HeaThaZ ScRapZ

LOAD 212 Day 2 - ...these girls.

2012-02-02T23:57:00.003-05:00

The assignment for Lain Ehmann's Layout a Day challenge for Day 2 was to scrapbook a Favorite Photo.
Journaling Reads:
Shortly after my dad was diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma on his thalamus (stage III brain cancer), it was clear he wouldn’t be with us much longer. We decided to throw him a party to celebrate his life, while he was still somewhat with us. There are so many people who helped us pull this phenomenal party together in such little time. I had a team of girlfriends, led by Kendrea, in charge of the gorgeous decorations; my pseudo sister, Lorrie, put together an amazing video with hundreds of photos and several songs we had provided her with (many of which she stayed up ‘til the wee hours of the night to scan); friends , family, and members of my parents’ church provided the food and drinks; and …these girls.

These girls (Amy, Tina, and Kim) helped in so many ways, I can’t even begin to name them all. They were there for me from the day my dad was admitted to the ER, to the day we were given his prognosis , to the funeral and grieving that followed. Scrapbookers themselves, they were key in capturing the memories made during the celebration of my dad’s wonderful life. They took pictures and encouraged guests to fill out memory cards. They have been my shoulder whenever needed, and I am forever grateful for their friendship, their support, their laughter, and their much needed hugs. Love you girls! Sept.26, 2010

Some observations about the process and the products used:

1. The 30 minute page is still elusive.
2. LOAD would be much easier if I knew how to navigate Flickr. Learning as I go.
3. All three patterned papers are from the DCWV Indian Summer Fall Stack.
4. Flower is from a pony tail holder...when the elasticity on the pony tail holder gave way, I saved the flower. And I'm just now realizing it probably isn't archival quality.
5. The brad in the center of the flower is from Stampin' Up's Hodge Podge Hardware set.
6. I'm wondering if all of my LOAD pages will in some way be about my dad. Really missing him these last couple of days.

LOAD 212 Day 1 - Corned Beef and Cabbage

2012-02-01T23:01:00.005-05:00

How crazy can I be? I signed up for Lain Ehmann's Lay Out A Day challenge in which we are given a prompt each day for the entire month of February, and I am supposed to scrapbook one layout per day for the next 29 days. Um, I haven't created more than a half dozen layouts in all of 2011, and I signed up to create ONE per DAY for all of Feb?!?

Yep, certifiably insane.

At least I completed Day 1's assignment: A Matter of Taste. The prompt was to scrapbook about something food related. And I chose to record this story:

Journaling reads:

As St. Patrick’s Day, 2011 approached, my heart was heavy. This would be the first St. Patrick’s Day where I wouldn’t be able to call my dad and ask him to make some corned beef and cabbage for me as I had done for so many years in the past. Having lost a parent herself, Mair knew how hard this first year without him would be. To boost my spirits, she offered to throw a St. Patrick’s Day EVE party, complete with corned beef and cabbage. Look at the joy in her face as she stirs the pot! She is a fabulous cook, a self-taught chef, and an amaaaaazing hostess. The corned beef and cabbage (plus potatoes) were out of this world! She told me later that night that she felt Bennie’s presence as she prepared the meal through out the day. I could truly feel his love and warmth shining through the food. Being surrounded by this compassionate crowd and the ultimate comfort food (Hello! Guinness chocolate cupcakes, I love you!), made the loss of my dad easier to bear on this first St. Paddy’s without him here. Thank you Laura, Mair, Shelley, and Amy for lifting me up with your food and bevvies. 3/16/11

It's not a perfect layout, but it's DONE!

ScRaP SiStaZ Challenge 21 - I heart you

2011-09-20T00:17:00.008-04:00

WOW! I can't believe it's been almost TWO YEARS since our last ScRap SisTaZ challenge was posted!! And it's been 18 MONTHS since I scrapped and posted a page. WOW!

(Hey, I started and ended that paragraph with the same word!)

I am THRILLED that Tina posted Challenge 21 to get us going again!! Thanks, Tina.
Let me just say that when I saw the inspiration page I thought, GREAT! Now this looks like one of those 30 minute pages Lain Ehmann talks about. One photo. Couple strips of journaling. A splash of buttons. Nothing really elaborate. So, heck, why don't I do TWO lay outs at ONCE?!?

Five hours later (or more), and here they are.

I heart Jordyn:

Journaling Reads: Jordyn – You call Facebook your “happy place”. It truly is a reflection of the joyful, positive young woman that you are. You are wise beyond your 15 years. The proof is in the status updates…misspellings & all: Be yourself! (9/18/11) * Smile... Pass it on! (9/16/11) * Lifes to good and short to live your life unhappy... :) :) :) (9/12/11) * The grass is always greener on the otherside.... But you still have to mow both sides. :) (8/21/11) * Gunna be a good life :) (7/11/11) * I love the people who make me smile when they dont even try :) :) :) (6/28/11) * … If you have time to worry about the bad things, then you have just enough time to look at the good side of things :) (6/16/11) * You only live once... So live your life tothe fullest :) Dont waste it :) (5/24/11) * Rainbow! (8/21/11) *

I heart my Dad:

Journaling Reads: It’s hard to believe I’ll never hear your voice again. On the days when missing you hits me harder than others, I listen to hymns and I instantly feel your presence. Hearing those southern gospels makes me feel as if I’m nine years old again, at a church revival with you standing next to me in the pew, my arm intertwined with yours, and my head resting against your shoulder. I close my eyes and I can almost hear your smooth alto voice rising up in earnest praise and worship. The tears flow. It Is Well, In the Garden, The Old Rugged Cross, How Great Thou Art, Are You Washed in the Blood, to name a few. These songs comfort me and help me to realize that your voice will always be with me.

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I actually like the 8 1/2 x 11 format.

I found this size/shape photo difficult to work with. A very large square. What do you do, print an 8x10 and trim down? Print a 5x7? But if you print a 5x7 then if you trim anything, you're trimming off part of the person (if it's a head shot). Do you go to Picasa and print from there? I don't know, it was hard for me.

Forgive the picture of each layout, they are the EXACT same papers, but somehow the pics look different. Colors are better represented in Jordyn's layout.

My ATG tape gun runner was NOT working well for me. Either I forgot how to use it, or Big Red was mad at me for staying away for so long.

Scrapping in my newly reorganized office was FABULOUS! I love that I know where everything is and that it is all labeled so nicely. (pictures eventually)

It's not the easiest to scrap through tears. But, it was cathartic and I'm glad I did it.

Inspiration Layout:

ScRaP SiStaZ Challenge 5a - Turning Fourteen

2010-03-10T22:37:00.004-05:00

I still haven't given up on completing all of last year's ScRaP SiStaZ challenges. I recently completed Challenge 5a and I want to complete them all before Tina starts posting more challenges (which I'm guessing will be sometime after she finishes her Master's). In finishing this challenge, I also completed another layout for Jordyn's (still sparsely populated) birthday album. This is one of two layouts that I plan to complete to document her fourteenth birthday. Next on my list is her 14th birthday party with her friends. I just need to find a good inspiration layout to guide me through!

Turning Fourteen - Double:

Turning Fourteen - Left:

Turning Fourteen - Right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Inspiration was 8 1/2 x 11, I tweaked it to a 12 x 12 format.
I also tweaked the topic from Meeting Santa to Turning Fourteen. I'm not ready to tackle my kids' Santa photos yet. It's on my long list of projects that I plan to get around to some day....like when I've cloned myself four times over and when I no longer have a demanding career.
I've had these pictures printed since early January, with this layout in mind. I finally put the layout together in late February and am just now getting around to sharing it here on my blog. I might not move as quickly as I did last year, but at least I'm still moving.
Love how the orange and red patterned papers pick up the orange in Jordyn's shirt and the red poinsettias in the background at the restaurant. I also love coordinating patterned papers from a paper stack, which in this case are from DCWV.
I'm comfortable with hybrid-digi scrapping (meaning I journal and make titles on my computer). I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to learn how to do a fully digital layout. Maybe I'll make time on my maternity leave to figure this out. (Kendrea, here I come! Will you teach me??)
I was having a frumpy day, so excuse the hat and baggy sweater (which even now, at almost full term in my pregnancy would still be baggy on me!) But look at Jordyn, isn't she just gorgeous?? Yes, I'm biased. That's my job.

Inspiration Layout:

2009 Shellnut Thanksgiving Album

2010-02-28T21:02:00.008-05:00

WOW! By this time last year I had created a dozen layouts and written nearly two dozen posts on this blog!! And here it is March 1st and this is my FIRST entry for 2010!! Man, have I been slacking.

However, in the last six weeks of my pregnancy, I'm going to try and scrap and post as much as is comfortable for me to do so. (And as much as my Monday-Thursday single motherhood schedule allows!)

I actually finished this Thanksgiving album back in January. Yes, it sat on my scrap table in a state of partial completion for nearly the entire month, much longer than I ever like to let a project sit. But, in the end, I got it finished, the memories are captured, and that's what counts.

It documents the Thanksgiving celebration that we had with my side of the family this past year (I still have to print pictures and make the album for the Thanksgiving we shared with Kevin's family!! It's on the to-do list.) We celebrated at my sister's house, and it was really weird not having my parents there with us. They're officially snowbirds now.

This album flips kind of like a perpetual calendar. And there are several "little" squares in between each page that has each person's thankful thoughts on them so that we can pull it out next Thanksgiving and be reminded of what everyone was thankful for in 2009.

Front Cover

First & Second Pages (My sister's family)

Third & Fourth Pages (My brother's family)

Fifth & Sixth Pages (My family)

Seventh & Eighth Pages (My cousin and her husband)

Back Cover

Happy Birthday - make a wish!

