Favorite Layouts & Moments of 2012 // A Look At 2013

I haven't been scrapbooking for what I would call a long time (not seriously, anyway). However, around the middle of 2012 I started to become more aware of my own personal 'style' of scrapbooking. Around that time is when I felt my scrapbooking started looking a little more professional as opposed to a few of the amateur layouts I had made in the past.

These are my favorite layouts of the year! They are the layouts that I feel most capture my personal style. I love every single one of them which is not an easy thing to say because I am usually so harsh on myself/my creations.

Being the mommy and daddy of a toddler - 2012 was filled with many "first times" for us. Charlotte's first Easter egg hunt, Charlotte's first steps, Charlotte's first time at the beach, Charlotte's first time seeing fireworks, and Charlotte's first haircut. I'm sure there were more but these are the moments that truly stick out.

Aside from "first times" there are still plenty of memories. Halloween, finally buying a DSLR camera, Christmas, Charlotte's 2nd birthday, and that time when a cow was trying to break into my mom and dad's seafood shop. Yes, you read that right. A cow!

And last but certainly not least - 2012 was when I made my first Design Team! I've enjoyed working with the lovely ladies over at Color Me Scrappy and am curently in my second term with them.

I am very excited for 2013 and plan on making a few changes to further better this blog. I want to make it a more interesting read for the few that do follow it and maybe even pick up a few more followers along the way. While I'm still in the planning faze of things, here is what you can possibly expect...:

Sketch Saturday: Technically I've already started this. We're 2 sketches in and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I really hope you all are enjoying them so far and I look forward to making more for you all. Confused? Sketch Saturday is simply what it sounds to be. I make a sketch and post it every Saturday - free for anyone to use!
Videos: I've wanted to make process/tutorial videos for a while now. These are my favorite types of videos to watch on Youtube so I figure - why not? I'm not sure how 'complicated' it's going to be but I'd say you can expect 1-2 videos a month. Maybe one at the beginning of the month and one at the end of the month? We'll see. ;)
Monthly Guest Bloggers: I enjoyed having Lizzie (from Oh Snap Lizzie) as a Guest Blogger so much that I plan on having monthly guest bloggers! I think guest bloggers give something a little 'different' and are kind of a breath of fresh air when things start to get repetitive. If you are interested in joining in- please feel free to email me! c.inezcollins(at)gmail.com
Friday Favorites: I've done something similar to this before but never stuck with it. This year - I will follow through! There are several blogs out there that list their favorites of the week and I really enjoy seeing what goodies they've found on the internet. I'd love to share my finds with all of you so ever Friday I'll be posting my favorites.

Watcha' think? I hope everyone is just excited as I am! Are these ideas something you'd like to see this year? Anything I didn't mention that you would like to see? I'd love input.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year! Have fun, celebrate, and stay safe!

Sketch Saturday #2

I can't believe it's Saturday already. This week went by so fast. Here is sketch #2. Enjoy! If you use it - please let me know via comment! I'd love to see what you come up with. Happy weekend, everyone!

Guest Blogger: Oh Snap Lizzie!

Prelude: One day on facebook I recieved a message from a local friend telling me that I reminded her so much of one of her best friends. In the message she suggested that I get to know her friend and so I did. Boy, was I in for a suprise or what? The girl's name was Lizzie and we were EXACTLY alike. We both love to craft, we're both nerdy, and we're both pretty adorable too! From that day forward - she has been known as my "twinnie" and I love her to death. Because I'm far from greedy - I'd love to share this wonderful twinnie named Lizzie with you all. Luckily - she agreed to do a guest blogger post! I hope you enjoy it. It's a very fun read! So without further ado.... 

Hey, I'm Lizzie.  I'm a momma of three that has NO time to clean or do housework with all the other things I need to get done in the day.  I like to blog and type and share my crafty projects with the world.  But separating colors and white for laundry?  /giggle that's funny that you think I do that!

 

Some would say I'm lazy... but I'm not.  I have a lot of my plate.  Like training my 7 year old the fine art of duel light saber battles.

And of course my daughter wasn't born with all her sass.  That takes up most of my mommy duties.  Being a Sass Master is exhausting.  But the end result is fab!  In just five short years, I think she's finally a professional.

