December Daily Update

As usual, this month has flown by and totally gotten away from me.  I think my goal for 2013 is going to be better time management. I need it! 

I am still trucking along with my December Daily album but I will have to play catch up after Christmas.  I am going to work on it more today.  I am halfway through the month though so at least I am not starting at the beginning.

I took these photos over a week ago and haven’t had any time to get them added to the blog.  I changed my format after a week of feeling uninspired.  I picked up a Snap! album from Archivers and I love the everything about these albums.  So far I have left the cover plain.  I don’t think I will be adding anything to it.

My title page is simple:

Days 1 & 2:

My December Daily albums tend to be repetitive.  I always end up putting the photo in the same place and then adding simple journaling.

Day 3:

This year I am adding quotes and song lyrics to my album.  This idea for the Elf quote came from the Write.Click.Scrapbook. blog and I loved it.  My mom is letting me borrow her Silhouette so this projects is easy. 

I will share some more pages, eventually.  I need to make a list of things to do and stick with it.  I really am terrible with time management these days.  I have let so many things slide that I normally wouldn’t and I end up being angry with myself.  Grrr!  It is such a terrible cycle to be stuck in.

Merry Christmas!

You Make Me Happy Layout

Wouldn’t you know my scrappy mojo came back just a couple of weeks before the movers come and I don’t have much time left to scrap.  That is my luck, for sure!

I checked out Frosted Designs this morning and saw they still have some NSD challenges open so I played along with Heather’s challenge to use strips of paper on a layout.  I had so many strips leftover from the layout I completed yesterday so I went to work to use up as many as I could. 

 

All the products used are, once again, from the Echo Park “This & That Graceful” collection.  I think Echo Park knocked this line right out of the park.  I love it!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Echo Park NSD Challenge #1

The fabulous folks at Echo Park released a challenge to create a card within 2 hours.  While this card didn’t come close to taking 2 hours to create it took me a long time to decide on what line of amazing Echo Park products to use. 

I was in need of a card for one of my beautiful cousins who graduates from college today and decided to go away from a traditional cap/gown theme and went for a simple but pretty card made with Echo Parks This & That Graceful line.  I added some foam dots behind both flower for some pop and then some pretty pearls from Kaisercraft to finish it off. 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

Beautiful Sisters Layout

It has been nearly 6 weeks since I have completed a layout and while I was missing my scrapping time, I was busy and just couldn’t get to it.  We returned from a trip to Disneyland Paris last week and I was ready to jump back in.  I had a box of new supplies waiting for me from Emma’s Paperie when we got home full of Echo Park’s This & That Graceful along with some fun ribbons and the new Dear Lizzy line as well. 

Club CK posted a 1 hour recipe challenge and I knew I wanted to play along this week.  I remembered the cute sketch from Frosted Designs and pulled my supplies together and got to work.  I loved using this sketch and the gorgeous Echo Park papers.  I even used my sewing machine and stitched a quick border along the page and a zigzag stitch around the circle.  The yellow ribbon is from Maya Road and I just love it!  I bought a bunch of colors. 

I think this was the perfect challenge to jump back into scrapping.  I better spend more time on my hobby before all my stuff is packed up for a few months!  We are waiting for JG to get his orders so we can schedule the movers and then get our airline tickets to fly back to the USA.  Ohhhhh boy, I cannot wait to be back in the states..only 3 more months left here! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

The Best Laid Plans….

Well, I wanted to share my December Daily album today, or at least parts of it, but I just don’t have enough sunlight or energy for that matter to get photos taken. The prints arrived from Shutterfly on Thursday and I had most of the photos added that night and finished it up on Friday.  I spent a little bit of time adding journaling where it was needed and now my book is complete!

However, it is overcast here today and I have come down with a cold that just has my energy level depleted.  Lolo came down with the cold last weekend and a week later she still has a lingering cough and sore throat.  Aubrey, JG and I all started to come down with the same symptoms on Saturday and I am worn out!  Hopefully this passes quickly so I can get on with my life!

I do have one page and it didn’t really photograph well but I do like the way the pages came together and this might be my favorite day for the entire December Daily album.  It is a little bit hybrid but mostly paper layout using bits of Echo Park and some older Ali Edwards products from Designer Digitals.

