Carry the Theme Through

Looking at these pages you feel like you danced at the luau. Each piece of this layout carries the Hawaiian dancing theme... from the photo of the surfboard that is cut into the title, to the fun Hawaiian shirt paper and onto the diecut feet in flip flops. Can you hear the music in your head?

I Don't Have Paper For That

In this world of scrapbooking where supplies seem endless it is almost absurd to say that but... I don't have a paper to match that. I find, especially with kid's themes, that there are more themes than supplies that match. Often I can find stickers but not a whole line of matching items that fit my theme. For this layout I used my Bazzill cardstock paper (actually scraps of it) to create colored doors in various sizes to mimic the doors in the movie. I then drew one big door (Boo's door) and hinged it on the page so I could insert a photo of my son as Sully monster and add journaling. The stickers were purchased and I added them to the painted bottlecaps. I hand drew the Monster's Inc. logo. It makes for a fun (and colorful) page.

Cricut and other Diecuts

Diecuts are an awesome way to embellish your pages. The Cricut and Sizzix are great tools for creating diecuts. One is a electronic cutter and the other is a manual cutter. I have both. You can also create your own diecuts by creating patterns and cutting them out, as I have done with this Lilo doll. And you can cut around photos to create three dimentional photo images that are like diecuts which I have done with Stitch on the second page.

Puzzled?

Scrapbooks don't have to be books. You can make a memory keepsake out of anything... a treasure box, a lunch box, an empty can, a candy jar... even a puzzle. Paint or cover an area of the object to attach your photos and momentos to and have fun with creating your multi-dimensional scrapbook!

This is a 9-piece puzzle that was actually created for scrapbooking (big pieces) but you could use an old children's puzzle that you've rummaged and rescued. This was perfect for my son to actually use as a personalized puzzle.

Only 70 more days???

Did I write that. Sorry. But it is true and now is the time to start on those projects you said you wanted to do. You remember, "Next year I want to..." Soooooo, why not make a scrapbook gift album. Who doesn't have holiday pictures from this time of year? I have a 12x12 album that I add to every Christmas and we only get it out at Christmas time to reminisce of the Christmases before. It is wonderful to pull out all the funny stories and remember the WoW that mom and dad worked so hard to pull off.

This album was made for a school fundraiser. It was a silent auction item and that was very exciting for me as the artist to have people "bid" on something I made. It is an 8x8 album and its unifying elements are photomats on ever page, and coordinating tag (for journaling) on every two pages. It is full of diecuts and stickers, a few charms and ribbons. The cover was decoupaged to add durability. The album was auctioned without pictures (of course).

You don't have to make a whole album as a gift. A handmade card or ornament is a wonderful gift to receive with personalized photo. A decorated frame. One 12x12 page in a frame. I know a scrapper who makes personalized photo bookmarks and then places them in gift books. I have made containers filled with snacks using scrapbook materials and photos, too.

Celebrate Your Champion

Making a sport album of your athlete is an awesome way to scrapbook. First of all, you are celebrating your champ, second you are capturing yourself as the "extreme fan." It really is a nice way to commemorate the season of a sport.

This album is an 8x8 and are you ready... Pre-Made. Yep, I said that. Cheap album (on clearance at Target) that I added stickers and cardstock to, okay maybe some buttons and fibers also. And it came together in one evening. Gotta love that.

What to do with all the leftover photos

ABC ALBUMS
So you are finally getting those pictures out of the boxes and scrapbooking. Favorite picture on one page, three companion photos on page two, etc. But what about doubles and leftovers? You can't throw them away, right? Make an ABC album. The joy about this is you don't have to have the photos match. A for Adorable, B for Beautiful, C for Curious. Letter + Adjective. You get the idea. This can be for your beloved, or your pet, family, child, sport... limitless.

I made an ABC album to help my son learn the alphabet. I used a cute alphabet diecut set, single "boy" texture paper and primary cardstock. On each page I used a photo, alpha letter, die cut and words that begin with the letter (exception was x where I used words like excite). I also did this with numbers... 10 things I love about you. My 10 favorites. The top 10.

Scrap the Stuff

Originally, scrapbooking was a collection of stuff, not photos. Old scrapbooks held letters and mementos on big stiff pages (and smelled of moth balls). Moving forward doesn't mean you have to let go of all the mementos. Save the stuff. Create a pocket page and tuck in the stuff. Use the stuff as embellishments tying it on with colorful ribbon or tucking it into a clear pocket. If you can't save the stuff because it is too big or filled with acid (newspapers) then photograph the stuff or copy and reduce it. Kids artwork is a great example of this. Big chunky artwork full of paste and noodles that just can't be saved. Put it all on the refrigerator and have your child stand next to it for the photo. Do this every month or every season. Save the hand prints and little poems they wrote in their own writing.

On this page I have used the autograph pen (shaped like Tigger) as a memento tied to the Tigger page. I have also attached the autograph card to this page.

