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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,  

 

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Letter writing is certainly a lost art. I can't remember the last time I sat down to write a letter. It's all email all the time for me. Letter writing is a great journaling jump start. It's really easy to write Dear Dad and then write your journaling and close with Love, Me. It allows you to get your thoughts down and helps keep the journaling personal and relevant. There is something about this format that helps me write about difficult topics.

Here I wrote a letter to my mother. She passed away in 2000 and she would have loved this get together last year. It was a great way to remember her and get my feelings out about who's missing from this photo.

And not to be forgotten, here is a difficult letter to my father about his cancer diagnosis and treatment. It's hard living so far away and not really understanding all that is going on.

My son was having a particularly tough month. I wrote him this letter that talked about some of the things that were going on and reminding him how much we love him! A monthly letter to your children is a great way to wrap up the month.

I couldn't resist scanning in this thank you card from my 11-year old son. I just love that he took the time to thank me for my help and the personal touch of his handwriting just adds so much to the page!

Our resident journaling queen, Amy Sorenson, uses the letter format to write a letter to her son about his relationship with his sister. I love that she reminds him that she'll be his sister forever. As always, Amy's journaling is poignant and full of great storytelling details.

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Aliza Deutsch writes an amusing letter to her sons about her crazy photo taking habit! She explains the way in which it helps her to see beauty in the world around her.

Here Aliza writes a tongue in cheek letter to the love of her life, her iPod!

 And lastly, Aliza writes a love letter to a favorite eatery, hoping to meet again.

Today's journal cards are letter themed and come to you from Kim at Two More Days at One Story Down. I love the postage stamp theme and the air mail border! A great way to add some journaling to a page or Project Life spread! Kim is new to One Story Down and I'm falling in love with her graphic papers and adorable embellishments. Please stop by Kim's store or her blog and say hello!

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 ALTERNATE DOWNLOAD

Lisa Ottosson took up the challenge and used two of these cards to write a letter to herself! A fantastic way to journal a bit about yourself. You could even write a letter to a past self or a future self for a fun twist!

Happy Valentine's Day! Maybe you can write a little letter to your sweetie tonight. Be back tomorrow for my last day!

Take care,

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!

Valentine's Week Day Five

 Today is our last day together for our week of love. I really hope you have had fun and enjoyed the layouts and other ideas.

 

Valentine's Day is all about love. And is a terrific excuse to put together a page celebrating the love you feel for that special person in your life. Now that I have a babysitter in the house, I get to go on more dates than we have in years. After years of babies and diapers and sleepless nights, it is nice to have a bit of a reprieve. I know there are more sleepless nights ahead with teenagers, so I am trying to savor these next few years and to rekindle my love affair with my husband. It's been a long time coming.

 

A bit ago, I tried to put together a page to talk about my feelings, but there were no serious photos to be found. None. And honestly everything I was trying to say sounded oddly insincere in written form. So instead I chose to create a wacky layout that represents us in all our crazy.

This first photo was taken during our annual Mother's Day photo shoot. Rich started with the "wedding" pose where he stands behind with his arms around me. (We do our best to emulate awkward family photos!) And then suddenly he was being a vampire. So I put on my best scared vampire-is-attacking-me eyes. And it made a great starting place for a layout about us not being too serious.

 

This next photo is oh so awesome. The kind you can't believe you actually got! I thought it would make a terrific layout photo. And let's me talk about another something that Richard and I have in common.

Silly though these photos and layouts may be, I love them! And I think they do a great job of capturing our relationship, even if they aren't filled with expressions of love.

 

Diane's layout shows us that you don't need a column of journaling to get your point across.

I love all the hearts on this one. That, itself, was a labor of love.

 

This next layout just makes me smile. Maybe because it was a taken at an amusement park (see above layout of mine!) or maybe because they just look so very happy.

 

Diane's next layout, My Funny Valentine, is aptly titled and would be easy to recreate. Combine a date night, a phone for photos, and a willingness to ham it up with some patterned paper, buttons, and hearts, and you have a great layout waiting to happen!

 

And this last one from Diane just makes me swoon. The feathers on the arrows are fabulous! And I am totally going to do a photo shoot in my backyard just like this!

 

Amy has a clever journaling idea: a list. Even knowing how helpful they are for succinctly capturing what I want to say, I still forget to use them. Thank you, Amy for the reminder. A list of reasons why I love my sweetheart would be the perfect non-smarmy way to capture my feelings.

