Bah Humbug!

Yesterday was Pinterest Monday on the Scraptastic blog, and here is the page I shared, based on the pin that Rory and I chose to use as our inspiration.

It didn't turn out at all as I first envisioned. One idea morphed into another, and this was the result! 

  

I love the bold mix of patterns and colors in this kit from Scraptastic.

A little grouping of tags, banners, a doily and flair hangs beneath our family photo (minus one fireman who was on duty last Christmas):

Creating a title that fully expresses the theme of my page was made super easy by all the lettering choices in the kit.

Yes, the kids aren't always thrilled when the paparazzi (my 4 sisters and I) get out the cameras for pics on Christmas Day. It's a tradition they would rather forgo, but it's my best Christmas present. :)

Christmas Lights

Every once in a blue moon, I'll do a pocket page. It's a quick and easy way to organize a lot of photos  and yet still do that embellishing thing that I love so much! These pages were created with Scraptastic's It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year kit and add-on:

I found the contrast of dark and light papers to be in tune with my photos, and love how the black doily shows off the glittery white tree on the page above.

Below I used a some of the many stickers from the kit to dress up my page, arranging several to form a tree and embellish the journaling card.

My absolute favorite from the kit are the string of lights wood veneer pieces! Here I used perfect pearls to create colorful bulbs:

The light display in the above photos has become incredibly popular with long, slow-moving lines stretching miles (and hours) at times. We plan on bringing my dad to see them this week. I'm hoping the after Christmas wait will be much less than the before!

Cookie Exchange!

You wouldn't believe how quickly this page came together, how quickly it HAD to come together!

I had finally finished all my "work" work last Thursday night, and I could finally dig into my December Scraptastic kit. A few photos to be scrapped were culled from my photo stash; others were hurriedly printed at Sam's. At last, Friday afternoon was my chance to create! With a Pinterest Monday post scheduled for the Scraptastic blog, I had to get busy. The pin was chosen, the basic idea sketched out, it seemed doable. All Friday evening, I worked and got it done! Go me! 

Then I realized. I was working on the wrong project!!! The Pinterest post wasn't due for another two weeks. My next project was due on Sunday! It was crunch time, and Saturday was reserved for a run to pick up my son from college (about 10 hours round trip), and a Christmas/birthday party that night.

To the rescue...an old favorite, the grid design, simplified by dividing the page into quadrants. I picked out a couple of favorite papers, favorite kit embellishments and got it done again. 

Papers, doily, and Thickers are from Scraptastic's It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year kit. Tags and stickers are from the add-on. Twine and Liquid Pearls are from my stash. I love how the dimensional paint highlighted those berries:

Sampler-like, rows of candy cane and Christmas tree stickers fill in the space below each photo:

The largest quadrant on the page was reserved for a wordy title, made possible by the many lettering options that are included with kit and add-on:

When our "new" neighbors moved in across the street a few years ago, they brought with them a fabulous tradition...a neighborhood cookie exchange. We all look forward to gathering together, sharing goodies (and recipes), and catching up on the neighborhood gossip. So fun.

Whew! I still can't believe I got this done. I guess it goes to show you how easy it is to create with such a well-coordinated kit.

And the good news...that Pinterest Monday thing is in the bag. ;)

3D Adventure

This page was shared on the Scraptastic blog yesterday afternoon, so I thought I'd share it here as well.

We were on our way to experiencing another ride at Walt Disney World and I just had to snap a picture of my oldest son in 3D glasses. What a hoot! Don't let that face fool you; he's having fun. Star Tours, our 3D Adventure:

This page mixes papers from the Scraptastic Store, Gossamer Blue's On My Desk and Get Happy collections. Both have bold black and white prints, which look stunning against the other papers' vivid colors. To maximize the effect, I turned up one corner of the Be Bright paper to show the bright red underneath, as well as the sentiment "Get Happy" from the Happy Holiday Paper, which I glued to the back. Love the contrast, and the sentiment!

