Gettin' By

Five on Friday | Beauty Basics

I've never been a make-up maven, but there are a few essentials I depend on to keep me from looking like the Walking Dead when I leave the house. Here are a few of the must-haves in my make-up bag!

1// Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! Mascara ($23.00).  At first I felt a tiny bit guilty spending this much on mascara when I really didn't have any complaints with my tried-and-true Great Lash for $5. But after one wearing, I have to admit this stuff is worth every penny. It's goes on so smooth and silky, and really does give you longer, fuller lashes. I've been asked quite a few times when wearing it where I get my lashes done. I justify the price knowing it's way cheaper than extensions (and looks just as glam!)

 

2// NP Set Memory Foundation ($28.00).  I'm fickle about my foundations and even if I like them, I rarely buy them more than once. I'm always on the hunt for something better! So it says a lot when I've just purchased my third tube of this foundation. It's a lightweight base (almost like a tinted moisturizer) with Vitamin C and other extracts that help brighten skin tone. I love that it doesn't settle into creases and wrinkles and gives a dewy, natural look that isn't too "made up."

 

3// Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée ($22.00). I made the switch to cream blush a few years back and love the glow it gives. It's much easier to blend than powder and stays so much longer. This one is a cross between a cream and a stain, and while it looks highly pigmented in the jar, it goes on fairly sheer. And - bonus - it also works wonderfully on lips for a long-lasting pout!

 

4// e.l.f. Shimmering Facial Whip ($1.00). A cheap-o beauty product that actually works? Yes! I used this once and then proceeded to buy about 15 more tubes, fearful that Target might stop carrying it. It's a shimmery whip that adds just a bit of highlight anywhere you might want it. I use it on my brow bones, apples of cheeks, and inner corners of eyes and it adds a reflective quality that isn't too sparkly but makes your skin look healthy, glowing, and well-rested. (Cue angelic chorus!)  My friend Sylvia actually blends a few drops of it in with her foundation for an overall sheen. Either way, it's my new best friend!

 

5// e.l.f. Matte Lip Color in Natural ($3.00). While I love the look of a dark red lip, I can't pull it off on a daily basis, if only for the fact that I hate scrubbing lipstick off my coffee mugs. Instead, I've been using this lipstick that closely matches my natural lip color, with just a hint more pink. The small roll-up tip makes it easy to use as both liner and lipstick, and it has a matte finish that doesn't dry out your lips. A perfect pucker for $3? Oh yeah, baby!

 

So what are your absolute essentials? Do share!

Give-It-Away Thursday | BasicGrey Highline

We got a taste of spring this week, with the last two days reaching over 70˚ and me almost reaching for my flip flops. I know better than to tempt Mother Nature, though, because as soon as you step outside wearing open-toed shoes in January, she'll dump a foot of snow all over your bare tootsies. So I'll keep the snow boots handy and celebrate spring in my scrapping instead!

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

This picture of Riely at the Botanic Gardens was begging to be enlarged, so I printed it nearly 12 inches wide for this design. On the bottom half, I used lots of the BasicGrey Highline papers cut into strips (mine are about 1 x 3 in size). I adhered them at right angles, forming a herringbone pattern. I used 12 x 12 papers for this technique, but it would be an ideal application for smaller 6x6 paper pads as well!

I added machine stitching along the edges of the papers, and layered small tags and chipboard pieces on top of the papers. I tried to keep the accents and embellishments in line with the paper angles so they looked like they were integrated into the pattern. The word "beauty" in the title is a cut file that's part of a set of script words I just added to my etsy store yesterday. (It's linked in the supplies as well!)

So to celebrate the recent warm weather (however fleeting it may be!), I have a collection of Highline goodies to giveaway today! It includes a 6x6 paper pad, Snippets tag pad, and lots of chipboard, wood chalkboard veneers, brads and tags. If you'd like to be entered to win these goodies, just leave me a comment today telling me what the weather is like in your neck of the woods. I'll pick a winner from the comments on Monday, February 2 and post it here!

Have a beautiful Thursday!

 

My Strawberry Blonde

We had a bit of a scare on Friday afternoon with little Miss Riely. The school called me saying she'd been feeling really hot in class so her teacher sent her to the nurse's office.  When she arrived, she was having trouble speaking (couldn't tell them her last name) and had a noticeable droop to the right side of her face. Needless to say, when I got this phone call in the checkout lane at Target, I might have totally lost it and then broken several speeding records to get to the school.

By the time I arrived, she'd pretty much returned to normal and could speak fine, but we headed straight to Children's Hospital to have her checked out. She passed all the initial neurological exams, wasn't running a fever, and tested negative for strep (a test I think they just threw in because no one was really sure what the hell was going on!) After consulting with a neurologist, they ordered an MRI just to be on the safe side. With the next hour, my baby got her first IV, first experience with an MRI, and I had the first of many mini heart attacks waiting to hear the results of it all.

Many whispered prayers and thankful tears later, we got word that everything looked totally normal. We're not sure exactly what caused the whole episode, but doctors are thinking it might have been an atypical migraine, which both Mike and I have. She later admitted to being a bit worried about the talent show she was dancing in Friday night (an event we ended up missing in all the hospital chaos) so it's possible that is just how her little body reacted to that stress. 

