Shorely Stampin with Alex

Happy Times Bible Journaling

2016-05-30T19:18:00.000-04:00

I'm a little obsessed with Bible Journaling on Pinterest these days, so this weekend I've been working on setting up my own bible to get started. For a while, I've been wanting to do something to get a little more focused on my own faith and having this wonderful mix of creativity thrown in is something that I am just so in love with!

So anyway, I managed to score a couple of #free packs of the Happy Times paper from Close to My Heart (there's still time to get get one (or a few!) for yourself, just click here! I ADORE these papers - there's a wonderful mix of foil and "ombre" shades and delicate patterns, so so pretty!!

I cut down a sheet of the floral pattern to print the text, and used my Cricut to cut out the tabs - I just kind of winged the size and I was very happy with the finished product! :) I'm so excited to get started on the actual study!

Thank you for stopping by & happy crafting!

Sangria love!

2016-05-18T14:04:00.000-04:00

...Not the boozy kind, though that one's not bad either <wink>, however, as every scrapbooker knows - there are always THOSE pictures you don't scrap UNTIL you find the "match-made-in-heaven" paper to go with them, right?? well, these are it for me!
I have no shame in admitting I recently purchased the Sangria Workshop On The Go Kit, just for our Fall Festival pictures from ahem.. a couple of years ago.. SO anyhoo, I was itching to play with those gorgeous patterned papers and I found this fabulous 2-page Sketch challenge at Scrapbook.com, so off to town I went!

aren't they just perfect?? (my kids too of course! lol..) but seriously, one of the reasons I LOVE the WOTG kits is because they include everything you could possibly need to create several layouts (which I will be totally using since I have a TON more pictures from this outing!) and of course, have plenty of scraps left over for cards and/or embellishments!

Speaking of embellishments...

Do you see that gorgeous banner? It's part of the stamp set that's included in the kit! Isn't that awesome! I cut the shape out using the Artistry Cricut Cartridge collection. I LOVE this cartridge - and by the way, you don't even have to wait to get your hands on these gorgeous shapes because they are available for download you still get all the extras shipped but you can start using your Cricut images right away! How cool is that??!

I can't wait to share some more pages using this kit! Thanks for stopping by!

Anybody swamped with it all??

2016-05-14T12:04:00.002-04:00

I am just swamped with photos, the ones I've printed, the ones yet to be printed, albums, pages etc!! it's just crazy and killing my inspiration to get pages done! Luckily I just ordered some albums to get everything sorted out an back on track! Time to get #AllTheAlbums done :)

If you've got piles and boxes, or disk drives full of pics, take advantage of this fab sale from Close To My Heart!

OH and did you see??? You can get this adorable National Scrapbooking Month exclusive (and foil-accented!!) paper pack FREE!!!

See? It makes total sense to stock up now! :)

Happy Shopping!

#scrapbooking #ctmh #scrapbooker #projectlife #capturemylife #memorykeeping

Boys & butterflies!

2016-02-03T19:34:00.000-05:00

I think I mentioned I've recently developed a huge #heidiswapp addiction?? I'm beside myself that not only do these photos match my Creative Memories paper perfectly but this layout was totally Heidi embellishment-worthy! lol..

First layout for the February Cricut challenge on scrapbook.com and layout #7 for me for 2016.. only 93 more to go! :)

TFL!! xoxo

more paper!

2016-02-01T19:40:00.001-05:00

Is anybody as #erincondren obsessed as I am?? I finally bit the bullet last month and got myself a planner, I've been drooling over all the cute stickers and labels and washi tape galore all over etsy so here I am now officially salivating over my very first February spread!

I also made my own stickers using my silhouette - since I have some cute clipart I may try my hand at making a sheet to share! :)

More pages to share soon! Thanks for stopping by!

Lil Mr. Sunshine

2016-01-10T11:18:00.000-05:00

Nothing brightens up cold and dreary days quite like summer pictures! I finally decided to crack open a Summer Kit from Creative Memories that I've been hoarding for years :P It's just so perfect for these pool pictures of my little Kieran that I couldn't resist!

