Gift Journal

 

I made a notebook as a thank you for a dear friend using some products by Jenna Desai. I recolored some so that they all worked in the white, dark blue, and gray family of colors. I really like how it all blended together. Some patterns are really distinct and then they flow together. I made the covers and placed them on a branded journal and then it's ready to give!

I used: Singing the Blues, Border Frames vol. 3, and Autumn Stamps.

So Thankful.

 

This Thanksgiving was not the most elaborate in terms of celebration for me. But I think that it is one where I was able to celebrate the things in life that I am thankful for even more than usual. I really think that scrapbooking and the current interest in being grateful and celebrating the big and little parts of our lives has helped me to gain perspective.

That’s where this layout comes in. Some layouts we do about a small specific event. Some layouts are really general. The layout I started out making – I thought it was going to have little quirky items in a list. But it ended up being really big picture and general. I think it’s nice to zoom out and zoom in at times.

I created this layout using Thankful by Elise’s Pieces and Embellish Holiday: Thankful by Nettio Designs and Traci Reed. I love how this template has the added stitching and slip-in pockets, they are such great layout starters. Stitching and page protectors – two of my current FAVES!

I used Rad Lab to edit this photo – it’s fun to play around with all the sliders – I think I need some more practice to see what the combinations create – it should be fun!

Beginning a December album

I’ve decided to create a December album this year – I’ve been debating this for several years now and all the inspiration I see is finally getting to me. I’m not planning on something daily because I honestly don’t do that many holiday related events prior to Christmas… I love some parts of the holiday festivities, but others I’m just fine without. This year feels like it is going to be different and I want to celebrate it. I’d like to start out small and see what it becomes.

I’m going to do a 5 x 7 size book – the reason for the size with become apparent soon enough. And I finished my first page.

Candy Alphas (recolored), Flowers ‘N Swirls, Holiday Stamps and Bits, Striped Papers, Photo Frames no. 7 by Jenna Desai

Pea Natalie

I’m really ready recently to be bloggily active (and scrappily active) right now. I hope it keeps up. It feels good to post and create.

Playing with Tape!

 

Jenn Barrette has released a series of tape element packs recently – most appropriately labeled Happy Tape! The set she created for Black Friday is a Christmas themed set. I challenged myself to use the tape for a hybrid project –  I wasn’t sure about my ability to make the digital tape come out well….in a physical print – but I just LOVE how it came out!!!!

Happy Tape: Christmas by Jenn Barrette.

A tree shape turned out to be such a fun way to use lots of tape all on one project. Definitely made me happy after a tough day.

Help! Memorabilia Storage Problems!

I realized again recently that I’m not happy with my storage of memorabilia. Stuff that I love and want to keep from trips or gifts or just everyday stuff is mostly in a pile of paper that is “to be sorted.” This is ridiculous because the reason I want to keep these things is to have fun and remember, but it ends up as a tedious task.

I tried to fix this problem by sorting the papers into ziploc bags – with a different ziploc bag for each trip and a bag for items collected at home. Although this is better (I know generally where a ticket might be located), it doesn’t look pretty and doesn’t encourage me to check it out and reminisce every once and a while.

I need to have a better way to store my memorabilia so that when I go to look at it – it can be like how I look at my layouts – as a fun activity. Off to the internet to see what other people are doing….

I found this quiz that I thought might help on Club CK and thought maybe it would help.

1. What types of memorabilia do you have?

Ticket, receipts, cards, coins, brochures…

2. Where is your memorabilia currently stored?

Either in a pile or in a separate ziploc bag.

3. How important is your memorabilia to you?

Very important. I LOVE collecting paper reminders. My best friend says that I will pick up anything that is not nailed down (and free).

4. Do you enjoy your memorabilia--either by going through it, seeing it, or displaying it--on a regular basis?

No, this is what I am sad about. I never get to go through it and enjoy. I usually only encounter it as part of tidying or house cleaning and then I am on a mission and don’t get a chance to check it out.

5. Do you or would you like to use your memorabilia in your scrapbooks?

Maybe. Although since I am digi – I don’t tend to use it very much and I find scanning boring. I also love having the actual piece of paper in my hands – to me – it is very different than looking at a scan.

BUT I really want a way to display it – maybe next to pages or on their own. Or maybe I would come up with more ideas, memories, and stories if I saw my memorabilia more.

6. Are you able to find your memorabilia to incorporate into your scrapbook pages when you want it?

Short answer – no. And sometimes the loose papers that don’t have homes have gotten tossed inadvertently. Bad scrapbooker and memory keeper!

