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scrapbook!

This is one my favorite times of year. Breaking out of the winter doldrums, and seeing the sunshine would be joy enough.  But it is also a time of peaceful interlude for school, sports, and family. A status quo month with few changes and few hiccups in the schedule. Which is a good equation for getting to scrapbook. And this month I have been so inspired by all the mini albums. I have lists of new journaling thoughts for layouts, and new colors schemes, and new design ideas. Looking through the minis also gave me some ideas for taking photo series. Oooh, I love percolating creativity!!

 

For our scrapbook! Saturday, we have our favorite three offerings: a sketch, a color palette, and a trend watch. Three more ways to inspire you and help move you to scrapbook.

 

THE SKETCH

This month, Diane created a sketch

based upon Amy's beautiful layout from her blogging week last month.

And look what our amazing team did with it.

 

Celeste stuck true to the sketch cleverly making a digital title that mimics a cut file. Celeste always has such nifty ways to incorporate trends whilst sticking true to her style.

 

Lisa made a vertical rectangle layout substituting one of the photos for a journaling card. I like how she striped the washi tape and stamped over the edges of the tags.

 

Monika also put a lovely and spring-y layout together. She added a matte around the sketch, and dropped one of her photos down. A fun twist on the sketch for certain.

If you would like to download a layered template you may do so here! Please leave us a comment if you take a turn with the sketch so that we might see your good works!

 

ROYGBIV

This month the color palette

is based upon Deb's mini album cover.

Doesn't it feel so current and trendy? I couldn't wait to use it on a layout! I have had these pictures waiting for something soft and light and black and this set of five colors was absolutely perfect!

I used the same kit that I used for my mini this past week. Being digital means I can use the color balance to match the colors on the palette. Teehee. So sneaky!

Did you notice that Deb and I used nearly the same arrow? Love that. Great minds, and all that... :)

TRENDING

This month I noticed many cut elements in our mini albums. There are lacy doilies, cut files, and laser cut wooden veneers. They remind me of acrylic chairs: add just what you need without adding visual clutter. I was excited to try my hand with some digitally created cut elements. (I know, I know, I could just use my Cricut, but I'm out of adhesive... :) ) I did the title and then decided it was the perfect thing.

I hope that you have had a fun Saturday! Thank you for stopping by! I hope to see your layouts when you are done!! 

AC Digitals Mini Madness Week

Hey it's Celeste here! I can not tell you how excited I was when Marnie asked for volunteers to play with a kit from AC Digitals! There has been a recent trend in the digital world where paper companies are putting out their products in digital form. I couldn't be happier. Now once again I can watch (with glee) the new products debut at CHA and covet them, but now for some I can actually downoad them and use them on my pages! Just fantastic!

The Storyteller kit by Crate Paper is just gorgeous. You paper folks played with this line awhile ago. The rich colors and the wood grain just drew me right in. When I saw the vintage camera it gave me a fabulous idea for a mini! Last year instead of taking 12 photos on the 12th of the month, I created my own version Second Saturday. As a working girl and a winter mole person (never seeing the light of day), the 12th tends to fall during the week which would mean all daylight hours I'd be stuck at my desk. Second Saturday means I can find better light and capture some of the craziness that makes up our weekends.

I love scrapping from a kit. It's one of the easiest ways to produce a cohesive page or in this case an album. A digital kit is even better I can reuse elements and papers to my heart's content!

I decided my mini would be 6x6. A nice little handheld album that my boys could peruse easily. For the cover, I chose the wood grain paper for my background. I adore wood grain and this lovely honey color just drew me right in. I used the camera almost as a photo and added the banner strips behind it. The yellow block serves to ground my camera and who doesn't love a pop of yellow? The only items I added to the kit were an alpha, some word art, paint splatter and a few buttons.

My cover really set the tone for the design of my album pages. Here you can see I repeated the banner strips and button from the cover onto the top of my page. I also used the same set of word art for the months. I used the same background paper throughout to make the album more cohesive.

I tend to make mini albums with a formula. It makes them go quickly and takes the guess work out of the design. So each of my subsequent pages is similar. I just chose different papers and buttons to complete the look.

As you can see, I also kept the banners to the outside edge of the page.

This little mini came together quickly using just one fantastic kit. It helped limit my choices and scrap faster. Now I just have to upload it for printing and put it in a little book!

Big thanks to AC Digitals for letting us play with this kit!

