On scrapbooking and paper art.

The term scrapbooking is a little dorky. My friends (the non-scrappers) tend to make fun of me for my late night scrapping habits. They just don't get it. I love photos. I love paper. I love techniques. I feel like what I do is more than scrapbooking. I create art with paper and photos. I am inspired by other people who make art with paper and photos. I am not inspired by boring photo albums. I want beauty. I want art. I like to combine good design with text and stamps and stickers. I love making cards. Here is a kit from Close to My Heart that helped me to combine all of my favorite things. I made 2 'scrap book' pages and LOTs of cards using this awesome Twitterpated kit. I changed it a little to make it more mine, but the workshop guide made it easy for me to get it completely finished in a reasonable amount of time. So great for me. I haven't had a lot of time to make anything lately. I actually made all of this last weekend when my brother stayed the weekend with me. In between going to the recycling center, lunch, hitting up a scrapbooking sale (thanks Yvonne and Stacy!), where the wild things are (fantastic, I want to build a fort!), chuck-e-cheese and the late-night spookhouses, I was able to create a 2 page layout and 12 cards.






WOW! This was perfect for me. If I am not 'feeling it' with all the creative mojo...which is often....a kit like this helps me to break through and actually complete SOMETHING. And it was fun. And I am proud of myself. And I like it. So yeah. I don't care if scrapbooking is dorky. Or if it makes me less of an artist. It is fun. It is a creative outlet. It keeps me going. I need it.

p.s. I followed the workshop guide for my first six cards. They look exactly like the ones in the guide. These additional cards, I made up using the same layout but different paper and stamps.

Happy Holiday Weekend!

Well after a camping trip was completely canceled and I realized that it was too late to plan an alternative vacation this weekend, I decided to make a list of things to accomplish around the house. Item One: Clean out my closet, removing summer and replacing it with fall....it is Sunday night and I still haven't done that yet.

Saturday I woke up feeling extremely creative. I was IN THE ZONE. I started out by organizing my craft room. I was vacuuming at 6:30 a.m. From there, I was spray painting, taking pictures, paper scraps were flying and by Saturday night I had completed a whole array of creative projects that were on my LIST. I will be posting those throughout the week so please check back!

Item two: Make a baby scrapbook gift (by Saturday the 12th) for my brother's baby's shower. Done! I spent Saturday night creating a nice baby book/photo album for the mom-to-be to add pictures as soon as the little guy gets here.









You might recognize this from the Animal Cookies CTMH workshop. This was such a cute layout and the nursery will be done in a jungle theme so I thought this would be perfect for the album.














I love the last layout!

When it comes to scrapbooking + stamping...I am all or nothing. I generally don't mix stickers and stamps on projects (letter stamps excluded). By using part of a baby book kit and a few printables for the pages, I was able to save a LOT of time. I can't imagine creating all those parts by hand. I have a couple more layouts for 'Baby's First Christmas'. I may go pick up a sticker set or if I feel like it, I will stamp some things for that. NINE two pages lay-outs in a night is pretty good. I think they will love this book.

Thanks for reading. I hope your weekend was productive!!

TWO 2-page layouts using sketches!

My favorite magazine is Creating Keepsakes. I started reading the magazine over five years ago. I love all the editors and the layouts are fantastic. I love following the magazine online too!

For this week's 'Weekly Warm-Up' the blog is featuring a Becky Higgins sketch. It happens to be one of my favorites from the summer magazine. I am not usually a huge fan of sketches, but this one was super fun! Here is the sketch:


I came up with TWO versions of this sketch. One is using pictures from my niece's 1st birthday and the other is from a recent camping trip.


Party Layout:
CTMH Desert Sand Cardstock
CTMH Heartfelt Die Cuts
My Mind's Eye Patterned paper (the plaid is my absolute favorite paper this summer!)
K&Co. Rubons, Gittered Die Cuts, Flocked stickers, Adhesive Chipboard
Jolee's Boutique Cupcake
Other: gel pen--white


Summer Adventure Layout:
Hambly Woodgrain Overlay
7gypsies Mountain vacation Stickers
Cosmo Cricket Mr. Happy Camper Paper
Creative Memories Transparent stickers
CTMH HeartFelt Die Cuts
CTMH Chipboard and Stickease
CTMH Cardstock Desert Sand
other--brads

If ya'll have an tips on photographing 2-page layouts, I would love to hear them! Cards are way easier!! Anyway, I hope the quality is decent and feel free to click on the image to see it larger and with more details!

