A little bit About Me

Like with the last set I was hoping to get some of the hubby or I scrapbooked as well. We don't have too many photos of us but that doesn't mean I shouldn't let them sit and not scrap 'em ;) What I really need to do is make a list of pages I want to make about us. Then I can search through our photos and if we don't have one to go with the story than we should plan a few photo poses just for those. This page uses the #32 sketch on Inspired Blueprints

I would like to see more of us together and individually, as well as with the girls. The more pages I scrap the more I realize I really need to be in some pictures with my kids. I've always been there behind the camera and I need to be in front of it more often. I know I say that a lot, but each time I do I get slightly better with it. Baby steps, right? ;) With A and C taking pictures every so often now I think it might get a little easier to do this.



A was actually taking some pretty good ones this last week and since that day I first let her snap some shots I hear 'I can be careful with the camera' all the time. That's her way of saying she wants to take pictures. Even though I still have a mild heart attack whenever her tiny hands hold up the camera she's never dropped it and does a pretty good job at keeping it safe. And now that I've taught her how to hold my camera she doesn't get any finger shots or finger prints on the lens anymore. I should make a cover for my camera strap (because it's too ugly to be on there by itself, lol) so that I can avoid those mini heart attacks ;)

Green at Heart and Lime Rickey Paper by Basic Grey

Transparency by Making Memories

Cardstock by American Crafts

Fieldhouse Flocked Boutique by American Crafts

Adobe Remarks Stickers by American Crafts

Lush Decorative Brads in Green by My Minds Eye

Buttons by Papertrey Ink

Rubon by Bo Bunny

So Sophie Savvy Alpha Stickers by My Minds Eye

Mini Red Alpha Stickers by Jenni Bowlin

Apron Lace Punch by Fiskars

Sweet Bubbly

Lately I've been wanting to create but not wanting to have to think of how to do my layouts so I've been doing a lot of lifts and sketches. It had been a while since I visited Inspired Blueprints and I headed over to check out what was new and see if any of the sketches fit my pics. One of their newer sketches - #48 - was perfect for these pictures. I simply turned the layout to fit my vertical photos and the circle elements were like bubbles ;)


Last year C was such a camera ham with the bubbles. While a got plenty of her I only caught a few good ones of A since while she was blowing bubbles she wanted 'no pictures mom!' Now of course she wants pictures all the time, hehe. But these were some of the few shots I got of her and she's wearing one of my favorite tops for her last summer. She still fits in it just barely right now, but I think she passes it by in favor of the newer hand-me-downs from C ;) I hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

Paper Doll Collection Paper by Crate Paper
Green at Heart Paper by Basic Grey
Kraft Cardstock by Roberts
Baby Pink Cardstock by CTMH
Dear Lizzy Details by American Crafts
Dear Lizzy Rubons by American Crafts
Spring Sprouts Blossoms by Sassafras
Lush Decorative Brads in Green by My Minds Eye
Lemonade and Indian Summer Glazed Brads by Basic Grey
Subway Thickers by American Crafts

Collecting

Supplies : Paper - Sassafras (Monstrocity) and October Afternoon (Farm Fresh); Cardstock by Bazzil and CTMH; Forest Friends, Take Note, Journaling Lines, and Borders and Corners Circles stamp sets and inks by Papertrey Ink; Remarks letter stickers by American Crafts

Playing around with your stamps is the challenge over at Practical Scrappers this week! It's so easy to get stuck in a rut with my stamps. I tend to use them just for making cards or adding journaling prompts on my layouts. So to get out of my box I stamped on pattern paper ;) It definitely gives my stamped elements a lot more personality and opened up many new ideas to use my solid and text stamps on! Stamping my own journaling lines, which is something I do quite often, also adds more customization to my layout. I stamped the dotted lines in Ripe Avocado instead of black to keep the journaling block from looking too heavy on the page. To keep my focus on making cute stamped elements on my page I used the #42 sketch from Inspired Blueprints so I didn't have to think up a design, subbing an extra photo for the big title section. Cait is always collecting stuff outside whether it's pinecones or rocks, sticks or flowers. They all end up in her 'garden' which is usually a meticulously designed set up on the porch where she can proudly display it to us, lol. It drives me batty that she does this but at the same time I can't help but love that she loves nature so much and wants to show off her findings. If you make a project with stamps head on over to the Practical Scrappers blog and link it up ;) Thanks for stopping by and have a terrific Tuesday!

