Donuts = Happiness

I've been scrapbooking for a while now - 18 years! I started in 1999 while I was in college. I wanted to make an album for my boyfriend of the fun things we'd done together. He must have liked it since he's now my husband. 

I've seen many changes in this hobby. From the small section in Wal-Mart that started me off to big local scrapbook stores, to online shopping, this hobby has seen many changes. A big change I've noticed, especially recently for me personally, is a lack of knowing anyone who scrapbooks. Well, that's not quite true. I do know some people but, for whatever reason, it's not something many of them are currently doing. I was never one for big crops, but I like having someone to socialize with sometimes!

We got a wonderful new music teacher at school this year. As much as I loved him, I found that I loved his wife even more. She's got a great sense of humor, loves Doctor Who, and wanted to start scrapbooking! When a weekend came up that both of us were looking for something to do, scrappy plans just fell into place. After all our fun, I had to scrapbook it - of course!

We started our Saturday with donuts because every good scrappy weekend needs junk food! There is a wonderful local donut shop in our town now. I love to go there whenever I have a proper excuse. My waistline can't handle "it's morning" as a good reason. 

Donuts = Happiness uses Family Frenzy by Bella Blvd. It's a relatively new collection compared to most of my stash having come out in summer of 2015. I really liked the bright colors when I bought it. The donut paper was an obvious choice for this layout.  I punched them with a circle punch and used them accents all over the page. 

A Project Life 6x6 pad (Desktop maybe?) and some BoBunny Double Dot for the background completed my paper choices. I found some glitter/holographic domed stickers that reminded me of enamel dots at the dollar store. The wide variety of colors worked very well. Paper tape by Bella Blvd, Thickers, and inking with Distress Ink completed my layout. 

When You Don't Like a Layout

I know it's happened to most of us. We make a layout. We spend time (and usually a fair bit of money) working hard to preserve a memory. Finally, we finish, sit back, and frown. There's something wrong. That happened to me recently. I followed a sketch on 2PeasRefugees and was unhappy with my results. In all honesty, the sketch wasn't necessarily one that sang to me to begin with. It had large circles - a shape that's not inspired me much recently. I wanted to try it though Bloom, Dear One was the result.

Elizabeth had recently tried on her new Captain American dress to wear to a comic book convention we were meeting a friend at later that day. I snapped this quick picture and thought it captured how she's starting to grow up. I signed and dated the back and brought it downstairs to put into the 2017 album. And then I couldn't stop thinking about it. I uploaded the picture to the challenge and still couldn't stop thinking about it. It felt off...not quite done. But, what was wrong?

After much thought, it came down to two things. Just a note - this is me. It's my thought process. I'm sure many would look at this page and think it's just fine. The conclusions I drew after dwelling on it though are related. Most of my layouts include inking around the edges. Since I wanted this to be a lighter layout, I didn't ink. I wasn't sure what color to use anyway. Black or brown would be too heavy. With the variety of spring colors, I didn't know what to use unless I used every color. This was a decision I made from the beginning before I starting cutting into my paper.

The other thing though, I think is related. The plaid "weave" of the background paper is very open. There's nothing wrong with that. Since I didn't ink though, it feels like the entire layout is open. Like it continues to flow off the pages into the world around it. I finally figured that out after staring at this photo for a while. It needed a border - something to keep everything in. I asked for suggestions on 2PR and finally decided to go with just a plain pink cardstock board. I trimmed off two sides just a bit and matted the entire layout.

I am so much happier with the overall look now. Finally, it feels done. I did nothing else but add that border (and the date in the lower corner apparently). It's finished now. I have it in my stack of layouts to bring downstairs and insert into albums. Now, I'm quite happy with it. Have you ever changed a layout before? Either in a minor or major way? What did you do? Are you happy with the end product after the change? 

Here are some detail shots before I go. Have a great scrappy day!

Wish

One thing I added to my March Build Your Own Kit was a 3x4 wooden card I bought from Two Peas in a Bucket way back when.  I hadn't recently started Project Life, but I was just starting to branch away from the card kits and adding more unique items. Sadly, this card was too thick to easily slip into a pocket. It's sat there, staring at me, waiting patiently to be used.

