'This is Your Story' layout

I am pretty sure I could count on one hand the number of scrapbooking projects I completed last year.   I think my immediate desire to document the adventures and achievements in our lives was taken care of with blogging, and scrapbooking fell by the wayside.  I do enjoy scrapbooking though, and so this year I am hoping to get back into it.  At the very least I am hoping that I will need two hands to count the projects at the end of the year!

So here is my first scrapbooking project - a 12 x 12 layout.  It doesn't have any photos, but was the perfect project to allow me to play with some frills and fuss, and still keep the straight lines and order that I really like.

I used several different shades of pink ink to first sponge the nine squares that were the base of the layout, and then it was just a case of adding on the pretty bits - flowers, hearts and butterflies, and a 'B' for Bridie.  I used an assortment of punches and big shot dies, as well as embossing folders to add texture to some of the elements.  Some half pearls, paper daisies (one sponged pink) and some scraps of the Newsprint DSP were added to the mix too.  

Other ingredients (all from SU):

Card/ink: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Stamps: Rough Type, Notes and Details

Punches: Full Heart Extra Large, Heart to Heart Extra Large, Small Heart, Scallop Trim Border

Dies (used with Big Shot): Beautiful Butterflies, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet, Lots of Tags, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Simple Flower Embosslit

Embossing Folders (used with Big Shot): Perfect Polka Dots, Petals-a-Plenty

This layout is for the front of Bridie's album (hence the 'this is your story...') but I think it would be perfect as an artwork for her room too, so version 2 is on the list of things to do, as is a boy version of the scrapbook layout.  That's almost one handful of projects!

scrapbooking disguised as homework?

I had been so sure that when the kids went back to school I was going to have lots of leisurely craft time ('lots' being relative to the zero leisurely craft time I had during the summer break!)  As it turns out all that sunshine must have caused some memory loss, because I had forgotten about the fact that when school went back we would be busier than ever.  Never mind the leisurely craft time, it's all about the taxi driving, the school activities, the taxi driving, the after school activities, the work trips for Peter, the taxi driving, and trying to keep on top of the laundry.   Then you need to remember those other key ingredients that seem to have been lacking lately - inclination and inspiration.  There has been a bit of a craft drought around here lately, so thank goodness for homework!

When Campbell came home and told me he had to make a family tree for school, and asked if I had a stamp he could use, I was pleased to tell him I had something even better.  It was the perfect excuse to finally try my new Big Shot, and the 'little leaves' sizzlet die, and in no time at all he had more than enough leaves for his tree. It took a lot longer to stick them all on!  The tree trunk and grass we cut by hand, and he used punches to cut out all the photos and name labels.  We used a piece of 12x12 card as the base for the family tree, so that when he was finished he could put it straight into his album, and he is so pleased with his first ever, made it himself, scrapbook page.

I am pleased that the craft drought may finally be breaking, even if it is just homework disguised as scrapbooking!

'Celebrate You' Scrapbook Layout

A few months back I made this carousel note card using the always lovely 'Fifth Avenue Floral' stamp set.  As I played around trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I ended up with two of those stamped circles.  When the card was done I set the spare stamped circle to the side, and imagined it on a scrapbook layout, with a few more circles, and another carousel note.  And it has been waiting ever since.  Well, until now that is.

It turns out that getting myself organised was the hardest part.  I already had that 'celebrate you' stamped circle, and the scalloped baja blue circle is a carousel note - all ready for me to just add some journaling.  I used my circle scissors to cut out the small kiwi kiss circle, and then all those blue and kiwi rings in varying widths.

The finishing touches were some butterflies from the 'Butterfly Prints' stampset, with a touch of bling to match Bridie's tiara.  I am really pleased with how it all came together, and Bridie is very happy to have another layout in her album.  Her favourite part?  Why, the tiara she is wearing in the photo - of course!

All the bits and pieces:

card - basic grey, kiwi kiss, baja blue, white

ink - basic grey, kiwi kiss, baja blue

stamps - Fifth Avenue Floral, Butterfly Prints, A little Birthday Cheer (the 'celebrate you')

other - baja blue carousel note, basic grey stampin' write marker, circle scissors, butterfly punch, rhinestone brads (ice, circles)

All about the Giving

Everyone loves getting presents.  We may not always know what we want  (how often have you been a part of the conversation 'What do you want for Christmas?'  and the reply 'I don't know') - but we know we want something!

