Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking

Get It Scrapped Post: Ideas for 6 Photo Scrapbook Pages

I made this six photo scrapbook page using a 3x3 grid.  I made the orange starbursts with a Jenni Bowlin stamp and I used my nesting pinked circles and regular circles for the inside layers.

Want more ideas for 6 photo scrapbook pages from Ashley Horton, Adryane Driscoll, Vicki Walters, Marie-Pierre Capistran, Stefanie Semple, Brenda Becknell, Audrey Tan, and Debbie Hodge?  Go Check out Get It Scrapped's Post "Ideas for Composing the 6 Photo Scrapbook Page."

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Want six ways to support this blog and find some groovy scrapbooking supplies?  Check out these affiliate links:

Get It Scrapped Post: Road Trips!

Its August and I'm itching to go on a road trip - a real road trip - like for a month, but, alas, it is just not going to happen right now for me.  So, in the meantime, I'll settle on short road trips over to Disney, I know, rough life right?  But really, I would so love to take a road trip up the east coast and end up in Nova Scotia or out west and then drive up the California coast - ahhh, maybe someday. 

That page with my daughter at the wheel was from a couple of years ago - seems that we're creatures of habit and we do this girl's weekend to Disney every year about this time.

I made a double page layout for the Get It Scrapped Road Trip Post.

I used the single page sketch to create a double page layout about our recent trip to Orlando; I changed the placement of the sketch for the left side page.

We live about an hour and a half from the Magic Kingdom so sometimes its a day trip and sometimes its an overnight trip; and many times, we go on a whim.  A rainy day for us means a great day to visit the Disney Water Parks; my daughter and I made an impromptu trip during T.S. Debby.

Journaling: "Can we got to Typhoon Lagoon? Allison wants to know.  "Maybe" I say.  "I Have to check my work calendar and see how much the hotel will be."  Daddy adds "There's a tropical storm coming!"  "Perfect!" Allison declares.  She knows this will mean a much shorter line at the zip line which we remember (after we are all the way in at Typhoon Lagoon) is at Blizzard Beach."  "It was indeed rainy, but that meant we got a bonus day in Orlando and saw the Brave Movie at Downtown Disney + Room Service at Floridays + A shopping trip to Tommy Hilfiger where Allison bought that adorable dress and I got some new bathing suits at Nautica.  We had a fabulous girls weekend.  June 2012."

Supplies: Red Cardstock Patterned Paper (Scenic Route); doileys, maps die cut with Quickutz Metro letter dies; sharpie for journaling; border stickers (Sassafrass).

 

Want to see more Road Trip Scrapbook Pages from scrapbookers including Adryane Driscoll, Debbie Hodge, Brenda Becknell, Tara McKernin, Barb Brookbank, Sue Althouse, ?  Get over to Get It Scrapped's Post on Scrapbooking Road Trips. 

Counterfeit Kit Club August 2012 Layout #1 + Ashley Horton's CKC Sketch

CKC August 2012 Layout #1:

I'm not sure if Ashley Horton's CKC July Sketch It Challenge is still "live" or not, but I loved this sketch and it was easy to execute with my newly home-made Counterfeit Kit Club for August; here's a link to another CKC forum with lots of scrapbooking challenges.

Ashley suggested misting, but I opted for stamping through a crafter's workshop template.

 

It was tempting to go back into my regular supplies for the embellishments, but I made a small box of embellishments last night and stuck with them for this layout - even the completely bright yellow - which I was hesitant to use but in retrospect it worked well with my son's bright yellow kayak, so the kit totally worked.

I bought this display stand at the craft store recently and I've been putting my recently made layouts in it and it is fun to see the layouts on display and it is easy to use.

I couldn't find the exact stand on Amazon but here are a few similar items:

Sunday Scrapbook Sketch Challenge #2: The Studio Challenges

Remember last Sunday I mused about starting a weekly Sunday sketch challenge? Sunday Sketch Challenge #1  Well? Here's week #2.