This layout is also perfect for 2 of my challenges on scrapbook.com - The Hoarders challenge (not even kidding), and the Cricut Challenge as that cute sun was cut using my nifty gold Cricut! I'm putting that bad boy to work these days- I actually have to say, it is ideal if you have to scrap somewhat quietly, like I do, since the bulk of my layouts get done while my boss (said child in the picture) sleeps. As much as I adore my Silhouette, the Cricut is SO much quieter, so really, I am LOVING it these days!

I added the accents form the kit using dimensionals and it just really makes everything come together so nicely, I think! Simple, quick and super cute, yes??

Thanks for stopping by & Happy Scrappin' :)

Happy Scrappy 2016 & Challenges!

2016-01-05T18:28:00.000-05:00

I'm kicking off 2016 with determination to make a dent in the billion pictures that need to get scrapped! I've jumped in on a couple of challenges in my trusty Scrapbook.com, and I'm pumped! I'm shooting for a volume challenge of 100 layouts, with a few other challenges thrown in! (no pressure.. HA!). Here's a quick LO I made today with a random picture I found of boy #1.. sigh, I wish he was still this small and not so mouthy as a 16 yr. old...teenagers...grrr. :)

I used paper from the Radiant collection from Authentique and paired it with a couple of embellishments from my scrapbooking goddess Heidi Swapp - I've always been such a huge fan of her products, but lately she's knocking it out of the park with the bold colors and gold foil - Im obsessed!!!

Well there you have it! One down, 99 to go lol.. Thanks for looking and here's to a happy scrappy 2016!

Holiday Swap Cards!

2015-12-02T11:22:00.002-05:00

Happy December stampin' friends! I recently participated in a card swap which I haven't done in years, so it was just the excuse I needed to play with some of my new goodies!

I have been wanting to use this set forever! It's so versatile! I still have a couple of stamps I haven't inked up yet, but this wreath is just so cute and perfect for quick & simple cards!

I have to confess something - everything I make may now have a bow on it!! I'm so in love with this fun punch that just makes the prettiest bows in a snap! If you haven't tried it yet - run!! perfect for planner flags too! I can't wait to make some more with all my favorite paper :) (it might be a while!! lol..)

This card was pretty simple! added some color with my markers to my black image and voila! (oh and a little glitter accents, for some added glitz of course!) See below for my handy-dandy supply list if you want to make some cute and simple cards of your own!

Thank you for visiting, and i hope you are enjoying the start of this fabulous season!!

xoxo

Alex

Bundled Cutie Tag

2015-11-18T22:29:00.001-05:00

Do people still paper-piece?? lol.. I feel like I'm in a time warp when it comes to stamping techniques, but honestly, it's one of my favorite things to do and this adorable stamp from the Christmas Cuties stamp set is perfect for it, so I got my paper-snips and went to town!

Once I had cut out all the pieces of her outfit, I distressed the edges before adhering to my image panel. I have to stop right here and thank the SU! Gods for coming up with the fine-tip glue pen - when I tell you, this stuff is AMAZING!! it recently saved my little life while making some menorah tags for my etsy store (more on those later) but anyhow, back to my tag.. once I distressed her little clothes and finished coloring my image panel, I then layered it onto a small piece of DSP from my stash and added one of the fabulous new snowflake elements (which I absolutely can't get enough of!!) using silver cording trim. A little distressing to the sentiment, some ribbon for the tag, and voila!

I think this would make a perfect addition to just about any package right??! All of the images in this stamp set are absolutely perfect for coloring, so I think I'm going to stamp some images for the twins to color so they can add to their own cards/packages! Fun idea for keeping the little ones busy for sure :)

Thank you for visiting & happy crafting!

Rad Baby!

2015-11-06T10:40:00.000-05:00

My rad baby - who is now a grumbling 16-year-old, so yeah, I guess I'm not much of a chronological scrapper lol.. ! SO I have a few layouts I've managed to squeeze in between working on Etsy orders and indulging in some fun sewing projects, here's one of my recent faves! Easy and just trying to use up some of my never-ending stash!

I have been using some of my Project Life cards to "embellish" traditional layouts, which I'm finding to be so fun! (It's also GREAT for using up the duplicates of cards which I normally would just keep hoarding! lol..

Here's to a fun start to a scrappy weekend for all! Thanks for visiting my blog :)

This Face!!

