Write. Click. Scrapbook.

The Three Project Challenge

Hey there. Erin and Marie here again and today we're challenging ourselves to use one set of products three ways. Because we all like to get the most out of our supplies, right?

We each have a set of Stampin' Up! papers, cardstock, stamps and ink and some punches that we'll be using today.

For my three projects I used the Just Add Cake paper line, Pennant Parade stamp set, Petite Pennants punch, Scallop border punch, ink and cardstock.

First up, my card.  

 

Next is my layout about Ryan's first haircut. Sniff. My last baby is no longer a baby! Also, I'm really loving orange right now.

 

And my third project - mini-notecards to stick in Emma's lunchbox. I'm writing little notes to her on the back. I love how these turned out and I plan on making more so I can stick one in her lunch every week for the rest of the school year.

 

For Marie's three projects, she used the Big Top Birthday paper line, Make a Monster stamp set, plus cardstock and ink.

First is her card.

Marie said, "For this card I used the Make a Monster stamp kit. With three monsters, eyes, teeth, hair, and horns, the kids and I are all going to have a blast creating little creations and fun cards for them to send."

 

Next is her layout.

"I finally got around to scrapping my very first Halloween photo. Yes. My daughter is SIX. My problem is, we don't really do scary things yet and I kept getting caught up on the need to use all of my cute orange, black and purple Halloween paper. Well, as soon as I saw this Stampin' Up! paper, I knew I was once again going to break the rules. Red, white, and blue make so much more sense with the kids' costumes. And finally, I have scrapped a Halloween page!"

 

For her third project, Marie made a mobile to hang over her youngest son's changing table.

"A few years ago I was surfing the interwebs and stumbled upon an adorable tutorial (photo mobile inspiration) for a mobile over at Design Dazzle. I knew I would end up making it one day. Hooray that day has arrived! While it was originally created with fabric, I knew I could easily adapt it with some cute paper and twine. It was a fun project, plus an act of desperation as we are in the sweating-my-head-off-wrestling-a-very-strong-baby-during-diaper-changes stage. So far it is working well!"

Seriously, is this not the cutest mobile ever?

Now it's your turn! Grab some product and challenge yourself to make three different projects using the same items. We'll be checking out the Flickr gallery to see what you come up with.

 

All product used today was courtesy of Stampin' Up! Thank you Stampin' Up!

So, you know those pages you don't really like?

You know the ones I'm talking about. Those layouts that when you look at them you wonder what you were thinking. The ones that just didn't turn out the way you planned. The ones that maybe you never even finished, whether because the design didn't work or you couldn't get the journaling down? Well time to pull them out.  

Erin here, and Marie and I are hosting this week. Five years ago we met at a scrapbook crop and bonded over our love of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode.  We’ve been scrapbooking together ever since. Well, other than the time she temporarily moved to Pennsylvania, but we won’t talk about that. ;)

For our co-hosting week, we thought it’d be fun to come up with some challenges you can do either with a friend or by yourself.  Today, we’re digging out those pages I mentioned earlier and giving them new life. 

 

Challenge #1

If you're like me, you have a pile of layouts you'll "get to next time."  Just like the ones I described above. Yeah, I have a few, or fifteen, in that pile. Now is the time to pull one out and re-do it. You can try to recreate your original layout, or go in a completely different direction. Change the layout size, use different colors, change your journaling. Just do it in a way you love. 

This is my original layout of Mackenzie eating her first birthday cake. As you can see, I had a lot going on. I had hard time narrowing down my photos, for one. This page is crammed full and it just never clicked for me. So for three years, it's been sitting in my "one day" pile.

And here's my new version. I used the same photos as in the original version, just cropped three of my favorites into circles. 

 

Here’s Marie’s original.

Marie said "For some reason I never finished this page. I love all the elements, but the journaling didn't work and I had a lot of photos from this escape and wanted to incorporate more."

And her new version.

"Since I took these photos years ago, but he tried the same escape attempt a few days before I did this layout, it only made sense to bring this story into the present. I am probably breaking all sorts of scrapbooking rules by doing this! Ha!"

