The Joys of the Season

Here is this week's Mojo (#22) for ScrapbookSteals. I took a couple of pictures of my little girl about a week before Christmas. She has been checking out the tree on a daily basis and each time she exclaims, "Whoa!" when it is lit up. She is so cute!


I added some ornaments that I cut out from the Cricut seasonal cartridge for Christmas tags from 2009. I then attached glitter yarn as the strings they hang from. I really like that effect. I wanted to keep the page fairly simple because I wanted the glow from the pictures to stand out. I am quite pleased with how it all tied in together. Ah, the Christmas season :)

Emerald Club!!!

This is the last entry to reach the Emerald Club status. These are pictures that were taken when Erica was 11 weeks old (at home by Bébé Love). My husband's favorite picture is the one all the way down on the bottom. Although, there were so many good pictures, it's hard to choose just one.

For this layout I used rub-ons for the first time and must say I will try to use them again. I like that they can be layered on things and give a soft finish. I am not someone who often works with round items (I am partial to angles), so this layout was a bit hard on me at first. Once I started to space things out, it all came together. So, "Voila!" I have now completed 20 layouts for the weekly Mojos :)

12 Hours of Scrapping

Yesterday I went to an all-day crop and had a wonderful time. I admit that I was having fun socializing, so I didn't get nearly as many pages done as I have in the past (I average between 10-14 pages and only got 6 done). Here is one that I would like to submit for Mojo #19:

These pictures were all taken at the same sitting for lunch and have my little girl in the a onesie that both my husband and I loved. I simplified the Mojo this week. It kind of took on a life of its own as I was doing it.
I also did this next one which is a total opposite colorwise. I just love how soft the overall look is (and the pictures are some of my favorites from when Erica was 11 weeks old):


I am keeping this short and sweet. Those are the 2 layouts I am sharing this weekend. Looking forward to getting more done. Happy Scrapping!

Some wedding pics...

For this week's Mojo (#18) I chose to use wedding pictures. My husband was bugging me not too long ago asking when I was going to get our pictures done (I have made several wedding scrapbooks for friends' weddings we have attended), so I am slowly trying to get things done (we've only been married 3 years - I'm not THAT far behind). Anyways, back to the layout at hand...


The left page is the one based on this week's Mojo, but I wanted to do 2 pages. Kind of a Girls vs Boys thing. I like the way it turned out. It took a while to really get going, but once I finally got started, it all fell into place. Only a million pics to go!

Giving Gifts

I did these 2 layouts for people who are dear to me: my brother and a friend. The one for my friend was of him and his boys. I decided to print the pics in B&W so that there would be no clashing colors and that would give the layout a more uniform look. The other layout was for my brother and his girlfriend and I wanted one picture to be the centerpiece. They both turned out quite well. I think they pictures are well showcased with just the right amount of design and/or color. Both parties were happy to receive their gifts :)

Mom's 60th Birthday

Just like most scrapbookers, my mom is always doing layouts of pictures of other people (me and my little brother, my little girl - her granddaughter, etc...). So for this week's Midweek Mojo for Scrapbook Steals, I did a layout using pics from my mom's surprise party for her 60th birthday. I was visiting her and my dad this past Friday and thought I would do that while I was in town. I am really happy with how it turned out, considering I was using all my mom's tools, papers and embellishments (not always easy when you don't really know what you have at your fingertips). She was thrilled, so no matter what, it was worth it :)

Happy After Napping

This is my interpretation of this week's Midweek Mojo from Scrapbook Steals. These are pictures of my little girl from July 2009. They portray just how happy she always was (and still is) after her naps. It's like every time my husband or I enter the room, she is overjoyed that someone decided to get her. Now that she is approaching 2, she gives us lots of hugs and kisses when we go get her.

Anyways, back to the layout...I experimented with some different patterned papers. I wasn't sure at first if I would like the end result, but I am pretty pleased with it. Once I chose the background paper, I decided I should use some cardstock that took on one of the colors to kind of temper the busyness of the rest. I have to admit that these days I tend to be using a lot of browns...it's a great neutral that goes with everything, but is softer than using black. We'll see how long I keep using it...

