Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Quick & Easy Card Set

I always think summer will bring more time for one of my favorite pastime...paper crafting, however, this is simply not the case in our household. Even though summer is fun, it brings about lots of disruptions to any sort of schedule that I try to maintain. I still find time to do what I love and my key is to keep it simple!

It seems I always need a card at an unexpected moment so I like to have a stash on hand. One easy way to create a coordinating set of cards is to use an embellishment that includes a greeting or saying on it. I've had this fun set of retro flair, from {a flair for buttons} for a while now and knew it would be perfect for a card set.

I used the same design for all the cards...3 strips of a combination of paper/washi tape/fabrips and flair layered onto a pinked circle or doily.

To start I made an all occasion card and left the inside blank. 

Here is another general greeting with the same design but in a vertical orientation. I included a greeting on the inside, made using the sketch feature on my Silhouette Cameo.

Next I made a congratulations card, again with a greeting drawn using my Silhouette Cameo.

This next card could be a congratulation or best wishes card. I left the inside blank so I can customize it to the occasion.

And last, but not least, is a card that I need far too often...a belated Happy Birthday card. I always have Birthdays on my radar long before they come, but I'm not good at getting the card in the mail. Sad, I know.

Is your card stash getting low? Using this simple design you can whip up several of these in a single sitting. Even better, make a few with leftover scraps on your scrap table after making a layout...another memory preserved and a card (or two) for a friend. I can't think of anything better!

Capture your summer in a photo book

 

Today is the first day of school for my now first-grader, Emma, as well as for my husband. Crazy to me that summer is over for us. I am ready for routines and schedules and normal bedtimes, though. This also means it's time for me to start work on my third annual summer photo book.

I first made a photo book for my girls two years ago. I was about to have baby #3, and I wanted my girls to be able to look back and see all the fun stuff we did before their baby brother arrived. I knew there was no way I'd scrapbook everything we did that summer, so I made a photo book for them, about them. 

I used Shutterfly, because that's what I'm familiar with, but I know there are plenty of other options out there. When creating the photo book, I put the pictures in chronolgical order, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I tried to include a pretty even number of pictures of each girl. I made sure to include photos of them with their friends, with us and with family members. I kept the journaling minimal, often just the names/date.vRight now, they just want to see the pictures. As they get older, I might start to include more details and journaling. The end product gives a pretty complete picture of their summer, and takes all pressure of scrpabooking those moments off my shoulders.

Here are some pages from the Summer 2010 album.

If you'd like to see the rest of the album, you can find it here.

 

And from the Summer 2011 album.

 

Here is the link to the rest of the album.

 

My girls love looking through these. They point out everything they did, relive each event and outing, shout when they see their friends and are just super excited about them. I definitely plan on making these each year. It's an easy way to get all your summer adventures captured in an album, without the pressure to get each event and story and outing scrapbooked on their own. So if you're feeling overwhelmed with all your summer adventure pictures, try a photo book!

Happ End-of-Summer!

scrapbook!

For many of us with school age children, this seems to be one of the busiest times of the year. And for those of us with kids in fall sports, our driving/sitting/watching obligations fill the leftover minutes quickly. Despite our hectic calendars (or perhaps because of them?!), our photo pile grows taller and taller. Wooed by the perfect lighting of August evenings, we take lovely summer's end photos. Tasked with school shopping and meet the teacher nights, we take milestone photos. And squeezing in those last minute summer todo items, we document document document. While our pile of photos grows, our time to scrapbook shrinks. 

But do not panic! Soon, the schedule will resume regular programming. And until then, we are here to help you! Today we bring your three challenges to help you put together pages in no time flat! Armed with your photos, and a story to tell, this week we bring you three design starters that we know will be just the nudge your page needs to come together quickly.

 

SKETCH

This month's sketch has room for eight photos! Looking to Erin's Summer Lovin' Gallery layout, Hiking in Bedford, Donna created a template that is perfect for a collection of photos.

Using Donna's sketch, I put together a layout in record time and didn't have to sacrifice any of the photos that I really wanted to include.

Keeping the same orientation, I completely made use of the photo grid, but left out the right side background paper in exchange for some lovely white space. Doing so created some breathing room which allowed for a bigger embellishment, and also more room for journaling--you know how I love my words!!

 

Katie also made great use of Donna's sketch.

Look closely at how Katie rearranged the photos. The shot of Maya in her life jacket takes center stage as it is just a hint bigger than the others.  At first glance, I thought Katie must have sacrificed a photo to get this, but she didn't! There are eight there, just like mine. Isn't it fun to see the difference little changes can make? 

