Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Prepping for Father's Day (day I)

We have 27 days until Father's Day. And while it seems like weeks away, for many of us, between now and then school will wrap up, extracurriculars will wind down, and summer will begin. Which means that those 27 days will pass a lot faster than we think. 

 

For today, we have updates to last year's printables. First, a new questionnaire.

You may download it here. There are two per page. Just print and cut in half!

 

Secondly, we have an updated coupon book.

This year, we made it a bit more grown up--you might want to print one for your teenagers and grown children, too. They might enjoy a chance to create some coupons, too. Teenagers have a way of surprising us with their thoughtfulness.

You may download the coupons here. It will print on a regular paper and there are cut lines to help you get the pages apart!

 

That's it for today! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Mother's Day Celebrations

Welcome back to day two of our Mother's Day celebrations and preparations! I hope you enjoyed yesterday's post!

The other day I called my mom and thanked her for being such an amazing chauffeur. I remember my dad introducing her as a cab driver. I remember calling my mom "Jeeves" (the best chauffeur name we could come up with!) whenever I crawled into the car for a ride to dance, music lessons, or theatre rehearsal. But I had no idea how much of a sacrifice for her and an imposition upon her it was, until now. Until now when it is my turn at the wheel. Literally. 

Isn't it funny how life works? How walking a day in someone's shoes changes everything? 

Not so long ago, I took a long hard look at Nigel. He is 14 which means in less than 10 years he may very well be married. Which will make me a mother-in-law. I am going to be a mother-in-law to a young lady that I hopefully love and one that even more hopefully loves me in return. But here's the thing. I am fiercely loyal and more than a bit neurotic, so there is a chance that she may not love me from the get go. I am abso-smurf-ly positive that she will in the end, but the beginning? Could be iffy.

Trying to imagine things from a different perspective is enlightening. I have a newfound respect for my own inlaws. That they welcomed me into their family. That they let me be me. I am sure it wasn't always easy. There are familial differences that I am certain didn't always make things smooth. But as the years pass, my sweet mother-in-law and I have more and more in common and have become closer and closer. She is really good to my kids, and she works hard to include me. And once I realized that I may be a mother-in-law one day, I know I have become more forgiving and more flexible as a daughter-in-law.

I haven't really made any pages about my relationship with my mother-in-law. It is time! 

 

LAYOUT IDEA: CELEBRATE OUR MOTHERS-IN-LAW

Here are some journaling ideas to get your pages started:

• things you have learned from you mother-in-law
• how your relationship has grown, changed
• a list of favorite qualities your mother-in-law possesses
• things you have in common

And if you want to help get your husbands involved in journaling on a page about their mom, here are some ideas for you:

• I remember when my mom...
• My favorite thing about my mom is...
• My mom is awesome because...

I have found that I get the best answers from my sweet husband when I email him for an answer, or when I write the response as he talks. Maybe that will help you, too.

Here is my layout. It's a bit of everything.

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT IDEA: COUPON BOOKS

Today I made a coupon book for you to print and leave out for your kids to fill out for you, or for you to fill out for your own mamas. Either way.

It will print on a regular sheet of paper (I prefer white cardstock). Once you print it, all you need to do is trim it into its six pages. And voila! A perfect little present. I hope you like it! You can download it here.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoy putting together some pages about your relationship with your mother-in-law and that you can put the coupon book to good use!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow--it's launch day!!

Mother's Day Celebrations

I remember loving Mother's Day as a little girl. I thought my mom walked on water and getting to spend time in class to make her things seemed like a dream come true. Arts and crafts? fantastic. For my favorite person on earth? magical.

This week we are going to help get ourselves ready for Mother's Day. I am excited for this so that I can be ready in time to ship what I make!

Each day this week, we will bring you ideas for layouts, and a gift idea for making your mothers feel special.

