Elle's Studio Sketch Thursday

After a bit of a blogging hiatus which included a work deadline & trip to Orlando over the weekend, I'm back to share my layout for this week's Elle's Studio Sketch Thursday- and it is my favorite layout so far this year!



I really liked this sketch because it was simple, but I decided to put my own spin on it.


Supplies: Studio Calico Metropolitan kit + add-ons, Elle's Studio 'Lil Snippets, Red Pennants
I absolutely love everything about this layout! The photo was taken on a random day when Simon & Toby were wrestling on the bed. When I was printing it, I wasn't happy with the color balance, even after several printing attempts. Finally, I decided to put it in sepia tone & everything seemed to just come together after that.

After my photo was printed, I knew right away that I wanted to use this title. I wanted to keep the background simple, but my layouts are always a bit more "busy" than this sketch. To keep it simple, but still add more, I used the same color alphas as my background to make a long title, keeping the main title header "Little Moments" at a higher contrast than the remainder as the title.



It is hard to see, but on the left, I used a Studio Calico exclusive stamp with acrylic paint to stamp the numbers onto the grid paper. I really like using acrylic paint with stamps because it creates a bit more of a textural look than ink.



In the sketch, I really liked the diagonal line of embellishment running from the upper left to the lower right, but originally, I didn't have anything there. It wasn't until I punched a hole to run baker's twine through my background patterned paper to attach my pennant that I realized that it would be REALLY cool to use confetti as my embellishment. Thus began my love with confetti. I used a piece of patterned paper from my kit that was again the same color as my background so that they didn't stand out more than the photo, but I let three pieces remain on the 'B' side of the paper so that they created a visual triangle on the page.



Go to the Elle's Studio blog, check out Valerie's take on the sketch and link up your creation using this sketch to win a $10 gift certificate to the shop!

My Dream Kitchen

When we bought our current house, we knew that we would have to renovate the kitchen. It was broken up into three rooms- a back entry corridor with laundry & a maid's bathroom (yes, you heard me), a tiny, tiny breakfast room and a galley kitchen. In the 60's, the kitchen was for one thing only- cooking. Not entertaining. Not spending family time together. So one Saturday, we got a group of friends over (in exchange for pizza and beer) and started knocking through the walls with sledgehammers. After a few months with a contractor, and several more months for us to finish up the last few details, this is our finished kitchen.



The layout was absolutely perfect for me. I was really intent on creating an easy-to-use kitchen with a perfect working triangle (between the cooktop, sink and fridge) and I have to say, that that is totally what I got. I did all of the design work, but had a cabinet vendor do the cabinet layout for me. (Cabinets are not my expertise!) The refrigerator is built-in, and is located inside the far left cabinet. I loved having the freezer at the bottom too. It made everything in the fridge easy to see.


This photo really shows the backsplash, one of my favorite things about the kitchen. The tile is from AKDO. I wanted one upper cabinet that I could keep our good glassware in to be lit up, and I love how it looks at night with no other lights on. The lights that I chose are from Juno, and are an awesome alternative to the standard LED strips (which I feel never give a warm-enough light). The glass in the cabinet is a specialty glass that we ordered, and has a rippled texture.


Another favorite for me is our nine foot long island. I can cook here across from my husband sitting at a barstool. During parties, people tend to gather around the island. That white marble is another of my loves, and it took a while just to find the right Carrera marble slabs. However, it is something that we will not do again. Just an FYI...marble is SO beautiful, but extremely porous. If you want something that is easy, scratch-resistant and maintenance free, don't even think about it. You always have to be mindful of what you're setting on the marble. We will never do it again, but we were glad that we did it while we don't have children!


On the stool-side of the island is my bookcase, which was made with a glass-fronted cabinet, using the same specialty glass as the upper cabinet. The glass hood, which I love, and all appliances are by Thermador, and have been wonderful to cook with. I highly recommend them.


We also went all-out on the gadgets in this kitchen. Along with a 36 bottle wine fridge at the island, we installed this little baby, a Sharp microwave drawer. I will so miss it! The floor tile is from Daltile.


Everyone is always amazed by this corner cabinet. When you pull out the first section of shelving to the outside of the cabinet, the second section of shelving pulls forward so that what is in the back of the cabinet is easily accessible. It is a genius design.


This is the view from the corner of the fridge to the opposite wall. The French pulley pendants were purchased from Overstock, but Pottery Barn has a similar one here. The chairs were purchased from Target, and were supposed to be temporary (they're just bent plywood stacking chairs), but alas, I never found the "perfect" chairs for the room, so we just continued to use them. The search continues. The paint color on the walls is Martha Stewart Morning Fog. The double doors to the left were actually made with two standard doors that we took out during the renovation and had made into these bi-fold doors by a local architectural salvage company. They cost about $300, compared to probably over $1,000 to have new, custom-sized panel doors fitted, and they match all of the other doors in the house. That's my one piece of advice for a renovation project- reuse whatever you can. It will save you so much money in the long run.

