The moment I saw this awesome cut file, I knew I just had to make a layout! I like making mushy layouts about my husband and I just love this quote!

Isn't the cut file gorgeous? I can't wait to use it again! Stop by the shop to check out this and all the other awesome cut files!

Hi there! I have a fun layout based on an awesome sketch up on the Chickaniddy blog today, and it involves lots of cute pretzels! :)

Hello there! I'm so excited to be a part of a blog hop today with Clique Kits and The Cut Shoppe. I have the honor of being on both design teams, and it's a group of incredibly talented ladies. You're in for some awesome inspiration using the September "Study Abroad" Clique Kit and exclusive coordinating cut files designed by The Cut Shoppe!


Here's the list of all the fun stops we have for you today!

Clique Kits
Allie Stewart <------ YOU ARE HERE
Amy Coose
Lilith Eeckels
Annelie Maddock
Jody Speigelhoff
Cari Orellana
Danielle de Konink
Lacey Gaspar
Gina Lideros
Lee-Anne-Thornton
Gia Lau
Michelle Gallant
Erica Thompson
Michelle Whorwood
Sarah Moore
The Cut Shoppe

Let's get started! I've got THREE layouts to share with you today.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It's an especially happy one for me--I have the day off tomorrow! I will definitely be scrapping!

First of all, I am excited to say that I have another giveaway today, with some more fun stuff I got at Tuesday Morning!

A good blogger would have taken this photo with a real camera instead of a phone. Whoops!

If you'd like to enter, please leave a comment letting me know if you like to read personal posts, purely scrappy posts, or a mixture of both If you would like extra credit (aka, an extra entry), I'd love to know what type of personal posts you like to read (marriage, paleo lifestyle/recipes, living on a budget, our everyday life/adventures, etc.). If you are following me on Google Connect (see side bar of blog), let me know and I will enter you two more times! The giveaway is open through Sunday, September 22nd, and I will announce the winner shortly after!

One + One = Us

You Are Loved

 One Saturday morning in May (yes, that's just how late this blog post is), we packed up the car and headed to the beach after I came home from work around 9 am. We were so excited to see Teddy's reaction to sand and water, and headed straight for the beach. When Teddy hit the sand, he looked a little confused at first, but then he just kept walking like it was no big deal. That is very much Ted's personality--he's very easygoing and will do pretty much anything as long as we're there. We found a nice spot to sit down, then had a lovely family picnic. Teddy did a lot of sitting down and "staring" at the ocean. Okay, it wasn't REALLY staring, but it sure looks like it! We think he was taking in all the smells and sounds.


After our picnic, we walked towards the ocean. Teddy seemed a little confused by the wet sand, but he still kept trotting along with his little flappy ears bouncing up and down. When we made it to the water, he was NOT pleased. In his defense, it was pretty cold. Michael and I took turns wading in the water, and all walked along the beach with Teddy barely touching the water. We tried to go a little further out so that he could feel a wave, but he didn't care for that much either. He just stood there and looked perplexed! After a couple minutes, it became very clear that he wanted out. As we headed back to shore, Teddy tried to escape the water by attempting to jump up on me and into my arms. That was a big deal, since Teddy isn't a jumper!

 After he tried to jump in my arms, I immediately picked him up and carried him the half mile back to the car. He was freezing, and both Michael and I took off our sweaters and wrapped him all up! He didn't seem to mind too much because a.) he got carried, b.) he got extra extra extra loves and cuddles that day, and c.) he got the best sleep of his life that night! Even though he didn't care for it, we're still glad we took him. It's good for him to have new experiences and smell/hear new things! Plus we love to have him on our adventures, because we miss him when he's not with us! :)

So in conclusion, Teddy doesn't like the ocean. We tried again later in the Summer to see if warm water made a difference, so stay tuned for the outcome of Ted's second beach trip!

I love Doctor Who. Like really love it. It's one of my all time favorite shows! I was so stinking excited when I saw the Geeked Out cut file from The Cut Shoppe. I mean seriously, how awesome is it? I am ALL ABOUT this!

