A Little Gallery Inspiration

I thought today I'd bring you all some scrappy inspiration from the Two Peas in a Bucket gallery.  We all love the well-known scrappers out there; there work is just gorgeous, but I wanted to highlight those other creative people that may not always get recognized.  Paper lovers like you and me.  

There are a TON of amazing projects in this gallery.  I'm only going to highlight some in this post.  I'd like to do a gallery inspiration post once a month.  I'll link up the project, the creator's personal gallery, as well as their blog (if they have one).  I think it will be a great way to "meet" other scrappers!  A lot of my inspiration comes from other people's projects, so I want to start highlighting those that catch my eye.

Life Moves Pretty Fast, created by 2Peas Member  Leslie Ashe

I LOVE this layout!  I, personally, do not scrap with white cardstock, but Leslie just makes this absolutely gorgeous! I like the kraft, gold, wood elements, and flair.  This layout is simple, but still uses lots of embellishments.  Also, the white cardstock is a wood grain texture!  I love the pennants/banners, the tag, and I'm pretty sure that is gold polka dot washi tape...LOVE!

lovely layers created by 2Peas Member limedoodle 

Do I really have to tell you why I like this card?  ALL THOSE LAYERS!!  And it's on a card without it being overwhelming.  I love the colors she used and that vellum tag just gets me all excited!  I literally am in love with every card she creates.  Check out her blog here.

Simply Adorable, created by 2Peas Member MichelleWedertz

I love simple, but gorgeous layouts such as this one.  I love the layers with the doily and the tag.  I like the pink washi tape.  And those mist splatters are awesome!  

Relax by 2Peas Member catherine brancieq

I love that this layout's main paper elements are pocket style journaling cards!  I'm always looking for new ways to use my bajillion Project Life cards.  And I really like the royal blue with silver.  And oh, those stars!  Love, love this layout.  Check out more of Catherine's projects on her blog (in French) here.

Daisy Frame  by 2Peas Member marilou64

I am always in awe when I see all the different decor pieces made by paper crafters.  And this daisy frame is just something else!  I see something like this in stores all the time.  And I could make that!  This piece is definitely inspiring and makes me want to put my Cameo to work to create some lovely spring decor pieces for my home.

All this inspiration makes me want to be at home creating and not at my day job!  Looks like I need to start planning out some projects and using up my stash!  I hope you found today's post just as inspiring and creatively motivating as I have!  I'll be back Friday with a Just Two Midwest Girls scrap challenge.  Remember, there's still time to link up your take on our color challenge.  Find all the details here.

xoxo,
Heather

Inspiration Wednesday

Good Morning my lovely readers!  Sorry that I have been MIA lately.  This past weekend I had a friend in town, unfortunately for something not too happy.  I have been pretty behind in my scrap projects, hence no Project Life post yesterday.  I'm hoping to "work" overtime in my scrap room in the next few weeks to get on top of stuff.  

So now, for some inspiration!  This post will be a bit shorter than last week's post, but it's still focused on Christmas.  I have serious Christmas fever!

Starting in the top left corner and moving clockwise:

This Christmas card from Kristina Werner is part of her Holiday Card Series 2013.  She has tutorials on these holiday cards up on her YouTube channel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I love every card she creates, but this one is particularly inspiring as she uses Perfect Pearls to "color" the stamped image.  I have a set of Perfect Pearls I bought on clearance at Michael's at the beginning of 2013.  I've never used them.  I didn't really understand how to use them.  Kristina's tutorial showed me how!  Now I'm looking forward to getting in my scrap room tonight and busting out my Perfect Pearls, if only I can find them...

I love this floating shelf Christmas decor idea.  Michael and I got a set of these types of shelves for our wedding.  We finally got them up sometime this past summer.  Right now, I have some cute fall decorations on them.  For Christmas, I'm definitely going to do something like this on our longest shelf.  I think I'll do the word "Joy" or "Peace" depending on the space.  I really like the idea of using a wreath as the "O," so I may stick with "Joy."  I like the rustic look too.  Last Christmas season, I tried to incorporate more of that rustic look into our decor, so this idea will work well!

Chalkboard is so super trendy right now.  And I LOVE IT!  These chalkboard gift tags from Jess at The Examined Life are awesome!  For these, she painted inexpensive wood shapes with chalkboard paint.  You could find these at most craft stores.  You could also get some thin wood to die cut custom shapes.  You could do this with chipboard.  You could put them in your December albums, on scrapbook layouts, on cards.  You could make tree ornaments or decorations!  Love this idea!