2009-11-08T15:52:00.003-05:00

So, I'm working on Jordyn's birthday album right now. I only have about 5 weeks until her 14th birthday. And so far, I've scrapped 11, 12, & 13. And now 3. Four birthdays down, nine to go!

Happy Birthday - Make a Wish! (double):

Happy Birthday - Make a Wish! (left):

Happy Birthday - Make a Wish! (right):

Some observations on the process and the products used:

Locating pictures for Jordyn's birthday, pre-digital era, is no easy task. Bad momma, bad momma. I've located 1, 2, & 4. But somehow I need to locate birthdays 5-10. EEKS! I only have 5 weeks left to do this and I can't let her down!
Working with 4x6 photos is not how I like to scrap. Especially photos that don't necessarily have the best composition. I like printing photos in whatever size I want so that I can best tell the story. So, for this layout I circle punched the photos to crop out much of the background noise.
I didn't work from a sketch, and OY! Let me tell you, I MUCH prefer having a sketch or inspiration layout. But, that's OK. The memory has been captured.
Not one of the best designed layouts, but look at how cute 3 year old Jordyn was!

Wish me luck on the other layouts!! I'm gonna need it.

Challenge 18 - brothers brothers brothers

2009-10-20T22:21:00.005-04:00

This was a fun challenge layout to do! ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 18. I really like the design.

brothers brothers brothers Double:

brothers brothers brothers Left:

brothers brothers brothers Right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I have TONS of pictures of the boys together, and I store them in a folder entitled "brothers". Imagine that. Most of the really good pictures of them, though, are horizontal shots rather than vertical. But, this layout called for vertical.
I used 7 pictures instead of 5 because I can never gauge what size photos to print. But, I think it still worked out OK, and bonus! more pics of my loverboys.
LOVE LOVE LOVE coordinating paper kits. Thank you, SU! (this is probably the first time you've heard me say that, right?)
Who says you can't use flowers on a boys' layout? Pashaw.
All pictures were taken this year during April & July. (L to R - our kitchen during Owen's birthday party, inside Comerica Park, playroom, steps of Marriott hotel in GR, outside Comerica Park, White Cloud Michigan at Kevin's softball game, Meijer Gardens in GR)
Alphas - white paper letters, blue chipboard, red ghost alphas (from Heidi Swapp).
I try to snap pictures of the boys being very brotherly without them knowing that I'm taking a picture. I love capturing these moments on the down low.

Inspiration Layout:

ScRaP SiStaZ Challenge 19 - NINE YEARS

2009-10-14T22:50:00.003-04:00

Had the scrapping bug tonight. I followed ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 19 (even though the post says it's Challenge 18, it's really 19). When I printed the wallets for this layout, I also printed the wallets for Challenge 18. I hope to scrap those in the next couple of days.

NINE YEARS:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

It took me less than 5 minutes to select the patterned paper. It jumped out at me because it had all of the same colors that were in my photos, yet it was light enough for me to do my hand written journaling directly onto the paper.
The square buttons on the right side of the 4x6 photo were left over from a sewing project that I did when I was in ninth grade, I made a halter top. Told you...I save everything!
This is my recession era anniversary present to Kevin. We celebrate 9 years of marital bliss next Wednesday, 10/21.
Following Stacy Julian's "category drawers" made locating photos for this layout super easy. Except, I don't really have category drawers in the physical sense, I have category file folders in the virtual sense. These photos were all found in the "Us" file folder.

Inspiration Layout:

10 things right now

2009-09-30T20:10:00.004-04:00

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!!

2009-09-28T21:19:00.003-04:00

TA DA!!!

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

Eight is great!!:

Observations on the process and the products used:

Picasa Photo Collage (LOVE those!!)
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.
Title and journaling created in PowerPoint, leaving space in the middle for the 5x7 photo collage.
Title used five different fonts:
Eight - A Truer Blue
is -Verdana
great - Digs my Hart
!! - Elise
) turned sideways to make the smiley face - Arial
Again, used buttons from my sewing stash that I've had for years and years and years.
Stapled some scrap green ribbon on at the last minute to create a color contrast to all of the blue and red accents.
All in all, this was a pretty quick and easy page. Less than 2 hours. That's pretty quick, right?

8

2009-09-28T19:11:00.004-04:00

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.

Some observations on the process and the products used:

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.
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!!
8 was created with the Cricut. Alphalicious.
Ribbon around the 8 is from my ribbon scrap stash. It's good to keep scraps. Recession friendly scrapping!!
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.
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

2009-09-20T23:08:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-15T06:42:00.002-04:00

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:

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!)

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

2009-09-14T15:36:00.004-04:00

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:

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.
I switched it from a double layout to a single, but I think I captured the overall feeling of the original.
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!!
I really do love using the Cricut. A MUST for any serious scrapper.
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.
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

2009-09-04T17:11:00.002-04:00

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!

Challenge 17a - 2

2009-08-06T19:37:00.004-04:00

And with this layout, I finished Liam's birthday album (minus his first birthday, for which I have not yet located the photos). And I finished it ON his birthday.

I assembled all of the pages in the correct chronological order and gave it to him as a gift. And he loves it. LOVES it!! Even gave it a thumbs up. That's what it's all about.

Challenge 17a was my inspiration for this layout. (WOO HOO, only 5 more challenges to go until I've done them ALL!!)

2:

Some observations on the process and products used:

The inspiration layout is a double spread, mine is a single. But I stole the strip of smaller bordered photos that kind of overlap each other. That's about the only similarity between the two. And that's OK.
When Kev looked at the page, he said, "Wow, where was his second birthday at?" And I read the journaling to him, "We celebrated your second birthday at a rented cottage on Big Star Lake." Kev's reply, "OOOOhhhh, yeah." That's what scrapbooks are for, to help us remember.
I had originally printed the photos across the top in full color, but thought that turning them to sepia would make them coordinate with the paper, better.
Speaking of the papers, another SU! paper set.
The arrows on all of the photos point to Liam's sports related gifts. It was a sports birthday.
He was such a good looking baby!!

Inspiration Layout:

four

2009-08-06T19:15:00.003-04:00

Another Birthday layout for Liam....DONE!! And, it's a good thing Amy was there again and took pictures, these are all her shots. Where are mine, you ask? Good question.

four - double:

four - left:

four - right:

Challenge 15a - happy birthday

2009-08-03T21:59:00.003-04:00

WOWSA DOWSA DOO - I finished a challenge layout before Tina added any more challenges! Challenge 15a, and by my count, I am only 6 challenge lay outs behind. Not bad.

AND, I got another birthday layout of Liam's scrapped in the process!! WOO HOO!!!

happy birthday:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

"happy birthday" Heidi Swapp sticker. LOVE that.
No real title, so, "happy birthday" will have to do.
You might not be able to tell very well in the photo, but I added brads to the center of many of the flowers in the CTMH patterned paper. That was my way of taking it to the next level.
I busted out my flexible ruler, all prepared to do the wavy title and accents, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. But, I still followed the lay out pretty well - 1 large square photo, with 2 smaller square photos.
Journaling font is called Baby Bowser
The photos from this celebration did not turn out very well, which is why I turned the two smaller photos into black & white.
Who's gonna be the next one to post a challenge layout?!? Get scrapping, girls!

Inspiration Layout:

5

2009-08-03T21:51:00.005-04:00

So, I'm working on Liam's birthday book, since his birthday is THIS Thursday.

I still have to do layouts for his 1st, 2nd, and 4th birthdays. I have the photos ready for his 2nd and 4th birthdays but I'll be damned if I can find his 1st birthday photos!! So, those might not make it into the book until, well, until I find them!!

Thanks, Aim, for the photos of this birthday celebration. I thought I took some of my own photos, but couldn't find any. Mother of the Year, yes, I know. At least I saved the ticket stubs.

Used the same SU! kit that I used for this layout. But, they're going in different books, so that's OK.

5:

2 Wheels

2009-07-30T12:50:00.003-04:00

I created this layout on Monday night in about 45 minutes. Maybe less.

I used a SU! scrapbook kit, and I know that I've mentioned before how much I LOVE kits, but it bears repeating. I LOVE kits.

Speedy layouts is one reason. Fun embellies is another. Owen loves the pointing finger "dicker" and Liam likes the arrow sticker that says "That Rocks!"

I will definitely be scrapping more in the near future. 8/6 is quickly approaching and I need to finish Liam's birthday book!! Who knows, I might even bust out a challenge or two.

2 Wheels:

MacRay Harbor Accordion Album

2009-07-30T12:09:00.006-04:00

Our fourth of July holiday weekend (and my week of vacation following that), was kicked off by a trip to my cousin Deb and her husband John's boat on Lake St. Clair on Friday, Jul3 3rd.

They keep their boat at MacRay Harbor, which is a very nice, fun place to hang out...when you're not out on the water in their gorgeous boat. The boys went swimming in the pool and we had dinner at the Marina (all you can eat BBQ which was delish!!)

I made two versions of this accordion album, one to give to Deb & John as a thank you gift, and one to keep. The only difference between the two albums is the color of the background cardstock (ours is yellow, theirs is blue) and a slight variation in where some of the embellies are placed (all from a CTMH Stick Ease set).

It was GREAT doing two of the same albums at once. Something I will definitely do again in the future.

Front:

Pages 2 & 3:Pages 4 &5: Back:Pages 7 & 8: Pages 9 &10: Overview (I love how this accordion album can stand up on its own for display):

Father's Day Album for my Dad

2009-07-30T11:42:00.004-04:00

Also, back in June, I made this Father's Day mini album for my dad. It was a SU! Stamp Camp project from last fall. I have since made other versions of this super simple album for other occasions, but this one is the original. All I had to do was add the pictures, journaling, and embellies.