 

Challenge #2

For this challenge, you'll need a partner in crime. Grab another layout out of that pile and give it to your friend. She'll thank you later, I promise. This is her inspiration for a new page. She can pull from the theme, the design, the photography, whatever she wants. This page that you didn’t love will become the basis of her layout that will be totally awesome. And of course, if you're gifting her with this beautiful page of yours, it's only fair for her to do the same. So graciously accept one of hers and play along.

Here's my page for Marie to use as inspiration. I know. It's awesome. Don't be jealous.

Marie’s take on it.

Marie said "For my inspiration page I loved the circles and instead of doing the words in blocks, I took the same thought and wrote all around my page."

 

Marie’s page I used as inspiration.

And here's what I came up with. I pulled out the color green from Marie's page as well as the striped pattern from the paint strip and the circle accent.

 

We’d love to see what you do with today's challenges. We’ll be checking out our Flickr gallery this week to see what you come up with. Have fun!

 

ps. Those aren't actually our signatures. We scrapbooked together Saturday and forgot to take a picture and sign our names together. Next time...

click.

Hi there and welcome to another round of click. Saturday where we give you photo inspiration and three accompanying challenges!I thought that last Saturday's write. challenges were so good that it would be fun to use them for our photo challenge this week!

 

A Garden Story

How does your garden look right now? Is autumn in full swing or do you have snow? Or are you one of the very lucky ones that still have blooms in your flower beds? Take time to document how your garden looks now, and then let's extend it to all year round. 

Let me tell you how happy I was to get this bunch from my garden after I had taken my photo tour!

 

Clearly autumn is in beautiful swing in Amy Sorensen's backyard! Splendid!

 

Cheryl shares this layout about her Halloween garden!

 

and Marnie caught a frosty shot of her weeds, which double as her garden.

 

Common Things

Check your photo files and find photos from this day/week last year and take new ones from this day/week and make a diptych .

[right photo 11.10 | left photo 11.11]

 

[right photo 11.09.10 | left photo 11.09.11]

And these are from November 9, 2010, and the same day this year! It is so much fun to go back and see how life looked exactly one year ago! 

 

3 Small Things For Which You Are Grateful 

I am doing a gratitude photo project for the month of November (you can see more here!). It is simple: take a photo of something you are thankful for each day!

 
I am grateful for being able to travel to attend the big craft fair.

 

I am grateful for our candle lit dinners.

Today I am grateful for light, for my camera, for not caring if I get wet laying in the grass, for seeing things others might miss...

Marnie put her three little things into a layout.

Here are the challenges again:

1. A Garden Story How does your garden look right now? Is autumn in full swing or do you have snow? Or are you one of the very lucky ones that still have blooms in your flower beds? Take time to document how your garden looks all year round. 

2. Common Things Check your photo files and find photos from this day/week last year and take new ones from this day/week and make a diptych .

3. 3 Small Things For Which You Are Grateful

We hope that you will join us for these challenges. When you do, please share your photos and layouts in our Flickr group! Have fun snapping!

write.

Welcome to Write Saturday. This is the Saturday we post some journaling prompts, share some layouts, and hope you'll play along. Please join in and post your inspired layouts to our Flickr gallery! Thank you for joining in!

 

From our journaling jar this week, we have three prompts:

 

1.       A Garden Story

Flower or vegetable, public or private, arboretum or farmer's field: gardens add a rich layer of beauty to our lives. As bleak November sets in, revisit the warmth of summer by telling a story you haven't told before that involves, even in a small way, a garden in some form. 

2.       Something in Common

Write about something two people have in common. You can think personal or physical characteristics, likes and dislikes, habits, favorites.

 3.       A Small Thing You're Grateful For

When we think about things we're grateful for, we tend to think of big topics (health, marriage, and family, for example). Instead, try writing about something small you are grateful for, like the perfect cup of hot chocolate (or the cup you drink from), pretty toenails (or socks that keep your feet happy), your favorite sweater (or the stranger who complimented you on it). This is a great chance to scrapbook about yourself! Or, think about a small thing your subject might be grateful for and write about how it influences his/her life for the better.

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Here are some examples from the Write. Click. Scrapbook. team to show you how the challenges translate into layouts:

A Garden Story

Back when my son Jake was just three (he’s nearly 14 now, and taller than me!) we spent a perfect afternoon together, planting hostas. This fall when I was trimming away the dead leaves, I realized I never told the story of that afternoon. It’s never too late to revisit an untold story!