At any rate, I have spent the past few days being very, very grateful that she is okay, smothering her with lots of hugs, and secretly examining her every expression, phrase, and action looking for a sign that something might be wrong. I know these are the same motions that any mom does every day, but the past few days I've done it with a renewed sense of faith, patience and gratitude.

I'll leave you with this page about my sweet girl. And the realization that I am blessed for every moment I am given with her.

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

Give all your "special someones" a big hug today, okay?!

Friday Freebie | Star Grid Cut File

When I first started scrapping, pattern paper intimidated me. My early pages consisted largely of cardstock + minimal embellishments. I wanted to use pattern, but I wasn't sure how to incorporate it on a page while still maintaining focus on the photo and story.

Fast forward several years, and I've gotten much more comfortable with patterned paper. In fact, there's rarely a page I create without it! I've learned many tricks to using it, but one of my favorites (and most-used) is to frame each pattern to "contain" it. And grid cut files like the stars I used below are a perfect way to do that!

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

Adding a white border around each pattern keeps them confined and separate, so they don't compete for attention. I used eight different patterned papers in this design, in four different colors. While there is definitely energy and motion (which helps support the whole theme of the page - running!) the end result isn't too chaotic because the patterns are organized within clearly defined spaces.

Because there wasn't a great place to include my journaling, I wrote it on a tag and tucked it behind the two photos. A twine topper makes it easy to pull out for reading, and also keeps it from sliding down behind the photos. (I also used some foam squares about halfway down the photos so the tag can't slip too far down.)

To frame the focal point of the page, I grouped pairs of buttons in purple, dark pink and aqua in a triangle around my photos. To keep the embellishment clusters odd-numbers, I added silver star stickers, which also repeat the star theme of the die cut.

 

You can download both the star grid and title by clicking the graphic below. The zipped archive includes both .svg and .dxf file formats.

 

Wishing you a fantastic Friday, my friends!

Wardrobe Wednesday | Gray Area

Next to white, the most prevalent color in my closet is gray, and I've been reaching for it a lot lately. Specifically, to pair with other neutrals. It's not really like me to be drawn to a lack of color, but the neutral-on-neutral combo is working for me right now. Something that's not working for me right now? My phone, which is, in fact, sticking out its tongue at both me and the nice guys at the Apple Store trying to diagnose the issue. Hmph. 

Along with the color gray, I'm also having a slight love affair with these boyfriend jeans from Madewell. I may have worn them most of the days since Christmas (and let's be honest -- on the days I wasn't? I was wearing pjs.) They are pretty much perfect from the first wear but amazingly get better each time I pull them on. And they just so happen to be on sale and eligible for an additional 30% off with the code SHOPNOW. (Only valid today til 11:59PM ET). 

So this post all about gray has become somewhat convoluted with phones and sales and some random babbling. But sometimes, you just gotta go with it.  And by it, I mean gray.

Happy Wednesday!

______________________________________________
Target baseball tee (on clearance!)
Madewell Boyjean in Rip & Repair
World Market scarf | similar, similar
Matisse "Butch" bootie
similar bracelet
vintage belt | similar
Voss Art + Home alpaca tote

At Fourteen.

Hayden celebrated his 14th birthday yesterday, and for the past few years, has been lucky enough to have the three-day MLK weekend fall at the same time, so has had a day off school for his special day. We slept in, played some video games, and then in true teenager tradition, he headed off to the mall with friends.

At fourteen, he is focused on school and figuring out his plan to go to Stanford and be a software engineer. When he's not doing homework (which is not often!) he's teaching himself to code, filming scenes for his future movie, or indulging in downtime with the Xbox. He's amazingly creative and artistic, but has a quick, analytical intellect that constantly amazes us. He's a talented swimmer and golfer and can play a trumpet like nobody's business.

In honor of his big day, I picked out 14 of my favorite layouts to share here today. It's been a fun ride thus far, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for my boy! 

   

 

 

Happy birthday to my witty, smart and darn amazing kid. I couldn't be more proud or lucky to call you son!

Simple Saturday | Fresh Air

You know I have for thing for circles in my designs - they appear on a regular basis - but sometimes it's challenging to find new ways to use them so all my "circle pages" don't end up looking the same. There's only so many polka dot pages an album can hold!

So on this layout, I approached the design with the motto divide and conquer. I punched lots of 2-inch circles (34 to be exact) and then cut them all in half. I then arranged them in two rows around an 8-inch paper ring to form a frame.

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

 

 

 

In the center of the frame, I placed my photos, title and journaling. To connect the frame with the interior elements, I let a few of them hang over the edges. For just a bit of subtle texture, I trimmed some of the BasicGrey metal accents in half (they easily snip apart with wire cutters) and place them on coordinating papers around the frame.

 

 

The result is an easy and simple design, but the plentiful colors and patterns keep it from being too plain. You could easily use this same technique with different shapes - triangles, stars, ovals or even squares - for a totally different look.

 

So what's your favorite way to use circles? I'd love to see your ideas!

