Write. Click. Scrapbook.

easy summer scrapbooking with a sketch

Two summers ago I did a series of posts on easy summer scrapbooking where I shared ideas on how to scrapbook when you are short on time.  If you'd like to read those posts you can find the first one in the series, here.  So much of what I shared that week is still very pertinent to my life, since I am the mommy of three boys, one of whom is only 3 months old.  I simply don't have as much time to scrapbook as I'd like.  But when you love something as much as I love scrapbooking, you find a way to work around the problems and just get it done! 

Over the course of my three summertime daily posts, I'll share my three favorite ways to get scrapbooking done quickly, starting today with sketches.  I love sketches, and they are my go-to method when coming up with the design part of my layout.  Today I have a new sketch, layout, and a card to share with you.

First-up, the sketch:

Download a digital template of this sketch, here.

Here is the layout I made from the sketch:

Obviously, I made some changes to the photos, and the location of the journaling, but I can honestly say that this layout came together very quickly.  About an hour all together, which is fast for me!

Lastly, I also made a card inspired by this sketch:

I'll be back next month with another idea for scrapbooking when you are short on time.  Until then, if you feel inspired to create something with this sketch, a layout or a card, share it with us in our flickr gallery, or link to it here in the comments.  I'd love to see what you are creating!

No Photo? No Problem.

I have this funny little story that needs to be on a layout, but I don't have a photo. What is a scrapbooker to do?

Make the layout anyway! Tell that story—photo or no photo. The other day I did just that. I made an 8 x 8 layout and have plans of doing many more, then compiling them into a mini album. I want to capture more of the funny little things my 3-year-old does or says. I've already got some of them written in a notebook and ready for a layout. Sometimes I may have a photo or two, sometimes I won't, and I am completely okay with that. Here's the layout I created about the funny little mishap that happened at church before my cousin's graduation a couple weeks ago:

Additional ideas for layouts without photos

• Use memorabilia like tickets stubs or programs in place of pictures.
• Think art journal and get messy with paints, ink, modeling paste, etc.
• Let your child draw a picture of the story if it's about them.
• Go big, bold, and graphic with your title.
• Let your main thought be the title and allow it to fill the page.
• Use your die-cutting machine to cut shapes that fit with your story.
• Take advantage of all that extra white space you may have. Just let it be—white space is good!
• Mix and match all those letter stickers you have laying around for added interest.
• Have fun with patterned paper.

Hopefully you've found some inspiration to get some stories told today... photos or no photos. I'd love to see what you create!

 

winner winner chicken dinner

The winner of Audrey Neal's Whiz Kid digital kit is...

Shoot me an email at celestefsmith AT gmail DOT com and I'll get you your coupon code! Thanks to everyone for commenting and playing!

Last Day of School

Most of you have probably already passed this milestone this year. Here in the Northeast, school goes quite a bit later and that big crazy October snowstorm really pushed our last day back even further! Our last day is Wednesday of this week. It’s a big day here as my oldest is leaving elementary school and headed to middle school next year. My “baby” moves out of the ranks of lower classes and into the big time – he’ll have state tests next year in third grade. Where has the time gone?

Even if you have passed this annual turning point, there is still time to document the end of the school year with pictures you already have or you could even stage some! I tend to not actually be there when the kids get out of school on the last day. I snap pictures of them at the school when I pick them up from aftercare or even drag them down to the front of the school a few days later. Here I just snapped a photo of them on our front porch with their backpacks on!

layout by Celeste Smith

 

Some of my favorite school pages are the pages that show the first and last day of school. It's amazing to see how much children have grown and changed in the course of a school year. These pages are great places to write about academic accomplishments for the year - perhaps your child learned to read or became a multiplication whiz? Physical growth coupled with academic growth - a great journal prompt! Look at how much Paula, Kathy and Christa's children grew!

layout by Paula Gilarde

 

layout by Christa Paustenbaugh

 

layout by Kathy Martin

 

Another option is to interview children about their year and put it on a page. Some questions you might include:

What was your favorite subject?
What was your favorite special?
What was your favorite part of the day?
What was your favorite lunch in the cafeteria?
What was your favorite school event?
Who was your favorite teacher?
Name on thing you learned in Math.
Name one thing you learned in Science.
What was your favorite book this year?
Who were your friends in class?
What are you looking forward to this summer?

I found this great list of 40 questions online. Check it out if you want some different questions!

Erin Sweeney had her daughter answer a series of questions. Then thanks to a great teacher who provided a DVD filled with photos from the year, Erin was able to match up photos to her daughter's answers.

layout by Erin Sweeney

 

Or take an idea from our resident mini-album queen, Monika Wright and create a mini-album. Allow your child to write his or her own thoughts about the past school year!

mini album by Monika Wright - more details on her blog!