Finally, it's layout came. I adore how it works on this page. Even though it's a picture of my daughter sleeping as an infant, I wrote to my eight year old daughter. I've done a couple pages like this and years later it ends up being my favorite journaling.

In addition to the wooden card, the pink paper is from BoBunny's Double Dot collection. The stripes and vellum are Shimelle Laine's Starshine collection with American Crafts. The yellow star paper is Basic Grey's Oh! Baby Boy. The glitter lace paper is from so long ago I don't know who made it. From my kit I've pulled washi, sequins, my Citrus Twist stamp, and my Amy Tangerine roller stamp.

Picnic Time

My March Build Your Own Kit was once again used for this layout. It features a photo of my daughter's indoor picnic. She used to always pull down the kitchen towel and set things up on the other side of the island. I'd come around the corner and find her pouring tea for her animals or sharing food with her toys. Those were such happy memories that I just had to document them.

My base paper is from Amy Tangerine's Better Together collection. I bought the paper pad and have hardly used it. I need to pull some more papers. I love the colors used there. I also used papers from Shimelle's Starshine collection, Bo Bunny's Double Dot, and some lime green mulberry paper I had in my stash.  Remember when that was all the rage?

The embellishment clusters all feature something crocheted from Bella Blvd and wooden hearts from Studio Calico. I used stickers from my kit by October Afternoon for my title. 

I'm finally done with with my Heidi Swapp wood veneer words! I'm so happy to use them up. They look so much better on my pages than hanging in my scrapbook room. I also used the Citrus Twist stamp I pulled out. I think it was just perfect for this picture.

My last cluster featured a blue Bella Blvd feather. I couldn't fathom how to use those way back when they arrived in my Bella Blvd warehouse box. Now, I just love the softness they add to a layout. I really hope they last. 

What do you think? I have more pages to show you from my kit, plus the April Build Your Own Kit had also been pulled and I've been busy scrapping with that one too. So much scrappy fun. Spring break is just around the corner!

Hello, Soccer Mom

Well, it was bound to happen at some point. This non-athletic woman became a soccer mom. I know next to nothing about soccer. We signed my daughter up with a friend and they played together for three seasons (A fourth they were on different teams but that is the season-that-shall-not-be-named.) it was a lot of fun to hang out with my friend while our kids played. There is little funnier than watching five year olds attempt to kick a soccer ball. Sadly, it looks like my daughter may have inherited my lack of athleticism. Soccer is a thing of the past now that they split teams by gender. She didn't want to play without her friend. 

For this layout I used my March Build Your Own Kit. The paper is by Basic Grey, ribbon by Making Memories, hello by Heidi Swapp, soccer embellishment from the Project Life soccer theme kit, letter stickers by October Afternoon, and various random things that I generally can't recall from where. A lot of those embellishment come from a variety of kit clubs I subscribe/subscribed to at some point. After a few months, I take everything left from the kit and split it up by color. 

For spending two years watching my daughter play, this is the first layout I've ever done. I love how it turned out. It perfectly captures a time in our lives that likely won't appear again. That's what scrapbooking is all about, isn't it?

Mmm...Bacon

What a month! It's been busy at school and home. I've been scrapping with some kits I've made but have been slacking on the sharing and blogging. Let's get right to it.

This layout I made with my March BYOK. Check out the video of what's in my kit here.  My daughter drew a picture of a dinosaur thinking about bacon. She loves dinos and bacon. I thought it was such a funny combo! I trimmed it down from the 9x12" construction paper to a more usable size for me. I rarely scrapbook non-photo layouts so this was different for me. I love how it turned out though!

I have these wooden tags I got with a kit. I don't recall which because I've had them a while. It may have been Freckled Fawn. I didn't think the natural wood quite worked so I colored them with some Distress Ink. I dived into my baker's twine stash too. 

Since I colored the tag, I needed to color the Studio Calico wood veneer stars. I added punched tabs, enamel dots, and a word sticker to each embellishment cluster as well. My daughter was so surprised to see her artwork as a scrapbook page. She was grinning from ear to ear!

