A favorite Scrapper

Since this week is the week of "A", I have to talk about Ali Edwards.  Her style has evolved over the years but it has not morphed into something unrecognizable.  She still creates with lots of breathing room, her photos and her stories are always at the forefront of the pages she creates and she does magic with words.  With truths.  She puts so much of herself out there but somehow she never crosses the line into over sharing.  I truly love how open and honest she is and if I had to sum her up in one little word (see what I did there:)) it would be "true".  

A lesser known scrapbooker than AliE whose work is smashing is Amy Mallory.  She doesn't post much on her blog (no updates since Nov 2015) but pinterest is full of her lovely pages.  I find her interesting because she does a mix of digital and traditional and both her styles are beautiful.  Thanks for the inspiration Amy!

Every now and then, a layout just speaks to me.  It comes together effortlessly and looks exactly how I pictured it in my head.  This layout is that for me.  

There was no scraplifting, class or sketch involved in the making of this layout.  It is 100% me loving a piece of patterned paper and just going with the flow.  I just told a lie:)  I did see a page by Amy Mallory that sparked the idea of flowing the circles across the page. Her page had hexagons in a vertical column (the page is "Red Sox Love" from CK magazine)

The vacation whose pictures would not go away:).    That's what i'm starting to feel but in a good way.  I have found myself scrapping some of the photos from this trip multiple times AND printing them to frame for my walls.  Happy, happy, joy, joy is the feeling that these pictures evoke!

The layout is surprise, surprise - a scraplift of a page called "Dude" by Stephanie Stanton from CK magazine.  Loving the "arrow" strips!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you had a great Thursday...

Thrifting Has My Heart

And my wallet:)  But man oh man do I find some good stuff when I go.  Both to sell in my eBay store and to decorate my house with.  We decided that while some of our stuff would be purchased new, we want a lot of it to be old and to have some history to it.  Mostly i've been purchasing paintings, prints and nic-nacs but we are also planning on buying some larger furniture pieces too.  

The quality of the furniture that can be found at estate and yard sales is just phenomenal and it is always a surprise to see what people are willing to get rid of.  Some of this stuff looks as if has never been used.  Granted, the styles can be very outdated but there are still plenty of classics that never go out of style to be had.  We have been going to the movies more these last few months thanks to the release of several insanely interesting looking films.  

• Finding Dori - not nearly as good as Finding Nemo but watchable.
• Star Trek - No words for how good this was for me:)
• Ghostbusters - I laughed all the way through it!
• Independance Day - Wow, I really loved seeing how they tied the old storyline together with the new storyline into a neat little wrapped box.  Really fresh and interesting with very few dead spots.

I have really been enjoying this last week of "nothing to do".  It has been bliss!!  Our little family is starting to get mentally prepared for the next school year and taking care of the chores that come with going back to school for the very last time.  Our last little birdie will be flying the nest and heading off to college next year.  

College visits are a ton of work!  Just sayin....

On the creative front, I'm baaaacccckkk.  Yes!  Feels so good to have some paper in my hands and glue on my fingers lol.  I used sketches for both of the pages that i'm sharing today.  Sketch 1.....

Layout 1...

The photos of me and my oldest daughter struck me bc we have pretty much the same expression on our faces in both.  They highlight how much alike we are in a lot of ways but still so entirely different at the same time.  

Sketch 2.....

Layout 2....

I have been seriously hoarding the paper in the page above for several years.  It is absolutely beautiful!  The photos can't do it any justice at all and it was perfect for this photo that my husband snapped on our cruise in 2013.  I kept it really, really simple.  Although I tried to add layers and more stuff, nothing fit so i ended up taking it off.  Love this page!  

