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Stephanie Howell

reading, organizing, shopping, momming too close to the sun. Home is wherever the Army sends us.

Buon Natale!

From J’s work Christmas party…the girls + Babbo Natale!

a. Yes, I let them dress themselves!

b. Lucy is NOT impressed. She said Santa was “cweepy” and “stinky”. That he smells like “cheese”. She has clearly been talking to Sadie, who has been known to tell Santa he sits on a throne of lies.

c. Speaking of Sadie…she’s totally feigning indifference here. Sister was PUMPED.

d. Harper? Uhh….Not sure what that grin is all about. Must be her missing teeth smile. She lost the other top tooth this weekend!

e. Cate was SO excited.

f. Thanks to the USO each girl got a DVD from Santa. How awesome is that? We LOVE the USO!

Oh- one more thing. I’m doing a flat rate box giveaway on Instagram! You can enter (you AND a friend!) HERE!

xoxo

Heaven Must Be | A Scrapbook Layout

When we went to France a while back I snapped this photo in the wine section of a French grocery store.

And it made me all kinds of happy.

I mentioned recently that (thanks to Project Life) I’ve started doing more one photo layouts. Scrapbooking really is just a creative release to me now.

I get the photos and stories in the books by doing PL. The layouts? Just icing on the creative cake.

No assignments, no deadlines. Just pure fun. And I LOVE it that way. It just makes me happy to make a page. Plain and simple.

This one is kind of out of the ordinary for me. I don’t usually use this type of color scheme. But I kinda love the way it turned out. 

Supplies:Gossamer Blue December Life Pages Main Add-On, Gossamer Blue December Themed Add- On,Heidi Swapp Mixed Company Ephemera,BasicGrey Persimmon Cardstock and Accessories, Elise Blaha Cripe Flair from Scrapbook and More, Gold Uniball Signo, MME glitter enamel dots,sequins, doily   

I’m a huge fan of Elise’s flair. I made sure to order a bunch from Scrapbook and More and I use them on everything. As always…a sweet scattering of sequins, enamel dots, and rubons adds the perfect touch.

The title is HUGE but I had fun playing with the best way to fit it and which fonts to use. 

That’s it for today. I hope you are having a beautiful and blessed Thursday! 

Buona Giornata-

xo

]S

wordless (ish?!?!?!) wednesday

I don’t really know what to say about this…

Except for one thing.
Are any of you at all surprised that our children have crazy facial expressions?

And also this.

It took a lot of hot glue to make those suckers.

That is all.

Buon Natale!

xoxo

Love Firenze | A Scrapbook Layout

Happy Thursday, friends!

First- let me announce the Scrapbook Circle kit winner!

Amelia N. said…Such a fun kit
Congratulations Amelia! Please email me at harpersmama8(at)gmail(dot)com!
 
Now on to today’s post. I have a new layout to share with you!
  Love Firenze | via Stephanie Howell
 
 
 
Just a basic grid design showcasing some favorite Florence photos. All photos were printed at 2×2.
 
I tucked bits and pieces under each photo. Bits of washi strips, rub-ons, stickers, and acrylic accents.
 
Love Firenze | via Stephanie Howell
 
This page uses a lot of RSVP from BasicGrey and plenty of Carta Bella Wildflower. These are NOT color choices I would ever make myself. But I love them. That’s a big reason I love kits.
 
Love Firenze | via Stephanie Howell
I loved using these pretty gold rubons. Don’t be scared to layer rubons right on your photos!
 
Also…don’t be afraid to use Christmas products on non holiday layouts! The simply wonderful sticker below is from the Chic Tags Good Tidings collection and is technically a Christmas sticker.
 
The rubons are also Christmas themed!
 
These things work perfectly here.
 
Love Firenze | via Stephanie Howell
Okay! That’s it for today. 🙂 Hope you are all having a beautiful day! xoxo
 
S

Christmas Vignettes

I just wanted to quickly share some photos of the Christmas decorating happening in our little Italian apartment.

My favorite thing about this apartment is the ceilings. The thing that’s taken the most getting used to? Italian marble floors. They are COLD. And hard.

When I purchased these OOOOOLLLLLD cubbies from the antique market downtown, I had no idea what to do with them. Turns out they are perfect for the Christmas treasures I’ve gathered over the years! 🙂

A few detail shots:

Well, that’s it for today. It’s beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas around here and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.

Haven’t done a single page in my December Daily, didn’t get around to wrapping the 25 Christmas books this year, and I don’t have a mantel to hang my stockings on (they are on our coat tree).

But you know what?

I am okay with it. More than okay. Because none of that really matters. I’ll get to it when/if I get to it.

My heart is full.

xoxo

S

p.s. I’ll be back tomorrow with the giveaway winner from last week!