Social {Media} Butteflies August Blog Hop

Welcome back! We are so happy to have you back for the August edition of our Social [Media] Butterflies blog hop! This month we thought we would change it up and have a two part challenge for our members. Not only have we taken inspiration from one of our members, but we also were challenged (Hmm? not feeling challenged This color set? Design with it? YES, PLEASE! extremely inspired) by this color palette:

I love the colors of this challenge and when I first saw them I knew they would be a joy to scrap! I was also inspired by Trisha's blog post & layout here: 

http://www.trisha-grace.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

this paper from Pebbles, and her layout: 

Love the color combo and use of layers and embellies to complement her photos.

And here's my take on the color challenge:

While exercised a little creative freedom and added a few more ancillary hues to the swatch.

This color set just screams joyful and happy to me and I loved playing with the new October Afternoon Woodland Park brads and alphas, Studio Calico wood veneers and Central Park #2 digital files, and American Crafts Shoreline Thickers. (Sorry crop is a bit wonky-kinda rushed for time this week with school activities in full throttle).

So here's the order:

 Melissa P http://www.melissapriest.com/ click click

Ellie http://scrapbookmamaof4kidz.blogspot.com/ eaugustin

 Jenny http://mycreativelife29.blogspot.com/ MrsJennyG instagram, Jenny G on SC

Angel http://kindlelover.blogspot.com akochmcelroy

YOU ARE HERE >>>Suz http://livealifeextraordinary.blogspot.com/ SuzMannecke

Patricia http://harmonyhealthandfaith.blogspot.com/

Erika http://erikabardo.wordpress.com/ erikabardo

Trisha http://www.trisha-grace.blogspot.com/ trishacakes instagram, trishacakes24 on SC

Amanda http://somethingsorta.blogspot.com/     mandadej

Sabrina http://vixendeity.com/ vixendeity

Shay http://sbookinshay29.blogspot.com/ sbookinshay29

 Kristin http://rukristin.blogspot.com/ rukristin hope you enjoy our projects this month, and have a giveaway for a lucky blog hopper-- one of our own Social Butterflies is opening a SHOP! We are so excited for Kristin &  we would LOVE to show you some of the goodies you'll soon be able to purchase!

Introducing: Rukristin Papercrafts: The Shop! Offering trendy & quirky handmade memory-keeping supplies. Find her shop here: rukristin.bigcartel.com 

Before it opens, we are giving away Two Brand New Sets of Journaling Cards: 'Days of the Week' and 'Boy + Girl'. 

All you have to do is comment, follow or tweet using the hashtag #SMBiGbloghop, letting us know which of those you do-- the more of the hop you complete, the more chances you have :] Chances will end Saturday, September 1st at noon, and the winner's name will be released later that day! Good luck!

Social {Media} Butterflies Blog Hop August Edition| Live Tomorrow at 11AMEST

Hi All! I'm excited about the upcoming arrival of fall; cooler, temps, marching band festivals, football games,  annndd...this months' edition of the Social {Media} Butterflies blog hop. It goes live tomorrow @11AM EST!! Lots of fun and some exciting news regarding one of our very own. Be sure to check back here then for the link ups and order of contributors!

Why Hello There Garden Girl | Lexi Bridges

Hi all! Wowza. Summer vacation came and (sadly) went and last week it was back to school for us here. I will be posting a few back to school pics from last week a bit later because some other really exciting news happened last week!!! My local scrappin' sista, Lexi, was announced as the newest addition to the Garden Girls Design Team over at Two Peas!

I remember the day only a few years back, when Lexi and my other local Scrappin' Sistas were spending a weekend crafting away at my cabin and all of us were saying to Lexi that "Someday we are gonna be able to say, "Yeah, we knew you when..."

Things just took off after that as Lexi was asked to design for Freehand Scraps kit club, then Crate Paper and October Afternoon. And now...TWO PEAS!!!!

So thrilled for this sweet friend of ours/mine and we couldn't be prouder. Congratulations Lexi! We love ya girlie!!! Looking forward to your next creation!!!

Here's a quick link to take you to Lexi's gallery over at Two Peas. You are sure to be inspired!!

