It just wasn't something I really worried or cared about. I was not exactly attractive...and that was that. But, looking back at my photos from the past year...I actually thought to myself, "Well, emily...you don't look half bad!"  Even in the pictures where I haven't done my hair, and I'm not wearing any make-up, I realize that I look okay. I'm not a "young" woman anymore. I am a married mother of three. I am not as skinny as I used to be. I've got a ridiculous number of gray hairs. I don't have a clue how to look fashionable. But...it's okay.  I think I like this new me. She's not so bad. ;)  But anyway...this is supposed to be a post about the layout...

It's a pretty simple layout. It was already "busy" with all the pictures, I didn't think I needed to make it much crazier by adding a lot of paper and embellishments. :)  AND...it's 12x12 - shocking!!!  It was the only way to get all the pictures to fit! ;)  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

If at first you don't succeed...

Happy Sunday!  Today I want to share with you one of my Gossamer Blue layouts for this month.  The Gossamer Blue kits come with so much goodness, and I try really hard each month to use the majority of the product on at least one layout, but sometimes it just doesn't work for me.  I started creating this particular layout one evening when I was out cropping with some friends. I wanted to include the cute Carta Bella alphabet stickers that were included in the Add-on Kit 2, but I just wasn't feeling the layout at ALL. The title didn't look right to me, and I had outlined the letters, only to screw a few of them up, of course. So now I had a layout that I not only didn't really like, but it also looked terrible!  Want to see... ;)
(Pardon the bad iPhone photo! Notice the top A...see...looks terrible!)

After hemming and hawing over it for awhile, I asked my friends what they would think about me just creating a large banner and completely covering the awful title.  My friend Barb, whose honesty I appreciate, said, "Well, I don't think it can get much worse!" ;)  So I did just that. Of course, this was not as easy at it seems because the outlined arrow on the original was showing under the bottom opening of the banner. I cut a tiny piece of matching patterned paper out and covered up the arrow right in the open triangle of the banner.  I raised up the ends of the banner to give it a little more detail, and I gave up completely on using the alphabet stickers and instead used my Cameo and a few other stickers that came in the kit!!  The result? MUCH better!!

In fact, this is one of my favorite layouts made with the February kit!  This was actually a kit full of mishaps! ;) I'll share another one with you later this week! Hope you are having a great weekend! 

New Year's Eve

I have a "Pinspired" post up at Gossamer Blue today!  Check it out to see how a card inspired my layout! This is my main-kit only layout for February. I used the Silhouette to cut out the giant heart and the title.  This is a new montly feature at GB and you can play along for a chance to win a gift card!

Check out the blog post for more info about the challenge. :)  Have a great Friday!

Fall

November 1 also marked the reveal of a brand new Gossamer Blue kit. This kit was truly beautiful!!  I made five layouts, four that I loved. One that is so-so. In true Em fashion, I will save my least favorite for last... ;)  Today I have one of my favorites!  It doesn't exactly have a title, so I'll just call it "Fall"! I love that the Pink Paislee frames perfectly fit my Instagram photos!  !

I think the one item in the kit that I used up entirely on all my layouts was the set of Heidi Swapp epoxy words and shapes from the Bits and Pieces add-on.  LOVE them!  And that cute little stamp?  Made by Sodalicious in Poland.  I'm not much of a stamper, but I love the wood mounted stamps that come with the kit and add-ons!

I hope you have a great Saturday!!  It's gloomy here, and I'm hoping to get my scrap space cleaned up a bit! What are your weekend plans?

CHA favorites...a mega post! ;)

I spent all day yesterday at CHA ogling over the newest product! I took a bunch of photos to share of some of my favorites. I apologize in advance for the wonky color. Every single booth had it's own light set-up...and I was not about to set my white balance in every booth.  That would have taken up precious paper-gazing time!!  It's funny...even though I went to each booth at least twice, I am still seeing things I love on the web that I never even noticed yesterday!!  Be forewarned, I'm a paper lover. So the vast majority of photos I took were of just that!  ;)  For your viewing pleasure...in no particular order...my Summer 2012 CHA faves:

Simple Stories: Their new SN@P line is maybe my favorite thing from the entire show. It's perfect for Project Life, it's colorful, it's fun. I love everythign about it!!

Glitz: So, I'm an honest person...Glitz has never been my cup of tea. It was always very froofy, which is not a verb that is often used to describe me or my scrapping.  The new lines are still rather girly, but I'm loving like everything they came out with.  Maybe that means I am becoming a more froofy scrapper?  Who knows. In any case, their stuff is awesome.  The papers are fabulous...the washi...perfect. :)

love the top paper and the pink w/hearts...

great colors, fun patterns...

that bottom paper...very cool.

Teresa Collins: This normally fits into the same category as Glitz. However, I LOVE this first piece of paper and a lot of the elements of her "Tell Your Story" line.  It's very cute...without being cutesy!

KI Memories: They're back!  I kind of want to do a happy dance. Waaaay back when I started scrapping, KI was like MY paper. I think I owned every single sheet of their paper and nearly every embellishment they had. I may or may not still be hording some KI... ;)  They have one new line they released, and I really love it! It's fun and cute...and there is cloud washi!!

My Mind's Eye: I'm totally in love with their new "The Sweetest Thing" line in Tangerine! I would buy every single piece if I could!

Bella Blvd: They had some totally cute projects in their booth. I especially love their embellishments and chipboard alphabets!

Lily Bee: They had some of my favorite layouts of the whole show in their booth!!  I especially liked their Persnickety line...that yellow paper is my favorite!

