SNAP Conference Review & Elle's Studio May Kit Reveal

 

When I boarded the shuttle to attend the SNAP blogging conference I was so nervous. I had never attended a conference let alone traveled by myself.  I had no idea what an inspiring event I was going to be a part of. It was nothing short of an amazing, life changing experience. Putting my experience into words hasn't been easy and I'm still digesting all the information and rereading my notes. Not only did I learn so much but I was able to spend some time with some wonderful, successful women. I was able to make some new friends and reacquainted myself with some friends I hadn't seen in a while.

I spent some of my time volunteering and some of my time attending classes. I sat in each class and at meals in awe of the successful women that were surrounding me and wondering what each of their stories were and how each of them had evolved into bloggers and professional women. 

I learned so much from them and also learned so much about myself. I've already started implementing what I learned and I can't wait to use all of the ideas that came from the conference.

One thing that I loved about the conference was how excited and willing everyone was to share their tips, techniques, successes and even their list of "what not to do." I shared a room with 3 bloggers who were so kind and willing to answer my questions. They all have amazing blogs. (Creative Green Living, Busy Mom's Helper, Elise's Pieces)

There was so much to focus on I've chosen 5 things that I am going to work on:

1. Follow-up: There were so many people I connected with I want to make sure to keep those connections by following up. 
2. Continue to review notes: I took almost 20 pages of notes throughout the conference. This is where most of my to-do list is coming from. I keep rereading notes and visiting websites of the class contributors. 
3. Say Thank You!: I have written a few but I still need to write a couple more thank you notes.  
4. Prioritize and Scheduling as in; working ahead, scheduling my time with family, blogging, scrapbooking commitments, and house work. 
5. Writing and Storytelling. Simply telling my story.

In true scrapbooking style, I created a mini album documenting a few memories from the SNAP conference with the Elle's Studio May's kit. I created small tag album (about 3x4). This kit has lots of fun bits and pieces.

The statement on this page of the album sums up the entire event. I can do this! ....and I think it goes without saying that I'm already making plans to attend the SNAP Conference next year
 
Thanks for stopping by today! Come back tomorrow for Let's Talk Tuesday.

Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea

Next week is Teacher Appreciation week. (Here's your reminder if you're like me and you forget stuff like that.)  I'm room mom for my little lady's classroom. I don't get to spend enough time with her class so I wanted to show her teacher how much I appreciate her taking care of and teaching all the little ones in her class.
Here's what I came up with for a gift for her teacher:

 I kept this project super simple, all I did was cover the box the soda came in with patterned paper by tracing the box, cutting out the patterned paper and adhering it to the box with double sided sticky tape.

I die cut the "thank you" part of the title with my Silhouette and finished the title by adding thickers. I added a little bit of texture with a ribbon wrapped around the middle of the box and topping it with a button.

 I created an accordion flower and added a sticker in the center.

What have you created for your special teacher? I'd love to see it. Leave a link in the comments!
Have a great weekend! :)

Elle's Studio March Reveal

Are you awake? I am but I'd rather be sleeping. This time change is rough, especially for the little ones. My littles will be in rough shape for a few days. I do love the the longer days though. It will be wonderful to have a little more daylight.

We've been busy over at Elle's Studio working with the March kit. I decided to shake things up a bit and create a mini album about my day to day routines and activities. I was inspired by THIS project by Jen Gallacher. I adore Jen, I was able to meet her a few years ago. She's a beautiful, amazing woman! I so admire her and her work.

Elle's Studio March Kit is for sale HERE. This kit has so many wonderful little bits, perfect for everyday projects or for spring projects. Here's the album I created:

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today. Let me know if you have any questions! I love hearing from my readers!  Look for more Elle's Studio projects here tomorrow.

Paper Issues by the Numbers

It's Monday and there's a new issue at Paper Issues sponsored by Pinkfresh Studios. I created a colorful layout with Amy Tan's new line for American Crafts, Plus One. If you want something colorful, this is the line for you! Lots of color mixed with black and white.

 The adorable little wood veneer hearts are from Pinkfresh Studio.

The journaling on this layout is hidden behind the photos.

I did lots of machine stitching along with some hand-stitching on this project.

Here's the entire project.

Make sure you link your projects using lots of color and anything that's "by the numbers" to the current issue (find it HERE) for your chance to win some goodies from Pinkfresh Studios.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Monday!

Love for Little Critter

My little man loves little critter books. I mean he loves loves loves them! We check them out at the library, we buy them whenever we see them, we watch Little Critter You Tube videos, and we download Little Critter Apps on the ipad. When my mom told me that she found him a stuffed Little Critter for Christmas I knew it would be an immediate favorite!
When I sat down to create a layout with this photo I knew I wanted to make a big impact about how much this little man loves Little Critter.

 I created this layout for Elle's Studio. The "love" stamp is a January exclusive. I stamped it with versamark ink and embossed with gold embossing powder.

Do your kids have a favorite storybook character? I'd love to hear about it :)

Bits & Pieces Made into Valentines

When I finished working with my goodies from Paper Camellia I still had lots of little bits and pieces that were Valentines themed. I decided to put together some fast & fabulous Valentines cards.
It took me about an hour to create all these adorable cards.

 I kept all these cards super simple. This one just has one large embellishment and a couple of enamel dots. I added some stitching for a little bit of interest.

 

 I added some silver glitter to some of the hearts on the patterned paper.

On this one all I added to this journaling card was 2 enamel dots and stitched around the perimeter.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you'll take a few minutes to create some Valentines with the bits and pieces you have in your crafting area.

Starting With an Embellishment

Hey there! I'm blogging over at Paper Camellia today. I LOVE their kits!

Today we're talking about starting with an embellishment.
Sometimes when I sit down at my desk I don't know what photo I want to use or even what story I want to tell, I just know I want to create. So, I start with an embellishment. For this project I started with the huge wood veneer ampersand from the January kit. 

I adhered the wood veneer and assembled the title around it. It was after the title was on my page before I chose a background paper or a photo. It may see m a little backwards but sometimes that's when the creativity hits, some of my favorite projects began with a little bit of a different creative process.

Thanks for stopping by today! I so appreciate you visiting my blog!