I love Amy's next layout as well. The embellishment that says, "you are everything" says it all.

 

Thank you, again, for stopping by today and for spending your week with us! I hope that you had a great week. Lisa will be here tomorrow for a new photography article. Hope to see you then!

Valentine's Week Day Four

Welcome to day four! I hope you are having a great week! We have made a mini album, some class Valentines, and some pretty decorations. What's left you are wondering? Why, layouts of course! Layouts to document the festivities, the traditions, and a few to express our love. Today we are focusing on layouts and photos for our kids, and tomorrow for the grownups.

 

The Festivities

For my kids, the celebrations begin when the fill out their Valentines. I try each year to get a picture of them signing their name to the stack of Valentines for their classes. Christa used her daughter's Valentine signing photo as the starting point for this darling layout.

If you miss the actual signing, you can always just get a picture of the signed Valentine.

Do your kids make mailboxes to take to school for their class parties? Mine do and I love them. I leave them to their own devices, armed with glue, paper, punches, and glitter. 

I'm hoping that as the years pass, these records of their handiwork and penmanship will become all the more special.

Then, of course, there is the party.

If you can't make it to the party yourself, be sure to ask the teacher to send you some pictures. Most will take them.

 

The Traditions

Do you have any family traditions? I have not one sweet tooth, but 32 of them. Valentine's Day at our house includes frosted sugar cookies, and a card from Grandma, and this year, our new tradition of the love notes.

AmyS's family has a similar cookie tradition.

Ooh, this layout makes me hungry for a cookie. How about you? And did you notice that Amy managed to get an entire monthly calendar on this layout? I love this idea and will be copying it soon. ☺

 

Expressions of Love

And if Valentine's Day isn't your thing, consider it an excuse to put together a layout of love.

::Katie

 

::AmyC

 

::AmyC

 

::Diane

 

::AmyC

 

::AmyC

 

Love letter pages are my favorite. Seeing these inspired to do one of my own. The tags on this one were inspired by former wcs collective member, Linda Barber.

Thank you! For stopping by and for your giving us a reason to be here. We do love you and appreciate you! Tomorrow we close off our week. Hope to see you back!

Welcome, February!

Thank you for joining us! We are so excited to be here and to share with you our new gallery. We have some amazing things in the works this month and can't wait to show you.

The first new feature that we have is that each month we will be bringing you a cut file for you! They will share the theme of our gallery hoping you will be inspired to create your own gallery layout. Here is this month's file.Isn't it awesome? Isn't Christine awesome? If you would like the cut file, you may download it here. And if you do, please be sure to leave a comment below thanking Christine for sharing her talents with us!

Our next surprise will be coming mid-month. Be sure to check back often! Or better yet, if you subscribe to our page, then it will automatically pop up in your inbox!

Enough, enough, you cry, please show us the gallery...

 

Conversations

This month, our gallery is entitled, "Conversations." We were hoping to provide you opportunity and desire to put together a page or two based upon the funny things your kids say, or those conversations that you have every day, or one that changed your life. Your phone is filled with short back and forths if you are a texter. Have you thought to take a screen shot? How about having a notebook in your purse to record those hilarious things that you hear in your car? Or maybe something someone said to you once changed your life forever. This month we hope to inspire you to write these things done, and record your memories. Add a photo, or not, and you will have a page that will bring smiles and reminders for years to come.

Without further ado, our new gallery. as a friendly reminder, If you would like to see them larger and to read the journaling notes, please head over to the Conversation Gallery photo album.

 

Since When | Aliza Deutsch

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts, My Mind’s Eye, October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup) + embellishments (Pebbles, Elle’s Studio) + stickers (American Crafts-Amy Tangerine)
 
A Note from Aliza
I just love the pure emotion in these photos. It is simply pure excitement for Chanukah presents.

 

Live, Laugh, Love & Eat Cookies | Aliza Deutsch

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, American Crafts, Pink Paislee, Echo Park Paper Co.) + embellishments (Ormolu, Elle’s Studio, Studio Calico, Doodlebug Designs, Crate Paper, American Crafts, My Mind’s Eye) + stickers (Basic Grey, October Afternoon)

A Note from Aliza
This layout is about a topic that is near and dear to me. I also love cake.