Here are a few closeups:

A trio of banners is held together with a Happy flair badge and grounds the title. Wood veneer stars hint at our adventure. ;)

What to do when there's a spot of emptiness on a page??? Add buttons of course. I found several in coordinating colors and they finish things off nicely.

Journaling tags hold the story of our eldest son and his off-kilter (with the rest of us) schedule.

This WAS vacation so we let the older kids determine their own schedules while at Walt Disney World. On this particular day, Brendan arrived just as 3 of our crew were ready to head back to the hotel. No worries. I, along with my eldest daughter, would accompany him through the park. We were the die-hards!

SUPPLIES: Patterned Paper (Gossamer Blue's Get Happy Collection-Be Bright and Happy Holiday Papers, On My Desk Collection-List Maker, Screensaver, Multitasker, and Daydreamer Papers), Die Cuts (Gossamer Blue On My Desk Gold foil Die Cuts), Enamel Stars (Gossamer Blue On My Desk Enamel Stars), Flair (Gossamer Blue On My Desk Badges), Wood Veneer (Heidi Swapp September Skies Wood Veneer), Chipboard Alphabet, baker's twine, and buttons.

UA Homecoming

This page was shared on the Scraptastic blog Thanksgiving Day, just as everyone was lolling around, under the influence of all that tryptophan. I thought I'd share it here for those just recovering from that and/or the Black Friday madness. ;)

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Roll Tide Roll! As this is my son's senior year as a student at the University of Alabama, and his last football season there, I was hoping it would be memorable. And now that the Crimson Tide has moved into the #1 Spot in the BCS polls for collegiate teams, I'm hoping for more. Another national title perhaps!? What a send-off that would be!

The page I'm sharing today is about a longtime football season tradition, homecoming, and one of the ways the UA students celebrate. In the Greek community, sororities and fraternities team up to create expansive house decorations. In this particular year, my son's fraternity helped put together the winning display. Hours upon hours of rolling up and glueing tissue paper went into this magnificent scene.

Here's the scrapbook page commemorating their impressive display:

All papers are from the Open Book collection...except one. Because a scrapbook page about the University of Alabama football wouldn't be complete without a bit of black and white houndstooth, I brought in a paper from American Crafts Haunted Hallow collection. Ahhh...perfect! Also from Crate Paper's Open Book collection are chipboard stickers, ephemera, and fabric brads.

Here are a few closeups of the page:

SUPPLIES: Patterned Paper (Maggie Holmes Open Book-Chapters Paper, 3x5 Paper, Full Heart Paper, Memoir Paper, Clippings Paper, and Slideshow Paper), Stickers (Maggie Holmes Open Book Chipboard Stickers), Brads (Maggie Holmes Open Book Fabric Brads), Die Cuts (Maggie Holmes Open Book Ephemera), Chipboard Alphabet, Letter Stickers, and Button.

Roll Tide Roll!

Make A Wish

The process for this page was very different than my usual. First I sketched out a basic design, knowing that I had all these fun embellishments from Scraptastic's Shake It Off kit. Then I put the main papers together: a neutral patterned paper background, with two smaller patterned papers arranged on top. One is given a zigzag edge; the other is a smaller strip with a label-holder title. I even began adding embellishments along the (almost) center line.

But what was missing from this process???!!!

The photo!!!

Yes, I had the look I wanted, but couldn't narrow down which picture to add. I had an old photo from my sorority days, a group shot from a dinner party, and the 87th birthday picture which you see below. It was just one of those layouts where every photo seemed to draw life from the page, and I had a hard time choosing! But birthday it was. (Ooops...I took this photo before I added the journaling. The sun came out and I jumped up with my camera to get a few pics before it retreated again. Imagine a little journaling card the color of the leaves tucked to the left of the photo.)