I also have a layout using the photo from our visit with Santa.  This photo also went into the December Daily album but I loved the photo so I made a 12x12 layout to go into our regular album.  I received the fantastic Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas products from my Club CK Secret Santa, Jodi!  I love these papers so much!  So happy with a nice mix of traditional/non-traditional Christmas colors. 

I do hope everyone had a great weekend and that Monday is nice to you!

“Leafing” Memories Behind Blog Hop

Good morning!  Thanks for swinging by my home in cyber space as you hop along to some of my peeps’ blogs for the Leafing Memories Behind Blog Hop.  You should have arrived here from Amanda’s blog Love Joy Paper.  The theme for this hop was leaves and I knew the photos I wanted to use right away. 

We took a trip up to Dresden, Germany last fall and we found this small but beautiful courtyard in front of an old church.  The trees were a fantastic yellow and there were huge leaves all over the ground.  The girls played with the leaves while JG went up into the church.  They had so much fun!
I just purchased some Bazzill Two Scoops Cardstock in various colors to include the “Moose Tracks” (rich brown color) recently and was excited to try it out.  I lightly sanded it to expose the vanilla color beneath the brown. I didn’t add a big title because I liked the title on the journaling card so I left it at that.

Here is a list of supplies that I used for this LO:
Bazzill Basics Cardstock in Apricot
Bazzill Basics Two Scoops Cardstock in Moose Tracks
Bella Blvd Finally Fall “At the Patch” and “Cute Cuts”
Cosmo Cricket 2” Glüber for the base of my ribbon flower
American Crafts ribbon – Brown
Maya Road ribbon – Pink
Stampin’ Up! Early Espresso Ink

Here is a photo of the church so you can see why we loved this little spot.  I loved the contrast between the colors of the leaves, the blue sky with wispy clouds and the gorgeous church steeple.  I love the fall and the opportunities for getting some stunning photos! 


Thanks for hopping over today!  If you want to win some yummy German cookies and chocolate become a follower and leave me a comment telling me your favorite fall drink and I will pick a winner Sunday at 12 PST.  I love apple cider but it is hard to come by here.  I cannot wait to be back in the USA next fall so I can get some fresh cider because I really miss it!

Next stop is Ashley’s blog, Ashley’s Paper Doll.  She is über talented and I bet she has an amazing project to share with you.  If you want to join in on the fun you can create your own leafy project and link it to Amanda’s blog to win a prize of your own.

Enjoy hopping along and I hope you have a great weekend!

Her Smile

 

I always get sad looking back on pictures of the girls.  Lolo’s sweet smile just melts my heart.  She was just 5 weeks old when this photo was taken in May 2008.  Time is moving at lightning speed and my heart is begging for it to slow down. 

I played along with Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays Layout Sketch 22 from August 23rd.  I am just under the noon deadline and glad that I played along.  I changed up the circle part of the sketch but kept the cluster of embellishments and the flourish.  I hand stitched the flourish's and used stickles on the top of the white flowers to make them stand out.  I printed a quote I found online onto a transparency and added it below the cluster.  It reads “Her smile beams like sunshine, which fills our hearts with love.” 

 

 

Here is the original sketch:

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Beach Layout

I am always amazed at how fast life is passing me by.  These photos of Aubrey are from 3 years ago.  We went to Ocean Shores,WA one last time before we moved overseas.  I loved going to that beach even if it wasn’t the kind where you dip  your toes into the water because it is just too cold.  Within minutes Aubrey was wet and muddy and having fun. 

I used the 8/4 Sketchy Thursday sketch to finally get these photos scrapped.  I sorted some of my photos last week and this sketch was just perfect for them.  I also added this layout to the Club CK Summer Camp challenge of the day which was to use colored pencils or paint on a layout.  I colored the circles with watercolor pencils, inked the edges and added a bit of Stickles to mimic the bubbles on the patterned paper.

I just love the Cosmo Cricket Salt Air line.  The colors are perfect and the embellies are adorable.  I cannot get enough of Cosmo Cricket.  I used my Cricut and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge to cut the title. 