Before we leave Katie's layout, I can't help but notice some other little details. The sunshine is cut out of the red, and the yellow is adhered from behind. Not only does this mean she didn't have to cut and glue each of those tiny little sunshine rays, but it also adds a very current feel, emulating the silhouette trend. And in the center of the sun, behind the button, Katie cut around and around, then pulled the paper forward, allowing for extra contour and depth. Oooh, it's the little details that take a layout from great to fanfreakintastic!

And as always, you are free to right click the sketch up above to save it or if you prefer a layered template, we have one for you, too, that you may download here! Please leave us a comment and a link so that we may see your work of art!

 

ROYGBIV

This month, I fell in love with the colors in Katrina's Summer Lovin' layout, Picture Perfect.

Grey as a color is practical and calm. Blue is harmony and contemplation. Green is hopeful and signifies life and growth. No wonder this layout makes you breathe a bit more deeply and linger a little bit longer.

Here is my color layout.

I know the color element are small, but I love how they shine! And hope that you see that using color doesn't mean using COLOR!

 

TRENDING

This month there was a huge trend in the gallery! Look through these layouts and tell me what they have in common: Vivian, Kathy, Diane, Celeste, Valerie, Christa, Keshet, Donna, and Marie. I'll give you a minute...

...

See it?

...

You guessed it--background graphic elements: grids, graph lines, hexagon outlines, circles, lines, these layouts have them all! Such elements are especially beloved around here as they add a clean graphic nature to a layout without a lot of visual clutter.

I added some lines to a layout and love how it looks!

If you love the look, check out the backside of your patterned paper. Chances are better finding it on the reverse!!

 

There you have it! Three reasons to scrapbook today! Really, I mean it! You will be glad you did, and I can't wait to see your layouts! Soon, please? :)

Wonderful Washi

As a scrapbooker, is there anything better than pretty paper?! How pretty tapes to adhere and decorate those pretty papers?!!

Have you joined the washi tape craze that is happening in the scrapbook world?  I'll admit, I'm usually a couple of days late and several dollars short of trends in general and that definitely goes for scrapbooking too.  I join in about the time that all those things are going on clearance and everyone else has moved on to the next phase.  This one, though, I've actually dabbled in and joined in the party (on time).  Plus I figure I'm in the land of all things washi over here in Japan so I should jump in and put all those pretty tapes to work on my pages and cards. 

I'm definitely not one that is associated with cutting edge and inovative, so I also asked my fellow WCS washi lovers to show me some of their cool washi tape pages.

As most first timers, my washi tape experience started off like this, with just a little dab at the bottom for added color:

I've seen a lot of layouts with just a bit of washi along the edges of photos, paper or embellishments as if to adhere them together (kind of is too!).  Some scrappers choose to keep the somewhat torn/jagged edges, or if you are a bit too linear like me, then those strips can be cut with scissors.

To stay with the holiday theme, I took my washi one step further and used it as edging on my (still unfinished) December Daily album. For this project it served as strips to enhance the book, rather than adhere a photo or paper together:

Teka took her mini album one step further with washi tape and used it to bind the album together:

Teka, Francine and Katie forgot about the patterned paper altogether in these layouts and used their assortment of washi tapes to serve as faux paper instead.  I absolutely love this effect on pages and am amazed how different it looks with all the various colors and patterns.  Francine and Katie chose to leave their washi ripped at the edges, whereas Teka went a clean and linear route on her layout for a fantastic look.

Francine:

Katie:

Teka:

Francine has also used her washi tapes to create a chevron embellishment and journaling spot on this layout.  A totally different look, but still using those washi tapes:

I created this small embellishment on a layout recently to hold a flair button within a title.  Unfortunately I can't share the entire layout since it's being published, but can at least share this small piece of it!

Another great use of washi tapes are with cut outs or your Silhouette die cutting machine.  Teka used her Silhouette to cut arrows for her layout then backed those cut arrows with some of her washi tape for added patterns and textures:

I used my Studio Calico Ampersand Mask as a base for this card featuring some of my favorite washi tapes.  I adhered the tape diagonally (I cheated a bit and used additional adhesive on the back-shh), then layed the ampersand down and cut around with a craft knife.  The bonus is that I now have a decorative ampersand for another page/project:

And finally, one more creative and clever idea on how to use washi tape from our very own Jennifer Larson.  She went a step further and PRINTED on her washi tape! Genius I tell you!

Jennifer also included some helpful hints for printing on washi:

1. Type your journaling. Leave enough space to put varying tapes and widths. You may need to experiment.

2. Tape the washi down on top of the journaling. You may need to overlap, but don't overlap on the printed journaling.

3. Run through the printer again.

4. Very Important: Spray with an art fix spray! Washi is not too porous, and it will smear.

5. Let dry.

6. Affix to layout. Keep in mind it is somewhat see-through, so don't put it on bright or highly patterned paper.

Phew!  So there you have it-lots of different uses for washi tape on all your upcoming projects and pages! 

