Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Appreciating our Teachers

Next week in the United States we will celebrate Teacher Appreciation week. I have a tremendous love and respect for teachers. I think teaching is a noble calling and those who follow their hearts into the world of our children are amazing. I can name all my teachers in order without hesitation or stopping. And even some of the student teachers I had over the years. These women and men changed me and changed my life. I know the same will be true for my children. And yours.

For me, Teacher Appreciation is a day, or week, when I can say thank you. For all they are. And all they do. A chance to express my gratitude for all they are and all they do.

That said, we live in an amazing school district that still has all the extras intact, so Teacher Appreciation week is a little bit crazy around here. My first grader has her homeroom teacher, an art teacher, a music teacher, two wellness coaches, and the librarian. My seventh grader has a different teacher for each subject, totalling eight. Which means I have fourteen gifts. On a budget. A few years ago I started giving A&W six packs. Not super original, I understand, but somewhat affordable. And who doesn't love A&W?

Here is the 2010 effort.

and the 2011 version.

So while I realize it won't be original, this year, the root beer will be back. Besides, now it is tradition, don't you think?

If you would like to try this for your teachers, here is a sheet of tags you can download and trim! There is the teenage version for your child who is mortified and horrified and aghast that you are doing such a thing as bringing his teachers a treat, and then a more cutesy version for those children who don't have to feign such a tough exterior!! :)

You can download the cutesy version here and the teenage version here. Trim them, punch a hole in the top left hand corner, add a ribbon (orange organza for us!) and you are good to go!

 

Our second project comes from Kelly. Last year she was in charge of teacher appreciation week! Yikes! For their last day, her committee put together Teacher Treat Boxes. Using simple gable-fold boxes, they  filled them with supplies that teachers love: post-it notes in cute paper covers...

..., pens, popcorn, cookies, glues sticks, hand sanitizer, etc. She found the tag online, and made a sticker to put on the front that thanked them from the PTA. Kelly assures me that it was a fairly simple project, aside from assembling everything, and the teachers loved getting things that they could use.

How cute are these? I might have to borrow this one if the root beer tradition ever fizzles out. :) I love the idea of useful items. Very clever! Thank you, Kelly!

 

And thank you for stopping by today! We love having you and inspiring you! And did I forget to mention that this whole week will be filled with sweet, simple, and doable ideas to help inspire you to say thank you to your teachers? It's true!! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for another idea! Happy day!

In Review

One of my favorite movements recently has been the push to keep gratitude journals. I was raised with the idea that one should count their blessings, especially when one is feeling a little discouraged or down. And I have to admit it helps shake the blues, and the greens. And the yellows. Helping to bring me back to happy. This month, I loved having the chance to not just count some blessings, but also to take time to write them down in a layout. 

How about you? Does it help you to note the good things? Does your perspective impact your happiness? If so, have you taken time to make a layout about the concept or about a particular gratitude? Perhaps one last look back through our gallery will provide you with the inspiration you need to do just that!

 

Francine - I love how Francine's photos look as if they are hanging on a clothesline, except the line is below them. (So resting upon?) I think the design adds to the hominess of her layout.

Karen - Did you notice that Karen's layout is filled with elements that are a tiny bit askew, tipped to the left, tipped to the right, a little up, a little down... and then there is the photo grid. With its even borders and symmetrical placements. Such a stabilizing element. Perfect.

Celeste - The digital magic of Celeste belongs to her use of shadows. Look closely at the grid squares and how the shadows make them so slightly raised. Even the stiches have a teensy bit of shadow. It is this that changes the layout from  digiboring to digireal. So small, but so impactful.

EmilyS - Do you sometimes make a list and want to use numerical embellishments but can't get them all on a page? How do you decide which to use and which to let go? Follow Emily's idea. She just picked a few, then placed the selected flair in appropriate places that make sense from a design perspective. Next, add the journaling around it. Easy peasy. Or so Emily makes it look.

Donna - The use of this quote card is genius. It adds a title, a decorative element, and a nice balance stylistically to the photo. Donna has a remarkable sense of balance in her layouts, without resorting to symmetry. This layout is one of many that shows this off.

Aly - Hands down, my favorite part of Aly's layout is that she is in her birthday photo. Hooray to Derek for taking hold of that camera and helping preserve Aly on her birthday!