Last but not least is this adorable felt quiet book.  I have been wanting to make something like this for my niece.  I don't have any sewing skills except for on paper.  I have done some embroidery, so hand stitching is a basic skill of mine.  But when it comes to using a sewing machine, I have no idea.  I found some patterns on Etsy for quiet books using hand stitching after I read this blog post from Stephanie Bryan on her older blog, Playing House.  I now have tons of ideas and want to start on a quiet book, like, right now!

Hopefully, you all have gotten some inspiration from my post today.  What's been inspiring you lately?  Let me know in the comments section!

xoxo,
Heather

Another Peak into My More Happy Little Moments Book!

Just last Friday, I was showing you guys a little bit of my More Happy Little Moments altered book.  Well, get excited, because I have some more yummy pages to show you!  WARNING there are a lot of photos, so I tried to make some collages to get all the details in.  You can always go see more pictures of this book here and here.

Isn't my puppy so adorable!  I'm still trying to get the hand of using gelatos.  I know that sounds crazy, but I feel like I sometimes use too much or not enough.  It really is an art.  There are a few different techniques and looks I wanted to include in this altered book:  lots and lots and lots of layers, tags, punched shapes, and watercolors.

As you can see, I've covered all that here on this spread!  In the picture in the top left, I tried so hard to get that banner tucked underneath the cork circle, but the sticker was stuck down and was not coming up!  

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I haven't done any journaling in this book yet.  Most of my spreads have small tags for hidden journaling, but some spreads don't, so I wanted to give myself some space just to write down what makes me happy and what I'm thankful for at this time in my life.

This picture of me and my husband is from a lifetime ago it seems!  The date on the picture isn't accurate, but it's still been awhile since that photo was taken.  There is something missing on the page with our photo on it, so I may have to go back in a try to add a doily/banner/label layers or something.

This spread has layers and tags and punched shapes, but it also has a glassine bag for my "hidden" journaling.  I incorporated an aqua arrow paper clip, exclusive to 2Peas and some ribbon.  I love making little ribbon tabs with my tiny attacher!

This spread is very special.  A year into our relationship, I got accepted into a graduate program in St. Louis.  Fortunately, Michael was always supportive and knew that I wanted to go back to school to get my Master's.  At that same time, he just started a new career in our hometown, so we decided that he would stay here and I would go to St. Louis.  And oh boy was that a hard two years to be apart.  And we were engaged for the last year of our long-distance relationship.  This day was really special for us for lots of reasons:  I received my Master of Public Health degree (because I'm a badass), but Michael and I had made it through those two years, stronger than ever.  

This spread used a ton of layers behind the photo!  I love it!  And all those papers are from Dear Lizzy lines, 5th & Frolic and Polka Dot Party.  These are probably my favorite collections ever.

So, there you have it.  I'm still not finished with this book.  I probably have 6 or 7 more spreads to complete.  Hopefully I won't wait as long to get it finished as I did to start the album.  Don't forget to check out my gallery at Two Peas in a Bucket for more pictures from my More Happy Little Moments book or any of my other projects.  Also, Kelly and I have a new challenge up here.  Play along and you could win a $5 gift card to Two Peas in a Bucket!

Have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,

Heather

More Happy Little Moments Altered Book

So, way back in June, I signed up for Studio Calico's "More Happy Little Moments" class.  I was able to purchase the class for only $8, so I decided what the heck, why not.  I created my own kit from 2Peas and my stash.  I purchased a vintage hardcover book from a used bookstore (is this what they're called?) downtown.  I even got around to cutting out groups of pages to make room for layers, dimensional embellishments, etc.  And then I set it aside....for months!  Until, this week!  I had Monday off work and my husband was out of town for training so I had all of Monday to myself.  I didn't have to worry about chores or dinner in the evening.  It was honestly really nice (although, I did miss my husband).  What better time to work on a more time-consuming project than a day off work with nothing planned?  

I worked on my altered book all morning and off and on in the afternoon and evening.  I was able to get half of my "layouts" that I had planned complete.  It doesn't sound like I accomplished a lot, but I really did, especially with all the techniques I was using and the different media...I'm very proud of myself and am really looking forward to finishing this altered book.

Today, I have some pictures for you lovely readers. It's not everything I've done so far, but a few pages.  Also, sorry about the quality of these pictures.  I didn't have great light.  I was at work on my break, so I had to work with what I had.

First page:  actually completed back in July

I love this spread!  I like the punched shapes and watercolor spots I did. 

I have been loving doilies lately.  I want to use them on everything!  As you can see!  I think a doily has been in every spread of this book so far.

Last picture for this post-one of my husband and me!  That was before we were a Mr. and Mrs.  I think even before we were engaged.  This makes me smile!

Okay, I'll post more of my Happy Little Moments book next week.  And head to my 2Peas gallery to see more pictures and details from my More Happy Little Moments altered book!

xoxo,

Heather