Living an Inspired Life: February 2021

Feb 26, 2021

MADE WITH LOVE Documenting Food Memories | with Nathalie

I am sure we all have a few -or many- pictures of past and present kitchen adventures waiting to be documented. Well, the patterns and sentiments in the MADE WITH LOVE collection are just perfect to finally get the stories told, and what better way to safe keep them than a 8x8 Story Album.

The Ladybug 8x8 Story album is the perfect background for all the cheery kitchen memories. I even customized the label of the album with the new My Type stickers, and You Bake Stamp

One of my favorite ways to build up specialty albums is by creating different size and interactive layouts.

For the cover/title page, I am using a 4.5"x8" strip of Bake Me Happy Paper. The Title was created by combining My Type Alpha stickers and Icons stickers on vellum.

For the first layout, I created a pocket using Petite prints, on the back of the title page. Here I will add the story in the memory spot from the Sugar Sprinkles paper. I opted to enlarge the photo and embellish it with a few pieces of Chit Chat and Odds and Ends.

The Story Album is a great way to combine scrapbooking with pocket pages in a fun way. I love how easy and quick you can get your memories documented.

I love the possibilities of the Made With Love collection. A bit of glue and scissors and you can create interactive elements and journal spots. I trimmed one of the Recipe Cards to fit inside the pocket, and cover the original print with stickers and die cuts. Now, it is ready to house my journal lines.

How about transforming one of the card bases to an interactive element for your pocket page. Simply trim the card front to fit the pocket, and then use a scoring tool to create the new fold of the flap. This adds a tactile feature to the album, and helps to add extra pictures, embellishments and/or journaling.

I hope this inspires you to pull your food adventure stories and document them with the gorgeous Made With Love collection!

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SUPPLIES:

MADE WITH LOVE collection

MADE WITH LOVE Petite Prints

Sprinkles

Lady Bug Paper Frills

MADE WITH LOVE Cards and Envelopes

MADE WITH LOVE Recipe Cards

Mini Paper Doily - Swimming Pool

Doodles

My TYPE Alpha Stickers - Beetle Black

Lady Bug 8x8 Story Album

Feb 25, 2021

EASTER SMILES -Simple Stories

Hi there Simple Stories friends!

Nathalie here with some Spring- Easter inspiration for all. This is the time of the year, my kids loved the most when little. The idea of finding chocolate all over the house for an entire day, and then get to celebrate with family was like a second Christmas. So much to remember and document; as soon as the new BUNNIES & BLOOMS collection reached my doorstep, I knew it will be perfect to document pictures of my little one in her bunny ears.

She was so cute wearing her headband for the entire Easter weekend. Which was the inspiration for the design. I wanted a soft bunny for the background. So, I reached for the cut file ( from Handipaper) and cut it from white cardstock. With so many awesome patterned paper designs, it was easy to back the cut outs. I used a 3x4 card for the leaves, papers from the 6x8 paper pad for the large flowers, and a few more papers from the collection for the rest of the design.

Don't you just love the sweet bunny! Once I had all the pieces ready. I chose a Color Vibe White cardstock for the background, and started attaching all the pieces to the paper with a bit of foam adhesive

I placed the florals and bunny so that they frame the pictures and title within the left side of the page. This also created the perfect spot for the title. Here, I used a mixture of Chipboard and Foam stickers as well as stickers from the Color Vibe Alphabet Stickers - Spring tablet.

Next, I transformed the pictures of my daughter to black and white ( there was a lot of bright colors in the background), and added a bit of a tint to the photos, so that they picked the colors of the papers. I backed the pictures with 3x4 cards, and set them between the cut outs.

All was left to do was embellish the page. Since the cut out is already adding so much interest to the page, I added small embellishments (die cuts, stickers, puffy stickers, tags) around the pictures. Those cute butterflies and lady bug are the perfect accent to the page!

I just love how this turned out. I am sure you are going to be reaching for the new BUNNIES & BLOOMS collection to document your Spring and Easter memories. I cannot wait to see what you create!

Feb 22, 2021

Altenew Paint-A-Flower: Clematis & Artist Alcohol Markers Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi there!

Welcome to ALTENEW PAINT-A-FLOWER:CLEMATIS & ARTIST MARKERS RELEASE BLOG HOP + GIVEAWAY. You are arriving from Kelly Griglione's blog. A list of all the participants is available at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

Today, Altenew is releasing their new PAINT-A-FLOWER:CLEMATIS stamp set. And of course, it was love at first sight, but then we are also celebrating the release the two new sets of Artist Markers...

Well, I just had to use my semi-good coloring skills to create cards ( yes! I made cards!!)... Let me show you!

I used the new SUNSHINE VALLEY GARDEN SET ARTIST MARKERS to color the PAF: CLEMATIS image for this card. The colors of the markers are amazing!!!

I added a few extra color to the image using Artist Markers Set E, then added a sentiment from Birch Forest Stamp set to complete my card!

For my second card, I am using the new Airbrushed Flowers stamp set. This time, I colored my images using the new ARTIST MARKER WATER GARDEN set.

For this card, I added interest to the background using the Stone Wall stencil, then used a sentiment from the PAF: CLEMATIS to complete my card.

