Write. Click. Scrapbook.

scrapbook!

Welcome to our May edition of scrapbook! Saturday. I am having a wonderful month here at write. click. scrapbook. How about you?

This month's gallery is a favorite of mine. I love the reminder to take time to scrapbook our daily moments. Those times in between the events that used to dominate our scrapbooks. I hope that you have felt inspired, too.

For our three scrapbook! challenges we are going to go back to our May gallery, Everydaily III, and find three inspiration pieces. Ready?

 

THE SKETCH

This month, Diane created a sketch based upon Amy's layout, Everyday He, in our Everydaily gallery.

 

Here is her sketch.

I love the tags and the details and that it has matching photos. I couldn't wait to use it. But first, let's look and see how two of my teammates took it on.

 

Jennie's layout chronicles her yummy doggy. She stuck closely to the sketch, but switched her journaling box to one sized more like the tags on the side. I love the little red sequins. Mmm.

 

Diane's layout is going to make you smile!! Her choosing a faux corkboard was so smart. And the pearl tops look just like push pins. Genius! 

This makes my heart happy. The happy smiles and mugging for the selfies are too too fun!!!

 

And here is mine. I turned the photos on their side and then had to take out the title bar. I very lazily left Diane's shapes along the right hand side. (I love when sketches work so well!)

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

 

ROYGBIV

This month the color palette

is based upon Christine's layout, Love to Run.

With all those luscious pinks, I couldn't resist. Here is what I came up with.

I know the pink is bright and central, but the other four colors are there. And helps to take a bit of pep out of the peptol bismol bright!!

 

I can't wait to see what you do with this palette. There are so many ways to go with it. I'm looking forward to seeing yours.

 

TRENDING

This month nearly every layout in the gallery has a color photo. Well, except mine. So I thought perhaps I should join in! 

And while we were doing color, I thought I would go for broke with a color filled background paper, too!

 

That's it! I am so happy that you stopped by and that we could work on some layouts together. I hope that you feel inspired by our gallery and that you will enjoy the colors, designs, and trends you find there!

Enjoy your day!

And don't forget to let me know if you make a layout or two!

Welcome, May!

Hello May! We are so happy to welcome a new month and a new gallery! This month we look forward to our final month of weekly blogging. We were be learning from Francine, Amy, Christine, as well as have help from our team preparing for Father's Day. We can't wait!

A new month brings a new gallery.

May is the month we celebrate the Everyday. Those things that make up our every day lives. The little things that might get lost in our scrapbooks and our memories. Our schedules, our routine. Project Life is a wonderful way to capture the details of our lives. And our scrapbooks are a great place to record some of the details as well. Our team has put together some amazing layouts. We just know you are going to be inspired to create some just like them!

As a reminder, if you would like to see the layouts a bit bigger and with the journaling listed, please hop on over to the gallery album.

Without further ado, may we present... Everydaily III!

The Family that Types Together | Aliza Deutsch

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (American Crafts) + patterned paper (Jenni Bowlin, Pebbles, Elle’s Studio, Simple Stories, Cocoa Daisy, Webster’s Pages) + buttons (Fancy Pants) + thickers (American Crafts) + labels (Chic Tags) + stickers (My Mind’s Eye, Glitz Designs, Simple Stories) + fonts (Linenstroke)

A Note from Aliza
This layout lists a couple of random reflections about technology and our everyday lives.

May Fun Fact
I am currently obsessed with finding inexpensive rock climbing shoes.

 

Love To Run | Christine Newman

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (American Crafts, Wausau, Bazzill) + patterned paper (American Crafts) + mask, mist (Studio Calico) + die cuts (American Crafts) + stickers (American Crafts) + paper clip (Freckled Fawn) + stamp (American Crafts) + wood veneers (Studio Calico, Freckled Fawn) + ink (Prima, Palette) + pen (Sharpie, Sakura) + twine (The Twinery) + digital cutter (Silhouette America)

A Note from Christine
When it comes to everyday type of photos, it doesn't get more everyday than this. I exercise almost daily and feel weird if I don't run or workout for a couple of days. I love to eat so working out is a necessity. It also helps me feel less stressed and sleep better.

May Fun Fact
When I was little, I collected scratch-n-sniff stickers. I think I still have some old ones in a box somewhere. I want them to bring those back!

