Green Horned Unicorn

Greg + Molly - An Engagement Album

Last week was a little rough - in more ways than one. On Monday, I was excited for a fresh new week and the exciting things it would bring. I had lots of plans, including attending a Diamondbacks playoff game (with amazing seats) and more importantly, flying home to attend my sister's bachelorette party and wedding shower. 

But, it seems fun and excitement were not in the cards for me. Long story short, I ended up being very sick and missed work and the playoff game. By Thursday, I was on the mend (or so I thought) and still hopeful to make it back home. Friday I woke up sick (again) and after a trip to the doctor was diagnosed with upper respiratory infection AND a sinus infection. If that were not enough, the doctor strongly advised against travel. Since I know the misery of flying with sinus issues, and the fact I didn't want to risk making others ill, I had to stay in Arizona and miss my sister Molly's special weekend.

To say it was a MAJOR BUMMER would be a gross understatement.

But, if you look hard enough, you can find a silver lining in anything - even being sick and missing out on family events. What is that silver lining, you may wonder? Well, I had plenty of free time to play on my computer. You see, one perk of being a digital scrapper is that you can scrap in bed. Which is precisely what I did! I figured if I couldn't be there for my sister, I was certainly going to make her something meaningful and memorable.

The results? Pretty cool, if you ask me! While being cooped up, I was able to put together and album to house Molly and Greg's engagement photos. The beautiful photos you will see were taken by my talented cousin Jill, of Jill Riese Photography.  

Here are a few of my favorite spreads from the album:

To create the album, I used the Curated album kit, a collaboration between Kitschy Digitals and Paislee Press. I embellished the album using lots of other goodies from Kitschy Digitals. 

I created all of the pages in Photoshop and uploaded the final layouts to Shutterfly, using their custom path to create the book, which is being printed as I type! 

You can see the full album below. Please take a peek and amire the lovely couple and the amazing photography! Oh, and the cute book too :)

Click here to view this photo book larger

Although the week didn't turn out as planned, I think I managed to salvage what would have been a lost week and turn it into something somewhat positive. I hope in doing so, I created a special memory for Molly & Greg.

So Long September...

Oh September. How you have eluded me this year. In August, I was sitting on a lake in MN and blinked my eyes and now find myself sitting here on the last day of September, wondering what happened. Where did all the time go?

There were certainly fun times like my mom's visit, baseball games (including the game where the Dbacks clinched the NL West in fact!), lunches and happy hours with friends, and lots of creative activity. Nonetheless, I feel as if it all went to quickly and I wasn't able to savor in the moment.

Now, I look foward to October - my favorite month of the fall! And, no, I'm not a fan of Halloween (not even a little bit!). I love the weather as the desert starts to cool from 100-degree days to more reasonable temps. That means the beginning of our outdoor season! I look forward to bike riding, hiking, fires in the firepit and much more!

I also look foward to attending some Dback playoff games, starting my new term at Sketchy Thursdays, learning to crochet, practicing up on locker hooking, hopefully making it home for my sister's wedding shower, and much more. It's going to be a great month - I can feel it.

Before I sign off for the month of September, I have my last two JessicaSprage.com Creative Team pages for the month. On both pages, I used photos of my sister Molly and my future BIL Greg from their engagement shoot, photographed by my cousin of Jill Riese Photography.

 Click here for product credits.
 Click here for product credits.

And, with that - I'll see you in October! Have a great weekend :)

Productivity Feels Good!

Wow...what a productive weekend I had! It was the first time in about three weeks that I actually felt really good (now that the 1600mg/day antibiotics are out of my system). It's nice to have a clear head and my energy level back to normal! 

My biggest accomplishment of the weekend was completing the big freelance project I've been working on the past month...hooray! I would have never been able to finish it without Nate's help. He has amazing computer graphic skills. Mix that with my writing and layout/design talents, we make a pretty good design duo! I can now officially check the box for Children’s Activity Book on my design resume. I’m really happy with the way the project turned out! Hopefully, with the organization’s permission, I can share a few peeks of it in the near future.