 

As for the third... well he gets into too much trouble to learn.  From climbing fences and trees (yes he's only TWO) and eating his weight in candy and other sugary treats everyday, I don't see how he could find the time in the first place.

With all this hard mothering going on, it's a wonder I find time to craft at all!  I do love to make things with paper, yarn, and sometimes fabric.  But that's a BIG sometimes with the fabric.  Me and Alice don't get along very well.  Alice is my sewing machine.  Of course I name my possessions... don't you?
I have a strong love with paper crafting.  I love being apart of many crafting communities and Facebook Groups.  If I close my eyes really hard and focus I can almost vacuum the living room with my mind.  Almost.  So until I am able, the crumbs will just have to make their way to the trash on their own.

In my spare time I work on a magazine called Designed To Color.  So you can see how we hardly ever have clean laundry and dishes.  I'm just way too busy with more important things.  Important to me and my kiddos that is.  The husband could disagree with that tho.
Want to see where I create?  I'm sure you do!  I love to oooh and ahhhh over other crafters rooms.  See what creative ways they come up with to store their push pins and scrap papers!

 

Such a lovely room huh?  The colors, the cleanness!  Man I wish I could tell you it's mine!  But let's be honest... what crafter really has a room like this?  Since I am airing all my dirty laundry here (and we now know I have TONS) here is my craft space.

Lovely huh?  See how I just throw everything on the big table and then when the time comes for me to use it I either 1:  Forget I have it or 2: Can't find it for the life of me and then it appears two days later just laying in the middle of the floor b/c it's tired of playing hide and seek.  Yup... awesome indeed.
The husband gets a little upset with me over my crafting.  Not so much for the mess, but because I have piles and piles of pants piled up that need a good hem job or maybe a button sewn on.  For me, it's just easier to head to the mall and buy him a new pair.  But shhhh.  He doesn't know about the 'mall part'.  Many times have I tricked him into thinking a new pair of pants were his favorite jeans.  Thank goodness for the grungy, distressed era we live in now!
Yes, I love to craft.  yes I love my kiddos.  And yes, my husband can get on my nerves.  And yes... I'm not the 'best' housewife if you compare me to the housewife guidebook of 1956.  But you know what... we are happy, silly bunch!
So don't be afraid to show off your imperfections, don't be afraid to let the laundry sit in the hamper for a few more days.  Clorox is great to treat mold!  Just remember... you only have one life.  And to sit on the couch and watch Supernatural and craft with your kiddos will be the best memories of your life.
Okay seriously... can you come fold my laundry?  I'll pay you 10 dollars plus gas money!
Want to find out more about me and my crazy, lazy life?  Head over to my site www.ohsnaplizzie.com

Get Scrappy & WIN!

Are you in need of a few scrappy supplies? Perhaps Santa didn't bring you everything on your wishlist. Fear not! The Beary Scrap Paper Crafting Boutique has exactly what you need. Want to know the best part? Color Me Scrappy is GIVING AWAY a $20 gift certificate to this wonderful store! All you have to do is play along with one (or more) of our challenges!

There are 7 hours left to play along with challenge #21 using the color pallet and using the word  TWISTED or SPIN  in your title or journaling. There are 7 days to play along with challenge #22 using the color pallet and any type of RIBBON. There are 13 days to play along with challenge #23 using the color pallet and a BLACK background! 

Play along with either challenge for your chance to win! And remember - the more you play, the more layouts you make - the more chances of winning you have!

Christmas Morning 2012

How was everyone's Christmas? While our Christmas wasn't nearly as adventurous as Christmas pasts - it was still fun. Charlotte (being 2) seems to finally get the jist of what presents actually are. She was tearing through the wrapping paper with all her might. Every now again, the toy beneath the wrapping paper would be impressive enough that we'd hear her say "Wooooooow!" It was such a joy to watch her face light up! She made out well. I am pretty certain I wouldn't be able to fit another toy in her room if I tried. I truly hope everyone had a happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to every single one of you. ♥

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #1

I love creating sketches!
I've decided that starting today I will post a new sketch every Saturday....free for everyone to use!

Here is the first sketch. If you do end up using it, feel free to link me to your layout. I'd love to see what you created. Don't forget to check back every Saturday for new sketches!
 