 

Everyday | Celeste Smith

12 x 12 | materials kits (Life's a Ride by Valorie Wibbens, Dayplanner by One Little Bird at The Lilypad) + washi tape (Tape It! by Pink Reptile Designs at The Lilypad) + journaling cards (Happy Note Cards by Gina Miller at the Lilypad) + word art (Life 365 by Karla Dudley at Pixels & Co.) + template(Simple Scrapper Premium Membership)+ font (Underwood Champion)

A Note from Celeste
When I thought about everyday this year, I just couldn't get past the fact that our daily life includes music. My son, Adam, plays the saxophone almost every day either practicing, attending rehearsals or performing. I added the clock stamp and washi to symbolize the time he spends. The musical staff is just clip art that I clipped some digital paper to.

May Fun Fact
My niece is a Bat Mitzvah this month. I'm looking forward to the family gathering together and hearing her give her Torah portion. It is sure to be a special day.

 

Every Day | Valerie O'Neall

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Crate Paper) + tags (Elle's Studio and American Crafts/Dear Lizzy) + stickers (Crate Paper) + alpha stamps (Studio Calico/Hero Arts) + other stamps (Ormolu) + enamel dots (My Mind's Eye) + wood veneer (Studio Calico) + fabric brad (American Crafts) + ink (Memento) + other (Silhouette SD & date stamp) + font (Rockwell)

A Note from Valerie
This layout came together really fast for me this month. I love using my Silhouette for title work (font is Rockwell). These photos are from 2011, but can you believe two years later, this train set is still what my son plays with everyday (best. gift. ever.)!?

May Fun Fact
I was completely anti-texting and anti-smartphone for such a long time. I've only had a plan with texting for two years now, which is so unusual for someone of my generation, but I am now the proud owner of an iPhone.

The Reader | Katie Ehmann

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (American Crafts) + patterned paper (Kesi’art) + brads (Crate Paper) + thickers (Amy Tamgerine) + tag (Dear Lizzy) + stickers (Amy Tangerine, Dear Lizzy) + die cut (Silhouette Cameo, Studio Calico + stamp (Amy Tangerine) + ink (Versafine)

A Note from Katie
This layout perfectly captures the everyday of my oldest daughter, who is in Kindergarten and is learning to read! I sewed some leftover letters in a random pattern to mirror the letters on the background paper.

May Fun Fact
Every time I play the lotto (which isn’t very often) I seriously think I am going to win, and am crushed with disappointment when I don’t. Some may think that I’m foolish, but I just think I’m an optimist!

 

The 4 O'Clock Stare Down | Diane Payne

12 x 12 |materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Echo Park, Basic Grey, Simple Stories) + buttons (A Flair for Buttons) + thickers (Ameican Crafts) + labels (My Mind's Eye, Twine & Ink) + stickers (American Crafts, Pebbles, Basic Grey) + pen (American Crafts)

A Note from Diane
At first I was unsure what to document as a daily activity. When the dogs were anxiously waiting to be fed one evening it dawned on me that I should record their daily ritual.

May Fun Fact
In just a few short weeks school will be out. I'm looking forward to a little less structure and sleeping in on the weekends.

 

InstaLife | Lisa Ottosson

8.5 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Backside of Cocoa Daisy March Kit Ad card, Jenni Bowlin) + brad (Dear Lizzy) + flower (homemade) + stickers (Scrapworks, American Crafts)

A Note from Lisa
When I prepared for this month´s theme I was a bit puzzled about what I would do. As I am doing Project Life every week I record our everyday lives in there. Then it hit me! What is the one thing that I use to catch photos of our everyday? Instagram. Right now we Instagram the heck out of our lives. In my journaling I talk about how we say to each other several times a day: That is going straight up on Instagram!

March Fun Fact
I have to remind myself to use my DSLR these days! I am so happy with my iPhone camera!

