The One with the OPEN BOOK Layout

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

I recently created a layout using the new Open Book collection by Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper and Maggie was so sweet to share it on her instagram!

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW by Paige Evans

Description: I saw this quote on pinterest and wanted to handcut the letters from the new and beautiful Open Book collection by Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper.

Journaling says: Every day I love you more. Every day I fall more in love. Our love is eternal.

How to: Hand cut a large title from patterned papers and then machine stitch through each letter to add texture and define the letters more. Adhere the letters, right justified, down a text patterned paper layout base using dimensional adhesive. Replace a few of the "o"s with photos. Embellish with coordinating embellishments using a color-on-color technique. Write a bit of journaling using a black pen.

Supplies: Patterned paper, chipboard, stickers, hairpins, brads, die cuts, ribbon bow: Crate Paper; Pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE! No big plans here. I can't remember the last time I stayed up until midnight... This girl needs SLEEP!

The One with What is Snow?

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

These two SoCal-born kiddos need someone to show them what to do with all this white stuff...

Honestly I have no idea what they were even looking at... the only thing in that direction is our small hill?

Oh, and we forgot to bring our much-loved-and-used toboggan and sleds from Los Angeles... I kid. We have no snow toys. Note to self: buy some! Cuz they've resorted to using the pooper scooper...

Pretty much darling.

Watching the flurries fall.

Raking the day away.

I love watching them play in the freezing cold snow while I'm warm and toasty on the inside :) If they're happy, I'm happy!

The One with the American Crafts SERENDIPITY Layout

Monday, December 29, 2014

It's DEAR LIZZY "SERENDIPITY" week on the American Crafts blog!

YOU'RE CUTE by Paige Evans

DESCRIPTION: Whelp. I love punches, that's for sure! I paired a heart punch with the bold and bright colors of the new Serendipity lined and toned some of them down with vellum and layers of white cardstock hearts on top.

JOURNALING SAYS: You look like a big, pink, puffy marshmallow in your poofy jacket. I just want to squeeze you 'til you pop :) You're so cute!

HOW TO: Punch hearts from patterned papers, white cardstock, and vellum. Layer the hearts in seven rows across a white cardstock background then stitch across the rows. Punch a couple of photos into hearts and adhere them over a set of hearts. Journal on a white cardstock heart with a pencil and glue it in place. Embellish a few of the hearts with enamel dots, puffy & paper stickers, and a Thickers title.

SUPPLIES: Cardstock, patterned paper, vellum, Thickers, paper & puffy stickers, adhesive: American Crafts; Heart punch: EK Success; Sewing machine: Brother; Thread: Coats & Clark

photo YoureCuteDetailbyPaigeEvansforblog.jpg

I "heart" punches. Get it "heart", cuz I used a heart punch :)

The One with the Studio Calico SPARKLE Class

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Shine bright in Shanna Noel's new class at Studio Calico called SPARKLE! Shanna will demonstrate expert techniques using mists, glitter, paint, stamping, and script to show you how to add serious glamour to any project.

When it comes to metallics, silver is a classic choice, but in SPARKLE Shanna will show you how to combine colors like gold and black to make a bold statement. She'll give you tips on putting ZING glitter and metallic inks to use with your stamp sets, along with leading you through painting techniques that will add the right amount of shine to any project. You'll learn the best ways to layer metallic materials to create totally fun and unique looks that really shimmer.

A little (or a lotta!) SPARKLE? COUNT ME IN!

The One with the 2014 Christmas/New Year Card

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Our Christmas cards will probably turn into New Year cards. But it's the thought that counts right? In all fairness, if we were living in the continental US of A they would have been on time! But, we live far far away and shipping is slower than molasses this time of year. So. New Year cards it is! And that's all good! Right? Right :)

PS - I apologize for the three major spelling errors all in the last paragraph (there may be more...and I fixed them in this post). I could have sworn I read through the text five times and never caught anything until they were all printed, sealed, and sent. It happens! I'll try to be more careful next time.