***

It’s interesting that in answering those quiz questions – I came up with some of the same ideas I had thought about before….

Then I checked out the internet some more….

Simple Scrapper

1. Folder – A majority of my memories from high school and college are tucked into a single purple folder embellished circa 1996 with stickers. It may be falling apart, but it packs away nicely and I know where it all is.

Maybe. I wish I could see it better. And I’m the kind of person who would try to fit too much in one folder.

2. Plastic Bins – I call my favorite set of Sterilite bins “double-wide shoeboxes” because they are about the same length as a shoebox, but wide enough to hold letter-sized paper, magazines etc. I keep cards and letters between my husband and I in one of these. These are also the perfect size to store a school year’s worth of memorabilia.

Also maybe. But whenever something goes into a box, I’m less likely to stop and take it out and that is one of my dreams with a new system – TO LOOK AT IT!

3. Page Protectors – Most often, the memorabilia I save is tied to a particular album I’ve planned in advance. (This helps me put boundaries on what I save.) I use page protectors in full-page and various divided configurations for saving papers, brochures and clippings from vacation.

This is intriguing. I feel like I want to be able to flip through my memorabilia and see it – is this the best way?

4. Filing Cabinet – During the year, we use our main filing system for temporary storage of memorabilia. Each child has his own folder and we also save photos we receive from friends and family. Once or twice a year, we empty these folders and transfer the items to one of the above options or the the recycle bin.

This feels practical and boring to me. My bills are in a filing cabinet. This is a dumb reason because I work on a computer. And I scrap on a computer. But I guess when I think about this I was dreaming of something prettier.

And the last informative page I looked at in my quick zoom around the net…

Get It Scrapped

I like the way those small tickets were displayed in 5.

Coins by Tammy Dailor

What does this remind me of? Project Life! I don’t know whether I want to go for it or not (I’m afraid of buying supplies and then not following through – and I feel more nervous about purchasing paper products now that I am digi). But doesn’t this seem awesome. One page and at least nine memories and pieces of memorabilia. Protected but removable. I’m really tempted.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Celebration Bookmark

I just love Mickey and the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Party at Magic Kingdom. When I saw these sparkles and swirls by Jenna Desai, I just thought of those swirls on Mickey’s outfit and that I was planning on making a birthday card. The birthday girl loves reading, so what better shape than a bookmark!

                  

DST New To You Designer–August 2011–Daybreak Scraps

 

Just got back from a trip, so I’m a little late in posting this …. but The new to you designer for August is Daybreak Scraps – the kit Beautifully You has a pretty color combo.

My favorite part of the kit is the semi circle journaling block – my layout started with this element and evolved from there.

These ducks were hilarious – probably would be better documented with a movie than a picture. But I like how the sepia treatment of the photo turned out. 

Berry Berry Quite Contrary

 

If you are looking for the ScrapMatters Birthday Blog Train – please scroll down one post.

So I mentioned earlier that TinaMarie was guesting at another store this month – and it has opened for the month of August at Zig Zag Scrap!

Her new kit Berry Berry Quite Contrary has some really cute elements and papers.

Here’s my card:

It seems I’m kind of into dotted lines and I’m trying out a clean simple style at times. I really love how this style can emphasize one or two really special pieces in a card.

ScrapMatters 4th Bday Blog Train 2011!

Welcome to my stop on the ScrapMatters birthday blog train – (you probably got here from the previous stop – Neverland Scraps) - follow along the train to all the stops to collect wonderful clusters, QPs, brag book pages, and page stacks created with the ScrapMatters Design Team collab Garden Party!

And this kit is free Aug 5-7 with a 20 dollar purchase in the store!
The blog train gifts are only available for a short time after which they will be packaged up and placed in the store. There’s also a fun photo puzzle contest going on – with hidden puzzle pieces located in some of the blog train downloads, check out the ScrapMatters blog for more details.
Here’s my gift for you – a stacked paper!
 