Errands with Boys | Jennifer Larson

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (Bazzill) + patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket, Glitz, Basic Grey, Studio Calico) + buttons (Company Name) + thickers (American Crafts) + tape (Glitz) + enamel dots (My Mind’s Eye) + stickers (Basic Grey, Studio Calico, My Mind’s Eye) + ink (Jenni Bowlin) + chipboard (My Mind’s Eye) + photo frame (Basic Grey) + die cuts (Studio Calico) + twine (Martha Stewart) + fonts (Times New Roman)

A Note from Jennifer Larson
Since my husband travels periodically for work, I become a single parent at certain times of the year, shepherding my boys solo to their various activities. This month I examine those various activities and the fact that my schedule circulates are them. Though it’s a time crunch, I love the time in the car with my boys, particularly our conversations. To remember these errands and the accompanying stress and joy, I printed various photos I took of these errands with boys and put them together on one page.

May Fun Fact
Every Mother’s Day, we go out to eat Chinese food.

 

Everyday Moments|Amy Coose

12 x 12 | materials cardstock (Bazzill) + patterned paper (American Crafts, Pebbles, Basic Grey) + flair (Greatest View) + wood veneer (Freckled Fawn) + tags (Chic Tags) + enamel dots (My Mind's Eye) + mist (Heidi Swapp) + pen (American Crafts)

A Note from Amy
This layout really shows my everyday, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Journaling
No matter how hard it is having a baby again, there is nothing I'd rather be doing each day than this.

May Fun Fact
I love these pictures of me getting some good snuggle time. It makes me so happy that I had the chance to experience baby snuggles again. 

 

Rise and Shine | Celeste Smith

12 x 12 | materials kit (Rise & Shine by One Little Bird at the Lilypad) + template ( Plant Your Story: Journaled {volume two} by Sara Gleason at the Lilypad) + font (Century Gothic)

A Note from Celeste
My morning routine just wouldn't be the same without a cup of tea or coffee. Even though I get up in the dark, I make sure that I have an extra ten or fifteen minutes to sit and enjoy it. Notice the floral elements, as a mom to boys, I get my flower fix whenever I can!

 

Everyday | Jennie McGarvey

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Lily Bee Design, Studio Calico) + stickers (Studio Calico) + alphabet stickers (American Crafts) + labels, tags (Chic Tags) + pen (American Crafts) + fonts

A Note from Jennie
My layout has been a while in the making. My son has been wearing exclusively Angels (his favorite baseball team and baseball is his favorite sport) shirts for a while now (two years or so?) and I wanted to make sure I captured that before he moved onto something else or varied his wardrobe.

May Fun Fact
I rarely use the computer for journaling. I prefer to handwrite my journaling, but will occasionally use a typewriter if the project calls for it.

 

Have a Good Day | Deb Duty

12 x 12 | materials) patterned paper (Simple Stories, Teresa Collins, Cosmo Cricket, Fancy Pants, Webster's Pages, American Crafts) + flair (Hello Forever) + chipboard star (Pink Paislee) + alpha (Heidi Swapp, Little Yellow Bicycle, Glitz Design) + labels (Studio Calico) + ink (Hero Arts) + stickers (Studio Calico, Basic Grey) + stamps (Studio Calico) + sequins (Studio Calico) + resin stars (Freckled Fawn) + metal clip (Prima) + cork arrow (Studio Calico) + inventory tag (vintage) + pen (Micron)

A Note from Deb
I took this photo as my boys walked out the door for school while I held on to our dog so she couldn't escape just like I do every morning. I love capturing these simple moments that seem so ordinary at the time, but will one day be just a memory.

May Fun Fact
I generally don't like any scary or intense TV shows, but after my boys introduced me to The Walking Dead, it has become my new favorite. I still can't believe I actually enjoy a show about zombies, but it's just so good!

 

A-Okay | Kelly Jeppson

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Elle’s Studio) + paper elements (BasicGrey) + alpha stickers (Doodlebug Designs) + burlap + washi tape (7Gypsies) + big brad (Studio G)

A Note from Kelly
Life for a mom can be pretty mundane, but at the end of the day, I’m always happy to see the smiling faces of my three kids. It makes it all worth it!

Journaling
Today I might…make breakfast, pack lunches, find homework, socks, shoes, lost toys. Drive to school, to scouts, to soccer, to the store. Eat standing up. Do laundry. Check email. Vacuum. Answer phone calls. Bandage scrapes. Walk the dog. Clean up messes. Make dinner. Stay up late reading. But it’s all a-okay with me, because I get to be your mom.