2015-08-10T14:03:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday!! I found THIS face and needed to immediately scrap it! PLUS I just purchased this gorgeous Heidi Swapp paper pad and it just so happened that the colors matched perfectly - but I swear that's not the reason I had to urgently make this layout!! lol..cough..cough..

Anyhoo, I absolutely love these pictures of my chubster Twin A aka Kieran :) He has such a personality!!

On this page: Heidi Swapp September Skies patterned paper (how gorgeous??!!). I added the "adorable" and "tag" using two cards from my Maggie Holmes Project Life core kit - pfft. how perfectly do they match this paper?? I LOVE happy accidents!! I made the title using my silhouette, and VOILA!! OHHHH and if you look behind the "Os" in the title, I stamped "happy" using my interchangeable stamper from Heidi Swapp I picked up at Michaels. (SUPER cute!!)

I wish I could take credit for this awesome sketch BUT it is from the GrandDiva's July Sketch challenge. It was fun to layer all these patterns, it's no longer July but it will do! :)

Thanks for visiting my blog, & as always! Happy Scrappin'!

Sweet Prince

2015-08-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

Whew!! I can't believe it's been a month since I posted :P so embarrassed!! The good news is (at least for me!) is that I've been busy plugging along getting the twins' 1st Christmas album done (shameful I know!) AND also, I've been on a huge organizing kick because my stash is so ridiculously out of control and purging is high on my list these days!

On to the layout I'm sharing today! Look at these baby chubs!!! OMG I wish they were still this tiny!!! I made the title using a design from the Silhouette Store, it has like 17 layers I kid you not - whatever, super cute so I managed to stick with it and I absolutely love it!

The paper is from Echo Park, definitely vintage at this point because it's an OLDIE :) further, can we discuss how crooked my journaling is on that tag? oy vey!!! oh well, it's staying because it is DONE, and with those chubby baby legs, who will notice right?

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a scraptastic day!

Alex <3

Happy 4th of July... Baby!!

2015-07-04T20:00:00.001-04:00

I almost had an Independence Day baby! Well, that was his due date anyway but he arrived a few days earlier! Nevertheless, I was ready with some very patriotic socks and here they are (Of course, they barely fit since he apparently got my big feet lol..!!

My little munchkin was just 3 days old here <3 sniff.. fast asleep in grandma's arms - slept through fireworks and all! I can't believe how quickly time has flown - thank God for scrapbooks! (much to his dismay of course!)

Enjoy your Holiday and cherish every moment! ;). A huge thank you to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom! God Bless!!

Happy Bubbles!

2015-07-01T16:06:00.004-04:00

So, this guy is 16 today! (aside from feeling really old..lol..) I couldn't be more proud to be his mommy. He's the reason I started scrapbooking and wanting to share all my memories. I am so grateful that I can share the big moments, and more importantly, the every-day little things to show how him how loved he is!!

Happy Birthday Nick. To infinity & beyond <3

Road Trip Christmas!!

2015-06-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

I spent about 13 hours in the car with my husband and oldest son yesterday, so in an effort to preserve my sanity, (and their lives!! lol..) I decided to take my scrapbook bag along with me and get some pages done. I've been working on the twins' first Christmas album using the (retired) Hollidazzle kit from Creative Memories, so that meant I needed very little in terms of supplies, (I just added a couple of pkgs. of Thickers) and everything coordinated and it was super easy!

Here are a couple of pages I managed to get done (including 2 layouts that may be the ones with the most pictures ever! lol.. I refused to not include so many chubby cheeks and cute expressions! Eeek!!)

I am truly enjoying the lack of pressure that comes with doing things a little more simply yet just as nicely - it's been such a refreshing learning process for me :P.

Getting more layouts done this rainy Sunday! Happy Scrappin'!

Twinkie's Fast 2 Fab Album!