 

The reoccurring nature of the living things in our gardens helps tie years together. In this layout, I wrote about how our catalpa tree connects me both to perfect early-summer evenings and my last son’s first few weeks of life. Are there certain trees, bushes, or types of plants you love because of something they remind you of?

Something in Common

For this prompt, Christa wrote about the physical commonalities she shares with her daughter Ella. It really is quite remarkable how much they look like each other! What about in your family—which physical traits do your family members share?

 

I wrote about a fondness my daughter and I share: we both like reading dystopias. Our reading tastes are fairly different in some ways, but we definitely agree on this one. Do you share a similar fondness with one of your family members? Or, you could look at it another way: how are your reading habits similar?

 A Small Thing You’re Grateful For

Kelly Jeppson shares this cute gratitude project. Here's another image:

She explains:

This was a project that I downloaded from Jessica Sprague last year, but didn't get to until now. There are 30 little envelopes to put notes in, etc. Kind of like a countdown for November. I decided to write a note every day (or have my kids write one) that indicates one little thing we are thankful for. So far, we have "changes in the weather," and "great parent/teacher conferences." We will add photos and other embellishments as we go. I think it will be fun to sit down and appreciate the small things we have to be thankful for.

The fun thing about this project is how it captures the little details that might otherwise be overlooked in the rush of busy days.

 

Lisa’s layout focuses on her gratitude for the great outdoors. (And even though we’re focusing on journaling here, it begs to be said: these are gorgeous photos!) In her writing she discusses her gratitude for the opportunity to wander freely in nature. What outside moments are you grateful for?

 

Even though they’re battered and scuffed (and maybe a little bit out of style?), I am grateful for my favorite boots. Not just because they’re great footwear but because they remind me I’m more than only a wife, mom, and librarian. When you think about the little things you’re grateful for, consider how those things impact you at a deeper level.

 

Good, creamy coffee and a pile of fresh photos to scrap: certainly the perfect “little things” to express gratitude for! Donna’s evocative layout helps us remember what we love about our craft. By stopping to be grateful for the everyday in our lives, we bring ourselves more happiness.

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That's it! We hope you feel inspired to record a memory or two! Please don't forget to leave a comment and a link to your layout if you make one!! Thank you for stopping and have a wonderful weekend!

 

Inspired by Saturday Challenges: Flickr Highlights

Welcome to Flickr Saturday, where we'll be highlighting reader & team layouts and other projects from our WCS Flickr gallery that correspond to the blog themes each month.

Be sure to load your layout when you create something inspired by one of our team members. One of these months you might just find yourself featured on the fourth Saturday!

Click Saturday: Design

Lisa O took her own photography challenge and uploaded these beauties to Flickr.

 

Week 3: My Three Senses

Monika inspired Monica to create this mini album from a children's board book purchased from the Target Dollar Spot.

Scrapbook Saturday sketch

Donna's sketch was the basis of Tara's digital layout of her family all dressed up for Halloween.

Marnie also created two layouts with Donna's sketch. One sticks to the sketch pretty closely, one, well, she started there!

Thank you for sharing your creations with us, ladies! We hope you will please join in again next month!

write.

Welcome to Write Saturday. This is the Saturday we post some journaling prompts, share some layouts, and hope you'll play along. Please join in and post your inspired layouts to our Flickr gallery! Thank you for joining in!

From our journaling jar this week, we have three prompts:

 

1. How things are changing. You could take this with a wide perspective---how are things different from a year ago, or a decade ago? Or on a smaller scale: what's changed in the past week?
2. School so far. Now that kids are in school and schedules are back to normal, how are things going?
3. Signs of the seasons. Sometime soon, take a little five-minute walk outside, looking for signs of the seasons. Then come back and write down what you experienced. This is even more fun to do with one of your children, your spouse, or a friend!

 

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Here are some examples from the Write. Click. Scrapbook. team to show you how the challenges translate into layouts.

 

How Things are Changing

Since I’ve had four kids, I know exactly what happens when one loses a top tooth: everything changes! So when my youngest, Kaleb, had a wiggly top tooth I knew to snap a picture before it fell out. In the journaling I wrote about what has changed since he lost that tooth.