Project 52 Update mid-year (sort of!)

I meant to post this in June...but life happens so here it is!


My favorite thing about Project 52 is that I am keeping a weekly journal about the major (and minor) things in my life. I am able to throw in pockets of stuff, pictures, random found objects and my favorite stickers and papers. I am free to make collages of my favorite clothing tags, stickers or anything else I want.



I get to play with paint! I made this using extra paint during summer school. I traced a couple of circles, added lines with a ruler, painted the rays using florescent tempera paint and then I used a black pen to jot down all of my favorite memories from summer school this year.

I can scrapbook in reverse...I know I will have lots of favorite photos from a camping trip, so I made a page with some of my favorite Cosmo Cricket papers....and I will add the photos later!




First week of summer! Awaiting some pictures...I just had to use some Cosmo Cricket paper!



I can add some of my favorite stickers in with my journaling!

The pages don't have to be perfect! As long as they tell the story! This is a (nearly) chronological record of 2009.


I will definitely do Project 52 again! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with all the journaling and scrapbooking, but once I realized that I don't have to write a novel every day and I can get away with collages and pages without pictures, it became much easier. I don't realistically make a page a week, I might make 2-3 one week and then none the next, but it is definitely a fun project!

So happy this Birthday layout and Handwriting Analysis

Last night I decided to combine a bunch of things that I have been collecting over the last few weeks. I transferred some journaling from my birthday into my own handwriting and I included a Snapfish photo collage on this 2 page layout.

This layout is for 2 challenges. One is over @ the Creative Type blog. The challenge is to use a bunch of our handwriting and then do a handwriting analysis to see what our handwriting says about us....



What does your handwriting say about YOU?

I went over to the Handwriting Feedbucket site and here is what they said about my writing:
The results of your analysis say:

You plan ahead, and are interested in beauty, design, outward appearance, and symmetry.
You are a shy, idealistic person who does not find it easy to have relationships, especially intimate ones.
You are diplomatic, objective, and live in the present.
You are reserved, shy, cautious, and thoughtful.
You enjoy life in your own way and do not depend on the opinions of others.


This layout is also for the Scrapbook and Share blog. The challenge is for "National Scrapbooking Month and it is supposed to be a layout all about you! We want you to share your story with us, so put together your best two-page layout featuring…you! Send a JPEG photo of your layout and a description of how it is highlighting you, your life, your passions, your hobbies—whatever is the best way to tell your story."

The prize for winning is $150 in Close to My Heart Product....Also, did you know you could win a Tickled Pink scrapbook it just for leaving a comment on one of the layouts. EACH AND EVERY DAY, someone who leaves a comment will win a kit!!! Wow!! Go leave some love!!!

I included some funny stories and pictures to tell my story. The pictures were taken over the last year and a half and the stories are from my birthdays....Some are really funny....




yeah...I am a little nutty....this is only a small collection of all the photos on my computer of myself.....Go ahead, make fun of me.....

Project 52 Update

I haven't posted a lot of entries on my Project 52 book lately. I really haven't been totally faithful in making the one-page layouts....In Feb/March I didn't really have a lot of photos printed, and with my new printer I finally printed a few photos so that I could make some pages. I have been faithful at the journaling though, so that will make it easier to get caught up later. I want to go back to some of the weeks that have a blank page and make little collages on those pages instead of making them traditional scrapbook pages. There wasn't a memorable event every week so I will use generic 'everyday' photos from school, home and family to fill in some of the pages.
I love this project because it only involves a 1-page-layout and tons of journaling for the week, with room for cute little drawings or extra embellishments on the page! You can't see my journaling in this example, but I write quite a bit for each day. I can also include ephemera...the rainbow is an actual artwork I created as an example for my students. I plan to save more things like this throughout the year. Enjoy!!

AWESOME SCRAPBOOKING CONTEST

Yahoo!!! A contest with some awesome prizes in honor National Scrapbook Month. The CTMH sponsored Scrapbook and Share blog is hosting a contest this month. You can scroll down to read all the FAQ over at their blog. Here is the Basic RUN DOWN:

1. What is the Scrapbook and Share Contest? To celebrate National Scrapbooking Month, Close To My Heart is sponsoring a contest that anyone can enter! And it is easy to enter—just submit a JPEG photo of an original two-page layout you have created that represents YOU! Be sure to tell us what is happening in the layout, and why this highlights you, your life, or your personality. The Close To My Heart judges will then review all the entries and select five finalists for each category. The finalists will be reposted for you to view. The winners of each category will be determined by comments left or votes from blog viewers. Each winner will receive $150 US retail in fabulous Close To My Heart products!

