Quick Card

I did not have a lot of time lately with DS standing up and crawling everywhere! He also does not sleep a lot - just 40 minutes, usually when I am on my way to pick up DD from school. And in the evening I am just VERY, VERY tired. I am not complaining, though. I love being home with my sweet kids. 

I had these scraps laying around and decided to make a quick card. 

I am really happy how the butterfly turned out. It was a grey chipboard. I covered it with gesso but made sure that there is a lot of texture by dabbing lots of gesso on it. I let it dry and then covered it with smooch pearlized accent ink. I then popped it up with 3D dots and ready.

My little man learned to stand up! No worries, he did not get hurt!

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Do you ever have a PITA layout?

I had this cute photo from this summer and really wanted to make an extra special layout. BUT, this layout is just a PITA (Pain in the a..) I just don't like it. Not sure what is wrong with it. If you have any suggestions, please comment and help. I might just put it aside for a few days and rework it. 

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

School proof notebook and folder

Just  a quick post to show DD's guitar folder and notebook. Being a teacher, I know that those items need to withstand a lot of wear and tear. Here are some tips to make your beautifully decorated items last a bit longer. 

Most notebooks you buy in a shop are attached to the flimsy cover with staples. I took the cover off, added the extra strong pink glitter paper (DD's choice) and sewed it on. I also attached the labels using eyelets. I kept everything very flat and made sure all sides and corners were attached properly. 

Since DD loves bling, I added a little bit on top, using a heat gun. I do have a few spare parts in case they might fall off after a few months. 

Liz Qualman shared her idea on her blog to cover the papers with the strongest clear packing tape. 

Now Sarah is ready for her guitar lessons, keeping the music sheets nice and tidy in her folder. 

The other good news is that my sister had her baby! Despite the umbilical cord being wrapped around her neck 3 times, little Martina is small but healthy and just so cute. 

We are thrilled to be able to see her via skype although she is thousands of kilometers away from us. 

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Boing Boing Boing Swirlydoos

So, Sarah is back in school and I am hoping that the day goes by fast. By 6pm,  we should have photos of my new baby niece - we just hope and pray that all goes well.

Last night, I finished a layout, which is really out of my comfort zone. I am not a stamper - truly not. But each month, Krissy from Swirlydoos, adds the most fabulous clear stamps in the kit. After having seen all the cool techniques that Peggy tried out  (you can see them HERE), I challenged myself to stamp. 

I am actually quite pleased with the result, although it is rather peculiar for me since it is so flat and not bulky as usual. 

The three photos are actually just one photo - I zoomed in and cut and enlarged on iphoto to focus on the fun she had that day. We are in my father's garden in Upper Austria. He and his wife really made an effort to make our day special. DH and I got to rest while DS slept and DD bounced away. 

I used crackle paint for the title and inked it with green to stay in the color scheme pink/green. 

 Here is my stamping - I am still a beginner but it looks ok.

I even used liquid pearls. This time, I was smarter and as soon as I applied the liquid pearls, I put it on a shelf 2 meters away from me. This way, I did NOT smash them (as it usually happens...)

Playing with DS is so much fun. Yesterday, we tried out different textures while playing with hats. Even DD joined in. Boy did we have fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Hugs and Kisses Swirlydoos

Goodness, this week was not a good one. First we learned that a colleague of my DH died in an accident, then I found out that a colleague at work died (a really sweet man, about my age) and yesterday we heard that my sister will have to have an early caesarian delivery (3 weeks early) because the umbilical chord is wrapped around the baby's neck three times. I am so sad she is so far away, I would have loved to be with her when she comes home with the baby. Sigh. 

Onto some scrappy stuff. That's the best part about scrapbooking: it really helps you focus on the positive and beautiful things. Almost like therapy! 

After all the pink layouts in the past few weeks, here is a blue one featuring my sweet little boy. He is such a charmer. With his 2 teeth grin and his blue eyes, he melts my heart every day. I am so lucky to be able to stay home for another 4 months. 

I based it on the monthly sketch provided by Begahuna for Swirlydoos. 

X (done with lace) and O (the embellishments) stand, of course, for hugs and kisses. I just want to cuddle this young man all day long. He just smells so good! 

Here are some close ups: 

I used mainly the items of the August kit, together with some goodies which I hoarded from previous kits.

This plate (Tim Holtz ) was bought from the online shop of my dear scrapper friend Conny. You can find her shop HERE.

The cute little metal bow tie is also from her shop CLICK HERE

Hoping that the next week will be a better one!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Back to school....

So, she is off. DDs first day in grade 1. Hard to imagine that my little baby is now a real school kid. Her class teacher is a really nice lady who I have known  for some time. I made a simple card for her first day as well, using the leftovers of my Ruby Rock it kit. 

And here she is, all proud with her Schultüte and her pretty dress. She even wanted her hair done for the first day. Sigh. 

And here is her little brother signing UP. He had enough of sitting in his stroller!

Off to my new routines. It is so quiet with her not around!

Thanks for stopping by, 

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Picture Perfect

The other day, a friend of mine asked how I manage to get cute pictures of my kids. I told her that I just take about 25 and one usually turns out half way decent. This got me thinking. So I made this layout with some of the outtakes. 

I used the Sketch challenge from Frosted Designs as a basis. But since baby had a rough night and would not go to sleep (those horrible teeth!), I did not manage to upload it on time. That's life! 

Here is the layout opened up: 

The flowers were originally white and I used my copic markers to match them to the color scheme of the page.

Here is the title and the ribbons with the second flower element. 

Tomorrow is the big day for DD. She will start first grade. Her outfit is picked out, the Schultüte ready ( large cornet of cardboard filled with sweets and little presents given to children in Germany and Austria on their first day at school) and of course, it will be the hottest day of the year.