I Scream!

Supplies : Paper by October Afternoon (various collections); Thickers Letter Stickers and Christmas Cupcake Flair button by American Crafts; Rhinestones by Kaiser; White mini ricrac; Circle Nestibilities; Sweet Blush cardstock, Journal Jots stamp set, and Raspberry Fizz ink by Papertrey Ink; Basics 1 Slice Card;

This week the supply challenge on Practical Scrappers is pattern paper! I guess that's not really a challenge for me though since I'm always using my patterns, lol. I did do a little cutting out with my patterns which is something I haven't done a whole lot of. The cherries by the top journaling were cut out from paper and pop dotted on the layout and the star element was cut using my Slice and also pop dotted to the layout. I used sketch #29 from Inspired Blueprints for the layout. It's a little older, but it's also a sketch that I never got around to playing with. The star balloon Audrey's holding in the picture was inspiration to use this sketch ;) Thanks for popping on by and have a great Tuesday!

Baby Girl

Supplies : Paper by October Afternoon and Basic Grey; Daughter and Heart stickers by Pebbles Inc.; Premade Embellies from scraps;

So as I was looking through my misc photo file I came across these two pictures of Audrey and Paul. Look how little she was! I didn't think I had any unscrapped baby pictures left but I've found a few in this file. I probably put them there because they weren't the best pictures like these. I had to crop a lot of the background out mostly because the house was just a mess, lol. I used the Inspired Blueprints sketch #39 and shrunk it way down to fit the photos. And I even got to use some of my premade embellies, too fun! It made the layout go by super quick too, I love it when I can finish a page in 20 minutes! Anyway, I thought it was funny that I was just talking about wanting to redo baby pages and I found some spare photos hanging about ;) What are your thoughts on redoing scrapbook pages? Would you ever remake some of the ones you've done? I'd love to hear your comments! Thanks for dropping by and have a fab Friday!

Passing By

Supplies : Paper by October Afternoon, Scenic Route, and My Minds Eye; Flowers from Prima; Buttons and Jute from Papertrey Ink; Candy Dot by Pebbles; Thickers and Remarks letter stickers from American Crafts;

I used some of those fun embellies I posted on Saturday on this layout I made using the Inspired Blueprints #37 sketch. March of last year Caitlyn was in speech therapy 1-2 times a week and at that time the rehab clinic was in the main hospital building. They have an area with a fountain that goes down to a stream and a little bridge that takes you over to some seating where they created a spot of lovely desert landscaping. It's an area we usually rushed past because there was always someplace to be and because it's nothing all that special, just an area around a hospital. After therapy it was errands or going to the preschool, another doctors appointment, picking up Paul, etc. And every visit Caitlyn would ask to see the fountain and go across the bridge, each time receiving the 'we don't have time' answer that seemed to become so commonplace in our lives. One day I finally realized we needed to slow down and so after the therapy session that day we crossed the bridge and played. Caitlyn spent most of the time just sitting near the water, listening and watching it and in those quiet unrushed moments I saw that this was something she needed and she needed this more than I needed to finish some other errand right at that moment, or to be early to another doctors appointment for her where we would wait another 20 minutes before being seen. So almost every time we had therapy after that we spent a little time across the bridge or by the fountain wall. And it made all the difference, not just for her but Audrey and I as well. I no longer had to drag her to therapy and running errands afterwards seemed to go more smoothly. I was more patient with them and they were more tolerant of doing things that weren't fun. Just 5 minutes to get away from the hustle. Five minutes in someplace beautiful and quiet. And I wonder how much we miss when we're just passing by. I've noticed since she's started Kindergarten that we've been in that rush again and I need to break us out of it. Take some time today to enjoy something you haven't noticed and have a lovely Monday! Thanks for visiting ;)

Go Girl Go!

