project life monday :: love you more...

Happy Monday! I'm starting off the week on the Paper Issues blog with my favorite...pockets. This page is documenting week nine which included our wedding anniversary so, I went with a love inspired theme of pinks and corals with mint and gold accents.

While my husband and I never managed a selfie (us-ie?) on our celebratory date night, I documented some thoughts on our 6 years of marriage in the embellished bitty bag on the top row and again with the Date Night card on the bottom row. Oh, and that bottom left list? Remembering my eldest son's first head injury requiring a trip to urgent care. The plus sign - from the MME On Trend Gold Foil Sticker pack - and a staple were quite fitting. Here's a closer look at some favorite bits:

For this page, I used mainly Swag Bag pieces, MME On Trend and the March Scrapbook Circle kit from our current Prints Charming Issue (hint, hint: LINK UP HERE!).

Grab some goodies from the Paper Issues shop for your own pocket pages and creations at 20% off with code JENBOOM. Happy creating!!

pop-ping the cork: new year, new issue!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Last year was incredible for our family with the birth of our beautiful daughter and moving to our forever home. 2015 has a LOT to live up to and I'm ready to make it even better!

I'm thrilled to be starting this year off with another round of Project Life. This will be my 5th year of pocket scrapping, yet this is my first time actually completing an opening page. Yes, really! I'm participating in the first Issue of 2015 on the Paper Issues blog and was so inspired by the awesome Hello 2015 line by Elle's Studio that the title page took shape easily!

Here are two close up of how I used the Elle's Studio product. And, with the, I'm jumping in to Project Life 2015 with both feet!

Want a chance to win an awesome goodie bag of product from Elle's Studio? It's easy! Simply create a project that fits into the theme (SO many options!) or, even use an existing project, then LINK UP to the Issue post on the Paper Issues blog HERE. Here are the details:

Issue link up runs from January 5th through January 18th.

Project theme(s): New Year's Eve celebrations and traditions, champagne toasts/glasses/embellishments, blowing bubbles, make colors pop off the page, cork embellishments, soda pop bottle, what's your favorite canned beverage (they have pop tops), do you like movie popcorn?, baseball pages (hit a pop fly), engagement stories (popping the question), grandparents (called Pop, Pop Pop), do you like pop music?, have you visited Ireland (County Cork), do you collect wine corks or have you used them to make an altered project, favorite wine, what's on your corkboard/Pinterest boards?, camping (pop up tent)/day camp/sleep away camp, use Elle's Studio products

Have fun with this theme. Can't wait to see your projects!

Jen

for the love of lattes and decorating...

Happy Monday all! I'm up on the Paper Issues blog today sharing some new pocket pages. I've been working through my December Documented album, one memory at a time. I decided to take a very loose approach with my album this year, getting in the details of our first Christmas season in our new house and as a family of five but, NO daily photo pressure.

We hosted Christmas this year and had a lengthy project list. With a couple of late nights, we crossed off the powder room update and that needed its own page!

I added the paint sample cut to 3x4, accented with an Elle's Studio tab and a Simple Stories clear sticker and border. 

Ah, the love of red cups. It may be a cliche to scrap one's fancy latte but, since we finally have a Starbucks local and with a drive through (oh yeah!!!), my coffee ritual while running errands was a part of this month that deserved a nod. And, come on, the latte card just had to be used!

I layered a Simple Stories 3x4 card over one from Fancy Pant Oh Deer line and embellished with more Oh Deer bits and a big sequin from the Merry Memories Swag Bag.

The Paper Issues shop has holiday lines in stock and ready for you to document your own December memories and you can save 20% off your order with code JENBOOM

Thank you for stopping by and have a fantastic week!

Jen

documenting december...

Happy Friday! My focus has shifted to a seasonal album this month. I really had no intentions of making a December album this year but, well, all of the pretty supplies kept calling to me. And, it is both our first Christmas in our house AND our baby girl's first! The events of the month begged to be captured. Rather than taking a daily approach, I'm instead creating pages based on events and seasonal happenings. This first set of pages documents our first big snowfall of the season here in NY.  The first several pages in my album were created with the Citrus Twist Kits December Pocket Life and Pocket Life Embellishment Kits, as well as the lovely CTK Christmas Stamp set. 

Our visit to Santa was a mixed bag. G LOVED him, immediately climbed on his lap and started rattling off his long wish list. J was terrified and wouldn't even look at poor Santa. A was more than skeptical but, we finally got a few half decent shots while holding her tight.