Then there is the giving.  Giving can be fun too - maybe not so much the shopping part, that can be stressful, especially if you just had a conversation like that one up above.  Definitely stressful!  But it can make your heart feel happy too.

A few years ago we learned about an organisation called Samaritan's Purse.  More specifically, their 'Operation Christmas Child' project.  When we told Hayden about it he was excited to be involved, and announced that he was going to use his birthday money to buy the presents for his 'shoe box kid'.  We have enjoyed taking part each year since, until this year, when we just didn't get ourselves organised in time, and found another way to give instead (a goat with an affro - more on that soon!)

Here is a scrapbook page I did after the first shoebox we filled.  This was before SU made it to NZ, so uses non-SU supplies, and Hayden's own writing for the gift tag/title.  My idea was to make it look like a big gift box - but it is one of those layouts that I have never  been entirely satisfied with.  I love the subject, though and so here it is:

Catering for those Christmas Celebrations

As part of a European Cultural Fair that Hayden had at school a few months back, he had to find a recipe from Denmark, and then prepare the food (or have his Mum prepare it for him!) He needed enough to share with approximately 120 friends and classmates.  The fact that this recipe said it made about 12 dozen cookies was a big part of its appeal - and as a bonus they sounded pretty good too.

So, with the help of the big stock pot (because our mixing bowls were just too small) we mixed up a batch of Danish Butter Cookie Dough.  Around this time, we decided that in fact the smallest star cutter would be perfect - giving us 'sample sized' cookies.  That of course meant we got a lot more than 12 dozen cookies. This was what 231 cookies looked like all piled up:

And we still had loads of dough left!  Thankfully, the dough freezes well, and we were pleased to have a ready supply of homemade cookie dough just waiting to be cooked whenever we needed it.

Now with December here - not just Christmas, but the beginning of birthday season in our house as well, there seems to be one 'catering opportunity' after another.  I got to thinking that Danish Butter cookies were just exactly what we needed, and would be a great family tradition in the making.  Cookies in the cupboard, and dough in the freezer - ready to go when we needed it, and making life that little bit easier, at this very busy time of year.

It works well for brightly coloured lizards as well!

So here is the recipe for the super yummy, incredibly handy Danish Butter Cookie (Smørdejgskager) recipe, just in case you find yourself with lots of 'catering opportunities' too!   

2 cups soft butter     4 cups sugar     6 egg yolks - beaten

1 cup sour cream     2 tsp almond extract     2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp baking soda     2 tsp cream of tartar     9 cups flour

6 egg whites - beaten stiff

- Cream butter and sugar then add the egg yolks and beat again.  Stir in the sour cream and almond flavouring.

- Sift nutmeg, soda and cream of tartar with the flour.  Combine with creamed mixture to make a stiff dough.  Fold in egg whites.

- Roll the dough about 1/8 inch thick and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Place on greased cookie sheets.

- Bake 10 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven.  Will yield about (at least!) 12 dozen cookies.

 This time round we made half the quantity of dough, and still have more than enough cookies and dough to go around.  When we use the little star cutter we only need to bake the cookies for around 5 minutes, rather than the ten minutes of the recipe.  We found the original recipe here:

http://www.mindspring.com/~cborgnaes/    (under cookies and small cakes).

And just when you were thinking this was all about the baking and not so much the scissors and sticky tape, here is a quick scrapbook page I made about the delicious Danish Butter Cookies. 

I am still deciding if I want to put this in a Christmas album, a family traditions (old and new) album, or a recipe album, so I kept it kind of simple, and decided to go for an 8.5x11" layout (12x12 just seems a little cumbersome for a recipe book!)  Hidden behind the photo is some journaling explaining why it is we happened to have 231 cookies (plus enough dough over for another 231!) and how this Christmas catering 'tradition' is coming about.  The main part of the layout is simply the recipe, with some clear embossed stars (from the classic stars jumbo wheel) on the background card, just to fancy it up a little bit.  This was a quick layout to put together using the computer for the journaling and title, and I have to say, the recipe album idea is growing on me.

DIY backgrounds using little stamps

I have to start by saying that SU! have a fantastic range of stamps just perfect for baby projects - including the Nursery Necessities set I used to make this card.  With all those other options available, this pin stamp, cute as it is, wouldn't normally be my first choice.  Remembering though, that my challenge is to make use of those smaller stamps that are so often under utilized, and in particular the images from the Short and Sweet stamp set.  Nappy pin it is!