 

Don't forget the classic bus shot on the last day or perhaps you can snap some photos of your kids jumping for joy or maybe capture a shot of your child with his/her teacher or best friends? Kathy Martin snapped a photo of the bus in her neighborhood.

photo by Kathy Martin

 

Paula was able to incorporate teacher photos and poignant journaling about finishing the year on this sweet page about her daughter. I love the number in the last photo too - so clever!

layout by Paula Gilarde

 

Every year, I try and snap a photo of my boys holding up their fingers to indicate that they are now in the next grade. We take this photo at the beginning of the next year as well. I wish I had started this in first grade for my older boy, but I didn't snap the first one until a couple years ago. At least, Sam will have a full set!

layout by Celeste Smith

 

I just love the Whiz Kid digital kit from Audrey Neal that I used on my page so much. Wouldn't this kit also be great for July 4th or any academic layout? Audrey is an amazing designer and her kits are always versatile and jam packed with great elements and word art. Her kits make pages come together so quickly!

Audrey graciously offered to give one Whiz Kid kit away to one lucky write. click. scrapbook. reader. Leave your name below and I'll pick a winner this evening. Until next time - happy scrapping!

Sunday Photo + Words

Happy Father's Day!

scrapbook!

Happy Saturday! I hope your June is off to a great start! I just returned home from a very fast summer getaway which included one day at the beach!! Ah! I love the beach. The roar, the colors, the smell. Sigh... Nothing better...

I have returned home a kinder, gentler soul. Revived, rested, and ready to dive into the 400 new photos that I took! And to help me out, I need look no further than our June gallery! With three new challenges for us to share, we will put together three new pages in no time!

 

Monthly Sketch

Donna is back as our sketch creator and has put together a sketch based upon Deb's layout.

You may download it here.

 

Four photos here I come... Here is my layout. I rearranged the photos a little, and moved the journaling down, but otherwise, stayed pretty true.

I am excited to share three more sketch layouts with you, too, as a few teammates put together layouts as well!

Celeste is the master of layers and this layout is no exception. But the most amazing part of this is the smudges and masking. Digital genius!

 

I love Donna's colors and patterns and how she added a large grid flag behind the pattern paper strips. Did you notice her little airplane flair? So cute!

 

Lisa smartly recreated the sketch into an 11 x 8.5 by switching out the right side photo with a journaling box. She stayed true to the proportions on the photos. I love the white box and even grid lines on the photos. As darling as her accent!!

 

Design Element: Flair

This month, flair seemed to be the embellishment du jour. Nine different layouts were sporting the trend: Christa, Paula, Deb, Diane, Vivian, Keshet, Kathy, Emily, and Katrina. Perhaps we, too, should try?

Here is my flair!

  Won't you try some, too?

 

Color

As I saw the layouts the first time, I fell in love with Teka's color scheme. I loved the faded hues. Such a soothing combination!

Feel free to add in a splash of raspberry!! Teka did it so well!

 

 

So that's it! Our three challenges. Here they are again! Hope you will play along!

Last Minute Father's Day Ideas

Father's Day is this Sunday June 17th! Eeek! While we helped you prepare back in May, if you're a last minute queen like me, never fear, here are some more ideas for relatively quick cards and gifts you can whip out. The secret is printables! Babble has a round up of 12 different ones here, including cards, labels for wine and beer bottles, and these amusing photo props from Paper Coterie:

If you still want to try to make something from scratch, how about this accordion photo card, that I found at Rise & Shine?

 

ere is a sneak peek of the version that I made for my husband. Shhhhh, don't tell him!

 

And just in case you have the time to pull something more involved off, I love the idea of this photo block puzzle from Stars and Sunshine. It would be perfect on Dad's desk!

For even more last minute ideas, check out all the Father's Day posts over on Craft Gossip.

Happy Creating!

Happy Flag Day!

Paula here with the latest installment of the write. click. scrapbook summertime dailies. Did you know it's Flag day? June 14th commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States. I thought it would be fun to focus on a few flag-related crafts. 

I made my own version of a flag on a canvas using various patterned papers and some buttons. It's a great way to use up those small scraps of paper we all have (admit it... you have them and don't know what to do with them).

My canvas is 11x14 and I used Mod Podge to adhere my patterned paper but I'm sure you could use any kind of adhesive that you have. I have a large stash of buttons so I decided to use white buttons to represent the stars on my flag. I think it's a nice little addition to my summer decor.

 

If you're not the altered craft making type, you can still make a layout about the flag like fellow w.c.s. team member Emily Spahn did here:

Could that be any cuter?

Happy flag day, and happy scrapping!