Handmade and Digital Christmas Cards

I'm not much of a card maker but on certain occasions the mood will hit me. The mood hit me this morning and this is the quick little card that I came up with. I used this week's saturday card sketch from Two Peas In A Bucket. The red paper, Santa sticker, polka dot paper, and stars are all from Echo Park's Very Merry collection. The "Ho! Ho!" paper is from a Me & My Big Ideas paper stack that I got from Michael's last year and the wooden button is from American Crafts. The card is backed a a piece of kraft card stock.

 

It opens up to reveal a little pocking that will hold an iTunes gift card. The pocket also acts a little spot for me to write my sentiments on.

Unfortunately I don't have the supplies, nor the time and energy to hand make everyone Christmas cards. Photoshop comes in handy though! This is the Christmas card I have made this year to pass out with every one's gifts. Super simple but I think it's pretty cute. Our relatives are always excited to get photos of Charlotte so I'm sure this one will be a winner!

Thanks for taking a peek! Happy Friday. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

 

Altered Clear Christmas Ornaments with Echo Park

I had to be a frugal girl this year for Christmas. That basically translates into being a crafty girl. I made three gifts for three individuals with a set of $6.00 ornaments and my scrapbook stash. I was originally inspired by Garden Girl Wendy Sue for this project. I made three sets of three. Six dollars for three gift? It can't get any better than that!

For the first and third set I used Echo Park's Very Merry collection. For the second set - I used Echo Park's Winter Wishes collection. For the main ornament in each set - I wrapped a band of pretty paper around the bulb, filled the bulb with glass beeds, and added festive stickers from the collection. For the partner ornaments I simply rolled up pretty paper and stuffed them in the bulb. I added Doodlebug Twine to the top of each ornament for that finishing touch.

So if you have someone to buy for and you just don't have the money - go grab a set of clear ornaments and have at it! It's a nice gift and you'll have fun making them.

Oh Christmas Tree layout (Echo Park)

 Oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely. 
We decorated the tree a week or so ago. My daughter was absolutely fascinated. Her eyes lit up with joy when we plugged the lights in. She loved hanging all the ornaments. I snapped a few pictures and the one I decided to scrapbook was my absolute favorite. It was such a lovely moment when she clasped her hands together and stared up at the finished Christmas tree in amazement.

All of the papers, the alphas that spell out "xmas", and the little mistletoes on the twine tree are from Echo Park's Very Merry collection. The white alphas are DIY Thickers. This is the very first layout that I've ever stitched on! I was lucky enough to get a sewing machine for my birthday (in November) and finally set it up last night. The stitch isn't perfect but I love the extra little touch it adds. I plan to add the journaling to the journaling card but for now I seem to have misplaced my journaling pen.

 

 I was inspired by Ellen Hutson to make the twine Christmas tree after seeing hers on Pinterest. I used Doodlebug twine and couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. So adorable and very easy!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Christmas Photo Shoot 2012

I've been practicing my photography and decided to give my daughter a little Christmas inspired photoshoot. The pictures are far from professional but we had fun. I thought it would be nice to share them. With that being said, photographing a two year old is no easy task!

Color Me Scrappy - CHALLENGE #21

It's been far to long my fellow crafters! What can I say? School got pretty intense towards the end of this semester and it 'tis the season for staying busy (with all these lovely holidays). My crafting was put on the back burner. I'm hoping to get back into a groove and what's a better way than to share my design team project for Color Me Scrappy with you?

For this challenge we had to use this gorgeous color pallet and also include the word "Spin" or "Twisted" in the title or journaling.

...And here is the layout I created! It's an 8.5x11 page. I kept it clean and simple because I wanted the large picture to be the main focus. The background grid paper is by Bella Blvd, the brown floral paper is by Amy Tangerine. In the little cluster of circles the yellow chevron is from Pebbles, the teal woodgrain is from Bella Blvd, and the tan pattern is from Studio Calico.

The banner that says "Together Is The Best Place To Be" is from Echo Park. The Brown alpha stickers from My Little Shoebox and the teal letters are from Bella Blvd.

The prize for this challenge is a $20 gift certificate to The Beary Scrap Paper Crafting Boutique!
The more challenges you enter with Color Me Scrappy for the month of December - the more chances you have at winning this wonderful prize!

So what do you say? Come join the fun!