Monday, January 27, 2020

Celebrate 2020!

I have a new process video on my YouTube channel today!

I was inspired to do a #decadechallenge page for 2020 comparing a photo of us from 2020 to 2010. Thankful for the glow up & the invention of better selfie cameras!



I had a lot of fun with the mixed media here. I used shimmerz & some Koi watercolors.


I embellished mostly with Indigo Hills 2 from Pink Fresh Studio.


Celebrate cut file was a free Ali Edwards giveaway from years ago.


Hope you enjoy the video!

xoxo, Natalie





Thursday, January 23, 2020

Mixed Media Mix Up - Volume 1

I am starting a new series on the A Cherry on Top blog today called Mixed Media Mix Up!

I will take some mixed media techniques and break them down to simple steps, offer tips and tricks, and lots of ideas and examples. I'm hoping it will demystify mixed media for those who are scared to step into the waters.

Today's mix up is all about stripes & splatters! Check out my YouTube tutorial for the real time details, as well as translating the technique into a layout.


I will start a discussion on the message boards at the A Cherry on Top site for all kinds of mixed media discussion, questions, ideas, etc!





I hope you all enjoy the Mixed Media Mix Up!
 xoxo





Thursday, January 16, 2020

I love us

I have a new layout process video up on my channel today for no assignment!

Plugging away at my Disney album. Here's a page of me and my husband at the Wedding Rehearsal on a beautiful lawn at the Port Orleans Resort.


I used my Shimmerz color kit from January again on this layout.

I also used Magnolia Moments ephemera by Fancy Pants from the A Cherry on Top store.





xoxo, Natalie

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Gypsy Soul with PHP

I have a new process video today using Paper House Productions products!


These adorable enamel dreamcatcher stickers inspired this page using the fun stargazer collection.


This is a page about Antelope Canyon, a super amazing place we visited on our 10th anniversary trip. I highly recommend getting there!




Thanks for watching my video! Please give me a like  & a follow!

xoxo, Natalie




Friday, January 10, 2020

Friday Flip Through - Episode 1

Hey friends!

Today I'm starting a new series on my YouTube channel called Friday Flip Through. I will do an album share at least once a month and discuss sizing options, plans, design choices, and flip through old and new layouts!


I hope you'll watch my first Friday Flip Through video and let me know what you think!

xoxo, Natalie

Wednesday, January 08, 2020

Disney Album 2019 Kick-off!

Hey scrappy peeps!

One of my 2020 goals is to complete our 2019 Disneyworld trip album. Today I'm showing you the first few pages I have started with using Remember the Magic from Paper Phenomenon at the A Cherry on Top store.


First off, we have the title page!

This trip was mainly to attend my brother's wedding (which was incredible and beautiful and magical and wonderful and definitely will be gushed over in future scrapbook pages!), but also to celebrate my boys' birthdays! They have a birthday day 1 day apart - 3 years and 1 day difference in ages - and those birthdays were the weekend before this trip, so this was for sure a birthday gift as well.


I used this awesome cut file created by Page Evans that she gave away in her Facebook Group a while back.

I used Paper Phenomenon papers to back except I for the gold glitter paper from my stash.


I embossed the word "celebrate" in gold glitter on the little arrow die cut above the cut out, so the title page says "Celebrate LOVE" and down below I added subtitles indicating what we were celebrating.


Lastly, I popped the cut file up with dimensional foam to keep the backed file from blending into the background too much. This PP collection is fun, but busy, so pairing with solids and neutrals is a must for my style!


I documented our travel down to Orlando, because that's always a good time with kids, am I right?
We actually traveled with many more from our party which was super fun!


I'm using a 8.5x11 album, so the pocket pages that properly fit are similar to those of baseball card sleeves. About 2.75x3.5 pockets.


I used all kinds of thing from my stash to fill these pockets. Here I die cut luggage tags with a Carta Bella die and PP paper, and added a dimensional sticker from Paper House Productions (use code PH19NATALIE for 20% off).



The boys wore their ears the entire time - no mistaking where we were headed!


I did a quick spritz of spray through a cloud stencil for the background  of this airport card. I also delved into some Simple Stories Say Cheese 4 stickers for embellishment.


I used my Jen Schow alphabet stamps to create this full moon card. That's what I love about pocket pages - you can create any little personalized card to go along with a photo's subject.

I also added a puffy sticker from SS Say Cheese to the moon card from my stash.

I do not plan to stick with the "traditional" Disney colors for the entire album, but I try to keep pages which are facing one another in the same thread.


This is my youngest on our first day at the resort, looking cute in his Mickey ears.

I liked this wild splatter paper, but it definitely needed a tone down with a solid. I love how it pops off the black cardstock. I also used my Tim Holtz crochet dies to build texture and interest behind the photo. I cut them in red, kraft and yellow.


A couple of the sheets int he Remember the Magic collection have some cut aparts - no stickers!. I paired these cut apart ears with some Simple Stories stickers.

You know I love a good, snarky title. I found this one my favorite way - searching for tshirts on pinterest. Tshirt slogans are typically short enough for a scrapbook title and there are tons of clever ideas for making an impact with a few words!


I added a small journaling cluster at the bottom. I love vacation albums because not every photo needs a full story - some just need to be displayed!


I mimicked the scallops with more cut aparts and this wood veneer scallop from Elle's Studio. Tons of stash on these pages focusing even on just one collection.

I'm super happy with this thematic start to my Disney 2019 album & I had  a lot of fun using this new collection!

Find oh-so-many Disney themed products at the A Cherry on Top store! Find my pages in my gallery along with tons more inspiration from the sweet, crafty community there.

xoxo, Natalie



Tuesday, January 07, 2020

2020 goals

Hey friends!

I decided to put a few of my crafty goals here in the blogosphere for some accountability, and mostly just for me to remember!

Crafting is and always will be just my hobby/passion. I am not here to make it a job ever. But I also feel as though if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well, so why not make goals to help do something well!


  • Grow my YouTube channel
    • I don't intend to try & promote it nonstop and I would definitely never go all Patreon on you, but I would like to increase my viewership to make my time making the videos seem well worth it. I love it when people tell me they enjoy my process or have learned something new! 
    • I would love to increase viewership by creating more videos & by perhaps creating a few "series." I'm thinking a monthly flip through of an old, completed album? And some type of mixed media series - still in the thinking stage right now - Suggestions welcome!
  • Host a Make & Take at Chicago Planner Conference (it's always good to set a goal you KNOW you're going to accomplish, right?)
    • I am set to attend the CPC in February. I'm currently finalizing my projects with my incredible sponsor, A Cherry on Top, and I'm pumped about it! 
    • I also want to see a little snow in Chicago, but not a ton. LOL - hoping they can pull that off for me.
  • Complete my 2019 6x8 vacation album
  • Complete my 2019 8.5x11 Disney album
  • Create at least one MemoryDex card per week for our church's sermon topics/memory verse.
I feel like 5 goals is enough structure for me for sure.
2019 was an incredibly awesome crafty year for me! I am super proud of the consistency of my pages, the completed albums, the stories I told, and the design teams I made!  I feel really well settled into my #rusticsparkle style and comfortable just being me in the crafty endeavors. 

Cheers to a great, crafty 2020!!