LisaO - Have you seen those maps with pushpins that show where people have been? Lisa's layout reminds me of those. I love the visual story told by the hearts. Such a useful design element.

Amy - Did you read through Amy's journaling? It was so delightful. And sincere. And didn't have much at all to do with the days the leaves were thrown about. Photos can really be a jumping off point for stories, good stories, important stories. If you let them.

Paula - Oooh, I love a good list of things that are important. I love a good list that doesn't look like a boring old list. And I love the idea of keeping track of one thing per day. Such a lovely idea.

Diane - I have one word. Buttons. I love them. And I don't see them much anymore. But Diane used them. Beautifully, might I add. Thank you, Diane!

Marnie - Do you see the title? Do you see how the line of the r lines up with the left edge of the photo? Which lets the swoop of the g rest nicely in the swoop of the parentheses. Oh, I love fonts.

LisaK - Even though Lisa's photo is busy and contains many colors and details, you still notice her husband and children first. She wisely pulled the colors of her daughters' dresses into the layout. And by putting one little frame with a white center (the one to the right of the frame which says, "these girls") next to the photo, the white of the girls' sweaters pulls right out of the picture and the girls take center stage on the layout. As they should.

Erin - This layout has a fantastic collection of patterned papers. Small dots, chevron zigzags, stripes and big dots. In varying shades and colors. So delightful! Erin is so good with her papers.

Keshet - Ever notice how Keshet uses the tiniest elements to draw things together? For instance, did you notice the teensy yellow sequence that dots the "i" in her title is the same one strung across the collage in the top left corner? We often speak of repetition as a means of tying elements together. This is a perfect example.

Marie - Do you love these photos? Aren't they yummy? I also love how there is a second story going on on the left hand side with the bitty little journaling strips. Clever.

Kelly - Lining up her elements down the center of the page, Kelly's little Gabe gets front and center billing. With the journaling paper running the entire height of the page, the top photo becomes the focal point of the layout. A helpful design strategy.

Vivian - Using images and ephemera rather than photos, Vivian captures the story of her day even though she had no photos. Do not be deterred by photoless days when there are still stories to be told!

Monika - I love the idea of putting the journaling snippets on flags. It is so much more interesting than bullet points! Have you thought of other ways to journal lists without using a list?

 

Did you enjoy the Saturday workshops this month? I hope that you were able to find something inspiring? One of my favorite projects is putting the challenges together in a fun way to create a layout that stretches my creativity. This week I used Amy's challenge to make use of demonstrative adjectives, Lisa's challenge to look past the normal for a fun photo, Celeste's sketch, and the typography of Monika's printable, and put them together to make my newest layout. This one took me awhile to get it right, but I think it will grow on me. (It took me four hours (yes four hours! yikes!) so I am calling it done. Not every layout has to be my favorite, right?)

I hope you were able to be inspired, too! Please, oh please, if you make a layout, will you load it to our Flickr gallery and leave me a link so that I might oogle your creations? I would love that!

Until next time,

 

Welcome, April!

As spring blooms, and nature's green unfolds, the magnificence of earth's splendor often gives us pause, causing us to slow, breathe deeply, and marvel at the beauty of nature. Suddenly inside us awakes a deep sense of gratitude for what we are seeing and what we have. Not since Thanksgiving have we felt so connected to our lives and so thankful for all we have. Please join us in creating a page or two to honor our lives and note those things for which we are feeling thankful!

In Review

First, thank you, dear readers, for your kind excitement and comments for our month of mini albums. We appreciate your patience with our trying new things and hope that you have enjoyed the monthly theme.

Second, we could not have made this month work without our kit sponsors. Thank you Cocoa Daisy, JBS Mercantile, and Studio Calico for your generosity in not only providing kits for our giveaways, but also for our designers. Please stop by and visit them and leave them a big thank you!!

Did you know that this month you have had the pleasure of 37 mini albums? Did you have a favorite theme? topic? design? As our last hurrah, let's take our monthly stroll through our gallery. A last lingering look before we move on to another weekly and monthly topic.

 

I enlisted Amy's help and together we have compiled a summary of the gallery and some prompts for your creativity.

