Learning How to Shop

I know that sounds a little crazy but honestly the last year of using my stash has really taught me that I don't know how to shop.  Before, I just bought pretty things.  Now, I buy pretty things that I will actually use.  It is frustrating to see all of the things that cost me so much space, time & money end up being just given away.  

I have learned :

1. that I don't like to use acetate.  At all.  No matter how pretty.  
2. the $2 a sheet specialty papers are not my thing and I really struggle to use them:(
3. brads should never, ever again be purchased in 10 pound bags...
4. there is such a thing as too much washi tape, mist & sprays.
5. I don't do enough mixed media to justify the hundreds of gelatos, gessos, markers and stencils that I own.
6. embossing folders and dies are not my thing and only get used when I force myself to.

Surprisingly, my style is much more simple than my shopping led me to believe:)  It has been an eye opening struggle to work through my stash but the experience has led me to better habits.  The last few things that I purchased got used up and not added to my stash.  The papers and things that I let go of were forgotten as soon as they were boxed up and I don't feel any regrets.  There have been zero "perfect page for that thing I gave away" moments!

In fact, I'm creating more and enjoying the process a lot more.  

This page was inspired by this sketch.....

My sister posted a handful of photos of the kids before they went trick or treating and of her over the top Halloween neighborhood.  Such a cute ninja turtle.  Looking back, I wish that I had added some of the dangly bits that the sketch showed....

This page was inspired by this page on my pinterest boards (Lisa Dickinson.  Love her work!)  I DON'T do feathers.  Ever.  I was more interested in how she had her page laid out than I was what she used.  My sister is trying to get us to move home so when I was there for the summer, she scheduled some houses for us to look at.  I LOVED the Wine room in this house!  Yeah, I was a little over excited...

Our entire wedding party.  I love how simple the page is and the choice to change the photo to black and white....

Laura Vegas is a long time favorite designer of mine and this page was my inspiration.  My page is not as clean and simple as hers but I still love it.  My sisters neighbors went all the way out in decorating their house for Halloween didn't they?

Thanks for stopping by and hope you had a great weekend! 

Lovely Fall

I love this time of year.  The weather is so pleasant and even the most mundane of landscapes turns scenic.  I have several layouts already completed just for this time of year and plan to take photos of our next few hikes specifically for these pages.  I'll let you know how it turns out:)  

I did quite a few Halloween pages this year and have been sharing them over the past couple of weeks.  Really my pages are a mixed bag and that is clearly displayed today.  Halloween, July 4th, Vacation and Kid photos can get done all on the same day.  Again, me and chronological don't mix and I really scrap what moves me.  This first one is of my daughter and son on Halloween like 8 years ago.  And it is the 3rd or 4th time I've used the picture.  The layout is based on this May 2016 PageMaps sketch....

My pages most often contain only one photo which can be a challenge when using sketches....

I thought my son was the cutest kid ever and he always had the power to delight me.  I don't remember where we were or why he was cracking up but I do remember how excited he was to loose his front teeth.  And that the sweater he was wearing was one of my favorites and he would ask to wear it because he knew I loved it.  I also remember how easy he was to take to events even if they were long and boring.  

Another sketch.....

One photo I have used already on a different page and the other I plan to.  I have several photos of my sister photobombing just like this.  It seems to be one of her favorite things to do and it's hilarious to see her when she realizes someone is taking a photo that she can bomb on....

Pinterest to the rescue for inspiration on this last page.  You can take a look at my inspiration here and the page is just fantastic.  I was happy with how my page turned out and it went together really quickly.  Except for gluing down all of those wood stars.  And the cityscape in the Shimelle paper is perfect for this photo.....

Happy Saturday Yall!  Thanks for stopping by:)

Using Photos More Than Once

Who does that?  A lot of people do it.  And for many different reasons.  For me, it just comes down to one or two things.  When i'm not happy with the end page but I love the photo, it will get used again.  When i'm happy with the page but still feel there is more story to tell about the photo, it will get used again.  Finally if I really love the photo and feel that it doesn't have enough impact on the page, it will get blown up as big as I can make it and used again.  

Sometimes I scroll through my gallery to look for things that I am doing too much and that is how I busted myself using the same photo on several different scrapbook pages.  I didn't even realize that I was doing it!

On the pages i'm sharing today there are several photos that I have used more than once and plan to use at least one more time.  

This photo of us on our cruise is begging to be super sized.....

The photo on this page was actually of my husband and I and our whole wedding party but I wanted to focus on us at the alter so I cropped it close.  The whole photo is beautiful to me and will get used but for this page, we were the story.....

Both of the photos on this page will be used on another page.  I've already used the one on the left....

Same here, I had to crop the photo on the right a lot to get it to fit but will blow it up and use it by itself on its on page to talk about my nieces birthday trip and all of the adventures they had...

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

Happy Turkey Day!

I wanted to take a break from cooking to stop by and wish you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.  May your heart be filled with love and happiness, not just today, but everyday!

My son and I have been in the kitchen cooking since about 8 am and our phones have been ringing and dinging with love and well wishes from loved ones who are not with us to share this day.  I am so thankful for the wonderful people in my life!  God has truly been good to me.  