This page came together quickly for me and I am always happy to get our stories told. 

Have a great day!

The More You Read…

I have been pretty busy busting out layouts since JG deployed.  It has been two weeks and I am glad I have the distraction.  I have been working on pages late at night after the girls have gone to bed and JG and I have finished up our Skype call or late morning while the girls play and watch some preschool shows on TV.

This layout is from the Sketchy Thursdays sketch for the September Guest Design Team spot.  They mentioned doing a reading themed page and I knew immediately which pictures to use.  Last year Club CK had a back to school challenge to take a photo of your kids with their favorite books or something back to school-ish.  I stacked up their favorite books on the table and I got some great shots.  I didn’t pose the girls…Aubrey is a ham! 

Let’s talk page details!  I am so pleased with the way this layout came together.  Obviously the page sketch was fantastic and I all did was make it my own.  I had picked up the Echo Park Little Girl digi paper pack from Jessica Sprague this week when it was featured on One Buck Wednesday.  The colors are so cheery and I loooooove me some Echo Park.  So I printed a couple pages onto cardstock and then punched out the circles and inked the edges pink.  The flowers are made from pages in a book that I read and didn’t like!  I cut the pages into 1 inch strips and then used a Fiskar’s border punch and made the scalloped edges.  I also inked the edges and then folded them into a circle.  Add a pretty circle center and you have easy flowers.

The quote was a long one and I had to mix colors because I didn’t have enough t’s and e’s to use just one color.  I also had plans to stitch the words but that didn’t work out since I had limited space.  So I layered the “read” and “learn” into a scrap of patterned paper, trimmed away the excess and outlined with a black pen.   

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

Proud!

I have really loved all the fantastic sketch sites that are out there these days.  I find so much inspiration and actually complete layouts!  My album is filling quickly and it is nearly time to purchase some more.

The other day I was organizing my photos and came across this photo of myself from my Air Force days.  I am proud of the time I spent on active duty, the job I did and the life long friends I made.  I don’t have many photos of myself in uniform so it is important to me to use the ones I do have.

I used the Sketchy Thursdays 8/4 sketch and got to work.  The papers are My Mind’s Eye’s American Made line.  I love the traditional red, white and blue colors with the prints that they selected for this line. 

I used a star die to make the stars.  First I cut them from scrap paper and then inked up a small sponge and colored in the stars.  I went over it with a black fine point gel pen.  I used a small pair of scissors to cut around parts of the stars and then slide the patterned paper underneath.

I hand stitched the title with some floss and machine stitched around the edges of the patterned paper and the white cardstock.  I added foam squares to the back of some stars to lift them off the page and brads to the top of the banner. 

I am happy with this layout and it surprises me since I don’t like to do pages about me!  However, I scrapbook for my daughters and I did this for them.  I am our family historian and this is part of our history. 

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Home for the Holidays

This is a quick layout I made while playing along with Frosted Designs  Sketch Along Tuesdays June 28 sketch challenge.  I used a sheet of Cosmo Cricket's Mitten Weather along with the coordinating Ready Set Chipboard embellishments.  The green twine is from Martha Stewart, the cute pom pom trim was from a friend on the Club CK board.  I busted out my sewing machine and stitched down the edges.

Easy.  Simple.  Quick!  Here is the sketch:

 

Thanks for stopping by to have a look!

Just Like Dad

This week I was inspired by the Sketchy Thursdays sketch and pulled out a favorite photo of mine and got to work. I am so very pleased with the way this one came together and it is the first layout I have been happy with in a few weeks. The last few were just *meh* for me. I think it might have to do with the fabulous colors in Echo Parks Summer Days papers though. I am pretty sure you could not be grumpy while working with these cheery products.

I pulled out a small flower cookie cutter and cut a heart out of scraps before traceing them onto the cardstock. I pierced the paper and then used floss to sew the shapes. I like the look of hand stitching but I don't do it very often because I just don't have the patience to do it and I would rather use my sewing machine.

I just messed with my Blogger settings which I hope will fix the issue of not being able to leave comments. I also reverted back to the old settings versus the newer ones for now. I hope this will let me upload my photos without any more issues. I love blogging but lately it has been a headache.