Supplies : Paper - My Minds Eye, Pebbles Inc, and Scenic Route; Transparency by Making Memories; Glitter Thickers by American Crafts; Flowers by Prima; Big Glazed Brads by Imaginescence; Glazed Brad by Basic Grey; Apronlace edge punch by Fiskars; Sketch by Inspired Blueprints

I played with the #30 Inspired Blueprints sketch with this layout and also the layout I posted yesterday (inspiration for that version came from Designer April Yap's interpretation of the sketch). This one was closer to the original sketch design. I took colors for the layout from the colors on Audrey's shirt. Focusing on the orange and metallic pink I built the layout around those colors and included a transparency (the Practical Scrappers Challenge this week) on my layout, cutting the design by it's curves and using it in place of the patterned paper. Like with pattern paper, try cutting along the design in a transparency to add interest to your layouts. Enjoy the layout and have a terrific Tuesday!

You Are My Sunshine - Transparency

This week the challenge at Practical Scrappers is how to use transparencies. I think transparencies are so fun but like vellum and other clear paper choices it's often hard for me to think of ways to use them. A transparency gives you the opportunity of having floating patterns, images, and even text on your layouts and cards. Here I used a transparency to substitute pattern paper. It let the base paper show through for a fun addition of pattern without having to add so many colors. This is also great for die cutting like I did here with the sun. Try using white printed transparency patterns for snow or cloud shapes. Layer a pattern transparency over chipboard letters for added contrast.

Don't forget transparency titles or decorative elements like my title here. I like using mine on solid or nonbusy monochromatic prints so that they stand out. They are also great for layering over pictures and many manufacturers have 4x6 transparency lays specificallly made for that purpose. Try using a transparency to accent your title or journaling. Or if you have a printer you can print your journaling right on a blank transparency so that your story floats on the page. I hope some of these ideas spark inspiration on how to use your transparencies. Don't forget to visit the Practical Scrappers Blog for more ideas on how to use transparencies. Have a wonderful Monday!

Grouchy Girl

Supplies : Addison Road Paper, Diecuts, and Chipboard by My Minds Eye; Cardstock by CTMH; Thickers by American Crafts

Another layout using the Inspired Blueprints Sketches. This one is for sketch #27. I got this dinosaur paper because it was just too cute but I didn't know what I would use it with. Then I found this picture of Audrey. Even though Audrey is past the biting stage in this picture, I hadn't scrapped about her biting when she was about 18 months old. Whenever she got mad or frustrated she'd bite me, hard. One time while at the grocery store she bit through the skin in my shoulder and drew blood. Thankfully that phase didn't last more than a couple months but I'll never forget her little lock jaw! The dinosaur chipboard elements were perfect for sharing that she's a biter so I just had to use it with this grouchy photo. Now when Audrey's grumpy she makes mad faces and runs to her room to lock her door, a much better alternative to biting in my mind! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Stick

Supplies : Paper, Cardstock Elements, and Buttons by My Minds Eye; Jute by Papertrey Ink; Thickers by American Crafts; Cardstock by CTMH

I love that Caitlyn has such a blast entertaining herself. Here she had found some plain sticks and spent nearly an hour hunting for other sticks and playing with them! Right now it's been too hot outside for her to want to spend more than 15 minutes outside unless we are in the pool, but during spring and fall she'd be outside all day if I let her! I made this page using the #28 Inspired Blueprints sketch and mostly My Minds Eye goodies. Enjoy and have a fabulous Friday!

I wanna say Cheese!