And  my last two shares capture our North Pole Breakfast. Our elf Dizzy returned atop a tissue paper pom bearing a fun, seasonal breakfast. The kids were thrilled!

These are some of my favorite details...

More to come very soon! I'm in the process now of printing more around snowfalls, birthdays and decorations. So fun!

pocket scrapbooking: back to basics...

Just wrapping up my 4th year of weekly pocket albums, I'm finding myself drawn back to the basics more and more. My favorite pages are less embellished, uncomplicated and are full of photos and stories. I do enjoy adding bits and pieces to kit cards to make them pop but, in a more understated, manageable way. With very limited, after the kids are in bed scrapping time this is what is working best for me now.

Here are the must have supplies that I use over and over when creating my weekly layouts:

My Basic Supply List:

• 3x4 Grid Cards, plain white cards, kit cards 
• Pigma Micron Pens - .02 is my favorite size
• Pencil - I always write out my journaling in pencil for spacing, then write over in pen and remove the guide lines/letters with a white eraser
• Corner rounder
• 6x6 patterned paper - scrapbook paper designs are scaled down in these pads and are perfect for pocket pages
• Alphabet stickers 
• Labels - all colors and shapes. There are many free printables online!
• Hearts - stickers, enamel, chipboard. I love adding hearts here and there.
• Clear Stamps and an acrylic block + a black Staz-On ink pad
• Paper Issues Swag Bags - a fantastic little bag of mixed embellishments and cards each month. Perfect to get a great variety of current supplies without breaking the bank!

A white base card and a few little bits go a long way!

Thank you for popping in today! I'd love to hear your own must have supplies.

woodn't you know, it's fall? :: an issue...

Hello all! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of projects, fall activities, lovely autumn weather (my favorite) and family time. I have not shared here as I'd hoped but, have a line up of projects ready to post starting...now! Paper Issues started a brand new Issue and link party this Monday, themed for fall, using wood items, wood grain - any or all! You can read more about the issue here.

I'm linking up today with a pocket layout documenting our family trip to the pumpkin patch. This gorgeous place is just minutes from our home and provided such a fun afternoon. I have more photos and details that I'll be scrapping but, wanted to get to these few right away. I've used mostly Fancy Pants True Friend papers and MME Jubilee embellishments to create this page.

I hope you'll create a project of your own to join the Issue linky party! Need some new fall scrappy goodies? Use my code for 20% off your entire Paper Issue order...

week 34: at home musings...

Week 34 is one of my favorite PL spreads ever for mainly one reason...that black and white photo of my three kids. Getting all three in the frame and looking at the camera is a feat of epic proportion. While it is simply an iPhone photo and Amalia looks just a bit, well, squished, they are all accounted for and looking at the camera. Winning! These pages were made using the beautiful September Citrus Twist Pocket Life Kits.

Simple, at home summer memories recorded here. My favorite journaling card on this page is "Jack-isms". I love have an outlet for these little right now glimpses.

Backyard fun, bathtime and a favorite refreshment...

I'll be posting again this week using the same kits to scrap G's first day of Pre-K (!!!), pocket style.

reflections on my 30s :: on cherry street 'reflections' kit

I'm sharing another page in my 30s album today, this time celebrating the role of wife. The On Cherry Street kit: Reflections had some perfect elements for this page. My husband and I met on a blind date in July of 2006 and have been together every day since. Since we were married in 2009, it's been a wonderful whirlwind of job changes, growing our family, travel and buying our forever home. There is no one else I could imagine at my side. He's my lobster.

I used two cards from the kit for this page. The top right "follow your heart" and then cut out part of another for the bottom left "right music" quote. John Legend's All of Me is a ballad that I've fallen in love with recently and is beautifully fitting. I stamped the "In love with" prompt to accent my journaling on the top right. Here is a close up of the music card:

Supplies: On Cherry Street kit, Reflections // Hedgehog Kiss stamps, Sweet Stamp Shop // Shimelle patterned papers, American Crafts // watercolor crayons // water pen // Twinkle Sweet Dots, V's Sweet Ideas

fun at the county fair...