 

LAYOUT IDEA: ME & MOM

I have spoken often about our once a year family photo shoot that we do on Mother's Day each year. It is a time of year that I pass my camera to Richard and let him take pictures of me with the kids. Every year, I download the photos and then immediately despise them. My hair will be wrong. I will notice the weight gain, the grey, the wrinkles. All the things I ask you to not notice. (Irony noted). So I let them sit for a year and then look back. And like magic, I see things differently. Now, I see my kids looking littler and more vulnerable. I see our relationship captured. And I am incredibly grateful for the photos and for the showing restraint from pushing the delete button.

 

For today, let's make a layout that captures the relationship between you and your children. Either as a whole, or with each child invidually. On our mother's day shoot, I try to get a photo with each of my three kids, so they will have photos of the two of us to look back on. I used one such photo to create this layout.

Then this layout captures the differences in my relationships with my kids. If we all three piled on the couch, I would interact with each differently. I play with Nigel's hair; I rub Lavender's tummy; and I hold Poppy's hands or feet. And they all know each other's things. I love that.

 

Aliza made this layout documenting something her neice told her sister. 

Doesn't that melt your heart? It is also a good reminder that great layouts don't need a whole column of journaling to touch our hearts!

 

Have you a special relationship with one of your kids? Or are you the special child to your own mother? Have you documented that yet? Perhaps it is time!

 

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT IDEA: QUESTIONNAIRES

Last year, we made this for you for Father's Day. And I admittedly was a bit jealous and wanted one for me! So why not, I asked myself?

Here is a Mother's Day version. I am going to print it and give it to my sweet husband with a request that he sit and help the kids fill them out for me for Mother's Day. I have no shame. :)

This is also something that you could have kids fill out for their mothers if you are a church leader, or a school teacher, or a nanny!! You can download it here.

 

Thank you for stopping by today! We look forward to a whole week of celebrating mothers. Please know that we know that you don't need to be a mother to have a wonderful impact on the children in your lives. We hope that Mother's Day can be a celebration of womanhood, too!

Teacher Appreciation Week

Welcome to day four of our week of teacher appreciation! Have you had your imagination sparked yet? I loved Kelly's idea of documenting favorite college professors. While I have no photos, I am thinking that google would help me be able to find a few! And Amy's water bottles filled with candies were brilliant!

I must admit that I felt a pang of guilt as I read that the first day of school wasn't the best day for photos. Then I remembered that our photos were taken on the "meet your teacher" days that our schools host the week before school starts; and I breathed a huge sigh of relief! I try so hard to not be overwhelming with my camera in the classroom. I have even considered leaving my big camera at home and just taking my little one, but then I remember that when I do, I am inevitably disappointed with the quality, so I just pull up my big girl panties and do my best to not feel awkward.

I digress...

 

LAYOUT IDEA: JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

I have a list in my head of all the teachers that I had throughout elementary, junior high, and high school. But the other day I asked my 14 year old if he could remember his second grade teacher and he could not. Ah!!! Appalling!

I am teasing. But I must admit I was a bit surprised. Seems like you might want to be able to look up your teachers' names quickly, no? So our layout idea for today is to create a layout that lists your teachers. You could add a snippet of info for each one, if you would like, or not. No rules.

Here is mine.

Sadly, I did have to call my mom and have her pull out my school memories book for some names. I had completely forgotten a handful of them. So sad.

 

And I thought I may as well use a similar format for my kids. Here is Nigel's (redacted) page in progress.

This also makes me think I would like to put together a page that puts all my schools down on one page. I don't have photos of mine handy, but will dig some up the next time I go home to my parents'. Because even though I like to pretend things won't change. They do. My elementary school is now an alternative school for people who cannot attend regular school. My junior high was torn down and rebuilt a few years ago. My high school has new wings and additions that make it much less the school than that which exists in my mind. Knowing this, I figured I may as well make the same sort of layouts for my kids. Because chances are good that their schools won't remain the same either. 

 

Amy made a page for her elementary school teachers. Isn't she a lovely little bitty?

I hope you might consider making a page such as these. It shouldn't take too long. Unless your mom is chatty, of course!!