 

Karen also wrote about a little one losing a top tooth. I love that we both chose the same focus—but our journaling each reflects our individual approaches. Yet, we both have that same bittersweet feeling. Maybe it’s universal to motherhood!

 

Celeste journaled about how she’s between her wedding day and her fifteenth anniversary. It’s a great reminder that you deserve some layouts about yourself. What’s changed since you were married?

 

Erin also journaled about herself and a change she’s recently experienced—becoming a runner. How have your exercise routines changed? What have those changes taught you about yourself?

 

Christa broke her changes into time periods—what’s changed in 1, 5, and 10 years. This approach lends a startling perspective by helping you see all in one glance the contrast.

 

Karen also shares a layout about the changes that happen during that baby year. Her journaling about her son’s crawling style evokes that quickness with which babies grow and change in those first 12 months.

 

Aly also writes about the speedy changes of the baby year. From the end of pregnancy to the start of the second six months, so much can change in just a year.

 

School So Far

For this layout, I wrote some of the little details that might get lost in a larger view. There can be such a gap between the expectations of starting a new school year and the reality of it. Journaling about what is happening right now is a great way to capture the texture of everyday life in a way you might otherwise not. Plus, it’s a fun way to use up a class photo or two!

 

Marnie's layout looks at the addition of homework to their schedule. We all know how homework affects parents, too!! And it was a good excuse to record a snippet of their everyday routine.

 

Signs of the Seasons

My son Nathan’s English teacher inspired this journaling prompt! He had to sit outside for five minutes and pay attention to the signs of the seasons, and then write an essay about it. I liked this assignment so much I decided to also do it. I included his essay and my own in the journaling. Don’t overlook your kids’ writing assignments as a rich source of scrapbook journaling!

 

Marnie's walk, while noticing the season, also had another purpose. Her journaling captures the reasoning behind the walk as well as the season around them.

 

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That's it! We hope you feel inspired to record a memory or two! Please don't forget to leave a comment and a link to your layout if you make one!! Thank you for stopping and have a wonderful weekend! 

Amy

scrapbook.

Scrapbook! Saturdays are going to be so much fun. Sketches, and palettes, and printables, oh my!

 

SKETCH

First, we are thrilled to welcome the talents of Donna Jannuzzi as our sketch designer. You are probably very familiar with her book from Ella Publishing and we couldn't be more excited to have her inspiring us each month with a new sketch. Thank you Donna!

Our first sketch encourages 4x6 photos for ease of use, and has lots of white space for you to leave or fill, depending on yout preference.

You may download our first Saturday Sketch here.

Beginning with Donna's sketch, I created this layout.

I found this sketch very helpful to getting more than one photo on the page--something that is often hard for me.

 

COLOR

This month our second challenge is a color challenge. Seeing this beautiful autumnal photo, we were drawn to its soothing color palette.

::source::

If you study the photo, you will notice that the colors appear in their pint (grey/blue & brown), quart (dark forest green & chartreuse), and gallon (golden yellow) measures. Not only does this add to the harmony and balance of the photo, but also lends itself to a perfectly presented color scheme. I was also excited to see the colors separate from the photo to realize that the combination is as helpful for autumn photos as it is for non-seasonal layouts.

Here is the layout I put together with the colors.

Not a fall photo in sight!! But check out that beard. My sweet husband. Or shall I say, sweet mountain man?

 

PRINTABLE

Our final Scrapbook! Saturday feature is a little freebie for you, to say thanks! Beth Proudfoot, download designer extraordinaire, will create something for us each month. This month, she designed a subway art that also has some fun other uses. It prints out in 8x10 to easily fit in a frame as art.

 

But wait! Look at all the other things you can do with it as well. Treat toppers or wrappers ...

 

... cards or treat bags ...

 

... and even scrapbook layouts!

Here is the link to download.

And while it is very fun to use this as art, please consider using it to capture some favorite autumnal photos or memories!

 

Thank you for stopping by! We hope you accept the challenge to use the sketch, the colors, and the word art to help make your scrapbooking a little more fun this week. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

hint hint ... post to Flickr, post to Flickr ...

write.

Welcome to our first new format Saturday. This week we are featuring journaling. Please join in and post your inspired layouts to our Flickr gallery! We will post some of our Flickr favorites in the Saturday post on September 24th! Thank you for playing along and we hope you like this new feature!