Butterflies, wood veneer, library cards, pockets and tags were just some of the "ephemera" added to the top of the herringbone patterned paper: 

A "triangle of green" draws the eye around the page...from the fun embellishments, to the words and photo, and down to the title of the page, stamped and framed in a wood veneer label holder:

Make A Wish. I ultimately decided on the 87th birthday photo because it WAS such a momentous occasion. Yes, we had pulled off another surprise party. Last year it was for my dad; this year for Tommy's mom. I can only pray that good health and longevity is passed down to me and mine!

Sunday Best

The following was shared on the Scraptastic blog yesterday, featuring a collection from the Scraptastic Store:

Flipping through the patterned papers of Maggie Holmes' Open Book collection for Crate Paper, one of the patterns caught my eye and actually had me do a double-take. It resembled the wallpaper that I remember from my grandmother's house! Although I didn't end up using that particular pattern on my layout, the scenario is what prompted me to scrap the picture below. My grandparents, mom, and her siblings were posing for a rare portrait next to their home, all decked out in their finest clothes...their Sunday Best:

A smattering of mist in aqua and yellow dresses up the white cardstock background paper. Various patterns are layered beneath the photo and their predominant colors (aqua, pink and yellow) are echoed by the vellum accents layered along the left hand side of the page.

Fabric brads from the Open Book collection complete the little cluster below:

Sheer letters, leftovers from an older Scraptastic kit, are paired with sparkly Thickers for the title:

SUPPLIES: Patterned Paper (Maggie Holmes Open Book-Chapters Paper, Years Paper, 3x5 Paper, Memoir Paper, Clippings Paper), Stickers (Maggie Holmes Open Book Chipboard Stickers), Brads (Maggie Holmes Open Book Fabric Brads), Vellum Ephemera, Thickers, sequins, mini-pearls, and mist.

I love when pretty papers can bring to life a black and white photo from long ago! 

It's Starting To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

It certainly is...with all the snow and cold weather sweeping the country! And it will look even more like Christmas at my house when Scraptastic's fabulous Most Wonderful Time of the Year kit hits my door. Here's a peek at some of the paper and goodies included. (Check back for full reveal December 1st.)

Such gorgeous and rich colors, perfect for this joyous season!

And check out what else is making its debut! The Scraptastic Stocking Stuffer kit! Chock full of seasonal color and embellishments, it's ideal for scrapbook layouts, project life, advent calendars, December Daily albums and more. For your inspiration, 8 design team members have put together a special class, the Stocking Stuffer Class. Here are the details:

 http://www.scraptasticclub.com/products/2014-stocking-stuffer-kit

Wow...I can't wait to see what's in store. Are you humming Christmas songs yet? 

Hello

I've been on a mission to scrap more of my "less-than-perfect" photos, like this one. It was somewhat grainy, taken indoors in a low-light situation, shot with my cell phone camera, but a precious moment all the same. No worries. Scraptastic's Shake It Off kit came to the rescue.

I took a favorite technique, paper weaving, and gave it a different look by varying the widths of the papers, weaving them loosely with spaces in between strips, and notching their ends like banners. 

The solid green and star patterned strips are actually opposite sides of the same sheet of paper. Along with the dark brown paper, they form the basis for my woven background.

Next, wood veneer, stickers, flair, leaves and butterflies, all goodies from the Scraptastic kit, were placed in a cluster around the left hand side of the photo. 

And finally, a ribbon embellishment gives a title to the page. It sure was a hello moment. Kevin, the youngest of five and not used to being around little ones, was holding his cousin's baby boy! Babies were and still are a bit of a curiosity to him...but he managed well. ;)

Remember This

Remember indeed! What I really need to remember is that photos with an overwhelming amount of blue can be scrapped without a single stitch of that color! I've been putting aside a lot of Kevin's swim team photos because I thought I didn't have papers with the "right" colors, but I was wrong. The layout, below, with not a single blue paper, becomes a study in contrasts, and I love it! 