Buying Premade Elements

So a big part of scrapbooking is scrap-shopping. No need to lie about it. It is still cheaper than therapy, not fattening, doesn't show up on a drug screen, done primarily by women (marriage friendly), doesn't require advanced skills (socially, athletically, or in fashion) and usually it is done without kids. Add chocolate and it is perfect.

When buying premade elements you still want your pages to look like... well, you. Find elements that fit your photos and help tell the story... (Dragonflies flying and fly away hair). Customize the premade elements by trimming out the border, adding raised glue dots, adding liquid crystal or glitter. If you like a lot of bling don't let the premade aspect stop you. If you are a strict two color girl, stick to your rules and focus on the strength of those unifying elements. It can take lots of time off your page and let you get to the fun of embellishing sooner.

Oh, and if you are following this "daily" blog, I think I am caught up now!

Involve Everyone

Did your mom or some other family member try to ruin every fun holiday with "Okay, everyone get together for a picture?" You were posed, eating, closing your eyes, your little brother was making horns behind your head. You know all the events and those dreaded pictures. Well now as scrapbookers we are on the other side and I say, involve everyone. Use props, scheme, play practical jokes, snuggle... and have fun with your photos because it really shows on the pages.

One Pictures Worth

Do you have a picture that you just love? Make that picture a page. Use a whole page and celebrate everything you love about that picture. This is an example of a picture I love. I love Gavin's face... bright, playful and optimistic. I love the denim hat he threw on playing dress up. I even love the little pea-soup green jumper he was wearing that just says, "Oh, Boy!" He is so cute I could make a doll... so I did... a paper doll.

This layout was entered in a contest and received second place. The item I was missing to make it a first place entry... journaling. If you are like me and you don't like your journaling, tuck a tag or a pull tab so you can hide the journaling. I went back to this page and hinged the paper doll so I could write the story.

Accordion Book

DISNEY CHARACTER AUTOGRAPH BOOK
An accordion book is the perfect way to scrapbook an event... a dance, a party, a performance, graduation or create an autograph book (which can be used at all the events listed.) On our trip to Disneyland I used the accordion book to scrapbook each character we met with a photo (and stickers)mounted on coordinating cardstock. We brought 3x5 cards with us for autographs and I mounted those in a tag book which I attached to the accordion album. The album is two sided and sits great on a bookshelf for display. I just made one for fall and I am going to fill it with pumpkin patch photos when we go this week.

Letters, Stickers and Paint!

CREATE THE TITLE
Using foam stamps and paint I created the title bar on white cardstock. I cut out the letters and then added them to the scalloped title bar across two pages. I embellished the title using stickers which I also incorporated into the layout. The papers and stickers in this layout are Doodlebug. I freehand drew the Sumo man die cut on flesh cardstock and then colored in the details with pen and watercolor pencil. This is a pretty busy layout but it really captures the action and laughs of this birthday event between twins. By the way the whole family got into the action and it was hilarious. Never underestimate the adult ability to play like a kid!

Mismatch and Coordinate

OUR BOY HAS SURGERY
I usually try to do two page layouts and on those layouts I have unifying elements... the same background paper, the same texture paper, the same cardstock. Sometimes, the story I am telling doesn't lend itself well to two pages. Sometimes I have so many great photos that I don't want to limit it to two pages. Sometimes I have one event but several stories.

These pages are a good example of this. This is Gavin's surgery (ears, tonsils, and adenoids) and in this I wanted to use a family of papers. I wanted one page to be just soft aquas (Angel Boy) and on another page I wanted to balance the bright red hospital bracelet on the page. While none of the pages "match" there is still balance and unifying elements (ribbon, cardstock, colors).

Scrappin the Story

BROTHERS AT THE BEACH

Some people like to journal--journal--journal. Well, me... not so much. Every once in a while a get a series of photos that tell a story and a few words REALLY punch it up.

Brothers at the Beach is the perfect example of this. Nic convinced his brother Kris to let him bury him in the sand, then he went and got a bucket of cold ocean and SPLASH!! The photos that came after couldn't be used... scary teenager running after another screaming teenager who was running full tilt into the ocean. It wasn't pretty.

Oh So Kittable

LOVE MY SQUISHY
There are times when a kit is a great place to start. This kit turned out great by simply adding extra letters (fonts) and a couple die cuts. What isn't captured here is the story because I am a journaling wuss... yep, I said that. What happened is Gavin got out this meal worm (big, very big) to play with at my Mom's house. Well meal worms have pincher's on the front of them and when Gavin went to give Squishy a kiss... well you can imagine what happened. I didn't have the photo courage to take a picture of the bloody lip... and yes meal worms can fly when batted off a little boy's lip!

Scrapbook Blog: The Freedom to Create

FREEDOM
So I am thinking about starting a couple more blogs. This one is going to be my scrapbook blog. These pages are older that I made at a scrapbook expo challenge where we had to use the elements (corkboard, chipboard letter, etc.) to create a layout. Oh and the theme was red, white and blue. I really liked the corkboard and how it mimicked sand with a cool jagged edge. To this layout I also added beads and some die cuts that I buried in the sand elements. Since I am not much of a journaler I used the velum quote to tell the story.