Chatty Cathy

No that title does not refer to my long winded posts this week! Today we are talking about journaling conversations and quotes. I have always found this type of journaling so amusing. My boys say the funniest things sometimes. I have a hard time remembering to write them down so I can remember to scrap them though. Lately, I've been using Oh Life! each night to give a summary of my day. This helps with my Project Life pages and I also have been able to capture a few nuggets from our day including funny stories, quotes and conversations.

Today you are in luck. This month's gallery theme is Conversations that means you have a whole slew of fantastic layouts to garner some inspiration from. I thought I'd highlight a few of them here. Simply click on the image to go to the gallery for a more detailed view.

First up, here is my contribution to the gallery this month. A couple of interesting tips when writing conversations down. If you don't want to attribute each line to someone using NAME:, then you just need to make sure that you include the person that the line is directed to in the line of journaling. As well, I assigned different colors to each person which helps you follow the conversation.

I love how Valerie O'Neall used masks here to designate who is speaking each line of conversation.

Amy Coose offered up this page that has text conversations on it. I love this modern take on how we communicate!

I do have a few pages to share that are not in the gallery this month. First up, Francine Clouden sent me this darling page about her son talking on the phone.I love the series of photos of him on the phone.

I have a few pages that come from deep in my vault of layouts. The first is this page, Chabooska! A funny thing my son Sam used to say when he was 2. One thing I noticed when I look at my older pages is that scrapping simply means that my pages really don't feel dated at all. Look at that conversation bubble from 2006!

 

Next I have another funny from Sam. A little rude perhaps, but my husband is a good sport. We really had quite a chuckle about this. I think the extracted photos and the patterned background give this a cartoonish feeling.

 And so you don't think I only scrapbook using extractions, here's one about an overheard conversation.

And for our last download of the week...

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Today our download is from Snips & Snails Designs at One Story Down. Stephanne is an amazing designer and so prolific. She often creates a fabulous main kit and then offers a slew of really creative add-ons including paint splatters, alphas, and journal cards. Her kits are filled to the brim with everything you need to create the perfect page. She really does a great job including something for everyone. I never need to worry about finding a matching button or another item when I sit down to scrap with her kits. Please be sure to go check out her store and leave her a thank you on her blog!

If you scrap digitally, you should check out the matching kit to these journal cards, Wish You Were Here. It's chock full of fun travel themed items.

I created this page of my son fishing using it. It really is a fantastic kit. The map papers alone are just divine! But I digress...

Aliza Deutsch used the printable to scrap this funny "thing" her son said. Aliza kept that conversation on a scrap of paper and when she came across this photo she knew she had the perfect pairing. I think the photo of him wearing the helmet is hysterical and so fits the page! 

I hope you had as much fun as I did this week. Have fun playing with those freebies. A big thank you to the designers at One Story Down for donating their time and creativity to my week. Those ladies just rock!

Until next time,  

 

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Letter writing is certainly a lost art. I can't remember the last time I sat down to write a letter. It's all email all the time for me. Letter writing is a great journaling jump start. It's really easy to write Dear Dad and then write your journaling and close with Love, Me. It allows you to get your thoughts down and helps keep the journaling personal and relevant. There is something about this format that helps me write about difficult topics.

Here I wrote a letter to my mother. She passed away in 2000 and she would have loved this get together last year. It was a great way to remember her and get my feelings out about who's missing from this photo.

And not to be forgotten, here is a difficult letter to my father about his cancer diagnosis and treatment. It's hard living so far away and not really understanding all that is going on.

My son was having a particularly tough month. I wrote him this letter that talked about some of the things that were going on and reminding him how much we love him! A monthly letter to your children is a great way to wrap up the month.

I couldn't resist scanning in this thank you card from my 11-year old son. I just love that he took the time to thank me for my help and the personal touch of his handwriting just adds so much to the page!

Our resident journaling queen, Amy Sorenson, uses the letter format to write a letter to her son about his relationship with his sister. I love that she reminds him that she'll be his sister forever. As always, Amy's journaling is poignant and full of great storytelling details.

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Aliza Deutsch writes an amusing letter to her sons about her crazy photo taking habit! She explains the way in which it helps her to see beauty in the world around her.

Here Aliza writes a tongue in cheek letter to the love of her life, her iPod!

 And lastly, Aliza writes a love letter to a favorite eatery, hoping to meet again.

