Smash book pages

Things have been super busy around here!!! Yes, life with a baby and a toddler is pretty fast paced, but we are having a great time! In between laundry, dishes, bottles, feedings, naps, MDO, and play time, I try to find a few moments here and there to do something fun and creative!

Especially after I printed my Instagram pictures, I've been having a great time sticking them in my Smash books!!! I'm up to 3 of those bad boys, now!  My red one is for me and just random stuff, the teal one is Livie's baby book, and the black one is Tuckers, which started out as a way to help him learn Scriptures, but I'm adding in his stuff, too!

I found this little quote on Pinterest, and knew it was the perfect first page for his book!

These next two pages are probably my favorites right now!!! They are in my red book, and they are just so fun and colorful!...very me, no?! :)

This next piece is  not in a Smash book, but rather a card that I made and sent as part of a Love Notes project that I did! I mailed this little gem to Heidi, who was my pen pal for 3 weeks :)  I hope she liked it!

And, I'll leave you with this picture! I walked into Hobby Lobby a while back and this beauty smacked me in the face on the way in!!!  I think someone had me in mind when they made this couch!  How cute are those chevron pillows, too?! 

My dad, who never seizes to amaze me in his ever growing knowledge of girl things (he has lived most of his life in a house full of girls. We were bound to make an impact on him at some point! :), said, "You'd have to have everything else in that room be very plain in order for that couch to work!"  LOL!!! SO true, Dad!  Good eye, good eye. :)

Well, it's 9:45, so way past my bed time these days!  I hope you enjoyed this little update! :)

You've Got Mail

I'm talking to you, Brooklyn Art Library!

Mom and I really pushed it to the last minute this year with our sketchbooks for The Sketchbook Project 2012!  We mailed them on the deadline day!!!! :/  And, in perfect "us" style, we documented the whole thing :)

Don't our covers look great?!  Here's a closer look at our books.

Let's start with Mom!  I'm SOOOOOOO proud of her book!!!  Since I was little, I remember her talking on the phone and doodling these beautiful little women all over her notes page. She recently began creating more expansive drawings of these woman, and I think she has really found her style!  Each page of her book screams her spirit, love of art, and attention to detail!  Here's her front cover:

 Mom chose the theme "Encyclopedia of..."  And her's is "Encyclopedia of Filet."  You'll have to read her sketchbook, but basically, "filet" is what our family calls the best of the best.  I believe a more common example would be "Cadilac."  Can you find her title in the books?! :)

 Wait, who's this fancy girl?! She seems so artsy, so cool, so...everything!  Oh, wait, that's me! ;)

 This is one of my favorite pages.  I can't believe she did all of that pen detail by hand on the left!

 This next picture is mom's fav.  This lady is so super cool!!!

 And, this is the Resort! If you look closely, there are so many details specific to The Resort!

 And, this is the back cover. 

 Great job, Mom!

Here is the inside cover of my sketchbook.  You can see the sewn collage through the leaves when the book is closed!  I chose the theme, "Folds and Stitches," but the full title of my book is "Holes and Folds and Stitches and Stuff." :)

 I feel like there's not a whole to explain about my pages.  There is just a wide variety of my mixed media and collaging. 

There are cut out leaves in the middle of these spreads with an orange netting in between them :)

 Ta-Da!  My book!

So, Tuesday morning, I met up with Mom to mail our packages.  She was super cute and did adorable drawings on her envelope!

 Mine was lame and super boring :/ :)
Anyways, we packaged them up,

 And headed to the post office!

 The guy ringing us up was extremely patient...especially when we struck up an extensive conversation with the sweet lady behind us, who was actually taking this picture!  She has 5 kids- 3 of which are triplets!  Anyways, back to the story :)

 We were SO excited to have sent our books in on time!  Truthfully, I was just thankful that I completed it in time!!!  (p.s. Zoom in on this picture.  My face is pretty hilarious!)

Thanks, Mom, for doing this project with me!  I love that we do this together, and I can't wait to go visit all of our books in years to come at the Brooklyn Art Library!!! :)

Addicted

Hi, my name is Kelly, and I'm addicted to journals.  :/  It started as a child around the time when I watched Nickelodeon's Harriett the Spy.  Not that I wanted to be a spy, but she carried around this notebook, wrote in it all the time, and just made the whole thing look so cool!

So, over the years, I've seen gorgeous books, journals, and devotionals that I just "had to have," and then they get written in for a while, and then get layed to the side and are looked at for inspiration :)  I am working on this whole not finishing any thing.  And it's getting better.

So, let me introduce you to a few of my journals.  Last year, while shopping at Anthropologie with drool sliding down my face, I came across this book.  It was like the mixed media journals that I make, but with the quotes and writing prompts already inside!  My parents surprised me with it a few weeks later!!! :D  You'll be pleased to know that this book has gotten much use (as you can see by the tabs :)

Ahhh, now, this little gem.  You've seen it before.  I bought it in Chicago this summer, but wasn't completely pumped.  I loved the papers, but wasn't completely sure how I'd use it.  Turns out that while I was waiting for and obsessing over the Smash Journals to arrive, this little guy became my Smash Journal!  The pages are small enough that it's reasonable to work on in a short amount of time, and I've already filled 20 pages! :) wooo hooo!!!

 of

Meet my smile journal.  I ran across this one time, and after searching all of the internet to find out where to buy it, I found it here! This site is adorable, and I bought some really neat Washi tape with it!  It's actually a planner with these adorable little Japanese Kawaii figures all over it!  It's so uplifting and makes me happy! :) ...I'm still working on using it :/...