Jillibean Soup: They had a  ton of people in their booth...making it hard to get any product pictures, but they, too had some fabulous projects I managed to snap!

how crazy cool is this wreath?! (says the girl that never makes anything buy layouts w/her scrapbook supplies)

October Afternoon: I will be honest, I really only "loved" one of their lines: Midway.  It includes one of my favorite papers of the entire show!  The other three lines were just okay for me.  

this is the paper i love.  the circles, not the slightly spooky faces...

Pink Paislee: This is another brand that is always really hit or miss with me. I remember when they first began, I was in love with everything. But lately, they have moved over to with the froofs...but I did really like a couple of things in their booth!

Echo Park: I loved their first "For the Record", so I knew these next ones would also be a hit in my book. Theirs was another very busy booth, so I didn't get photos of everything I wanted, like the new Everyday Eclectic line.

Queen and Co.: Um, washi, washi, washi...!

i'll take one of each, please!

Lawn Fawn: I'm not a stamper, but I am loving their Dewey Decimal paper release. It's so cute and fun with great colors!

how cute is this apple paper!

speaking of cute, who are those cute girls?!

Elle's Studio: It was so awesome to see Elle and her products at CHA.  I love her tags...these were fabulous!

Basic Grey: I love, love, love their Soleil line. It's funny...I probably would never use half these papers because I wouldn't know how to use them, but they sure are gorgeous!

some fab artwork at the bg booth, i think...it's all beginning to blur together in my mind!!

Studio Calico: Yearbook...I knew it would be a favorite based on the sneaks.  It didn't disappoint. This is probably my favorite SC wholesale line of all time! I want to buy it all up this instant!!

American Crafts: LOVE the new Amy Tangerine line. It's perfect, in oh-so-many ways!!!

those hearts??  must have them! and the orange and green thickers?? must. have.

I also really like the new Soho Garden line. I wasn't too sure when they revealed it on the blog, but the papers are SO pretty in person!

Crate Paper: Another (probably too) honest remark...when I first saw the three new lines on their blog I was so disappointed.  I just didn't like them at all...they seemed just a little too crazy and colorful...and I'm like crazy and colorful's #1 fan.  But in person...man, my mind has been changed.  My favorite is Acorn Avenue, followed closely by, gasp, their holiday line. As a rule I don't do holiday papers...but it's so versatile and fun!!

paper lust...

Pebbles: Okay, so I know I'm supposed to openly declare my love for Pebbles now that I'm on their design team, but honestly, even if I wasn't...I would still rave about their new lines.  It was awesome to see them in person. I keep pinching myself...I can't believe I am going to get to work with such amazing product!!

clearly this was meant for me, right? ;)

Jenni Bowlin: Usually Jenni Bowlin papers are a little too vintage for my taste, but boy does she make some awesome embellishments!  These were some of my favorites...

feathers...very popular. i like these, though i have no idea what i'd do with them!

a pinwheel punch? genius!

And finally, a fun little photo of my partner in CHA crime, Valerie O'Neill, who is a fellow w.c.s'er.  We met for the first time yesterday and had a blast walking around together! :)  Here she is next to the Craft Wars house.  If you watch Craft Wars you know what I'm talking about. If you are like me and you don't have cable or crafting shows just aren't your thing...well...it's just a cute picture. ;)

It was a super fun and full day...I was happy, but exhausted!!  What are your favorites from this summer's CHA?  Did I miss something you love?

"Paper"mint Mocha layouts...and a coupon!

The December Midnight Rooster kit is now available! Is that not the cutest title ever??  I made three layouts this month, all of which I love love love!!  I don't even know which one to share first because I love them all!!

This yellow striped piece of paper from Pink Paislee was my favorite piece of paper at CHA summer this year. It's so simple, yet so perfect!! ;)  I was super excited to use it on this layout along with the little pops of blue and red!

This layout is so "pretty" that I can't believe I made it! ;)  The photo is one of Mirielle...wasn't she such a beautiful baby?! I also used a large EK Success butterfly punch I picked up with a coupon at Archivers awhile back.

This layout is so simple, yet I love it!!  The colors are so fun and unique! And of course there are those two handsome guys in the photo... ;)

AND...some big news! This is taken straight out  of the December newsletter:

Have you been thinking of becoming a subscriber to Midnight Rooster but haven't?  This month you can make a "trial" purchase for 35% off the regular price!  And the best part?  There is NO commitment to become a subscriber...unless of course you want to!  This way you can try our kit out, see what you think...and hopefully fall in love!  To take advantage of the wonderful opportunity just visit our etsy shop and enter coupon code HOLIDAY2011 when you check out.  This coupon is good for KITS only.

Midnight Rooster September

Happy Saturday! This has been one crazy week.  I keep hoping things will settle down, but we seem to have a steady stream of busy-ness!! ;)  I forgot to share with you my September layouts for Midnight Rooster. As always, this is a fabulous kit and the layouts I made put a smile on my face! :)

This was the first layout I made. I just knew the Cosmo Cricket letters needed to be used with the sharpie photos!!

This layout features one of the Midnight Rooster exclusive stick pins...

My next layout was really quick and easy to make, but I just love the result. I've been making this kinds of layouts (a mess of patterend paper w/inked edges!) forever and ever, but they never get old to me! ;)

And finally, here is a crazy simple layout of Justin and me.  I know it's nothing fancy, but I really, really love it. :)

Funny thing to note...the bottom little strip is a Crate Paper sticker...and it has a typo!! It says "iebruary" instead of "february."  Crazy, huh?!  Anyway, be sure to check out the Midnight Rooster kit! This month we have a great (and super nice) guest designer this month, Keshet, who I was lucky to meet at CHA. :)   Hope you all have a great weekend.