some gallery favorites

happy tuesday everyone!
today i want to take some time and tour a few of my favorites from the may gallery. may was one of my personal favorites as far as trish's kit selections go. the colors were so full of springtime goodness and possiblities.

emily's is the classic in terms of bringing spring to the page through photo and color and keeping it all full of light. i loved how she layered the lily bee chipboard with some of the flowers from the dear lizzy elements. but then...i just love layering.

and laina here is stepping out of her box! and it was a hit with me. not only did she use one of the lovely doily's from the main kit, but then played it up with some lime and teal mist. and don't miss out her sewing here and there. she tied this together so beautifully.

and how fun is this? michelle made me smile with the chipboard elements and using them as clouds. don't you love that? another thing that i thought was sweet were the 'flower boxes' placed lovingly under the 'windows'. very creative!

and there is that doily again. did you not just LOVE the doily's in the main kit? tina often makes great use of childhood photos, and this one is no exception. that and the inking and distressing helped give this layout it's beautiful vintage feel.

then there is our dear ms. trish. did you notice how she cut out the patterned paper in which the photo is placed? the banner around that photo also adds emphasis to a very sweet photo.

finally, since this may kit just keeps giving, i have been busy making more use of it. that brown trim was one of my favorite elements in this collection. i used it here again...just because i could.

now, your turn...get that kit out and play.

enjoy your day!

~jamie

Novi

I had the pleasure of attending the Great Lakes Mega Meet in Michigan this weekend with three super fun ladies. The following are a few of photos I took. I came back very inspired and ready to create...
I got my hands on a few scrapbook lines and embellishments I've been coveting. I also saw a TON of ideas for classes at the Bertram Inn...

The Melissa Frances booth was one of my favorites. Their banners were AMAZING. And their ledger paper was on sale!!

Tim Holtz was there and his booth area was swamped...

Lots of cute and compact projects. Also lots of fun and bright colors.

I am completely hooked on Cosmo Cricket these past 4 months. Can't get enough!! Tina is quite the enabler...

After the convention, we headed to Scrappy Chic. Laina told me it was her most favorite store ever...so of course we had to stop. We stayed there forever...I didn't want to leave. That store is AWESOME. If you ever get the chance, do yourself a favor and take a road trip there!!

Despite a stormy ride home, we made it back without incident. A much needed girls day out is always good for the soul. Lots of laughter and a dinner without cutting up someone else's food, combined with outlandish stories and fun car games made the day fly by...

And today...I can't wait to create...

To all the moms out there...

The big D

As in Disney. I am a HUGE Disney fan. So much so that I have been to Walt Disney World six times, soon to be seven. My mother and I are leaving our husbands behind and are taking my two littlest guys to WDW in two weeks. (much to their teacher's dismay...) My boys are over the top excited because this 7 day trip is centered around "Star Wars Weekends". Star Wars rules my house. If Cooper could change his last name to Lucas he would. Needless to say, this trip of a lifetime will produce hundreds and hundreds of photos.

For our last trip to the park I sorta chickened out and made a 8x8 scrapbook/photo album. It turned out cute but after I finished I felt like I could have done more. Had more fun with the photos and pages. This trip I am going all out to a 12x12 with tons of pages. Although I haven't even packed for the trip, I have begun to look for ideas and inspiration for my Disney album. Looking at other people's pages also gives you great ideas of what to photograph.

Here are some of the great pages I have already found.

Disney Day by Day by iheartnico. Don't you just love that she created this "Disney" themed page with a punch and a brad!


this is why we came by iheartnico I've been to Disney at Halloween...incredible, amazing fun. Go if you have the chance.


Pocohantas by tsajones. Cool idea with digital products.


Blastoff by tsajones. Another cool digi page.


Disney Friends by Jana Eubank


Magical by bluestardesign

I think I am just as excited as the kids! Anyone else headed off to WDW this year for vacation?

June Sneak

Bright, fun and cheery...like my outlook!!

Stay tuned for more to come...

Dreaming...

Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a place to share a few of my new favorite photographs?
You know, whenever I wanted to throw one out there--completely random?

I've been doing a LOT of photo sessions lately. I don't really advertise this--it has just slowly evolved. I have to say, I enjoy it. It isn't as easy as it looks, and the hours spent post-processing can be long...

But I love it. And when you get the chance to practice one of your passions, it doesn't ever seem like work.

I want to share so much more about photography. Dreaming of how I can make that come to fruition...

Is this girl beautiful or what? And the total package--a lady, brains, the works. Thank you for asking me, Kristin (and special thanks to your mom Ingrid, too...)

Stay tuned. Lots of changes coming. Good ones that I'm really, really thrilled to share...So much so that it is the reason for my sleep deprivation the past two nights...I love that kind of thing...

One more thing...

If you're a local, I have added a crop at my home on Saturday, May 22nd from noon-midnight. I've had a bunch of gals request that we do a quickie break out class on Picassa and Picnik for an hour, so if you are interested in attending the crop and want to learn more about basic editing techniques that are available online, bring your laptop and join us. (Be sure you have at least a good 10 photos loaded on your computer so you can learn and play along.) Feel free to email me with any questions. Space is LIMITED, so if you want to sign up, let me know ASAP at Turay413@gmail.com. Cost for the 12-hour crop (includes dinner and the mini break out session) is $25.

Happy Wednesday to you!

Cinco de Mayo

I know there are a lot of Mexican food lovin' people out there...so this is simply out of obligation...:)

The adorable printables can be found here...

There is a whole section of recipes devoted to the FIESTA that is about to ensue here...

Martha is once again, over-the-top...

Val introduced me to these, and you know I bought jalepenos this week for these.

Really cute ideas found on this blog, too...

Ole!

Answered Prayer

Once in a while, you stumble across a blog that blows your mind. Just when I was in the midst of planning a baby shower, I find this dream...
You can see more images from her daughter's beautiful party here. But don't stop there. This one and this one and this one are also must-sees for party ideas.

See this amazing video for more details. It will blow your socks off.

Yes, there is an etsy shop. Eeeeep!!

Need an adorable and free May printable calendar? She'll hook you up.

Then hop on her facebook page and stalk her like me.

Happy Monday to you!

Thank you, Mr. Buckosh

Ahh...technology. It's a wonderful thing. Like googling your favorite teacher from high school.

This time last year, I was thinking about Mr. Buckosh, my high school English teacher. I loved him. I loved that he was funny and entertaining and that he liked teaching. He inspired me to become a teacher myself. He would offer insanely difficult challenges for extra credit--and everyone would dive on his offers because they were hard. He made Shakespeare interesting and understandable. His mantra in three words: "Life is not fair."

So last year I looked him up. To no surprise, he is now a superintendent of a local school system nearby. Oh yeah--you know the sap in me emailed him. And to my surprise, he emailed me back. A year later, I have it in my inbox, kept there to inspire me.

I hope you have felt the positive impact of a teacher some time in your life. I hope you find a moment to google and contact them--and tell them their work made a difference. It is not only a gift to them, but to yourself--as cheesy as it sounds.

It would be the perfect way to start off Teacher Appreciation Week, don't you think??

Happy National Scrapbook Day!!

I hope you all have a splendid NSD!! I'll be thinking of you today...