Front of Album:

First Page (I thought this quote was PERFECT for this picture and for my parents' relationship):

Shawn's Picture and Note to my Dad: Jeremy's Picture and Note to my Dad: My Picture and Note to my Dad (the photo I took here is SUPER blurry, so if you can't tell, that's my dad - with a mustache! - in his firefighter uniform, in front of a firetruck, with me, age 3, wearing his fire helmet.): Last Page:

Kev's Father's Day Mini Album Card

2009-07-28T21:30:00.016-04:00

Lest ye think I've spent my entire summer neglecting my papercrafting love, I made this mini-album/card for Kevin for Father's day back in June. It was actually a project that I made at my SU! Stamp Camp, that I turned into a Father's day album. The colors don't show up very well in the photos, so let me just say that I turned all the pictures to sepia. And the album papers/cardstock/ink colors are purple and a mossy green.

This is an aerial view of the mini album. It was quite involved with all of those flippy flaps, but pretty cool.

Front:

Inside:

Jordyn's Note to Kev:

My Note to Kev:

Symmetrical Inner View:

Liam's Note to Kev:

Owen's Note to Kev:

The very inner inside of the album / card:

2009-07-28T12:34:00.004-04:00

WOW! It's been nearly TWO months since I posted anything here!! That's not to say I haven't been scrapping/papercrafting, though. Although, really, in the last month, I haven't scrapped very much.

In June, though, I made all of these birthday cards using scraps from this project and this project, (both of which used the same patterned paper kit).

What was brilliant about this was, instead of cleaning up my scraps and trying to store them for future use (only to never use them again), I actually used up ALL of my scraps from those two projects to make these cards, and because the papers all coordinated, the cards came together in about 45 minutes. Sweet!

I'll definitely do this again. Especially since I have already USED all of the cards that I made here and am in need of some more. These also could have been bundled and tied with a ribbon and given as a gift.

Oh, the possibilities!

Challenge 14b - Coin Angels

2009-06-09T23:03:00.003-04:00

Kicking Booty on the ScRap SiStaZ challenges the last couple of days. Here is Challenge 14b.

Coin Angels:

Some observations on the process and the products used:

This was a SIMPLE layout.
I spent probably 2 hours total, including clean up, taking the photo, & blogging about it (whilst checking Facebook & emails from time to time).
Behind the photo is a journaling card which pretty much has this as the text, with a couple of modifications. Gotta get back to blogging about more than just birds here pretty soon.
I finally got to use some of my arrows from the Mega Meet!
The title that I stamped originally looked like it said COINANGELS, because I didn't leave any space between the two words. It didn't bother me until I took the picture and started to post it. Then I thought, "I can NOT live with it like that!" So I used a scrap piece of yellow cardstock (taken from behind the patterned paper before I adhered it - I'm a frugal scrapper like that). Anyway, I restamped the word COIN further over to the left. Well THEN there was TOO much space between the two words. So, I grabbed a penny to fill the space and adhered it with a ZOTS uber sticky glue dot. I LOVE the result of this mistake!! Although I didn't love the process of having to correct the mistake!!

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 15b - in your ELEMENT

2009-06-08T22:28:00.005-04:00

I'm a scrapping fool today. Catching up on some challenges on this gorgeous rainy day. ScRap SiStaz Challenge 15b - Feelings.

in your ELEMENT:

Some observations about the process and the products used

Please tell me that I am not the only who drops F bombs whilst scrapping.

This layout induced multiple F bombs to be dropped in my scrap room at various decibal levels.

I've decided that, I like Simple Scrapbooking, and this layout was not simple. Which is strange considering that it only has one photo. Hmm.

Kevin saw this layout and said, "You didn't even show what I caught? Well, it was a big one." Jackal.

I used SEVERAL mega meet weekend products on this layout - flexible ruler (for the first time!), scallop punch, chipboard swirls, and the Heidi Swapp date stamp.

You might have noticed that I used the same SU! patterned papers as I did in this layout earlier today. Since these will be going in different books, I thought it was wise to keep going with the same papers rather than stash them in my scrap container, never to be used again.

Is there more rain in the forecast?

EDITED:
I had to fix some things on this layout. I added who this is a picture of and where he is in the last line of my journaling, I added the "27" in the date stamp, I added a little scallop punch on the picture which says "It was a BIG bass!" and I inked the blue swirls so they weren't so shocking. Here is the updated version:Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 17b - Silver Scholar

2009-06-08T16:28:00.007-04:00

I liked the layout that I modified for ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 17b so much, that I scraplifted it again for Jordyn's Honors Night layout. I was going to use Challenge 17a, but I liked the way this turned out.

Silver Scholar - double:

Silver Scholar - left:

Silver Scholar - right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I like scrapping events so close to when they actually occurred. I would love to get into the habit of doing this more often.

Patterned Paper from a SU! kit. I love coordinating paper kits!

Title and journaling font is CK Becky. Jordyn asked if I had "written" the journaling. Yes. And no.

I like to specify who is in each picture. Maybe next time I will add the text directly to the photo in Picasa before printing the picture.

On the right side of the layout is a pocket containing the brochure, photocopies of her 3 certificates, cards, and the bumper sticker (that I'm not allowed to put on our car!!) :)

Challenge 17b - Detroit Owen

2009-06-03T22:09:00.003-04:00

I accepted Kim's challenge to keep moving on the ScRap SiStaz challenges by completing Challenge 17b (feelings). Although, my topic was more of an event than a feeling. Out of 34 challenges, I have completed 25 layouts. I think that's a pretty good ratio. At some point I want to get around to all of them, or at least MOST of them. It's just so hard to keep up with the weather being so nice.

I was also able to keep moving on my kids' birthday albums as this is another 5th birthday layout for Owen's birthday book.

Detroit Owen - double:

Detroit Owen - left:

Detroit Owen - right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I'm not good at guesstimating what size to print my photos. I guesstimated 3.5x5.5 and that was obviously too big. So, I just adapted the layout a little bit to fit my pictures, rather than reprint my pictures to fit the inspiration layout.
I changed this from a one page layout to a two page layout.
Because I changed this to a two page layout, I changed the positioning of the border strip of patterned paper so that it was on the outsides of each of my pages and so that my two journaling blocks were somewhat next to each other.
I picked this army green color background cardstock as sort of a neutral (in absence of a stack of Kraft colored cardstock) and it ended up working really well. Surprisingly, the polka dot patterned paper strips that I used had the same army green color polka dots in it! When in doubt, use green, indeed.
The font used for the journaling is called A Little Pot. I think all of our layouts could use a little pot. Just Kidding!!
I referred to my "abc color chart" when selecting the journaling font color.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 16b - love

2009-06-03T21:35:00.003-04:00

I created this layout as part of ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 16b a couple of weeks ago, but am just now getting around to posting it. Not sure what took me so long, other than I don't truly LOVE the layout. But, I've got Mother's Day 2009 recorded and I'm moving on.

love:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Fonts in journaling strips are: black text - A Red Bucket, green text - Cry Kitty, both downloaded for free from this site.
Picture taken on Mother's Day at my mom's house.
I used the Cricut for the title and figured out why it wasn't previously cutting all the way through. There is a dial called "pressure" that Owen had fiddle with and turned the pressure way down. It only took me 6 different attempts to finally figure it out! I knew my blade hadn't dulled, yet.
The bling scrolls purchased at the Mega Meet are a pain in the ARSE to apply to your page. Be forewarned. Glad I didn't buy too many of those. FRUSTRATING! Yes, they're crooked and they're going to stay crooked.
I always have a hard time picking a font color to match my paper. That's because the colors that look like they match on my computer screen print out differently on paper. So, I created this "abc" file and printed it out. It is basically a replication of the color chart options on my computer. Now I can compare my paper to the colors of the text on this print out. Which is what I did here. The color that matched my paper the best would have NEVER been my choice based on what that color looks like on my computer screen. I think I'm going to use my abc color chart often.

Inspiration Layout:

Love Joy Peace

2009-05-26T18:24:00.003-04:00

Owen's last day of preschool was last week. For their end of year concert, the theme was Fruits of the Spirit. Which, (in case you don't know) are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control (it's not against the law, you can grow them in your own back yard).

Anyway, in keeping with that theme, I decided to make Fruits of the Spirit candles for each of the teachers. Unfortunately, all I could fit onto these short candles were "Love, Joy, Peace". So, I included "Galatians 5:22-23", the verses in the Bible that talk about the Fruits of the Spirit.

It was a fun, easy gift and I hope they liked them. I wasn't there to assess their reactions, but Kevin was and he said that they loved them. I asked him if they "got it" that they were Fruits of the Spirit candles, and he said Oh Yes! And that one teacher in particular was just gushing over that fact. :)

Bonnie love

2009-05-13T11:51:00.007-04:00

I would have posted this layout last night, but I've been having issues with my external hard drive (where ALL of my pictures and videos are stored, and are NOT backed up any where else....I should probably look into backing them up, eh?) But I finally got it to work and was able to get this uploaded.

Anyway, last Thursday we were heading home from Jordyn's Spring choir concert when my dad asked her if she knew that when he was in 8th grade, he had a solo in his Spring concert. He then proceeded to sing us the song. "I'll go home with Bonny Jean". He still knew every word! No doubt because he had sung it to my mom, BonnIE JUNE, several times over the years.

At that moment, I thought - "I have GOT to get this on video!"

So, on Mother's Day, I asked my dad to sing the song to my mom as I recorded it. He acted a bit shy and hesitant, but I think he was flattered that I asked him to do it...even if it meant we had to mute the Tigers game on the tv.

Then I created a scrapbook page about it:

Bonnie love:

Behind the photo of my mom and dad is a CD on which the .mpg file of him singing this can be found. So, future generations will be able to watch my dad sing this song to my mom. That is, IF this media is still available and there are still machines around that will play it! Imagine if you stumbled upon a beta tape from your parents - how would you play it today? But, I guess my grandkids' grandkids will have to figure that out themselves. I've preserved the memory the best way I know how.