This year, instead of choosing one family photo, I made a collage of our favorite adventures we went on in 2014 and then printed a letter on a separate photo. Check it out:

Here is the letter:

2014 will go down in our books as the year of TRAVEL! In just one short year we went to 15 countries and many fun destinations only a few hours away (follow along in the photo collage from left to right): Ingolstadt Germany; Barcelona Spain; Disneyland Paris; Dresden Germany; Bastei Bridge Germany; Munich Germany; Nymphenburg Palace Germany; Plitvice Lakes Croatia; Split Croatia; Mostar Bosnia; Dubrovnik Croatia; Kotor Montenegro; Budva Montenegro; Korcula Croatia; Lake Bled Slovenia; Ljubliana Slovenia; Herrencheimsee Palace Germany; Salzburg Austria; Königssee Germany; Vaduz Lichtenstein; Lauterbrunnen Valley Switzerland, Bern Switzerland, Zurich Switzerland, Paris France, Versailles France, Karlovy Vary Czech Republic, Krakow Poland, Fantasy Palace Germany, Amberg Germany; Berlin Germany; Potsdam Germany; Lisbon Portugal; Rome Italy; Vatican City; HOME! Phew! Traveling is a LOT of work with Fox and Jane, but we are creating lots of memories, taking lots of photos for scrapbooks, and making the most of our 3 or 4 years here on the Grafenwöhr Army Base.

We thoroughly enjoyed having both sets of parents come visit us this year and then spent a week with Jaylie (Chris’ brother and his wife, Jay and Haylie) on an epic Croatian Vacation. We’d love to have more visitors, hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge!

Chris loves being a dentist and fixing people’s teeth. To each their own :) When he’s not setting crowns and doing root canals he loves reading and keeps an active book review blog at mgabasahon.blogspot.com (that’s “books” in Waray Waray - the language he learned on his LDS mission to the Philippines.)

Paige is still at home and busy as ever with two toddlers and various jobs - all scrapbook related! She is the blog hostess/design team manager for American Crafts, a Contributing Team Member for Studio Calico, a Digital Creative Team Member for Ali Edwards, a freelance designer for Amy Tangerine, runs an etsy shop called pagebypaige, and lots of other side jobs like teaching scrapbooking classes around Europe and an exciting scrapbooking opportunity coming in May!

Fox is four and is as happy-go-lucky as ever. He goes to preschool three days a week and LOVES playing with toys all day, every day. He just found out about Legos and has started working on his collection.

Jane is two and keeps us on our toes. She’s wild and crazy just like her big brother and follows him around like his shadow. She says what he says, does what he does, and eats what he eats. She’s adorable and sweet and we love her so.

2014 has been a wonderful year and we hope 2015 will be just as great! Follow along on our adventures via our blog: paigeandchris.com or through our instagram accounts
@paigetaylorevans and @chrisnevans. Thank you for your love and friendship and we hope you have a merry Christmas and happy New Year!

The One with Insta-Lately December 26th Edition

Friday, December 26, 2014

It's fun to post "insta-lately" updates every couple of months to see what we've been up to according to my phone and instagram (@paigetaylorevans). Some of these pics I've already blogged about, but this is a round-up so forgive me for double-posting a few.

1) I was workin' on a li'l somethin' somethin' for Shimelle. 2) Fox trick-or-treating like a pro. 3) From our annual family photoshoot in Grafenwöhr. 4) This mint green house is my favorite Thai restaurant around - appropriately called Thailand Food. It's not in a strip mall, or downtown in a big metropolis, or in a fancy building - it's a random house up an unmarked street in the middle of a clearing in the forest. The charms of rural Germany!

1) I signed up to receive monthly "Happy Mail" kits from A Beautiful Mess. $15 for all this and more? YES PLEASE! 2) My happy scrappy space! IKEA everything. I hang layouts as I finish them on the wall above my computer. A total of 20 layouts displayed at once then I take them all down and start fresh. It helps me see what I've done recently at a glance and to try new things. 3) The beginning stages of an Amy Tangerine STITCHED layout. 4) Throwback Thursday picture from one year ago when we visited vivacious, vibrant, and vivid Vienna, Austria. All the colored rooftops - be still my heart and take me back!