Aly’s mini focuses on some of her beliefs and values. Try journaling about a belief you are passionate about, a value you hope your child implements throughout his life, or a concept that you think will help your child become a stronger person. Or try journaling about a time when your child showed she’d really learned one of your values or beliefs.

Amy's album is a collection of photos that tell their own story. Have you begun a pattern of taking a particular photo? If so, go back and find them, and put them together as Amy has in a book that highlights them and allows them to shine.

Celeste’s mini is a vacation album. On one page, she wrote about her son seeing whales and how that was one of his bucket-list items. Try journaling about one of your children’s or your own experiences with crossing an item off of your bucket list.

In her Summer 2011 album, Christa journals about her family’s affection for Myrtle Beach. Try writing some journaling about why you go to a specific place for your vacations.

In Diane’s year-in-review album, there is a page about making pizza. Try journaling about your family’s pizza traditions. Do you make yours or buy them? Which brand is everyone’s favorite and how do you conquer the great topping debate?

Donna’s album documents her favorite season, fall. Try journaling about your favorite season. What do you love about it? And why? What is your favorite seasonal tradition? What do you remember about this season from your childhood? How does your affection for the season influence your family?

EmilyS made a mini with space for writing the funny and cute things her daughter says. Try journaling about your child’s own funny conversations or way with words. If you can’t think of any, spend a day or two just listening for the funny things; jot them down and you’ve made a great start on your journaling!

Erin dedicated an entire page in her mini to journaling about one month in her son’s life. Try journaling about a single month in your children's lives. What kinds of activities and learning are they focused on? What were the highlights? What were the hard parts? What changes were made in those 30-odd days?

Francine's sweet mini shows how we can celebrate the mini in a literal way. Maybe set a two hour window for yourself and create a mini mini that can be at the ready for adding in photos as they are ready.

Karen’s album gives an overview of her current goals. Try journaling about one of your children’s goals. How is she going about accomplishing it? What setbacks has she had? How has she pushed forward? How does seeing your children achieve their goals make you feel?

Katrina’s mini gave an overview of her affection for her iPhone. Try journaling about how a specific piece of technology affects you, your children, or your entire family. Or, write a contrast piece: how has technology changed since you were a kid?

Do you ever take photos with a particular purpose in mind? Kelly's album has this potential. Knowing you wanted to collect your photos in a vertical album, you could concentrate your efforts on snapping vertical photos at a particular event or occasion. We are scrapbookers. We do plan these things!!

Keshet’s mini focuses on her daughter’s first week of life. One of the little layouts has a photo of her daughter and her husband together. Try journaling about your children’s relationship with their father. What sort of relationship do they have? How are they similar and what do they butt heads over? Is there a specific moment that encapsulates their relationship?

LisaK put together a mini with all of her favorite photos. Try journaling about one of your favorite pictures. Why do you love it? What are the details behind the pic—who took it, where was it taken? What does the photo capture that no other pictures do?

LisaO's album is a collection of her favorite photos. Try assembling an album such as this little by little as the year goes by so that it is less intimidating. Perhaps keep your ever growing album nearby so that it is easy to add pages.

Marie's happily ever after album is a quick summary of her 12 on the 12th project. Have you a scrapbook page that would also make a fun album that could sit out for easy reference, and show? Sometimes having others see our albums can be just the push we need to finish our projects.

Marnie’s entire mini focuses on her reading choices. Trying journaling about your reading habits. (Your kids’ book opinions aren’t the only ones that count!) What kind of books do you like to read and why? How do you fit reading into your busy life? What’s your opinion on eBooks? Or get even more specific and write about the book you are reading right now.

Monika's Easter album shows how you can use a mini to house event photos. Have you considered making a mini to display photos that deserve more than just a page in a photo album?

Paula’s Q&A album asks the big question: what are your favorites? One of the questions asks about favorite books. Try journaling about what your children are reading right now. Do they love it or are they just sort of “ehh” about it? What is their relationship with the book? (Is it part of a series, or by a favorite author, or one a good friend couldn’t stop raving about?)

And lastly, Vivian's honesty about not loving mini's is sweet. And we love the page she made using up minialbum materials. Clever.