 

From our journaling jar, we have three prompts this month:

1. Today when I went outside, I could smell...

2. My favorite teacher was...

3. school bus memories/school bus antics/reaction to seeing your child ride the school bus

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Here are some examples from our team to help you see your journaling challenges translated into pages.

Today when I went outside, I could smell...

While I started this page with the prompt I let it move to an honest place. I have few photos from my childhood and therefore even fewer pages so I love letting the memories flow. This prompt was a great excuse to write some down.   xx marnie

 

My favorite teacher was...

- Karen

 

- Karen

 

You are going to start to see how I play within the rules (not well apparently!!) I loved so many teachers that I couldn't pick just one. Instead I listed all my elementary teachers and a few random memories from each year. I might try to do one for Jr High next!   xx marnie

 

school bus memories/school bus antics/reaction to seeing your child ride the school bus

created by Paula

 

I wanted to write down the thoughts that go through my head when my girls get on the bus and head off to school for the day. What stuck with me is the line "my heart is on your bus." That's exactly how I feel as the bus pulls away. ~Jody

 

This layout chronicles Poppy's thrill of finally getting to ride the bus. Having enviously watched her older brother ride the bus for years, Poppy was excited for her turn. More excited for the bus than school, actually!!    xx marnie

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That's it! We hope you feel inspired to record a memory or two! Please don't forget to leave a comment and a link to your layout if you make one!! Thank you for stopping and have a wonderful weekend!

A Challenge and some Journaling Prompts

 

I love the end of August. I love how, three or four evenings a week, clouds start piling up and enormous, ferocious thunderstorms break the edges off the hot days. I love that these seasonal storms—Utah's monsoon, since I do live in a desert after all—create a preponderance of twilight rainbows. I love the abundance of zinnias, the fresh face of my just-blooming sunflowers, and the friendly, over-the-fence chats with neighbors that nearly always result in tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, and peaches being passed my way.

I love that it brings back-to-school time for my kids.

Yep, in my part of the country, we start school during the last week of August. So my most recent weeks have been filled with back-to-school shopping, fine-tuning schedules, going to meet-the-teacher nights, and talking kids down from their day-before jitters. And even if you're in the sane part of the country (you know...the part that starts school after Labor Day), I'm guessing your days are currently filled with similar tasks.

So! Here's the challenge:

Whenever your kids go back to school, write your journaling about it on the day they go back. If they've already gone back, then I challenge you to write the journaling about it today. Yep, even before you print the photos or plan the layout. Maybe even before you download the photos! Because here's the thing: once the journaling is written down, and all the pertinent details saved somewhere, you'll rest easy knowing you won't forget anything, even if you don't scrap those photos until today's third grader is graduating from high school.

And here are some journaling prompts to get you started. Try writing:

about the preparations. Where did you buy the school supplies?  The new clothes?  What was back-to-school night like? What were your first impressions of your child's teacher?

a test. This could be a multiple choice, a true/false, or even an essay question. Make the questions relate to different experiences your student had during the day, and make sure to provide an answer key!

the bag contents. What is in your child's backpack? How about in his P.E. bag or her lunch box? Those little details tell some otherwise-forgotten stories.

about the outfit. Why did this particular outfit get chosen over the rest? Why are those the most-perfect-ever shoes? What color of socks are being worn? Is there one small accessory (a belt, a watch, a pair of flip-flops) that made everything just right?

the morning details. What did you do before the kids left to make the morning special? Or, did it all go poorly, full of stress and missing locker combinations and forgotten gym clothes? What kind of breakfast did the kids eat? Who was hard to wake up, and who woke up even before your alarm went off?

a comparison. Write about your first day of whatever grade your child is starting and how it compares to your child's first day. What's different? What hasn't changed?

a chronicle of the before-school jitters. What makes your child anxious or nervous about the first day? How do you try to sooth the anxiety away?

a list of differences from last year. What big (and small!) changes can you see in your child from last year to this? These can be physical differences, but emotional or intellectual ones are good, too.

about your reaction. How do you feel about the upcoming year? How will the kids being at school influence you? Does it make you weepy to see those little back-pack clad bodies getting on the bus, or does it make you excited for them?