 

Five on Friday: CHA Faves 2015

I didn't get to attend CHA in Anaheim this year, but I was glued to social media most of last weekend looking for sneaks of all the fun products. I'm excited for lots of the new releases, but these are five that caught my eye and will be in my shopping cart soon!

1// Bazzill Basics Specialty Kraft with Gold Foil.  You can't beat kraft as the perfect neutral base for layouts, but these dressed-up versions will do anything but fade into the background. The pretty patterns (the polka dot and stars are my faves!) add a sparkle that's perfect for special pages, or just jazzing up those everyday layouts with a little dazzle!

 

2// Clearly Kelly Stamps by Hero Arts.  I'm a sucker for a good alpha and this set by the fab Kelly Purkey had me at sans serif. I adore the open-faced font and can picture stamping it on patterned paper (and trimming out) or coloring in the various letters with pens or colored pencils. Love that it includes numbers too!

 

3// Gold Foil Alphabet from Maggie Holmes' Confetti line. Can you tell I'm on a bit of a gold kick? This sticker set is awesome, not only because it will go will just about any color palette, but because it contains TWO sizes of sans serif letters, each with upper and lower case. That's eight pages of letters (and much less chance of having the dreaded no-more-e's problem!)

 

4// The Atlas Collection from Pink Paislee.  I don't really seek out travel lines - our family's main travels consist of driving to the mountains to ski and flying to Mexico for spring break - but I love this one for the gorgeous array of colors and simple patterns that could be used on so much more than vacation pages. It's a great balance of masculine and feminine, with plenty of graphic designs (think polka dots, chevrons & stripes) that I gravitate toward.  

 

5// Wood Veneer + Coordinating Enamel Shapes by Pink Fresh Studio. Shaped veneers aren't new to the scrap scene, but pairing them with a matching enamel shape is a fresh new idea that I can't wait to get on a page! This heart design is from the Up In The Clouds collection, a brand new debut from Pink Fresh Studio, and if this is any indication of their product creativity, I can't wait to see more!

 

So do you have any favorites that you spotted? I'd love to see your links! Hope your Friday is fantabulous!

A Bad Case of the Stripes.

My well-planned blog schedule took a little detour this week as I've been fighting off a nasty winter bug. A few days of power naps, fluids, and repeating the mantra I.Will.Not.Get.Sick seems to have done the trick, so I'm trying to salvage what's left of this week with a few delayed posts! Needless to say, I am doing so unshowered, with no make-up, and in pjs and fuzzy slippers, so Wardrobe Wednesday is out of the question. Though if it weren't a frigid 18˚ outside, I might be willing to go take a few photos...they are awfully cute pjs, after all. 

But instead, I'm gonna share a fun stripey page that I did with the BasicGrey line, Evergreen (and pssst....most of it is on clearance now!) I managed to incorporate twelve of the patterned papers by using a small stripes - about 1/2-inch wide - and arranging them in rainbow order across my background.

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

I printed the block of journaling in the lower left corner prior to adhering all the stripes, which I stitched in place with various colors of threads that coordinated with the papers. Then I layered my photos on top, tucking in groups of embellishments around them. 

I tried to keep the clusters all one color - a red group, a green group, an aqua group, and a yellow group - and placed them near those color stripes. The rainbow order works perfectly with stripes and since this one largely features red, green and blue, it still conveys that holiday/winter theme.

Something else that works perfectly with stripes? Polka dots. And big shaggy dog slippers, of course.

Elle's Studio | January 2015 Kits

Welcome to my very first kit reveal for Elle's Studio! I always love working with Elle's products and this was no exception. The fresh, happy color palette was inspiring and could be used for so many page themes. Plus, my projects came together in record time, which I think says a lot about the kits. They are so well coordinated and contain a fabulous variety of tags, die cuts and journaling cards, and the extra stamps and wood veneers are the perfect accents.

 

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

This page was a variation on my go-to grid base, with various sized blocks and a few circles thrown in on the corners. I used one of the Elle's Studio cut files for the title, as well as some of the cute hearts from the wood veneer set. I arranged it on all a sheet of Cobblestone cardstock, which has become my new favorite neutral from Bazzill. I'm reaching for it even more than kraft these days! It's a bit lighter and falls somewhere between beige and grey...does that make it greige?

 

 

On my second layout, I did a column of photos on the left, balancing them out with three clusters of tags and accents around the page. I used circles of baker's twine to keep them visually organized. The circles help the eye see three distinct groups, even though the pieces making up those groups are many.

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

I used some of the small sentiments from the stamp set to add a bit of color to the heart wood veneers. I love how easily these pieces can be colored or adorned to match any palette! I was a bit concerned about the ink smearing, but it absorbed quickly and I had no issues.

The Elle's Studio kits are on sale now, but quantities are limited and they won't be restocked, so grab one while you can! As a special bonus to celebrate launch day, kits are $9.99 today only, after which they will go up to $11.99. The add-ons (stamps & veneers) are also limited and while supplies last, and are designed to coordinate with the kit. Hope you'll check them out, along with all the inspiration in the Design Team Gallery. If you have any questions, just let me know and I'll try to help out!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!