misc photos ~ jot magazine

When I first came upon Jot Magazine I was amazed at the creative beauty that went into that magazine. It is such a wonderful resource of inspiration and ideas for documenting life. Then I dared to apply for Jot Girls 2015... and to my amazement was asked to be apart of that team!

Today I want to highlight one of my layouts from Issue 9.

awesome ~ art & design

Hey it's Friday...

Sharing a quick look at another Art&Design inspired layout.

The page is real simple. Am really taken by using water color paper as the background and then matting that to pattern paper. The pattern here is from Pink Paislee's Color Wash collection. Those subtle polka dots get me every time.

This page stayed very true to Wilna's version. So for me it was simply a creative exercise. I don't like to keep my pages looking like someone else's. But I do think it is always good for a creative to use resources as jumping off places to discover new inspiration within themselves.

I do adore Wilna's die cuts. So her. Had fun adding them to this layout that will be part of our family album for the year. My daughter's first year at a new school.

Enjoy your weekend. Hoping you get time for some creative play.
Even if it is a creative exercise...
make something this weekend.

~jamie

hello #cute

hello friends...

i have been in a bit of a catch up mode of late with my kids stories. while i continue to love project life and telling our bigger story, there are so many individual stories that are in my heart that have to be shared and added to their own albums.

so here is a little story of this little guy and his love for the weekly library trip. a story about how all grown up he is about having to look at everything. check out all the board books. and then find that one book that is his check out of the week. and then the need to work the kiosk all by himself. ah...these are treasured moments that will pass away so quickly.

so i felt the need to use the new Switchboard from Pink Paislee with all the 'hello' greetings and heart Ephemera and put it to work on this page.

i found that the Georgia Peach Color Shine is a perfect compliment to the oranges found in the Switchboard collection. stenciling and colored tags were added to pop that color.

also, Navy Color Shine works great to add to the navy already found in the papers.

having already made a few layouts with Switchboard, for me it is a great collection for more boyish themes. even though there is plenty of floral embellishments to be found, i keep leaning to boy. isn't that funny how colors can do that to you? i will have to break out and challenge myself to something more feminine. stay tuned.

o.k...so this set will be shipping very very soon to stores and online shops as well. hope you found some inspiration for Switchboard here today.

chic tags march kit

Yesterday on the Chic Tags blog Amy shared a few projects showcasing this kit from March. Fun fun kit. The March Exclusive Kit has great spring appeal. The colors host that fav of mine right...sort of a mix between mint and teal. I am loving it everywhere.
Here is one of my contributions:

 I kept this layout fairly straight forward. It will be the title page to my March section of our project life album. This is in keeping with my pursuit of monthly family photos. Wanted to create a layout showing us all together.

The 3x4 cards are so great. And the 6x4 camera card was perfect for a mat for some of my embellishments. March was die cut on my Sizzix Eclips and kept white. I liked the subtleness of that choice.

Love those Polka Dot Wood Veneer Numbers. They play great against all the color of the kit. Plus, the Mint Color Shine was a great match up to the blue-greenish hue in the kit.

I encourage you to grab this kit. At 16.99 it's almost like an even 17 dollars...and since today is St Patricks day, I think it's a sign.

no small thing

As I begin to get back into the swing of things from being down sick most of the month of February, I have been in a reflective mode as to what life has been lately. Um...like...totally out of my control. Yep. Pretty much. A real lesson in letting go. Going with the flow. Making my mind slow down and be still and take notice. This month has been so many things.

In this reflection a lot of people come to mind who were part of my care and helping and giving of their time and energy while I was down.

So a couple of things came out of this reflection...a layout. Typically this is a response to a memory I want to save.

A layout celebrating with a single photo my thoughts on this subject. I took the photo I had in my instagram feed of my sister's get well basket to me, and that was the focal point of my thoughts and this project.

This layout was inspired by a Keisha Campbell page and was a primer in getting back into a creative swing. When I am in a creative funk, I will look to other creatives for ideas. Sometimes, just looking at other peoples stories and their projects will start that inspiration in my mind and heart and then I can go from there.

This layout was also inspired by the new Dreamy collection from Heidi Swapp that will be shipping next month to stores and online places. It is this soft mix of hues and textures. Lots of 'love' inspired words and labels. The sentiment seemed to me to fit the theme of this page as it is really about the love that was shown to me and my family these past weeks.

Lastly, this page was inspired by Lisa Jo and her Five Minute Friday. Five Minute Friday is an invitation to write for 5 minutes on a subject that she chooses, and then link it up to her blog. Well...I have never been brave enough to do this, much less link to her blog. But this time I did. This time I went for the challenge, went with the flow of something new coming into my life and prompting a response...
and I would like to put myself out there and share those words, that are now part of this layout, with you::

Small
There is nothing done small in His name. Flowers given to share love. A gift basket extending "get well". A meal served to help a family in need. Children picked up and delivered to their destinations. Nothing. Small.
He told us that "as you do to the least of my brothers you have done it unto me".
Really.
A heart card from a child to a mom.
A visit received when one is too sick to get out.
The simple asking "is there anything I can do?"
The simple doing, when the question is not answered.
He never put a measure on it.
Save for "whatever".
Whatever we do to the least...it is as if we do it for Him.
I have been least. In many ways. I am recovering. But I will not forget the great things done when I was least.
Even the simplicity of the gift of rest.
Nothing is small to Him.
Nothing. Small.

This was a very meaningful exercise in many ways.
I invite you too to take time in the near future and document a real meaningful memory for you as well. I can assure you, you will not regret it. Take a photo that captures the essence of your heart. Then write. Write about it. Write freely and without judgement. Be a noticer of the things in your heart and then let it go out for others to know too.

till next time...

make art at chic tags

o.k...
i have been crazy sick for like, ever.
more of this month have i been down then not.
do you know how crazy that makes me?
pretty crazy.
while i am not quite at the 100% level this mom-of-a-very-busy-household would like to be, i am also not dying like i thought i was going to be doing a week ago today.

but that said...
i am thrilled today to be sharing my very first project for chic tags with you all today...

hope you will run over there and get the scoop and inspiration behind this layout. there is lots to be had.

and i hope this is the beginning of more wellness for me.
till next time..

hello february

time flies...
this is why i take pictures.
print them.
and document.

this little guy and his life are flying by too. i am finding the need to grasp at his dwindling toddler days and be better focused on his little stories. it is actually causing all kinds of introspection on my part as to how that should look, but that is a post for another time.

his grandparents gave him this red trike. and that boy can jam down the sidewalk with sheer delight. we had a gorgeous and warm day in the middle of january (do you remember when it use to be warm?), and it was great opportunity to get outside. to run. play. and of course ride.

This layout  uses a lot of Hello Today but it is also mixed with some old school No Limits. Hello Today can be very soft and girlie, so I loved the challenge to turn it up a bit and give it this little boy feel.

by attaching a little mini book to the front of the page, i added more than one photo. because, you can't have too many photos of that face. this was easily made by folding pattern papers that were cut 12x4 inches, folding them in half, and stapling in the middle. walah! a mini photo flap book thingy.

till next time.