Behind those double-doors was what used to be the maid's bathroom. Totally not lying, just like in the book/movie "The Help." Yes, we live in the south and the house was built in 1960, so it is understandable. Now, it is my laundry.


Small, but very functional.

So there you have it! If you have any questions about any of the materials/appliances used, please send me an email!

If you were going to build  you dream kitchen, what would it be like?

Empty

It has been a while since I have talked about anything real on this blog. Usually when things bother me, I don't talk about them. I shut the problems out of my mind, and usually the people around me too. Lately, there is something that has been bothering me, probably more than anything else in my life so far.



Most people post photos of ultrasounds that have something to look at, but I am empty.

In the past, if you asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I would have said, "Be a great designer," but for the past two years I have been focusing on becoming more- a good wife and a mother. However, I haven't been so successful at the latter. In the next couple of months, it will be two years that I have been dreading that day at the end of the month when all of my hopes crash, two years that I have been taking temperatures and analyzing bodily fluids, two years of spending money on fertility kits and pregnancy tests, (and usually not believing them when they show a negative result) and two years of tearing up when I look at someone else's precious baby.

Infertility is something that most people don't talk about, at least not openly. It's quite funny that when you find yourself infertile, you find out about so many other people who are in the same boat as you. Even though I know that there are millions of people out there who are feeling exactly the same hopelessness as I am, I still feel so lonely in this place. Even with my husband, I feel that he doesn't feel the pain as much as I do. Fertility is one of the reasons why God made woman, it is one of our primary jobs in life, so I guess that is why it makes this failure so hard to accept.

Sadness isn't the only emotion that I feel on a daily basis, anger and resentment has also crept in. When I sit  in the doctor's waiting room and see a teenage girl with a round belly, I look at the heavens and do "jazz hands," if you get what I'm saying. I know we're not really supposed to know God's ultimate plan for us, but sometimes I feel like I'm the butt of his joke. I have been so angry at God over this, which makes me feel so incredibly guilty. I also don't want to be that person who has to grit her teeth and fake a smile when she finds out that yet another friend or relative is pregnant, but right now, that's where I am, and I'm dealing with that on a daily basis- trying to stay positive, trying to keep negative thoughts out of my mind and focus on our family only.

We have started IVF,  a process that is intensive and very expensive, but we feel our best option given the circumstances. I thank God every day that we have this opportunity, as I know that many people can't go down this route. Being in New Orleans and traveling to Houston to go to the doctor hasn't been very easy, but we're making it work. I may blog about it along the way, and I am now really appreciative of blogs that I have read before going through this that have been very informative on this process, such as April Foster's blog, Goodbye City Life, as I know a bit more about what to expect along the way.

With any luck, and with God's help, we will be parents this year. Any positive prayers, vibes, or fertility rituals (ha!) that you'd like to throw my way would be most appreciated.

Thanks for listening,

A Love Story

I can't believe that the Elle's Studio 'A Love Story' kit is still available! It is awesome, and really versatile. Here is the second layout that I created with the kit.



I LOVE this layout. I know it is still early in the year, but this is my favorite layout so far. First, it is about my beautiful friend Blythe's wedding in Mexico last year, which makes me happy. Looking at these photos really makes me want to re-do my wedding on the beach! Second, it really feels like "me." A mix of patterns, neutrals and bright colors and stitching.



The exclusive tags in this kit are awesome. On this one, I drew a heart lightly with a pencil, then stitched around the heart with the baker's twine that was included in the kit.



Studio Calico Mister Huey's Shine is one of the kit extras in the shop, and I used it on this Pink Paislee wood letter here. It doesn't photograph well, but this mist creates a beautiful, sparkling shimmer on anything! I then just made a little frame out of the patterned paper to really highlight the letter and then tied some baker's twine around one side.

I find myself always using kits lately, and this one was so easy to use! I plan on using my leftovers on my Valentine's Day cards. They're still let in the shop, so go pick one up today! It's not too late for Valentine's Day!

A Love Story

The new Elle's Studio kit for this month is called A Love Story, and it is such an awesome, versatile kit! Here is one of my layouts from the kit that was featured on the Elle's Studio blog last week.



A few things that I loved about this kit were the exclusive tags. Really, you should buy this kit just for those! They are awesome, and really great for use on layouts, cards or any other projects. Check out these sweet little round tags.


