HAPPY 2014

So, Happy New Year I guess :)

Let's try and pretend it hasn't been ages since my last post and that life's been so fun that i haven't had a minute to sit at my computer. The truth is that i've missed you, I've missed writing, so let's try that again!

Spring is here, i'm on the hunt for a hopefully cool job and inspiration is back. I haven't made a single layout in month though. BUT i have been knitting. a lot. which is actually really fun! and the greatest activity to do while watching movies and tv shows (i have a House of Cards marathon waiting for me as i write this, so i guess i'll be making a lot of progress on that cute sweater i'm knitting!). Would you be interested in seeing some of my knitting projects? 

No project life either, but i'm gathering inspiration and photo for an art journal (i'm taking Rachel Denbow's new class at A Beautiful Mess, it's awesome!). I'm honestly not sure what direction this blog is taking. Maybe more general crafts and less paper projects? More photography? I guess we'll see, one post at a time :)

Also, just heard of the 100 Happy Days project. Might be just what i need to start looking at that damn glass as half full and not half empty. Also, fun excuse to take more photos! I'll try and play along on Instagram (i'm @alinor89 over there), what about you? 
Do you have time to be happy?

BEACH BABES

Beach Babes! And as the journaling says, yes i just said that! Yes this is highly ironical. Or not. Wathever, we rock. :)

The photos were taken on the Toronto's island (remember, the nudist beach?), just after a quick nap on the sand (you can probably tell by our faces. except mine, too excited to sleep!). I wanted to use some soft dreamy colors so i started with the green and yellow floral paper (i'm pretty sure it's a Mint Julep / Basic Grey paper). i cut four strips and sew all around. Then added some pink. And peach . Plus aqua because i love it, and you know, it's a story about a beach. Most of the embellishments are from Travel Girl by October Afternoon (LOVE it)

I then added my journaling here and there. Most of the layout was already vertical so it seemed super weird to write on the horizontal. I think it works just fine this way, and i kind of like it when you have to do some work to read/view the full layout. Et voila :)

THE SUN GOES DOWN

 Hey there. I'm back with a new layout. I already told you a story about my road trip to Quebec and the big part music played in it. Well this is a new story about another song we listened to a bit too much in the car. The song is called Glad you came and is performed by Wanted.  I love it. Yet i haven't really been listening to it much (aka at all) since i came back from Canada. But just like Starships, i know that every time i will hear it, i will think of this beautiful sunset we witnessed when we finally made it to Tadoussac, all the way across Quebec. 

The layout does look extra simple but took me forever because i had to hand cut everything. I also used some of my Mr Huey's to create the rainbow effect behind the lyrics. That definitely was the fun part. The background is a Dear Lizzy paper, kind of perfect for a layout about music don't you think? ;)

That's pretty much it, i'll try and start posting more regularly soon (i am severely lacking motivation to do anything but sleep right now. could someone bring me a spice pumpkin latte please?)

Also, i really do believe that all that counts is here and now. So have a great day :)

MAGICAL VIEW

This layout could be called "I tried to leave as much white space is a could" or "I love Maggie Holmes way too much". The actual title should have been "Reflecting Pool" (because that's what it is), but honestly that didn't look or sound pretty to me so i went with Magical view. I have been loving mixing thickers and handwriting to create titles lately, maybe because i am becoming more confident about my handwriting. 

About the layout: i first created the main square with vellum and a few scraps of paper. i painted the hearts with gesso and pink mist (does that count has giving mixed media a try? that was fun.) Then i did the top clusters and at the same time found a bunch of Maggie Holmes die cuts. I had to use that pink butterfly. Which meant i also had to add something on the left side for balance. Bits by bits, the layout came together. The last touch was the little anchor veneer because i wanted a bit more brown to create a triangle. And that was it. A bit more stuff than i first intended, but lovely anyway.  

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 25

Week 25. This spread might be my new favorite (you know, until next week). I just love the look of 8 4x6 photos and 8 3x4 cards in the middle. What do you think? 

The spread came together super quickly once i had the photos. Hardest part was to pick pretty cards to go with them. Lots of different colors, but i tried to make them work together. Like for instance i picked a pink card for the right spread, so i added pink elements to the left one as well. Giving more balance. And lots of black and white and grey to keep things from getting crazy. Super fun to do. Here are more detailed shots:

Left spread: loved this little heart card from the Midnight edition, but i wanted more pink so i stamped these cute polaroids. At first i only did the three in the middle but it didn't look quite right. Then stamped all the way to the top and bottom. much better. do you use this technique too?

More stamps: directly on the photo (using stazon). 

Right spread: my nephew is the cutest. Also, he liked to stand VERY close to the objective of the camera. i'm okay with that <3. More photos with little tabs on them. The awesome "crosswords" pink card which i filled with key words from the event told on the bottom two photos. And the simplest black and white card with a flair on top of it. LOVE IT. Simple is awesome.

A little embossed stamp. love love this quote. also: pink + green + grey = LOVE

 Aaaaand: this badge is the coolest. right?