Some observations on the process and the products used:

Label shaped paper purchased at the Mega Meet (woo hoo! I'm using the things I bought!!) is from My Mind's Eye.

Heidi Swapp ghost sticker "love" (also purchased at Mega Meet)

I used white rub on letters for the word "Bonnie" (left over from the Lisa Bearnson All About Me kit - the kit that keeps going and going and going and going!)

Heidi Swapp date stamp (I've always wanted one of these, and LOOK! I've already used it twice now. Quite a bargain for $2.99 - also from the Mega Meet)

I really like the Kraft colored cardstock. Must get some more of this.

I am enormously blessed to have two parents that are still so much in love.

And you can watch him sing it here if you so choose. It's saccharine sweet.

ps - If at any time during this video you hear some off-key humming, that's my mom, who God love her, can not carry a tune to save her life!! Love you mom!!

Lessons on Motherhood from my Mom

2009-05-10T19:17:00.004-04:00

I read a bazillion scrapbook / artsy type blogs. And several weeks ago, I got this idea for a mother's day album and fell in love with it. I wish I could remember what blog I saw it on so that I could give props to the idea originator, but, like I said, I read a bazillion blogs and tried to re-find it, but gave up after ten minutes.

Anyhow, the idea was to show two pictures, on of your mom and you as a child, and the other picture of you and your child - doing a similar activity or at a similar event.

I was able to put together this album using 2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock, 2 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock, scraps from Owen's 5th Birthday layout, a couple of rings, and some lengths of different ribbon. Easy Peasy.

I love love love the way this album turned out.

Looking back on these photos, I realized a couple of things.

My mom was a very pretty young mother.
Owen looks SO much like me.
I look SO much like my mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

this is why i 'crapbook

2009-05-10T00:05:00.003-04:00

Being at the Mega Meet all day yesterday had me wanting to scrapbook like crazy. So, tonight, I put some of my Mega Meet purchases to use.

this is why i 'crapbook:

Observations about the process and the products used:

Mega Meet products used:
~"Remember" silhouette on lower left photo
~Brown felt fusion swirls
~Heidi Swapp date stamp (another stellar deal!)
Tried and true products used:
~See through ruler
~Chipboard alphas
~Plain cardstock (there's not even any patterned paper on this layout! *gasp*)
~White gel pen (Amy & Tina - you ladies are going to love them!)
The green photo corners were punched from scrap paper a long time ago. My intent was to punch various shapes out of small scraps of paper and store them for future use. Today was the first time to cash in on that "future use" idea.
The top right photo makes me want to reach into the picture and tickle Owen's feet!

Mega Meet Haul

2009-05-09T23:23:00.004-04:00

WOW! My first time ever to the Great Lakes Mega Meet far surpassed my expectations! I had heard great things about it from Amy and Kendrea the last couple of years, and I was worried that I was making it out to be better in my head than what it would actually be in real life.

I needn't have worried as you can see from my haul below:

I had a couple of objectives for the day:

Chipboard
The label shape (see striped paper in the lower left corner of the photo)
Arrows & brackets
Kraft colored cardstock

I specifically told Amy and Tina that I did NOT need patterned paper since I've got patterned paper coming out of my ears at home. Which is funny, because both of them were on patterned paper missions. Let me just tell ya, scrappers are drawn to patterned paper like moths to a flame, like rubberneckers to a bad accident, like Bella to Edward. It's such a strong attraction that it takes an enormous amount of restraint not to go hogwild on patterned paper. And besides the few sheets of label shaped and scallop shaped papers, I did not get any! I mean, I looked and fondled and drooled over TONS of it, but I did not BUY any. That, people, is uh-MAY-zing!

So, with our missions in mind, we set out on the hunt.

Of course I bought something from the VERY first booth that we went to, even though we said that we wouldn't do that. I'd dare say it was one of my best value purchases of the day. It was a sheet of license-plate looking alpha stickers. 50 cents per sheet...I got two sheets (they vary slightly). You can NEVER have enough Alphas, imo.

I think my next purchases were at the Heidi Swapp booth. OK, let me just tell you, I think I could have spent my ENTIRE budget at Heidi Swapp. The deals were SCRAPTABULOUS! One of the best was the pink storage box with TEN sheets of silhouette stickers in it for $5!! FIVE BUCKS! What a bargain. Seriously, if my budget would have been bigger, I would have bought 10 of those boxes as gifts. The other great deal in her booth was the ghost alphas! I got 6 packages of ghost alphas. Like I said, you can never have enough alphas. Next year, I think I'll get one of her mystery bags - I've got to imagine that everything in them is stellar!

The next item on my list of "best value of the day" were the 12x12 chipboard packs for $6. We saw these EXACT chipboard sets the following day at Archivers for $15!! Again, I should have scooped up a bunch more, but funds were ltd.

It took a while but I eventually found my label shaped paper. Ideally, I would have liked a template, but getting the paper was OK, too. Even though I was not on a paper mission, I heard afterwards that there was a booth with 10 cent 12x12 sheets and I kicked myself for missing it. That's just a steal!!

Other fun finds were the felt fusion borders for a buck a piece. These were at the Mega Meet's dollar booth. Because everything in there was a dollar! Go figure!

One of the best parts of the day was show and tell back at the hotel room. Our scrap stuff, people! ***geesh*** Get your minds out of the gutter.

I won't list every.single.item that I purchased, but trust me ... it was all GREAT stuff.

I can not WAIT until next year. However, I'm going to use these lessons learned:

You absolutely have to bring a tote bag and 12x12 plastic envelope/protector. (Thanks Amy & Kendrea for the tip!)
Bringing your own snacks (granola bars, apple, v-8) is a great idea (thanks Heather for the tip!) Spending less money on food means that there's more cash for my scrap stash.
Apparently there were some deals we missed on Thursday. Consider going on Thursday instead of Friday next year.
Also, consider getting a two day pass next year. During show and tell we realized that were items some of us got that others missed out on. And there was a bit of realizing we should have gotten more of this or more of that. So, a two day pass would let you go back and get all of things you missed out on the first day.
Bring pre-printed labels to make entering contests easier. I think I only entered 2 contests because I didn't want to take the time to fill out my information. a.k.a. I'm lazy.
Bigger budget next year. MUCH bigger.

What more can I say? It was a b-l-a-s-t!!

Challenge 14a - BIVE

2009-05-07T13:15:00.003-04:00

One of my goals with the kids' birthday books was to scrap their current birthday immediately and add it to their album. I'd say within two weeks qualifies as "immediately", wouldn't you?

I used the ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 14a as my inspiration.

BIVE - double:

BIVE - left:

BIVE - right:

BIVE - hidden journaling card:

Some observations about the process and products uses.

I did not take very many pictures at Owen's non-party birthday party.
We were in the middle of the party when the hurricane/tornado blew through.
I journaled about the "storm", the party, the recession cake, the after party, and the fact that Owen still pronounces his f's like b's so when we asked him how old he was, he said "Bive". Hence the title of the layout.
Stampin' Up coordinating patterned papers. Part of this year's Sale-a-bration. Very nice kit.
Green Stickles were used to jazz up the number 5.
The number 5 was cut with a combination of the Cricut (Don Juan), and my trusty fine tip scissors. For whatever reason, the Cricut didn't cut through the paper all the way. SURELY it's not time for a new blade. Possibly a new mat, but not a new blade! I haven't used the Cricut THAT much in the five months that I've had it. How long do your Cricut blades last?
A LOT of pop-dots were used in the making of this layout.

Inspiration Layout:

Kissing Cousins

2009-04-21T22:32:00.004-04:00

I did this layout JUST FOR FUN!!

It's a layout that I've had in my head for nearly two years. I picked the title out as soon as I saw these pictures on my computer.

Kissing Cousins:

Believe it or not, I DID have an inspiration layout for this page. Even though my layout didn't quite come out like the inspiration layout.

Inspiration Layout:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Once I realized that, yet again, my wallets print at 2.5x3.5 instead of 2x3, I realized I couldn't do the layout exactly like the inspiration. I just couldn't crop these down without losing some heads and appendages.
I'd still like to use this inspiration sketch on another layout.
The inspiration layout is from the very last issue of Simple Scrapbooks evah. sniff, sniff, WAIL!!! So Sad.
I had a cropping accident with the middle bottom picture. If you look closely, you can see the seams where I tried to put the picture back together. Three glasses of wine and figuring out the measurements of where to cut things don't really mix that well. Lesson should have been learned by now, but what fun would that be?
I LOVE my white gel pen and use it quite a bit. If you don't own one, you should definitely get one. (I used it to write Owen and Bella on the 2 light blue stars).
Speaking of the light blue stars, I used the SU! star punch. LOVE punches!!
The red paper with mini white stars on it behind the 4x6 photo is actually from a border strip paper stack. I just used two border strips and put them together.
The white background cardstock with red stars on it is my own creation!! I stamped the red stars using this SU! stamp, and only coloring the star with a red marker rather than using an ink pad for the whole stamp. I think it turned out pretty cool. Gotta bust out my stamps more often!!

Challenge 13b - Kev's fishing fishing fishing HAT

2009-04-21T13:54:00.003-04:00

Another ScRap SiStaZ challenge down, four more to go!! (Until Tina posts the next one, that is!!)