Scrapbook Confession #2: I start blog series and then never finish them {click here for the DCWV 24 Layouts from One Stack Challenge}   {click here for scrapbook confession #1} One of my known self-admitted scrapbooking (and life) weaknesses is that I love to start things, but get less excited about maintaining or finishing things (like mini books for example).  I think this Sunday Series is do-able for me to continue since I won't be creating the sketch, I'll be linking up to another challenge or inpsiration site.  Please play along and post a comment with a link to your layout! 

This week is more a concept than a sketch but the sketch is roughly this:

Fancy graphic right?  And yes that is blue ink on my thumb nail - which is probably reason #3 why I don't stamp more often (see below for reasons #1 and #2).  The basic concept for this page is to take a stamp and stamp it horizontally across a white sheet of cardstock and create several rows of it.  Then add your photo or photos on top of the horizontal band and add a title and some embellishments (if you want - I didn't) and call it done.

If you need more of a challenge then create the basic page using the fancy sketch above and also make the page monochromatic and have the subject matter be "something awesome you take for granted".

My page is about our backyard pool and how lucky they are to have it and how they'll probably never get that since they grew up with it.  Here's my journaling:  "When I was a kid, we'd sometimes get a small plastic pool but most of my swim time was in friends' pools or in lakes or the very cold Atlantic Ocean.  I'm not sure my kids can even begin to understand how lucky they really are.  So seriously lucky to have a backyard pool." 

I was inspired by The Studio Challenge: Try a New Technique blog post; specifically, I wanted to do a layout inspired by Valerie Mangan's layout with the stamped circles. 

I have lots and lots and lots of stamps and ink pads and they rarely get used.  One reason is that I don't think I'm very good technically at stamping and another reason is that when I get that sort of thing out, if the kids see me do it, they want to get involved and it instantly becomes super messy and I go from scrapbooker to scrapbook caddy for the kids and number one clean upper.  I should probably just get over the #2 reason and embrace the mess, and sometimes I do, but most times, it just seems like one more mess to clean up - and scrapbooking is my happy fun time when I try to escape from the dishes, laundry and vacuuming - which I need to get to as soon as this post is done - oh hurrah. 

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The Scrapbook Improv Thought of the Day / or maybe lets call this the Scrapbook Yoga Tip of the Day:  The point of scrapbooking for me isn't so much the finished page as it is the mental play time I get from creating the page.  I even find it gratifying when I push myself to make a page or use a technique (like stamping) on a page when I am not inspired to do so; I think that pushing through the initial hesitation that sometimes comes with creativity gets you to the place where you are having fun and forget time in the creative process.  FORGETTING TIME is the goal for me.  I want to get to a place where I'm so into what I'm doing that I can turn my brain off to all the other stuff that is usually on my brain.  Scrapbooking can be a meditiation.   It can also be a place where, if you let it, your subconcious can bring things to your attention - almost like dreaming.  But to get there, you have to be open to listening and to letting go of knowing the end when you start, you have to start with an improv kind of mind - and just respond to what is in front of you - or in front of your brain and go with it.  To get there, you can't be too concerned with whether your page is going to look completely awesome, if it does great, if it doesn't that is ok too - especially if you got your process and your brain get completely immersed in the process.

(P.S. The subconscious notion that this page brought to my attention is the the whole parenting thing of trying to make up for the stuff you felt like you didn't have in childhood; so you end up sort of spoiling your kids or giving them too much.  I sometimes I think (I know) I go overboard with trying to make things awesome for my kids.  I don't think I'm alone in this - I think lots of people from my generation do this - and I think we also know its probably not the best thing to do.  Its just that trying to find the right balance of making things fun and awesome but also instilling the work ethic and value of a dollar thing that I got from not being given so much as a kid.  I guess its one of those ever ongoing things - trying to get things right - knowing that you can't possibly ever be the perfect parent no matter how hard you try.  There's a commercial on tv right now that says something like Mrs. So-and-So would do everything for her kids if she could.... I'm kind of like that - but I also know that's not what they want or need.  We had an issue with my son yesterday, a sort of total meltdown, and it was hard but we recovered and had a great day, but I don't think it is fully resolved.  So that's been on my mind and it is probably the undercurrent of this pool page.  Isn't that punny?  Undercurrent / pool?  I know, not super funny - but sometimes when things are hard, it is good to add a little bit of silly in to keep things lighter.)