Thanks for stopping by!  We finally made it to Friday!! I will have the weekend to myself to spend as I please.  Thinking that I will scrap and complete 200 layouts but in reality I'll probably end up reading, napping and cross-stitching the entire time:)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Ryan's

Maryland needs a Ryan's.  Like right now!  For a buffet style restaurant, it is very good. The food is always fresh, the place is always clean and the service is always good.  When my kids were little, we would have at least one family meal a week there.  It got me out of the kitchen and the entire family could find something yummy & healthy to eat. Fortunately my kids all love vegetables and Ryan's always had a really good assortment of them to choose from.  Of course it was on the list of places to eat this past summer during our visit to SC and it was everything that I remembered:)  

Thankfully there has been more time in my life so I have been able to get a few layouts done.  Yay.  The first page is a scraplift of "The World is Yours" by Els Brige.  It's pinned on my pinterest board here if you would like to take a look.  I really loved her page and stuck very close to her design.  

Next up is this page.....

Can I first just talk about my hibiscus.  O joy did they put on a show for my front porch this year!  They have been producing blooms for months now and I am just in love.  Hibiscus have never been a favorite of mine but my husband saw these and wanted to get them.  Yeah, just call me converted and a huge fan now.  

The page was based on this pagemaps sketch

It's okay with me that they don't look much alike:)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Thursday!  Only one more day before the weekend rolls in....

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! 

Crazy Town

It's crazy to think that the start of the school year is right around the corner!  It seems as if the year has just started but it is really more than halfway gone.  Geez, Father Time if your reading this blog, please slow it down just a little...

My family and I just wrapped up a mini vacation in SC.  Love my peeps!  Spending time with them is pure joy:)  Thrifting with my Dad, swim meets with my nieces & nephew. They rocked the pool, winning several heats each!  Touring houses with my sister.  They would really love for us to move back to South Carolina but man it was sooooo hot!  90+ degrees everyday.  I am 100% positive that they don't miss my complaining about the heat.  It was a blissful 77 degrees when we rolled back into MD.  

I have barely created anything at all for the last few months.  All of the plans and kits that I had in place just fell by the wayside to make room for travel and visits.  It has been so, so busy around here that I've barely had time to breathe much less scrapbook.  

I did manage to get some stuff done this weekend after we got back from Philly and I will be posting the pages throughout the week.  I've also started on a new explosion album that should be completed by the end of this week or so.  

The design for this page came from this pagemaps sketch.

The page and the sketch don't really have much in common but the sketch was a great starting point for this layout.  Once I got my basics figured out I was able to think about and focus on the design itself.  The doilies were moved around and brought in closer to the photo and the number of photos was reduced to 1 big one instead of 9 small ones.   Increasing the size of the photos just added some more interest.  The two clusters surrounding the photo helped to make the design even more my own style and less like a generic sketch.   These kids will play from sun-up to sun-down!  It doesn't matter what kind of game either (nerf war, tag, monopoly, cards, minecraft, etc, etc, etc) they love them all!  I love how well they get along and that arguments and disagreements are rare and quickly resolved.  

The next page was straight from my head and really, really simple.  I just wanted to use a cut file:)  My son took this photo of DC as our plane was landing and it reminded me of how this city has really felt like home for us more than any other place we have lived.  Had to scrap about it....

Not my favorite layout but it will go into the album!  

That's it for me folks.  Thanks for stopping by...

Pet Peeve

Literally a pet peeve of mine is people who get animals and abuse or neglect them.  My Dad rescued 2 horses from a guy who said that he was to busy and preoccupied with his life to take care of them.  Good that he decided to give them away to someone who would be good to them.  Bad that he hadn't fed the poor things in months.  Yes.  Months.  

My Dad is nursing the beautiful and loving creatures but he says that they were so starved that they still may not survive.  My heart broke a little when Dad was telling me about them.  The pony is very skittish and will not let anyone near him but Thunder is an absolute love and can't get enough of being petted and talked to.  OK rant over.