May Fun Fact
Before we had children, I convinced my husband to get me a Mother’s Day gift because I would be the mother of his future children! Pretty smart, I must say.

 

The Best Part | Sarah Pendergrast

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (October Afternoon, Crate Paper, American Crafts) + epoxy dots (My Minds Eye) + stickers (American Crafts) + letter stickers (October Afternoon, Basic Grey, Heidi Swapp) + labels (Basic Grey) + washi (Freckled Fawn) + pen (American Crafts)

A Note from Sarah
I snapped this shot one day after school, when the two of them were particularly happy to see each other. This photo reminded me that that no matter how glad I am that they are in school during the day, the best part of my day is the after school pickup.

Journaling
No question, one of the best parts of my day is picking you guys up after school. It’s a huge perk of being a stay-at-home parent. I get to hear about recess, see test scores you’re proud of, and watch you hang out with your friends.

May Fun Fact
I’m super excited to start a new volunteer job this month as an urban nature monitor. I will get to count turtles, dragonflies, butterflies etc. that reside right in the middle of our city.

Little Moments | Francine Clouden

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Tim & Beck, American Crafts, Crate Paper, Studio Calico) + chipboard letter stickers (American Crafts) + candy buttons (Studio Calico, BasicGrey) + spray ink (Studio Calico) + clear stamps (Studio Calico, Hero Arts) + rub-ons (American Crafts) + baker's twine + stamping ink

A Note from Francine
Baking with Kieran has become an every day activity because he really loves to bake. We now bake his snacks together most weeks. 
A technique tip: that pink garland under the title was made using letter Vs from my sheet of chipboard letter stickers.

May Fun Fact
After six months in the new house I think it's time to reorganise my scrapbook room!

 

Almost Everyday | Paula Gilarde

12 x 12 | materials LayerWorks No. 175 (Studio DD) + Stay Here kit (Katie Pertiet) + I Heart Stories Wordart Brushes (Ali Edwards) + Wooden Stickers Alpha No 1 (Katie Pertiet) + Painted Text No. 1 (Katie Pertiet) + Instamatic Frames No 3 (Katie Pertiet)

A Note from Paula
Or at least everyday we can, we try to walk the 30 minutes to school. Molly loves it!

 

Everyday He: | Amy Sorensen

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) + alpha stickers (American Crafts, Jillibean Soup, Echo Park, Teresa Collins, Bella Blvd, My Mind's Eye) + die cuts (Silhouette) + circle punch + quilt star punch (Fiskars) + fonts (Satellite, The Only Exception)

A Note from Amy
The real story about this layout is something on the back. To get all of the daily details, I wrote a list of questions for my son Nathan, and asked him to answer them. When I found the paper (he left it under my keyboard and went to bed), I discovered that he'd written his answers AND a sweet note to me. The combination of his handwriting and his note was just so...NATHAN to me. I made a little pocket for the back and stuck the note in it with my response. I do a lot of hidden things on the backs of my layouts. Who knows if anyone will ever see them? But I like knowing they are there.
To make the little banners that back the words "goes" and "to," I punched with the quilt star punch, and then trimmed off the two vertical strips. Voila: instant banner!

May Fun Fact
My oldest kid is graduating from high school this month. HOW did I get to this phase of my life?!?!

 

Hanging Out | Marnie Flores

8.5 x 8.5 | materials patterned paper (Crystal Wilkerson) + fonts (AmerType, Mathlete, CK Jot)

A Note from Marnie
Santa brought a bar and a beam to my house this past December. The bar sits in our front room and welcomes everyone who visits. And my monkeys love it. (One of them averages 3 hours a day on her bar!) I can't even begin to explain how breathtaking it is to watch them do their tricks. They amaze me!!

May Fun Fact
My kids get out of school in May for the first time ever. I grew up going to school until the final Friday in June. (I like to joke that I went to school for an extra year: 1 month x 12 years...) I can't believe that in less than a month we will be on vay-cay-tion!!

 

That's it! We hope you enjoy the gallery! Please leave us word and tell us what caught your eye!

