Written in the Sand

  

This was our first time at the beach as an "expecting" couple. As you can see, the baby bump is barely there, but we had already decided on a name. Lydia. 

Sisters

My sister and I have always been close. She supports all my silly ideas and encourages me to do what I love.  Although sh livs across the country, when I see this page I am reminded of how close we are.

Lydia Newborn

I couldn't stop at the first page like this that I made. I loved the design so much that I made a second. She was so cute in the little basket, and the elephant was a gift from Daddy's work.

Photographs taken by Shelly Tripp

Lydia Newborn

 We had a lot of fun during this precious little girl's newborn photo shoot. Lydia was born Oct.15.2012 at 1:37 in the morning. She is the best thing to have ever happened to my little family.

The photographs in this scrapbook page were taken by Shelly Tripp  

It's Sweet to be 15!

It's sweet to be 15!

One of my first layouts. It's nice to get this out of the dusty back pages of my album.

When I turned 15 my mom threw me an awesome before and after makeover party. We had a temporary tattoo table, one for hair, piles of makeup, and an entire candy buffet. Take home notions were left throughout the party on tables and counter tops. Mirrors and applicators. Nail polish and candy. 

My mom even took me to the Mall of America, where sales associates handed me clothes over the doors for the whole Pretty Woman experience every girl dreams of.

Rustic Upholstered Pillar Candles

I needed a bunch of pillar candles for centerpieces for a rustic event setting. So, I got some burlap fabric from the store, and a couple of colors of grosgrain ribbons to match my theme. I took out my hot glue gun*, put down some newspaper, and precut the burlap strips and ribbons. Then, I just hot glued the layers. I did all the burlap wraps, putting a bead of glue on the burlap at the beginning and the end; laying the candle on its side and rolling it onto the strip. Be sure to do it tightly, so they don't want to slip off when cooled. Also, adjust and even everything up while glue is still warm and malleable. Then, let them stand and cool. Next, I did all the first color of ribbon, then let them cool. Then, I did all the second layer of ribbon and let them cool. I am considering adding an embellishment over the overlaps. But you don't need to, the flaws add to the charm. I didn't do it alone; I had two people working with me and together we were able to do 23 candles in under an hour.  Alone, I probably would have gotten into a groove and still finished pretty fast.

*cautionary note: Hot glue gun and melted glue is very hot. Use caution and uncommon sense with these tools and products.

My bachelorette party invitations

Since childhood, I've had a love for amazing themed parties. That usually leads me to creating awesome invitations. Even when I am not the one throwing the party. I would happily spend $100 creating unique and personal invites for every occasion. But luckily it doesn't cost that much. After building up my paper supply it is finally cost efficient to make make them myself rather than buy. I jumped on the opportunity to prepare them for my own bachellorette party, and with the help of my crafty little sister, we designed these simple and exclusive cards.

Throughout the one hour consultation over the phone with her we changed color, added detail, and finally fell in love with the dark turquoise with minty green.

Which do you prefer?