Thanks so much for stopping by – your next stop is Manda. Or check out the list below to see all the stops! I love comments and really love reading any words you have time to write. Thank you in advance. And if you like it here – take a look around my blog or subscribe, I’ve got some fun random posts, some posts about my scrapping projects and hope to post even more in the future!
1. Scrapmatters.com blog: http://scrapmatters.com/wordpress/
2. Andrea: http://andilynndesigns.com/
3. Wendy: http://wendys-craftycreations.blogspot.com/
4. Val: http://geniabeanascraps.com
5. Mary: http://plumdumplingdesign.blogspot.com
6. Jaime: http://simplyjstudio.blogspot.com
7. Jenn: http://www.confessionsofadigitalscrapper.com
8. Amber: http://stolenmomentsdesign.blogspot.com/
9. Angie: http://downthisroaddesigns.blogspot.com/
10. Tanya: http://crossbonecuts.blogspot.com/
11. Erica: http://ericazane.blogspot.com/
12. Krisi: http://krisiskreations.blogspot.com/
13. Steph.designs: http://lesdigisdesteph.blogspot.com/
14. Lina: http://ldragdesigns.blogspot.com/
15. Ana: http://sugaryfancy.com/blog/
16. Jenn H: http://truebluestudio.blogspot.com/
17. Elise: http://www.elisespieces.com
18: Amy: http://justus-mylifeinpictures.blogspot.com/
19: Cheri: http://dreambigdigi.blogspot.com/
20. Christina: http://www.wimpychompers.com/
21. Yari/Jady Day Studio: http://www.jadydaystudio.com/
22. Kimbytx: http://kimbytx.blogspot.com/
23: Calliclaire: http://www.calliclaire.blogspot.com/
24: KimB: http://kimbsdesigns.blogspot.com/
25. Jenn http://www.thetypativescrapper.blogspot.com/
26. Fran http://franscraps.blogspot.com
27. Ophelia http://www.navaja77digiscraprealm.blogspot.com/
28. Amanda http://mhkscraps.blogspot.com
29. Heidi http://myfamilyscrappings.blogspot.com
30. Fiona http://mydigaddiction.blogspot.com/
31. Kendall http://majorscrapitude.blogspot.com/
32. Neverland Scraps http://neverlandscraps.blogspot.com/
33. Heather K http://createdbyheather.blogspot.com  <—YOU ARE HERE!
34. Manda http://sankostudio.blogspot.com
35. Melissa http://yzerbear.blogspot.com
36. Trista http://tristaree.com
37. Annisa http://themeyersfamilystory.blogspot.com
38.Chel: http://scrappingchelcreations.wordpress.com/
39. Melanie: http://live-capture-create.blogspot.com/
40. Heather W: http://heatherw25.blogspot.com/
41. Sharon: http://quietangelsb.blogspot.com/
42. Amy: http://melniczenkomusings.blogspot.com/
43. Cathy: http://scrappycath.blogspot.com/
44. Kat: http://katdesigned.blogspot.com
45. Becca A: http://www.beccas-paper-view.blogspot.com
46. Crystal: http://www.sugarpiescrapping.blogspot.com
47. Day: http://digiinspirations.com/blog/
Happy Birthday SM!

DST August New to You Designer August 2011–Snips and Snails

 

The New to You Designer for August 2011 is Snips and Snails. This kit is even more fun than the preview makes you think. The color scheme is great (love blue and green) and the doodle alpha is fantastic! You should see the layouts with this kit – they are some of my favorites!

I created these monogram bookmarks – matched perfectly with a ribbon set I’ve been dying to use. I had fun altering the positions of the ribbons to add a fun touch. The kit works really well for a clean graphic style as well as a more complicated scrappy style. The font is Honey Script.

DST August Gold Member Kit Designer–Allison Pennington

Allison Pennington is the Gold Member designer this month for August 2011 and she created a huge kit!!! There are tons of doodle and realistic elements. And a range of fun, bright, rainbow colors.

I created a fun card inspired by the bee doodle:

 

Some fun sales…

 

by some great designers. Elise is moving and she has some retiring products as well as a sale on those that will be transferring to the new store as well.

She’s moving to one of my other favorite scrap stores… August 1!

And Tinamarie is having her birthday sale for the rest of this month – so be sure to snag anything you love!

Tinamarie is going to guest at another store next month as well. Stay tuned!

Scrapbooking Goal #2 Check-in

I posted about my organizational scrapbooking goal here and now I’m back to see how I’ve done over the last two weeks.

So I haven’t been working very hard at deleting, but I have spent a chunk of time at least three times over the last two weeks organizing some high use folders. I moved a lot of kits into their proper positions, deleted duplicates of the same designer named in my system in different ways. And I deleted a LOT of folders!

Lets see how it turned out – my initial snapshots are small sizes and the large snapshots are the larger images.

Hmmm…. so I knew that my total GB wasn’t going to go down because my finger wasn’t hot on the delete key – so 45 GB to 44.9 GB wasn’t a big surprise. But I really thought I had deleted at least 100 folders and the count – 16,390 to 16,392. Up? Oh well.