 

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA: Chocolate

I have yet to meet someone who doesn't appreciate a little chocolate. So I put together a little wrapper for a hershey bar. I made it for the big one. Hopefully you will be able to find that size where you are!

I added a copy for you in our printables if you would like to download one. You should be able to print it, trim it, wrap and adhere. Ca c'est tout!

Thank you, always, for stopping by! I hope you have an awesome day!

Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7th is Teacher Appreciation day here in the good ol' US of A. I grew up in a family of teachers. My grandmother began teaching when she was 18. She finished school at 15, but then had to wait to start "Normal School" until she was 16. One year later, she had her teaching certificate and began her teaching career. When I was little she was the first grade teacher at the school that my dad went to when he was little. I remember going to her tiny, little country school and classroom in Iron Springs, Alberta, and wishing that she could have been my teacher.

With the respect that I have for teachers there is no way to not celebrate them in fine style! Each day this week we will bring you an idea for your teacher appreciation gifts and then we hope to inspire you with layouts that celebrate teachers and their impact on our lives.

We also wanted to give you time to execute your own projects, as well, so we hope having a couple of weeks will help you do so.

 

LAYOUT IDEA: THANK YOU FOR CHANGING MY LIFE

A few years ago, I saw a blog (please tell me where it is if you know the name!) where the author wrote a thank you note every week for a year. One of them was written to a former teacher. Reading it made me cry. And made me think of all the teachers that I had over the years, and how grateful I am to them for the ways that they touched my life. I was thinking that I would certainly write to Mr. Boyden my junior high school drama teacher. But I didn't.

However, a few months later I was home for a visit (my first in a three years) when I bumped into Mr. Boyden at a Chinese food restaurant. He had moved across Canada so the chances of us meeting were slim. And not likely to recur. So I gathered my courage and told him directly how much he had impacted my life. And it felt good.

I also realized that I might write and send a few letters, but until I do, I should at least record my thoughts. And I do my best recording when patterned paper is involved!!

I am hoping to slowly put together a mini album of things I learned from my teachers. But for now, I thought one page is a great place to start. 

 

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA: A&W ROOTBEER 4.0

You may remember from last year that we have a family tradition of giving our teachers a sixpack of A&W RootBeer. This will be our fourth year. Here is our updated tag.

Feel free to download it if you would like! With just a hole punch and a ribbon you will be on your way! It's a quick and easy way to put a gift together. And while it isn't homemade in everyway, it always seems very appreciated!

Thank you for stopping by today! See you again tomorrow!

a bitty bit of extra fun

This month we have an extra Saturday! We wanted this extra special Saturday to be extra special for all of you so I thought perhaps we could make a quick little mini together??

Next weekend is Easter. Our grandmas are very kind to us and I thought they could use a bit of love in return. I was browsing around looking for a fun and quick way to make a brag book. Something that could be made twice over quickly. (Thrice, actually, as I might want one for us, too!)

I put together a set of photo overlays. One for the title and 11 for photos. (I used the fonts of the talented Kimberly Geswein: the frames, the doodles, and the title.) Here is how they look together.

 

And this is how it looks once my photos were added underneath the overlays.

We have a bit of an irreverent sense of humor around here and hope that this will be taken with the goofy love that it is intended. Santa brought Richard some fake mustaches that we used for some silly photos. (Obviously, Rich's isn't actually using a fake one. heehee!) (Nigel's photos are missing as he wasn't in the mood the day we took the photos. I will need to try to get his this weekend, so we have time to print and ship.) 

Once I get Nigel's photos I will print them out on my awesome Epson and then pop them into a plastic brag book. Not only easy to finish but also easy to mail. A twofer!! 

If you would like to make a quick album, too, you may download the overlays here. They are psd documents. Just open them up in your photo processing program and then cut and paste them onto a 6x4 photo. Leave me word if you have questions!

Thank you for stopping! I hope you have been enjoying our mini month. Our final week begins Monday with Cocoa Daisy!! It's going to be another great one!

adoringly,

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!! 