February Fun Fact
According to every TV show and magazine article ever, I am supposed to love shoes. But I usually wear the same shoes every day. I do, however, change my rings to match my outfit.

 

crazy circular car conversation #576 | Celeste Smith

12 x 12 | materials kit (Retrospective by One Little Bird at The Lilypad) + masks (Cut.It.Out by Robyn Meierotto at Pixels & Company) + stitching (In Stitches Neutral by Robyn Meierotto at Pixels & Company, Bad Sewing Machine Basics by Traci Reed at Sweet Shoppe Designs) + sticker (One for the Road kit by Dani Mogstad at Jessica Sprague) + font (Another Typewriter)

A Note from Celeste
I wrote this conversation down down the minute I returned home. so I could stay pretty true to the craziness! It's hard to give both boys the attention they need when our conversations go like this!

February Fun Fact
Winter break quickly approaches and while the others in my house are excited about going to New Hampshire to ski, I'm excited about going to New Hampshire to read!

 

In Every Conversation | Lisa Ottosson

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts) + stickers (American Crafts Thickers, My Little Shoebox mini stickers)

A Note from Lisa
I was so happy that this theme came to be, because I really needed a kick in the you-know-what to record the way my daughter includes something about her favorite boyband One Direction in just about every conversation!

February Fun Fact
I don´t really like the music of One Direction, but since my daughter listens to them constantly, I know many of the words to them.

 

It is My Dream To Slap A Gorilla | Jennie McGarvey

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts) + stickers (Pebbles and American Crafts) + Embellishments (Hello Forever, clip & sequins unknown) + Stamps (Studio Calico) + ink (Studio Calico)

A Note from Jennie
This layout just makes me laugh. When Sawyer told me one of his dreams was to slap a gorilla, I knew I wanted to remember this silliness forever.

February Fun Fact
I am currently addicted to grids and find myself wanting to use them on every project!

 

Grass Wonderland | Katie Ehmann

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Crate Paper) + embellishments (Crate Paper) + stickers (Crate Paper) + typerwriter (Royal) + Silhouette Cameo + sewing machine

A Note from Katie
This layout was inspired by a conversation between my youngest daughter and me after a 60 degree day that wiped out all our snow. I used fun, bright patterns and colors to complement my photo. And lots of layering.

February Fun Fact
I am slightly obsessed with vintage right now and plan to slowly turn our home décor into a 40s-60s kitch-fest. Don’t tell my husband ;-)

 

This is so You | Diane Payne

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories, American Crafts, KI) + embellishments (Studio Calico, American Crafts, Hello Forever) + stickers (KI Memories)

A Note from Diane
The photos in the this layout perfectly capture the carefree spirit of my daughter. I brainstormed with my daughter and husband to come up with the phrases/quotes I included and feel that I really captured her personality.

February Fun Fact
I like to purge and organize things, especially in January! I'll make several trips to the Container Store looking for the perfect organizational system for my things.

 

What Dominic Says | Jennifer Larson

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Simple Stories, American Crafts) + die cut paper (KI Memories) + vellum (Studio Calico) + embellishments (Studio Calico, My Mind’s Eye, American Crafts) + stickers (KI Memories, October Afternoon) + photography (Junglefish Studios)

A Note from Jennifer
My son is a champion of memorable words. I’ve made many pages about his aphorisms, and this story that I record on this page made me think I should pull every page I’ve made about his turns of phrase and put them in a separate album. I mean, I can’t argue with “Pancakes are not pancakes without bacon”!

February Fun Fact
My son, whose birthday is in February, was born one month after my birthday.

 

You & Me | Francine Clouden

12x12 | materials Patterned paper (basicGrey) + transparent letter stickers (Amy Tangerine, American Crafts) + die cuts (Studio Calico) + stamps (Studio Calico) + arrow Thickers (American Crafts) + button (Studio Calico) + mini file folder (BasicGrey) + paperclip + baker's twine

A Note from Francine
This page looks complicated but was very easy to put together because I used a patterned paper from Basic Grey with all the pre-printed layers you see behind the photo! This conversation with Kieran is one we have been having a lot lately, as Kieran tries to work out personal pronouns.

February Fun Fact
I ate the entire box of Belgian chocolates my mother-in-law gave us for Christmas. Time to start back using the Wii Fit!