 

This month, there was so much that moved me. I have made a file of some great ideas and hope you have, too! I wondered if you could let us know if you enjoyed the month and would like to see it again next year. If you could please leave us a comment and let us know if you liked it, we would appreciate it! Thank you!

Make mine a mini! Making a kit from your stash, day two

Hello, my friends! I trust you are all enjoying the March mini-madness around here as much as I am. I have been so inspired by everything that has been posted this month! Kelly here, with a kit I put together myself.

I haven't had much experience with buying kits before, but I do like to gather all the supplies I am going to use for a project before I start. I am a kitchen table scrapbooker (or kitchen counter, living room floor, or wherever I can find space), so I like to put all the supplies I am going to use in a basket and carry them with me. Ta -da! A kit is born.

For this mini, I wanted to use some fun paper I just purchased from Stampin' Up (a collection called "Twitterpated"), so I went to my local craft store to find some things to match. I found the "smashbook" section and couldn't resist the journaling pad titled "My Favorite Person" and the matching washi-style polka-dot tape. I added some simple letter stickers from American Crafts and white cardstock, and I was on my way to designing a mini about my husband (and me, of course).

The journaling prompts were the inspiration behind this album, and I looked through my loose photos to find the perfect shots of the two of us to fit the text. Examples include: "When I first met you, I thought:", "It drives me crazy when you:", "A perfect day together:", and my favorite, "You are _____, and I am _____." These are really fun to fill out, and kinda goofy at the same time. I kept each 5x7 page pretty simple, with a patterned paper background, a photo, and the journaling, held together with the tape and glue. I didn't want to overwhelm the pages with a lot of "stuff."

Journaling reads, "Ten years from now I see us: Just as happy as we are right now!"

Here's an image of some of my completed pages:

And the cover that I made using the same supplies, alongside my completed pages.

I found an inexpensive 5x7 photo album to use, but I'm not completely sure I want to put my album together that way. I'm a big fan of binder rings...

This mini came together rather quickly, as soon as I found the supplies I wanted to use. Go make yourself a kit and get going!

Welcome, March!

It's up! Our new gallery, Mini Madness, is filled with lovely mini albums. With as much content as a full-size special edition, there is going to be a little something for everyone! Enjoy! and please leave a comment telling our designers how much you appreciate all their hard work!

Celebrate Music: Perform!

 

Hello! Emily here again with another fun day of scrapbooking inspiration featuring my favorite subject, Music!  Today is our last day of February, so be sure to take one last peek at our fabulous February music gallery!  

What I love the most about music is that anyone can make it and everyone can enjoy it! Today I am going to hone in on the meat and potatoes of music: performance. Let's face it, there wouldn't be music without someone to perform it. And by "perform" I truly mean anything from my daughter's rousing seventeen verses of "Farmer in the Dell"  during the car ride home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing Beethoven.  All music is beautiful and meaningful to the person that created it.  So whether you are a musician yourself or just a music aficionado, I hope you will be inspired by these practice and performance centered layouts...featuring everyone from babies to our very own Wcs team!

To begin, I have an easy layered layout of my cousin's son.  As a music teacher, I make an effort to give musical gifts to all the babies!  I realize this makes many of the parents dislike me a little bit!!  It's all in the name of music, so it's alright with me!

Wcs team member Francine Clouden shares with us two adorable layouts of her son making music.  I love the bright colors of his xylophone in the first example!

Kelly Jeppson shares a sweet story of her son's multiple musical experiences over the Christmas holiday.

Aly Dosdall created a fun colorful layout of her daughter performing as the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I love how she has circled her daughter to make her stand out amongst all the other children!

Ah, the piano recital. It seems like everyone who ever took piano lessons has memories (hopefully fond ones!) of their piano recitals. Christa Paustenbaustenbaugh's lovely layout of her daughter's piano recital includes both a photo of the piano as well as a photo of her daughter with her post-performance flowers. I love all the little pops of red in this layout!

As I stated earlier, "performance" doesn't need to mean something formal.  A performance can be something as simple as an impromptu song in the shower!  Alexandra Sirugue-MacLeod embraces her daughter's love of singing anywhere and everywhere in this beautiful and simple layout.

Celeste Smith created two gorgeous digital layouts that center around her son's saxophone playing. The photography on both of these layouts is so creative. I love the close up shot of the instrument in the first one and the photo from behind on the second.