Today's journal cards are letter themed and come to you from Kim at Two More Days at One Story Down. I love the postage stamp theme and the air mail border! A great way to add some journaling to a page or Project Life spread! Kim is new to One Story Down and I'm falling in love with her graphic papers and adorable embellishments. Please stop by Kim's store or her blog and say hello!

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Lisa Ottosson took up the challenge and used two of these cards to write a letter to herself! A fantastic way to journal a bit about yourself. You could even write a letter to a past self or a future self for a fun twist!

Happy Valentine's Day! Maybe you can write a little letter to your sweetie tonight. Be back tomorrow for my last day!

Take care,

List It

I'm an inveterate list maker. I can not survive without lists. They really keep me organized and help me remember what I need to do. I love using lists on scrapbook pages too. I was surprised when I went through my pages to find over 20 pages with lists on them! It was hard to narrow it down. I use lists in a variety of ways in my scrapbooking. I've done top ten lists, lists of books, lists of chores, lists of birthdays, a list of the things we've done in a month or a year, and even lists of names I call my kitty!

 

Lists are just an easy way to get some journaling down without having to labor over paragraphs and grammar! It's easy to write out ten ways you love your son for instance...

or a list of favorite events for each month of the past year...

or even a bucket lists full of things you'd like to do!

Lisa Ottoson shared this list of what is making her happy right now...

Christine Newman shares these two layouts. The first a list of reasons that she loves her husband.

The second a list of things she loved in January. What a great way to do a monthly round up!

Erin Sweeney created this fabulous graphic page that lists five of each of her children's current activities. I love how she used a grid here but broke it up with a variety of sizes.

Lists are central to today's freebie download as well. Nerdy Scrapper Studios at One Story Down created these cute list journaling cards just for you.

 

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Shinta's designs are heavily influenced by her drawings and doodles. She incorporates them into her kits and her papers designs. Her kits are full of whimsy and so unique. Be sure to stop by her blog and check out her store for more cute goodies!

I used the To Do list card in the pack, to document five things that I do everyday. I love how whimsical and handdrawn the card looks.

If you head on over to One Story Down's Facebook page, they are having a Valentine's Facebook hop with loads of free digital goodies. Be sure to click on each name in the LIST! Worth checking out!

Until tomorrow...

 

It's My Favorite

Today I'm talking about favorites, everyone has them right? Favorite books, movies, tv shows, food...the list is endless. Capturing favorites over time is a great way to see how you and your family are changing. When I asked Sam at three what his favorite TV show was, he most likely would have said Barney. Now it's Adventuretime! One awesome part about doing layouts about favorites, you can use photos of the your subject or you can capture the actual images of the favorites with your camera or using stock photography! You can also just focus on one of your favorites right now.

 Here I simply listed six of my favorites and added a photo to represent each one. 

 

For this layout, I compared and contrasted my boys favorites.

 

And this layout highlights one of my favorite Christmas gifts...

Lisa Ottosson contributed a couple pages of her and her daughter's favorites. A little more inspiration for you! We all take pictures of flowers, what a great photo to put on a page about what makes us happy.

I love that she had her daughter use her own handwriting on this page. It really warms up the page and it such a great idea!

 

Francine Clouden included four of her son's everyday favorites on to this page. I love how she accompanies each of them with an interesting photo!

And here is another printable for you!

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Today's download comes to you from Roadside Designs at One Story Down. Suzanne's store is filled with clean templates, fantastic journaling cards, and some really amazing kits. Be sure to go and check out her store & blog. I'm sure she'd love for you to say hello!

Francine used the journal cards to make this fantastic layout about her scrapbook loves. Isn't the stitching she did over the heart just incredible? I had to include the close up shot so you could see the detail!

See ya tomorrow!

Welcome, February!

Thank you for joining us! We are so excited to be here and to share with you our new gallery. We have some amazing things in the works this month and can't wait to show you.

The first new feature that we have is that each month we will be bringing you a cut file for you! They will share the theme of our gallery hoping you will be inspired to create your own gallery layout. Here is this month's file.Isn't it awesome? Isn't Christine awesome? If you would like the cut file, you may download it here. And if you do, please be sure to leave a comment below thanking Christine for sharing her talents with us!

Our next surprise will be coming mid-month. Be sure to check back often! Or better yet, if you subscribe to our page, then it will automatically pop up in your inbox!

Enough, enough, you cry, please show us the gallery...

