Bayberry Cottage

Introducing Bayberry Cottage by Pink Paislee...

The first sneak peek is up and here is a little bit of the line. Please check out the rest of the papers here on the Pink Paislee blog!

The colors are really amazing, I will be honest and tell you that I wasn't sure about the purple/mauve color. I'm not a big purple fan. BUT...after I saw this line in person and the amazing color combo, I was totally hooked! And I'm not just saying that, I promise!

I'm so excited about the pleated ribbons, the cork buttons, the journaling sheets called "Flip Notes"...how cute is that. And the houndstooth chipboard alphas!!





















Here is a little sneak of a page I created with this line:
I'll be back soon to show you LOTS more!! Be sure to stop by the Pink Paislee blog each day to see what is new and leave a comment for your chance to win the new lines!
Danielle

Feeling the need for change...

Morning, all! I'm not one for resolutions really, but lately I have been feeling the need for change. I'm not sure what sparked it, but after the holidays (which are really hard for me without my side of the family), I felt like I needed to purge and start over. I cleaned out my closet with my husband's help and got rid of clothes from like 10 years ago. I'm not kidding. Why do I hold onto things so long that I don't need? I watched a show on TV last night about people who "hoard" things, and I realized that it might have something to do with the fact that we moved a lot when I was a kid. The woman on TV said she had moved several times during her childhood and went to several different schools. When they moved, she had to get rid of things. She even told about a time when her father made her burn her stuff, and she had to hand it to him while he was burning it. It was devastating to her. Of COURSE my parents were not like that, I truly had a wonderful childhood. My dad worked his butt off for us, and my mom was always there for us. My dad built homes, so we moved a lot. He would build one, we'd live in it for a year and then he would sell it and we'd move on to the next. I went to a different school for Kindergarten, different school for 1st, another for 2nd, 3rd-5th, 6th, 7-8 and then another for high school. Yes, 7 different schools. I've always been a quiet and shy person, but I certainly don't blame my parents for any of that, I know they did what they had to do and made a good living.

Anyway, so getting rid of things I don't need felt *really* good. To take control again and declutter. I've been decluttering every room. (Not that we have that much clutter, but I love a clean space.)

Then the other day while I was waiting for a prescription at Target (love that place), I happened upon Jillian Michael's book, "Master Your Metabolism". I read a few passages and it struck a cord with me. I quickly brought it home with me and started reading. I was amazed with what I read. If you get a chance to get this book, I promise it will change your life! I had no idea what I was doing to my body. I'm not overweight by any means, I'm 114 pounds right now and 5'4". But I really want to just be "healthy". I decided to give up soda. Completely. You don't know how hard that was. I started exercising on the elliptical again and lifting weights. I realized that I need to make more time for ME to be healthy for my family. Moms always seem to put themselves in the backseat, but I want to be here for my girls for a long, long time.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...change is good. We can always improve. We can make healthy choices for ourselves no matter how busy we are. Life is precious and we should do the best job we can with it. It's only been a couple of weeks, but I feel good! Really good. And I hope to continue to take care of myself more, so I can in turn take care of my family.

Scrappy-wise, I have been working on projects for January's Craft and Hobby show in California and the manufacturer catalogs, but still have a lot left to do. I apologize for the lack of posts, but I will get to share it all soon! Here is a little sneak peek~So much to share...can't wait for you to see all the goodies coming out soon. XOXO,

My heart adores...

Today was my day to post over at the Tattered Angels blog, and this month we were to work on a mini album that we received; mine is the Glimmer Glass Window Album - Nature. I had SO much fun making this!

First, let me explain the process a little bit as to how I do a mini album.

I try to come up with a theme before I begin, and I found this rub-on that I had in my stash that said, "my heart adores you". So from there, I wanted to make a mini album about my daughter Kati.

Next, I decided to make EACH page one thing that I love about her.
I also wanted to keep the colors similar throughout the album, so I chose to go with reds, blues and yellows, and then added in tan, gray and black as neutrals to soften it. Here are more pics of the cover:

**If you'd like more info about the white script paper I made on the cover, I posted a tutorial while back on paper casting and how to - you can see it here.**

Now when I started, I decided to keep the left side of the pages as the "attribute" about her that I love/along with the journaling, and the right side pages would be a misted butterfly and a photo. This will keep it cohesive throughout the album.

Kati is so gentle with such a sweet soul. I've never met anyone quite as soft and tender as she! She's also very sensitive like I am. This is her with the little baby that I watch a couple of days a week, Ava.
(Pic below misted with Graphite Glimmer Mist. I had a bit of red mixed in on accident, because I was sampling the colors on scratch paper and didn't wash the stencil off when I did this one, but I kinda like it. Another tip: Do the stenciling on another piece of paper and then cut it out and add it into your mini book wherever you'd like. This way if you mess up, your mini album isn't ruined.)
She's kind, caring and is always thinking about what everyone needs. It's funny to see that even at age 4, she takes care of the people around her. Last night I said I was cold, and she ran upstairs to get my robe for me (even though she's usually afraid of the dark) - she loves to please!
(Pic below misted with Red Velvet Glimmer Mist.)
If she sees me upset, she does this thing....I love. She cups her hands in the shape of a heart and tells me, "I love ya, bebe" just like that, all perky and cute to try and make me smile. It works every time.
(Pic below misted with Jazz Blue and Lemon Zest Glimmer Mist. I'm getting braver and starting to blend colors!)
On the last page, I painted around a square of paper and added some journaling over the paint. The chipboard butterflies were misted over with Graphite Glimmer Mist and then I journaled inside of the negative space. Lastly, I stamped more Tattered Angels' butterflies over the top.
If you have any questions on the supplies, please let me know. The papers and star ticket are Jenni Bowlin, rub on sentiment and "everyday/just because" tickets are Creative Imaginations, pearls by Melissa Frances, blue buttons are Making Memories, album/stamps/chipboard/stencils/mists are all Tattered Angels.

Tattered Angels has some fun things coming out at CHA in a couple of weeks, including Glimmer Glaze (watch a video here) which is a thicker sort of Glimmer that you can use on glass and such! New fun colors of Glimmer coming out too by Heidi Swapp for Tattered Angels! Stay tuned!