Piles of Patterned Paper

Monday Madness

Hi there. Just trying to get a couple layouts loaded before I step out the door. Mondays are always full of madness for me because they are my "get things done" days. Cleaning, errands, grocery store, you know, all the fun stuff! I have been trying to make myself take at least an hour to scrapbook before the madness starts. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever, ya get what ya get, right?! 

 I cherish these moments of scrappy solitude. Uninterrupted bliss. I am currently scrapping our most recent trip to San Francisco. As you can imagine, we have many photos from that trip. I even managed to get several of my husband.  Used patterned paper from Sassafras. The embellishments are from my never ending stash.

 We had so many things to see!

Thanks for stopping by and have fun creating!

What's your Hurry?

Sometimes, I get so focused on my next step that I forget to savour and enjoy where I am right now. Scrapbooking helps me slow down create and focus but, sometimes I get so wrapped up with getting great shots that I don't truly experience the actual event that I am trying to capture. I am a voyeur in my own life. It is difficult for me to achieve balance. I want to capture the memories because, these days are just speeding by but, I also want to really live my life. Focus on what is important and enjoy all of the little things that in fact, make up the big things. As a working mom I face the same struggles that we all face: trying to find balance! Balance between family, church and work, plus all the little bits in between. In can be overwhelming. Thankfully, my moment of zen comes when I am creating.  

 These pictures are from our trip to San Fransisco. The trip was to short and we tried to fit way to much into it but,  I love that Sophia really enjoyed the city. She loved the architecture, the history and the beauty. I used the Basic Grey chipboard because I felt that it had an Art Deco feel. The solid paper is Bazzil, and the pp is MME along with the epoxy dots plus, the flowers are Prima.

These pics are form the pumpkin patch. We have our traditions, like every year we stand by that scarecrow to see how much we have grown. I have had that apple paper forever and I was thankful to have an opportunity to use it.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend and have fun creating.

New Pictures = New Inspiration

Love, love , love a fresh batch of photos. Ah, so much promise. I hadn't had pictures printed since October. Partly, the thought of spending that much time at the computer does not appeal to me. I was dreading spending that much time on photoshop. So, I decided to just do it the old fashioned way and print them all! Over 300 photos of scrappy potential! So happy right now! I love the thought of all of the layouts I have in my future. I know that some people get stressed out at the notion and feel overwhelmed by all of the photos but, all I feel is promise! I guess it's all in the perspective, I have never felt that I had to scrapbook every single photo. I gave myself permission long ago to just scrapbook and not stress over it. I just enjoy the process and have fun creating.

 The above pictures are from December when my sister was visiting and we got some of the cousins together. They always have a ball so we all get together when we can.I used bits and pieces of scraps from other projects to create the layout. The sticker is MAMBI. love how it turned out!

 Close up of some of the chipboard and some epoxy shapes.

Pictures from Halloween. Didn't get very many. Generally don't. Most everything is MME on this layout. Got it on clearance after last Halloween. Love a good sale.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week and have fun creating. 

Happy Monday

I have started carving out a couple hours a week to get my craft on. Two to three hours on Monday to just create a little and completely relax in it all. I generally always feel better after I have spent a little unadulterated craft time in my little scrappy space. Life can get hectic and a little crazy and sometimes, I just need to reconnect and re energize through creativity. Who's with me on this? 

 The other day I stopped by my favorite LSS and picked up a few goodies. They have some awesome sale bins and it is always one of my first stops when I go in there. I picked up this fabulous patterned paper by Bazzil (Wayfarer) at 40 % off, I couldn't pass it up.

 Thankfully the paper went well with several times already at home in my stash. The brads are MME...love them and of course the glitter letters are Thickers.

 This chipboard accent is Heidi Swapp and I added a little extra visual interest by inking the edges. Fun how just that little extra step can help make things pop.

 Here is another layout from today. I used patterned paper form Heidi Swapp (one of her older lines) plus odds and ends from everywhere else.

Simple straight forward and nothing too flashy. Many times the picture is all you need but the rest of the goodies are always so fun! Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week and have fun creating!