I recall going to fairs as a child, seeing the farm animals and taking a few rides. Attending the county fair near our new home made our summer bucket list. As the date approached, George began to spot the television commercials and flyers and asked to make the trip. We started a countdown to the fair and talked about some of the things we might see. Admittedly, when I happened upon Jill's blog post about the potential for disaster in taking three young children to such an event, I nearly ditched the idea. Instead, we saw the fantastic weather forecast, caught George's excitement, packed up a million snacks (and just slightly less than a million dollars) and off we went.

I learned a few things that day:

1. Arrive early. As in, 30 minutes or more before the gates open. We planned it this way, hoping it would pay off and were spot on. Even though we went on a Saturday, the second to last fair day, getting to the lots prior to the gate opening meant we were able to park in the closest lot and had a very short wait once the Star Spangled Banner was finished and the gates flung wide.
2. Advance order your tickets, if available. We did not do this simply because we weren't aware of the option. For our fair early bird tickets, for both admission and rides, can be purchased the week before the opening day at a discounted rate.
3. Wear comfortable shoes. While our county fairgrounds were meticulously maintained and very clean, we covered a LOT of ground that day. Sneakers were a must. The people sitting on benches rubbing their tired feet from $1 flip flops or high heels (why???) would have been wise to think of this ahead of time.
4. Pack snacks for the kids. Lots of snacks. And maybe lunches. If your kids are picky eaters, bring your own food. Fair food is expensive and you do not want to waste $8 on a mini hot dog that will get a mere lick before being discarded. Save that $8 for more rides or fried cheescake on a stick for yourself.
5. Bring your patience. Fairs are large, loud and crowded. Kids can get easily overwhelmed and overstimulated by large spaces, noise and crowds. Remember this. Take deep breaths, regroup, think about what it all looks like from the perspective of your littles.

We ended up having an excellent family day with few very minor, and very normal, kid behaviors. The boys loved pretty much everything about the day. Amalia sat back and just took it all in then passed out for a long nap in the stroller. We cannot wait to go back next year. With our advance tickets, of course!

pl 2014: weeks 24, 28 and a bonus insert for 29

Today I'm sharing some of my favorite recent layouts in our family album. All were made from the August Citrus Twist Pocket Life kits, featuring the gorgeous Shimelle paper pad...love!!!

Week 24: World Cup 2014, time outside, projects and a visit with Papou....

Our yard in bloom, well visit, lacrosse, building and a little decorating. The "pretty things" quote is on a glassine bag that hold my journaling about what's been done so far in my scrap room...

Week 28: Never having picked up my dSLR this week, this spread is made entirely of iPhone photos and I used two Design F pages to best accommodate the 3x4's.

Breakfast with dinosaurs, sushi, new sounds and textures, coffee 'me time' and a pool day...

A power outage, art by Jack, man in trees (!!), and frozen custard! I am loving the look of white cards with typewriter journaling and simple embellishements.

Detail on some of my favorites...

Week 29 Insert: Our first time picking blueberries...

Loved this local farm with u-pick berries. The berry crop was incredible!

They even had farm animals for the kids to pet and feed. At home I found a recipe for an incredible Blueberry Cobbler and had to include it for future years...

reflections on my 30s // on cherry street: reflections

I have had the honor of designing for Sweet Stamp Shop this month using the On Cherry Street kit special release, Reflections. The Reflections kit is geared toward taking your projects deeper, taking a look at yourself or sharing thoughtful words with others. Though the kit works great for card makers and traditional scrappers, I've been using it in my favorite way - pocket pages.

As soon as I has the kit stamp set and cards in my hands, I knew what project I'd finally begin. I'm hovering on the brink of a milestone birthday and have been thinking about how I want to document all of the changes, the new roles I've taken on in the past decade. The best decade. Enter this mini album. I'll be sharing the full album in separate posts here on the blog. Today, I'm focusing on the image in the mirror (top left card from Reflections)...

The kit stamp set has a number of prompts that I know I'll use time and again. Here, I stamped them on a striped patterned paper, journaled and layered that over a Reflections card...

Thank you for taking a peek today! I'll share another page from this album next week, here on my blog. I hope you'll pop by the Sweet Blog through the month as the rest of the team continues to post their kit projects and for everyday stamping inspiration!

Supplies used: On Cherry Street kit: Reflections // Baking Love stamp set (retired): Sweet Stamp Shop // Hedgehog Kiss stamp set: Sweet Stamp Shop // Shimelle patterned paper: American Crafts // Kelly Purkey Alphabet Stickers: Simon Says Stamps // Metallic Glitter Sweet Dots: V's Sweet Ideas // Gold Star: Studio Calico