Kev's fishing fishing fishing HAT:

Observations about the process and the products used:

I used the same Chatterbox kit that I used in Challenge 11a.
Totally loved using the Cricut on this challenge! I used the Printing 101 cartridge for both HAT and fishing fishing fishing. I even saved the negative from fishing fishing fishing to use on another page since we have such a big fishing family!!
The journaling's a little cheesy, but you know me and my journaling fixation!! :)
I can't wait for lazy summer afternoons and evenings like this to get here. Out on the paddle boat with my man and a glass of vino with the kiddos on the back of the boat, watching the sunset. AAAAaaaahhhh....Bliss.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 11a- Adenoid Acation

2009-04-21T12:14:00.004-04:00

Another challenging ScRap SiStaZ challenge - 11a!! But, I was able to scrap a topic that I have wanted to scrap for a while now. With out these challenges, I'm not sure when (or IF, really) I ever would have scrapped it!!

Adenoid Acation - Double:

Adenoid Acation - Left:

Adenoid Acation - Right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I totally scraplifted Kim's version of this challenge. I had more photos that I wanted to include than what the original challenge had in it. Then I recalled that Kim's version used a bunch of photos. So, when I put my layout together, I was really copying Kim's layout. Similar color scheme, too!! Thanks Kim!
I'm SO glad I blogged about this surgery! It made writing the journaling for this layout a SNAP!
Too bad printing the journaling wasn't as easy as writing it. You can see here that it printed out crooked. I couldn't flip it over and print it again on the back because I had already tried to print it once and got GOBBLDY-GOOK printed all over it. So this was already my second attempt. And I wasn't going to waste another sheet of cardstock to try and print it a 3rd time. Come to think of it, I don't even know if I had another sheet of the same cardstock.
When I printed my wallets, they printed out at 2.5 x 3.5. The wallets in this layout need to be 2 x 3. So, I had to trim all of them down. At first I freaked out that I wouldn't be able to crop them that much, but it worked out. That's on of the reasons why this challenge was so challenging!!
I used another Chatterbox kit for the paper, brads, alpha stickers, circle embellie sticker. LOVE KITS! (have I mentioned that?)
I used the Cricut Cuttin' Up cartridge for the capital A's in my title.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 10a - 7 Cedar Point

2009-04-17T22:11:00.004-04:00

I Love it when I can use a ScRap SiStaZ Challenge to complete a layout for one of my kids' birthday books! This is birthday # 3 of Liam's that I've scrapped, I have 4 more of his birthdays to scrap before August. I can do it!!

7 Cedar Point - double:

7 Cedar Point - left:

7 Cedar Point - right

Some observations about the process and the products used:

This was a challenging challenge for me.
Once again I used Picasa to make a collage, to get the size photos that I wanted, that I then cut up and put into a strip along the bottom. There was still a bit of cropping here and there, but it turned out pretty well.
Both patterned papers are actually just the big Cedar Point map dissected.
The big picture of Liam is of him ON the Demon Drop as we're going up. I thought it would be too hard to take a picture while we were going down. Turns out, CP has a "no picture taking while the ride is in motion" rule anyway, as was pointed out to me on several other rides (Ocean Motion, the Monster, etc.)
The Demon Drop was our second ride of the day. We went from the Carousel to the Demon Drop. Quite a difference, I'd say.
I love love love love LOVE Cedar Point! Probably because I'm a coaster junkie. I think I'll finally admit to being old when I no longer enjoy roller coasters. Lord, I hope that never happens!
The 7 was free hand cut from a piece of cardstock. I almost used the Cricut for the 7, but the 7 was the only thing that I need to have cut out. So, for JUST a 7, I figured I could handle it on my own.
Liam wants to go to Cedar Point for his birthday again THIS year. We'll see. It's not that hard to convince me to go.
In the picture of the Sky Ride cars, the red cable car holds Kevin and Liam. Mitchell, Jordyn, Owen and I were in the car behind them when I snapped this pic.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 12b - still...

2009-04-15T22:26:00.003-04:00

Holy Cannoli! I scrapped TWO layouts in ONE night!! I moved onto ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 12b and I'm actually starting to feel somewhat current!! Woo Hoo!!

still...

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I think I just really like coordinated scrapbook KITS. This is a Chatterbox kit, and everything on the layout (papers, ribbon, bling, brad, letter stickers, flowers) came from the same kit. Makes crappin' such a snap.
This layout was put together lickity split. Thanks to the kit mentioned above, and thanks to the fact that I had already done the journaling over on my blog. I just turned it into a scrapbook page.
The photo was taken of me on the same day that the journaling/blogging was done. Not the best picture of me, but somewhat relevant to my journaling.
Since I still don't have a scallop border punch, I REFUSED to put any scallops on this page.
Again, not exactly like the inspiration layout...but these challenges aren't intended for us to necessarily create carbon copies, but to INSPIRE us.
So fun being inspired by and with my SiStaZ!!

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 9a - double DELIGHT

2009-04-15T20:36:00.005-04:00

Completing ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 9a was SO much fun. Especially after working 85 hours last week!! It was definitely a delightful way to spend an evening!!

double DELIGHT - double:
double DELIGHT - left:

double DELIGHT - right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I know I've said this before (maybe not on this blog), but, seriously, WHY do I scrap with anything other than CTMH scrapbook kits?!?! Adorable, coordinating papers and stickease (alpha, borders, and embellishment) stickers make putting layouts together a TOTAL snap.
Obviously, the papers and stickers are CTMH.
The E & I stickers are not really an E & I. The E & I in the Stickease set were a pale yellow color and wouldn't show up well on my yellow cardstock. So, for the E, I added the bottom of the Z to the bottom of the F (same pattern, luckily) and for the I, I trimmed down a T from a second Stickease set. Voila!
I used Picasa again, and the more I use it....the easier it gets!! I printed 6 vertical 4x6 collages, each containing 2 horizontal photos (like Amy, I take very few vertical shots).
It may not look exactly like the Inspiration Layout, but that's totally OK.
Honestly, could my darling niece and my ugly duckling son BE any cuter?? I don't think so.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 11b - Belcher Babes

2009-04-11T22:20:00.006-04:00

Today I was able to do ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 11b before I had to start my 20 hour shift at work!! And since there is a break in the action here at the office, I thought I'd post my creation. Can't wait to get home and start working on another challenge.

Belcher Babes:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I love these ladies.
Patterned Paper, and Cardstock are from SU!
I used "pearls" instead of ribbon. I'm a pack rat. I save everything. These "pearls" are from a broken costume jewelry necklace that broke easily 13 years ago. Then I stored them away in my craft area, for forever, and "voila" today they ended up on my page. I strung them back together on some thread, and they became a border on my page.
I think I need to go back and somehow identify each sister in each picture. And also mention that Shirley is missing from my wedding photo because she couldn't make it (I don't want someone 50 years from now to think she wasn't at the wedding because she wasn't "around" anymore...if you catch my drift)
My layout is similar to the inspiration, but not exact. I did try to keep the heart motif by layering it under my vellum quote.
I miss my mom. She's been in Florida for almost a month and we don't talk on the phone much. We should.
I miss my aunts, too. Most specifically Aunt Mary and Aunt Margaret who both moved to Florida a couple of years ago. The only aunts that still live in Michigan are my Aunt Shirley, who I never saw much outside of holidays, and my Aunt Dee, who now lives in a retirement/assisted living facility in Grand Rapids and is suffering from Alzheimer's. My Aunt Betty has always lived in another state (out west somewhere, then Alaska, now California). But, I do miss them all. Maybe I miss their youth.
Doing this page made me realize how much I miss them and how much they all mean to me.
Re-reading through the journaling, I have spotted a glaring grammatical error. Do I go back and fix it, or let it be? Let it be.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 10b - five random things about me

2009-04-07T00:10:00.002-04:00

Moooovin' on Up! I'm up to ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 10!! Granted, I've only done one layout from challenges 5, 8, & 9, and now 10...but HEY! That's OK! I'll get back to them and do the second layout for each challenge....eventually!!

five random things about me (single) :

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I NEED A SCALLOP BORDER PUNCH!!
My layout is a bit different from the inspiration layout, but I used the same color scheme - gold, red, brown.
The flowers were punched from patterned paper to cover up some journaling boo-boos around the "m" - so I put a flower on the other side of the title to try and balance it a bit.
Not thrilled with my "five" in the title, but I won't obsess about it or anything.
Brown ribbon between the photo collage and the red cardstock was once be part of a pair of Jordyn's pants that she outgrew and they were not in a condition to donate. So, I salvaged the silky "ribbon". Acid free? Lignin free? Probably not. Plain old FREE? Definitely.
I made the photo collage in Picasa. So frustrating fun!! I just wish I could print on another size paper than 8.5 x 11. I mean, I know PICASA allows it, it's just a matter of what size photo paper I have on hand, and what my printer will allow.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 9b - Birds of a Feather

2009-04-05T23:23:00.005-04:00

I thoroughly enjoyed putting this layout together for ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 9b.

Slowly but surely catching up on those challenges!!

Challenge 9b - Birds of a Feather (single):

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Patterned papers are from SU! And, in case I haven't mentioned it before, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that SU! papers are MADE IN THE USA! (Because SO many scrapbook products are not.)
The argyle ribbon beneath the photo is from CTMH. Taiwan material. Finished in China. (Which is where MOST scrapbook products are made, so I'm over it.)
The journaling on the photo would have been much easier and faster to do if I would have used Picasa (or something) and printed the picture with the text already on it. But I took the long, old fashioned route and used rub-ons.
I had so much fun paper piecing the bird together. I didn't even use a template. I just tried to mimic the bird in the inspiration layout as much as I could. I think it turned out pretty cute.
Kevin is 50% Irish. He is also 50% Polish.
I am 100% American mutt.

Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 8b - Two Cute

2009-03-31T00:02:00.006-04:00

Tina just posted ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 12 today, but I'm just now getting around to Challenge 8!! A liiiiiiittle behind.

But that's OK. I'm scrapping, and that's what counts. And what ALSO counts is that by completing this layout, I have finished Owen's birthday album!! Well, at least through birthday number 4. He turns 5 in April at which time I will scrap his 5th birthday and immediately add it to his birthday album. This layout is from his second birthday (more on that later).

