Write. Click. Scrapbook.

In Review

This has been such a fun month. After mini month, it is always refreshing to be back to layouts and projects. And such amazing layouts we have had.

Kelly started us out with a burst of spring. Then Jenny helped us with our two page layouts, and Lisa sparked our imaginations for digging deeper into our project life albums. Then this week we got ready to say thank you to our teachers. 

 

With just 3 days until our new gallery, it is time to look back at our April gallery, Shapes.

This month's theme lends itself nicely to evaluating the layouts for design magnificence and skill. Let's go one by one and and pull out some design elements that work and which can help you create stronger layouts.

That's it! Please enjoy your weekend and your scrapbooking and we will see you Monday with a new theme week!

Welcome, April!

April is here and we're not fooling! We are so very excited that a new month is upon us. This month we are looking forward to Kelly, Lisa, Teacher's Appreciation preparation and Mother's Day preparation. We hope to inspire your spring pages, and help you get ready for the holidays ahead of us.

 

The first also brings us a

This month we are celebrating shapes: circles, triangles, hexagons, squares, stars. Whether the graphic elements be big or small, our pages love them all. Here is a look at our gallery as a whole!

And here are the pages one by one. Please click on over to the gallery to see them bigger, and read the journaling! 

That's it! We hope you have found a layout or two, or twenty, that will appeal to you and your scrapbooks! We look forward to seeing your "inspired by" layouts! And please let us know if you like the new cards.

In Review

Happy Saturday! We hope that you are loving MiniMadness month and that you have been inspired to create your own!

This month we celebrated with 37 mini albums. Its a dream come true! We hope you have had fun!

 

There is so much to love about our gallery this month. And with so much to see and process, we know it is a bit easy to overwhelm. So we put together some recipes for you: here are 4x6 reference cards to remind you of the details of each of the albums in our gallery. Feel free to print them and keep them for your records. We hope that it helps!

Once you have these printed, you could bind them together to make a mini album to celebrate our month of minis!

Thank you for stopping by and please enjoy your weekend!

Day 3 of Cocoa Daisy Week

Hey there. Erin here (along with my niece Shelby. Yep, I still do not have a picture of me by myself. I swear one of these days...), with my mini album made using the March Cocoa Daisy kit. First off, thank you to Cocoa Daisy - I love this kit. The colors were right up my alley. I would buy each piece of paper in the store, and I love the embellishments. The only things I used for this album not included in the kit were my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and some border punches. That's it. And it came together so quickly. I love it when that happens! 

I first attempted an album about my friends a couple years ago but it never happened. Since then it's been on my mini-albums to-do list. I wanted a way to record and celebrate my friends. This isn't a place for lengthy stories or detailed information on how we met. Rather it's a place to keep my favorite pictures and memories of my friends and the things we do. I plan to keep adding to it, eventually having a record of my friends and our fun times through the years. Obviously, I could go back to my childhood and add to it, but that's overwhelming. So I guess it should really be titled, "Girlfriends: my friendships from when I had my first child and forward." I'll likely go back and add a few of my favorite photos from the last seven years but no farther. 

First up, the cover. I don't usually do much with the cover/title page. (Need proof? See my race mini album from last month's gallery. The cover is just the word "run."  See, simple.) But I couldn't resist the rose ribbon. So I made that the basis of my cover along with the word stickers. Perfect for describing my friendships with the girls in the album. 

I stuck to the same formula for my interior pages - a 2.5x3.5 picture, paper strips, border punch, title, journaling tab, stapes and some sequins. That's it. the paper and picture placement varied slighly on the pages, but other than that, it was the same design on each page. This made is very easy to complete. In fact, I did it assembly line style. I first attached the picture and both the large and small paper strips. then I added the title to each page. Next was the journaling tab and I finished with adding sequins to all the pages. 

Here are five of the interior pages. I will add full names and places on the back of the pages. You know, in preparation for when I'm old and can't remember anyone or anything.  

 

I hope this inspires you to scrapbook some of your friendships, too! 

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!

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.

 

DOWNLOAD

 ALTERNATE DOWNLOAD

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...

 

Click.

 

I don´t know about you, but I am sure ready for some color and happy things happening now after the long month of January. Why is it that I always think that January is the longest month of the year?! I thought I would give you some inspiration on how to take some photos of things or people for that matter, that makes you happy.

I have sets at Flickr that are called Happy things (insert year here). In those sets I include many random photos that makes me happy for some reason. It can be because that person makes me happy or in the example above, I was so amazed and happy about our giant rhubarbs!

I often turn to photography when I am feeling down. Setting out on a mission to find things that makes me feel better. I find comfort in going outside and I open my eyes to the magic that is nature. Some times I find things that is obvious like the sky or a view.

I used some of my wandering photos on this layout. 

But sometimes my eye catches something small or something that needs me to crouch down in the wet grass to be able to capture it. And let me tell you, getting a little wet to get that photo is so worth it!

Other times I go on a hunt for happy things around the house. It can be a peek trough a window, a shelf, the sun shining into the livingroom or simply a clean table.

Jennifer made a page about her beloved iPhone :) 

See, small things can make us happy!

Francine send me this layout and I love the photos!

 

The lovely smiles in Erins layout makes me happy! 

 

 I hope that this post sparks you to look around you and capture what makes you happy right now!

 

 

 

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!

In Review

Hard to believe, but it is the fourth Saturday already. Which means we get to look back at the month and all that we have seen. 

Erin began the month with an honest assessment of Project Life and some terrific suggestions for how to make our 2013 efforts more successful. Amy wrote our journaling column this month, listing three resolutions that she made to improve her journaling this year. (And if Amy needs to improve, the rest of use are in trouble!! heehee!)

Sarah's week kept us all in stitches and helped remind us to let our funny bones show in our albums. Lisa finished the week with her photography article, and several good ideas for improving our self portraits--hopefully inspiring us to get out from behind the lens to be in our own photos.

Next, Diane offered us ideas for getting the men in our lives into our photos and onto our photos. Diane also provided the sketch from our gallery this month, with Marnie adding in a color scheme and a trendalert.

Lastly, Valerie built upon Lisa's suggestions for taking more self portraits by inspiring us to create self-pages. (That's a good term, no? Self pages? I suppose it doesn't matter what we call them as long as we make them, right?)

 

Before the calender turns its page, let's look one more time back at our gallery. The sneaks for next month's gallery are on the Facebook page, which means we are close to a new theme! Speaking of Facebook, if you haven't added us as an interest, please remember to do so. Without it, you won't see all our lovely posts! As a reminder, click open the "like button" so that it opens the drop down menu. From there, you have to choose "add to interests list." If you haven't a particular interest group yet defined, you can do so now (we might suggest "awesome scrapbooking sites"). Remember, once you do this, our posts will show up on your wall. Otherwise, the powers that be at Facebook want us to pay for you to receive our content. And well, that's just silly now.

 

As we walk together through the gallery, let's look for successful and inspirational elements. Things we can use to help make our pages better.

Look how Francine combines a font oft used in sports for a layout filled with soft hues and flowery elements. The juxtaposition is fantastic!

The little elephant in Aliza's title is the perfect example of how her pages are layered with details that need to be discovered by looking at them again and again.

Celeste is the master of shading. No one would ever believe this layout was digital. Never.

Marnie's layout celebrates the happiness of the moment with color, and cheerful elements. All working together to tell the story.

Francine's layout talks about making making the most of the mundane moments, which is brought to life by her use of the bright yellow. Such a little thing to help tell her story so well.

Did you notice all the little bits tucked under the middle of Celeste's layout? Helping to tell the story of her needing notes? Again, using tiny elements to help tell the story.

The new small size of Lisa's layout is awesome! The grey is the perfect backdrop for the red of the flowers, too, helping them pop off the page.

How many of you took photos on 10.10.10 or 11.11.11 or 12.12.12? Let Katie's layout inspire you to get them scrapbooked! And perhaps string up a few sequins like she did. They are so pretty. Clever embellishment idea.

Jenny's layout is a splendid journaling example. Such a tremendous idea! Emily's has a similar theme, listing advice for a former self. Christa focused hers on her 18 year old self. All of them are equally amazing. These are the kind of layouts that you will treasure for years to come. 

Kathy's layout has such a fantastic pairing of stark black and vellum elements. Each makes the other stand out more.

Do you see the same date stamp on Deb's layout as Katie's? While you are looking, notice all the arrows. They are so subtle, yet so effective en masse.

Valerie's layout is so tender. Perhaps made all the moreso by her not having used a photo. It just goes to show that you really don't have to have a photo to create a heartfelt, meaningful layout.

Did you read that Jennie used a photo that sits on her dresser? What terrific inspiration for us to do the same.

All the little wooden elements on Amy's pages help provide a warm coziness to her otherwise bright layout. It brings in the perfect bit of homeyness, especially when paired with the little houses. (And did you see that cute little face on her baby? Mmm!)

The bits of cloud, sky, and butterflies are so perfect for Diane's photo. Have you ever had a photo that so helped to guide your layout??

Christine's layout is filled with loveliness. The airmail edge helps give it the feel of a letter. The backwards staple and the hand drawn arrows give it a personal sense. Which goes well with the personal journaling! Unified layouts have such peaceful balance.

Paula's layout has a funny funny story. If you haven't read it yet, go now. We'll wait... Sweet, no? Have you had something old pop into your head lately? Perhaps the next time you do, you can hurry and make a page like Paula did.

Erin's layout is a reminder to take a moment and write about motherhood. Or something else equally important to you right now. Written with real heartfelt journaling. The kind Amy would be proud of.

Speaking of Amy, her layout begins as a letter to her daughter, but really is a chance for her to express herself. A nice way to let your feelings show.

Kelly's layout is a simple acknowledgment of a lovely characteristic of her daughter. Sometimes pages really can just be so sweet and simple.

Marnie's layout uses a font that is reminiscent of a Sharpie. What a perfect thing for a note one leaves one's self. Sometimes there really is a perfect font for a layout.

Lisa repurposed some old jewelry for her flower embellishment. What a terrific way to maintain a budget and be good to Mother Earth!

Thank you to the collective for some wonderful inspiration this month! And thank you, dear readers, for your loyal visits!

Proud Moments

 There are little moments every day when I am proud of my son and make a mental note to document it in some way or just celebrate with a high five. Our own accomplishments might not be worthy of the Nobel Prize, but they are deserving enough to be scrapbooked. When's the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back for a job well done? Yep, my challenge to you today is to document one of your own proud moments. It could be a recent moment, or a non-recent moment.

Here's mine:

 

Lisa shares a simple accomplishment—how she succesfully folded a paper crane. Origami is so much fun. This is totally off topic, but sometimes it is a lot of fun to fold origami and use it as an embellishment on your page.

 

We've got a few runners here in the collective. Erin writes about how she never thought she'd be a runner. I love the clean lines on this—and look at all that journaling. Way to go Erin!

 

And Christine ran a marathon. A whole marathon. Twenty-six point two miles. Oh my, that is a lot of running. Isn't it amazing what our bodies can do!?

A Few More Journaling Prompts for Today

• Scrap a proud moment you remember from high school.
• Scrap a proud moment you remember from college.
• Scrap a proud moment you remember as a friend, sister, daughter, or wife.
• Scrap a proud moment in parenting.