Every Day Magic

So, if you're reading this and you don't know my whole story, you wouldn't know that my husband is in the military (Coast Guard, exactly). He is currently under way and has been for a long time. Not so long as a year or anything, thank goodness, but longer than we're used to at this point.

It has become almost a daily routine for me to take pictures both of Eleana and myself to send to Joe so he can have faces to put our kind words and thoughts to (Eleana's kind words and thoughts usually only consist of "da" and "ice cream" but she means well). Sometimes these photos are of us together, just doing day-to-day things, others are individual photos, more thought out.

I don't know how but I managed to snap a really sweet candid shot of myself and Eleana playing her new favorite game "pop the air out of Mommy's cheeks." This photo was Joe's favorite of all the ones I've sent him, and I quite love it too. I felt it was a special, tender moment that we haven't really captured of the two of us together yet...most of our photos appear so rehearsed.

I took the oppurtunity to showcase not only the moment between mother and daughter, but also use some fun new products from my Scrapologie subscription. Yes, I know I mention that a lot here. I can't help it! I love it so much. Best thing I've bought in years!




Everything I used in this layout besides the pen I wrote with and the glitter on the chipboard circles came from the September Scrapologie kit. Oh, and the two word stickers inside the metal rectangle at the top of the page, those were from my personal store (they say "happy experiment").

I used a couple of new techniques I've wanted to try for some time. First of all, the metal rectangle at the top, with the orange filling, actually has a paperclip attached to it. I tucked it behind the journalling block because it made the page bubble if I tried to put it on like a regular clip. the rectangle came as plain silver. I painted the center using the same paint I used on the chipboard circles (poppy paint by making memories) then attached the two word stickers.

Then, using UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) I made it look like a glass charm. You simply sprinkle the UTEE powder where you want it, heat it with a heat gun, then sprinkle some more for thickness. It melts to form a glass-like surface. Pretty spiffy. I've tried this technique before, but messed up royally last time.

I originally planned on keeping the two chipboard half hoops as a whole ring, but it wouldn't quite fit anywhere on the page, so I cut it in half to make two half hoops. This was after I painted it with the poppy paint. Then I sprayed adhesive onto the hoop and sprinkled glitter over top to make it shiny and magical.

Nothing else is really special, just your standard scrapbook stuff. I added some dots with the paint onto the smaller chipboard disc that reads "fun" (you can click the image for a bigger view I think). The black flourishes are Basic Gray rub-ons. Some of them were really big but I just cut them into smaller pieces so they'd fit where I wanted them. The title is stickers by Scenic Route, the round chipboard discs are also Scenic Route.

Hope you like it as much as I do! I can't wait for the next challenge, gals! I am SO ready!