This just tells me that the numbers aren’t the whole story because at least I am feeling a bit better about my kit organization and I have a slightly better sense of what I have and what I don’t. My worst fear is getting some of my favorites twice….

And at least I tried to work on it. It’s got going to get better if I don’t spend the time. Off to try again!

Yay!!!! New CT!

 

Pinch me….I think I’m dreaming. Is that me in the lower right corner next to those superstars?

Thank you so much Lynnette for the invitation. I’m ready to be awesome, creative, and adventurous. Or at least try!

(And I’m really hoping that this template team with help me with my #1 scrapbooking goal – more layouts!)

Scrapping Related Goals 2011–Part 4

See part one here.

And part two here.

Part three here.

 

4. To blog more - more posts, more meaningful content.

Well, I have done some posts and this month has certainly been my best so far. I love using Live Writer - it makes posts faster since the photos just upload at the end rather than while I am ready to write. And I think that these last four posts along with my 2 or 3 new 52 posts have been the best I've done so far. I want my blog to have a bit more than just here’s what I’ve done. More along the lines of my layout goal of more journaling and more meaningful journaling.  

 

Looking to do more. I think I can. I hope these posts continue to inspire me to keep with it.

Scrapping Related Goals 2011 –Part 3

 

See part one here.

And part two here.

3.To incorporate more of my rubber stamping tools into my hybrid and stamp more.

Much of my crafting life before I discovered digital scrapping involved rubber stamping. When I think about it - there are actually many similarities between the two (with the added benefit of easy resizing on the computer). But I have these supplies that I still just love that have been sitting sadly in the corner, waiting for their day. Finally it came this month, I created two cards recently that involved stamping and even stamped on its own for one of the first times since I became involved in digiscrapping and it felt good. Although, it is messy - inky fingers and stuff scattered all around my apartment! Next step is to pull out my Spellbinders die cuts - I'm looking forward to it.

Here's a card with a super cutey elephant stamp from Stampendous. (Papers from Tangerine Twist by LDrag).

 

To keep with my goal I want to continue to combine my stamping with my digi hybrid and create more stamping solo projects.

Scrapping related goals 2011–Part 2

 

My second goal for this year. See part one here.

2. To spend less time organizing but be more efficient.

I'm using ACDSee right now and I do LOVE it - when I've tagged what I am looking for. Problem is - I go through phases of caring and making the time and then phases of feeling so time crunched and thinking I only have time to create my project or layout- and no time to organize which = GAPs in organizing.

Why does it take me so long to organize? One- I seem to like thinking about organizing more than doing it. And because I'm indecisive. Sometimes I find myself laughing - I mean I go back and forth and this takes me several minutes if not more to decide - should I file under T for The Lilypad or under L for lilypad. Once I've made that decision, I then encounter -The Digichick, forgetting I've already made a decision and then in my current mood make the opposite decision of what I had previously chosen. I have a really hard time choosing and then sticking with it without second guessing myself.

But on to my new step... This is a work in progress, I've just transferred all my digi kits to one central drive - before I had a combination on my computer and the full-to-the-brim drive. I'm going to try again with the small amounts at a time approach - this time focusing on the kits that I know I will want to find again ie CT designer kits and then moving on from there.

Here's a look at what I've got going on right now. To keep myself accountable, I'll post what this looks like in 2 weeks. (Thank you snipping tool for allowing me to create this screenshot.)

 

Maybe later I'll post more about what is going on with my photos as well, but for now let's leave it at Lightroom, desperately behind in Finding Photo Freedom (and Library of Memories for that matter), recent trip with not only mine but 4 sets of photos to sort, still needing to import before 2008.

Scrapping Related Goals 2011–Part 1

Inspired by Lynnette (nettio) , I'm going to post over the next several days about some of the scrapping related goals I set for myself this year - 2011. I didn't write them down officially before  -but here's a chance to see where I'm at and maybe set some smaller goals to get to where I hope to be.

I also think that this might be a good idea because I'm not sure that I am doing all I could be....and I think this is a good time to reassess. With the ScrapMatters newsletter on hiatus this summmer, I've had more time at the end and beginning of this month to be creative for myself!

1. To scrap more layouts again…

Well, in general this one is not going as well as I hoped but it isn't going badly either. When I have a new digi kit in front of me, I often get distracted into the world of hybrid and a lot of my creative energy can go in that direction.

But I like having a record of me. I like the combination of words and photos that tells more of the story. So... my goal has not been just to scrap more layouts this year (2011) but also to put more journaling and more meaningful journaling into my layouts.

Here are two pages I scrapped recently!! They are very random, but I love how they came out.