Mother's Day Celebrations

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

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

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

 

LAYOUT IDEA: ME & MOM

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

MOTHER'S DAY GIFT IDEA: QUESTIONNAIRES

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

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

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

 

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

Teacher Appreciation Week - Playing Favorites

Hi everyone! Kelly, here, with day two of teacher appreciation week ideas. I have a soft spot in my heart for teachers, having taught writing for almost eight years before taking a "mommy sabbatical." At times I felt like teaching was one part stand-up comedy, one part referee-ing, and one part psychology! But at the same time, teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs I can think of.

 

LAYOUT IDEA: FAVORITE TEACHERS

With that in mind, today we celebrate our "favorite" teachers. I have several, and they are my favorites for different reasons. I will always remember my third grade teacher, Miss Crenshaw, who introduced me to aerobics, bran muffins, and cursive. I used to leave anonymous notes on her desk, and she played along with me for quite awhile, writing me back. I loved her energy and the way she made each of us feel special.

I also had a few professors in college who inspired and encouraged me. My senior year, I was invited to participate in a "Top Prof" night for members of Mortarboard, a national honor society. I got to invite one of my favorite professors of all time to an awards dinner. Here I am, in the photo on the left, with Dr. Ted Andra from the English Department:

And in the photo on the right is another one of my favorite professors, Dr. David Lancy, who was also invited to the dinner by another student. Dr. Andra taught me to consider the beauty of literature, and Dr. Lancy encouraged me to chase my dreams.

This is a page from a very simple scrapbook I assembled shortly after I graduated from college. It is a spiral-bound album with black cardstock pages. I used clear adhesive photo corners for photos, and a white gel pen for journaling. Very simple, but effective. I'm so happy I have these photos!

Marnie also sent me a layout about favorite teachers:

I love that Marnie thought to take a photo on the first day of school and the last day, too. What fun to compare the two! She also explains specifically why Mrs. Woodruff is perfect for Poppy. What makes a teacher a perfect fit for your child?

I also recently made a layout about two special teachers in my daughter's life. Last year was her first in a French Immersion program. Half of her school day is taught in English, and the other half in French. The whole family was a bit nervous about this, but her two teachers, Mrs. Joyner and Monsieur Levitre were amazing! They formed a bond with all the students in their two classes, and by the end of the year, we were all sad to move on to second grade.

These photos were taken at a special year-end program they put together for all the families of the students. Josie played a cat in a French play (explaining her whiskers!) and the kids sang songs (in both French and English) and recited poetry. There wasn't a dry eye in the place when they sang "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical!

 

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT IDEA: A "SCENTSATIONAL" YEAR

For teacher gifts this year, I found some incredibly good smelling hand soaps, and I plan on making a tag that reads, "Thank you for a 'SCENTSATIONAL' year!" I'm thinking of combining it in a basket with some other good-smelling stuff. For a few other teacher gift ideas, please visit this site for combos of small gift + giftcard + cute saying, or this site for some inexpensive crafty gift ideas. I love them all!

I also have a class gift idea that I used earlier this year when one of my daughter's teachers had to move mid-year. We held a "Bon Voyage" party for her, and created a thumbprint tree for her to take with her. I drew a tree trunk on an artist's canvas, and then each student added a thumbprint leaf to the tree using green stamp ink in different hues. We had each student sign next to their thumbprint, too, and added the date and a brief message at the bottom. The teacher was so touched by this gesture, and the kids had fun creating it. I wish I had a photo of the completed project, but to get an idea, it looked like these only a bit messier! Here is a photo of the class working on it:

I hope you think about some of your favorite teachers this week, and let them know how much you appreciate all they do!

Kelly

scrapbook!

Spring is here! It's official. It might feel more official if there wasn't a freeze and frost pending all weekend, but I am so happy that the grass is green and the trees in bloom that nothing could bring me down!!

 

I love scrapbooking. I just haven't said it lately, and wanted to. I was very touched by Lisa's week, and her thoughts on memory keeping. I feel energized and renewed in my commitment to make pretty pages! I hope that our three scrapbook! Saturday starters will help you want to make some, too!

 

THE SKETCH

This month, Diane created a sketch

based upon Lisa' happy layout, New Family in our April gallery, Shapes.

Want to see some awesome variations? I thought so...

 

Celeste added an extra matte below her photos, and deleted the row of vertical triangles on the right hand side. I love how the spritzing behind the photos and mattes softens the layout and draws your eye inward.