Now go make something!

Amanda Jones' "The Studio Challenges" Blog {& Tom Cruise Tangent Alert}

I am thrilled to be the Guest Designer this month over at "The Studio Challenges" Blog by Amanda Jones. If you need a great challenge this Sunday, go check out her post Try A New Scrapbooking Technique That You've Never Tried Before!

My page included misting, stencils and puff paint! 

The Studio Challenges post includes scrapbook pages from Amanda Jones, Anna White-Sharman, Christina Collins, Daphne Wuenn-Rihm, Ellie Augustin, Emi Parczewska, Jan Tatomir, Julie Dix, Kat Benjamin, Katherine Sutton, Petra Offrell, and Valerine Mangan.  Go check out all of the "new technique" goodness and try a scrapbook technique you haven't tried yet - it is fun!

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What We've Been Up To & Major Tangent Alert about Tom Cruise:

Ok I'm off to do some actual archery, swimming, and kayaking with a group of energetic 7-10 year olds. 

Yesterday we all went to Blizzard Beach - and when we got back Charlie said that Tom Cruise and Suri were at Blizzard Beach too!  I guess we must have totally missed them, but I couldn't help to imagine some of the one liners I'd say to Tom Cruise if I were to be standing in a water park slide line with him, here are a few:

1. "Seriously, you were married to Nicole Kidman and you messed that up?   Did you see that singing and dancing movie with Ewan McGregor?"  Seriously, wow they are light years hotter than you.  (I probably would NOT have actually said that out loud - but seriously - Nicole Kidman is a goddess).

2.  "My lawyer says hi."  (Our personal lawyer -even though we are ourselves lawyers - is the same lawyer that battles the church that Tom is hooked up with, so I'm guessing Tom would not be a fan of that comment either and again, I probably wouldn't actually say it out loud).

3. "Did you see the Cathy Zielske's Spoof Video on Scrapbookology" on You Tube??

 

4. "You had me at Risky Business and Jerry McGuire, but lost me on the Today Show and Oprah's couch."

5. "Yes, sure, you can borrow our sunscreen.  You don't want to return that kid with a sunburn."

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Ok that seems too snarky right?  Thing is, I used to have a major crush on Tom Cruise back in the 1980s when he was in Risky Business etc.  But he's gone down this intense weird road since then and I just totally lost all attraction for him.    I know I'm just some random fan, but I don't get crushes on movies stars that often, so when they fall it is disappointing.  My current movie star crush has been Andy Samberg for a good 8 years now - I know, super different than Tom Cruise.  I have eclectic tastes.  But bottom line?  Funny is way more important than conventionally cute.

 

 

Scrapbooking Challenge #1: Finishing Mini-Books

This post is about scrapbooking challenges - as in things that are difficult rather than a sketch or a prompt. This was the topic of the most recent Paperclipping Roundtable : The Confession Show.

Maybe my biggest challenge in scrapbooking is: FINISHING MINI BOOKS! 

I love to start them, I love to work on them to a point, and then I'm on to the next thing leaving behind a trail of half-finished mini-books. 

Here is my half-finished Mini-Book of a weekend trip to Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral last summer:

In restrospect I wish I would have:

1. Made a smaller home-made smash book - this one has way too many pages - and I even pulled out 10 pages!

2. Journaled during the trip - I brought this one and started it while we were on the trip and I intended to write things down in it during the trip  but didn't - I wish I would have!

3. Pasted the photos in faster - as in closer to the time we got back from the trip- because I think I would have been more motivated to finish it.

What do you do to finish mini books?

 

 

Sunday Scrapbook Sketch Challenge #1: Get It Scrapped Sketch #89

Its Sunday and You Want to Scrapbook, but can't decide where to Start! 