Bright and Happy

This is a page I did last night. It was for the Midweek Mojo #13 from Scrapbook Steals. I really love how it came out. It took a bit of time to start because I wanted to try mixing different papers with varying colors and patterns (which is not always something I do - I'm learning to be more adventurous). I'd say the final look definitely fits the personality of the subject. Erica is a total ham and has a HUGE personality, so subdued colors would not have worked. I'm loving this page!

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Here I am posting another entry tonight...but that's because I did another layout (Mojo #11). I decided to get some Halloween pics done because I recently bought the October 31st cartridge for my Cricut. The haunted house in the bottom left corner is one of the shapes I LOVE on it. There are a lot of great images that I am sure I will be able to use over the years. They have just the right amount of "creepy" for me.
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The pictures are of my husband (kneeling) and his best friend who gave out the candies last year. The pumpkins in the window were done by both my husband and I and the hanging ghoul is one of many that we suspend from ropes outside so that they look like they are hovering in the air. Can you tell we like Halloween?!

In Honor of our 3rd Anniversary

My husband and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary this week (September 29th). Here is a layout I did last week. The picture was taken at his best friend's wedding almost a year ago.

What Have I Been Up to Lately?

Well, I finished a mini book for some friends of their wedding. It seemed to go over really well and I was really happy with the results (but forgot to take pictures of some of the layouts!). I have another one to finish up and then I am focusing ONLY on my own stuff (one day I'll get my wedding album done).

Last week I did 15 pages (in a few days) because I stumbled across www.scrapbooksteals.com, which has what they call a "Midweek Mojo" each Wednesday. A drawing is put up of a layout and everyone submits their interpretation of it. For example, there was the one I posted above and this is what I ended up doing:

I was quite pleased with the end result and felt like new life was breathed into my scrapbooking abilities. It's kind of nice to try out different styles because it can be easy to get into a rut if you don't venture out and try something different. Now I am hooked on the "Midweek Mojo" ! Watch out everyone, the creative juices are flowing again :)

Time Flies...

I haven't forgotten that I am supposed to be posting pages I have been working on. The last little while all my efforts and energy has been going into a wedding album for some friends. Because I don't want to take the chance that they somehow fall upon the pictures, I will only post a few AFTER they have received it (maybe in September when they move into their first house - their first anniversary is in October). I have done all the lay-outs, but still have some journaling and embellishments to add to complete the look. So far I am pretty happy with the lay-outs. It's kind of nice when each page that you turn can lead to 2-page lay-outs. Hopefully they'll like it!

Discovering Inks and Stamping

I only just started using inks and stamping. What got me started was the fact that I got some supplies in a goody bag at the all-day event I went to in May for National Scrapbook Day (my husband's birthday gift to me). I figured it was time to start seeing what I could do with the clear stamps I had. The wording on this page was done using clear alphabet stamps from my goody bag as well as some ink that was supplied as well. This page was for my daughter's May 2009 pictures. Because I wanted to use teal as a complimentary color to the pink of the page, I also inked the edges of the page so that it pulled everything together. I'd say that this was a pretty good attempt for my first time (if not very adventurous).

My next use of the inks I had was to use them to add some "zing" to foam letters that I had that were in a very neutral brown-grey hue. The funny thing is that I thought I could ink the letters after they had already been put on the page. WRONG! I ended up with little bits of ink on the paper. I decided to make my mistake work for me and ended up taking a tissue and applying the inks to it and smudging the color around the lettering on the page to tie it all in and make the first smudges look intentional. Amazing what happens when a mistake inspires you :)

Some of my Recent Pages...

Here are a few of the pages I have done in my little girl's scrapbook. Each month of her first year starts with an 8x10 picture taken at Wal-Mart and then the pages that follow are personal photos taken. Because she is our first child there are a LOT of pics. The last page of each month has a summary and the last few pics (I have posted one of them to show how I punched out parts of a bunch of pictures to finish off the month). I am not afraid to cut the heck out of my pictures, so many times the summary has shots of little things like her nose, a hand, a foot, etc...Having so many pictures would cause us to have a ton of books for her first year alone. This way, I manage to use everything while not having a million pages (let's face it, not all pictures need to be highlighted).

Why this Blog?

Okay, so I have been scrapbooking for a few years now and figured I would start blogging about what I do. Maybe this will get me to set aside time each week to do a few pages and maybe it will help me come up with new ideas from others' suggestions. It's always nice to see the evolution of one's craft.

I will start posting some of my layouts very soon!