2. What are the Scrapbook and Share Contest categories? There are five categories you can enter. Feel free to enter as many times as you would like. We are looking for winners in the following categories:

* Most unique technique: This category focuses on the layouts you submit. We are looking for the most unique, different, original techniques used on your pages. Show us what you can create! Be sure to tell us why the layout highlights you, too!
* Most humorous: We love funny! We would love to see the content of your artwork, with journaling, pictures, or anything else that tickles our funny bone. In the email you send us, be sure to tell us more about why it is funny to you, or why it makes you laugh.
* Most inspiring: Just as much as we love to laugh, we love to be inspired! Give us that inspiration with the content of your artwork, pictures, journaling, inspirational sentiments, you name it. Then let us know why this inspires you and why it should inspire us!
* Best use of color: Color is such an uplifting category! We want to see unique color combinations, color that pops, and/or even color that means something to you. Share in your email the reason the color on your artwork is important to you.
* Best use of photography: A picture is worth a thousand words and we love to see them. Show us your best shot on your layout and then tell us what it means to you.

CLICK ON OVER TO THE SITE TO SEE MY SUBMISSION!!

Remember, you can enter as many times as you want. Feel free to leave comments and check back often as new submissions will be added daily!
GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY SCRAPPING!!

Week One "Project 52"

Here is my Project 52 Album. Everything on the cover is from the Close to My Heart Silhouette Level 1 paper pack. I embossed the numbers and cut them out before I adhered them to the sticker. I covered the entire 'medallion' with liquid glass to keep the letters from getting ripped off. I didn't want the cover to be too busy because I have bad luck with really 'scrappy' stuff falling apart.


This 52-Week calendar is from Close to My Heart. It is perfect for this project. I am sure I won't fill up every SINGLE day, sometimes I may just write--really busy!!---or make a color copy of my planner and paste it on for that week.



The first inside page uses the same paper pack and a picture I took in December.


Well, this isn't hard to keep up with so far. I am not doing anything too strenuous each week of the year, just jotting down a few things and each day and making a one page layout. I decided to put "INSPIRE" on the very first page so that I would remember my WORD for the year every time I flip through the book.


I figure that I won't be able to complete some pages until the next month because I won't have any of my pictures developed. I tend to get about 3-4 months developed at a time. This may make it a little bit tricky to keep on top of things, but not every 'layout' has to have pictures. Some of my layouts will be collages with poems or lists or journal writing. I am leaving room on the 'week' side for small 'inchie' pictures and creations. I don't want this to be too bulky.


You can check out the other Project 52 layouts on the Flickr sight.

Two Challenges in ONE

***A quick edit to show the difference between night and day pictures. The first two pictures were taken with natural lighting by a window with a white backdrop. The pictures at the end of the blog were taken at night with a lamp.***







Okay, so I really love the Cinema Saturday Creative Movie Challenges, but I don't always have time every week to make something. Last week I made a scrapbook page, but I never got a chance to post it!! The snow day today provided me with the perfect opportunity to scrap these great pictures from the summer of 2007. We were in Tulsa, OK and we went to the iMAX to see the newest Harry Potter Movie in 3-D. It was awesome!!! The two-page layout I created involves lots of gold embossing powder instead of the so saffron. The color inspiration comes from Kristina Werner's Challenge #35 this week.



The blue in my layout is from a really beautiful paper pack from Close to My Heart, it is twilight instead of baja breeze. The door on the left page is hinged so I can slide my journaling under there. The 'golden' snitch is made from some chipboard dimensionals that have been embossed and the wing is from a Christmas ornament that I got from PierOne....I bought a few seeing their potential!!! The big letters at the top are die-cuts and I just added a lot of embossing powder to them. I also made the hinges and handle on the door match. The door has been dry embossed and inked to make it look a little bit older. I did find a really cool Harry Potter font here....but I downloaded it too late...I had already spent hours looking at my layout, figuring out what it was missing. Sorry if the lighting is a bit off....I took these pics at night (because I am pretty sure we will be going back to school tomorrow) and the glossy pics and gold embossing powder had a lot of reflection.