Supplies : Paper by Scenic Route; Ink, Cardstock, and Classmates Alpha stamp set by CTMH; Thickers letter stickers and ribbon by American Crafts; Waxy Flax; Buttons open stock at LSS; Scallop Nesties

Same sketch - totally different look. I loved that #26 sketch so much that right after finishing yesterday's layout, I created this one only I broke out from my basic grey roll. Over the past year Basic Grey has easily won out as my favorite paper company closely followed by Scenic Route which is what these papers are. Though I do have to admit I hoard my basic grey a lot more than any of my other papers. I started with these fun fall papers to go with Audrey's little camera ham pictures and then created these blossoms with the scallop nesties and prima flowers. The inspiration for these were from an item Sparkle had on her etsy months ago. They aren't there anymore but I do remember noticing some little flower button blooms on her etsy shop link and even in passing I thought it was such a cute idea. Once I got my own nesties and saw the tiny scallop circle I instantly remembered the little blossoms and had to make my own! Some ribbon posing as leaves finishes off the blooms perfectly. The journaling is simply about how Audrey is a camera ham. "I wanna say Cheese!" is her way of saying take a picture of me, Mom! Thanks for stopping by and have a super Friday!

Fashionita

Supplies : Papers by Basic Grey (Marrakech) and My Minds Eye (Tres Jolie and Bloom and Grow); Ribbon from LSS; Buttons by My Minds Eye; Cardstock and Marker by CTMH; Remarks Letter Stickers by American Crafts; Embroidery Floss; Blossom Nesties

Can you tell I've been addicted to playing with my Basic Grey papers this week? Now if someone would just get the lemonade line in town before I break down and buy it online! I used the Inspired Blueprints #26 sketch for this layout which was a 2 page sketch. I didn't have enough photos for both pages so I just did the right side. I finally got a few nesties after debating for a year and a half! Yeah, I'm so not an impulse shopper. I got just a few of the ones I think I'd use the most for right now to make sure I like using them and I love 'em! This one I used the blossom nesties to make a lollipop flower. This baby is what made the layout take so darn long to make! The first combo I cut out I didn't like the order of, I had the flower print on the outside and it just disappeared into the background. So I cut some more blossoms and then thought stitching would be cute after finding the combo I liked. Each blossom is hand stitched and I sew really s-l-o-w. I curled the edges of each blossom up for some dimension and then gave the same treatment to the photo corner on the right. I love the way this came out and I'm sure to be using these blossoms for more lollipop flowers in the future! Everything else was fairly quick. The letters are just the remarks stickers so to make them pop more on the layout I took my cocoa marker and traced around the edge. It really made so much of a difference (note to self I should start taking before/after photos). A little ribbon scrap to take the place of a flourish on the sketch and viola - a fashionable page for my little fashionita! Enjoy and have a terrific Wednesday!

Butterfly Girl

Supplies : Paper - Basic Grey, Scenic Route, and My Minds Eye; Thickers stickers by American Crafts; Chipboard butterflys by Scenic Route; Rhinestones by Kaiser; Buttons by Papertrey Ink; Ribbon and Ink by CTMH; Flourish chipboard by Rusty Pickle

I have been saving this picture and this butterfly paper by Basic Grey for months. Sometimes I get afraid to scrap certain photos because I fear I won't do them justice. I knew I wanted to use this paper, but other than that I was at a loss. Finally I decided to just do it and I pulled up my Inspired Blueprints folder and picked out the #1 sketch to use. It turned out to be a perfect setup for this picture and I love how it came out. Along with some papers from the Basic Grey Ambrosia set the mix of papers involves mostly the reverse sides of pattern papers I had gotten, which in some ways was a bummer but at the same time I love this page so much that it more than makes up for it. I added some ribbon to ground the photo and then to soften the white journaling strips I sponge inked them with bamboo and then barely edge distressed them with grey wool. I love it when layouts come together so perfectly like this! I hope you enjoy and have a fantastic weekend!

You & Me

Supplies : Paper by My Minds Eye; Sassyfras, Cosmo Cricket, and Scenic Route; Flowers by Prima; Glazed Brads by Basic Grey; Thickers by American Crafts; Red polka-dot brad by Queen Co.; Ribbon from LSS

I finally got around to doing the #24 Inspired Blueprints sketch, and aside from the base paper, all the pattern papers were from scraps so I was really happy with continuing to shrink my scrap pile! This layout was pretty simple and I didn't do too much with it since there is so much pattern going on already with the papers. The colors are so fun and cheerful, just like the girls that I really didn't need much embellishment anyway. The main thing I left out on my page from the sketch was the arrows. The looked cute on the sketch but I just couldn't get them to look right on my page so I left them off. I'm hoping to catch up on the rest of the sketches here soon. Just a quickie post today. Have a marvelous Wednesday!