Welcome, March!

March is here! In like a lion? We're not sure how Mother Nature is greeting you, but we here at write. click. scrapbook. are certainly roaring in a new month with a brand new gallery and a promise of an unforgettable month ahead.

This month marks our third annual March Mini Madness! As we turn our sights and talents to the ever delightful, always beloved mini-album. Over the next four weeks, we will show you 16 new albums, and have four amazing giveaways. We can't wait to inspire you with new prompts and designs.

 

But before we get there, we have a new gallery to show you! With 20 mini-albums to choose from, hopefully you will find one that you want to create! Here are the covers. Hop on over to the gallery album so you can see the interior pages and read the journaling! Enjoy!

 

A Home is Built with Love Alone | Diane Payne

house shaped | materials patterned paper (American Crafts) + embellishments (American Crafts) + stickers (American Crafts)

A Note from Diane
This shape of the mini made me think of the quote about homes being about family and my idea took off from there. I used everyday photos of us together as a family at home from multiple years.

March Fun Fact
I started redecorating my home in January and now I have unfinished projects in every room of my house.

 

Picture Day | Aliza Deutsch

5 x 7 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Little Yellow Bicycle, Jillibean Soup, Echo Park, Pink Paislee) + embellishments (Studio Calico, My Mind’s Eye, Fancy Pants, Ormolu) + stickers (October Afternoon, 7Gypsies, American Crafts)

A Note from Aliza
This book has been in my head for years and years. It is written as a children’s story to be read aloud (I’ve never really done that before!). Every year, at my preschool, at least one child cries on picture day; terrified by a complete stranger coming in telling them what to do, how to sit, and to smile, smile, smile. And then I am always reminded about my son’s first picture day, and I think to myself, I should make a book about that so the children know what to expect on picture day. The timing has worked out perfectly, because picture day is this month.

March Fun Fact
My sister is coming to visit this month! I am so excited!

 

Me & You Mini Album | Katie Ehmann

8 x 8 | materials patterned paper (Crate Paper) + embellishments (Crate Paper) + stickers (Crate Paper)

A Note from Katie
This mini was so fun to make! I used Crate Paper’s Fourteen collection to make a mini focused on the relationship between my husband and me before our girls were born. We did a lot of traveling before we had kids, so many of the photos are from our various trips.

March Fun Fact
For the first time since having children, my husband and I are going on a special trip at the end of this month to celebrate his 40th birthday! I can’t wait to scrapbook it! Oh, and I’m kinda looking forward to the actual vacation, too!

 

Hello World Bucket Mini | Celeste Smith

5.5 x 8.5 | materials kit (Wanderer by Zoe Pearn at Sweet Shoppe Designs) + template (Simple Scrapper Insta Album) + labels (Mega Labels by Amy Wolff at The Lilypad) + font (Underwood Champion)

A Note from Celeste
There are so many places I would love to go and see. I thought I'd document a few in a little mini-album. There are so many travel themed digital kits and since we rarely travel I never get to use them!

March Fun Fact
I'm going on an all out organizing bonanza this month - all drawers, closets and even the basement will be gone through! Wish me luck!

 

Sunshine is My Drug | Lisa Ottosson

3.5 x 3 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts, One Little Bird+Paislee Press) + embellishments (National Ticket Co) + stickers (TGR)

A Note from Lisa Ottosson
This minibook is quite tiny only 3.5 x 3 and holds a few of my Instagram photos that have the hashtag #sunshineismydrug. I made the cover with cardboard scraps I had laying around my room and the pages are hold together with the washitape that you can see on each page.

March Fun Fact
Sunshine is in fact my drug! Last summer we didn't have as much sunshine as usual and I can feel it in my whole body!