I am actually really pleased with how this card came out.  I have used the idea of repetition again, but this time in a random fashion to make my own patterned background.  Some of the pins are stamped twice before reinking, so you get a bit of variety in the depth of colour of that baja blue ink.   I used Night of Navy card to give the baja blue a little lift, and then finished it off with some sponging to soften the edges, and some matching baja ribbon.  When you have a ribbon that matches it is almost a crime not to use it!

I have also used this set to make backgrounds for scrapbook layouts, and not just on those mini projects.

The little heart outline was just perfect to stamp on the cocoa card strips for this 12 x 12 layout (although you may have to click on that photo and enlarge it to actually see it!)  The rose red strips had word stamps decorating them (including the 'love you' from short and sweet) and the rose red patterned paper pieces came from a single 6x6 piece - the photo and embellishments hide the joins so you would never know!

This is a layout that has been shown lots in real life, but pretty sure I haven't shown it here before.  It was full of experimentation and little challenges to myself - the first really girly, frilly, busy layout I had done, and still one of my favourites.  Makes me want to get the pretties kit out every time I see it.  It also reminds me, that after committing to sewing directly on the layout I discovered my sewing machine wasn't working like it should.  The repair man, after fixing it, told me he had never seen that particular problem before, and if it ever happened again I should bring it back IMMEDIATELY! Eek. I didn't tell him I had been using it to sew cardboard!  (and I haven't had the courage to use the machine again for anything, let alone scrapbooking!)

Maybe that should be my next challenge?!

A 'No Photos' Scrapbook Layout

Do you remember the first time you really noticed your own heart beat?  Heard it?  Or felt it booming away in your chest?  Wondered what it was, and were delighted when you found out? 

I don't. But I was lucky enough to be nearby when Bridie did, and what a wonder filled moment that was!  Now I am the first to admit that when it comes to scrapbooking big life moments like birthdays and christmas I am not so flash.  New PJs and heartbeats though?  Not so shoddy!

When I saw the look on Bridie's face, when I told her the 'popping' she could feel in her chest was actually her heart beating (wonder and delight!) I knew I had to capture the moment for her.  I was elbow deep in dinner preparations at the time, so didn't get a photo at the time.  I thought about posing her later - perhaps an arty farty closeup of her little hand, clutching her chest again?  But really, it was the look on her face, and the wonder she was feeling, that I wanted to remember - and re-enacting it half an hour later wouldn't be the same.

So...  I set myself a challenge.  Scrapbook it without a photo - just the story.  And while we are doing challenges, use a patterned paper (I'm a patterned paper junkie, but often struggle to get them, especially the 'busier' ones, to work on my layouts).  Abandon that idea of A4/letter size, and get back to 12 x 12, and lets have some white space (green space?!) And most of all?  Make it quick and simple!

The first thing I did was find a patterned paper (Raspberry Tart DSP), and then the card to match(Kiwi Kiss, and Pink Pirouette).  The good thing about layouts without photos?  Doesn't matter what colours you use!  I had the idea of a big heart outline in my mind, and with the 'make it fast' challenge in mind, got to work cutting one out freehand.  Type up the story, print and cut ('freehand' again).

Then figure out some embellishments to fancy it up a bit.  I was pleased that the Kiwi Kiss corduroy buttons from the spring mini catalogue were just the right colour, as I love, love, love them!  The ones with holes have a 'faux' thread (thin strip of patterned paper threaded through).  The buttons without holes are actually like big brads at the back.  The smaller hearts were also cut from the patterned paper.

I will admit that I was tempted to add some stamping to that big green background, but I resisted - quick and simple being the rule for the day.  The title is annoying me a bit.  The 'straight but freehand, so not really straight' cutting technique works fine for the journalling, but the title looks a little sloppy, darn it.  I was going to pull it off, but the 2 way gluepen (which was GREAT for sticking on all those little bitty strips!) was just sticking too well. 

And then I figured - it's done already, stick it in the album, and move on.

So I did.  And it feels great!

DIY alphabet background

I debated if I should share this layout or not. If I do, I get to show that I have started and finished a layout, but then I will also reveal how long it took. Although, the actual start to finish did only take a couple of hours. It was the time that had elapsed since Hayden had: 1 - requested the photo, and 2 - requested the layout (essentially the same breath) that was not so impressive.

