Small Details {CSI Case File No. 121}

We just opened a new Case File at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration, but last week's is still open through the end of the weekend:

I decided I'd document something about my home, so I grabbed my camera and took a bunch of pictures of pretty little things around my house (and I had planned to call my page "Pretty Little Things,"). As I was looking through my pictures, I kept seeing birds and birdhouses and birdcages. I didn't realize I had so many birdie things. So I decided to go with that for my page:

Clues I used: Evidence: transparent element (lightbulb), metal, twine, lightbulb, game pieces; Testimony: home.

Here are some details. I've had this plaid metal Making Memories frame in my stash for years. Glad to have been able to dust it off! The chipboard letters are by BasicGrey, as is the background paper. That little bird paper is cut out of a Carta Bella paper. That game spinner is by Tim Holtz.

I love my little chirp cups that I got from Home Goods (my favorite store EVER). The plates behind the cup say Nest, with a sweet little picture of a nest. The black paper in the picture below is by Echo Park. I always have a hard time fitting journaling onto my pages (I scrap 8 x 8). Tacking it onto the top and bottom was the perfect solution. To get the white-on-black lettering, I digitally drew a black rectangle. Then I typed the text on top and changed the font color to white. 

The brad in the picture below is actually gray. Not sure why it's looking green. Those birdhouses are my favorite thing in my house--I bought them at Pottery Barn. That bird lamp below was also from Home Goods.

I've been dying to use these Ingvild Bolme lightbulbs by Prima, and this was the perfect opportunity. The circular elements were cut from an Echo Park paper. That black paper on the left is by Crate Paper. The red polka dot is by BasicGrey. The kraft and red stripe is really old and had no label.

This was a really fun Case File to work with, and we had a fantastic reveal, with our new Detectives making their debut and the awesome Flying Unicorn team guesting, so you should come take a look. And if you have time to play along this weekend, look at this fantastic prize up for grabs:

So...what are you waiting for? Come play!

Dream Kitchen {CSI Case File No. 45}

Case File No. 45 opened for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration on Friday.

I decided I'd document a favorite room. Actually my favorite room is my scrap room, but it's way too messy to photograph at the moment, so I thought I'd scrap another favorite room in my new house--my kitchen.

Clues I used: Evidence - woodgrain, book pages, silver metal, window, vintage text, textured paper; Testimony - Document a favorite room.

I've got most of my journaling on the back of my page, but there's a peek of it on the front. Here's what it says, in case you're interested:

I've always had small kitchens, and the one kitchen in my last house that I thought was big really was small because there were so few cabinets. The rest was just empty, useless space. When we bought our new house, it was like a dream come true. And the best part was getting to pick out everything, from the flooring to the cabinets to the countertops. We went to that design center again and again until I thought I had designed the perfect kitchen. Black granite countertops that gleamed like polished jewels. Beautiful cream-colored cabinets with custom pull-outs. Lots of recessed lights. Stainless steel appliances, including a double oven. The awesome island--I never dreamed I'd have a kitchen with an island. A walk-in pantry. Tile backsplash. And loads and loads of cabinets. I love every inch of my kitchen. Well, except for the stupid sink. I should've gone with my gut. There were three choices--a double sink, a single large sink, and the veggie-sink. I wanted to go with the single large sink. But Valerie at the design center kept going on and on about how I should get the veggie sink. Biggest mistake ever listening to her. I curse her name every single day.

Here are some details. The woodgrain paper in the background is by My Mind's Eye.That white grid paper is by BasicGrey. The green paper with the painty-looking brush-strokes is really old--it's by Rebecca Sower. The brads are BasicGrey, and the clip is Making Memories, also pretty old. The oborder punch in the picture below is by EK Success.

The striped paper is by Echo Park.The alphabet paper is by 7 Gypsies. I felt like my page needed some brown near the bottom, so I made a little banner out of some BasicGrey paper (Lily Kate).

My larger pictures didn't show my shiny granite counter tops, so I printed out a smaller picture and duplicated it. In order to not waste ink, I pasted a white rectangle in the center of the picture that was going under the top one. The cut-out flowers are from a BasicGrey Curio paper.

The chipboard window is by Maya Road. I decided to leave it raw to go with the gray in the palette. The brown label on the side is by K& Co. I added the "coordinating pattern on the back" tear strip to indicate that I had journaling on the back.

Come see what the rest of the team and our guest designers made with this Case File, and I hope you'll play along!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and reading about my page.

Sunroom {CSI Case File No. 44}

Case File No. 44 is open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration!

I decided to document one of my favorite rooms in my new house, my sunroom. I wish I had taken more pictures of my old house over the years. It's fun to look back on how your decorating tastes have changed.

I've got another crappy picture because the skies have been so gray all week, but here's my layout anyway.

Clues I used...evidence: Stripes, flowers, fruit accent, transparent element, doily pattern; Testimony: Document something I love about my home; Inspiration words: open, sunny, cheerful; 4 things about my subject.

I used one of Em Stafrace's awesome Page Drafts sketches as a starting point for my page. I rotated it to accommodate my photos.

.Here are some closeups. The gray paper is by SEI, and it's pretty old, as is most of the stuff on my page. Those white flowers are cut from a Ki Memories paper. The yellow polka dots are from an old Scenic Route paper. The teal paper is also by K&Co. That little "cheerful" flag is from a Dear Lizzy paper

I love this ridged cardstock. I don't know who makes it, but I love it! The transparent circles are cut from a Hambly overlay. That fabric brad is by BasicGrey, and the "happy" circle is an old K&Co. piece.  

The white-rimmed brad is old, too--by Deja Views.  The doily-patterned paper is by Studio Calico. I dusted off some old Heidi Swapp chipboard letters. I still have TONS of those--I remember when hers were the only chipboard letters you could buy.

We have an amazing reveal--our new design team debuted this week! We have three sponsors--My Mind's Eye, Flying Unicorn, and Scrapbook Fantasies--so you'll definitely want to play with us this week.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and reading about my page.