Have we missed a use for washi?  Let us know your favorite way to use washi on  your pages!

winner winner

Yay! Stacia!  Please email me at celestefsmith AT gmail DOT com and I'll get that gift code off to you in a jiffy! Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

You say it's your birthday...

...it's my birthday, too! Yes, today is my birthday and I have the grey hair & wrinkles to prove it! Let's just say I'm old as the hills and leave it at that. I'm sure I'll be getting an email from fellow team member, Paula Gilarde, rubbing it in that I'm older than her (her birthday is in two weeks and we were born in the same year! LOL)

Since it's my birthday, I thought I'd share a couple birthday themed pages and of course what would a birthday be without a little gift? 

First up, my good friend Jennifer Hignite, created this fabulous birthday page. The banners give it such a festive feel and I love that she included two photos, one from each party. That's like scrapping two events at once! Go Jennifer!

I rarely get to scrap with pink. How thrilled was I when my son invited two girls to his birthday party and insisted on Pinkberry instead of cake?  Pink is a little non-traditional for a boy page, but so is not having cake so I went with it!

Both of these layouts use the fabulous kit, Sprinkles on Top by one of my favorite digital designers, Robyn Meierotto. I love how she takes a theme and is able to make it really contemporary while still providing elements that will reinforce the theme. Paper scrappers might know some of Robyn's designs as she has designed a few lines for My Mind's Eye. Be sure to check out her store and her blog for more inspiration!

 

Amazing Robyn has generously offered a $5 gift card to her store for one lucky write.click.scrapbook reader. Simply comment on this post, let me know what month your birthday is in and you'll be entered to win! I'll pull a winner this evening, so check back later.

Until next time, happy scrappin'...

use your scraps!

I can hardly believe that we are already halfway through August!  While some of us are still enjoying lazy summer days, others are preparing for back to school.  In either situation, it seems there isn't a whole lot of time left to be creative.  This summer as part of my summertime daily posts, I have shared with you my favorite easy summer scrapbooking tips.  Today I'm going to finish-up with a very simple way to stay creative even when time is in short supply. 

Currently, we are preparing for our first offical year of home schooling.  Add that to all of life's other responsibilities, and it means that I haven't had a whole lot of free time to do all the scrapbooking I want.  And yet, I find that when too much time has passed between projects I get a little antsy.  One thing I like to do just to keep the creative juices flowing is to make cards.  A very quick and easy way to make cards is to use up the scraps from recently completely layouts.  I made this card,

using scraps from this August's gallery layout.

You can make the process even quicker by using similar design elements.  Including the time it took to die-cut the butterfly, this card only took about ten minutes to complete, and now I have a happy summer card to give away to someone special.

Thanks for stopping by today!  What are you doing with the rest of your summer?

pretty school supplies

Monika here today with the last post for me in this Summertime Dailies series. We are already into our second full week of school in East Tennessee, our school supply shopping is complete and we've already had our First Grader home yesterday with a bout of Strep Throat. Yep, school's in session.

My two girls are in the age that they love to create with Mommy's baker's twine, washi tape and glue dots. Kind of a perfect combination for prettying up some school supplies, don't you think?

PRETTY PAPER

Our spunky little Victoria is a lover of all shades of blue and we had the most lovely time sitting in the floor of our craft space going through my collection of pretty paper to find THE most perfect sheet for the front of her new notebook. It's blue, of course, and I purposely purchased one of then notebooks with the pockets in front so that we could personalize it just for her.

 

 WONDERFUL WASHI 

This mini spiral bound notebook is to be used for weekly spelling word review. It also had a clear acrylic-like front that was just begging to be embellished...this time with washi tape, which my girl carefully chose from my collection, a chipboard banner shape adorned with an enamel dot and some twine.

The thirty minutes we spent sitting in the floor together, while her older sister was upstairs reading in her room, was a nice peek into what I hope will be many more moments spent choosing pretty paper together. She felt so grown up getting to make her own choices for her big girl, First Grade school supplies.

 

 

Summer Memories and Your Camera Phone

Happy Monday everyone! Paula here with your daily dose of inspiration from Write.Click.Scrapbook. We're in the throes of summer activies but I know that for some people it's already back to school time (I can't even begin to think about that right now!). I've been hanging out with my kids all summer doing all kinds of fun stuff and this year I've given my camera a break. Instead I've been using my iphone to take snapshots when I want. I decided to share some of the layouts I've created using only photos from my camera phone.

This first one is a round-up of some of the fun activities we've done this summer. I like to do something like this every year because even if it seems like we end up doing the same thing  there usually is something that's a little different - like the Olympics this year.

Most of these photos are from Instagram - it's so much fun!

Here's another layout I made this summer using some iPhone photos:

Why don't you try creating a layout using your camera phone photos!