Blog Surfing

When I started scrapbooking there were a plethora of inspirational sources out there; magazines, craft shows, message boards and scrapbook stores.  Flash forward several years, most of the scrapbook magazines are gone and the message board population has dwindled. However, the sources for scrapbook inspiration has not gone by the wayside. In fact the range of ideas out there are as varied as the amount of different scrapbookers. I love that! When scrapbook magazines were all the rage it seemed that there were really only so many scrapbookers that were getting published. The same scrapbookers over and over, got to the point where we actually knew the names of their children. The beauty of blogs is that everyone can get a little recognition. Anyone can have a layout pinned on pintrest and let me tell you, there is so much talent out there in the scrapbook world. Sure, it is a little more difficult to search but it is still out there! 

 I just had to share my most recent layout. Inspired by several layouts that I had recently pinned on pinrest, I created this layout with photos of my cousin and new bride. I played around with a little layering and inking. Most of the products on this layout are from MME with exception of the wooden swirly decoration that is Kaiser Kraft.

 Here is a close up. These types of layouts take a little longer than my usual layouts but they are so fun to get lost in and just create.

 I love the look of stitching but I hate dragging out my sewing machine.

 I am also still having fun creating layouts of my new niece. Love this little family.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful week and keep creating! 

Newest member of the family

I haven't actually met her yet but, here is a layout of the newest member of our family. My brother's sweet little girl Macie Grace. Oh boy did I enjoy going girlie with this layout. I even brought out the white paint and added a little to spice up the layout. Yes, it is very subtle but, it is there. I added texture through chipboard, grunge board, flowers (both wood and fabric),  metal, epoxy and brads. I pulled out all the stops. LOL  Happily charging through my stash and finally using some of these goodies always feels good. I even used my pink glitter Thickers. 

I admit, this layout took a little longer than normal. (Having to wait for paint to dry and all)  I did have fun playing around though. Always fun to experiment and try something different. No, I didn't go crazy but I am getting there! Have a wonderful week and have fun creating!

a clean space

Spent about an hour cleaning in my scrapbook room. Had to take a picture to record the clean work surface. Lol. I even windexed the glass top and dusted. Now to get in there and mess it up again!  I think I even have things cleaned enough to invite a friend over to scrap a little. Hopefully I will have a new layout to share soon! Have a great weekend and have fun creating.

Back in the Saddle Again

Time to get serious about this blog again and reconnect. There was a time when I had my finger on the pulse of the scrapbooking world. Sadly, those days are long gone. Most days,  I am lucky to get a few hours a week to devote to my hobby. I no longer check the message boards daily or study the galleries. Well, last night I revisited some of my issues of Creating Keepsakes. Remember when scrapbooking magazines were a plenty and the inspiration could be found all over the newsstand.  Yep, sadly, those days are gone but it was fun to revisit past issues, read the articles and just enjoy the layouts. 

I wanted to share a couple new layouts. Nothing flashy just straight forward pages. I guess that's what I feel most comfortable with. I realize that I can get in a creative rut and I have really isolated myself. I know that there are still scrapbookers out there. Communities where people get together and share their passion for pictures, paper and pretty add ons but we are rarer than we used to be. Perhaps this realization made me want to try this blog thing a little more whole heatedly. How many of you feel the same way? I want to reconnect and reignite. I am not promising anything crazy...just one decent post a week and the occasional mobile post. But here it goes!

 Here is a close up of the left side of the layout. The patterned paper is Pink Paislee "Noel", the brads are MME, stickers from HSN, clear definition stickers are MM and I think that the vellum snow flake paper is from Karen Foster.

 Another look.

 Closer still.

 This Halloween layout was so fun to do. Everything is from MME. Love it all!!

Have a wonderful week. I would love to hear from you if anything from this posts resonates with you. have fun creating and enjoy the journey!

Good Times

Happy Saturday.  Here is a little layout I did the other day. Love the crochet flower from recollections, it matched little B's hat almost perfectly.  Love putting odds and ends together to make a layout.  Enjoy the journey and create beauty. Sometimes it's just the little things that make the biggest differences. As I watch these kids grow up I continue to cherish every day.