I love how these cards came out (even with the semi professional coloring!). Be sure to check the new release in the Altenew shop, and subscribe to the Paint-a-Flower program, in order to receive your stamp each month at your door (for a lower price)

Of course we are celebrating the release with a GIVEAWAY:

$200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 02/28/2021 for a chance to win.

Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 03/02/2021.

Good Luck everyone!

Now, it is time to go visit your next stop, Dana Joy's blog. Remember you can always jump onto the Altenew Card blog to start the blog hop. Here is a list of today's participants for your convenience.

Nathalie DeSousa <<< YOU ARE HERE

Thanks for Visiting!

Feb 17, 2021

Altenew Wondrous World Dies/Stencils/Embossing Folders Collection Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi there!

Welcome to ALTENEW WONDROUS WORLD DIES/STENCILS/EMBOSSING FOLDERS COLLECTON RELEASE BLOG HOP + GIVEAWAY. You are arriving from the amazing Jennifer McGuire's blog. A list of all the participants is available at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

Today, Altenew is releasing a new set of Dies, Stencils and Embossing Folders that are going to inspire you. There are so many beautiful products that it was not easy to just pick a few to work with for the release. However, I am happy with my choices, and love each of the projects. Let me show you!

Since I couldn't just choose one favorite, I decided to instead mix a few of the new products into one single page. I started this page by creating the background from woodgrain paper and the NESTING SLIM RECTANGLES DIE SET. I used them to cut large rectangles you see in the page. Next, I build a few of the CLIMBER FLOWERS DIE SET from pink cardstock papers.

I also cut a few of the BRANCHES And BERRIES DIE SET to use as leaves to decorate and plump the flower clusters. Finally, I used enamel dots from the CHERRY BLOSSOM set to just add small pops of color. Love how this turned out.

The new FLORAL LACE DIE is amazing! I wanted to take advantage of the design to document a tradition in our family. So, I cut the die twice from cream cardstock- the color of old lace- and then used it to frame the picture and the lines of journal. To finish the page, I added a few enamel dots from the TEA PARTY and CHERRY BLOSSOM set.

My next project features the new NARROW BRICK STENCIL on the background. This time, I used the ink blending tools to add color to the background through the stencil, thus creating the impression on the page.

I used the new DIAMOND STARS EMBOSSING FOLDER to create a small dividing band for the page. Finally, a few of the GLACIER CAVES and GREEN MEADOWS enamel dots provide the extra pop of color on the page.

One of my most favorite from this release are the washi tapes. They are probably the easiest way to embellish a layout in a pinch. I used the new GREEN VALLEY SLIM WASHI TAPE to create the title for this entry in Faith Journal. Then used the LEAFY DREAMS WASHI TAPE to embellish the page.

For my last memory keeping project, I used the new STRING ART STARS DIE SET to create a new entry in my daily journal. These little stars area great way to add interest in a page with just a little bit of string.

And to end today's projects, I made a card using the new FLOWER BUNCH SIMPLE LAYERING STENCIL This was probably one of the fastest ways to create a floral card design with just ink and ink blending tools. The trick for this card was to create the flower, then use washi tape to tie in all the mask parts of the stencil. This allows for the light color application around the flowers.

I hope these have inspired you to check the new releases. Remember to take advantage of Altenew's promotions:

As always, we are having a GIVEAWAY to celebrate the release:

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 10 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 02/22/2021 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 12 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 02/25/2021.

Good Luck Everyone!

Now, it is time to continue being inspired. You are off to visit Preeti Chandra's blog. Remember you can always jump onto the Altenew Card blog to start the hop. Here is a list of today's participants:

Nathalie DeSousa <<< YOU ARE HERE

thanks for visiting!

Feb 12, 2021

MADE WITH LOVE OUR SWEET BAKER LAYOUT | with Nathalie

Hello Doodlebug friends!

So excited to share my first project as part of the Doodlebug Design Team ( so thankful for the invitation, and very blessed to share pieces of me through my work with you all). The new Made With Love collection is fun, gorgeous and perfect to document all your culinary adventures in a fun and colorful way.

The Treat Tags paper was my starting point for this page. The idea of a tag banner is perfect for multiple pictures and creating impact on a layout.

To make sure that the pictures are framed within the tags, I sized them to 2"x3". My idea with the banner was to place the focal point (i.e. photos and sentiment tag) in the center of the banner.

A bit of foam adhesive always helps to make all the cute icons pop from the tags. Just love all the small details surrounding my little cousin's pictures. I added movement to the page by creating the loops of Gray Twine throughout the tags and side of the layout.

The trimmed Dab of Butter patterned paper is a colorful but subtle patterned for the background of the banner. The scalloped border and paper strip anchor the page, and help to ground the title. One can't never go wrong with mixing Alpha stickers with Chit Chat pieces for a layout title. And of course more adorable cuteness in the Odds and Piece and Icon stickers. I brought the Petite Print -Cherry Dot/Stripe- to frame the entire page.

I hope this inspires you to document your culinary adventures with the gorgeous Made With Love collection. Thank so much for visiting today!

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Doodlebug Design Products

Made With Love Collection

Made With Love Petite Prints