Case in point: the bold orange dot paper and pink and red stripe are more vivid against the neutral background, white tags contrast with black, and because it has none of the aforementioned colors, the photo pops!

Everything on the page is from the November Shake It Off kit from Scraptastic, beginning with a pretty die-cut title. Patterned papers and puffy stickers from Gossamer Blue's On My Desk collection embellish it nicely: 

Here you can see a bit of the star cut file that I sliced up and tucked around the banners and tags:

More puffy stickers, rub-ons and a coordinating cut-apart add a happy little detail to the bottom of the page:

Yep...these kids are happy. And I'm happy to have realized that a blue photo does not require blue papers! ;)

Where's the ON Button?

Pinterest Monday has become a tradition on the Scraptastic blog, a tradition that gets us thinking outside the box and trying new things. The stitched-look lettering of the pin we chose to highlight this week gave me the idea to highlight one particular word of my title. Why did I choose to scrap a cassette? It's a story about changing technology that my family still finds amusing!

The stitched theme was carried over to the quilt-look cardstock squares:

Stitched Squares How-To: Cut (8) 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch squares of red polka dot patterned paper. Cut a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 square from the heart patterned paper, then quarter it by cutting on the diagonal to form 4 triangles from each square. Cut another 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch square from the blue dot patterned paper, then quarter as described above. Arrange as shown, adhere and sew around edges if desired.

Stitched Lettering How-To: After choosing your word, print in desired font and size on printer paper. Using a pencil, scratch on the reverse side of the paper, then trace letter on right side to transfer image to cardstock. Using pencil and ruler, lightly draw diagonal lines across letters, then punch holes along the perimeter of each letter where the lines intersect. Erase pencil lines and then stitch with 3 strands of embroidery thread.

Papers, stickers, cork stars, tag, and Thickers are from Scraptastic's Shake It Off kit and add-on. Triangle border is from Scraptastic's Free Fallin' stamp set.

Today And Everyday

I shared the following layout on the Scraptastic blog yesterday. It's the polar opposite of the page I shared last week! Whereas Smooth Seas took advantage of the peaceful blue hues on the B-sides of Echo Park's Creative Agenda collection, today's page combines all the color I can find. Same collection, totally different look!

Inspired by the 4x6 "Make Them Count" journaling card, I incorporated a rainbow of color with Creative Agenda stickers and papers in the brightest of hues on my page, Today & Everyday:

 

Lacy ferns, die-cut from various scraps of paper, are part of the story as well, an ode to the real plants that  flanked the stone bridge in the photo:

 

 Sentiments on the label stickers lend support to the page's theme of making every moment count:

SUPPLIES: Patterned Paper (Echo Park Creative Agenda-Days of the Week Paper, 3x4 Journaling Cards Paper, Positively Paper, Checklists Paper, 4x6 Journaling Cards Paper), Stickers (Echo Park Creative Agenda Element Stickers), Flair (Scraptastic), Thickers Chipboard Letter Stickers.

Don't waste any time! Head on over to the Scraptastic Store for this fabulous collection from Kaitlyn Sheaffer. 

Smooth Seas

I shared the following page on the Scraptastic blog last week, featuring papers and embellishments from their brand new store!

It was easy to assemble an almost monochromatic page using the b-sides of the otherwise colorful Creative Agenda collection from Kaitlyn Shaeffer for Echo Park. The calmer, more subtle patterns were perfect for my paddleboarding photos from this past summer:

Here are some close-ups:

SUPPLIES: Patterned Paper (Echo Park Creative Agenda-BlueStripe Paper, Arrows Paper, 3x4 Journaling Cards Paper, Positively Paper, 4x6 Journaling Cards Paper), Stickers (Echo Park Creative Agenda Element Stickers), Flair (Gossamer Blue On My Desk Badges), Buttons, Mist, Thickers Chipboard Letter Stickers.

Stay tuned for another page with this collection...one that makes the most of those colorful "A-sides" this time!