10 things right now

OK, I totally scraplifted this layout from Ali Edwards. I hope she doesn't mind. :)

I did not purchase her digital kit because I have no idea how to USE digital kits (someone, teach me, PLEASE!) So, I recreated, as best I could, the elements in PowerPoint. I'd also like to learn how to put digital frames around my photos. Here, I used some rub ons, but I didn't have enough to completely frame the picture. Ah well, I made do.

Eight is great!!

TA DA!!!

Now I can move on to Jordyn's birthday album!! :)

Eight is great!!:

Observations on the process and the products used:

1. Picasa Photo Collage (LOVE those!!)
2. Still will never understand why a photo (even a collage) looks great on my computer screen, then cuts off someone's head when I print it out. Sorry Liam.
3. Title and journaling created in PowerPoint, leaving space in the middle for the 5x7 photo collage.
4. Title used five different fonts:
   Eight - A Truer Blue
   is -Verdana
   great - Digs my Hart
   !! - Elise
   ) turned sideways to make the smiley face - Arial
5. Again, used buttons from my sewing stash that I've had for years and years and years.
6. Stapled some scrap green ribbon on at the last minute to create a color contrast to all of the blue and red accents.
7. All in all, this was a pretty quick and easy page. Less than 2 hours. That's pretty quick, right?

8

Ahhh, one more layout to go and Liam's birthday album is DONE!! Until next August, anyway!

This layout is of his actual eighth birthday and how we celebrated as a family. The next layout that I need to do for his album is of his eighth birthday party.

8:

Some observations on the process and the products used:

1. I used Picasa to make the photo collage. However, since I had four pictures, it made the collage into an even grid. So, I printed my focal point photo in a 4x6 photo by itself, then I used Picasa to create a 4x6 photo collage using just 3 photos, so that I didn't get an even four square collage. Then I put the two 4x6 photos together on the page to look like one big collage. Took a minute to figure out, by I like the end result.
2. The green frame is chipboard that I got in a super cheap chipboard kit at the Mega Meet. I painted it greed and then used green Stickles on top of it to give it some birthday bling. Owen helped me put the Stickles on. Oh, the joy he had doing that!!
3. 8 was created with the Cricut. Alphalicious.
4. Ribbon around the 8 is from my ribbon scrap stash. It's good to keep scraps. Recession friendly scrapping!!
5. Button is from my sewing box that my mom gave to me years and years and ago. I've hoarded buttons for a long time now, and I believe this came from one of my mom's old sweaters, circa 1978.
6. I really like the way the layout turned out, actually. I think the next ScRap SiStaZ challenge should be to scraplift it!! Since I plan to use this same design at some point in the future, anyway. :)

one

Finishing up Liam's birthday album. If you remember, I had a hard time finding the photos from his first birthday. But I did find them (hard copies, not the digital copies), and let me just say, they were not stellar photos. And since I didn't have digital copies, I wasn't able to alter them at all. So, taking a cue from Stacy Julian, I got out my square punch and punched portions of the photos out to show closer detail. By doing this, it also echoed the grid patterned paper I had selected. Unintentional bonus!

one:

Challenge 13a - pump

I created another layout last night inspired by ScRap SiStaZ challenge 13a. Now I only have three more challenges to catch up on before moving on to ScRap SiStaZ challenge 18:

• s*r*p
• Meeting Santa
• class of 1989 grad

Or I can move on to Challenge 18 and get back to those other three later.

At any rate, here's 13a...

pump:

Observations about the process and the products used:

1. No, it's not exactly like the inspiration layout, but I did use the inspiration layout as a guide. There are similarities and differences. First, the similarities:

• 11x11 cardstock matted on a different color 12x12 cardstock
• "Stitched" the smaller cardstock to the larger cardstock...I did this using my trusty white pen and a stitching template. I've had the stitching template for a while. It has several types of "stitches" on it. But this is the first time that I've used it, that I can recall. I really wish I had the nerve to pull out my sewing machine and stitch for real on my layouts. I'm not there, yet.
• Handwritten journaling (although, I turned mine on their side)
• A roughly stamped quote next to the photo. Although, mine uses bigger alpha stamps, which I was cursing the entire time. I usually love these stamps but they were NOT working for me! I basically had to go back and color in all of the letters with my white marker. When I had finished stamping the quote, I had all but sworn off CTMH stamp sets forever. Then I decided to try those same stamps in a different color ink on a piece of scrap paper. On my layout, I used SU! Craft White ink. On the scraps of paper, I used SU! Basic Black ink...and the stamped images came out perfectly. So, all of that time I had been cursing the CTMH stamps when I should have been cursing the type of ink that I was using!! (I've about had it with that SU! Craft ink!)

1. Next, the differences:

• I used two smaller photos instead of one large one.
• The photo placement is on the opposite side of the page. It started off on the same side of the page, but when I tried to stamp the quote the first time on the right side of the page, it came out HORRIBLY. So, I had to move the photos to cover the debacle and stamp the quote on the left side of the page instead.
• I added some ribbon
• I did not "stitch" on the photos
• Color scheme is different. The challenge used warm tones, I used cool.

All in all, I think I could have come up with a more satisfying layout if I would have come up with my own design, or if I would have lifted another design, rather than trying to make these photos fit in with this inspiration layout. I don't HATE this layout, but it's not one of my shining stars. It just doesn't "speak" to me.

But, that's OK. What's important is that I captured the memory. And I spent time CREATING. And I enjoyed the journey (minus the stamping debacle.) And the layout will "speak" to others for generations to come.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 12a - my 3 students

I wanted to finish up another ScRap SiStaZ challenge before Tina started posting new challenges for the fall, so I scrapped about the first day of school here at the Hillary's, lifting Challenge 12a. That leaves me with only 4 challenge layouts to "catch up" on from the first batch of challenges. Not too shabby!!

my 3 students:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

1. When I first saw this layout, I thought it would be perfect for me to do something with, since I, too have 3 kids. I'm glad I finally came up with something.
2. I switched it from a double layout to a single, but I think I captured the overall feeling of the original.
3. I enjoyed using the Heidi Swapp ghost alphas (that I got at the Mega Meet) for my title. But, I don't have a wide array of adhesive and staples seemed like the most sturdy route to go. Adds texture, no? That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!
4. I really do love using the Cricut. A MUST for any serious scrapper.
5. Jordyn's photo was shot in the same location as the boys' photos were shot, but there was no sunlight, so you can't really tell.
6. I can't believe I have 3 kids in school!! Holy Moly, where has the time gone.
   

Looking forward to more challenges!! :)

Challenge Layout:

Garden of Awesome

This page has been sitting on my scrap table in a state of half completion for almost a month now. I'm not sure what my road block was. I'm so glad that I stopped obssessing about it and just finished it already!