1) I loved the colors of the leaves on a drive through the random backwoods of Germany. 2) So fun to be a contributor in the 25 DAYS class at Studio Calico! 3) Sneak of a layout I made for UK-based docrafts. 4) Sneak of one of the layouts I made for Elle's Studio's Celebrate December event! PS - I have something fun to announce in the next couple weeks involving Elle's Studio ;)

1) The colorful tiles of Lisbon. 2) Airbnb reposted my photo I shared of our view from the apartment we rented in Lisbon! Woot woot! 3) I had about a dozen lady friends over for dinner and to watch Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging. These are all the treats we brought. This is what happens when girlies get together - lots of yummy food to go around! 4) A few of the books I made for the 2000th blog post giveaway a few weeks (months? I'm not even sure, time blends together these days!) ago.

1) Getting some lunch with Chris in the Grafenwöhr food court. It's a little slice of America in Germany. Except there are Army men in their ACUs everywhere I look. Took me awhile to get used to this! 2) Flashback Friday photo of Venice, Italy - we were on our way there exactly one year ago today! No words can adequately describe how much love I have for this place. 3) Natalie Elphinstone shared this photo of Studio Calico color theory inks and the rainbow made my heart happy. 4) One afternoon Jane was so tired she conked out on the couch.

1) Fox and Jane being Fox and Jane outside the car repair shop. 2) Deutscheland ist wunderschön! 3) Deck the halls? Check! 4) One of the many super cute buildings in Grafenwöhr.

1) Fox rocks. 2) Rain rain go away. Or stay. So I can take cute picture of Jane. 3) Summer took pictures of me and Janey modeling winter gear. I love this moment she captured. 4) Home Sweet Home. Even a year later, this is still my favorite picture of Germany.

1) Obligatory Christmas jam jams pic! Thanks Malm/Grandma for said jam jams! 2) A few of my "retired" @studio_calico cut files are/were available again for a limited time only as a bundle with a bunch of other amazing cut files for a steal of a price - 30 CUT FILES for $30. Find the cut files here: http://bit.ly/1v4OdvZ . 3) It snowed the first day of December! How appropriate! 4) I've had lots of requests for more "boy" colored pacifier clips so solids, ginghams, and stripes it is! My etsy shop: pagebypaige.

1) Grafenwöhr Christmas market 2014. 2) Cuties ready for snow. 3) Matchy matchy for church! 4) My life revolves around Google Calendar. If it's not there, it ain't gonna happen.

1) Peek of my December Daily! 2) My hot date for a Friday night a couple weeks ago: torn pieces of patterned paper. Cuz my real life hot date was at a manly movie I just didn't wanna see! 3) Fox figured out how to drag a chair into the kitchen and make toast all by himself. So funny to walk in and see this. 4) My mom's tassel garlands brighten up every holiday 'round here. Her etsy shop is Tassel Love.

1) Classic Santa's lap picture. 2) I was going through old photos on my phone and found the ones Amelia Lyon took when Fox was only a few weeks old. Such treasures. 3) I miss baby Fox! Uh oh, am I getting baby hungry? :) 4) I tried and failed to start a new hashtag but that's okay, it was still fun to create a photo with a bunch of recent layouts.

1) Table, paper, table, paper, what's the dif? They're both made from trees afterall right?! Fox was making a beautiful mess and I was trying my darndest not to intervene and just let him be creative. 2) Bavarian to the max. 3) When can I move in? 4) I've been sharing some older layouts recently while I wait until I can share new stuff.

1) This is the caption I posted with this photo: "I can already tell it's going to be a super reverent and peaceful, filled with the spirit, and enlightening Christmas program at church today with these two... :)" They actually were pretty well behaved during church thank goodness! 2) I love when Rachel and Joey canoodle. 3) Ibid. 4) Another older layout - I made this when Chris was at bootcamp. I scrapped soooo much while he was gone because it helped me relax.

1) Another picture of my December Daily. 2) Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Oh how I love half-timbered buildings. 3) The photo I shared yesterday on Christmas! 4) An authentic, not staged or posed, peek into a typical moment in our lives. Kinda messy, mostly happy, a little bit of chaos, and a lot of love.