Stress Free Scrapbooking: Everyday Summer Layouts

Hi there! Today I wanted to talk about the importance of have a stress-free scrapping summer! Here's a little background on my summer scrapbooking philosophy. I used to be a chronological scrapper and was constantly feeling "behind" in my work. Many years ago, I read the amazing book The Big Picture by talented former w.c.s. team member Stacy Julian. From that moment on, I decided to stop worrying about making sure I "got it all in" and instead decided to scrap what I want, when I want. I think the summer is an especially important time to remember this philosophy. It's so easy to be overwhelmed with the many events of summer. There's the last day of school, the 4th of July, the trip to the beach, little Joe's birthday party, etc. etc. Trying to "keep up" when you are busy with all the fun of summer can be a very daunting task! So today I challenge you to just not worry about it!! That's right... don't feel like you have to scrap every last event. In fact...don't even scrap the events. Scrap the moments.  

I have a bag of photos (literally...a bag...a Christmas gift bag!) that I haul around with me every time and everywhere I scrap. There are photos from many events and there are photos of all the little every day moments. Guess which ones I turn to more often? It's not the 4th of July or little Joe's birthday party.  What I love scrapping the most are the little bits of summer... the small memories that might otherwise be forgotten. I dug through my layouts and found some of my favorite examples of everyday summer layouts. I've broken them down into two categories: everyday people and everyday things.

 

Everyday People

I must warn you that all of my "people" layouts really only feature one person...my daughter!! What can I say? She makes up pretty much all of my "everyday!" My first layout includes three photos I took of her playing with my husband's hat. It was a random Sunday afternoon in the park, and I love that I got the entire succession of events!

 

Last summer she became obsessed with Starbucks cakepops after I picked her up one as a special treat. It became a little routine to pick up a cakepop after her gymnastics class on Fridays. She loved it and would never let me forget to stop!

 

One summer we spent a lot of time at the local children's museum, which is luckily within walking distance of our home.  This was one of our afternoons there.

 

Finally, here is a recently made layout that includes one of my favorite photos from last summer My daughter loved being sprayed with the water and would let out the best squeal and make a hysterical face every time the water hit her!

 

Everyday Things

I created this first layout to remember the songs that I listened to nonstop one summer. I love the fact that it's three years later, and I'm still listening to some of the same songs on repeat!

 

I love taking photos of colorful things, especially flowers and food.  As it turns out, summer is the perfect time for both!

 

I am not exactly a "beach person", but somehow I ended up with not one, but two very special beach layouts! The first is a photo of my feet and my husband's feet. This was taken while on a vacation with friends. Only a few days before we had discovered that we were pregnant with our first child, but no one else knew at the time! The second layout is very near and dear to me, as it documents one of my favorite memories from many years ago. My husband and I found a secluded beach near a lighthouse and took our boxer for a walk along the water of Lake Michigan. Our beloved dog has since passed away, so this layout is quite bittersweet.

 

So there you have it! Eight everyday layouts that help me to remember and cherish all the little moments! I hope you have been inspired to create your own everyday summer layouts! Be sure to link me up with any everyday summer layouts that you have made! I would love to see them! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Summer Summary: The School Edition

Hello! Amy here, ready to celebrate June with you: the month of relaxing into summer, eating popsicles and hanging out with friends and reading in the shade of a tree. Picnics in the park, swimming at the local pool, maybe even a family vacation. If your kids are anything like mine, summer is in full swing and school is starting to become a slightly-hazy memory of books and tests and teachers. So scrapping about school might seem like a strange thing to do right now. Trust me, though, now is the perfect time! Their memories are still fresh enough that you can capture all the details of their previous school year before they start forgetting them. (Because math facts and the periodic table aren’t the only things they forget over the summer.)

Of course, you’d probably like to be out there enjoying the summer days with your kids. So here’s my fast solution to getting down those school details before they join the ranks of such knowledge as the date of the French Revolution and who the 28th American president was:  A school summary layout.

Here’s what I mean:

A school summary layout does exactly that: sums up the most important bits of an entire school year, all in one spot. To create one, just do the following:

1. Find a photo or two that was taken near the end of the school year.
2. Gather some questions that touch on the major points of the entire year. I’m including the questions I used as PDFs at the end of this post.
3. Format the questions so they fit with the design elements of your layout. You could print them on tags, in narrow columns,  or in circles. In the layout above, I made little pennants:



You can also just print the summary in one tall rectangle, like this: 

4. Hand the printed summary to your kid the next time he or she complains about being bored. At my house this happened on the very first day of summer break!  Ask your child to answer the questions using their own words and  handwriting. (It will also reacquaint kids with the concepts of “pen” and “writing” which are, of course, easily forgotten in the summer.) Their penmanship is also a record of this time in their lives, so it fits right in with the layout’s purpose.
5. Pair up the journaling with the photo, some embellishments and a title, and voila! One (or more, depending upon the kids in your family) school summary finished!

 

Of course, you could come up with your own questions, but here are the PDFs with the questions I used to get you started. I wrote two different sets of questions, one for my kids in elementary and one for my kids in junior high & high school.

download School summary questions elementary
download School summary questions jr high and high school

Happy scrapping!