New Kit Challenge

So over at the 2PeasRefugees board, crystalb shared the Bash It Challenge. In talking to her about how great that challenge was for getting me to use some of my stash, she asked me for my input on a kit challenge she wanted to create. I am terrible at creating my own kit. I have to be honest and say that. I need more guidance. I can't just look at a picture and run to my stash and make a kit. I need a recipe. Get a striped paper, a floral, and a big pattern. Something like that. Well, Crystal delivered!  Here is my kit:

My kit, which I haven't named yet. Maybe I'll call it Take the Leap. As in, I'm taking a leap and actually making my own complete kit. How does that sound? Anyway, Take the Leap is full of a variety of papers and embellishments from an assortment of manufacturers. From cardstock to stripes, stars to stamps, this kit feels like it has a little bit of everything.

Here are all my papers. I have kraft, dark blue, pink, green, and yellow card stock. The pink, green, and yellow are all from BoBunny and have dots on one side and a soft brushed look on the other. I've always treated it as cardstock and not patterned paper so I will continue with that during this challenge. For patterned paper, I have supplies from October Afternoon, Shimelle, Echo Park, Amy Tangerine, Bella Blvd, and Basic Grey.

Embellishments were harder for me to gather. They're not perfect matches but should work. My messy element are the two spray mists - Heidi Swapp's Color Shine Gold and Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist in Teal High Heal. I pulled wooden elements and a small pack of sequins to use as bulky elements. The wooden tags are from a Freckled Fawn kit (I think). Small hearts from Studio Calico and two script words by Heidi Swapp. I have a 3x4 wooden card with "wish" and a star shape cut out of it. That was made by Two Peas in a Bucket. I had to have it and then never used it! This month, that sucker is getting on a page!

Next on the list was die cuts or ephemera. I have Simple Stories Summer Vibes Bits and Pieces. I also found a die cut work that's been on my magnetic board so long the paper backing has aged in color. It's the thin word "silly" I cut with my Cameo probably five years ago. I wish I was exaggerating with that time! I think it's Ali Edwards handwriting from a file I bought from Designer Digitals.

Moving on, for little letters sticker, I have some from Crate Paper and October Afternoon. I've already pulled another color of the OA letter stickers for the first layout I've already created from this kit. Stay turned for that post shortly. I grabbed two stamps - an Amy Tangerine roller stamp and an acrylic set from Citrus Twist kits from August 2014.

The final items were of our own choice. I grabbed a pack of ribbon from Making Memories. The date on the back is 2007! Ten years old and I haven't used even an inch of it. Washi had to be added so I chose two with metallic gold. Last but not least, two spools of bakers twine complete my kit.

So, what do you think? Head over to 2PeasRefugees and join us in the March Build Your Own Kit Challenge. I can't wait to see what you create! I'm going to leave you with some close up shots. Leave a comment on your favorite piece of the kit if you'd like!

All Tuckered Out

What is it about a sleeping toddler that makes everything seem all right with the world? After spending a long day at the Carolina Renaissance Festival in 2011, Little Miss was exhausted. She fell asleep before we even made it to the gas station to fill up on the drive home. I just had to snap a photo for instagram.  I'm so glad I did! Those peaceful moments are fleeting and so often we never remember to photograph them. This picture has always made me smile whenever I would flip through my photo stack. It's time it made it to a page!

Two Peas Refugees gave a March challenge that was a recipe.

• 1 photo or photo cluster
• 2 patterned papers
• 3 embellishment clusters
• 4 embellishments 

I've been contemplating that challenge since I saw it a few days ago. I knew I could do it. But...those two patterned papers...just two? Only two? But! There are so many gorgeous papers. How do I limit myself to two??

After thinking, I decided two would be simple. If it were the right two papers. Since a lot of patterned paper is double sided, I feel like using both sides is acceptable. One sheet...two sides. It doesn't say a thing about only two patterns showing! 

I decided to go with two sheets from Shimelle Laine's Starshine collection by American Crafts. There were a few reasons for this. The first was that they are gorgeous papers. I adore that collection as a whole. Another reason is because I bought two 25 packs of each of those papers at Tuesday Morning. I normally don't do that but it was only $2.99 a pack. So, if I used even three sheets from each pack, it's more than paid for itself. The final reason was because one of the sheets was one Shimelle designed to use as a cut apart sheet with various squares and rectangles of patterns. Galileo and Voyager were the perfect choices. 

Aren't they gorgeous? I just love all the different sizes and variety of patterns she used. These two as my patterned paper choices gave me so many options to work with. It was hard to hold myself back!