Birthday album 1 of 3 complete - Goal 1 of 3 accomplished. I have until Agust to finish Liam's Birthday album, and until December to finish Jordyn's. I can do eeeeeeet!

Two Cute (single layout):

Two Cute (with journaling card removed from behind Owen's Photo....you know I LOVE me some journaling!):

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Even though I'm a circle girl, I used my scallop punch instead of my circle punch because I already had a bunch of green and yellow scallops punched out (when I have odd shaped scraps at the end of a project, I often get out my punches and punch shapes to be used at a later date...and today was that date!)
How fun to use almost ALL scraps for this layout...save for the background piece of white cardstock. Now THAT is SCRAPbooking!
Assembling the layout took longer than I expected it to. hmmm.
I don't use buttons very often, and while I like the product, I don't like the process of using them. Too time consuming for me. I'm a wam bam thank you ma'am kind of girl...when it comes to scrapping, anyway. geesh.
The title font for the word "Two" comes from my Cricut via the Don Juan cartridge gone awry. Another Cricut lesson learned...move it away from the wall before use (yes, I know it says that in the instruction manual, but I didn't actually retain the instructions).
The "Cute" part of the title are chipboard alphas.
Yes, I know that it really should be "Too Cute", but using the title "Two Cute" is a play on words since this is a picture of him on his Two birthday. (yes, I know that was grammatically incorrect as well).
I love Owen dearly, but we have always jokingly referred to him as our ugly duckling (which I can say, because he is the spitting image of me when I was a baby, but no one else can say that he's the ugly duckling because he's not the spitting image of any of them...well, except for my mom). Anyway, while I do truly seriously think he's a cutie, I really honestly do, he looks like a special needs child in this particular photo.
So, then, you might ask, why did I use THIS picture of him since he looks like a SPED?!?! (sorry, Amy!) Well, it's because I have VERY few pictures of this birthday, and the few that I DO have are all very blurry. Very blurry indeed. Kind of like my memory, or lack thereof, for this event. How pathetic is that?! Mother of the year. If I wouldn't have had those blurry photos to refer back to, I would have NO idea what we did to celebrate his second birthday. Fortunately the photos sparked some "memories", even though I really don't remember this party. And no, I wasn't drinking. I just don't remember it. Weird.
And no, I wasn't drinking when I scrapped tonight, either, despite the fact that I scallop punched through my first pass at the journaling card (which I liked better than the neon green I ended up with). It was originally printed on double sided patterned paper, and it was on my table with the text side facing down. So, I picked it up and scallop punched it, not realizing it was my journaling card. Kind of hard to use a journaling tag when you've punched out a big portion of the story.

And with that, I'll call it a night.

Challenge 8b Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 7a - flippin' the BIRD

2009-03-23T12:36:00.003-04:00

HOLY CRAP! I SCRAPPED!

It's been almost a month since I scrapped and posted a layout. WAAAAAY too long!!

Although I had already completed ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 7 (7b - You Rock), I went ahead and did 7a because this layout seemed best suited to the subject I had in mind.

I still need to catch up on Challenges 8, 9, & 10. Hopefully I can get going on some of those soon!!

I certainly won't wait another MONTH to scrap again!!

flippin' the BIRD - double:

flippin' the BIRD - left:

flippin' the BIRD - right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I wanted to use some cute bird paper, but I didn't have any. So, I downloaded this free bird & branch paper piecing template. What an ECONOMICAL way to embellish!
Patterned paper & Chipboard alphas & leaves are from an enormous kit I bought from Lisa B on QVC a couple years ago. It was fun to use a set that already coordinated.
I flipped the direction of the inspiration layout so that the wallets are horizontal instead of vertical and put the title along the bottom instead of along the side.
I replaced the paper pieced pumpkin with a photo and included a journaling block and paper pieced bird & branch.
Scrapbooking is WAAAAAAY more fun than Spring Cleaning.
Speaking of birds, a bird just slammed into my office window. I hope he's OK.

Challenge 7a Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 7b - You Rock

2009-02-25T18:33:00.003-05:00

For ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 7b, I had the perfect photos to use.

Last Spring, Jordyn was invited to Honors Night because she made the 6th Grade Honor Roll for three semesters. I've been meaning and meaning to scrap those photos because I love the story. And this was the perfect opportunity to do that.

You Rock - double:

You Rock - left:

You Rock - right:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Nothing notable about the products - 3 sheets cardstock, SU! inked edges with Summer Sun, blue sticker letters for the title, SU! chipboard stars painted midnight navy and white, stickles (no issues!) on the "O" star, 3 blue star brads, some lengths of blue fiber.
The left side of the layout is a variation of the inspiration layout, except that I replaced the bottom right journaling block with a 4x6 photo, moved the title to the middle, and put my journaling in the upper left. Similar, but not exact.
The right side of the layout houses a pocket with memorabilia from the event: the program, cards she received, her merit award ribbon, a close up picture of the cake, and the longer version of the story as told here. (another reason I'm happy I'm a blogger!)
The Award of Honor, is a scanned version of her certificate which I printed on a 4x6 piece of white cardstock. (stole this idea from Lisa Bearnson)
Kevin did not "allow" me to put the bumper sticker on either of our cars, so I saved it to use on this layout instead.

Challenge 7b Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 6a - celebrate 2008 with the Hillary's

2009-02-22T22:06:00.002-05:00

And ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 6a.

celebrate 2008 with the Hillary's:

Same layout, but with the journaling card removed that explains all the pictures:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Photo collage made using Picasa. I think I'm starting to figure it out a little better, and I think it's funny how all of my kids birthdays aligned perfectly in the right column.
I finally used the CRICUT again!! Brown brackets and 2008 were made using the Cuttin' Up cartridge.
I had a bit of a Stickles incident. I'm not sure I know how to use it properly. But the incident did give the background paper a bit of sparkle, although that didn't show up in the photo.
The longest part of this process was picking which photos to use for each month. But once that was determined, the layout came together really quickly. Love that!

Challenge 6a Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 6b - Crazy Crew

2009-02-22T21:26:00.004-05:00

It was nice to get back to the challenges today, now that my dad's and Kevin's albums are done (more on those later). It was even nicer to scrap with fellow Sista Traci! Who came over today to scrap with me while I worked on ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 6 .

SO MUCH FUN!

Crazy Crew:
Some observations about the process and the products used:

The patterned paper scraps are left over from an album I made for Jordyn when she started middle school.
The pictures were taken at an after Christmas Christmas party in January with Kevin's mom's side of the family, but the journaling has nothing to do with the "event" where the photos were taken, but about what was going on with our family at that moment. I'm so glad I'm no longer hung up on event-based scrapbooking. This is much more fun.
Ribbons are all from CTMH.
Cute scallop punch on the yellow paper was borrowed from Traci who had it in her stash when she came over. Thanks Trace!

Challenge 6b Inspiration Layout:

Challenge 4b - Baseball Boys

2009-02-18T12:08:00.004-05:00

I completed the ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 4b layout on Monday when I had the day off for President's Day. What a great way to spend a day off!

Baseball Boys:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

This will go in Liam's birthday album (slowly but surely, I'll finish those albums!!)
This will represent his SIXTH birthday, not his 7th birthday. When I printed the journaling, I put that it was on his 7th birthday. I finished the page (completely) and re-read the journaling and realized that in 2007 he turned SIX not SEVEN. So, rather than tear the page apart and start over (hail, no!), I covered up "7th" with an orange paper strip on which I wrote "sixth". Nice.
The photos were taken outside of my parents house before Kev & the boys headed down to the game.
I used two photos across the bottom instead of three (making the layout work for me), and I liked the rick rack ON TOP of the photos, since you couldn't really revel in all of its rick-racky glory when I put it UNDER the photos.
This layout was VERY easy to put together (except it was a little time consuming typing the half circle journaling getting everything to line up just so...maybe there's an easier way to do it, but I haven't figured that out yet). And it turned out pretty well, imo, while using very few products:

3 colors of cardstock (1 12x12, 1 8.5x11, and a couple of orange scraps <<>
1 small piece of patterned paper
stickers (baseballs & Tigers tickets)
blue letter stickers
"Baseball" vellum
orange rick rack
for the dots around the half circle I used my white gel pen and followed a template with lots of circles and cut out dots to guide me. I heart my white gel pen. Seriously heart.

And by the way, Kim, I use the clear ruler that you gave me on every single layout. Every.single.one. Thanks SO much. Again.

Go Get 'Em, TIGERS!
(Is it April 10th, yet?)

Challenge 5b - This Lady

2009-02-15T22:10:00.002-05:00

After working for the last week and some change on albums for my dad for his birthday and Kev for Valentine's Day, I took a break (I have 3 pages left to complete in each of their 20-page books - not bad!), anyway, I took a break to participate in the ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 5b.

This Lady:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

Patterned paper is from DCWV Rockstar Stack, because my mom IS a Rockstar.
The photo in the circle is overexposed to begin with, and a photo of this photo makes it worse. It's better in person, slightly. But I wanted to include a cap & gown photo of my mom and this was the best there was.
Yes, I scanned and reprinted the original photos before using them on this layout.
I almost went completely postal during this process because I can NOT get my printer to print on SU! card stock. I tried for about an hour and was pretty close to chucking my printer over the edge of the deck to see if I could make it to the lake (Kev said no way). I finally printed on a piece of yellow paper...NOT card stock. What the h-e-doublehockeysticks is the problem?
My mom is simply amazing. Such a role model.

Peace.

brothers 4 ever, friends 4 life

2009-02-10T16:42:00.005-05:00

Number 27 on my list of 25 Random Things about Me (yes, I know I can't count) was this:

"After my boys get into a particularly bad fight with one another, I make them hug, look into each other’s eyes, and say “Brothers Forever, Friends for Life.” I hope they always remember this and truly take it to heart."

