Runaway to the Islands. . .

. . . And beat those Winter Blues!!!!

I have to admit, I am utterly, completely, totally sick of winter and can't wait for it to be spring so I thought I'd use my project this week to spread a little of the sunshine I found on vacation to the Bahamas earlier this month -- this layout is sending rays directly to all of you out there!

The base of my layout is Doodlebug Chenille Crushed Velvet Cardstock-- a new paper for me and one that is currently an awesome price at our Beary Scrap Store. This paper is so cool, a really nice weight to work with and I love the velvet feel. I chose to use a plain white piece but then brushed over the velvet embossing with teal blue chalk to give it just a touch of color.

The designer papers I used are from the Echo Park Little Girl collection-- perfect bright colors for bringing a little sunshine to your projects. I also used some of the border and diecut stickers from that collection-- I absolutely love the Echo Park sticker sheets that come with their collections, they contain SO many pieces and are really versatile. I even used a scalloped tag from one of the sheets that originally said "tea for two" and just put my "February" letters over the original writing. I love being able to use up all the supplies that come with a kit or collection and sometimes they may not fit any of my projects, so it's good to just be creative and alter things to what I need!

I hope a little sunshine comes your way this weekend and that you have time to do your own Winter Blues project to enter in our current Beary Sweet Challenge. Remember, it can reflect winter or how you escape those winter blues-- however you want to take it! Enter your project before Feb. 28th 11:59 EST for your chance to win!