Like the photograph taken from behind in Celete's layout, Marnie Flores has created a touching layout that features a photograph of son playing the piano taken from behind. Perhaps this is the best way to get teenagers to let you take their picture!  Read her journaling closely. I had to smile at the last sentence regarding the girls at school!

The fingers in the next layout belong to me!  After playing piano for 20 years, I was shocked at how hard learning the guitar was for me! I took lessons for two years while I was in graduate school, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I never really quite got the hang of it all, and I don't even have a guitar to play anymore.

Here at write.click.scrapbook we have a few team members who have music jobs. I teach general music, Emily Pitts teaches piano lessons, and our very own Lisa Kisch is a talented stage actress. This amazing journaling-heavy layout is one she created during a break from the stage. You can read her journaling here.

Finally, Paula Gilarde created a digital layout that talks about a memory of a single performance from her past. I absolutely love all the digital elements in this layout.  It is perfect, as I'm sure was her performance. 

Have you created any music practice or music performance themed layouts? We'd love to see them in our Flickr gallery or linked up here!  

In Review

I loved this month's theme. Music moves my heart in ways I can hardly explain. A song from the past can drag me back to a memory long since faded and make it as radiant as the day it happened. I can turn on any Air Supply song and instantly begin to sing every. single. word. I can't seem to remember my grocery list longer than 5 minutes but I have a whole vault of 1980s lyrics forever seared into my brain!

How does music affect you and your life? Do you love it? Have you a favorite song? or genre? Is there a song that swings you back to your childhood? or your wedding day? Is there an artist that got you through a particularly rough time? Or do you prefer a silence? Either way, have you scrapbooked it?

If you haven't had a chance to be inspired by the gallery yet, let's take once last long lingering look at the loveliness it contains.

 

Aly First, look closely at Lexie's face. Can you see the excitement and the thrill of the stage? Such a terrific photo. I love how Aly didn't shy away from color on this layout. The costumes were vibrant and bright. I think many of us would have tried to go very neutral on this page, but Aly shows us we need not.  And because the star of the photo is in white, she isn't any bit lost as we take in the layout.

LisaK I hope you took a minute to read Lisa's journaling. It is honest and raw and made me miss the stage, too, and it isn't even my place! Moving journaling gets me! I love, too, that she handwrote her journaling. Quite a task to undertake, but it makes the heart of it shine so much more brightly.

Karen When I read Karen's title, I could immediately hear the trilling laughter of my own sweet Poppy. Her laugh climbs a scale and is every bit musical. I am going to have to steal Karen's idea and journal the music of the laughter. I think Karen's layout is a good reminder, too, that when you sit down to scrapbook a challenge, there is a way to make a page that fits the theme even if it isn't the straightforward option.

Francine When I first saw Francine's layout, I giggled at the terrific photos. Not only did she capture the action of the drumming, she also memorialized the delight on both his face and that of his uncle. Speaking of great photos, don't you find it is so easy to journal on layouts when your photograph so perfectly aligns with the story? Photos like these make for my favorite layouts to create (read: easiest to create, therefore favorite to create!!).

Christa Speaking of layouts that are creative takes on a theme, I love this! Christa cleverly wrapped her title up the side and across the top, providing a strong structural element within which she tucked the other elements of her layout. By starting her title treatment at the same horizontal level as her photos, Christa has created a focal point for her layout. She also has repeating elements with the circles (the "o" in to, the sunburst, and the circle behind the heart), the three tags and flags, and the repeated bit of red. All of which serve to create an incredibly cohesive layout.

LisaO Did you notice how many references to current culture Lisa has added to her layout? Not only does she list her current playlist, she also used a current photo. And not only are the colors are at the height of fashion, so, too, are the patterns and the little  iconic elements--the bird, the tape. All these elements combine to further tell the story of right now, not just the music.

EmilyS I consider myself quite well rounded when it comes to music, but I must admit Emily's layout had me rushing to my computer to listen to these songs. A few are also favorites of mine, so I figured I might just like them all. So hooray to Emily's layout for helping me expand my playlist!!! Now, onto the design, might I just say how much I adore white on white? And the little tiny graph lines in red did me in. Love love. I thought putting the songs on individual strips was genius, as was not worrying whether or not the lines matched up with those below!