Supplies: Patterned Paper (Amy Tangerine Cut & Paste, Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party), Enamel Stars (Chickaniddy), Chipboard speech bubble (October Afternoon Daily Flash), Letter stickers (Jillibean Soup), Metal Studs (Maggie Holmes Styleboard)

By now I'm sure many of you have seen the Scrappy Blog Tour that's making it's way across the scrapping world. I am honored to have been tagged by Missy Whidden! I've had so much fun being on the Chickaniddy design team with her, and am excited to be starting another year on the team together. Missy is amazingly talented. She's got a very distinct and unique style that can be spotted from a mile away! I love it! It was so fun to see her answers to these questions :)

So here's how the hop works: Missy answered the following questions last week. I'm answering them today, and a week from now, the three people I tagged will answer them too (and so on). Let's get started!

1. What am I working on right now?

Aside from cleaning my super messy space, I started a quick layout today. I laid down the foundation and just need to embellish it!


3. What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

Aside from the usual staples of chipboard, thickers, and anything Crate Paper, I am particularly loving flair, chipboard frames, and paper clips!

Some of my "signature" techniques/layers

Happy weekend! I am super pumped to announce the winner of my first giveaway.....

Happy Happy Happy

I seriously cannot get enough of the green/yellow/lilac,magenta color combo. It makes my heart so happy! I'm so glad I wore green in our anniversary photos, because it matches this MME Jubilee collection perfectly. This layout has quite a bit of dimension in person, due to the layers of paper, chipboard, and glitter thickers. I'm quite happy with it! The background was inspired by this image from Pinterest:

A & M

Loves His Bone

And that about wraps it up! Thanks for stopping by, and please don't forget to click "follow" if you have a chance. Thank you to each and every one of you who takes the time to read my blog. I am truly grateful!

Hi everyone! I wanted to check in and let you know that I have my first Scrumptious layout on the Chickaniddy blog today!


I created a fun layout using a photo from last year's trip to the pumpkin patch. I love all the new Scrumptious patterns, and couldn't decide which ones to use, so I used nearly all of them! Be sure to check out the blog for the full layout!

Michael generously agreed to share his thoughts on scrapbooking and being married to someone who has a slight addiction to pretty paper. We understand that this perspective and situation doesn't apply to everyone, and that our relationship is a unique one. That being said, we hope you gain something from what Michael shared! He chose a few of his favorite layouts that I've made over the past few years for today's post :)


I am one of many husbands around the world who has married a scrapbooker. With that comes many trips to craft stores to buy scores of 12x12 paper packs, trinkets, embellishments, and other strange objects that to a IT professional are completely undefinable. All that costs time and money. Time, because my wife wants to know my opinion on everything, and money, because, well, nothing is free. And while many may feel that their wives are wasting their time and money, I would like to share why I believe my wife's scrapbooking to be an investment in many areas that have enriched our lives.

Cost: It's not as bad as you think

For the first year and a half in our marriage, I was the sole provider financially, which was a burden I was glad to bear. While it was difficult, I loved the fact that I was providing for my family, and that on my income, we were able to pay all our bills and live frugally but comfortably. There's a great satisfaction in being able to do that as a husband, as an act of love toward his family. So, it may seem odd that I would say that the cost of my wife's scrapbooking monetarily is an investment.

To be specific, we spend a maximum of $30-40 a month on scrapbooking. We have a budget of $25 a month. However, there are months where things happen - the replacement silhouette blade that we buy is a dud, there is a special 60% off deal on a new scrapbook collection from Maggie Homes and it only happens once a decade... etc, etc. The important thing is that we have a budget, and any thing over that amount is discussed FIRST before it is purchased. If it must be purchased, and we don't have the money for it, we discuss ways to earn more money. In other words, we are a team, and we work together to support each other and the things that the other is passionate about. When you do that for your wife, gentlemen, it piles up dividends for you that will come back greatly multiplied. To see what those dividends are, keep reading.