Think, Think, Think!

Supplies : Paper, Stickers, Borders, and Candy Dots by Pebbles Inc.; Cardstock from LSS; Col White cardstock, ink, and classmates stamp set by CTMH; Thickers by American Crafts

Here's the layout that I really broke my set into. I started off with the #6 Inspired Blueprints sketch for the left hand page. All the papers are from the Lil' Miss set. I remember how tough and fun it was to get these pictures. For Father's Day last year I framed Paul's AS Degree and then we took another quartet frame and took these thinking pictures to go along with the quote "Now it's time to think, think, think!" from my friends Tigger and Pooh. Paul knows the song since he's seen the show about as much as I have and it's so funny because whenever he has to leave to go write a paper or read more for class I would sing that part of the song. We hung the pictures by his computer so he'd have them to look up at and smile while he's working. I printed the ones in his frame in black and white, but I also got color copies to scrap with. I love the rainbow of colors and think the page turned out so cute!

This is the right side of the layout. I ended up winging it when it came to the design, just placing down scraps and what not to try and make something that looked like it coordinated with the sketch page. I put a quick bit of journaling about our Father's day gift and paired it with these cute foul ups that we had during the picture taking process. We had a lot of pictures that didn't take, mostly of Audrey since she wanted to run off after the first couple shots! Thanks for stopping by and have a great Wednesday :D

The Night Before Christmas

Supplies : Paper - Scenic Route and My Minds Eye; Cardstock and Classmate stamp set by CTMH; Thickers by American Crafts; Rhinestones; Marvy Snowflake punch

I used the #10 Inspired Blueprints sketch to start me off on this layout since I had this great 5x7 of the girls. This is actually the right page of the layout. I loved that they posed for pictures this last Christmas eve and I hope they continue to do so :D The faces they made on the bottom right picture crack me up and it's become the norm for them to make silly faces for the camera before I can get smiling ones. For the title I did something fun that I haven't done in quite a while but have been seeing more of lately. First I stamped the letters I needed and then I simply cut them out and arranged them on the layout. You can also print your letters with your computer if you like using different fonts. I haven't seen it on layouts in a while but I have been seeing this more and more on cards. It's a great way to create a longer title without having to use stickers or risk stamping directly on the layout which I tend to always mess up on.

Here is the left page. I wanted to make a page that showed the girls with their presents and then wearing their presents so I put the pictures of them holding their wrapped jammies on the top half of the photo collage and then put the pictures of them wearing their jammies right below each girl for the bottom half. I started the title just above the pajama pictures to help the layout with that before and after separation. We started that tradition this last year, but I'm pretty sure it's one we are going to keep and I'm hoping to extend it to both Paul and I this year. Caitlyn actually wears the hot pink penguin jammies now and Audrey has another pair of light pink penguin jammies we bought her after the holiday since we had gotten the sizes too big. Their penguin jammies are both their favorites and it's funny to me that even though these are winter pjs, the girls still wear them more than any others even in this summer weather. Anyway, have a wonderful Wednesday and thanks for stopping by!

Windswept

Supplies : Pattern paper by Making Memories; Cardstock and buttons by CTMH; Sizzle button by Queen Co.; Scalloped cardstock by Bazzil; Thickers by American Crafts

Happy Independence Day! I made this layout for the #23 Inspired Blueprints sketch last month. Last year white space was something I really had a hard time with but now it's something I really love having on my pages. I'm sure it'll change again soon, lol. I feel like just when I think I start getting a set scrapping style I change again. Anyway, I just got this double sided paper the day before I made the layout. I was so excited when I found this photo to use on the sketch that I knew I had to use some of the new paper I found. This is one of those photos that isn't perfect, but I couldn't bear to not keep it either. It's a little blurry, there are deep shadows, but for some reason I still really like it. In fact I think it was taken close to around this same time last year. I remember it being early July. Anyway, enjoy and have a fabulous 4th!