2015-06-26T12:15:00.000-04:00

One of my hubby's dear friends is a photographer, and when he visited the twins for the first time in the hospital, he literally spent hours just photographing them (and everyone around us! lol.) so I had a massive stack of photos waiting to be scrapped, except I wasn't sure if I wanted to do so many elaborate layouts of the same day and not so many of the other days we were there (weird, I know, but that's just me!) Anyhoo, I found the perfect solution a couple of months ago thanks to one of my beautifulest buddies (Bethany - this means YOU!!) when she introduced me to the Creative Memories' new Fast 2 Fab albums! Pre-made layouts, that you can use as is, or embellish to your hearts content, thanks to the coordinating "Slide-in Packs". I literally finished the entire album in just one weekend (you could probably do it in one sitting but I of course have these 2 chatterboxes to keep me sidetracked every 5 minutes!) :) I even added an entire pack of Pocket Pages for the extra photos that I still wanted to keep/show. I'm so thrilled over these albums and I just know I'll be making more! They're the perfect answer to getting whole albums completed, telling your stories, and they make fantastic gifts too! Here's a little sampling of my favorite layouts!!

Gettin' Inky!

2014-10-02T14:22:00.002-04:00

happy Thursday!! I've been busy plugging away, listing some of my cards on my Etsy shop, but last night I took a break to ink up my adorable new "Bearing Gifts" Stampin' Up stamp and play with my beloved markers so I had to share!

ahh, the thrill of coloring! I SO miss it but I definitely need to brush up on my skills 'cause I'm a little rusty! lol..

Have a lovely, crafty day!

Alex

hurry, hurry!!!

2014-09-08T22:33:00.001-04:00

Do you ever find yourself playing catch-up? well, that's the general theme of what I'm gearing up to do these days!

It is so overwhelming that I can't even figure out where to start! However, I told myself that I actually have to START instead of just looking at the mountains of supplies, photos and just generally waiting for the scrapbooking fairy to magically appear from somewhere and make my albums appear!

Anyway, with that in mind, I made a couple of simple layouts, using whatever supplies I had in my immediate area, not stressing over the embellishments, or distressing or sewing and all the fun stuff I prefer to use, and decided to focus solely on the photos, and just telling an re-living the moments!

Can you believe this little guy is now 15?? (see?? when I said "catch-up" I meant it..lol..) Just this past Thursday, he started his Sophomore year in High School...

Time flies right? This is why scrapbooking is so incredibly important to me. The little things, the big things, every story is worth telling! Thank you for joining me on this "renewed" journey, it means the world to me!

smooches,

alex

Craft Fair Prep!

2013-11-22T01:48:00.000-05:00

I've been busy preparing for a craft fair I'm doing in the coming week, so not a moment to post as I had planned! BUT the good news is, I have tons to share with I've been making, here's just a little peek at one of my little creations!

Look at those hats!!! eek!! How cute can they get - simply cut out using my silhouette machine (which I ADORE) and just inked up the edges. super easy and so fun!! (These are wrapped chocolate marshmallow snowmen, which I would normally have no problem eating but these are so stikin' cute I might feel a little guilty.. (don't misunderstand, I'd eat them anyway. what can I say, I have no shame.)

Have a lovely day!
toodles!!
xoxo

Playground Joy!

2013-10-15T19:46:00.000-04:00

Hello sunshines!! I recently jumped in on one of Scrapbook.com's sketch challenges in an effort to get the ol' creative noggin going, and I'm already having so much fun!! I found some pictures of the 1st time we took the twins to a public playground and, after crying for about an hour because of how much they've grown already, I got to business!

This lovely sketch is #1 of the October PageMaps Challenge! So fun, and I loved mixing up the different patterns, even though some of the pieces were small! Really, I was just excited to use this gorgeous paper and elements from the Sarita Workshop on the Go kit. I love that the kits come with everything you need to get a bunch of projects done - embellishments AND stamp set included!! I made my own embellishments on this layout, just using the stamp set included make the flowers and the title! So fun!

All my flowers and the title are mounted on using our 3-D Foam tape, I swear I would happily die clutching this stuff in my hands, it's just SO cool to add so much dimension to a layout using just paper! I inked up the edges of my embellishments using Chocolate Ink, works like a charm and adds the bit of grunge I so love!!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy scrappin' :)

Gratitude Wreath

2013-10-11T22:45:00.000-04:00

I recently came across an amazing tutorial on Pinterest (Thanks Tami!) and I was so incredibly in love with this fun style of wreaths that I stayed up into the wee hours while my little critters slept to make a wreath of my own!

How FUN that I had this gorgeous Spice Cake designer series paper from a couple of seasons ago (see, being a hoarder really helps!!) and it just totally worked for my Fall theme! I am planning on making this a workshop for my local girls, and this finished product is all mine BUT I do have one also for sale in my Etsy shop which I am working on updating this weekend, so feel free to check it out!