With a simple sheet of Kraft card stock as my background, all the different layers just came together. I used the A side of Voyager as my primary pattern. The B side is the first layer right under my photo.  All the other patterns came from Galileo - both A and B sides. 

I'm doing another challenge from 2PR called the Bash It Challenge. You pick five new things and five old things from your stash and use them. I used the feather, flair, gold mist (as paint on the wooden pinked circles) and my pinked circle punch for that challenge. I'm delighted to say I've now used up the pack of feathers and the pack of flair thanks to that challenge!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll leave a comment about your favorite pattern papers to use on layouts that you feel limited. How do you use what you have to stay within the boundaries of challenges?

Old New Supplies

I'm going through a bit of a Basic Grey phase right now. I want it all. I'm searching wherever possible for it. I may have just had a rather large box with 15 pounds of BG paper arrive at my house...but that's another post!

In early February, I found someone selling Hey Girl! They had most of a paper pad and a whole ton of embellishments. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see all the different embellishments were a mix of things I would have purchased on my own as well as some things I would usually purchase. (I'm looking at you, chipboard letters!) The seller had also included her scrap pieces. I was a little surprised but happy to have as much as possible. I set off to challenge myself to use those scrap pieces first. I was so happy with the two layouts I created. The only full sheets where the background pages. Everything else was from the set of scraps. 

Almost everything on both layouts is from the Basic Grey Hey Girl! collection. From my own stash I added Stickles, brown ink, some twine, staples, and one letter sticker (which isn't too noticeable sadly).  

Visions of Grandeur

We've all had that idea in our head that seemed amazing. It had to be done. You pull the supplies and get started, so excited about how it is going to turn out. Then...reality smacks you upside the head and leaves you wondering if you've lost your mind. 

Yeah, that was this layout. 

My daughter decided she wanted to dress up as Captain America for Halloween this past year. Husband bought her costume and she was beyond excited about it. As soon as it arrived, she tried it on and started posing. Hello! Dream moment for scrappy mom!

I was looking through my stacks of pictures to scrap and came across her poses. I knew Halloween paper wouldn't quite work. Technically, it wasn't Halloween anyway when I took the pictures. Just a day in early October. I thought I had some Fourth of July papers that would work. Sure enough, Bo Bunny provided. I haven't really purchased much from them in recent years but I had some of their Block Party collection from 2010. Using up my stash is my mantra for this 2017 so I found some sheets that would work. 

Then, it hit me. The Vision. The Big Idea. The thought that Must Be Done. Use my stash! Pull tools that are under a layer of dust! You can do it!  Yeah...I had the idea to outline the "rays" from the bottom right corner using my Sew Easy. Remember that tool? I think I've used it once or twice. This layout reminds me. I don't like sewing! Sewing the rays took three days. Mostly because sitting at my desk for long periods sewing drove me crazy. Then, as I'm sewing, I start comparing the stars to the one on the Captain America shield. Do you see where this is going? Sigh... I almost drove myself crazy. However, the layout turned out beautifully! So beautiful that I am already thinking about doing it again. Because, I must be nuts. Right?

Done with the rays! This is when I deciced stars would really be good too. 

I had to show the back. Oy!

The finished layout. So beautiful!

Lots of close up detail shots. I'm proud of this page, dang it!

Always Curious

This is my last layout of the strawberry picking photos. I think it's one of my favorite pictures of that day! Elizabeth always wants to explore and see everything around her. One reason I love this photo is how clearly it shows the height differences of my daughter and her friend. Her mom and I were college roommates and best friends. There's quite a bit of height difference between the two of us. We find it funny to see the same friendship blossoming between our daughters with that same height difference.

This was one of the first 6x6 challenges I set for myself. It started with the purple and white striped paper you see in the layer stack. It's a Dear Lizzie paper from 5th and Frolic. However, I couldn't find another sheet with purple to combine it with! Super frustrating. Going through my other stacks, I came across Studio Calico's Lemon Lush line. It has that same purple on some papers including an orange with white, purple, yellow, and blue flowers. That was the color inspiration for the entire page. I ended up using that as my photo mat. You can see a bit of the pattern in the tab by the title too. I used six sheets plus the cut apart for a total of seven papers used on this layout. The background 12x12 sheet is from Crate Paper's Storyteller line called Tomorrow.