Sound Familiar? 

Here's An Easy Way to Solve this Scrapbooker's Problem:

1. Pick a  Sketch, Any Sketch.  (but make sure to just pick ONE).

2. Commit To It.  (no changing your mind after you find one - p.s. it should take less than 5 minutes to find one).

3. Finish the Sketch In Less Than an Hour.  (giving yourself a deadline is huge!  do not skip this part!)

A blog reader recently emailed me to get a link up to the challenges I like to use for scrapbooking.  I'm planning on doing a post soon with lots of links, but meantime, I'll share what I used for inspiration today:  Debbie Hodge's Get It Scrapped Sketch and Template Bundle #89:

I'd like to say that I'll start a Sunday Sketch Challenge and play along with a sketch every Sunday; but chances are I won't be that consistent - but that idea could certainly be awesome for someone who wanted a reliable source of inspiration:  Just decide that Sunday is Sketch Day, Monday is Make Something By Hand Day; Tuesday is Two photos on a Page Day; or whatever.  Sometimes the deciding part is the most difficult part. 

The Take Away?  Make a Decision.  Commit to it.  And finish it quickly.  These principles are similar to those used by improvisational comedians and these concepts work well for creativity scrapbooking.  I've got a Blog Category over to the right column called "LIFE: SCRAPBOOK IMPROV" if you'd like to read more about my concept of mashing up the principles from improvisational comedy with scrapbooking - It made me faster, more creative and happier - and I'm hoping it will do the same for you!

Please leave a comment and a link to your page!  I love to hear your thoughts on getting started when you're feeling that overwhelm that sometimes comes when you carve out time to scrapbook and get to your scrapbook place and then feel scrapbooker's block; I'd also love to see your pages!

Have a Happy Sunday!

Inspired by the Olympics

We've been watching the Olympics from London - one of my favorite places on earth.  I did almost 2 hours on the stepper this morning (I've seriously been off my routine so this was a nice kick start) while watching the men's bike race. 

My son and I had a day together in the pool, on the kayak, practicing archery - our latest favorite thing, buildng a wooden path on the little island and painting signs and nailing them to a dead tree on the island - it was a quite an adventure.  But I didn't take any photos today!  And I wanted to make sure I remembered this fun day with my son.  And I have these recent photos - but my home printer is currently all out of ink!

I found these old photos of him and even through 5 years have passed since they were taken, it strikes me that this kid is still such an Aqua Boy - and we've been watching Michael Phelps in swimming - a favorite example of mine for my son since Phelps has ADHD and is the winning-est Olympic athlete of all time - so Mac hears a lot about Michael Phelps from me. 

Anyway, Olympics or not, my son has always been able to swim like a mermaid - it is amazing how much time he can spend underwater.  Lately I've been calling him the "water ape" from that Animal Planet Mermaid spoof movie - but I thought Aqua Boy Made for a cuter title - maybe I'll save the "water ape" title for another layout.  Today was all about water and my little Aqua Boy.

Scrapbook Sketch Challenge

This layout is based on the My Creative Sketches: June Sketch Challenge:

I used some super old stars and that quote square from My Mind's Eye.  I had fun using the more muted and darker colors in the background to contrast and play with the bright happy colors in the foreground and embellishments; sort of a tribute to my husband, who is wearing darker colors, and my daughter in bright aqua blue.  These two have a completely fun happy relationship; mainly because she's got him wrapped around her little finger - but hey, isn't that how it is supposed to be?  These photos were taken close to Father's Day this year so I thought I'd celebrate this father-daughter relationship on a page.

The sketch from My Creative Sketches was super easy to work with and I used 4x6 photos; I trimmed the one on the right.  If you want to give this one a whirl, the deadline for the sketch challenge is July 14, 2012 - you can use the link up top to get there.

:) Katie.