 

So Happy | Amy Sorenson

12x12 | materials patterned paper (My Mind's Eye) + stamps (Close to my Heart) + stamping ink (ColorBox) + washi (Target) + fabic + twine + Alegreya and Bemio fonts

A Note from Amy
I hope I'm not the only one who does this...but I love scrapping Christmas photos in January. It makes me feel like I'm able to revisit the holidays. Honestly? January is pretty much the only time I get any Christmas photos scrapped at all. I wrote down this sweet thing that Kaleb said on a scrap of wrapping paper so I wouldn't forget it!

February Fun Fact
Valentine's Day is my least-favorite holiday. Someone might even call me a Valentine's-Day scrooge and be pretty accurate! Luckily my anniversary is on the 13th, so we celebrate that instead.

 

He Said, She Said | Valerie O'Neall

8.5 x 11 | materials cardstock (Neenah) + stamps (Ormolu) + mist (Studio Calico) + ink (VersaMark & Memento) + embossing powder (American Crafts) + washi (October Afternoon) + fabric brad (Crate Paper) + enamel dots (My Mind's Eye) + other (vintage typewriter , Sharpie, & hole reinforcers)

A Note from Valerie
My son is so observant and this layout depicts just one little story about it. First thing I did to create this layout was journal on the cardstock with my typewriter. Next I stamped and embossed, then added the mist, photo, and embellishments. It all came together rather quickly.

February Fun Fact
My birthday is in February. This is the year I get to say bye-bye to the twenties.

 

Our Last Conversation | Christine Newman

(12 x 12) | materials cardstock (Gmund, American Crafts, Bazzill) + patterned paper (BasicGrey) + embellishments (My Mind's Eye, Pink Paislee, Simple Stories Sn@p) + twine (The Twinery) + stamps (Evalicious, Technique Tuesday, Ormolu) + ink (Ranger JBS, Prima) + digital graphics (Miss Tiina) + die-cut machine (Silhouette) + sewing machine (Brother) + thread (Coats & Clark)

A Note from Christine Newman
This is the first layout I've ever created about the last conversation I had with my mom before she passed away from cancer. Every time I thought about what I would journal for this layout, I started crying. Even though it's been six years since she's been gone, it's still hard for me to think about our precious past conversation.

February Fun Fact
My husband's birthday is in February. The Super Bowl is usually in February as well. So the past two years we've had a combined birthday + Super Bowl party called "Super Todd"!

 

Silly Things You Say | Emily Spahn

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico) + embellishments (American Crafts, Kikkerland, Studio Calico, Pretty Little Studio) + stickers (American Crafts) + cardstock (Bazzil)

A Note from Emily
My daughter is constantly saying hilarious things – things that probably are not funny to anyone else, but she is always cracking us up! I loved these quote bubble sticky notes! They worked perfectly to document her funnies!

February Fun Fact
I got married in a town that has a “famous” groundhog. One year for Groundhog’s Day we went to a big celebration in his honor. We got to see him make his prediction and then enjoyed snacks and games…we even bought a groundhog shaped cookie cutter. It was all very random… ;)

 

Super Panty I Christa Paustenbaugh

8.5 X 11 | materials cardstock (American Crafts) + patterned papers (October Afternoon, Bo Bunny) + stickers (Bella Blvd, Sassafras Lass) + brads (October Afternoon) + die cut (Evalicious) + flair (Ormolu) + twine (Ormolu) + tape (Bella Blvd) + die cut machine (Silhouette)

A Note from Christa
Our youngest child Ella can both make us see red and make us laugh until we are red within a 2 minute period. We nearly wet ourselves laughing at her when she came downstairs dressed like this. We asked her “what are you supposed to be?” and her reply – “You know! I’m SUPER PANTY”! And quickly posed for obligatory photos!

February Fun Fact
I can sing the Monster High theme song in my sleep, while I cook and during a run because I have heard it so. Many. Times. I’m ready for the next phase and fad!

 

Hello Daddy| Keshet Starr

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, KI Memories, craft supply) + embellishments (October Afternoon) + stickers (Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin Studio, Crate Paper, craft supply)

A Note from Keshet
My little one can’t talk yet, but her expressions show all of her conversation!

February Fun Fact
I’m afraid of my basement in the dark!