 

Conversations

This month, our gallery is entitled, "Conversations." We were hoping to provide you opportunity and desire to put together a page or two based upon the funny things your kids say, or those conversations that you have every day, or one that changed your life. Your phone is filled with short back and forths if you are a texter. Have you thought to take a screen shot? How about having a notebook in your purse to record those hilarious things that you hear in your car? Or maybe something someone said to you once changed your life forever. This month we hope to inspire you to write these things done, and record your memories. Add a photo, or not, and you will have a page that will bring smiles and reminders for years to come.

Without further ado, our new gallery. as a friendly reminder, If you would like to see them larger and to read the journaling notes, please head over to the Conversation Gallery photo album.

 

Since When | Aliza Deutsch

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts, My Mind’s Eye, October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup) + embellishments (Pebbles, Elle’s Studio) + stickers (American Crafts-Amy Tangerine)
 
A Note from Aliza
I just love the pure emotion in these photos. It is simply pure excitement for Chanukah presents.

 

Live, Laugh, Love & Eat Cookies | Aliza Deutsch

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, American Crafts, Pink Paislee, Echo Park Paper Co.) + embellishments (Ormolu, Elle’s Studio, Studio Calico, Doodlebug Designs, Crate Paper, American Crafts, My Mind’s Eye) + stickers (Basic Grey, October Afternoon)

A Note from Aliza
This layout is about a topic that is near and dear to me. I also love cake.

February Fun Fact
According to every TV show and magazine article ever, I am supposed to love shoes. But I usually wear the same shoes every day. I do, however, change my rings to match my outfit.

 

crazy circular car conversation #576 | Celeste Smith

12 x 12 | materials kit (Retrospective by One Little Bird at The Lilypad) + masks (Cut.It.Out by Robyn Meierotto at Pixels & Company) + stitching (In Stitches Neutral by Robyn Meierotto at Pixels & Company, Bad Sewing Machine Basics by Traci Reed at Sweet Shoppe Designs) + sticker (One for the Road kit by Dani Mogstad at Jessica Sprague) + font (Another Typewriter)

A Note from Celeste
I wrote this conversation down down the minute I returned home. so I could stay pretty true to the craziness! It's hard to give both boys the attention they need when our conversations go like this!

February Fun Fact
Winter break quickly approaches and while the others in my house are excited about going to New Hampshire to ski, I'm excited about going to New Hampshire to read!

 

In Every Conversation | Lisa Ottosson

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts) + stickers (American Crafts Thickers, My Little Shoebox mini stickers)

A Note from Lisa
I was so happy that this theme came to be, because I really needed a kick in the you-know-what to record the way my daughter includes something about her favorite boyband One Direction in just about every conversation!

February Fun Fact
I don´t really like the music of One Direction, but since my daughter listens to them constantly, I know many of the words to them.

 

It is My Dream To Slap A Gorilla | Jennie McGarvey

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts) + stickers (Pebbles and American Crafts) + Embellishments (Hello Forever, clip & sequins unknown) + Stamps (Studio Calico) + ink (Studio Calico)

A Note from Jennie
This layout just makes me laugh. When Sawyer told me one of his dreams was to slap a gorilla, I knew I wanted to remember this silliness forever.

February Fun Fact
I am currently addicted to grids and find myself wanting to use them on every project!

 

Grass Wonderland | Katie Ehmann

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Crate Paper) + embellishments (Crate Paper) + stickers (Crate Paper) + typerwriter (Royal) + Silhouette Cameo + sewing machine

A Note from Katie
This layout was inspired by a conversation between my youngest daughter and me after a 60 degree day that wiped out all our snow. I used fun, bright patterns and colors to complement my photo. And lots of layering.

February Fun Fact
I am slightly obsessed with vintage right now and plan to slowly turn our home décor into a 40s-60s kitch-fest. Don’t tell my husband ;-)

 

This is so You | Diane Payne

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories, American Crafts, KI) + embellishments (Studio Calico, American Crafts, Hello Forever) + stickers (KI Memories)

A Note from Diane
The photos in the this layout perfectly capture the carefree spirit of my daughter. I brainstormed with my daughter and husband to come up with the phrases/quotes I included and feel that I really captured her personality.

February Fun Fact
I like to purge and organize things, especially in January! I'll make several trips to the Container Store looking for the perfect organizational system for my things.