 

Improv Scrapbooking: "Frustrate the Want"

So its been a little bit that I have blogged, but I've been scrapbooking lots lately.  I listened to the Paperclipping Roundtable Podcast yesterday and scrapbooker May Flaum mentioned that she blogs by the pool in the NEON episode.  I got to thinking that I should try to make a scrapbook page at the pool (usually I just do scrapbooking busy work (or Pinterest Pinning!) rather than creating a layout.  So I gave it a try and made a scrapbook page about the pool while I was at the pool yesterday! I loved scrapbooking outside.  I'm going to make scrapbooking part of my poolside routine. 

Improv Scrapbooking Concept: "FRUSTRATING THE WANT'

The Improv Concept of "frustrating the want" is that when one of the players has a want the others in the group "Yes, And" the want but then go ahead and totally make it impossible for the original player to fulfill the want.  Example:  Improv player #1 says "I've got to get quiet time to get some homework done."  Player #2 says "Oh yes, absolutely, don't let me bother you" and then proceeds to start drum practice.  Then Player #3 also agrees to be quiet but starts hammering nails; player #4 starts opera singing; etc. So that they players are all agreeing the the initial player's want but then going ahead and frustrating it anyway. 

How to apply this to scrapbooking?  Do I want to find ways to frustrate my wants in scrapbooking?  Heck no!  I want to figure out what my frustrations are and think up clever ways to solve them.  For example, I want to create  more scrapbook pages but my kids want to swim in the pool for hours and hours and hours a day.  They are strong swimmers but we don't let them swim without an adult; so I play lifeguard but don't have to watch them like a hawk, they chatter the whole time so most of the time I can just listen to their constant chatter while I surf Pinterest on my iphone.  But the pinterest search has sort of been frustrating my own want to spend more time scrapbooking.  So actually scrapbooking satisfies my want;  funny?  No, not really; but that's not the goal.  I was letting my want get frustrated by being outside away from my scrapbooking room; so I re-thought the whole poolside routine and satisfied my own want. 

IMPROV SCRAPBOOKING EXERCISE:   Think of something you've been frustrated with in your scrapbooking (or not scrapbooking) routine and think up a new way to satisfy your want. 

Can't think of anything that is frustrating you in the scrapbooking department?  Here are some ideas and some possible answers:

1. Not Enough Time To Scrapbook?  A. Figure out a way to cut out something else (like tv); or B. Figure out how to scrapbook faster.

2. Not Enough Budget For The Latest & Greatest Scrapbooking Supplies?  A. Try the Counterfeit Kit Club Blog Challenge to get your old stuff to seem new; or B. Figure out what you  really use (patterned paper, stickers, whatever) and only buy "new" of that item and use it with your older supplies.

3. Having a Hard Time Thinking Up Stories to Scrapbook?  A. Go about your scrapbooking process from a different place - ie. if you usually start with photos, try starting with product; or B. Talk to your friends and family, make a little mental note (or if you are like me - actually write it down so you don't forget later); and scrapbook the conversation or the stories you talked about.

That should get you started; if you have questions about "frustrating the want" or "improvisational scrapbooking" please leave a comment.

P.S. (partly from a comment I left over at PRT) The layout here is about how our old yellow labrador Dandy Dog tries to rub his head on the side of the pool but he did this once and it burst a blood vessel in his ear (and cost $800 to have the surgery to get it fixed) so now when ever Dandy goes into the pool, my husband plays "Dog Police" and it reminds me of the improvisational comedy "game" of "frustrating the want"; it is funny to watch them do this little dance.  And, P.S. not quite neon but close - I left a comment about Neon on May Flaum's blog and she made a good comment that there is a difference between brights and neons; and yes, I'll admit neons are probably harder to use - I just think its fun to see a "new" set of colors in scrapbooking.

Want more information about May Flaum's scrapbooking & about improvisational comedy techniques?  Check out these super cool affiliate links:

Summer Bucket List & Summer Scrapbooking & Scrapbook Album Organization

Creating a Summer Bucket List is a great way to kick off and plan your summer, I'm just getting started on my 2012 Summer Bucket List.  I'm using inspiration from my Summer Pinterest Board where I have 60 super summery pins that are sure to get your mind on your own summer bucket list. 