I do have 4 pages to share.  Even though we have been incredibly busy, I kept my word to myself to make time to create.  Just one more thing for me to be thankful for today:)

My sweet baby girl and my handsome nephew enjoying a few minutes together at Disney.  He is about 6 inches taller today than he was in this photo.  I've had that star paper forever!  It is by SEI and one of my very favorites.  I wish I had 10 more pages of it...

My granddaughter had a blast at our vow renewal.  This was one of the few times we were able to get her to sit still long enough to visit the photo booth.  Well, sorta sit still....

This page is about how important it is that the people that I love see me as someone that they can count on, that believes in them and who wants to see them happy and successful at everything they attempt.....

This is probably my least favorite page of the bunch but I love this photo of my niece and her toothless grin:)  She has all of her teeth now but the happiness that was shining from her is still there today.   Love her to pieces!  I was inspired by a page by Piradee Talvana in Creating Keepsakes magazine.  I really loved her page but ended up only using her floral cluster idea....

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

How Is It THANKSGIVING Already?

Seriously!  How does the year sneak by so. darn. fast.  We are having a very low key dinner (just the 4 of us) and afterwards football, Christmas trees and breaking out my Pandora Christmas playlist.  Simple.  Relaxed.  Bliss.   

Of course I do plan to do some creating and have already "kitted" about 16 layouts that I can work on until Monday.  Even though we got a few days off for the holiday, time is still very elusive around these parts:)

I'm still working through my stash and polishing off the rest of the new stuff I purchased at Scrapbook.com.  I was able to use most everything in my October Hip Kit and have started to get some pages done with November.  December will be shipping in just a couple of weeks and I want to be ready for it.  

The last few times we visited my girl in NYC, she took a group selfie of us all walking the streets.  It's funny to see how we all fall into "our" positions when we are together as a group like this:)  The page is fresh, bright and pretty and based on a Becki Adam's youtube video for Scrapbook Expo.  I loved everything about her page and stuck pretty closely to her design.  Why reinvent the wheel?

Finally using my Big Picture Classes subscription to its fullest.  I've been planning to get one or two classes a week completed and been pretty successful at it lol.  This page is completed using the class Document January 2015 by Aly Dosdal.  Love her style and am looking forward to doing more of her classes.  

I used paper scraps and washi tape to create the design in the background.  Loving how the white brightens everything up...

We recently went to the Virgin Islands for vacation and this guy was great to get us in the mood for Halloween!  I love traveling during the off season and enjoyed the trip beyond all reason.  

That's it for me folks, thanks for stopping by!  Gobble, Gobble...

Monday

My numbers for September and October make me really happy considering that we were traveling so much and that there was no time to create.  

From July through October I managed to: 

·                     Complete 54 layouts

·                     Use 111 pieces of patterned paper  

·                     Use 35 packages of stickers & embellishments  

·                     Use 55 pieces of cardstock  

·                     Use 10 - 6X6 pads  

While that is not as much stuff as what I posted using/creating the last time, it is still a good bit.  Progress is progress and I am very happy about how much got done:)

I can't believe what I am going to share with you right now.  Even though I have a mega sized stash, I have been buying a lot of new stuff lately.  Aaannnddd I joined Hip Kit Club.  So far they've sent me 2 kits and both of them are fantastic!  I used all of the paper and about 1/2 of the embellishments in the October kit and have sorted and will start on the November kit sometime this week.  

My new purchases did not get put away but they are sitting in my space with a plan to get them all on pages by the end of the month.  Yay me!:)  With all of the pages that I've been creating, I've had to address the amount of albums I can/want to realistically have in my home.  It isn't a space issue, I just don't know that I want 200 albums sitting around.  Creating so many new pages has me filling about 2 albums a month and if this hobby continues to keep my interest for the next 10 years, that is going to add up to waaayyy to many albums.  I don't have a specific solution in mind but it is something that needs some thought.

My little Ethan and his mom again.  They have the sweetest relationship and it isn't hard to get good pictures of them being sweet to each other:)  I saw this page on the My Mind's Eye blog and fell in love with it.  I wish that I had put my papers on the diagonal because it was such a nice touch.  Maybe next time...

This page about Ethan's mom and our niece Taylor when she was born.  I love how they are looking at each other.  The page is a favorite and was fun to make.  I cut the circles with my circle scissor our of white cardstock and patterned paper.  I cut the patterned paper circles in half and put the halves back together with a different piece of paper.  Backed them with the white cardstock circle, stacked a little one on a big one and put an enamel dot in the center.  Magic:)

That's it for me today folks.  Happy Monday and thanks for stopping by!!

Layout Share

We have been traveling and are finally done for the year!  Since we've been back, I have spent every moment (spare or not) in my craft room.  It was missed while we were away:)  I wanted to drop in today and do a quick layout share.  By next week I will be pretty much back on my feet and sharing regularly.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great Holiday weekend!  

For all who have served, Thank you from the bottom of my heart you are appreciated!!!!!