 

What Dominic Says | Jennifer Larson

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Simple Stories, American Crafts) + die cut paper (KI Memories) + vellum (Studio Calico) + embellishments (Studio Calico, My Mind’s Eye, American Crafts) + stickers (KI Memories, October Afternoon) + photography (Junglefish Studios)

A Note from Jennifer
My son is a champion of memorable words. I’ve made many pages about his aphorisms, and this story that I record on this page made me think I should pull every page I’ve made about his turns of phrase and put them in a separate album. I mean, I can’t argue with “Pancakes are not pancakes without bacon”!

February Fun Fact
My son, whose birthday is in February, was born one month after my birthday.

 

You & Me | Francine Clouden

12x12 | materials Patterned paper (basicGrey) + transparent letter stickers (Amy Tangerine, American Crafts) + die cuts (Studio Calico) + stamps (Studio Calico) + arrow Thickers (American Crafts) + button (Studio Calico) + mini file folder (BasicGrey) + paperclip + baker's twine

A Note from Francine
This page looks complicated but was very easy to put together because I used a patterned paper from Basic Grey with all the pre-printed layers you see behind the photo! This conversation with Kieran is one we have been having a lot lately, as Kieran tries to work out personal pronouns.

February Fun Fact
I ate the entire box of Belgian chocolates my mother-in-law gave us for Christmas. Time to start back using the Wii Fit!

 

So Happy | Amy Sorenson

12x12 | materials patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) + stamps (Close to my Heart) + stamping ink (ColorBox) + washi (Target) + fabic + twine + Alegreya and Bemio fonts

A Note from Amy
I hope I'm not the only one who does this...but I love scrapping Christmas photos in January. It makes me feel like I'm able to revisit the holidays. Honestly? January is pretty much the only time I get any Christmas photos scrapped at all. I wrote down this sweet thing that Kaleb said on a scrap of wrapping paper so I wouldn't forget it!

February Fun Fact
Valentine's Day is my least-favorite holiday. Someone might even call me a Valentine's-Day scrooge and be pretty accurate! Luckily my anniversary is on the 13th, so we celebrate that instead.

 

He Said, She Said | Valerie O'Neall

8.5 x 11 | materials cardstock (Neenah) + stamps (Ormolu) + mist (Studio Calico) + ink (VersaMark & Memento) + embossing powder (American Crafts) + washi (October Afternoon) + fabric brad (Crate Paper) + enamel dots (My Mind's Eye) + other (vintage typewriter , Sharpie, & hole reinforcers)

A Note from Valerie
My son is so observant and this layout depicts just one little story about it. First thing I did to create this layout was journal on the cardstock with my typewriter. Next I stamped and embossed, then added the mist, photo, and embellishments. It all came together rather quickly.

February Fun Fact
My birthday is in February. This is the year I get to say bye-bye to the twenties.

 

Our Last Conversation | Christine Newman

(12 x 12) | materials cardstock (Gmund, American Crafts, Bazzill) + patterned paper (BasicGrey) + embellishments (My Mind's Eye, Pink Paislee, Simple Stories Sn@p) + twine (The Twinery) + stamps (Evalicious, Technique Tuesday, Ormolu) + ink (Ranger JBS, Prima) + digital graphics (Miss Tiina) + die-cut machine (Silhouette) + sewing machine (Brother) + thread (Coats & Clark)

A Note from Christine Newman
This is the first layout I've ever created about the last conversation I had with my mom before she passed away from cancer. Every time I thought about what I would journal for this layout, I started crying. Even though it's been six years since she's been gone, it's still hard for me to think about our precious past conversation.

February Fun Fact
My husband's birthday is in February. The Super Bowl is usually in February as well. So the past two years we've had a combined birthday + Super Bowl party called "Super Todd"!

 

Silly Things You Say | Emily Spahn

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico) + embellishments (American Crafts, Kikkerland, Studio Calico, Pretty Little Studio) + stickers (American Crafts) + cardstock (Bazzil)

A Note from Emily
My daughter is constantly saying hilarious things – things that probably are not funny to anyone else, but she is always cracking us up! I loved these quote bubble sticky notes! They worked perfectly to document her funnies!