It will be interesting, for sure!

Off to get the day started!

Thank you for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Back to school card

It is hard to believe that DD will start Grade 1 on Tuesday. She is so ready to go back to school. I think she needs a break from her baby brother. 

I made this card from the leftovers of the Ruby Rock it kit. 

We got all the back to school shopping done - I am really pleased that I was able to get very good deals - the advantage of being a temporary SAHM and having the time to shop around. 

I have not been able to scrap often in the past week. DS has been teething for a while and has developed some very unhealthy sleeping patterns. He wakes up every 40 minutes, breastfeeds for 30 seconds and falls back asleep. Now I am doing some sleep training with him which is very tough on me but good for all 4 of us in the long run. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Nap Time

My August kit from Swirlydoos arrived yesterday but I will not break into it until I have finished my June and July kit. There are just so many pretty items, which I want to use and not hoard. 

 

 On this layout, I used a quite a few techniques, which I would love to share.  

This is my sweet DS (7 months) deep asleep in my arms after a long day at the lake. He loved being in the (pretty cold) water and then he was so exhausted. The scenery was so serene - the waves of the lake, the wind blowing and DS asleep in my arms. 

The journaling is hidden behind this tag. It was a very "clean and simple" tag from Jillybeen Soup". I distressed the edges, toned down the bright white basis with "antique linen", stamped on it and inked the edges to match the style of the layout. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here, you can see the journaling. I love "interactive layouts" where you can lift up items, pull strings etc

Here, I cut up the swirl, colored it with copic markers to match the papers. To save money, I only ever buy white swirls anymore and color it accodring to my needs. I learned this trick from Conny. Thanks!!!

For the title, I took the bare wooden letters and covered it with gesso. Then I sprayed it with glimmer mists but when it dried, I put all the letters at an incline so the color would NOT spread out evenly. This way I got this neat effect. I then inked the edges to make it stand out a bit more.

The leafs were pretty plain when I got them so I took some Pebbles chalk to darken the edges and add a line in the middle. I added a blue ribbon to the lace and attached it with Kaisercraft brads. To make sure the lace stays in place, I put some scoretape underneath. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Sunday

What a wonderful Sunday morning! This is the last week of DD's vacation, school starts again next week. I am amazed how fast this summer has gone by. This week is all about getting to bed on time again, re-establishing routines, getting all items for school and so on. DS is much happier now that his two teeth have cut through and every day he is crawling faster and faster. 

Onto some scrappy stuff. 

I am still working on my June kit from Swirlydoos. It was filled with wonderful brown and green, masculine colors. I made this layout of my grandfather. Unfortunately, he died very early, I have only very few memories of him. I used the Creative Scrappers Sketch 220 as a basis.  

Here are some details. The clock was chalked with a dark brown tone, then I highlighted the numbers with white ink. To finish off, I glimmer misted it.

 Since the weather is so beautiful, we will pack up our little bundles of energy and go for a walk in the woods.

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

School Photos

This layout turned out a bit different than my usual works. I had to take a break from my "vintage/shabby/chic/romantic"style to scrap the photo of DD from last year. Her wonderful teacher gave me a CD with 72 pictures of my sweet little girl. This way I could see what they did all year. Such a sweet memory for me (and, I know from experience, so much work for the teacher!!!)

I used the Bella Boutique Inspiration Kit. I got it for just 10 Euros from my friend Conny (her shop is right HERE) 

This is the front

 This is the back

 Front opened up

 Back opened up

Pull out tags with cute little photos on it

So, that takes care of 11 pictures (of 72!!!) to scrap. Now I am waiting patiently (not!) until Conny gets the "Making the grade" from Yellow Little Bicycle for the rest of the photos. 

 And my two little bundles of energy? They truly keep me on my toes. With teeth (got 2 already), crawling and sibling rivalry, it never gets boring in our house. DD is only 10 days away from being a first grader and obviously very excited about it! (Ok, it took about 12 shots to get this decent one of the two together. I think, I will also make a layout of the "outtakes", which are pretty funny. (See the hands of DS? He is making the sign for "diaper change" and just a few seconds later, we smelled it, resulting in a big drama performance of DD of how disgusting he is....sigh)

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Thursday Layout with 17 Photos

I truly enjoyed my vacation in Upper Austria, but I was also very happy to come home yesterday and once the kids were in bed, disappear into my little scrapplace. 

This layout from Michi's baptism has been laying there unfinished for 3 weeks. Last night, I managed to complete it. I used the July kit from Swirlydoos. So many pretty items.

My dear scrapper friend Conny (who also happens to have a great  shop with the newest CHA releases) taught me how to do the photo cascade. What a great way to get many photos on one layout (17 to be exact!) Perfect for those family gatherings. 

 

I used mainly Prima flowers for this cluster and a tinsel.

The title is a DIY thickers, covered with microbeads, which I then chalked to get the correct shade of green.

DD and DS had a great time in Upper Austria. The people there are just so nice! Such as our neighbor who took her for a ride

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth

Still here!

I am enjoying real country life, teaching my sweet DD where milk comes from and that apples do not come in packages! We are also enjoying the lake. DD learned to swim. DS learned to crawl and got 2 teeth. DH enjoys grilling every day and I love the fact that we are outside all day.

The only thing I really miss is my little scraproom! BUT I am taking lots and lots of photos.... here are just a few.

These are our neighbors.

Little cats everywhere!

DS and I are a great minigolf team

 Got to love playing in the hay. 

Cow kisses

 DS has learned to sit up and loves to explore everything.

and, of course, the lake!!!

Now, I will need a really cute farm line with sweet papers to scrap all these photos! Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best, 

Elisabeth