Kissing booth love!

Two (?) months ago, I missed out on the Studio Calico add-on that everyone was chasing after, so I ended up with my other choice--the pretty Kissing Booth add-on. Which should have been a natural winner for me, being a lover-of-all-things girly and a new girl mama!

Here's the pretty kit:

And here's what I did with it!

My first layout is one of the few I've made "just for fun" these past few months. Between work, doctor's appointments, and general pregnancy tiredness, my scrapping productivity has gone WAY down. We'll see how it goes with a newborn, ha! (Speaking of said newborn, she just shouted when I wrote that--a hint?)

I had so much fun with the soft, romantic colors in this kit. The doilies are added in from my stash because what girly layout is complete without doilies?

I wrote about how lucky I felt to be pregnant with a healthy baby, even with the stresses of the last few weeks of the pregnancy. I love that this is the last layout I created before my little one was born.

My second layout uses a sweet photo from one of my best friends and her little baby (photography by Sheena Dishaw-Levi). I had fun with the gray and red/pink color combination! I thought this page really called for some sewing, but sadly my sewing machine is currently broken. And in terms of getting fixed, it's waiting in line behind the printer, diaper pail, shower clock, and necklace rack....so it may be a while. Sigh.

And a sneak--I got this butterfly in the packaging from an etsy store and have been saving it for a project ever since!

So there you have it! What's your favorite kit or product line that YOU've been playing with lately?

Project Life--a bit about the bandwagon

There's been so much talk about Project Life in blogland lately, but I've been mostly staying quiet about it. I wanted to try it in my own way and just see how that worked. So without further ado, here's my "Keshet-ized" version of Project Life. . . . .

My title page:

As you can see, I'm using mostly the Clementine kit from Becky Higgins LLC, and adding in bits from my stash. My main concerns about trying Project Life were that (a) it would feel like homework (and I had enough of that in law school, thank you!) and (b) it would be a crazy thing to attempt with a new baby. My solution? I decided to do only one side of a page protector every week. I also have more of a "week at a glance" than daily approach--I don't care if all my photos are from one day of the week.

Here is my Week One:

As you can see, it's pretty basic. Photos, label stickers, journaling cards, washi tape, and a bit of life ephemera (I'm going to do a follow up post on my "must have" supplies for Project Life, so stay tuned for that!).

Week Two:

As you can see, I love those label stickers! I also included our weekly menu plan for some fun variation.

Week Three:

I had fun focusing on mundane things this week--a grocery store, my lunch, even the anti-itch cream I was using (I had a nasty case of PUPPS if you care to know).

Week Four:

I photographed some granola bars for this one--in my defense, they were really good and extra exciting because they were diabetic friendly! I also used a bunch of Elle's Studio tags on this one--I've been breaking them out more and more over the weeks. And in the top left, you can see a shot from our hospital tour! Who would have thought we'd be back just a few days later...

Week Five:

I normally use a single side of a page protector, but Ellie's surprise birth warranted a double page spread! I have bits of the birth story here and some hospital photos. I also added in a "white space" card to this layout, and I love the effect! I kept it really simple and reinforced the color scheme.

Week Six:
One of the great things about doing Project Life with a baby is that there is no shortage of photos to choose from! I printed a few of my favorites of the approximately 12 billion photos I took of e that week and added them in with some decor elements. I'm a big fan of the decor elements because they let the eye rest AND make doing a weekly PL page even more manageable. Double win!

Although I mostly use the kit, I love adding in elements from my stash, like this October Afternoon journaling card and button:

Each week, I create a "title page" journaling card that I keep pretty standard. I mix up the journaling card and decorative elements, but I always use little Sassafrass stickers for the title (I have around 40 of those from kits!) and stamp the date with my Smash roller stamp (although the new Dear Lizzy one would be super cute too!).

I also like to note how many weeks pregnant I was, or how many weeks old Ellie is. Helps me keep track:)

And again, the Elle's Studio tags are a fantastic addition--add to the story and so much fun to use design-wise!

And there you have it--my approach to Project Life. Quick, easy and doable in a leisurely hour on a Sunday. I'm hoping I can keep up with it when I go back to work!

Are YOU doing Project LIfe? Why or why not?

Things I Heart...

Well, I'm a bit late on the Valentine's Day theme, but I do have a "things I heart" list to share today! Just a few of the things I'm loving lately. . . . .

This adorable Lisa Leonard necklace--perfect for a new mama, don't you think? S ordered it for me after I had Ellie:)

These insanely cute badges (or buttons? or flair? What do you call these exactly?) from Baers Garten Designs, a new etsy favorite. I'm using one of their kits for a journal for Ellie, and having so much fun with it!

As you can see, I love the kits she has in her shop! Here's another cute one:
I'm also loving this top from Ann Taylor Loft, which is on its way to me right now--here's hoping it gives me some good post-baby coverage:)

Along with this beauty from Downeast Basics--love!

In the non-things category, I'm loving watching this guy as a daddy--he's awesome at swaddling, burping, diaper changing, and calming down a crying Ellie. It's so sweet to watch them together.

And last but (of course) not least, I'm head over heels in love with this little munchkin, who I've taken to calling "Crabby von Crabmeister" this week.