 

Early Spring | Jennifer Larson

4 x 4 | materials mini album (Maya Road) + patterned paper (October Afternoon, Pebbles) + embellishments (American Crafts, Crate Paper, Studio Calico, October Afternoon, KaiserCraft) + stickers (October Afternoon, Echo Park, Studio Calico) + pens (Copic, American Crafts) + adhesive (Scotch Dot Adhesive Roller, Glue Dots, Xyron, Tombow MonoGlue)

A Note from Jennifer Larson
I took these pictures last year with the idea of putting them into a mini album celebrating the early spring in Minnesota, which is so late in coming but is so sweet when it arrives. I liked this mini album for its canvas, which I though added some nice, rough texture, sort of like the rough texture of early spring. Now in the coldest parts of winter, I’ve got a mini album I can pull out and page through to sustain me until spring comes for real.

March Fun Fact
I am an avid gardener, something I inherited from my mother, a master gardener. I have five perennial beds in the back yard filled with flowers and more floral borders all around my house.

 

Love Notes | Christine Newman

4 x 6 | materials mini album base (Evalicious) + cardstock (American Crafts, Wausau) + patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) + embellishments (Evalicious, Simple Stories, American Crafts, Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico, Pink Paislee) + stamps (Evalicious, Studio Calico, American Crafts) + ink (Tsukineko, Prima, Ranger) + twine (The Twinery) + digital graphics (One Little Bird Designs) + die-cut machine (Silhouette America)

A Note from Christine
This mini album came together in spurts. I created some pages in January and some in February. Working in spurts here and there for a couple of hours helps me feel like I'm making progress. I really love 4x6 mini albums because I can include some 4x6 photos printed out as is.

March Fun Fact
March is my birthday month! It just so happens that my annual bonus at work is paid out every March on my birthday week. It's almost as if they did this just for me as a birthday gift! :)

 

Family Love | Amy Coose

4 x 6 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Dear Lizzy, American Crafts) + embellishments (Chic Tags, Freckled Fawn) + stickers (Jenni Bowlin) + Silhouette Cameo

A Note from Amy
When I came up with the idea of a mini about our love, I didn't realize how mushy it would get. I love how it turned out, mush and all.

March Fun Fact
I usually don't like doing mini albums, but creating this album was so much fun that I can't wait to make another one! 

 

Utah Vacation | Deb Duty

6 x 6 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, American Crafts) + embellishments (Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp, A Flair for Buttons, My Mind’s Eye, Freckled Fawn) + stickers (Studio Calico) + alpha stickers (Studio Calico, American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon, Basic Grey) + cardstock (American Crafts)

A Note from Deb Duty
I made a mini book with my favorite photos from our 2012 vacation to Utah. The mini is 6”x6” and all photos were printed at 3.75”x3” except for the full page photos which were printed at 5.75”x5.75” so that I could cut them out with a border.

March Fun Fact
Our favorite kind of vacation is one where there’s lots of beautiful scenery and hiking! Every U.S. National Park I’ve been to has been amazing! This mini is about visiting Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park.

 

Wednesday 16.01.13 | Francine Clouden

4 x 4 | materials patterned paper (Making Memories, BasciGrey) + letter stickers (BasicGrey) + chipboard stickers (Studio Calico) + stamps (American Crafts) +chipboard + graph paper tape + vellum + binder rings

A Note from Francine
I made this mini from scratch to highlight the Instagram photos I took of a day at home with Kieran back in January. I printed my photos out at 4x4, and cut chipboard pieces in the same size for the covers and pages. Then I "wallpapered" the patterned papers and photos to the chipboard. To add my journaling, I copied my captions directly from Instagram, printed them out onto vellum, which I then cut into strips and stuck on top the washi tape. I then added additional phrases with the stamp. To complete the book, I punched holes and used binder rings to hold them together. This is a great project for using up scraps and other items in your stash.

Since it is also a sturdy little book with mostly flat embellishments, it's very child friendly! :)

March Fun Fact
I don't much like my handwriting but I use it on 95% of my scrapbooking projects anyway!

 

Tommy Q&A | Paula Gilarde

6 x 6 | materials board book (Unknonw) + patterned paper (Jillibean) + stickers (Jillibean Soup ) + diecuts (Jillibean Soup) + stencils (Crafters Workshop) + digital labels (Katie Pertiet) + digital frames (Katie Pertiet)

A Note from Paula
I've had this blank board book in my stash for ever and decided to finally use it. I asked my son a series of random questions like: 
What would you eat every day if mom let you?
What is the first thing you show your friends when they come to your house? 

It will be fun to look back in a few years to see how his answers will have changed.

March Fun Fact
I grew up in Ireland so I like to celebrate St. Patrick's day with authentic Irish food - lots of potatoes. I've never had corned beef - it's not something we eat in Ireland.

 

Treehouse Mini | Valerie O'Neall

6 x 6 | materials cardstock (GMund Savanna (white), Wausau Royal Fiber (kraft)) + patterned paper (American Crafts, Elle's Studio & BasicGrey) + border stickers (Sassafras) + fabric brads (Basic Grey) + enamel dots (My Mind's Eye) + alpha stickers (October Afternoon) mist (Studio Calico) + Silhouette SD (font: Danger) + other (washi, shipping tags, tiny attacher, baker's twine)

A Note from Valerie
Just a fun, simple little album about the treehouse my husband built for our son this past summer. The white cardstock has a wood grain texture and I love it for this album.

March Fun Fact
Currently slightly obsessed with dipping sweet potato fries in maple syrup. Yum!

 

Play Ball | Jennie McGarvey

8.5 x 6 | materials patterned paper (Echo Park Paper, October Afternoon, American Crafts) + washi tape (Glitz, Freckled Fawn) + wood veneer (Studio Calico, Sodalicious) + mask (Studio Calico) + mist (Studio Calico) + enamel dots (My Mind's Eye) + chipboard (Jenni Bowlin) + tag (Ormolu) + flair (A Flair For Buttons) + alphas (Basic Grey, Echo Park Paper)

A Note from Jennie
This mini album is about my son's All Star baseball season from Summer 2012. I had been wanting to put something together with these instagrams but I hadn't gotten around to it until now. I'm actually pretty glad I didn't because I love how this came together!

March Fun Fact
I am constantly cold for 5-6 months of the year. My ideal temperature is around 83 degrees!

 

Run | Erin Sweeney

8 x 8 | materials patterned paper (Amy Tangerine/American Crafts, Studio Calico) + alphabet stickers (American Crafts)

A Note From Erin
I’m sharing the cover and the two most recent spreads from my race mini album. I’m keeping this album very simple, mainly because I have to – there’s no room for embellishments! I’ve attached the race bibs so that I can slip a tag behind them that includes race time, place, and other information about the race. I’ve kept the backgrounds all neutral since the race photo collages contain so many colors. I’m planning on giving the spreads a pop of color with the title (under the photo) and the race info (under the race bibs). I did the photo collages in PSE and they are 6x6 on 8x8 pages. Since I’m putting the album together in chronological order and the order will never change, all spreads use both sides of the paper except the title page since that one will always be moved as I add a new race. This saves paper as well allows me to use both sides of patterned paper I like. 
I’m also including any extras in the album. My sister and I were in the local paper and I’ve included that. I also have other memorabilia I’ll include in page protectors and pockets. 

March Fun Face
A local diner is open on Friday nights for Fish Fry only during Lent…which means my family will be eating out each Friday until Easter! It’s that good!

 

What Dads Do Best | Kelly Jeppson

5 x 7 | materials patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye) + border stickers, alpha stickers (Doodlebug Design, Inc.) + alphabet stencils + twine (The Twinery)

A Note from Kelly
As I was looking through my photos, I found a bunch of great shots of my husband with the kids. I thought I would put them all together in a little album inspired by a bedtime story we read that is titled, “What Dads Do Best/What Moms Do Best.” After I got finished, I realized that this is also an album all about my husband wearing sunglasses! He has them on in almost every shot.

March Fun Fact
I have spring fever! I want to clean my house and paint a bunch of rooms!

 

Documented | Monika Wright

3.5 x 5 | materials cardstock (Hobby Lobby) + patterned paper, cardstock stickers, decorative tape (My Mind's Eye) + die cut (Sizzix) + ink (Stampin' Up) + stamps (creativityprompt.com) + journaling cards (Becky Higgins, Project Life) + sewing machine, thread

A Note from Monika
As a girl who adores mini albums, I kinda sorta took the low road on this assignment. So many times, I sit in the car and over hear conversations from my girls in the back seat. I THINK that I'm going to remember them, but I don't. And that's where this little pocket | purse mini notebook came in to play. I utilize Project Life cards that can be added to a layout or an album in an instant. Now, when I come to a traffic light, I can quickly jot down the conversation before it's forgotten forever. I just trimmed some kraft cardstock so that the PL cards fit snugly inside and scored some half pockets before stitching it all together on my Mom's vintage Singer sewing machine!

March Fun Fact
The older I get, the less I like winter. Although, I do love wearing cute boots, scarves and turtlenecks... go figure! Oh, and I'm entering my last year in my 40's on the 28th of this month.

 

Hong Kong 2012 I Christa Paustenbaugh

5 x 7 | materials cardstock (American Crafts) + patterned papers (Elle’s Studio) + stickers (Jillibean Soup, American Crafts, Studio Calico, Crate Paper) + die cuts (Elle’s Studio) + epoxy dots (My Mind’s Eye) + wood veneer (Studio Calico) + tape (Target, MK) + stamps (Elle’s Studio) + ink (Jenni Bowlin Studios, Versamark) + embossing powder (American Crafts) + punches (Fiskars) + tags (Elle’s Studio) 

A Note from Christa
We took our first off island trip in November to beautiful Hong Kong. Of course I took hundreds of photos, but wanted to highlight our trip with a few of my favorite photos. I used mostly wallet sized so I could fit as many as possible in the small album. I did not use an album base, but rather papers, die cuts and tabs as inserts for journaling and photos.

March Fun Fact
March in Okinawa, Japan means that the warm, humid weather will start to return and although I’m saying this now, I’ll soon regret it when we are knee deep in July and August – I’m ready for it! Ready for bathing suits, beach time and fun in the water!

 

25 Years of Giving Thanks | Amy Sorensen

6 x 8.5 | materials various patterned paper scraps (mostly Authentique) + stickers (Authentique) + font (Melanie Lane) + tabs (Silhouette)

A Note from Amy
When I took my mini book into the copy store to have the cover laminated and the binding done, the copy-store clerk looked at me a little strangely. "Wait," she said. "This is cute, but why Thanksgiving in February?"
Because I tend to procrastinate, that's why! I wanted to make this mini book back in November, but I got busy doing other stuff and never got around to putting it together. So yep, here I am, making a Thanksgiving mini for the March gallery. This is okay because it means when November rolls around again, I will be completely ready.

March Fun Fact
In the past two weeks I have made five batches of lemon bread. My family can't get enough!

 

When There's Love at Home | Marnie Flores

4 x 3 | materials patterned paper (Authentique) + washi tape (Recollections) + alphabet stickers (Chatterbox) + printables (write. click. scrapbook.) + eyelets, binder rings, plastic bags

A Note from Marnie
Last month, I put together a family Valentine's activity. You can read the details on our Valentine's week, if you missed the original post. I could never have imagined how successful it was going to be. The kids were so excited to leave each other notes. Especially my 14 year old son. He didn't miss a day. We filled the mailboxes and then read them one at a time on Valentine's day. Some of them were high-lair-ee-us. Some were sweet. And some made me cry. And it brought a lovely spirit of kindness to our home that is still there. I really really really feel grateful for the inspiration to create this little project. I hope you might consider doing it, too. Even without Valentine's day.

