The Best of Summer 2011

 

This honestly has to be one of my favorite photos of Alex and I to date.  This photo was taken July 4, 2011.  Summer 2011 was the busiest, craziest summer for us: we planned our wedding party, which took up most of the entire summer.  We really didn't have much time to hang out with family or friends and just barbeque and have fun.  Luckily, we had this awesome night at my Aunt's house.  What started out to be a late celebration for my Mom's birthday, turned into an awesome fun night.  It's one of my favorite memories from 2011, so I knew I had to document it.

I created this 2-page layout for a Chinese Whispers Challenge on Club CK.  Now, I will admit, and some friends might know, I struggle with 12x12 layouts.  I find there to be so much open space to fill and since I mostly scrap with 4x6 photos, it's really hard to fit exactly what I want on the pages.  This layout, however, I am super happy with.  I was determined not to get stressed, and just let it flow.  I'm so happy that I challenged myself to scrapbook a summer memory in honor of it being summer.  I truly am so so proud!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

xoxo,

Kelster Jean

PS: I will update with the "products used" later.  Unfortunately, a storm hit us a little hard and we are taking temporary shelter at Alex's parents' house.  Hope to be home tomorrow. 

Birthday Madness

When I think of little kiddies, I think of the crazy fun and adventures they like to have.  They love making messes, love to get into things, and like having fun basically all the time.  So, when I found out our dear friends Derek and Christine's son Aaron shared the same birthday as my mom (June 30th), I knew I needed to make a special card just for him.  At first, I thought it would be great to do a super hero-type card, as that is what his birthday party theme is.  Unfortunately, this is the first card I've ever done for a younger kid, so I don't really have "quite the stash" in supplies for little ones.  Then, all of a sudden, I had the idea to use Halloween-type collections.  Halloween is perfect.  It had monsters and crazy colors and big eyes: perfect!

 

 {Products used: Patterned paper and paper Monster: BoBunny (Whoo-ligans collection); spray mist (splatter): Mr. Huey for Studio Calico (hot dog color) and Tattered Angels (fully purple); clear stamp (Birthday): TPC Studio; ribbon (orange and green dotted): BoBunny (Whoo-ligans collection); star brad: Making Memories (Toil and Trouble collection); quote on inside of card: K&Company; adhesive: ATG by Scotch; other: googley eyes (craft supply), cardstock}. 

Inside of the card reads: 

"Wishing you a simply spectacular, magically marvelous, fantastically fun birthday!"

I really like the messiness of this card.  As the card says, it's birthday madness!  I love how it's messy and the little monster is a little messy and it's crazy!  This is how I imagine my little boy would be if Alex and I had kids.  This card was created based on this sketch by Elle's Studio, and is participating in the Thursday sketch challenge: 

 

{  I really was so in love with this sketch when I saw it and knew I had to give it a try.  While I'm not entirely happy with my card, I would really love to try this sketch again on a layout.}

Thanks for reading and have a great Wednesday!

xoxo,

Kelster Jean

His and Hers Baby Showers

The past two weekends in a row, I attended Baby Showers for two of my cousins.  Babies are such a special occasion, and I was so excited to find out they were both expecting!  Luckily enough for me, one cousin was having a girl and one cousin was having a boy.  (How perfect!)  I quickly whipped up his and hers 13-month baby calendars using Making Memory kits I found at a local thrift store.  (Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph these).  I then created his and hers baby shower cards.

Products used: Patterned Paper: Bella Boulevard (We're Expecting line) (all paper except sweet pea), K&Company (pink sweet pea); clear stamps: (so happy for you and sonogram stamp); alphabet stickers: Lilly Bee Designs; other: cardstock, markers, pens, floss; adhesive: ATG by Scotch.  These cards were made using this sketch I received for a recent Chinese Whispers challenge over at Club Creating Keepsakes.

