Wedding Dresses

My sister and I were shopping for dresses in a bridal boutique.  Formal dresses for my Dad's upcoming retirement/birthday party.  While we didn't really find a dress, what I did find was the perfect dress for my oldest daughters wedding.  Which is funny because she is not even dating just yet:)  And even funnier is the fact that she will probably not let me have much say in the dress anyway.  She is definitely her own woman and likes to do things her own way.   As her mom, I will be happy for her and as supportive as possible regardless of how much say I have in the decisions.  Moving on to the next thing...
  

Summer = Busy = Little to No Creative Time

There has been no time since May for me to be creative everyday the way I want to.  I have been able to sneak in some crafty time for myself but that time has to be used very wisely.  My crafty goals have had to be put on a shelf for almost the entire month of July! Right now the house is quiet bc my kid is worn out from his volunteer session at the farm but once he recovers, eats lunch and my husband gets home from work, it is a wrap on the quiet time!  

At the beginning of the year I promised myself that I would continue to make time for myself creatively.  In order to keep that promise I've had to work out some shortcuts/processes that really work well for me.  I'm sure that nothing is groundbreaking or never before seen but they are all new to me and seem to work well for how things are for me right now, in this moment.

• We have been doing a lot of road trips and have several more planned before the year is out.  In order to stay creative, I keep a notebook specifically for crafting with me at all times.  It keeps all of the ideas, sketches, notes, videos, classes & notes that I keep in one place so that they are easy to find (ie actually usable) when I can manage to find the time to get to my space and create.  
• Traveling with supplies doesn't work for me so I just don't do it but I do take along magazines and idea books.  I than sticky note pages that I want to lift or ideas that I want to try.  Another thing that works is watching videos, reading blogs, listening to podcast & surfing pinterest (we have a mifi) while we are in the car.  
• At home I use snatches of time to print photos, organize my supplies, cut paper for layouts and create backgrounds.   A lot more than you think can be accomplished using the odd 15 minutes here or there.
• I'll also use spare time to get on the silhouette and create titles, backgrounds and embellishments.  The time can be split between creating stuff in the software and printing or assembling them.  

Watching YouTube videos is definitely one of my favorite things to do whether i'm on the road or crafting in my space.  Becki Adams is a favorite.  Her videos are very well done and her pages are amazing!  

I do have a couple of pages to share:)  The first is another page from our Disney trip:) The papers are actually recent purchases which makes me extremely happy!  The new motto is use it as you get it.  woot, woot.  Both of the background papers are very busy so I printed the photo large to keep the papers from overpowering it.  The 2 smaller photos were just off cuts that I decided to go ahead and use on the page for added interest.  

  

The page is just meh for me.  You know how that goes, sometimes you love and other times you don't.  It is still going into the album just the way it is.  

I've been using pagemaps sketches for quite a few years and never seem to grow tired of them.  This one...

is a favorite even though I don't love the tilt and can never make a tilted design work for me.  It was also the base for this page.  

Using a good mix of old and new (some of it is really, really old) on this page.  The K&Co die-cut edge papers are from a paper pad that was released in 2011 or 2012 and it is fantastic.  Sadly, I only have a few pages left:(  There is a lot of last years Simple Stories Halloween line on here too.  LOVE the photos of my nieces & nephews!!

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and happy Wednesday!