In lieu of a congrats card, I decided to create a layout for Lexi as she is sure to be really busy creating in the coming weeks and months ahead and just might not get a chance to scrapbook about this moment. And if she does, at least she'll have a layout from a friend's perspective. :)

Little Black Dress Kit | August Edition

Hi All! I'm really excited to be posting the latest kit from Little Black Dress today, and the designs that I created with it!! In August's kit is a lovely collection of trendy and classic patterned papers including some vintage Sassafras (can I get a big "yay" here?) as well as an adorable Elle's Studio stamp and not 1 but 2 Elle's Studio tag sets. The embellishments are fabulous and are sure to dress up your pages in style with the highly popular and in demand Studio Calico wood veneer people, Glitz's Happy Travel Rhinestones, and more! Also, there is an adorable wood frame from My Mind's Eye that I turned into a little something-something. :)

Ok, so on to my August Gallery:

My first layout came together pretty quickly when I spotted this cloud vellum and sunburst Sassafras paper. It was just begging me to scrapbook a summer layout! I added the wood veneer sunburst from my scrap stash and sprayed it with "sunshine" Mr. Huey and punched several clouds out with my Fiskars punch. This gave me several places to hide where I adhered the vellum cloud paper to my base patterned paper. ;)

Then, I started the layering process. I am always amazed at how much enjoyment I get out of pushing little pieces of papers and embellies around to set up a foundation of scrappy goodness that highlights my layout's photo/s. It just makes me smile. :) :) :)

Here are a few close ups:

REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION.

 Next is a little framed mini album I created. Super simple to make and would be a lovely little gift for  Grandma/Mimi or other family member/friend. The little easel (not included) helps keep it all together in one place, but one just lifts out the album from the easel for easy viewing or to tuck in a pocket of a purse to show others when out and about. On the flip side of each month I adhered a small pic from each month of this year. I am looking forward to completing this album as the year progresses. So simple and easy to keep up with. Love that. :) Also, to speed up the process, I made a photo collage/contact sheet in PSE to cut down on creation time.

 I sprayed the wood veneer frame set with Mr. Huey Pony. My go to favorite mist for anything wood veneer. :)

 Another thing I love about this kit is that even though there are lots of florals in this kit, I, being a mom to all boys, had no problem working with it! There was plenty of masculinity to be found in this kit. This card is one example where it doesn't scream girly girl yet has a masculine component to it in the strong blue quatrefoil patterned paper and trim. And the Sassafras Musical alpha? One of my favs from them!! Wish I had more to stash away! :)

This "thinking of you" card was inspired by the real penny that came in my kit. I  used the thought bubble dies from my Silhouette Cameo software to add the rest of the sentiment. *Click on any of these pics to view larger.

My eldest son's first GLEE performance. Complete fun here with the Sass Foldie, Glitz rhinestones, and Elle's Studio tags.

Stamps are non-kit items-Studio Calico; "Glee" and Camera and Heidi Swapp; stars. Roller date stamp was used as well.

I journaled some of the lyrics to their performance song on this speech bubble. :) 

This pic just makes me smile. :)

 The Elle's Studio stamp came in handy on this layout adding to the sentiment of how I felt about my DS's first Glee performance.

 Next up? A ROAD TRIP PIT STOP. Yes, the title maybe a little corny, but one has to admit it is fitting, no? ;)

I played off this chevron/floral papers' organic feel and used it to complement the thatched roof of the road side stand and the sunny Florida day.

 For the peach, I cut down one of the flowers from the Sass Foldies and inked the leaves with JBS Seed Packet.

 Stopping at a roadside stand to purchase peaches was one of the top "Must Do" things on our trip for our youngest DS. He loves peaches and my journaling reflected this love.

Run out of letters? No worries! Use the negative left by the removed sticker leaving the sticker backing in place and call it good.

 My love for this kit continued on this layout, playing with layering, embellies, stamping. misting, and stitching. I love the texture and feel of the pp set against the Sass Foldie and accessorized with Elle's tags, stamp,  and Glitz rhinestones. Pic is of my DH relaxing on the beach while reading the last of The Hunger Games Series. He seriously couldn't put it down, and he is not much of a leisure reader. (Usually, it's strictly business reading).

Well, there you have it! The August kit does not disappoint! Make sure you take "Time For Rest & Relaxation" and head on over to Little Black Dress for your kit! Take some time to check out the Idea Gallery and blog for more inspiration by other talented design team members! Happy "GO VOTE" Tuesday!!!

Click on the Little Black Dress Kit badge over at the top right to get you on your scrapping way! :)

Social {Media} Butterflies Blog Hop July Winner

Sorry for the delay peeps, life got in the way and kept me from my computer this week. Shay announced the winners of the July Social {Media} Butterflies Blog Hop, but in case you didn't head over there first, the winners are (drum rolllllll....)



Christina and Oregon Crafter!!! Head over to Shay's blog to get your contact info to her if you haven't already. Here's her blog link: Shay's Blog

Congrats ladies and enjoy all of those yummy CHA-S newly released goodies!!

Suz