 

Words | Paula Gilarde

12 x 12 | materialscardstock (Core'dinations & Bazzill) + kraft paper (Jillibean Soup)+ twine (Jillibean Soup) + watercolor paper + stickers (American Crafts) + Stencil (Crafters Workshop) + rub on (Hambly) + stamps (Studio G) + Digital Element (Katie Pertiet digital frame)

A Note from Paula
My daugher is 10 years old but I've held on to a scrap of paper where I wrote down the words she knew at 18 months. I stopped keeping count at 50! She has a lot more hair now :)

 

Basketball | Jennie McGarvey

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Fancy Pants Designs) + embellishments (Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon, Studio Calico) + stickers (Pebbles)

A Note from Jennie
This layout was prompted after I received this email from my son's basketball coach. This was not the first time I'd received a message like this, so I decided it was definitely part of his story. I thought that a layout that included a screenshot of an email was perfect for the conversations theme -- and I was excited to have this part of his life documented.

 

Hello Today | Amy Coose

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Basic Grey, Echo Park) + embellishments (Studio Calico, Echo Park, Hello Forever) + tags (Chic Tags) + Silhouette Cameo

A Note from Amy
This layout was based around my new form of communication with my teenager and tween.

February Fun Fact
I don't really like the way conversation hearts taste, but I will eat them by the handful if I have them around. 

 

Handsome (even when filthy) | Kelly Jeppson

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Doodlebug Designs, Ranger) + embellishments (Doodlebug Designs)

A Note from Kelly
This layout uses a photo that I took when my oldest came home from Cub Scout Camp last summer, covered in dirt from head to toe.

February Fun Fact
I love making Valentines and sugar cookies, but I'm not really into mushy romantic stuff. The most romantic present my husband ever gave me was a mix-tape he made of songs he thought I would like (back when we had tape players!).

 

How You Ask | Sarah Pendergrast

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (American Crafts) + embellishments (American Crafts, Studio Calico, KI Memories, Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin) + stickers (Jenni Bowlin, Basic Grey, October Afternoon)

A Note from Sarah
This layout is just about a fun and playful conversation we had repeatedly leading up to getting our first dog. My husband would like to state, for the record, that he is not as gullible as the journaling makes him sound!

February Fun Fact
My 80 pound (and growing) puppy thinks she’s a lap dog!

 

I'm Gonna Marry | Erin Sweeney

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Studio Calico, Basic Grey) + embellishments (American Crafts) + stickers (Jillibean Soup, Heidi Swapp, American Crafts) 

A Note from Erin
I’m not sure what led up to the conversation I overheard my girls having in their room, but it must have been good to lead up to the snippet I caught from the stairs!

February Fun Fact
This month I’m Tackling the Tower in Cleveland and racing up 38 flights of stairs. Okay, so racing is exaggerating. More like just trying to make it to the top without my legs collapsing beneath me. :)

 

CHA 2013 | Deb Duty

8.5 x 11 | materials patterned paper (Echo Park, Basic Grey, Studio Calico, My Mind's Eye) + embellishments (Freckled Fawn, Studio Calico, My Mind's Eye ) + letter stickers (Simple Stories)

A Note from Deb
I was inspired by the theme of conversations to make a layout about my new friend, Suzy. We hit it off and had a great time together at CHA and never had enough time to say everything we wanted to say!

February Fun Fact
I am now starting my fourth year of Project Life. I still love it and treasure my albums more than any of my other scrapbooks. I have lots of fun making regular layouts too. Project Life allows me to make fun layouts about any subject I want because the everyday moments are already documented.

 

He Said She Said | Christine Newman

12 x 12 | materials Once Upon A Story digital kit (Lili Niclass & Emily Merritt) + Bokeh Overlays (Leora Sanford) + fonts (Capture It, Pupcat)

A Note from Christine
I tried to make this layout resemble a comic book page with my photo processing and speech bubbles.

February Fun Fact
I don't have an iPhone or Android phone. I hope to get one this year. My Blackberry is cramping my Project Life everyday documenting plans.

 

Tart Business | Marnie Flores

12 x 12 | materials patterned paper (Libby Pritchett, Lori Whitlock, Creativity by Crystal) + elements (Libby Pritchett, Lori Whitlock) + button, ribbons (Libby Pritchett) + fonts (Ostrich Sans Rounded, Century Gothic CK Chloe, KG Ray of Sunshine, KG Payphone, KG Seven Sixteen)

A Note from Marnie
I love that this layout is about Cherry Limeade and that I used a kit with the same name!

February Fun Fact
This month will the quietest month for us until June. Which will then be the quietest until next February. I only wish this month had 45 days!