I was surprised by the reaction that this little random thing generated. I guess the saying really resonates with other mothers. Especially mothers of sons.

About a year (and some change) ago, I made a scrapbook layout of this saying for each of my boys. The layouts are exactly the same except one has the journaling written to Liam and one has has the journaling written to Owen. (double click the layout to read the journaling)

Liam's:

Owen's:

Challenge 4a - My Everything

2009-02-03T22:23:00.003-05:00

Done with ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 4a! And it's not even 11pm yet! Go Me!!

My Everything - Double:

My Everything - Left:

My Everything - Right:
Some observations about the process and the products used:

These are black and white photos, even though the picture of the layout turned out funky colored.
My sister's BFF Suzi took these photos of us when Jordyn was a newborn and then again of us when Jordyn was 3 1/2. She's awesome.
I scanned all of the photos and saved them to my computer before I scrapped them since they are professional proofs. First time I've ever done that before doing a layout.
Pink Bazzil Cardstock, Stampin' Up! (EK Success) Photo Corner punch (I'm loving punches right now), more Stampin' Up rub ons (directly onto each photo), and pink Fiber Accents.
I don't have a baby book done for any of my kids. But, I still want to scrap their baby pictures. What I'm realizing is that scrapping a story, or feelings, or memories about them as babies is just as important, if not more so, than scrapping their first hair cut. And even if I never scrap their first hair cut, that's OK, and it's not gonna stop me from scrapping all of this other fun stuff.
Now, this is what I call a Simple Scrapbook page.

Thanks again, Tina, for setting up this group and these challenges. Still totally loving my SiStaZ!

Scrapping with Mom

2009-02-01T00:05:00.005-05:00

My boys love to scrapbook with me. Actually, they love to papercraft with me.

So, tonight, Liam was set upon making a pennant for the Super Bowl party tomorrow and the pennant had to have brown paper, dontchaknow?

So, I showed him my selection of browns, he agonized over the decision until he found the perfect shade (does that sound familiar to any of YOU?!?) and he went about creating the pennant.

He requested my white marker and made the pennant resemble a football.

I helped him take the pennant up a notch by adding ribbon and football brads to it (he gasped with delight when he saw those brads...again, sound like anyone you know?!?)

This is the finished product, now hanging in Kevin's closet (Liam wanted to surprise him with it.)

Valentine's Day Cards

2009-01-31T23:47:00.005-05:00

I made the kids' Valentine's Day cards entirely out of my scrap stash. Gotta love that!!

I trimmed the scraps down to 3x4 and adhered these white hearts onto them (these hearts were left over from my wedding favors...yes, that was back in 2000, yes I am a pack rat, but look! - these DID find another purpose, so I'm glad I saved them, at least my pack rattedness is organized.)

First, I did Owen's class using the red & pink family of scraps (right column).

Then I did Liam's class using the blue & green family of scraps (middle column).

Then my 13 year old daughter, who won't even be having a Valentine's Day party at school, said "Ooohhh, those are so cute! I want some to give to my friends! Will you make me some?!?" So, I made her about a dozen of them in the purple/orange/pink/red family. Basically, all the left overs (left column).

This project was SO quick and easy, and budget friendly to boot!!

Challenge 3b - 3Siblings

2009-01-31T23:16:00.003-05:00

Finished with Challenge 3b! YAY! At this rate, I'm going to have more than a hundred layouts done by the end of the year. WOW!

Again, I adjusted the 8.5x11 inspiration layout to a 12x12. Typically, unless I'm working on a specific project or album, I do all 12x12.

3Siblings:

Some observations about the process and the products used:

I scanned this photo and increased it to 8x10. I wish I would have made it a 5x7, because the layout ended up feeling a little bottom heavy to me, and I didn't have room to journal everything I wanted to.
To try and balance the apple bottom layout, I added riboon scraps to the top left of the photo.
Check out my yellow and brown striped pants in this photo. Hot.
The jacket my brother is wearing was one of my favorites as a kid. I'm not sure if we each had the same jacket or if I "borrowed" it from him. But I remember wearing this jacket a lot. I wish my mom would have saved that jacket.
Our ages in this photo - Shawn - 6, Jeremy - 4, Me - 3 1/2.

Ready for Challenge 4!! :)

Challenge 3a - 11

2009-01-28T22:46:00.004-05:00

Done with ScRap SiStaZ Challenge 3a!!

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I'm so glad Tina started this group. It really keeps me motivated...AND Scrapping!

Another one of Jordyn's birthday layouts done. Yay! Three down, Ten to go!!

11 - Double:

11 - Left:

11 - Right:
Some observations about the process and the products used:

I used Picasa to create the photo collage on the right (including the text ON the photos). One of my favorite bloggers, Ashley Gailey, wrote a post about how easy it was to create photo collages using Picasa. For a frame of reference, she also knows how to use Photoshop, so if she can learn that, she can learn ANYTHING. That should have been my first clue that it wasn't as easy as a "click of a button". But, I did finally end up with my desired result (after much cursing) and I will probably use Picasa again. Besides, it's free.
The patterned papers are from Stampin Up! (plug! for Stacey) It's called Outlaw, which goes to show you that you can use "boy" paper for a girl's layout.
Plus, I girlied up the "boy" paper with Colorbok's self adhesive metal dots. Gotta have a bit of bling. I also put one on the tab on the right to bring the two pages together.
Clearly the inspiration layout is 8 1/2 x 11. However, I did 12x12 because that's the size of the kids' birthday books. The collage on my layout is 8 1/2 x 11, but it doesn't take up the entire right side of the layout like the inspiration. But I think I was able to make it work on the 12x12 by balancing it with a strip of cardstock (ripped to match the ripped cardstock on the left side).
Here is a perfect example of how I should have used the Cricut to create the title "11". But no, I was too lazy. So, I free hand cut the two ones from the SU! patterned paper.
It's amazing to me about how few details I can recall from an event that happend just two years ago. I am going to try and be a much more current scrapper going forward.

My Toothless Grin

2009-01-25T19:58:00.005-05:00

These ScRaP SiStaZ challenges have me so motivated that all I want to do is scrap, scrap, scrap!! I put this layout together just for fun.

My Toothless Grin

Some observations about the process and the products used:

This page was made from a 2 page "kit" (My Boy by Rembrandt). I'm not sure where I got the kit, but it's been in my stash for a loooong time. I'm quite certain the "kit" was in some 90% off sale bin with an original price of a dollar.
None of the "brads" on this page are real....those were all part of the patterned paper made to LOOK like brads.
I converted the photo to black and white before printing it because I didn't realize Liam had such a dirty face when I took the picture (crusty boogers and all). The b&w is much more forgiving (although not entirely).
I kind of feel like I should add something more to this page, but I'm not sure what. And I captured the memory which is the important part.

Anxiously awaiting Challenge 3! :)

Challenge 2b - Forty Fotos

2009-01-25T15:55:00.008-05:00

This layout was a SNAP to do and super current (pictures taken yesterday!)

It's not exactly like the Challenge 2b layout, but I copied the general idea of having a row of photos on the top and a row of photos on the bottom with the journaling & the title in the middle.

Forty Fotos:

Some comments / observations about the process & products used in this layout...

Title and One of a Kind sticker are from Polar Bear Press Rustic Retreat stickers.
Patterned paper is from DCWV Old World Stack
Usually, before I print my photos for a layout, I edit them on the computer....cropping, auto brightness, etc. I DID NOT DO THAT on this layout. These are 4 year old Owen's pictures EXACTLY as he took them.
After completing this layout, Owen looked at it and said "But I took two pictures of myself (which he did). Where's the other one?" He's just too smart for me.
The glowing orb of a photo in the lower right corner of the layout is Owen's attempt to take a picture of his finger with the Spiderman band aid on it.

Challenge 1b - Dear Kev

2009-01-22T00:11:00.004-05:00

OK, yes, I should be in bed right now. But, it's not as late as I stayed up last night AND tonight I actually started and finished my layout in the same evening (unlike last night). Unfortunately, I didn't start this layout until 10:20 pm, since I first had to finish the layout that I started LAST night. Mamma Mia!

I just really wanted to do the ScRaP SiStaZ Challenge 1b. So here it is...

Dear Kev - Single Layout

Some observations about the creative process and the products used:

This is the very first photo that I have ever scrapped of our wedding.
This layout came together really really quickly. The longest part was typing the journaling.
Cutting a scalloped border when you're stone cold sober is just as challenging, if not more so, as cutting a scalloped border when you're 3 sheets to the wind...or at least 3 glasses of wine to the wind. Might need to look into some scallop border punches.
Stampin' Up! (plug for Stacey) has the.best.rubons.ever. Ever. The florally scrolly stuff down the left side of the journaling block is a SU! rubon as is the You Make Me Happy in the lower right corner of the photo. They just rub on so easily. They're grrrrreat!
KEV is spelled using atd self adhesive acrylic alphas.
Patterned papers are from DCWV black & white stack.
When you go through your stash, you can find things that fit perfectly on your page (like those rubons). And when you find something that fits perfectly, it's almost like Christmas. Such a gift.
Kev really does make me happy.

Challenge 2a - Champions On Ice

2009-01-21T21:13:00.003-05:00

This whole ScRaP SiStaZ thing has me so motivated to scrap! scrap! scrap! Granted, it's only week two, so the motivation may run out at some point. But for now, I am LOVING it!!

For Challenge 2a, I had wanted to scrapbook Liam's 5th birthday party at the Tigers game, but I could not find the photos due to my big jumble-y mess of a photo storage system pre-2006. So, I scrapped a more recent topic, instead. Kev, Jordyn, & Liam ice skating on our lake earlier this month. How CURRENT of me!!