February Fun Fact
I got married in a town that has a “famous” groundhog. One year for Groundhog’s Day we went to a big celebration in his honor. We got to see him make his prediction and then enjoyed snacks and games…we even bought a groundhog shaped cookie cutter. It was all very random… ;)

 

Super Panty I Christa Paustenbaugh

8.5 X 11 | materials cardstock (American Crafts) + patterned papers (October Afternoon, Bo Bunny) + stickers (Bella Blvd, Sassafras Lass) + brads (October Afternoon) + die cut (Evalicious) + flair (Ormolu) + twine (Ormolu) + tape (Bella Blvd) + die cut machine (Silhouette)

A Note from Christa
Our youngest child Ella can both make us see red and make us laugh until we are red within a 2 minute period. We nearly wet ourselves laughing at her when she came downstairs dressed like this. We asked her “what are you supposed to be?” and her reply – “You know! I’m SUPER PANTY”! And quickly posed for obligatory photos!

February Fun Fact
I can sing the Monster High theme song in my sleep, while I cook and during a run because I have heard it so. Many. Times. I’m ready for the next phase and fad!

 

Hello Daddy| Keshet Starr

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, KI Memories, craft supply) + embellishments (October Afternoon) + stickers (Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin Studio, Crate Paper, craft supply)

A Note from Keshet
My little one can’t talk yet, but her expressions show all of her conversation!

February Fun Fact
I’m afraid of my basement in the dark!

 

Words | Paula Gilarde

12 x 12 | materialscardstock (Core'dinations & Bazzill) + kraft paper (Jillibean Soup)+ twine (Jillibean Soup) + watercolor paper + stickers (American Crafts) + Stencil (Crafters Workshop) + rub on (Hambly) + stamps (Studio G) + Digital Element (Katie Pertiet digital frame)

A Note from Paula
My daugher is 10 years old but I've held on to a scrap of paper where I wrote down the words she knew at 18 months. I stopped keeping count at 50! She has a lot more hair now :)

 

Basketball | Jennie McGarvey

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Fancy Pants Designs) + embellishments (Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon, Studio Calico) + stickers (Pebbles)

A Note from Jennie
This layout was prompted after I received this email from my son's basketball coach. This was not the first time I'd received a message like this, so I decided it was definitely part of his story. I thought that a layout that included a screenshot of an email was perfect for the conversations theme -- and I was excited to have this part of his life documented.

 

Hello Today | Amy Coose

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Basic Grey, Echo Park) + embellishments (Studio Calico, Echo Park, Hello Forever) + tags (Chic Tags) + Silhouette Cameo

A Note from Amy
This layout was based around my new form of communication with my teenager and tween.

February Fun Fact
I don't really like the way conversation hearts taste, but I will eat them by the handful if I have them around. 

 

Handsome (even when filthy) | Kelly Jeppson

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Doodlebug Designs, Ranger) + embellishments (Doodlebug Designs)

A Note from Kelly
This layout uses a photo that I took when my oldest came home from Cub Scout Camp last summer, covered in dirt from head to toe.

February Fun Fact
I love making Valentines and sugar cookies, but I'm not really into mushy romantic stuff. The most romantic present my husband ever gave me was a mix-tape he made of songs he thought I would like (back when we had tape players!).

 

How You Ask | Sarah Pendergrast

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts) + embellishments (American Crafts, Studio Calico, KI Memories, Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin) + stickers (Jenni Bowlin, Basic Grey, October Afternoon)

A Note from Sarah
This layout is just about a fun and playful conversation we had repeatedly leading up to getting our first dog. My husband would like to state, for the record, that he is not as gullible as the journaling makes him sound!

February Fun Fact
My 80 pound (and growing) puppy thinks she’s a lap dog!

 

I'm Gonna Marry | Erin Sweeney

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Basic Grey) + embellishments (American Crafts) + stickers (Jillibean Soup, Heidi Swapp, American Crafts) 

A Note from Erin
I’m not sure what led up to the conversation I overheard my girls having in their room, but it must have been good to lead up to the snippet I caught from the stairs!

February Fun Fact
This month I’m Tackling the Tower in Cleveland and racing up 38 flights of stairs. Okay, so racing is exaggerating. More like just trying to make it to the top without my legs collapsing beneath me. :)

 

CHA 2013 | Deb Duty

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Echo Park, Basic Grey, Studio Calico, My Mind's Eye) + embellishments (Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico, My Mind's Eye ) + letter stickers (Simple Stories)

A Note from Deb
I was inspired by the theme of conversations to make a layout about my new friend, Suzy. We hit it off and had a great time together at CHA and never had enough time to say everything we wanted to say!

