Clouds!!

Clouds are my ABSOLUTE favorite!! I just love big puffy white clouds. There is something about them that just makes me feel 10 years old again. So naturally when I stumbled upon clouds at The Cut Shoppe, I had to have them. I have to admit.... I have found my craft weakness and it is clouds. I tend to hoard them, they are just too yummy to use.

The saying is so perfect. I knew I wanted to use both the quote and the 12x12 background. Combining the two was a bit difficult because I did not want it to be too busy. Then I remembered Irit Landgraf's class on acrylic paints and inks. I decided to use her technique and then put that painted page through the cameo to cut. I love how it came out. For the quote I used watercolors.

I wanted the page to give that feeling of childhood. There is nothing better than laying on a blanket of soft grass watching the clouds roll by.

Tiffani xx

Happy Day

I've been dying to use those pie hearts that I've been seeing people use, so last night I decided to pull out the cameo and got them from the cut shoppe. There are so many things you can do with this cut file, its so much fun.

I decided to scrap one of the few photos of me as a child. I'm with my favorite Aunt. There are so many memories I have with her that are just fun. I can't think of a dull moment. So with this layout I wanted to make it color and fun and still simple.

What fun projects have you made with the pie hearts? I would love to see so feel free to share your links in the comments.

Tiffani xx

Remember and Smile

I moved around quite a bit when I was younger so I met many people in my childhood and teens. When I was 16 I met Brandy. The 2nd time we hung out I dyed her hair blonde (it was dark brown) and it ended up turning an orange color. We had a good laugh and after that we became best friends.

16 is a funny age. You think you can be on your own, you don't need your parents and if you were like me you were a rebel. I won't lie and say we were perfect because we surely put our parents through a lot of sleepless nights, but some of my greatest memories come from the time in which we were like sisters. We were there for each other through break ups and rough times.

After a few years though we started to take different paths in life. She had her beautiful son and I got married. We stopped speaking and we lived separate lives. I worried about her, cried for the life she lived for a bit, and had to let go. On New Years, something made me think about her so I took to Facebook to see how she was doing.

I felt the blood leave my face, tears formed and I felt numb. I was devastated. I couldn't believe it. I still don't believe it. I miss you Brandy and I am so so sorry that I didn't speak to you sooner. You looked like you were doing so well, you looked so happy. You most certainly left your mark on this world and so many people miss you. You will forever have left an imprint on my heart. <3

Tiffani xx

The Woman Behind the Face

Let's take a Selfie!! Selfie, selfie, selfie. We here the term multiple times a day, but what does that selfie mean to you? Who is that person behind the selfie? How are you portraying yourself to the world? Everyone has a different perception when they look at your image. For me growing up I was fat shamed daily. I was a "pretty face". As a child we didn't take selfies, heck I don't even have many teen pictures.

I have never been comfortable with my body so when I take a selfie it's just my face. A lot of us do it because we just don't want to show our bodies. We hide behind that perfectly angled photo that is displayed on our Facebook page.

So for my one little word, Live, I have decided to love myself first. Truly LOVE myself. Today I looked in the mirror and I said, "I am going to take a full body shot" It starts somewhere right? I follow the #effyourbeautystandards hastags and #nobodyshame, but I envy the confidence that these women show. So today I so goodbye to the woman behind the "face" and hello to woman I am <3

Tiffani xx

XOXO

Last night was craft night with on of my favorites, Molly. We went to Michaels to see if they had any of those $2 grab bags I've been seeing online. Sure enough they did and I scored pretty well. I also picked up the new crate paper pad and dear Lizzy document for 5.99 each and some adorable trays I've been in search of for my embellies.

I decided to browse Suse Fish's Pinterest  for inspiration and came across this one. Adore!!! The papers in the crate paper pad are just stunning and I had a hard time deciding which ones to use.

I've been working on scrapping the girls baby pictures and this is one of my favorites. This is Melody in daddy's arms when she was just a few weeks old. She was photographed by the fantastic Shae Jungkins when we lived in Florida. We miss you Shae xx

Tiffani xx

Let's Get Sketchy Sketch 2

Hey guys!! The sounds of plows fill the air today. We had a lovely snowstorm late last night and into the morning. This morning I am up in the Let's Get Sketchy blog with my take on their recent sketch.

I really enjoyed this one because it allowed me to play around with some mixed media. It has been a while since I have been able to.

I also scraplifted from my favorite scrapper Suse Fish. (psst we miss you bunches over at Faith, Hope, Washi) I have also adored the bright whites and freshness about her layouts. They are also clean and just stunning.

I struggle with just keeping it simple, so this year I am trying my hand at less is more. I would love to see what you can create from this Sketch....Happy Monday xx <3

Tiffani

Coptic Binding

So for Christmas my husband bought me Paige Evan's Coptic Binding Kit (you can also find her blog here) I had been watching videos for a while and fell in love with these adorable little books. They are super girly when you add charms to them and you can seriously make them out of anything. What intrigued me the most was the fact that I could make one of these out of materials I already had. Although for this one I purchased the kit, in the future I can't wait to see where my creativity takes me.

Paige's kit and instructional video was well worth the $33. Another thing that made me excited was that she only made a few kits. I am one of those people that feels super special have one of only a few of something made. It also came to me from Germany. Happy mail is one thing, but when it comes from another country it's even more exciting. As a child I collected stamps with my grandfather so seeing mail from different areas of the world fascinates me.

I will say it was a lot of work, but I can tell as I went on more and more it got easier. This is a project you do have to take your time with and that was a challenge for me. I am someone that likes to work quickly. In Paige's kit, it is set up to do 10 signatures, but since I was doing a year I did 12 signatures. I just went through my own cardstock and picked colors that matched. My book totals 120 pages.

I loved the charms that she included, but then I decided to add a few of my personal favorites. I am obsessed with clouds and rain showers so I wanted to keep clouds at the top and go from there. The umbrella is probably my favorite charm which is from Freckled Fawn as are the clouds.

It was truly a super fun project to work on and I cannot wait for my friend Molly's kit to arrive so I can see how hers comes out.

Some news to share!!

I am so excited to share with you all that I am on the Let's Get Sketchy design team. My layout is up on their blog along with the sketch I followed. I would love to see what you create. Here are some up close pictures of the layout I made, Happy Creating!!