 

Lisa swapped triangles for a strip of washi and used one horizontal photo rather than two vertical, but otherwise stayed pretty true to her original. I love the bursts of yellow against the black and white. (I am having a bit of a love affair with that exact shade right now!!)

 

Aliza played this month, as well. She stayed very true to Diane's sketch, and it looks like it was the perfect starter. This layout has a sweet story... I encourage you to read it!

 

Our next variation comes from the sketchmaster herself, Diane. I love how she uses two sizes of triangles. And how she outlined a random assortment of the tiny ones. Clever. And it captures a great story of how our world is changing.

 

And here is mine. I added a couple of extras and moved the journaling to the side. I was impressed at how versatile this sketch felt.

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

 

ROYGBIV

This month the color palette

is based upon Deb's Shapes layout, Happy Dog.

It's got that lovely color of the year, emerald! I loved how the colors pop so well on the white!! (Though without the white it looks a little in your face, no?)

As I went to make my layout, I realized that I loved the little color sampler and I just went ahead and added it to my layout!

Do you think it looks okay?

 

TRENDING

This month there were several layouts with repeating layered shapes creating corner to corner movement. Katie, Jennie, and Lisa have the most obvious examples.

You can also see it the layouts from Erin, Aliza, Celeste, Valerie, Diane, Paula, and Lisa. Sometimes it is more subtle, or goes from top to bottom, rather than corner to corner, but the pattern is there!

 

Here is mine. I had fun making this one! I went with squares, a bit by accident, but am pretty happy with how it ended up!

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

Scrapbooking Over the Fold Day 5: Journaling

 

Jennifer Larson again, finishing out the week of two-page design. I'm so glad you could come and visit! Thank you so much. I hope you got inspired this week to create over the fold!

 

Today is all about Journaling. I'll be sharing various ways to incorporate different amount of journaling.

 

1. Lots of journaling

A two-page spread leaves lots of room for photos and journaling. This is a lot of journaling for me. I had found lots of photos of my boys cooperating and playing together, so I paired four of them and saved a photo-sized spot to write about their cooperation. I created a text box in word to fill just the right amount of space.

 

Here Christa Paustenbaugh used the space even more than I did and made almost the whole page a journaling block. I love how she fit 6 photos on both pages while still having a substantial journaling block and a stellar focal point photo.

 

And here's another terrific one, this time by Aliza Deutsch. She paired one photo with one substantial journaling block. What an amazing use of two pages!

 

2. A medium amount of journaling

This describes my journaling style pretty well. I journal enough to tell the story, and maybe since I'm an English teacher, I come to the point swiftly. So I generally journal a medium amount. Here I have space between my two photo block, so I cut journaling strips, wrote it out, and inked the edges of the strips before adhering them.

 

More medium-sized journaling, though less than the last. Journaling spots are good for fitting a certain amount in a limited space. You could practice on lined paper to make sure it fits, though to be honest, I mostly Wing It.

 

Here's a stamped journaling spot, similar to what I did on the last. Enough to tell my story without too much space.

 

3. Little journaling

In this case I basically just labeled the one photo. The nice thing about a lot of photos? They alone can tell the story. Just one line of journaling can give the context for the photos to tell their tale.

 

4. No Journaling

Sometimes the photos are so evocative, they don't need any words beyond the title. On this page, two things did that: the words "Work then Play" which I used in the title, and the way I set the three work photos together and the one play photo on a different mat. DESIGN NOTE: I used an old die cut snowflake paper to serve as a misting template for the background. I used similar mist colors to the patterned paper on the page.

 

5. And now for something a little different

I did a medium amoutn of journaling here, but I set it up differently: I was telling the story of severe weather at a ball game, so I selected photos and used journaling strips to tell the story. What was different? I set the strips next to the photos to tell the story, sort of like a graphic novel.

 

Isn't this an amazing page? Katie Ehmann set her photos on one side and the journaling and title on the other, but she didn't stick with linear strips; she built them into a shape! So much fun.

 

Thank you again for stopping by this week and sharing my thoughts about two-page scrapbooking. I hope you have fun scrapbooking the rest of April and beyond!

 

Scrapbooking Over the Fold Day 3: Number of Photos

Jennifer Larson again. I'm so glad you're here sharing more about scrapbooking two-page layouts! Today I'll write about the number of photos I use on a two page layout.