Until then, I’ll leave you with a digital page I created using the brand-spankin' new Paper Garden embellishment kit by Kitschy Digitals which will be available in shop on Monday 5/2. The kit contains load of pretty paper flowers in a variety of shapes and colors.

I combined the Paper Garden kit along with quite a few other KD kits (Full credits here). I love how easy it is to mix and match all of Danielle's products! The photo may look familiar because it's quite similar to one I scrapped a while back. What can I say, I really liked the shots, and Nate and I haven't taken many photos together recently!

Also new in shop at JessicaSprague.com this week is Mondays in May. On Mondays (obviously), you will be able to shop within each designer's store and buy one product and get another product of lesser value for free. The paid item and free item have to be from the same designer. So no going to Cosmo and buying something and then getting something free from Danielle. Make sense? It's a wonderful way to stock up on any digi goods you've been eyeing! Time to get out that debit card and do some shopping :)

That's it for today folks! Now that I'm feeling better and have regained a little more free time, look more posts and for the return of What a Girl Loves this week!

You Are Fabulous

FABULOUS! Just the word I would use to describe Mouse, Paper, Scissors, an online course I just completed over at jessicasprague.com. There are many reasons the class was fabulous, starting with the two amazing instructors, Jessica Sprague & Heidi Swapp. 

As the name implies, the five-week course blends Photoshop, your printer, and traditional scrapping. For me, the class was especially eye-opening. As most of you know, I made the move from that of a traditional scrapper to a digi scrapper less than a year ago. While I LOVE digi, I really miss getting my hands messy and playing with papers. This class helped me transcend the gap between digi and traditional to find the best of both worlds. 

Here is my favorite project from the class, and album called, You Are Fabulous. 

All of the pattered papers and other elements were all printed from my home printer, including the little pennants and banner. Some elements were designed by Jessica & Heidi, others we created ourselves. Even the light blue envelope in the front was made for the album! 

Frames by Kitschy Digitals

Pretty darn cute, right? I'm motivated to make a few more albums, based on this project. Although class has ended, I haven't completed all of the projects just yet. I'll share more in the future as I am able to complete them. Even though I haven't finished the course just yet, there is one thing I do know...

Photoshop & Printer + Scissors & Glue = LOVE!

Have a fabulous weekend friends :)

Monday Recap & Some Kitschy Digitals Lovin'

Happy Monday to you! I'm popping in today to play a little catch-up, share a new digital layout, and share some information on an amazing class I signed up for.

Nate and I had a great weekend. I'm loving the balance of fun and mellowness the last few weeks have brought. Here's a recap:

• Happy hour at the Twisted Lizard
• Continued with the studio organization. I purchased a new mobile storage unit for my felt.
• Purchased new cutlery for the kitchen, long at last!
• Bought frames and ordered some custom framing for Nate and my vintage aircraft print collection. I can't wait till they're FINALLY hanging on our wall!
• Homemade turkey and turkey sausage chili...yum!
• A trip to the Goodwill to donate a truckload of items I've been collecting over the last month
• Plane spotting at KSDL

Another fabulous weekend in my opinion :)

I did have one additional highlight from last week I wanted to share. Remember my Thickers Organization Project from a few months back? It was featured on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine blog last week! 

Now on to the craftiness...

 Click here for credits

This digital layout was created for More in Store Monday at JessicaSprague.com, using the Thrift Store Grab Bag kit by Kitschy Digitals. I mixed and matched many of the Kitschy kits to come up with the bright, layered design. The flowers in the photograph were given to me by Nate last Valentine's Day. They were so vibrant and lovely and are by far my favorite bouquet ever! 

And finally, some info about the fabulous hybrid class I signed up for called Mouse, Paper, Scissors. Here's a little info about it from JS.com:

 
In this FOUR WEEK, four-lesson instructor-led class, world-renowned crafters Heidi Swapp and Jessica Sprague will PERSONALLY guide you from start-to-finish in the intricacies of crafting using Photoshop and your printer.

In our four-week class we'll work on FOUR main projects, and FIVE smaller projects that will not only teach you the skills and knowledge to last a lifetime, but beautify your home and your life! This class INCLUDES Photoshop instructional screencasts, instructional videos from Heidi on completing the projects after they're created and printed, AND it includes the kit shipped to your house (a $35 retail value)!