And lastly, this treasure of a find from my good friend TJ Maxx.  While skimming the books and journals, this guy popped up!!! Unbelievable!!!  It reminds me of Keri Smith's books.  There are so many fun prompts, and the illustrations inside are great!  ...and only $3.99!!!

So, clearly, I have a little addiction.  I don't plan on breaking it any time soon!  The way I see it is as long as I use up what I buy, I'm good to go! 

What is your fun addiction?!

This and That

Happy Monday!  I thought I'd share a few of the things that went on this weekend! 
*I was able to work on a few more pages in my Chi-Town sketchbook:

*And, I got a great surprise when I came in to get T-man up this morning!!  This was SO cute!!!  Not only was he sitting up and talking, but he had set P-Twizzle, his stuffed pig, next to him!!!  I took a million pictures, of course, and sent one to Big A at his first day back at work!

*As previously mentioned, T's 1st birthday is this Saturday!  I started this weekend on a few of the projects, and let me just say, I'm really glad I did! ...This one Did Not work out! :/  Soooo, I'm glad I know, but I also have to figure out a plan B.  :)  Let's just hope that the cake doesn't end up like this! :) 

*Lastly, I got a great surprise yesterday!  I went to the library yesterday, and upon leaving thought I would take a few shots of the train tracks.  To my surprise, as i looked down the track, I saw that the Fair Train was parked outside the station due to the fair being canceled yesterday.  I was able to take a ton of shots of this gorgeous locomotive, and just wish Big A and T-man had been there with me.  We could have gotten some great shots of all of us!  Despite that, it was an amazing experience!!!

Check out all of the photos HERE, and be sure to "like" my page while you're there! :)

Also, if you have any cake decorating tips, be sure to leave them for me!!!  I'll be tackling that project on Thursday! :)

SBP 2012!

 One year ago today, Mom and I got together to celebrate the start of our first Sketchbook Project!  I was about 8 1/2 months pregnant with T-man, and couldn't wait to start this new project!  (Oh my, I have grand expectations!)  

 We're really big on traditions in our family, so, we met together today in Mom's new creative space to begin our 2012 project!  Mom chose the theme "Encyclopedia of" and I am tackling "Folds and Stitches."

 

We wore our t-shirts from our Chi-town trip, and added a little "get crafty" flair because, well, we're just cool like that ;)

 We gathered our supplies, and with the help of Elle, got to work on our books!

 I brought over my supplies in my grandpa's old tackle box.  When my Grandma passed away a few weeks ago, my dad brought this home for me.  I was so excited to use it because I knew Grandpa would love that I was using his box, and Grandma would love that I was filling it with art supplies!!!

 This year was a little different than last.  Last year, I jumped into this project with reckless abandon, painting pages, applying my cover-jabbering and giggling along the way.  Mom however, was a bit more hesitant.  She was nearly paralyzed by the looseness of the guidelines, and not sure of how to approach the blank pages.

As the project progressed, she warmed up and found her groove.  I slowed down as T-man got a little older, but we both finished with pride and excitement.

This year, Mom seemed to be a little more prepared :)  She had a clear idea for her first page, and dove right in!!!  Although all my ideas are in my mind, I seemed to only produce a random part of my to-do list! I painted my cover, a few pages, and made some bagels inspired by my lunch :)

 I also created a few pages with some stamps in preparation for journaling.  Feel free to upload these and use them for your own projects!!!

 It was a wonderful work day!  We listened to Adele, chatted about our ideas, and laughed!!!  Oh, it's so good to laugh!  I'll continue to update as pages progress!

Wedding signs and journal pages

One of the ladies I work with asked me to make some adorable sign's for her daughter's upcoming outdoor wedding.  They will be attached to pieces that are stuck in the ground and will point people towards the wedding and reception.  What a cute idea!!!

 I told her to send me some pictures after the wedding so we can see the finished product!!! They will be adorable!

 In other news, my on going journal obsession continues.  I don't know what it is about cute journals, but I want them.  I have such high hopes of filling them, but so far, my Sketchbook Project book is the only one that has ever been successfully finished!

...Despite that fact, I bought this little gem in Chicago!

 The graphics are so neat and have a vintage feel, and I've already completed some pages!!!

 ...notice how I'm talking about ANOTHER journal in my new journal!!! ...are there groups for this type of thing? ;)

 I've even used some of my new little stamps!!!

I hope y'all enjoyed Ann's post last week about the Handwritten Letter!  It was such a blessing to have her post, as I was kept very busy with some little preschoolers at Vacation Bible School. We did crafts all week and had a blast!!!  I just love those little guys, they're such a hoot!

I'm glad to be back, and I hope y'all had a great week!