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate you taking the time to visit me.

You Are My Sunshine

This photo of Lolo is one of my very favorites of my baby girl.  We had just set up their small pool last summer and she was having such a good time in the water. She paused for just a second to stare at something and I snapped the photo.  The lighting was perfect and her face so sweet. 

I used bits of Echo Park's Summer Days papers left over from the layout I did for Aubrey's album.  I used a May 2011 Page Maps sketch as my starting point.  I stayed pretty true to the sketch and loved the outcome.  I really feel the papers help the photo stand out and I also like the contrast in colors.

I love this easy, quick and fun layout.  I have become a huge fan of Echo Park and they have really been knocking it right out of the park with their releases.  I can't wait to see what they come out with next.

Sweet Summer Day Layout

I really liked this weeks sketch from Sketchy Thursdays and I had plenty of time to play along.  I used fun papers and embellishments from Echo Park's Summer Days collection.  The bright colors in the supplies perfectly complimented the photo.  I used the computer to type my journaling, something I haven't done in a while.  I thought about adding some machine stitching along the outer edge but didn't feel like dragging out the machine so I used a pink colored pencil to add a thin border.  To make the sun cardstock sticker pop I put it on white cardstock, trimmed away the access and added some foam squares to the lift it off the page. 

To be honest, sketches and challenges help keep my scrappy mojo going.  I have ton of photos and lots of product in my stash but I over think what I want to do and then end up not getting anything done.  Having a starting point makes things so much easier for me.  I don't stress about the process and I enjoy scrapping again.  While I may not love every single layout I am thankful that I finished a page and can share the story.  Isn't that the reason why most of us scrapbook?  To share the story?  I sometimes lose sight of that but when my girls ask to look at their scrapbooks I love my hobby even more.  Because I know it matters, at least to them.  And that is all that matters to me. 

Sketchy Thursdays 4/28 Sketch

We just returned from vacation and I had a box of scrappy supplies waiting for me.  I was so excited to dig right into them. I loved this weeks Sketchy Thursdays sketch and was excited to pick out some photos to get started.  Club CK is also celebrating National Scrapbooking Day all week and on Monday they had a challenge to scrap three photos taken with your cell phone.  I was inspired to get these cute photos of my girls while we were on a lunch date at Macaroni Grill off my iPod Touch and into my scrapbook.  Two challenges completed with one layout makes me a very happy scrapper!

All the product used on this layout is from Cosmo Cricket's Upcycle line.  I love the colors and the little flower button is adorable.  The only extras that were not from Cosmo Cricket are the staples and the floss I used to thread my buttons. 

Since the iPod Touch doesn't have a great camera I used the Instagram App to add a fun look to the photos.  The app is free and I totally recommend it!  Actually, I am pretty addicted to it.  I take more photos with my iPod since I downloaded the app about a month ago. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Scrapbook on the Road Class Review

We just returned from one week vacation through Belgium, Holland and Germany.  In preparation for our trip I decided to sign up for Ali Edwards' Scrapbook on the Road online workshop and I am so very happy that I did. 

I always struggle with scrapping our trips because we take so many (not trying to brag, so please don't take it that way).  Since we have been stationed in Germany and are only here for a few years we try to travel as much as possible on long weekends and when JG can take leave.  We know that we will not be able to travel so extensively in Europe once we head back to the USA.  Anyways, I read the class description and decided that this may very well be the best way for me to get our vacation photos into a scrapbook.  The idea is similar to Ali's December Daily album as you create the foundation pages before you begin your trip.

First I listened to the keynote video and I was so inspired to finally document our trips as we are traveling and not trying to remember the details and feelings months (or more likely years) later.  I loved Ali's ideas for saving the pieces of memorabilia that is collected along the way and immediately incorporating them into your book.  I have ziplock bags full of bits and pieces of our trips and it is just sitting on the shelf waiting for me to use it and I know I probably never will. 