Dividend #1 - Memories

I asked my dad recently if he could remember very many good memories during the first two years of him and my mom being married.

"No," he said. "I can't remember hardly any good memories at all past the last couple of years of our marriage. I wish we would have taken more pictures or something, because the opportunities for creating great memories are rare after 30+ years..."

I asked him why. He said didn't have definitive answer, but guessed it was because the craziness of life and the daily and weekly to-do lists at some point become the focal point. While there is still love and trust in the marriage, the "magic" of it seems to mellow out, unless there is some way of remembering it, so that it is constantly rekindled.

Here then is dividend #1: my wife scrapbooks our memories and our life so that when I'm my dad's age, I can pull out any binder I want, and remember. My wife and I recently went over the last year of her scrapbooking our lives, and with each page, I was able to instantly remember and play over in my mind the good times we had together. It keeps the "magic" going in our marriage. For $25-40 a month, that is a priceless treasure that cannot be measured with any amount of money.

Dividend #2: My Wife

My relationship with my wife is deeper and stronger as a result of supporting her in scrapbooking. Scrapbooking to her is therapeutic - it is a way for her to express her emotions in such a matter that resonates with the very core of her being. If you ever find out from your wife that scrapbooking does the same for her, I would encourage you, gentlemen not just to support it financially, but to GET INVOLVED.

If you are good at Photoshop, edit her photos for her. If she is having a problem taking the photos of her scrapbooking pages, go to Target, buy a clear storage box, 4 clip on lights, and 4 LED bulbs and make her a light-box. Invest in what she is passionate about and what resonates with her soul, and she will do for you, likewise.

It will reinforce your remembrance of events and what she scrapbooked about because YOU were there with her. YOU took her shopping to buy the supplies to make that page. YOU helped her take the photos. YOU edited the final photo that made the Featured Page on her favorite scrapbooking website. There is nothing more powerful to your wife than to not only say that you love her pages and that you support her, but that you BELIEVE in her pages by getting involved. It turns her scrapbooking pages into OUR scrapbooking pages. It says, "I believe in you, and I believe in us."

Here then is dividend #2: My wife scrapbooks with my full support and belief in her. It makes her feel treasured and loved more than any amount of empty words or gifts ever could, because scrapbooking is the truest expression of who she is, and it assures her that what she feels and thinks is important and matters.

Dividend #3: Yourself

Yes, investing in your wife IS investing in yourself and here's why: it requires that you become unselfish.

There are many self-centered people in this world, and if we were to be completely honest, we would say that most of the time, we are one of those people. By investing in your wife and her passion, you will have to spend time helping her with her passion, and it may be at times you would rather not. But by doing so, you develop your character, which is the most important thing you could possibly develop.

You develop patience, because you are given countless of opportunities that require patience. And if that patience is exercised, it begets more patience. The same is true for generosity, kindness, love, and numerous other characteristics that we all desire to develop, but wonder why we seldom do as the years go by. By consciously deciding to invest in your wife and SHOW her you believe in her and her passion, we will inevitably develop and definite your character and become ultimately who you've always wanted to be. And the best part of this is, it has the affect of being contagious.

Here then is dividend #3: I support my wife in her scrapbooking and help her any way that I can in what she is passionate about, because it challenges and develops the qualities in my character that I desire to have, and it develops new characteristics in me that I wasn't expecting, but come as a result of this timeless truth:

Whatever you give will come back to you greatly multiplied.



And that is why I support and encourage my wife to scrapbook.

I am thrilled to announce that I am joining the first ever Clique Kits design team for 2014-2015! I am so excited about their awesome kit club! I absolutely love the detail and thought that they put into every aspect of their company. It's truly an honor to be a part of their first team!

That's ME!

There is a fantastic group of ladies on the team this year, so be sure to stop by the blog to see who will be joining me for the fun year ahead! Here is to a fabulous year with Clique Kits! :)