February Fun Fact
I am now starting my fourth year of Project Life. I still love it and treasure my albums more than any of my other scrapbooks. I have lots of fun making regular layouts too. Project Life allows me to make fun layouts about any subject I want because the everyday moments are already documented.

 

He Said She Said | Christine Newman

12 x 12 | materials Once Upon A Story digital kit (Lili Niclass & Emily Merritt) + Bokeh Overlays (Leora Sanford) + fonts (Capture It, Pupcat)

A Note from Christine
I tried to make this layout resemble a comic book page with my photo processing and speech bubbles.

February Fun Fact
I don't have an iPhone or Android phone. I hope to get one this year. My Blackberry is cramping my Project Life everyday documenting plans.

 

Tart Business | Marnie Flores

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Libby Pritchett, Lori Whitlock, Creativity by Crystal) + elements (Libby Pritchett, Lori Whitlock) + button, ribbons (Libby Pritchett) + fonts (Ostrich Sans Rounded, Century Gothic CK Chloe, KG Ray of Sunshine, KG Payphone, KG Seven Sixteen)

A Note from Marnie
I love that this layout is about Cherry Limeade and that I used a kit with the same name!

February Fun Fact
This month will the quietest month for us until June. Which will then be the quietest until next February. I only wish this month had 45 days!

 

Before we go, we must say goodbye to three team members. Vivian Masket, Emily Pitts, and Kathy Martin are all leaving us this month. They will be missed. Kathy's use of color and her attention to detail are second to none. Emily and Vivian have been with us since the beginning. Emily with her quirky pages and mazing sense of color and design. Vivian with her thoughtful pages with precision execution and stylistic balance. Both have been an integral part of our team, providing much more than just great pages. WCS will not be the same without them.  Thank you, sweet friends, for sharing your lives with us these past four years!

 

Thank you for visiting us today! We hope you have enjoyed our gallery. Remember we enjoy hearing from you and reading your comments!

scrapbook!

Hello! Welcome to Scrapbook! Saturday. I am so happy to be here with you today. Didn't you think this month's gallery was amazing? I loved reading the little bits of advice, the life lessons, and the resolutions. As I made notes of pages I wanted to make, I found my journaling list was long. It's not that I wasn't inspired by the design or products on the pages, I was just so beguiled by the words, that I failed to note the rest. Does this happen to you sometimes, too?

Even though the stories were the first notice, going back through with an eye on design I was glad that I had taken the time, as there is much to love there, too! I run through life so quickly, that I often forget to truly pay attention. Similarly, it is easy  to click through the gallery without actually absorbing anything. But when I sit down and look, really look, I find all sorts of treasures that I might have missed. Let's get started and see what we can find.

SKETCH

First up is our sketch. Looking to Jennifer's January gallery layout,

Diane created this sketch for us:

 

And look at how well our team made use of it. 

 

Amy followed the sketch closely, and made great use of a beautiful photo as a background.

 

Jennie swapped the journaling block for some spotted vellum. A lovely part of sketches is their flexibility.

 

LisaO has all the elements but shuffled them around a bit.

 

Aliza's page is not for the faint of heart! I love how she shortened the lower strip, making it even with the title's edge. Don't you think it transforms the sketch into something new?

I stuck closely to the sketch, but deleted a couple of embellishments, and stretched my photos into rectangles as my photos weren't cropable. (Is that even a word??!!)

 

Lastly, we have Diane's lovely layout. Do you see the sketch in it? She told me that she began with the sketch, but once the photos came into play it took on a life of its own. Don't you love when that happens? The sketch gets you started and then creative lightning strikes and suddenly you have a wonderful layout sitting in front of you. Just like that!

 You may download the layered template here. Enjoy!

 

ROYGBIV

Take a moment and pop on over to the gallery and see if there is a color scheme that appeals to you. There are five kraft layouts, ten with white backgrounds, and a handful with prominent patterned paper. Have you a preference?

Looking for an entire palette, I was drawn to Jennie's layout from our Note to Self gallery.

With its soft muted hues, I just knew it would make a lovely color scheme for us this month.

I used it on a layout celebrating an exhibit I saw this past week featuring Aurora Robson. (Be sure to stop by her site. Her work is amazing!) Her work was all in white with a white window behind it, so the light papers were the perfect backdrop.

I hope that you will find these shades as useful as I have!