My favorite class over at BPC this week is called "Document 2015" series from Aly Dosdall.  I totally plan to use the humongous stash kit that I put together for July with this class.  A couple of other things on the must use list this week are these new to me goodies.  All are from my stash but just recently opened and kinda lost in the middle of so much of my stuff.

A great stamp that came in a Studio Calico kit from a couple of years ago...

The coolest punch ever!  I have used this one before but not nearly as much as I should have....

And this really great brown chalk ink from ColorBox ......

Oddly, creating a layout comes much easier for me when I don't have photos in front of me.  I can scrap with photos but normally won't.  My layouts get finished and than I go through the process of selecting photos for them.  Don't ask me why this method works for me because I can't explain it:)  I do print most of my photos at home and even when there are old film processed photos for me to work with, I will take a digital photo or scan them to print out.  

The most common questions that I get about my process are: 

• Do you worry about your colors clashing?  It actually does not happen often but when it does, I just use a black and white photo.
• How do you get the titles right?  One of 3 ways.  I have a photos in mind when I create the page, I add the title after I choose the photo or I don't put a title on at all.  
• How do you handle multiple photos?  I use a collage or I use one large photo and put the rest in a divided page protector.  

Both of the layouts that i'm sharing were created like this.  I used this sketch 

 for this page.  I love, love, love the chipboard frames!  They were meant to be used as squares but I flipped them to diamonds and used one as a template to cut 3X4 journaling cards into the same shape.  

I also used a sketch for the second page but I don't know where it is from.  There were a line of circles across the top of the sketch but I decided to replace them with a banner of hanging stuff.  Pearls, big crystals, flair and banners.  I think I like it:).  The page is about my go to perfume for the last 20+ years.  

Whelp.  That just about does it to it for today.  Thanks for stopping by!!!

Jumping Off Points

This week for me is all about the jumping off points.  With a firm decision to be more productive, came a need for a game plan.  It's one thing to say it but a whole other thing to actually get it accomplished.  So far things are going pretty well and I've been getting a ton of pages done.  One of the things that has been key for me accomplishing this is having a jumping off point.  A way to have ideas ready to go for getting the number of pages that I want to complete for the day actually done.  The jumping off points that have worked best for me have been sketches, magazines, pinterest, youtube videos, challenges and classes.  

I don't think that I have ever been as productive as I have been this year!  In May and June I managed to: 

• Complete 77 layouts
• Use 154 pieces of patterned paper  
• Use 28 packages of stickers & embellishments  
• Use 95 pieces of cardstock  
• Use 4 - 6X6 pads  

Yeah, that's a lot of stuff folks!  

Layout share for the day......

This photo of my niece is one of my absolute favorite photos of all time!  I flipped when I saw it!!  She looked so happy.  I kept the design very simple and just used a few embellishments to frame the photo.  

This next page is about how I took a huge leap of faith and started teaching with no experience and very little preparation.  I made a ton of mistakes!  The people that took classes from me were the best and really kept me focus on what was important.  The projects.  I am a complete introvert so this was tough...

What is on my desk for this week?  Mostly supplies for the next few pages that have been planned.  It's so easy to be intimidated by a pile of supplies or a collection of tools.  Over the last year I've learned to put processes in that will help me to use the things that are in my space.  Both tools and scrapbook supplies (like paper, ink, embellishments) and my die-cut machine.  My things have spent way too many years waiting to be used.  Mostly because I purchased things with no real idea in mind or process in place for how or when to use them.  Kitting and jumping-off points have really changed how productive I am and allowed me to make real progress on documenting my families growth from year to year.       

My goal for July is to use up all of the items in my stash kit and to hit my goal number of pages.  If I do, it will add up to roughly 3 pages a day most days.  

July stash kit numbers:  

• Complete 80  layouts
• Use 160  pieces of patterned paper  
• Use 50 packages of stickers & embellishments  
• Use 80 pieces of cardstock  
• Use 4 - 6X6 pads  

Thanks for stopping by and happy Monday:)