Total honesty: I've never scrapped a two-page layout with fewer than 3 photos. Maybe I did one with two photos once that I can't remember, but one or zero photos? Never. Still, one can scrap a variety of photo amounts with two pages, though the size lends itself nicely to scrapping a lot. Here's some examples of how I've scrapped different amounts of photos.

 

1. 0-4 photos

Like I said, I tend to scrap at least 3 photos on a two page layout. This one I used a one-page sketch from Studio Calico.To make it two pages, I looked at the middle of the sketch and sort of stretched it on either side. I hope that makes sense. Grouping the photos together made them look more substantial on the wide 12x24 spread.

More common for me: I stretch the photos out in a line. Here I made use of Pink Paislee's darlng photo frames to house my small photos and make them more weighty on the page.

This darling layout by Christa Paustenbaugh uses three photos on a two page spread. I love how the title goes across the white space on the starring photo! Plus, check out the banner of fun stuff along the side of the starring photo. So much fun.

 

2. 5-7 photos

This too is more common for me. Like I said before, I love lines stretched across two pages. I've heard once that's a good way to unify two pages, with something stretching across the span. Here I used paper and photos. Still lots of white space.

Another winter layout (Sorry! Snowing here today in Minnesota), this one by Diane Payne. I love so much about the page: the colors (not typical winter), the one big photo framed by smaller detail shots, the die cut paper bookending each side. So many design ideas!

 

3. 8-10 photos

A lot of photos, but doable with some breathing room. Since we went to Space Aliens restaurant for my son's birthday, I followed a space theme, making my photo mat planets and orbits.

And here's another page by Diane Payne, this time with 8 photos. I love how they are housed on polaroid frames, taped down by washi.

 

4. 11+ photos.

Otherwise known as a boatload, this is an amount I do rarely, but it's not too difficult. I trim the photos until they all fit across one block, filling in empty space with patterned paper and embellishments. I think there are about 23 photos on this layout. It leaves not much white space, but there is room for small embellishment clusters and a dramatic title.

Another page full of photos, and as a mother of boys, this one by Diane make me smile! I love how clean the page looks with so many photos stretched on the banner, and the pairing of the old and young photos on the bottom is terrific. Great ideas for scrapping school photos.

 

So glad again you could come back and visit! Tomorrow is a special day: I'll talk about embellishing, which I love!

Scrapbooking Over the Fold Day 2: Photo Selection and Size

Hello, Jennifer Larson again, sharing more about creating two-page layouts. Today I'll write about how I go about selecting photos to scrap and deciding how to size them.

 

First, photo selection: I keep a list of page ideas to scrap in my journal, but when I edit photos, I also figure out which pages I want to do. Based on the number of photos, I know if it will probably be a one or two-page layout. It's pretty simple: more photos or more big photos (I swear that's grammatical), I will do a two-page layout. Fewer photos or smaller photos means a one-pager.

In general, I look to see if any photos are "lead actors." Those I size bigger--4x6, 5x7, or larger. These photos will be the star on the page and should be bigger.

If the photos are "supporting actors"--providing detail and color but maybe supporting the story rather than being the star--those I print smaller: 2.5 square, 3 square, more rarely 4 square, or wallet sized. (NOTE: I don't print at home. I send them to a local developer online.) Sometimes a story might be all "supporting actors," sort of like the cast of Friends. It's the ensemble that's important in that case, not one photo above others, so those I print all the same size.

 

Next, more specifics about photo size. There are basically 4 types of photo sizes I use on a two-page layout:

1. A BIG photo with several smaller ones.

My local developer doesn't print 12x12 or 8.5x11 photos, so I can't do a photo on the whole page unless I send away for the photos to be mailed to me. Then I have to wait, and I hate waiting to scrap, so I rarely do that. My local developer DOES print 8x12, which I love. It doesn't fit the whole page, leaving some room for paper strips and embellishments, like on the page above, Around Town. I mostly added smaller photos plus one normal sized photo to complete this photo record of the places I go in my town.

On this page, I did something similar, this time with a people photo. I find this photo of my husband and son walking in the woods evocative, so I loved enlarging it to epitomize the lovely scene. (I'm pretty sure this is a Donna Januzzi sketch.)