 

TRENDING

This month we have three equally outstanding trends: arrows, tags and labels. I spotted 11 layouts with arrows, 12 with tags, and 10 with labels. How about you? have you been using them lately, too? Should we check? I'll wait if you want to go find the last layout you made so you can see...

Did you find some? I did...

Alright, maybe I just made it...  I had fun adding in all three elements. I hope you will have fun, too!

 

Thank you, for joining me today! What a great week. With Christa's ideas for getting our men into our scrapbooks and with all the CHA sneak peaks, this week couldn't have been better. Thank you for letting me highlight some inspiration from our gallery, and thank you Diane, for putting our sketch together! Can't wait to see you all back tomorrow!

Ring in the New Year...

Happy Friday!  Have you all survived the holiday madness!  Now that Christmas has passed, it's time to start thinking about the New Year, which is rapidly approacing! As we all know, the New Year tends to be a time of change, growth, or renewal for many people. We create goals or resolutions. We pick a single word to define the 365 days that lie before us. We look at the things we want to change about ourselves, and we vow to change. Now, let's not talk about how many of us actually manage to do all that we strive to accomplish every New Year! ;)  Instead, let's look at ways that we, as scrapbookers, can document these goals and ideals!!  The talented scrapbookers here at write.click.scrapbook have created some amazing projects to share with you today!  Let's start off with one of the most popular New Year's projects:

One Little Word

If you have been scrapping for more than, say, a week...I'm pretty sure you've heard of Ali Edwards and her One Little Word project.  I know many people who choose a new word each year to guide our lives during the upcoming year.  There are blog posts, jewelry, layouts, and more that focus on the chosen word. Here are some layouts created by our team that include  their words!

layout by Emily Spahn
 

layout by Celeste Smith

 

layout by Aliza Deutsch

 

layout by Diane Payne

 

layout by Jennifer Larson

 

One year, I chose not to use a word, but rather a quote as my guiding principle for the year. I created a frame with the quote inside and it still stands in my scrap room so I can see it when I am working!

project by Emily Spahn

Goals and Resolutions

The more traditional approach to the New Year is to create a list of goals and or resolutions that we would like to follow or accomplish during the year.  These can be small and easy to accomplish or something like a major life change. Personally, I'm more of a fan of creating some smaller, more attainable goals each year.  I won't lie, I think there are a few that have been on list every year the past few years!! ;)  Let's see how some of our collective members documented their goals and resolutions:

layout by Christine Newman

 

layout by Celeste Smith

 

layout by Christine Newman

 

project by Emily Spahn

 

Looking Back

Finally, the end of a year gives us time to reflect on the past 12 months...the things we accomplished, the things we are proud of, and sometimes the things we need to continue to work at.  Aliza shared a look back at some her goals from last year in yesterday's post. Here are a couple more:

layout by Christine Newman

 

layout by Katrina Simeck

 

Have you created a layout looking back at the past year or a layout about the new year that lies ahead? I'd love for you to link us up in the comments!  And of course, Happy New Year!

A Look Back

Hi, everyone. It's me (Aliza) again this week. It's nice to be back here so soon, and on my birthday, no less. It's almost time for a brand, spanking new year, and all the excitement and possibility  that a new beginning holds. But before looking ahead, before setting new goals and resolutions, it's a great time to look back at the past year, and think about all that has happened, big and small, for yourself and your family. And then, of course, scrapbook about it.

 

 

The Big Picture

One way to document a whole year in one layout, is to include photos that highlight the year.  Christine is quite the master of year in review layouts, and she has found a fun and clever way to include a lot (I mean really, A LOT) of photos looking back on the year.

 

A Slightly Smaller Picture

You could also choose just one or two photos, and write about some of the highlights of your year. When I sat down to make this layout, I had a really hard time thinking about the whole year, and I could only come up with some truly random events, but I kind of like it that way. If you get stuck, feel free to enlist the help of family members. It was fun to hear what they remembered. 

 

Christine clearly has a better memory than me, and a more exciting life, and she listed events like trips, special dinners, and family visits.

 

 

Details, Details, Details

Of course, here at Write.Click.Scrapbook, we are big fans of the everyday, little moments that make up our lives, and you could document one tiny detail that felt different this year. Feel free to keep it light and easy.

 

Or you could think about how you did on some of your goals from last year.

I hope this gives you some ideas for scrapping your year in review. And, if you don't quite get to it this year, it can be on your list for 2013.

Happy New Year!