 

Before we go, we must say goodbye to three team members. Vivian Masket, Emily Pitts, and Kathy Martin are all leaving us this month. They will be missed. Kathy's use of color and her attention to detail are second to none. Emily and Vivian have been with us since the beginning. Emily with her quirky pages and mazing sense of color and design. Vivian with her thoughtful pages with precision execution and stylistic balance. Both have been an integral part of our team, providing much more than just great pages. WCS will not be the same without them.  Thank you, sweet friends, for sharing your lives with us these past four years!

 

Thank you for visiting us today! We hope you have enjoyed our gallery. Remember we enjoy hearing from you and reading your comments!

Flair

Hello! Welcome to the final day in embellishment week. Today I'm going to share ideas for using one of the hottest embellishment in the scrapbooking industry right now...flair! 

Flair is fabulous on layouts, but it can be used for so much more. Let's take a look!

 

Flair on Layouts

Besides the obvious of using flair as a decorative element, why not use it for part of the title in your layout. That is exactly what I did on my layout for the January gallery. Take a look at your word flair and see if you can incorporate a piece into your next title.  

How about using word flair as journaling prompts. I had a full set of flair that I used on one layout to record my current thoughts and activities...all 8 of them on one page. I'm going to enjoy taking a look back at this some day to see how I answered all those prompts.

There are many arrow flair designs and they are fun and easy to use. Try using it to direct your eye to a title, a little detail, or a photo. This flair has the words "one little word" and an arrow which directs the eye to my title and my one little word for the year.

You can use flair for the centers of shapes, just like buttons and brads. Celeste used a piece of flair for the center of her snowflake in this layout.

Use them at the bottom of your photos along with a geometric border, like Celeste did here. I like how it anchors the photo and draws your eye across the page.

Flair on Cards

Flair is perfect for cards too. Create a coordinated set using flair. Here is one card of an entire set I made and posted last year. Did you miss it? Visit this post to see the entire collection of cards I made with flair.

 

Flair in Home Decor

I've used flair in my home decor to. It was the perfect finish touch to this piece of framed subway art that I created using my cutting machine.

 

Flair in Jewelry

Did you ever think to use flair in your jewelry? I have always wanted a charm bracelet with all my "one little words" so I decided to make my own and incorporated a few pieces of "one little word" flair in with the charms. Fun, right?!

 

Flair Giveaway

I hope this has given you some ideas for using flair. Would you like to win some flair? Yes! I thought so. The flair I used for all of my projects is from {a flair for buttons} etsy shop.The owner has generously donated three sets of flair from {a flair for buttons}. One lucky winner will receive the following sets:

My Life Words 2 flair set.

My Life Words 5 flair set.

Tell Your Story 3A flair set.

To be entered in the {a flair for buttons} giveaway leave a comment on this post letting us know your favorite way to document your memories. The comments will remain open until 10pm Eastern Standard Time tonight. One lucky number will be selected at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember it is your responsibility to check and see if you were the lucky number. The lucky number will have until midnight on Saturday to claim your prize by sending us an e-mail at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com.

I hope you have found some inspiration for using your embellishments this week. Remember to come back tomorrow to see if you are the giveaway lucky number and for our February gallery reveal.

Wood Veneer and Chipboard

Hello everyone! Thanks for coming back and joining me for another day in embellishment week. Today we are going to look at wood veneers, which are wildly popular right now, and the tried and true chipboard. Both come in many shapes and sizes and are a great addition to any layout.

 

Wood Veneer Ideas

The beauty of wood veneers is that they look great all on their own, without any altering. For this layout, I simply accented a couple tags with natural snowflake shapes and also tied twine around one by the title.

Do you see a couple other techniques we talked about earlier this week? Yes! The colored hanging tags accented with snowflakes and the fabric brad used for the center of the "o" in the title. All fun easy ways to add extra touches to your layouts and get all those cute embellishments on a layout to enjoy.

Many of the basic shapes that are available in wood veneers have open centers. Try using the open space to highlight something on your photo, journaling or other important detail on your layout. I used the heart to draw attention to the sun which makes the sky look like it is on fire. It was also the inspiration for the play on words I used in my title.

Wood veneers are easy to alter with spray mist. It is my go-to method for coloring them. For a more intense color, spray lightly, let dry and spray again a second time. On this layout, the brightly colored wood veneer stars frame the photos making them the focal point. The title is also made of wood veneer with a brad used as part of the punctuation!

