Magical Messes: July 2015

We're Moving!!

10:34 PM

A few months ago we started the process of buying our first home. We are on a tight budget, and we were pretty picky about the type of house we wanted, AND we wanted in a very specific area! We fell in love with a house a couple of months ago, and we put an offer on it as soon as we saw it. Unfortunately, so did a few other people. The sellers went with someone else, and we were devastated. Fortunately for us, the other buyers fell through and they offered it to us. We stood out to them because we wrote a letter saying how much we love it! Hurray!! There have been several hiccups since then, but now we are all good. We are on track to get keys next week, and to move in two weeks from today!!

I'm looking forward to sharing our new home with you. And pardon my absence here on my blog! Last month I created a whole bunch of layouts and scheduled a few blog posts, so you'll continue seeing those for the next few weeks.

Meet Me in the Sunshine

5:00 AM

A beautiful sunshine-y day calls for a cheerful and fun layout!! I love the Amy Tangerine Rise & Shine collection (I just realized how perfectly that goes with the theme of this layout) and the happy colors and patterns!

Supplies: Patterned Paper (Amy Tangerine), Embellishments (Amy Tangerine, Jillibean Soup, Doodlebug)

I used a cut file from the Silhouette Store and backed each shape using the 6"x6" paper pad. I used the foam phrase thickers for my title--I love them!! And aren't those little paper clips the cutest? A friend sent me them and I think they are darling!

This layout is just so cheerful to me. The colors are so fun and the pup is pretty darn cute :)

Love Always

5:00 AM

I was in the mood for a simple, white on white layout, and I noticed I hadn't used this cut file I purchased ages ago. With those two things in mind, this layout was born!

Supplies: Vellum (Dear Lizzy), Embellshments (Dear Lizzy, Maggie Holmes, Crate Paper), Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Primrose, Thickers (Amy Tangerine for American Crafts)

I love this photo of Michael and I from our extended family photo shoot. Unfortunately, the color version is very difficult to coordinate with patterned paper. It's very nature-y! I made it black and white so it would really pop on the page. I think it contrasts really well! I kept the embellishing pretty simple, but used lots of pretty gold. Gold goes with everything!

Thanks for looking!

I Do.

5:00 AM

Hello!I have a new layout to share for The Cut Shoppe today, using the gorgeous Love All Around cut file! I love doing love-themed layouts and I know I'm going to get so much use out of this one.

I received a beautiful set of ribbon for my birthday, and I knew I wanted to use it on a page. This layout was so easy to make! I covered a piece of cardstock in adhesive, and layout out ribbon. That's it!

Supplies: Ribbon (Target), Thickers (Studio Calico), Vellum (Stampin' Up), Heart (Maya Road)

I cut out the heart from white cardstock and put it in front of a piece of vellum so it could stand out on the busy background. The title and embellishing were kept super simple so that the ribbon could take center stage!

Using your ribbon as a background is a great way to use up some of that ribbon stash that we all have! I hope you feel inspired!

Sweet Dreams

4:30 AM

A couple of weeks ago I took a day trip to Seattle with a few of my coworkers. I hate all the wasted time just sitting in the car, so I decided to bring something productive to do! I really enjoy doing handstitching on long car rides, and so I brought a few projects with me. Here is one of them!

Supplies: Patterned Paper (Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, Heidi Swapp), Embellishments (Heidi Swapp, Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico, Pinkfresh, Dear Lizzy, Jillibean Soup), Mist (Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Navy), Enamel dots (wholesale)

I had no direction for this layout other than the stitching and the photo I used of Teddy. It ended up getting pretty mangled in the car, so I cut out several smaller "Sweet Dreams" to cover up some of the creases. I usually don't do much photo editing for the photos going onto my layouts, but this time I added the heart bokeh and I love how it frames Teddy, and the tones match the layout so well! I kept adding stars with various textures: acrylic, enamel, and wood! I love the way it turned out. Of course, I had to add a bow to the layout to symbolize Teddy's trademark bow tie!

The embroidery floss I used was really neat! I found it at Michael's, and it was dyed with different shades of blue and purple all throughout. I'm going to keep my eye out for more colors!

Have a great day :)

Fun & Sun with CSI and The Cut Shoppe

4:23 PM

I have a fun layout to share in honor of the team up between The Cut Shoppe and CSI: Color Stories Inspiration. All month we are partnering with CSI: the Cut Shoppe designers are playing along with the Case Files, and the CSI designers are using files from The Cut Shoppe!

I chose to participate in Case File 170, purely based on the color scheme. It was way out of my comfort zone, and I wanted a challenge!

I was pretty excited when my niece's swimsuit matched perfectly! I used the Chevron in a Triangle background cut file, and backed it with patterned paper from my scrap bin. The blue polka dot is Love, Elsie from 2008!!

And of course, there are prizes! You could win a $20 Gift Certificate to The Cut Shoppe, or one of five other prizes! Stop by the CSI site for all the details. And through today, July 11th, Ashley is offering a 30% discount.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you play along!

You Rock

5:00 AM

Hi there! I've got a new layout up on The Cut Shoppe blog using the new Star Spangled background! I love how versatile it is, and I thought it would be especially perfect for this boy layout!

Supplies: Patterned Paper (Jillibean Soup, Crate Paper, Simple Stories), Vellum (My Mind's Eye), Enamel Stars (a gift), Wood Veneer (Studio Calico)

I had so much fun backing each of the stars. It was very therapeutic! I put on a movie and got to work. It took hardly any time at all! I kept the rest of the layout pretty simple, focusing mostly on the picture and the cut file. For my title, I used the You're a Gem cut file.

The two cut files make a great pair! I hope you feel inspired and that you have a great day!

July Clique Kits Layouts

5:21 PM

I have two new layouts to share with you today using some fun items from the Clique Kits shop! I mixed the Pretty Little Studio products with some fun kit leftovers I had. It's just further proof of how versatile the kits are :)

First of all, can we please all stop and take a moment to admire my freaking adorable niece? I love her to pieces!! She is so precious and I love how much joy she found in that one leaf. She lives across the country and I just can't wait to meet her and love on her!

Next, I have a pretty simple layout about our wedding. I purchased the "Bliss" cut file from the Silhouette Store ages ago, and have been waiting for the right layout to use it! This layout was a fun one for me since I don't normally stamp a lot. Between the stamping, mist, and Gelatos, there is a nice amount of mixed media going on here!

I am crazy about the soft colors mixed with the black and white. So gorgeous!

The Clique Kits shop is also having a sale right now! Use coupon code 40JULY15 for 40% off select sale items in the Sale Category from July 1st-6th! Qualifying $15 min. purchases are automatically entered our sweepstakes to win a box of Clique Kit goodies! Awesome! You can always use the code ALLIE10 for 10% off any purchase, any time.

Have a great day!