I also love to gather my summer scrapbook layouts into dedicated summer albums. 

My finished layouts make three stops: 

1. When the scrapbook page is first complete, I photograph it and put it up on this blog and then store it in a "recent pages" album.  I'm planning to make a video on the 12th of each month with some commentary on my recent pages.  I did one this month that you can see on youtube, here's the first video in my "dozen day" summary for May:

 

Next Month I'll focus on Summer Scrapbook Layouts in my Dozen Day video and I'll show my summer scrapbook dedicated albums, so watch for that.  Click here for the blog post for the May Dozen Day.

Ok, back to the journey my finished scrapbook pages take: 

#2.  After my pages have accumulated in my recent pages album, I'll go through an divide them up and place them into my Stacy Julian style Library of Memories Albums, these are 3 ringed albums and I have Stacy's standard four themes of people, places, things and us, but I also have added school, celebrations, an album for each member of my family, and maybe a few more.  These albums are mostly arranged in one place so it is easy to go through and divide up the layouts and add them to these broadly themed albums.

3.  The "final" resting spot for layouts are themed post bound albums.  I have these types of albums for the each of the kids and for ancestry/family history, and specific holidays like Christmas and Halloween, I've also made a post bound album specifically about my relationship with my husband which includes wedding and anniversary layouts but also more general pages about just the two of us.   So summer pages would generally go in "Things We Do" since there is a seasons subjection in that album; 4th of July pages go into Celebrations; so I might look through 2 albums if I were specifically looking for summer themed pages, I'll be creating this album soon and I'll try to include that process in the next video.  Meantime, here's a video about  that "Just Us" post bound album:

 

Need More Ideas for Summer Scrapbooking?  Here are some links:

1. Summer Vacation Scrapbook Pages

2. Summer Bucket List and Summer Wrap Up Layouts 

3. A Quick and EASY way to scrapbook a Summer Family Reunion

4. Summer 2010 8x8 mini book

5. Last Day of Summer Layout

How do you scrapbook Summer and what's on your Summer 2012 Bucket List?  Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

Want more summer scrapbooking supplies and ideas?  Check out these affiliate links:

 

Seven 7 Gypsies Inspired Layouts: #3 Cocoa Beach / Photo Tags

Here's another 7 Gypsies inspired scrapbook layout:

How this page is inspired by 7 Gypsies:

1. The blue and red postal diagonal stripes border.

2. The photos in the shape of tags.

3. The neutral, black and white colors with a touch of color.

I had fun in this series using zip codes of places we visited.  I ran out of the number "2" so I used the sticker sheet as the stencil and just left it on there -  I filled in the negative space of the "2" with a black sharpie.

Even More Winter CHA 2012 Scrapbook Knock-Offs

Here are three more CHA 2012 scrapbook layout knock-offs:

My sweet husband surprised me on Sunday afternoon and offered to take me to the craft store and even gave me twenty bucks to buy this Nestabilities octagon die cut.  I wanted to get a hexagon shape, but my local store didn't have them, I guess that's what on-line is for, right?  He also offered to buy me a new 3 ringed binder - I got the red Pioneer which I love; I do not recommend the DCVW red leather-like 3 ring binder (it works fine but it smells really weird), the Pioneer album is a beautiful dream and it smells nice.

Here are the 3 Winter CHA 2012 Scrapbook Knock-Offs of the day:

1. Nikki Sivils layout titled "Noah" using the "Noah" line:

The Lift:  This one was simple, a piece of cardstock, strips of multi colored patterned paper and some QuicKutz letters.

The Content:  Nikki Sivil's page was about her son so I decided to make my page about what my son was up to during last summer.

Supplies:  My background paper is KI Memories and the strips are Little Yellow Bicycle and the QuicKutz dies are from the Marigold line. 