your hopes for your student. What do you hope your student will learn? These hopes can be more than just about the scholarly things. What emotional learning do you hope happens? How do these hopes connect to the year at large? What will you do to help the hopes become reality?

your advice. What wise words do you have for your children as they start the year?

a summary of the first week.Who said the journaling only gets to be about the first day? Take a few notes every day after school for the first week, then work them into a cohesive story about the first five days.

with your kids. When they get home from their first day, ask them to write an answer to the question "What did I learn today?" Or, have them take one of the following post-first-day-of-school surveys:

Download First day of school elementary survey (a list of questions for your elementary-school-aged child to answer after the first day)

Download First day of school jr high and high school survey (a list of questions for your junior-high or high-school aged child to answer after the first day)

Happy writing!

  

 

Only This Summer

 

Hey there! This is Amy Sorensen, and I'm writing to you from the zone. You know, the war zone your house becomes in the summer when all the kids are home? Where you're refereeing eight arguments, reminding someone four times that yes, that chore does need to be done now, and proffering up thirteen different suggestions for what that bored kid could do instead of complaining about being bored. (All numbers are approximate but occur hourly.)

Yeah. I'm in that summertime war zone. And I'm guessing I'm not the only mom in the trenches! I really do love summer, even though it comes with all those entertain-the-kids challenges.

Speaking of challenges, that's exactly what I'm doing today (and the other two times I'm hosting the blog this summer): offering you a challenge. This one's designed to help you embrace the reality of what your summer is like. Your summer, right now: what's it made of? What details make it different from any other summer you'll ever have? What are the little things you want to keep fresh in your memory? What things do you discover around yourself only in the hot months of the year?

Here in Utah we're having weird weather (the ski resorts are staying open till Independence Day) so all of my flowers are blooming at the wrong time, our family's hayfever victims are suffering more acutely than usual, and my oldest daughter is taking driver's ed. (An event which has caused me to stop counting the individual appearance of grey hair; it's becoming a deluge!) One kid is obsessed with playing catch, another's deeply involved in hanging out with friends, and yet another is shooting hoops nonstop. Since those specific circumstances (and more) will only happen this summer, I want to make sure to get the uniqueness documented. Hence, the challenge:

Only This Summer Photo Challenge

Here are the rules if you want to play along:

1.  Find your camera.
2.  For the next hour, take some photos with the goal of documenting the summer stuff around you.
3.  Look for both the tell-tale summer signs and the more unique, this-year-only ones. Think about the everyday rather than the eventful.
4.  Don't pick up your house. Don't declutter or rearrange or straighten up. The messiness is part of the story!
5.  When you're finished, blog or journal about your pictures so that when you've got time to scrap them, the words are already there.

That's it! As I did this challenge yesterday, a little bit of magic happened: that anxious knot of summer-is-making-me-edgy start to dissolve. Documenting the details helped me remember I only get this very summer once in my life, so I should try harder to enjoy it. Here are two handfuls of my favorite challenge pictures:

1. Wet laundry hanging to dry on the swing set.

 

2. Such a not-smart idea: I totally left the clippers out in the grass after deadheading my poppies. Considering my kids' proclivities for getting into stitches-required situations, this was a close call! 

3. Only in summer is my apple tree the gathering place for rambunctious boys. 

4. I try to keep fresh flowers in the house. It looks like it's time to toss these and cut some new ones. Luckily I now know where my clippers are! 

5. "Who got the berries out? Can you please put them back in the fridge when you're finished?" 

6. Don't let him fool you: this scene may look bucolic, but he's also 13 and can turn on his zippy, goofy, energetic obnoxiousness in one-point-five seconds. 

7. Just where is that missing white flip flop? No one is certain, but luckily there are just a few extra pair sitting around. Not that those shoes are actually worn much. In general it's a barefoot ruckus around here. 

8. Another sure sign of summer. Not the flip flops (he'd wear them all year if I let him) but the scabby toes. 

9. They almost look like friends, don't they? My running shoes, my daughter's running shoes. She's deep into cross-country training time, while I run just to keep my sanity in place and my thighs from becoming monstrous. 

Want to play along? Leave a link to your blog in the comments, or post a few photos on the WCS Flickr page. I hope the challenge helps you, too, discover the unique goodness in your summer!