 

2. Several 4x6 photos

I used pure 4x6 photos on this page about my beloved scrapping group, the Scrappin' J's, because to crop the photos would be to leave out details from our scrap retreats and shopping trips. It is harder to fit a bunch of 4x6 photos on a two-page spread, so when I want this to happen, I follow a hint I got from Angie Lucas at Simple Scrapbook years ago when I found the online scrapbooking community: I start at the middle, placing the photos there, and working outward until all the photos fit well and look good.

 

3. Tiny photos

This is an example of a page filled with supporting actors but no star. I didn't want to highlight one photo or one moment, so instead I tried to show the process where I documented my vacation via Instagram. To do so, I printed them all 2.5 square. (NOTE: I am not a Photoshop Elements expert, but I learned to make a 4x6 print that housed smaller prints by following this tutorial by Cathy Zielske. It's for a multi photo grid, but the concepts apply to fewer photos on a 4x6 print.)

 

4. Cropped 4x6 photos

(Please ignore the bent page; I have no clue how that happened!) Although a lot of time I plan on making a two-page layout when I'm editing photos, sometimes I print them and then decide on design later. That's the case for this page: I'd printed the photos then decided to use a sketch by Allison Davis. So I did what scrappers have done for years: trimmed the photos to fit the design, keeping the best photos the largest. (NOTE: The photo of my husband and me I took using the classic extend-an-arm technique. It's served me well for getting photos of me and my guy.)

 

Thanks again for sharing my process for selecting and sizing photos! Come back tomorrow when I talk about the number of photos I use.

Scrapping Over the Fold: Two-Page Layouts

Hello! Jennifer Larson here, sharing some of my favorite pages to make: two-page layouts. I make one page layouts, sure, but since I am a mostly sequential scrapper, I record a lot of events, and those pages always seem to have a lot of photos, which makes scrapping two pages easier for me.

 

Here's what I'll be sharing with you this week:

• Day 1 (that's today!): Two-page layout size
• Day 2: Photo selection and size
• Day 3: Number of photos
• Day 4: Embellishments
• Day 5: Journaling

 

On to today's topic...

Page Size

1. 12x12 spread

I have always been a 12x12 scrapper, so these are the two-page layouts I make the most. It's the size I did for this month's gallery page, Everyone's Favorite Meal. Advantages: you can fit a lot of photos, journaling, and product without it looking too squooshed.

 

2. 8.5x11 spread

I do this less often, selecting it when the photos I have would look cramped on one page (either 8.5x11 or 12x12) but would like like they were swimming swimming in a vast ocean on a 12x12 spread. I used this size on the above layout, Future Scientist. I had three 4x6 photos I trimmed a bit of their backgrounds, and when I tried making this into a 12x12 spead, there was just too much open space. If one can feel agoraphobic about a layout, that was me. When I trimmed the papers down to 8.5x11, though, it all looked Just Right.

 

3. 12x18

I got the idea for doing this type of two-page layout from write. click. scrapbook., I believe from Jody Dent-Pruks? (Loyal readers, correct me if I'm wrong and you remember who it was!). My albums are American Crafts 3-ring binders, which mean I can fit all sorts of pages in them. Why not put a 12x12 page next to a 6x12 page? I use this spread rarely, but it's good when my photos are too tall for 8.5x11 but too narrow for 12x12, like I did on this page, Lego Club. I used basically two horizontal stacks of 4x6 collage photos across the pages, then added only one 4x6 vertical collage to the left, the perfect amount and size for a 12x18 spread.

 

4. 8x8 spread

This is my least used two-page layout. With 8x8, I've discovered I need to have only small photos (wallet size, for example) if I want several photos on the page, and since I tend to use a lot of photos on most of my pages, I tend not to gravitate toward this size. Still, There's something sweet and intimate about this size. It's like a page in miniature! This layout, Family Outings, I made for a Big Picture Classes class with Lisa Day a couple years ago called, This is Me. It was terrific, and I was assigned to use an 8x8 sized album, so I got some practice making 8x8 spreads.

 

Thanks for reading my first day of two-page layouts! Please share in the comments which size of two-page spreads you tend to use, especially if there's a size I haven't mentioned!

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.