Funny Girl

Supplies : Paper by Scenic Route, Cosmo Cricket, Basic Grey, and My Minds Eye; Prima flowers; Thickers letter stickers by American Crafts; Cardstock by CTMH; Brads by Basic Grey

Another fun bright page using the IB sketches. I'm loving bright summery colors right now and am hoping to get to use some of my new summer papers soon. I'm excited for Christmas (I know totally random subject change) because we are redoing the girls' room as their big Christmas present and the colors are bright and fun like summer. The palette is varieties of pink and purple for the main colors and a dash of spring/lime green. Their bedspreads are reversable huge dots so that their beds aren't too matchy matchy and Caitlyn's features purple sheets and bedskirt, while Audrey's is pink. There is still a little bit of the garden theme that we had before. Butterflies for both, lady bugs and bird/owls for Audrey, and then a little bit of rockstar thrown in for Caitie. Cait has really been into Hanna Montana. She doesn't watch it, but she knows who she is and is big into the rockstar thing right now, lol. Anytime she sees a toy guitar she wants it and she can spot Hanna Montana stuff a mile away! I've been picking up the stuff here and there so that it's not one huge purchase (which is why I'm starting so early ^_~) and I think they'll have a blast decorating their room Christmas morning before we go to Nana's that afternoon. Anyway, enjoy the layout and have a bright and happy Wednesday!

Too Stinkin Cute

Supplies : Paper by Cosmic Cricket, Collage Press, and Basic Grey; Cardstock by CTMH; Cardstock butterfly by Basic Grey; Thickers Letters by American Crafts; Felt Flower ribbon by We R Memory Keepers

These are some of my favorite spring pictures I took of Audrey this year. Probably because this is one of my favorite long sleeve shirts of hers. I had to get it a size bigger since we found it in January so that she could wear it again this fall, lol. She's such a cutie! This was one of those days where she was a camera ham, which isn't very often. Usually Caitlyn is my little model, posing for camera and being an all around diva (both the good and the bad, lol!). I used the #21 Inspired Blueprints sketch for this layout. I still need to get #17 and both of the sketches for this month to be all caught up. It's nice that they usually only put out 2 sketches a month. It's a scrapbooking challenge that is easier for me to keep up with and if I fall behind it's pretty easy to catch up as well. Anyway, that's all for today :D Have a happy Monday!

2 Timid

Supplies : Paper by My Minds Eye; Transparency by Creative Imaginations; Thickers, Flair Button, and Big Brads by American Crafts;

This was the second layout I did for the sketch, flipping it horizontally. These are last year pics of Audrey. It still shocks me each day how big she's getting. With Caitlyn it just seemed so regular, I was expecting her to get bigger, but I guess since Audrey is my 'baby' I still have a hard time with her growing taller and becoming more like her big sister. She's in Cait's clothes from last year and it was so bittersweet that she fit in some of them perfectly. I think it's interesting that with Caitlyn I enjoy each stage yet am excited to see how she grows into a little girl. Even now I get excited for each new birthday for Caitlyn and can't wait to see what talents she developes, what kinds of clothes she'll pick out, books she'll want to read, etc. With Audrey I wish more I could stop time and keep her as my small snuggly little tot. The other day she snuck out and fell asleep in the hall. When I picked her up I actually thought she was Caitlyn and it wasn't until I got to Caitie's bed that I realized it was Audrey. It made me think about how similar they are and that I need to let her spread her wings too. I encourage so much independence with Caitlyn. Everything with her is 'you can do it' or at the very least 'keep trying'. With Audrey I instantly do things for her instead of letting her try them for herself and I need to let her be more independent just like I did with Cait. Anyway, that was my own little insightful mommy moment this last week, lol. Enjoy the layout and have a great weekend!