• Two beautiful double-sided printed cards
• A "FABULOUS" giftable mini-album filled with sweet pockets and a transparency cover
• A hand-made (cover to cover!) mini-album celebrating little things you love about your life
• A stunning mirrored FRAME that sits on an easel, which doubles as your photo stand for taking pics of your projects!

Sounds like fun, right? I know I'm excited :) For more information or to sign up, click here.

That's it for today! Check back in later this week for a post highlighting all of my new products at the Green Horned Unicorn Etsy store :)

Curated - A Digital Family Album

As most of you know, I LOVE the yummy goodness Danielle Thompson creates for her Kitschy Digitals line. A few months ago, Danielle teamed up with Liz Tamanha of Paislee Press to create a collaboration album kit called Curated. It's kitschiness meets minimalism. And, wow, is it fun! Just this week, the kit is available at JessicaSprague.com, although I purchased my copy here when it was first released.

After I purchased the kit, I was itching to do something with it, but didn't have anything in particular in mind. I did however, have on hand a batch of beautiful photos of my sister's family, shot and edited by my cousin of Jill Riese Photography. They were perfect to use with the Curated kit! Take a peek at the first few pages of the book:

I love the overload of kitsch balanced out by the minimalism. It's such a fun combination. To take a look at the entire album, click play. To view a larger version, click the link below.

Click here to view this photo book larger

The pages on the left came as is, and i didn't really change or add to them. The pages on the right, I created using filler templates, and even altering some of the primary template pages.

Another product new in store today at JS.com is this lovely template by Linda of In the Making Design. I created a New Years tribute to Nate using one of my favorite photos of us. Click on the image for credits.

That's it for today! Happy Monday :)

 

And so November ends...

It's the end of November and the holiday season is upon us....yikes!!! Fortunately, I feel like I have a good head start. A really great one in fact! The tree is up (photos to come), travel plans are set, and I have all of my shopping done, minus a just few gifts. Yes, you read that correctly folks - holiday shopping is DONE! 

Now, don't be a hater...I'm usually not this good of a planner. This year however, I knew my grad class would be wrapping up just before Christmas and I would be crazy-busy finalizing my project. I was also anticipating being out of town for over a week for work. But, much to my delight, my work trip has been moved until March. YAY for me!

So what will I do with all of the extra time I gained back? Well, sleep for one! I also plan on getting crafty. Here is a bit of said craftiness, a digital page I created for a Creative Team assignment at JessicaSprague.com.

Sibling Love (12 x 12 Digital):  Patterned Papers (Kitschy Digitals Chalkboard Collection) + Frame (Kitschy DigitalsVintage Cabinet Cards) + Embellishments (Kitschy Digitals Granny’s Attic and Fresh Blooms kits) + Doilie (Pugly Pixel – Paper Buffet) + Font (Chalkduster) + Photo Credits (Jill Riese Photography)

For those of you in the market for some awesome digi goodness or if you want to try out a digi or photography class, JessicaSprague.com has an awesome Black friday sale that lasts all month! The 20% off sale started Friday and will continue until December 31st! The sale is on everything in the store, including all self-paced classes! And the coolest part? If you spend $20 or more, you will receive a FREE collaboration kit created by the design team! Cool, right? Head on over and check it out :)

 

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a splendid weekend.

Mine was pretty swell. It involved watching a lot of football, homework and Christmas shopping. The football watching was not so good as ALL of my teams lost. And, homework is homework. But the shopping? Yes, the shopping was good! I scored a new suitcase for all of my work trips, a lovely new green handbag, skinny jeans and a sweater, plus a few new spices from Penzey’s. There is nothing like a little retail therapy to boost a girl’s sprits! I did actually manage to get some Christmas gifts too :)

Today is More in Store Monday at JessicaSprague.com. There are lots of fun new kits in shop! One of which is the Monotone Fresh Feathers from Kitschy Digitals, which isn’t a new kit, but is new to JS.com. Here is a fun layout I made with the kit:

Caden (12 x 12 Digital): Embellishments (Kitschy Digitals Monotone Fresh Feathers; Echo Park Abundance Elements 2) + Patterned Paper (Echo Park – Abundance 2 Paper Pack) + Stitches (Creativity by Crystal – You are Awesome Kit) + Solid Cardstock (Katie Perteit – Classic Cardstock) + Alphabet (Katie Perteit – Wooden Alpha 2) + Photo Credits (Jill Riese Photography)

Don’t you love the photo of my nephew, Caden? This wonderful shot was taken by my talented cousin, Jill, owner of Jill Riese Photography. She did a photo shoot for my sister and her family, and gave me the OK to use her amazing photos in my digital scrapbooking (my sis gave the ok too!). If you’re local to Lincoln/Omaha, you definitely need to check her out! She is especially great with children and families. Even if you’re not local, take a peek for some wonderful inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration, if you’re in search of some, Jessica Sprague is offering a FREE class called Inspiration Everywhere.

The class runs from November 29-December 8. The best part is, that this class is for EVERYONE, not just digital scrappers. Hop on over here for more information and to register. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out!

Whew…that was a lot for a Monday, right? Time for a nap :) 

Ps. If you view my blog through a Blogger Blog Roll, there seems to be some issue that's preventing my blog from updating in these views. Just an FYI so you don't miss out on anything fun! If you subscribe through a reader, such as Google Reader (my fave!) you should have no problems. Thanks :)

 

One Buck Wednesday Inspiration

Hello Blogland! I have missed you :)

I have been off enjoying a fabulous, long weekend with my mom, who headed home just last night. We had a wonderful time doing lots of crafty shopping, doing lots of crafting, buying plants for my yard, buying spices for my cupboard, eating at some tasty local digs (Teepee, Vermont Sandwich Company to name a few....mmmm!), cooking some delicious food (hello yummiest mac & cheese ever!) and spending LOTS of time relaxing in the great outdoors. 

One of my crafty endeavors was creating a fun little digi page using Kitschy Digitals Woodland Creatures kit, which is new to the JessicaSprague.com shop this week. Not only is it new to the shop this week, it's also on sale for just $1 as part of One Buck Wednesday (OBW). What is OBW you might wonder? Well, let me tell you! Prior to becoming a Creative Team member at JessicaSprague.com, OBW was my favorite day of the week! That's because many of the designers offer one of their kits for only ONE DOLLAR! Seriously, it's a steal! Head on over and check out the Woodland Creatures kit along with all the other wonderful goodies on special. Then be sure to check back each Wednesday to see what other great kits you can grab for only $1. 

Handsome (12 x 12 Digital):  Deer, Heart & Mushrooms (Kitschy Digitals Woodland Creatures) + Patterned Papers (Kitschy Digitals Woodgrain Frames & Calico Dreams kits) + Frame (Kitschy Digitals Vintage Cabinet Frames) + Solid Cardstock (Katie Perteit – Classic Cardstock)+ Doilie (Pugly Pixel – Paper Buffet) + Font (Hand of Sean) 

Happy Wednesday :) 

My first JessicaSprague.com Creative Team project!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope your weekend was grand :)

I'm here to share with you my first Creative Team project for JessicaSprague.com! Each Monday, JS.com has a feature called More in Store Monday (MISM) where all of the new products releases for the week are featured. This week, I had the opportunity to play with Danielle Thompson's new Kitschy Digitals Clothesline kit. I can't tell you how much I *love* the adorable frames and clothespins! 

Puppy Love • 12 x 12 Digital: Clothesline/Frames/Clothespins (NEW Kitschy Digitals Clothesline kit) + Patterned Papers (Kitschy Digitals Chalkboard Paper Collection & Granny's Attic Kit) + Rosette (Kitschy Digitals Fresh Blooms Digital Kit) + Font (Chalkduster)

As you can see in the credits above, this entire layout is Kitschy Digitals, minus the Chalkduster font (which, I must add, is perfect when your working with the Chalkboard Collection papers!). I had a lot of fun mixing up some of the newer Kitschy Digitals kits to come up with this layout featuring our sweet little Shawna.

Head on over to JS.com and checkout all of the fun new products in the store! I'll be back again later this week with some more crafty projects to share. Thanks for stopping by!