2. October Afternoon Beautiful layout by Stacy Kingman using their Walk in the Park Line.

The Lift:  I had some blue and white flower patterned paper that was similar enough but I didn't have a whole 12x12 sheet of it so I decided to use it as a mat for the 5x7 photo.

The Content:  I also liked the sentiment but didn't want to copy exactly, so I scrolled through my "word up" Pintrest Board and found this sentiment.

Supplies:  QuicKutz letters in Metro; Papers from DCWV, October Afternoon, KI Memories and assorted random bits; the butterfly punch is Martha Stewart and the Butterfly embellishment is from the Dear Lizzy line from American Crafts.  The tickets were some raffle tickets left over from our neighborhood block party.

3. The Hexagon / Octagon Trend is being seen in so many of the releases for Winter CHA 2012; I don't think the original layout is a CHA release and I think the original might even be a digital page but I'm not for sure.

The Lift: The original page used hexagons to form the entire background - here's the thing about hexagons:  they provide complete coverage; where as octagons will leave those little squares inbetween the octagons; I think this difference accounts for hexagons, rather than octagons, being the new trendy shape this Winter CHA 2012.

The Content:  I have lots of photos from a trip we took in October to a farm, many of which had lots of background so that the subject matter of the photos were small, perfect for diecutting into shapes.

Supplies:  Random embellishments, Nestabilities Octagon Die Cuts; Jenni Bowlin ticket, October Afternoon stickers, Martha Stewart and Dear Lizzy Patterned Papers, cardstock. 

The photos from CHA 2012 are starting to show up on the internet - if you have any good links to CHA related photos or videos, please leave a comment with the link.

Scrapbookers: How Do Edit Your Layouts Before Uploading?

I recently took the Ella Publishing Boot Camp and a few of the exercises by Maggie Holmes were instruction in PhotoShop Elements 9.  I have owned this program for a long time but I have been afraid to use it, the video instuction in the Ella Boot Camp was very informative and made me comfortable with at least going in to the program to do some more editing on my own with some of my photographs. 

Tonight I made a layout based on a Sketchy Thursdays Sketch and then edited the photograph of it in PhotoShop Elements. 

 
So my questions for you, dear blog-reader:

1. Do you upload your layouts to the internet?

2. Do you scan or photograph your scrapbook layouts?

3. Do you edit the photos of your scrapbook layouts before uploading to them your blog or internet sharing site?

4. Can you give me some tips on making my layouts look better on my blog?

Thanks!

Katie Scott. 

Ella Boot Camp: Custom Backgrounds {Stamping}

I'm a bit behind on the Ella Publishing Boot Camp because I came down with the flu this week, but I'm on the mend now and catching up on the challenges.  I made this layout by stamping the circles in the horizontal border strip in the bottom third - and then I punched patterned paper to fill in the circles. 

 
I don't often stamp on my pages so this was challenging for me even through it was very simple to accomplish.  Trying something new - or something you haven't done in a while - is a good thing.

 
The circles and the papers I used made me think of the seasons - and that there were more than four circles running all together made me think of the seasons in Florida and how my Floridian children don't really get the experience of the changing seasons like I did growing up in New England.

Journaling:  Growing up in New England, I felt very connected with the 4 seasons because it was always very obvious from the weather which season it was.  The quote by John Keats "The Human Seasons" which goes "Four seasons fill the measure of a year; there are four seasons in the mind of [humans]".  I do think the seasons mimic our lifespan and my kids are Floridians and all the seasons blend together.  I do my best to take them to other states to see and feel the seasons, but its hard to know withtout experience." 

I sort of ran out of space before I could write something better to end upon; but its ok, I'll maybe put this page near the beginning of a seasons scrapbook & then the rest of the layouts will finish this thought that even though they haven't gotten the seasons here in Florida, we have done many things to fill in this gap and the other layouts will exemplify that.

I also did a scraplift of Nichol Migouirk's boot camp layout:

 
I tried to do this with stamping - but the patterned papers I already had were close enough - somehow stamping always seems like too much effort for me when it is actually not all that time / effort intensive.  Do you stamp on your layouts?