That about sums it up the past couple months! Sans traveling. Cuz those got their own mega-posts :)

The One with Christmas 2014

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas / Frohe Weinachten 2014!

The kids are napping. The wrapping paper and packaging is all sorted into the correct recycling bins. And I told myself I wasn't going to clean up anything today, I was just gonna let it all go. Ha. Who was I kidding :) Everything is already put away and sorted. My bad.

Last night Chris made a big fancy dinner for Christmas Eve. He even made a whole green bean casserole just for me because he doesn't like green beans. Sad story: he left the yummy scalloped potatoes in the oven to cook a bit longer and totally forgot about them until this morning after all the presents had been unwrapped :( Such a bummer, all that hard work was all for not. But, we still have lots of turkey, stuffing, and casserole for Christmas dinner.

Confession: I don't like wrapping presents. Or cooking. They're such temporary things! You eat, you're done. Hours and hours of work for only a few minutes of happiness. Same with wrapping - you can spend hours making something pretty and it's all torn to shreds within seconds and no one remembers what the packaging looks like, only what's inside. That's why I like scrapbooking - I can work on something for hours and I have something to show for it that will hopefully last for generations. ANYWAY! Negative Nancy or what?! Haha. I don't like cooking or wrapping presents, but I do like lots of other things like photography and art and reading so on and so forth. Janey was the first to wake up this morning at 6:30am. Fox woke up once he heard the commotion so we sat in the hallway and looked through stockings and I let them eat candy for breakfast. Fox makes the funniest faces! He's such a character.

Fox wanted Legos for Christmas. Jane wanted dinosaurs.

I got a new camera strap and a right-hand ring. Chris got lots and lots of books.

I'm so thankful for my family. I really miss being with my parents and siblings around the holidays, we have so many fun traditions like eating Yummy Teriyaki for Christmas Eve dinner then going to Target and picking out $5 gifts for each other and opening them up after reading the story of Christ's birth from a book each of our families has, then we watch the How the Ghosts Stole Christmas episode of X-Files. Sigh. Things to look forward to in a couple years! I love my family, I'm so thankful for them.

Only 365 more sleeps 'til Christmas :)

The One with Christmas in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas Eve!

Yesterday on Christmas Eve Eve (or Christmas Adam as I've heard it called, haha) we went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber to enjoy the Christmas market. (We went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber last September and checked out the town more in depth then.)

It's about an hour and 45 minute drive away and I passed the time by reading all about Naples and Pompeii - our next big adventure. We parked the car in lot P5 and made our way through the amazingly intact rampart walls.

Oh Rothenburg! How charming you are!

Jane and Fox in front of a large (and small!) door.

Window shopping at its finest.

HALF-TIMBERED LOVE!

Straight out of a fairytale.

Here we are in magical Rothenburg.

We were a little hungry so we popped into one of the many bakeries.

A sweet ol' German lady pointed out sweets to Fox and Jane. We bought a couple treats and went on our way.

The main market square.

I love how the buildings in Germany are painted so many different colors.

Chris wanted to go back inside St. Jakob's Church and see the amazing wooden altarpiece again.

Instantly brought the Christmas spirit into my heart.

Wow.

Upstairs is the glorious 500-year-old, 35-foot-high Altar of the Holy Blood. Tilman Riemenschneider, the Michelangelo of German woodcarvers, carved this from 1499-1504 to hold a precious rock-crystal capsule set in a cross that contains a scrap of tablecloth miraculously stained in the shape of a cross by a drop of communion wine.

By the time we were finished at the church the Christmas market was in full swing. First stop: the carousel.

When Fox chose to sit in a fish, of course Jane wanted to sit in a fish too!

Christmas markets in Germany. Sigh. All your senses are awakened and you get a sense of nostalgia, happiness, and merriment. From the hints of cinnamon and spices, the smell of warm loaves of bread, hot chocolate being passed around to keep people warm, Christmas lights and decorations in all directions, children's choirs and brass bands playing Christmas tunes - it all comes together to form a magic that puts a smile on everyone's face.