I took full advantage of the open centers of all the circle wood veneers on this layout. One houses part of the title, one is home to my journaling and the other is backed with patterned paper that coordinates with my theme. A couple veneers were stitched down, which is functional and decorative too.

Finally, look for ways add similar shapes in different mediums for visual interest. Here I mixed stamped asterisk shapes with asterisk wood veneers. I like the way the two work together to lead you through the layout. 

 

Chipboard Ideas

Let's not forget our beloved chipboard. Some manufacturers offer chipboard in colors, patterns and designs that coordinate with their paper collections. Other manufacturers offer natural chipboard giving you the option to paint them, cover them with patterned paper or even leaving them natural.

On this layout, I created a scene with a tree chipboard. To dress it up I added small punched flowers accented with rhinestones, an owl perched on a branch with a kite tied off next to the owl. It's fun to alter the look of chipboard with paint too, like I did with the alphabet chipboard in the title.

With just a few simple touches you can really dress up chipboard that coordinates with a line. I used several pieces to create an entire scene that coordinates with the theme of my layout. I added a couple small details that make a big difference to dress them up. Take for instance the cute egg chipboard banner...the addition of the tied seam binding on the ends really sets it off. I also used a piece of chipboard as the background for the title and layered a small birdie chipboard on top. These simple little touches make all the difference.

Chipboard can be beautiful left natural too. On this last layout, I left the chipboard unaltered but adhered small pearls to create a choker necklace on the silhouette shape. It was just the right detail for my vintage layout.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you are inspired to get out your stash of wood veneers and chipboard and add them to a page. I'll see you back here tomorrow for our final day of embellishment inspiration and a giveaway!

Buttons and Brads

I don't know what it is about January but I always have a desire to clean and purge items in my home. I enjoy purging my craft room and its purpose is two-fold; (1) it reacquaints me with things that I have forgotten I have but love (2) clears me of things I no longer find inspiring. With that in mind I thought it would be a good opportunity to share some ideas this week on using all those little treasures in your scrapbook space...embellishments!

Today we are going to look at ways to use buttons, brads and all those other small round doodads in your stash!

Let's get started! 

 

Ideas for Buttons

Buttons come in all sorts of colors, shapes, sizes, textures and are made in a variety of materials, like wood. I love them and use them often.

This first layout I used floral shaped button in my title as the dot on the letter "i". A simple but easy technique for using buttons in an interesting way.

I put my buttons to good use on this next layout. I used one as the center of my letter "o" which really dressed it up. I also used a couple buttons to finish the ends of my banner. For the perfect finishing touch, I threaded twine through the buttons holes and tied the twine into a bow.

I love how Celeste strung buttons on twine to make garland. I'm definitely going to try this technique.

On this layout I wanted to make a big impact with my buttons so I lined them all up in a row. If you have a large stash of buttons, this is a wonderful way to use them up. This would be great to try with shapes too, like hearts, stars, circles, etc.

Try filling a shape with buttons that are all the same color. On this layout I filled the sun with yellow buttons in varying sizes and one epoxy button. I like the texture and dimension that it adds to the layout.

Celeste used buttons mixed with circles in a variety of sizes to make a beautiful design that leads your eye from the photo down to the title and journaling.

I think we all agree that buttons are decorative, but they can be functional too. I adhered one to the front of a mini album and used it to wrap twine around for the closure. 

Ideas for Brads

Let's not forget about the ever versatile brad. They come in many colors, sizes, and patterns. They can even be covered in fabric.

Try using brads for the center of tiny flowers cut from patterned paper, like I did here.

Tip: I keep a pair of wire cutters at my craft table and cut the prongs off so I don't have to punch holes in my layout. I use glue dots to adhere the brads down on my layout.

Try opening the prongs of brads flat and adhering it to your layout with them showing, like I did in this layout. Doing this adds a lot of visual interest to the design. There isn't any need to punch a hole in your layout or cut prongs off with this method.

For the final layout I'm sharing today, I placed a fabric brad in the center of one of my letters. The fabric brads and smaller patterned brads are a great way to embellish a page. They add a variety of sizes, color/patterns and dimension.

I hope these ideas have you inspired and anxious to get your supplies out and get scrapbooking.

I'll see you back here tomorrow with some more ideas for other scrapbooking embellishments.