I gave Liam two choices for the title:

Hillarys on Ice
Champions on Ice

He chose Champions.

Champions on Ice - Double Layout

Champions on Ice - Left side of layout

Champions on Ice - Ride side of layout

I liked scrapping this topic, because I was able to use the same colors as the inspiration layout, so it took the guesswork out for me. If you'll notice, I used the exact same CTMH (plug! for Kim) light blue snowflake patterned paper as the inspiration layout (didn't realize that until I had made my decision on what papers to use).

Other products I used:

Snowflake brads (Recollection) bought at Michael's specifically for this project...go to Michael's to exchange a broken paper punch, come out $27 later. Oy!
Vellum snowflake stickers adhered to the photos themselves (also bought specifically for this project)
Marvy 2" square punch (exchanged the broken one at Michael's for one that works!)
Amy's cast off dark blue snow flake patterned paper
Ice Skates die cut / thingy's (Jolee's) - I already had these on hand, imagine that! Amazing what you can find in your stash if you just LOOK!

So excited to do Challenges 1b & 2b!!

One Big Jumble-y Mess

2009-01-21T09:53:00.000-05:00

So, my big goal for this year's "scrapbook more" resolution is to create a birthday book for each of the kids by 4/25 (Owen's 5th birthday).

Then, every year when their birthday rolls around, I'll add another birthday lay out to the album.

This goal sounds easy enough....if I could just find photos from each of their birthdays!!

Most of 2006, all of 2006, and all of 2008 are good to go. Organized like a champ.

The first half of 2006 and before?!? UGH....NOOOOO rhyme or reason whatsoever to the photo organization....er, should I say DISorganization?!? No common naming convention, no logical folder structure. Just one big jumble-y mess of pictures.

Imagine a shoebox filled with random photos....stacks of shoe boxes, filled with random photos. That's precisely where I'm at except that the shoe boxes are digital.

And, not only are they digital but they are on our home PC which is an unreliable, slow, dinosaur of a machine that already crashed on us once (that we paid $500 to fix so I could get my pictures off of it). Only, I never got my pictures OFF of it, they're still on there.

I'm going to need to spend a good 60-80 hours getting them organized. And getting organized is KEY to speedy scrapping.

It's a necessary evil, but I've gotta do it.

I already started last night by backing up everything to CDs. I already made 5 discs and have many more to go. Then, I'm going to copy the pictures from my CDs to our external hard drive. Why, you ask, don't I just back things up directly from the dinosaur to the external hard drive? Good question. Good answer...the dinosaur does not have a high speed USB port to which I can connect the external hard drive. That would be too easy.

So, instead of scrapping another birthday last night, I scrapped some ice skating pictures taken earlier this month (and organized beautifully).

Don't even get me started on the pre-2002 non-digital pictures! Oy. Vay.

Challenge 1a - Owen turns One!

2009-01-19T22:06:00.004-05:00

So, I finally replaced the magenta cartridge and was able to print the pictures that I had originally wanted to use for the first challenge (but wasn't able to). I changed it up a bit by using a block of wallets in an 8.5 x 11 area on the right side of the spread.

This is actually a double page layout with an additional single page layout for a third page.

It's going in Owen's birthday album. Birthdays 1, 3, & 4 complete. Need to do #2 and his album is DONE!! Until 4/25, anyway!

Owen turns One - Double Lay Out

Owen turns One - Left side of Double Lay Out:

Owen turns One - Right side of Double Lay Out:

How to Eat Cake - Single Lay Out:

As I was putting the Double Page Lay Out together, I had everything complete except for the title. I was agonizing over how to do it, what it should say, what I should use for it, etc. when Jordyn came into my office.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm just not loving this lay out." I replied.

"Hmm, well it looks ok, but I'd change the background paper. That doesn't really go," was her unsolicited advice.

"Uh, thanks, but no thanks. Besides the fact that I didn't ask you for an opinion, the background paper is already glued down, thankyouverymuch. Don't you have someone you need to go text?"

TEENAGERS!

So, I still want to do Challenge 1b, and of course I will move on to Challenge 2 as soon as possible.

Let's just hope I don't run out of Cyan in the process!

The End of the Beginning

2009-01-15T20:53:00.001-05:00

As if I wasn't sad enough about the effect of today's economic times in my own backyard, it seems my favorite scrapbook magazine is closing its pages. Goodbye Simple.

Challenge 1a - Kevin at his Best

2009-01-14T22:38:00.004-05:00

My one and ONLY new year's resolution this year was to scrapbook more. And these ScRaP SiStaZ challenges are a perfect way for me to stay good on that goal.

Check out the first challenge here.

My first challenge with this challenge was the Magenta debacle.

My second challenge with this challenge was then trying to print the pictures that I wanted to scrap with AT Meijer (for Owen's 1st birthday). I wanted to do a combo of 4x6 and wallets, but at Meijer, when you print wallets, you have to get two wallets of the same photo. Uh, uh. No thanks. I'll wait for Magenta to come back in stock.

My third challenge with this challenge was trying to find photos that I already had around the house so that I could scrap a different project than what I had intended (I am NOT a mass photo printer in advance kind of girl. Unless I have a project to do, my photos do NOT get printed).

The photos that I found were not from an "event", but I made them work. They were left over photos that I had printed for a Father's Day project last year.

So here it is...."Kevin at his Best"

Now, I'm not as analytical between my layout and the original layout as Mindy (this is scraplifting, after all). And I'm not as carbon copied or obsessive about my layout as Kim (love you Kim!). And I'm really proud of Amy for letting the wrinkled ribbon "go", because it's the memory that counts...not the ribbon.

But, here are some of my observations about completing this challenge.

1. It sucks to not be able to print my own photos.
2. Cutting out a scalloped border after 3-5 glasses of wine is NOT easy.
3. It sucks to not be able to print my journaling and to have to use my own handwriting instead (ESPECIALLY after 4-5 glasses of wine).
4. Scrapbooking with a 4 year old hanging off your left side and a 7 year old hanging off your right side is a pain in the tookus. Note to self - get a lock for the office door.
5. It was REALLY hard for me to take a picture of this layout so that everyone could tell just how totally smoking hot my husband looks in the matted photo (that doggone glare kept flaring up!)

And here are some details about the products I used.

1. The patterned paper is from DCWV's Old World Stack.
2. The alpha stamps are all CTMH (plug! for Kim)... "at his" - Amore Lowercase, "Best" - Delightful Alphabet.
3. I used several Stampin' Up products (plug! for Stacey)... scallop punch (matted behind KEViN chipboard letters), Photo corner punch - I guess both of those are really EK success purchased through Stampin' Up, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip marker and ink pad.
4. Chatterbox Chocolate box letters self adhesive chipboard, but they don't really stick unless I use my ZIG 2 way glue in the blue pen dispenser.

Looking forward to Challenge 2! Or even possibly completing a second layout for Challenge 1!

Oh, Magenta

2009-01-13T22:16:00.000-05:00

So, I spent at least an hour tonight editing and choosing the pictures to use in my very first ScRap SiStaZ challenge.

When I went to print them, ONE photo printed instead of five before my Magenta ink cartridge ran out of ink.

Now, I have spare ink cartridges for Black, Cyan, Light Cyan, and even Light Magenta. But no spare Magenta.

So, what do I do at 9:45 pm on a "school night"?

I trek up to Meijer...in the nearly sub zero temperatures...IN MY PAJAMAS!

Guess what one ink cartridge they were OUT of?

Magenta.

2Peas $20

2009-01-12T19:31:00.002-05:00

Check it out - Get $20 at 2Peas for uploading projects!! Here's the email they sent me!

It's 2009 - a new year and new projects to create. and guess what? we want to see them! even better? We're going to reward you for showing all of us what you've been creating! How's $20 for the next time you shop here at two peas sound? Pretty good, right? We've listened to the community's feedback and have made uploading your projects easier than ever before. If you haven't tried it yet, here's your chance to get familiar with it! Simply click on the "upload a new project" link in the member gallery drop down menu and aw ay you go!

So here are the details to earn your shopping money...
When you're uploading your NEW never previously uploaded to two peas projects you must make your layouts public. we want to see what you've been up to, remember?

Be sure to give your project a title and tell us about it in a descriptive paragraph. You know - why you did what you did, why you used what you used, who you were inspired by, etc.

Your projects must have at least FIVE tags associated with them - your fellow peas will thank you as it makes searching the gallery so much easier when you use tags!

Your projects must have at least THREE products related to them - others like to see the exact products you've used.

Your projects must NOT have links to other sites - this includes other stores, blogs, etc. if it is a web address, it shouldn't be anywhere when uploading.

About that $20 - after you've uploaded 20 projects to the gallery following these guidelines, you'll receive a $20 store credit to use the next time you shop. so ready, set, upload - let's see those projects!

please note that you can only earn one coupon which must be used prior to 2.28.09 and projects must be uploaded between Thursday, January 8th, 2009 12:00 a.m. and Saturday, January 31st, 2009 11:59 p.m. to receive your coupon.

GanGstA ScrAppA

2009-01-10T09:43:00.001-05:00

I can not WAIT to get going on our first ScRap SiStaZ challenge!

First, I need to:

1. Overhaul the Playroom (nothing to do with scrapping, but long overdue)
2. Get my Scrap Space in order (rearrange a couple of drawers, a shelf, a storage bench)
3. Figure out all of the cards I need to send out (thank yous, birthday, anniversary, and get set for ALL of 2009!!)
4. Find my big camera
5. Organize my most recently taken photos
6. Decide what topic(s) I'm going to do for the challenge
7. Find and edit and print the pictures
8. SCRAP

Oy, I might get this challenge done by 2010!

xoxo