I am so pumped about getting back into my crafty zone! it truly feels like home, and for that, I am SO grateful! :)

Happy Stamping!!

Real Men Get Scrapped in Pink!

2013-10-03T23:41:00.000-04:00

It's NO secret that my house is full of men, so needless to say, my addiction for pretty floral patterns and girlie colors doesn't get fed too often, but when I tore into some new goodies, I had to put it to use!

I solved the "color in the photos" issue - like my Matthew's bright RED snow jacket by going black & white, I figured it would add to the vintage feel of the paper too! I feel like I'm a little rusty when it comes to my scrapping, but with these super-cute Dimensional Elements from the same collection I figured nobody would notice my shoddy work! lol.. These chipboard shapes are awesome to just cluster around your layout, and with the nice big word shapes, it's super-easy to finish up a simple layout quickly!

LOVE love love this paper packet so I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a whole lot of black and white, after all, I think my boys look pretty cute in frilly colors!!

little monkey

2012-01-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

I jumped when I saw this fabulous Mister Curiosity kit by Traci Reed from Sweet Shoppe Designs. I LOVE love love those fabulous bright colors and of course the striking resemblance to the adorable monkey we all know and love! I don't know about you but there are some cartoons that I just adore and I am so excited to get the twins into them! ( I think I'm totally going to love having an excuse for watching all my old favorites since my bratty almost-teen would rather die than admit to liking anything even remotely cutesy!! :-)

Anyhoo, I whipped up this layout of my "younger" twin because the cuteness was just too much to resist!

Matthew is my little ham - he has been since he was born, and although it seems funny to say that since he's still just a baby, I just swear his personality has been just that since the day he was born! He now has this thing that he makes this silly face every time I say "cheese!!" (whether I have my camera in hand or not!) I am so loving this new little game he's playing and I thought it would be perfect for this fun kit!

I made my layout using a free "Easy as Pie" template Number 19 from TheShabbyShoppe. There is a challenge going on for a chance to win a $25.00 shopping spree which is absolutely cool, except your layout has to consist of at least 75% of shabby shoppe products, and this one I made is not, but that's ok because the template is so easy and fun to play with that I might just have to make another one just for the challenge! :)

Thanks so much for visiting and happy scrapping to all!

builder boys!

2012-01-17T22:31:00.000-05:00

So proud of myself for finishing another layout! whoo-hoo!! This one is especially heart-wrenching for me (the drama queen that I am) because the little baby in the yellow rain boots is my now 12-year-old with the attitude of a 16 year-old brat!! sigh, I miss these days...

the tears are flowing..where did my baby go?? (let's not even get into the fact that I am THAT much older now!!) I also threw the picture of my hubby in there so I could tease him about the flowing locks he was sporting at the time (tee-hee)!

So, onto the layout - super easy thanks to the template I used from Cindy Schneider at Sweet Shoppe Designs. as for my supplies - have you ever seen a more perfect kit for boys?? This little masterpiece is another of Kristin Aagard's creations - it's her brand new kit, Little Builder. I looove it, and I know that as a mommy of 3 boys, it's going to be used over and over again!! I'm off to work on my next layout, this is absolutely addicting!! :-)

Thanks for visiting! I hope you have a scrappy day!!

very merry

2012-01-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

Hi again!! I finished a super simple digi-layout using the Merry Christmas Kit I mentioned in my last post. This was super easy to complete and I have to say I almost feel as though it's too good to be true :) I can almost dream of the day I feel like I'm all "caught" up. Scrapbooking can't be this easy right??

I used QOH Electric templates to create my layout and then just dolled it up using Kristin's gorgeous kit. So far I've been using Photoshop for my layouts, but I am terribly curious about the many programs out there - I've heard great things about Creative Memories' storybook 4.0 Digital program, unfortunately it's for PC and I'm a mac girl. I'm trying to bully my hubby into letting me borrow his laptop long enough to try it, but so far, I have a better chance of running into George Clooney at the supermarket.. (in which case I would not be spending my evenings scrapbooking!!) sigh....a girl can dream right?? :)

Happy scrapping!

Thanks for stopping by!!