Second, I began putting together my foundation pages using supplies I had on hand.  I love projects in which I don't have to purchase a single thing!  I was able to put my pages together quickly and loved the creative process.  Ali shares a few techniques and I was excited to give them a go.  I decided I wanted my album to be 6x8 inches and created my cover using pieces of chipboard I had on hand.  Then I cut my pages to fit.

The cover of my scrapbook

The third part comes while you are actually on vacation....you document your trip and add your bits of memorabilia to your album.  I was hopeful that I would remember actually take the time to document at the end of the day and I found out that I was actually excited to write down my experiences. 
The final step is to add your photos but I haven't had a chance to upload and order our prints yet.  I can't wait to select my favorite pictures and add them into my album. 

The class was $14 and I consider it to be money well spent!  I was on such a roll making foundation pages that I made too many and now have them to add to my next book.  I am looking forward to using this process for all of our future trips and am so relieved to finally get our vacation photos off the computer and into an album.

Blessed Layout

I completed this layout months ago, maybe November.  It was a gallery highlight over at Club CK for the week it was posted!  I took the photos while we were in Krakow, Poland last summer.  I loved the photos but they are a little orange because we were sitting under a big orange umbrella.  I forgot to try and fix it in PSE before I had them printed.  James is doing his best Rock impersonation in the photo!  It makes me smile when I see it.

The brown cardstock that I used as the base is Bazzill.  The patterned paper and embellishments are from the Basic Grey Pyrus collection.  I went along the edges of the papers with a white chalk ink before I adhered them down.  I used my sewing machine to add stitching around the outside edge and to form my journaling lines. 

Thanks for stopping by today!



Sketchy Thursdays Layout

After seeing Sketchy Thursdays mentioned many times on the Club CK forums I thought I would check it out.  I work better when there is a challenge and I do like using sketches so I completed a layout for the Sketchy Thursdays' challenge this week.  This is my first time playing along and I am pretty pleased with the way this one turned out.

I used Bo Bunny papers and pom pom ribbon and some Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Stickers for my title.  I used a Martha Stewart scalloped circle punch to cut the snowflakes from the patterned paper that are on the top.  I also used a Fiskars border punch along the top and bottom of the page.  Finally, I used my sewing machine to add some stitching.  My thread was a verigated purple and white and I like it on this page. 

It sure is nice to get to use older photos too!  These photos were taken in January 2010.  If it wasn't for challenges and sketches I don't think I would get nearly as many layouts finished. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy March

Can you believe it is March 1st?  Wow!  The first two months of the year have really flown by.  2011 has been good so far but the tough parts are coming.  James will be away for training most of March and then preparing for an inspection that may have him working late for a bit.  Then yet another (hopefully the last) deployment later in the year.  We have some good things mixed in like a couple of trips including a nice long one in June.  On top of all if this we are still trying to figure out where in the USA we want to settle down once James retires from the Air Force next year. 

Enough about life!  Here is a layout I made just last week.  I was inspired by the incredibly talented Elizabeth Kartchner to create this page.  I like it minus the overly pink journaling block.  I tried to tame it with stickles but it didn't help.  The bright pink just stands out against the peachy colors on the page.  I snapped the photo of Lolo back in November but just had it printed off last month.  The title is from an older Jessica Andrews song called "I Wish For You" and I have always wanted to do a layout using it. 

That is all I have today!  I hope you have a fantastic Tuesday!

My Dolls

Have I mentioned how much I love Club CK's 1-Hour Challenges?  Because I really, really do!  I made this page for a challenge back in December.  I am so thankful for these challenges as I actually get layouts completed.  I find I need a kick in the rear to get layouts done sometimes. 

The photo was taken last spring at the Keukenhof Gardens in Holland.  The have a new theme every year and last year it was "From Russia with Love".  When we came upon these large matryoshka dolls I knew it would make for a cute photo.  It is seriously one of my most favorite photos of the girls and me!

I used Bazzill cardstock for the base.  The patterned paper and chipboard embellishments are from Cosmo Cricket's Pixie-Licious line.  The black felt stickers are from American Crafts and the purple ricrak is from Maya Road.  The pink and purple bling is from Kaisercraft.  I used a Fiskars border punch for the journaling spot and on the blue patterned paper below the photo.

Thanks for stopping by today!