A walk on the wild side!! :)

I love wild flowers!!  We like to take walks around the block in the evening when it starts to cool off -- with a camera in tow of course (heeheehee).  This time of year is great for going on walks around the neighborhood and just delighting in the beauty of all the colorful blossoms that had been hidden away not too long ago.  Even the prickly univiting cacti are covered in pink, orange, red and yellow flowers.  All the pictures were taken on one of those walks are from the our yard, our neighbors' yards, along the street and bike path just within our city block.  And these are only a few of the photos ... some of my favorites.  I love this page because I think it is pretty amazing that we would probably have overlooked them and not appreciated and captured their beauty had we not made scrapbooking a big part of our lives.  This is one of the reasons why I love this hobby so much.  It has changed my view on things so that it has become second nature to focus in on and appreciate the tiny details of everyday moments.

Speaking of details..... One technique that I like to use on some of my layouts is to add the journaling along the outline of my photos.  This is a good alternative if you don't want to have a big block of text on your layout.  It also is an interesting way to frame the photos.

   

Crafty Guy

Proof that the guys can be super crafty decorators too!  My hubby used white grout with blue, green and clear glass discs to make the mosaic top for our backyard firepit.   He was so careful to place all the discs just right so that they were not crowded and so that the colors were not bunched together.  He was grinning ear to ear when it was done - I just had to scrapbook his creation right away!

To make the background, I cut out circles to use as masks, taped them to the page and sprayed it with Tattered Angel sprays. I used a combination of framing, clustering and layering elements to draw attention to the photos.

Bohemia Boulevard "My Little Prince" Accents

Sticker Studio "Metal Hardware Textured Stickers" and "Alpha Tags"

   

Burrr.... is it cold in here?

Here's another fun layout of a trip we took last summer.  These pics are from Bandera Ice Cave in Grants, NM.  It's amazing to me that there would be ice caves in the middle of a huge lava flow!! 

The blue patterned paper is covered in ice crystals to pick up the theme.  The chipboard letters in the title were painted with white acrylic paint and clear glitter embossing power was added to make them look like they are frozen.  

A couple of techniques for the savvy scrapper:

1.  Use your scraps to make borders to frame different parts of your layout.  I used Martha Stewart edge punches on left over strips of black cardstock in my scrap box to add some contrast.

2.  Punch out flowers from left over scraps of patterned paper to make your own embellishments.  I punched out both large and small flowers to layer and colored them with colorbok chalk inks to match the layout.  

Exciting News!

I want to share some really exciting news!  Check out The Hen House Paperie website (http://thehenhousenm.com/).  They are announcing 5 Chicks Design team members this week and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this super creative group of ladies!    The store will have a grand opening even on July 15th so stop by and say hello.  I can't wait to meet everyone!  

I plan on posting some of my layouts on the blog over the next few days to introduce you to my style.  

This layout is from a trip that my husband and I took to Enbom Lake last summer.  It was breathtakingly beautiful and it seemed like were the only people for miles.  The quite calm of these types of moments in nature are so healing.  I remember just lying back in the float tube, slowly drifting in the water, listening to the birds chirping, and watching the snowcapped peaks in the distance.   When I look at this layout, I remember all the little details that I loved so much about that moment!    I hope you enjoy it too.  :) 

Welcome to the Decorating My Life blog!!!

I am so excited to officially have my blog up and running. It has been a long time goal of mine to share the creative techniques I've learned over the years. I love crafting in general and scrapbooking in particular. Some of my favorite things are layering to create depth and texture, stamping, inking, embossing, misting and all forms of bling. I love combining techniques to create something truly unique. I hope you will find my tips and ideas refreshing and inspiring. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy!