Write. Click. Scrapbook.

AC Digitals Mini Madness Week - Day 4

Hi, Francine here to round out our week of minis using the AC Digitals Crate Storyteller kit! And today we're going hybrid! Thanks to AC Digitals for providing us with this lovely kit. I oooh-ed and aaaah-ed as I opened up the folders to look at everything, but the one element that popped out to me was the bicycle. It immediately gave me the idea to do a mini about my son and his beloved pedal-less bike, which he would ride during a winter storm if I let him. Because I didn't want to spend a lot of time working on the computer my approach for the mini was to just print out everything I wanted to use, along with my photos and then put the book together.

I found a blank tag shaped album in my stash, which was perfect since I knew I wanted to use a bunch of tags on my pages. I then chose the patterned papers that went best with my theme and printed those out. I used my lazy method of printing, which is via the Print Wizard in Windows (scroll down to the end of that article for a tutorial). In this case I selected the papers I wanted and chose the 5x7 option in print wizard to get 8 pieces of patterned paper to use as the background for my pages.

You can also check out this post from a couple years back all about printing out digital elements. For this mini I printed out the papers and tags on cardstock, and the bicycle embellishments on matte photo paper.

Here are some completed pages

Notice how I have a big bicycle on the cover, but smaller ones inside? This is why hybrid is so great, you can customise the size of the elements. I did this by using the wallet size option for the cover when printing, and the index sheet option for the smaller ones.

Another great thing about using digital kits? I can continue to add to this album without worrying whether I will be able to find the products I used in a year's time.

The only thing I added to the kit was alphabet stickers by BasicGrey and some washi tape. I tend to keep my minis simple for a couple reasons. First, because that gives me a greater chance of actually completing them, and second because Kieran loves looking at these little books, and the simpler and sturdier they are, the longer they last!

Have you ever done a hybrid mini album? How did you approach it?

Sunday Photo + Words

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!

What About You?

Hi again! I am here for day two of my musings about creativity. Yesterday I talked about capturing the creativity of others. Today, let's talk about ourselves.

Chances are, if you are here, then you have a drive to create in some form or another. It's a powerful feeling; one to be celebrated, and even, recorded.

Right now, it seems, that my kids just think I am nutty and a little obsessed with taking pictures and scrapbooking. But one day, I like to think that they will look back fondly, and say, "Oh, my darling mother, (who was always so lovely and nice and beautiful), was so passionate about capturing beauty and making things. What an inspiration she is to me..."

In case they don't come to that conclusion themselves, I've captured that part of me in some pages. Since I am nutty and a little obsessed with taking pictures and scrapbooking, I feel like my heart is laid bare on these layouts.

I even get to be creative in my non-scrapbooking life, and it feels exatrordinarily powerful to me:

Christine  created this page to record all the reasons she loves to scrapbook.

And this one records her love of crafting in general:

Francine shares her creative passion here:

Lisa needs to do something creative every day. It's like a drug.

What are the reasons you create?

What do you feel as you are creating?

Do you feel your creative juices flowing in other areas of your life, as well? At work? In the kitchen? In the garden?

If so, by all means, record it! What a gift to yourself and your loved ones, to share this bit of yourself.

Creativity is All Around You

Hi, it’s Aliza here this week to talk a little bit about creativity; that spark, that drive, that mojo that gets us writing and clicking and scrapbooking. Sometimes, the ideas and the creations are just pouring out, and projects get accomplished like lighting; Zam! Boom! Pow! Done and done. And sometimes it’s like running a marathon... actually I have no idea what that’s like. So let’s say it’s like folding laundry; it can be tedious, but it gets done by folding one piece of clothing at a time, slowly but surely.

There is creativity around us all the time in many different forms; Children playing, books we are reading, music in the background, and even in the technological products that we use every day.  

Look Around

I love capturing those bits of creativity around me in my photos and scrapbook pages, and I guess I have for a while, since some of these pages are quite old.

There are artists all around you. Some people create things that become part of our collective conscience, which is what I found so moving about visiting the home where a kid grew up, and had an idea for a comic book character that he called Superman.

 

Some artists make creations that bring people joy for just a short while. This guy didn't create anything that changed the world, but he worked hard, he had a vision, and he brought some smiles to people around him on the streets of New York City. The power to move people in that way...well, I call that art.

You Don't Have to Look Far

If you have kids, then you don't have to look far for people who spend their time creating. Some will do it with paint and glue, some with legos or blocks, and some with dolls, action figures, or just nothing but their own body pretending to be someone else. But no matter how they do it, so much of a young child's life is spent in creative endeavors.

Here's my own little super hero creator:

 

Though mostly he told stories with action figures.

 

Francine has several layouts that capture her son involved in some beautiful, messy, artwork:

Amy also has a layout about her daughter's love of art, and it tells the story behind this particular creation.

 

Capture the Aftermath

Sometimes it can be difficult to catch your child in the act of creating. Some of them move fast, and, can you believe it? Some of them don't want to be followed around by a camera?! Luckily, they often leave the remains of their play all over the place, long after they are done. 

 

 So, look around. What art, big and small, moves you? Take a moment to capture it in a picture, a layout, or in your Project Life pages. Take a look through your scrapbooks, and maybe you'll see that you've been capturing it all along.

In Review

Have you had a delightful month? We hope that you have learned much and giggled oft as you have spent your time with us each day. Have we mentioned lately how much we love our readers? Yes, you! We do love having you stop by. 

 

It's that time where we link arms and walk back through our gallery. We hope that you have your comfy shoes on! Let's begin...

 

1. record a trend. Lisa's One Direction layout could fit many of our children's albums right now. Have you taken a moment to record their current media crushes?
2. record something goofy. and then don't add lengthy journaling if it isn't needed. Jennie's layout is perfect with nothing but her title. High-lair-ee-us.
3. make a list of oft heard phrases. Sometimes we hear things so often that we can't imagine that they will one day fade from our memories. Feel free to ask your spouse for help like Diane did.
4. record a conversation line by line. Valerie smartly recorded the conversation and used stamps to help convey the speaker. Darling.
5. write from the heart. Go there. No matter how it hurts. You will be glad later. Christine's layout is proof enough.
6. make a list of the words your baby knows. And then write them out. And one day, scrapbook them, like Paula did!
7. record your tactics. Sarah's layout is a humorous retelling of her persuasion techniques. Too funny.
8. eavesdrop. and then write down what you hear. especially if you have two little people chatting together. You will giggle. Just like Erin did.

 

1. honest photos. Aliza's layout shows us just how fun in-the-moment photographs can be.
2. take a headshot. then pair it with something that you hear. Katie's layout shows us that the photo that you use doesn't need to have been taken at the moment of the conversation that you are recording.
3. hilarious moment recorded. Don't forget to take pictures of the crazy antics of your housemates. Chances are this photo will haunt Christa's daughter for years to come. Perfection!
4. conversation baby photos. You might need two of you for this one. While one engages the baby in a conversation, the other records it. These photos, like Keshet's will become treasures.
5. action shots. They are easy to take and fun to scrapbook. Just pick a few and get going like Jennie did.
6. take a screenshot of your texting convo. Amy's idea is fantastic! As is her layout!
7. take a photo at the beginning or end of an event that you cannot attend. Kelly's photo of her son coming home from camp helps tell the story even though she didn't get to be there the whole time.
8. let your conversation be your photo. Sometimes you don't need a photo. Sometimes you can find one. But don't let the lack of one stand in your way. Marnie didn't.

 

1. use an element unexpectedly. Look at how Aliza uses the polaroid frame with the attached sentiment. It sits empty in the lower right hand corner. Without framing a photo. Interesting...
2. find a small element that helps to tell your story. Like Celeste's car. Helps us to catch that this conversation took place in the car. In case you forget to read the title.
3. embellish with color. Jennifer does a great job with black and white photos, a grey background, and then all sorts of color pops in her embellishments. Perfect!
4. stamp a date with tiny little date stamps. Francine's round little bitty yellow numbers with the red dots in between are the perfect additions for both color and style. Lovely.
5. Christmas photos. Let Amy's layout be some inspiration for you to scrapbook your holiday photos.
6. Let conversation bubbles be your text boxes. Then you can add lots of journaling that is unrelated to each other. Just like Emily did.
7. use enamel dots to support your color story. Deb is a master. Learn from her.
8. edit your photos in an artistic manner to help with your story telling. Christine's layout is so much more fun with her oversized affected photos.

 

Thank you, again, for stopping by! We hope that these prompts will help you make better use of the gallery and all that it has to inspire!

Are You an Embellishment Collector?

Welcome to Day 4 of use your stash week. Today we are here to chat about embellishments. Are you a collector, or should I say hoarder, of embellishments, like I am? I tend to buy them by the bucketful, but then hold onto them waiting for the perfect project to use them on. Sometimes I've held on to packs of embellishments until they have gone out of style. I guess I'm a trendy embellishment shopper?? ;)

I have found that since I usually buy kits now, I am better about using up the embellishments, although sometimes an embellishment comes along and I just can't help myself. I found that keeping them in baskets on my desk helps me to remember to use them.

                          

My best tip for using your embellishments is to group them. For some reason, I am pretty anal about grouping them in odd numbers...call it a quirk. I did that on this layout using up some buttons, some enamel dots and some mist-able arrows.

I also have a ridiculous amount of letter stickers. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Francine not only does a great job of using an amazing amount of embellishments, but she also uses up some of her letter stickers on these gorgeous layouts.

Christa sent along some amazing layouts, including this one that she created using a handful of flair.

                            

And I love how she used ribbon on this one.

                           

I have some embellishments that I just can't bring myself to get rid of. I was a huge fan of Heidi Swapp's Ghost Letters (glad they are coming back). I am pretty sure I had these in my stash for at least 5 years, and was so happy to pull them out to use on this layout as a mask for my title. 

Hope this has influenced you to use up some of those embellishments.

                          

You have one more day to enter to win a $35 GC from Chic Tags. Click here to get the details, and link up a project using older supplies in the comments on any day.

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,  

 

It's My Favorite

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

And here is another printable for you!

DOWNLOAD

 ALTERNATE DOWNLOAD

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

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

See ya tomorrow!