You see, I didn't realize that onions were a thing of evil that would turn my sweet, content baby into an angry ANGRY baby--that is, not until I ate tons of onions for three days straight. Still paying for that decision, and it will be a long time before I eat onions again. Yikes!

What do YOU heart right now?

PS--Some new Ellie photos are up on the photographer's blog right here! Yippee!

Write Click Scrapbook February

Luckily, I did get a chance to play along with the Write Click Scrapbook February gallery before Ellie came along! I'm also working on a special project for the March gallery, but that may show up a little late, ahem.

Our gallery theme was music. Now I have always wanted to be really, really good at an instrument. I knew it was key to start early, so beginning in elementary school, I tried to learn the violin, the flute, the ukulele (I lived in Hawaii, if you're wondering) and even the harmonica. No luck--my violin playing sounded like a frog in its death throes, and the others weren't much better. I even spent an entire year playing the flute in the school band without knowing how to make the sound come out! I was very good at the hand motions, though.

So I may be terrible at all instruments, but I love to sing, so I created my layout about how excited I was to sing to Bunny.

Now that she's here, I'm enjoying my captive audience--although she does wrinkle her nose at me sometimes.

For this layout, I used my January Studio Calico kit and kept the design pretty simple. I love that woodgrain background, so I hope that trend stays alive!

Check out the rest of the WCS gallery right here!

And because it feels wrong to leave out a photo, here are some new shots of Ellie:

(my baby burrito)

(tushy in the air--ha!)

(We get this face A LOT. I think she thinks we're crazy)

I hope this Monday is treating you well! And help make me feel better (or worse?)--do YOU play instruments?

Ellie's Story

I was just reading an old scrapbook magazine featuring a layout of "a woman preparing to have a baby." If I had to title Ellie's birth story, it would be the story of a woman UNPREPARED to have a baby.

Now I knew that I was turning 38 weeks on Wednesday, February 1, and that marked the beginning of the "any day now" period. However, it did not occur to me that this was not a hard and fast rule. I'm a very by-the-schedule sort of person who lives off her planner, so the concept that my child would not follow this philosophy simply didn't cross my mind!

On Tuesday, I was feeling sick with a cold so I worked from home. S and I had some Chinese food for dinner and watched Downton Abbey (we're watching Season 1 on Netflix and are hooked!), and then headed to bed early. I woke up at 1:30 AM to use the bathroom, and something strange happened, which I later realized was my water breaking. After spending a few minutes trying to convince the doctor and doula that I was just losing my mucous plug, and I couldn't be in labor because my bag wasn't packed, the contractions started in earnest.

And that's where the fun began, ha! I realized pretty quickly that (1) I was having back labor, and (2) back labor really is as bad as they say it is. I try to block the next several hours from my mind, especially since I hope to have another one! Settling into the hospital room was stressful, but I loved my nurses and my support team. After 45 minutes of pushing, Bunny was born at 12:12 PM. It was such a surreal moment and still is. I can't believe that she's mine.

This week has been an interesting one as we get to know our Ellie-bear. So far, we've learned a few things:

• She really does not like to be wet or dirty. If she's screeching, that's often why
• She prefers snoozing to eating--singular, I say
• She adores being swaddled
• Her bouncy seat is a GIFT FROM HEAVEN and worth far more than the $50 we paid for it. Especially with the birdie sounds
• She despises her bassinet. Good thing we just borrowed it!

Despite these advances, sometimes she screeches and we just don't know why. She's a mysterious little baby:)

Hope to be back soon with some fun scrappy projects! And just to liven things up, tell me something random about YOU!

She has a name!

I wish I had more photos to show you, but the whole connect-the-camera-to-the-computer business takes more than the .05 seconds I have left over from trying to convince my baby that eating is fun:) So stay tuned for those, and forgive me the repeat!

Bunny got her official name in the synagogue yesterday, so I get to share it with all of you! We named her Eliana Bluma, and are calling her Ellie for short:)

It's funny because I've always been very into baby names, but Eliana was never even on my list. When I first suggested it to S, I told him, "you're going to hate this name, but the meaning would be perfect!" S normally dislikes any name that's too long or too feminine, but he actually liked it. After months of thinking about it and debating over nicknames, we decided Eliana was probably going to be the name we chose. As I mentioned above, the meaning is what cinched it. Eliana means "my G-d has answered" in Hebrew, and in the end we just couldn't think of a more perfect name for this baby we wanted so badly and for so long.


Welcome to the world, Ellie-bean. We're so glad you're here!

PS--Since you guys are such generous people, please send out a happy thought that bunny will be able to go home with us from the hospital today--she may need to stay under the bili lights, and I hate to be apart from her! Thank you!

A little update!

Well, I haven't blogged in a few days, but I have a little excuse--a 6 pound, 10 ounce one!

Bunny arrived Wednesday at 12:12 in the afternoon (how's that for timing?). And for those inquiring minds who want to know, bunny is a . . . . . . . . GIRL!

We could not be more thrilled with our baby bean:) And in our humble opinion, we think she's pretty cute!


Coming soon with her name and other details!