EmilyS in case you haven't yet read Emily's journaling, go get a tissue, and now go read. I'll wait...  What a sweet moment captured. To me, this is the very heart of scrapbooking. Pure love.

Celeste I would love to have a photo of my music lessons. I spent years with my favorite teachers and yet, not a photo exists. If your children take lessons, or you do, be inspired by Celeste, and get a photograph of it!!

Kelly What a fun memory to record! Watching your child discover a new skill/talent is special which makes it scrap worthy by definition, right? I love how Kelly printed Crystal's label. It makes the journaling fit so well. Perfect!

Katrina Hooray! Katrina is back! Oh, Katrina! We have missed you so!! Welcome home! My favorite part of Katrina's layout is how she used the single covers as the "photographs." And could the flair be any more perfect?

Marnie I love the juxtaposition of Nigel's beautiful skill with his ratty athletic clothes. Sometimes we scrapbook photos that aren't perfect, and then realize that the layout is better for its little sprinkles of reality.

Marnie This list and layout is so overdue. Please, sit down right now and make a layout about your favorite music. Don't put it off any longer!

Diane Do you know what I love most about Diane's layout? The little letter stickers for s-h-i-n-e. And you do you know why? Usually, when we are going to emphasize a word, we think to put it in a bigger font/sticker. But here, Diane made it smaller. And it works! So well!

Keshet This sweet layout makes me swoon. And makes me want to put together a layout about how it felt to sing to my firstborn. Do you like, too, how Keshet's photo and journaling are taped onto the wood paper? It sort of makes it look like it was taped to a wooden wall, no?

Marie How much fun is this layout? Do you like how Marie used a record and tape on her layout? Cute!

Paula I love that Paula scanned her music in for her background paper! It makes such a statement and it adds to the story so well! I love, too, how she put her journaling in a column right in the middle of her page. Center stage. Not a usual placement, but it works so well, don't you think?

Marie The whiny song! How awesome is that? I can hear one of our three as I type!! I think Marie wonderful for catching a photo of a whiny child. I rarely think to grab my camera when the whine is on. But it is what it is, yes?

Alexandra I love the size on this layout. Long and thin. I also love how Alexandra juxtaposed the modern "get down" with the gold doily. And then she tied the tag with a neutral string is so simple and yet, the perfect last addition. It's those details that Alexandra gets to right!

Francine This layout is a wonderful example of using 5 photos on one layout. By including all 5 photos, we get a much better sense of the occasion than if Francine had chosen just one. And because she grouped them as she did, the layout stays clean and polished.

Amy Having loved Amy's teen week, I am now wondering if this is one of the photos from the "I just had my hair done" collection. (Such a fun photo idea, by the way!) Sometimes lyrics are the perfect accent. And sometimes the perfect title. Also, did you read in Amy's notes how her lyrics block came from the negatives of a Silhouette cutout? That's what I call a two for one!

Donna I love the colors on this layout! The blue and clouds, the green, the little bit of pink, the pop of orange. And then the butterflies! Don't you love how Karen and Donna sneak items traditionally considered "girly" on their pages about their sons? Woohoo!

Erin Like Katrina, Erin let the album covers stand tall as an element of design and story. I love how she recorded her children's favorites, and not just her own playlist. A good idea, for certain! It would be interesting to make a layout like this every couple of years and then compare and see the changes! Oh, the inevitable changes!

EmilyP Do you like how the entire center of Emily's layout is just numbers? No photo, no journaling. But so much fun! And then as you look around, and I mean around, you see her top ten list.

 

The theme this month, Music, offered much inspiration for journaling, and photography, and our gallery was ripe with inspirational design. I took the challenge to document my musical tastes, and the design challenge of using a list, and added in some inspiration from Emily's layout, and put this one together.

My new favorite layout.

I hope you felt inspired to make a new favorite as well!