This one started from a memory trigger - no photos but I hadn't thought about this trip since high school and then a bunch came flooding back.

Credits: Summertime Fun: Camping Out by Jady Day Studio and Family Fun by Plum Dumpling Designs

And this one is from a trip in 2008 - I've been thinking about this forest trip and when I looked at many of the photos - they look quite similar. I have to think about what makes that photo unique and why I took it to begin with.

Credits: Hip to Be and Bottom Ups 4 by Traci Reed

I'm hoping that the act of scrapping more will also help me to get my photos in order - but it's kind of a loop isn't it?

Good Times CD Folder

I created this fun CD folder – never mind that I haven’t even made the mix CD I plan to put inside yet… this fun and bright little envelope is inspiring me to make the CD I’ve planned for a while now.

and inisde:

I get worried about CDs slipping out the tops of envelopes like this (especially when the person you give this to turns it upside down without realizing) so I added a ribbon to secure it all together.
This uses Lazy Days  by Jenn Barrette – she’s guesting this month at her old home – ScrapMatters- during July!(later it will be released at her Sweet Shoppe store) and the CD folder template by Simply J.

Love how it come out!

Paper Garden Topiary

I am so happy that my tutorial to create a paper garden – topiary tree was featured in the May 2011 Artisan Notebook in the Hybrid Corner.

It uses digital items from the following kits by Jenn Barrette:
Papers from Petite Mademoiselle, Best.Birthday.Ever, Blah Blah Blah, and Cuppycake Love by Jenn Barrette
Papers and elements from So Happy Together by Shawna Clingerman and Jenn Barrette.

I really love how this project came out – probably one of my favorites ever.

July 2011 DST Featured Designer–Traci Reed!

 

Traci Reed is a most fantastic designer – I love so many of her products, it’s hard to restrain myself from the add to cart button! This month’s kit is called Daydreams and Jelly Beans and is available to Gold members. Love it. Her designs are available at the Sweet Shoppe.

Here’s the card I created – I just love how all the patterns came together. I used a card template by Colleen Swerb from NSD and the flower tutorial Cristina created for the April 2010 ScrapMatters newsletter (wow, was it that long ago?)

And here’s a detail photo of the flower – I’m never going to be able to fit this one in an envelope!

DST July 2011 New to You Designer–Irene Alexeeva

 

This month’s featured designer is really fun and I love the kit. My favorite element is the crown – so I had to make sure it was front and center!

Using Let Them Eat Cake by Irene Alexeeva:

Andilynn Designs CT Call!

It's time for a CT call!
Andilynn Designs is looking for some enthusisastic, talented scrappers to join her CT.
Requirements (on average):
3 layouts/month
1 team project/month
1-2 enables per month
Call ends June 27th! So, send your applications to andilynn AT scrapmatters DOT com AND/OR andilynndesignsct AT gmail Dot com.
We so look forward to hearing from you! Good luck!

Summer Soiree Papers by Tinamarie

 

Tinamarie has some new blending papers out called Summer Soiree – I think they would work perfectly for soft interesting backgrounds or to use for photo blending.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty!

DST – Featured Designer – May 2011 – Paislee Press

Sigh, I just love Paislee Press – Liz’s byline is “embrace you inner minimalist” – and that’s just what she makes me want to do. When I create, I like putting stuff all over the place – I’m not a super clusterer, but most of my creations are not sparce. And Paislee Press makes me want to be simple but beautiful.

Her kit for Digishoptalk as a featured designer is called Huntington:

 

 

And here are the fold-over stationary notepapers I created:

 

 

 

 

 

I’m excited to use them!

DST – New to You May 11 – Studio 4

I’m not really a glitz and glam kind of girl – so initially the new to you designer kit for this month proved to be a bit of a challenge. But as with many kits, when you look a little closer, you can find inspiration in a variety of ways – the colors, the patterns, and some of the elements!

Here’s the kit – Girl’s Night Out:

 

And here’s my card:

Rushing Around - Tinamarie

What a great name for a kit!!! This new kit by Creations by Tinamarie – collabing with Che Yang and EH Studios – describes how I feel so often. I can’t wait to create something with this kit – but the reason I haven’t used it yet? Probably because I feel like I am always rushing around!

Easter Joys – Andilynn Designs

Happy Easter everyone! As you put on your best easter bonnet and look for those wonderfully decorated eggs, see if the Easter Joys kit by Andilynn Designs might just fit the bill for your photos and memories.

(psst. there’s a matching word art set and a freebie in her store as well!)

Happy spring and joy!