Stitch Fix - February 2015

A couple of weeks ago I had a fun delivery from Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix is a fun service that ships you clothes that you can try on and then ship back what you don't want to keep. It's a great way to freshen up my wardrobe without needing to go out and shop in a store.

What to see what came in my box...

Shaina Stitched Detail Jean

It seems like I wear the same couple pairs of jeans over and over again and when I saw these dark denim I was excited to try them on. The stitched detailing down the side of each leg won me over and I decided to keep these.

Annalisse Anorak Jacket

I made a request for a lightweight jacket that would be nice for travel and layering and I was really happy with what they sent.  The neutral army green color looked like it would be perfect for coordinating with almost anything. It was love at first touch! This jacket is just so soft. I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of this jacket because Audrey has already borrowed it three times in the past week. I guess it's even cool enough for teenagers!

Striped Knit Tee

This shirt was fine, but I didn't think it was anything special, so it was shipped back. 

Navy/White Polka Dress

The fit on this was just wrong on me. It was super baggy on the top and wasn't flattered at all. Back it went.

Navy Long Cardigan

I'd requested a black cardigan and my stylist said that she could find one for me, so she sent this navy cardigan instead. I do appreciate that they are reading my requests and doing their best to fulfill them. The cut on this just didn't feel flattering which it too bad because the fabric was super soft and comfortable. This went back too.

I think picking up two new pieces that can be staples in my wardrobe was a success! Both the jeans and the jacket were winners. Thanks, Stitch Fix!

If you want to take a look at some of my past Stitch Fix boxes, you can check them out HERE.

The Stitch Fix links are affiliate and if you choose to sign up for the service via my link I will receive a small credit on my next box. I'm truly just sharing here because it's something that I love!

Fast and Fun Scrapbooking @ Craftsy

Today my third Crafty class went live! I had such a great time flying to Denver in December to do the filming for this class. (You can read about my trip to Craftsy HERE.)

One thing I hear from people about not scrapbooking is that they just don't have time. Have you ever heard that or felt that way? That's why I developed this Fast and Fun Scrapbooking Class for Craftsy!

I share lots of great tips and tricks for streamlining the scrapbooking process and we also make a lot of layouts in the class. It's all about keeping the process simple while working in special and creative touches along the way.

You can check out a preview video for the class HERE.

You can checkout the class HERE. This link will give a $15 discount on the class. Sweet!

One of my favorite things about Craftsy classes is that they are video based and I can stop, rewind and watch on my own schedule. I've signed up for a few classes (card making, cupcake decorating and a food photography class) and I'm enjoying taking my time working through the classes.

I hope you'll take a minute and stop by and see what my class is all about. Enjoy the day!

Scrapbook Circle Free Kit Weekend!

Scrapbook Circle is offering a sweet deal this weekend! Start a new subscription with the February Today is Beautiful Kit and choose any past kit to ship along for free. Yes! I really love free stuff.

So if you've been wanting to try out Scrapbook Circle kits (or you've been missing them and need them again!) this is the perfect weekend to pick up two kits for the price of one. Plus, I must say that the March kit is going to be fabulously stuffed with new goodies ordered at CHA plus some cool exclusives. 

Just for fun, I decided to put the six layouts plus eight tags that I created with the Today is Beautiful February Kit into a collage so you can get a feel for the kit. You can see that there are definitely some love elements in the kit, but it is certainly not just for Valentine's Day. 

Stop by the Scrapbook Circle site to check out the February Today is Beautiful Kit and take advantage of a cool weekend deal.  How you have a lovely weekend!

Crafting is My Sanity

How do people happily survive without a hobby? Seriously. With all of the demands with family, work and church, it's so nice to have a craft where I can take time out and create something. When I'm making things with paper it's like I'm giving myself a really big breathe of fresh air.

This week a crafting break was inspired by my Today is Beautiful kit scraps that were in a messy piles on my desk. After making six layouts, there were still a lot of great bits and pieces still left, so I decided to make some Valentine tags for my kids, Ward and a few friends.

White tags that I had on hand were the base for each of the tags. I sprayed a few white doilies with Heidi Swapp Color Shine (Tropicana Teal, Gold and Primrose) and folded those around a few of the white tags. 

It was so fun to stack and layer bits and pieces of pretty paper, glittered embellishments and flowers. My talented friend, Tessa, gave me a sweet gift of handmade flowers and bows and I used those and finishing touches on a few of the tags. 

Once the tags were finished, I decided that it would be fun to tie them with baker's twine to some candy. I was so happy to find these hot pink candy bars at Trader Joe's. I didn't even care what chocolate flavor they were (luckily they were plain swiss chocolate) because I knew the pink candy wrapping would add the perfect pop of color.

It took about an hour to create these eight tags and I'm thinking that was an hour of crafting happiness that was well spent!

Happy Friday, friends!

Love Our Life

There have been many times when I've printed off an Instagram photos and used it on a page. For a fun twist on that idea, I decided to take a screenshot of a photo my husband had shared on an Instagram private message and use that on a layout.

I love how the screenshot not only captures a fun moment with our kids riding bikes in Newport Beach, but it also shows photo comments and little photos of who the picture was shared with. This helps tell more of the story without me actually having to write or say anything. I'm sure over time the interface for Instagram will change is this preserves a little piece of our history.

I kept this layout pretty simple with the focus on the photo, a few embellishments and a bit of journaling. Sometimes I just need a quick and simple page to help me tell the story I want to record. No frills on this one and that works just fine for me.

Layout Supplies /// Today is Beautiful Kit

Watch the Sunset

One our our favorite things to do at the beach is watch the sunset. It seems like right at the last minute clouds like to roll in, but when we were at the beach at the beginning of this year, we scored and saw a beautiful sunset. The photos didn't really do it justice, but I'm okay with that. We still got a family photo with everyone looking at the camera - that's a win for sure.

These fill in tags are one of my favorite things in the February Scrapbook Circle Kit. I love how they give a great starting point for a page concept and at the very least are a jump start for journaling.

On this page, I freehand cut all of the papers except for the polka background. I love freehand cutting paper because it takes away the structured and blocked feel that can sometimes happen when all of the lines are perfectly straight.

With a couple touches of sewing, this layout was finished!

Layout Supplies /// Today is Beautiful Kit /// Dream Big Add-on

Hello Love

Hello Monday! Hope you had a great weekend.

A few months ago I printed out a stack of photos and they've been neatly stacked on my desk ever since. Today I started a layout with one photo and then decided the design wasn't matching the photos, so I swapped the photo for a few wedding photos from my sister's wedding last summer. I love having a few photos printed and ready to go so that when I'm ready to create I'm not spending a ton of time digging for photos.

The design for this layout was inspired by a few paper strips that were out on my desk. This is the 6th layout I've made with the same kit, so I'm starting to get down to having a bunch of paper scraps. It started out with just a few strips under the photo as a mat, but then I decided to play around with stacking paper to fill the whole page.

I love how this incorporates so many different pattens and colors! Sticking with the stacking in the design of the paper, the photos were also stacked on each other. I like how the stacking reminds me of the layers on a wedding cake!

I'm thinking this small paper strip stacking idea might be cool to try covering the entire background of a layout. Might be seeing that idea soon!

Layout Supplies /// Today is Beautiful Kit /// Dream Big Add-on