Love Week | Day 3

Ok, today I am sharing a few things that you can make and give to your Valentine. I don´t know about you, but once Valentine´s Day is approaching I often tend to thing of projects like 10 things I love about you and such. But I have done that already, both for my husband and my daughter. Don´t get me wrong, I can happily list more than 10 things I love about both, but I need to come up with new things from time to time. For this year I am planning to cook. Yes, I have a private cook...in my husband :) My husband cooks all the meals in this house, year round. But on Valentine´s Day, I am going to try to suprise him and my daughter with dinner and dessert. I got my inspiration from Rebecca Gough and her dinner at eight blog series, where she shares supercute simple dates with her husband.  

Now, I am a girl that loves to get a card or two now and then. So, I have created 4 free printable cards that you can download and print, fold and voila! Instant Valentines!

Here is the "manly version." ;) Using digital kits from Crystal Wilkerson I created these cards with a more unisex color scheme if you will.

And here are the more traditionally colored cards. I hope that you can use these for something this Love day!

A few years ago during a cold winter, I made rice handwarmers for my daughter. This year I made one more pair + this bigger version. It is about as big as a dinner plate and I will use it on cold evenings to warm up her bed before she goes to bed. I know that she is 12, but she needs heat even if she isn´t a baby anymore, right?! It is made just as the handwarmers, but bigger.

How to: Cut your heart shape out in a fleece fabric (you can certainly use other fabric types as well!) and sew with your machine around the heart and leave a small opening where you can add your rice. After you have added the rice just sew the gap too. Warm in a microwave about 15 seconds, depending on the size and the power of your microwave. Another great use for it is to warm up a car seat for a loved one or your baby's carseat.

 

Have you tried needle felting before? It is actually really easy. You will need a felting needle, whool and a piece of foam rubber and in this case a cookie cutter shaped as a heart.

You will start adding some wool into the cookie cutter and begin to pin the needle up and down so that the needle will pull the wool down into the foam rubber. Be careful though!

Gradually add more wool. You want it to be real firm. I usually take the felted wool out of the cookie cutter from time to time and turn it over so that I can see how the other side is coming along. 

When you think it is firm and thick enough you can add a pin and you have a nice little gift for someone you love or perhaps yourself to spread some love around you ♥

 

Another one of our newest team members, Emily Spahn, made this piece of art for her husband. 

Perhaps you can bake some goodies and use Tuesday's free download to write a note on.

 

Kelly Jeppson made a lovely CD cover using some of Crystal Wilkerson's digital goodies.

On Pinterest I have found a few cute cards and gifts that you can make yourself! 

Lisa Dickinson for KI Memories:

Nora Griffins Mother´s Day card could easily be used as a Valentine´s Day card.

Such a cute craft and gift by Amy Morby!

And finally, here are two freebies for your treats. Here is a multicolor treat topper:

or if you prefer, you may download the pink and grey treat topper!

Have fun and craft on!

Love Week | Day 2

Well, hello love! I remember being in England as an exchange student when I was 13 and a random lady said that to me :)

How did yesterday's post go down? Perhaps you found something you felt was doable for next week??!!

Today I will be talking about scrapbooking. As I prepared for this week's postings I flipped through my albums to see if I had any Valentine´s Day layouts and I found one (1)! 

 

It is a layout that I made in 2009 after a lovely Valentine´s Day we had together. This was the year that I decided to do something nice for him, even though he thinks that this day isn´t anything to celebrate. We had the loveliest time! 

 

I did however find quite a few layouts that feature love ♥

My daughter took this photo of my husband and I on our 9th wedding anniversary last year. I was on a bannner high at the moment and used a printable one for this page. 

 

Amy Sorensen send this cutie layout for me to share with you!

 

In 2010 we had a little short photoshoot on Valentine´s Day! Of course I had to scrapbook it :)

 

Another anniversary photo (7th) that I just wanted to save in my album.

 

A layout that features just my husband (which is, when I think about it, very rare!).

 

I also found a few lovey dovey ones about my Sadie dog ♥

 

Here is a layout that I made just a few weeks ago. If you look carefully...

you will see another download made from Crystal Wilkerson's digital goodies!

You can either click on the image and then just right click + save the image or download the free pdf by clicking the link above. These are the smaller thought bubbles you can download the larger ones here.

If you use it in a project, please share it with us!

 

Kelly Jeppson made this darling layout using two of the journaltags!

 Be sure to come back tomorrow as I share some things you can give away to your Valentine.