To put the notes together, I decided to put them in little plastic bags to help make them more readable. I found little snack bags that were 4x6 and then cut down the tops. I punched them with my crop-a-dile and strung them together. I added washi tape to the bottom of the four dividers to help make it a bit prettier and to help separate all the pages.

The journaling cards are for sale in the new wcs etsy shop in all sorts of colors if you would like them!

March Fun Fact
That groundhog told me there are only two more weeks of winter. I hope he wasn't lying. I am done. with. winter. Done. ☺

 

Family Fun | Marnie Flores

8 x 8 | materials patterned paper (Pebbles, Fancy Pants, My Mind's Eye) + journaling pad (Pebbles) + thickers (American Crafts) + page protectors (Doodlebug) + pens (Tombow)

A Note from Marnie
I found this journaling pad and thought it would make for a great mini album. I pulled out all the cards and put them into a general order. Then we all sat round the table and filled them out. I love the little girls printing these days, and am so glad to have their ideas captured in their own writing.
After the cards were filled out, a few were rearranged to better suit what was written. (ie. hadn't counted on three zombie responses, but they so represent things around here right now.) I used three styles of page protectors from Doodlebug which gave me lots of options. You might notice I still need to add in some photos. Now that I know what photos I need, we can do a photoshoot and fill in the blanks.

March Fun Fact
American Idol is in full swing. Can't decide if I think it will be a good one or not. Jury is still out... I do know that I prefer JLo to Mariah...

 

Two more things before we go...

First, are you ready for your brand new cut file! Christine has done it again, making us something so perfect for our theme.

You may download it here.

And lastly, this month we say goodbye to Katrina Simeck and Emily Spahn. They are lovely ladies with radiant spirits. We will miss them terribly. It is so very hard to say goodbye to friends who bring a kind light to our days and who inspire us with their artwork. Thank you, both, for the time you have given us. You will be missed.

Please join us in thanking them for their time here! And we would love to hear from you concerning our mini albums and how much you love them!! Happy March!

scrapbook!

This month is flying by. I can't believe it is scrapbook! Saturday already. Do you ever have months like that? Where you go to put your memory card into the computer to download a few days worth of photos and then see that it has been a month since you last did?! A month! Holy guacamole! When this happens to me, I try to breathe deeply, and then sit down and breathe some more. 

And once I have my feet under me again, I go looking for three excuses to scrapbook some of those photos. Three excuses named sketch, ROYGBIV, and trending.

 

1. Sketch

This month our resident sketch artist, Diane, created a sketch

based upon Paula's February layout.

 

This sketch is a perfect starting point for a layout. There is plenty of room for lots of journaling like Amy did...

 

... or cut the arrow into smaller sections like Francine did...

... or you could layer all sorts of papers below and above it as I did.

 

You can download the sketch here! I can't wait to see what you do with it. Please leave us a comment with a link to your layout when you are done so that we can see it!

 

2. ROYGBIV

This month our color palette 

comes from Francine's February layout.

 

I loved the rich but bright tones. I'm not usually one for brown, black seems to trump, but I was so drawn to this blue-ish hue of brown, that it had to be my starting point.

 

Here is my layout. You'll notice that it doesn't much look like Francine's colors, but they are all there.

I made one of Janna Werner's layouts into a sketch and then used it for my design. I really wanted to get a layout done, but couldn't seem to get one done without help. And she is the definition of talent so I thought she would make it easier. And it did. Her design let the colors and my photos shine. Which makes for a perfect layout in my book.

I hope you will put your own layout together using our new five color palette!

 

3. Trending

In our gallery this month there are twelve layouts that have small white border around their photos. Back before I went digital and starting printing at home, I used to have the photo lab print them that way. It feels right to me. I love that so many have joined me in my opinion.

 

Best of all, it's my third excuse for a layout.

 

Thank you for stopping by to see us today! I always appreciate your visits. Please feel free to jump in and play along with any of our three challenges. I truly love to see how you are inspired!

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...

DOWNLOAD

ALTERNATE DOWNLOAD

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,