Can I just say how in love I am with the We're Expecting line by Bella Boulevard?  This is perfect for all the baby goodies I have been creating lately.  And how sweet is it to not only celebrate a new baby, but also the excitement of expecting a baby.  I was so happy to find almost the entire collection over at Two Peas in a Bucket.  Here's some tidbits from one of the showers:

xoxo,

Kelster Jean

PS: Are you creating any baby-themed things lately?  I would love to know what scrap products you use?  Thanks for sharing!

Instagram Fever-Version 2.0!

Yep, I'm still obsessed with Instagram.  I've been posting nonstop: nearly three times a week!  That may not seem like much, but for an anti-techny person like me, I just can't give it up.  I just love the little memories they create of everyday life.  Here's what's been going on lately:

Father's Day with the Daddio and lil' sis at the lake.

 

 

A cute bunny card to my amazing hubby!

This little one: I just can't stand her cuteness!

Mommy and Murphy morning. (Say that 10x fast!)

Finally did something with my SMASH* - love it!

Started a summer mini.

A trip to Outdoor World.

Doe-a dear.

Inspiration everywhere.

Alex...in heaven.

At a baby shower hanging with the lil' sis.

Friday night sand volleyball=best fun ever.

Hubby building more bunny toys-Murphy wanted to help.

Caught this little lady digging in the covers.

Box mix-still so good.

Enjoying some very great hair days.

Chinese dinner date.

I think he's getting used to 10 million photos a day.

 {Paper} flower power.

Throwing down at nerdness.

Raise your hand if you still read the newspaper.

Playing in the Studio with mists.

Summer car rides.

I'm a forever-sucker for clouds and sunsets.

There's a love that can fall like rain.

I would love to see some of your mini memories via Instagram.  Leave a comment with your username so I can follow you!  You can find me @kelsterjean.

xoxo,

Kelster Jean

 

The Perfect Pear Wedding Album

Hello dearies,

I finally got around to editing the photos for The Perfect Pear Wedding Album I created for a client and wanted to share some with you.  A little bit of background on this Wedding Album:

This album was created for a client whose daughter is getting married this fall.  Her theme is "The Perfect Pair" and the colors they chose are pear-green colors.  (Who knew there were so many different colors of green).   I was requested to include one section for all of the details of the wedding-from the preparation to the shower to the honeymoon.

This was my first experience using nonstandard-sized page protectors and I must admit, it was a little bit of a challenge.  All of those little spaces really were hard to fill.  You will see a lot of cardstock with measurements on them.  This is the size of the photo that should be inserted into the page protector so my client's daughter knows what size photos she needs.

Let me finish by telling you, it is equally a challenge to create memories when the memories haven't happened yet.

 

 

{Products used: album and page protectors-We R Memory Keepers; cardstock-Recollections and Bazzill Basics; patterned paper-Amy Tangerine for American Crafts; alphabet stickers-K&Company, Studio G, and American Crafts; chipboard tags (pears)-Studio G; chipboard banner-Maya Road; rubber stamps (pear stamps and flowers)-Unity Stamps; clear stamps (wedding-themed stamps)-Hampton Art, Stampabilities, and American Crafts; font-Traveling Typewriter; ink pads-Studio G and Versamark; other-product packaging (notebook paper), ribbon, bling, sandpaper; adhesive: ATG by Scotch and Pop-Dots; business cards-Moo}.

Facts about this album: 

• Of course this is not all of the pages from the album.  In reality, each Section of the album had about 10 pages.  
• The sections that were included in the album were: -wedding preparation, -bachelor and bachelorette parties, -wedding showers, -wedding ceremony, -wedding reception, and -honeymoon.
• There was a title page for each Section and a pocket at the end of each Section for memorabilia.
• I also included extra page protectors at the end in case they wanted to add more photos.  
• To keep it simple to use, most of the photos that will be added to the album are the standard wallet, 4x6, and 5x7 sizes.
• I am so proud of this album and I believe this is one of my best accomplishments to date.
• I am soooo in love with my business cards! 

Thanks so much for taking the time out to look and I hope I've inspired you, even just a bit.

Hugs, 

Kelster Jean