Aren't they adorable?

Another of my favorite things from this kit were the handmade fabric embellishments created by the talented Tara Anderson. Here is a closeup of one that I used on this layout, along with one of the Crate Paper buttons.


Isn't it beautiful?

Check out the other projects that the design team members have come up with over at the Elle's Studio blog. There is really some beautiful stuff being created with this kit!

Also, don't forget about the extras that you can purchase along with the kit, like the awesome Studio Calico Mister Huey's Shine. It creates a beautiful sparkly shimmer on anything you choose to spray it on, and I used it on the awesome Pink Paislee Wood Shop Alphas.

Elle's Studio Sketch Thursday

Hi there!

Have you checked out the Elle's Studio sketch for this Thursday? It is a good one!



This sketch is so versatile! I was drawn to the cluster of photos & embellishments, as well as the vertical axis along the side. That's one thing I really like about sketches...you can use them just as they are, or pick out parts and pieces to really make them your own!

Here is my layout that is loosely based on the sketch:


This layout documents our tour of Alcatraz when we were in San Francisco in 2010. I'm pretty much loving everything about this layout--the photos, all of the patterned paper (from the American Crafts Amy Tangerine line) and the embellishments (also from the same AC line and Elle's Studio, of course!). Did you notice the border punch along the left side? That is the new Ticket Border Punch from Jenni Bowlin, and I am kind of obsessed with it.

Here are some closeups:



This cute little 'The things we saw' tag is from the Elle's Studio's 'Lil Snippets- Travel and works so well at documenting the highlights of the day!


This little cluster of embellishment is my favorite part about the layout! The green tag at the back is from the Amy Tangerine line at American Crafts. The two tags in the middle are from Elle's Studio's new Handmade Layers Date & Place Strips and Handmade Layers Pennants- Blank. I then popped a piece of patterned paper on top that I punched using this Martha Stewart punch (one of my favorites!) and a brad from the American Crafts Amy Tangerine line. I love me a good cluster!

Sidenote: Because I've been such a good wife lately, and all of my cleaning & sprucing of the house helped us sell it in 6 days, my wonderful husband bought me a new Canon macro lens to take these closeups of my layouts! I have to say, that I am LOVING this lens!


Because the first tag only held the important stuff and I wanted to write a bit more, I put the remainder of my notes on the day on this sweet little note tag from Elle's Studio's Handmade Layers Cutouts sheet. I slid it in a little pocket that I made behind my patterned paper and attached the cute little Amy Tangerine camera paperclip.

Go over to the Elle's Studio Sketch Thursday blog post, get inspired by the other layouts that the talented DT members have come up with, create your own layout and post by 11:59pm on Wednesday, February 2, 2012 to have a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Elle's Studio! Good luck!

Elle's Studio January Inspiration

The Elle's Studio January Inspiration Gallery went live today, and I can't even explain how excited I was to check out what the team did for our first month! There are some amazing layouts, cards and other projects in there. Here is what I came up with.


This layout, made with the Studio Calico Boardwalk kit and Summer Memories Journaling Tags, documents a weekend trip that my two friends and I took to Orange Beach, AL this summer.


I love this layout. The color combination is one of my favorites, and those yellow AC Thickers are my all-time favorite alpha ever. I'm pretty sure that I only have consonants left! The photo was taken last summer on our trip to France and as soon as I saw that photo, I thought, "It looks like a fairy tale."
I used the Studio Calico Brooklyn Flea kit for this one, along with some new and beautiful Elle's Studio tags- the One & Only Large Journaling Tag and One & Only Note Tags.

My last project for the month was a mini album (as you could probably tell from my sneaks), but this is more mini that I've ever done before, at 2.5" x 3.75".



The entire mini was made using the Studio Calico Glee Club Kit, Elle's Studio One & Only Note Tags, and a few other tags on the pages that I've highlighted below. I made it as a Valentine's Day gift for my husband. It may just be my favorite project that I've ever created. Here are the pages:




The Layered Number Cutouts came in handy on this page!




Under the "no. 3" is a Turquoise Pennant. These are so versatile, I use them for everything!


The "two" tag is another from the Layered Number Cutouts.


Lastly, that super cute "no. 1" tag is from the One & Only Tidbits.

Here is a look at the spine, which I covered over with Washi tape.



After some thought, this little mini wasn't very hard to make at all (and I should know- I actually made two of them after I spilled coffee on the first one!) If you're interested in its construction, the ES blog will feature a tutorial in February about how to create one yourself!

Please go check out the January Inspiration Gallery to see what the amazingly talented design team did, along with a special guest designer, one of my favorite designers, Kelly Purkey!