There is no denying how long that was. The layout gives it all away. You see Hayden is a 'millennium baby' - born in the year 2000 (with a fancy 'millennium birth certificate to prove it!) Whatever year it happens to be now? That will be how old he is.

Cue the layout...

Seven. Seven. Seven.

Yep. He was aged seven, the date was 07.07.07, and the time we took the photo? Why 07:07 of course!

For two years now I have had an idea of what I wanted to do, but just hadn't quite gotten around to doing it. Until now. Time for some more 'DIY patterned paper' for the ultimate one off layout. I love how you can make your backgrounds look exactly the way you want by making them yourself. Remember this one?

I pulled out my alphabet stamps, and started stamping (and you know, when you look at a word for a while, and it suddenly doesn't look right? About half way through I was convinced that seven perhaps wasn't spelt s.e.v.e.n after all - argh!)

I decided to use versamark ink, and then clear emboss the letters, so that they would have a nice shine, and be a little more interesting. It didn't take that long - although I was sure to leave blank the spot that I knew would be covered over by the photo...

I knew I wanted to have the little bit of journaling (age, date, time) in strip form, but when it came time to see how it looked it kind of got lost a little in all those lovely shiny sevens...

I didn't want to cover all those lovely shiny sevens over, so what to do?

Vellum to the rescue. By placing vellum under the photo and journaling, it helped to anchor them all a bit, but didn't cover the background completely. Best of both worlds! Some brads to finish off, and the layout was finally in the album. I think I might be breaking out the vellum a little more often now!

from a quick card to a quick layout...

After making this quick card for the latest Kristina Werner Colour Challenge I got to thinking that it might also work well as a scrapbook project. I ummed and ahhed a bit over what size to make it - 12 x 12 or an A4 / 8.5 x 11 hybrid? The hybrid size won out because I had been wanting to do another of these for a while.

It was pretty much the same as the card, except this time I used rub on letters for the title, rather than stamps. I decided it didn't need any journaling, the title says it all, but then got to thinking - one day down the track would we want to know how old those crazy kids were when they did those silly things? What's so crazy about eating a carrot or wearing goggles anyway? I was going to make notes on the back of the layout - just in case, but decided instead to go with some 'hidden journaling' on a tag behind the photos. This meant attaching the photos to another piece of card, rather than straight onto the base card, to make a space for the tag.

I am really loving this colour combo (ballet blue, certainly celery, pumpkin pie, so saffron, riding hood red, and white). It has a really happy feel about it. The coloured hearts and white writing really pop off the ballet blue background. I think this might be my new favourite blue!

Oh, just in case you were thinking I had six children and where do I find the time for scrapbooking?! I actually have three children (two photos of each) and where the heck can I find some time to scrapbook?!

Scrapbooking with Kids - Bridie's Turn

As soon as Bridie (who turned three last month) saw that the boy's had their own scrapbooks to make, she of course wanted one of her own. I had pretty much figured that would be the case, but knowing that her one is more likely to have - shall we say - 'additional journalling and embellishments' added with time, courtesy of Miss Bridie, I was keen to make it a quick and simple little book. That way, it would be easier for me to let her do her thing with it, and actually enjoy it, rather than me hovering over her ready to say the words 'put that pen/scissors/sticky tape down now!'

Bridie wanted to help make the book too. So that was another reason for quick and simple! To start off I let her choose a patterned paper (from the 'retired pile' - stuff like that isn't important to kids!) and then we gathered some card to match. I trimmed the pages so that each was slightly longer than the previous one, and then to add a girly twist we punched out one side using the eyelet border punch. We then scored each page about 2cm from the opposite 'spine edge' just to make it easier to open the book when it was done. Lastly we punched holes along the 'spine' and used jumbo eyelets to hold it all together. That was the base of the book done.

Here is a quick look at the back of the book too. By attaching more jumbo eyelets at the back, inside of the first ones, you can make the back of your book look just as neat as the front.

When it came time to decide what to put in the book we encountered a few problems. Asking Bridie 'what do you want to scrapbook?' resulted in answers like 'my scrapbook'. Asking her 'which photos she would like to stick in there?' was also a little broad. So I ended up making an executive decision, and suggested we should make the book about our visit to Disneyland a few months back. She thought that was a good idea (whew!). From there it was much easier for her to choose her favourite photos from a much smaller selection, and we printed them out 'wallet size' here at home. I did the cutting out, and then we sorted them into piles - princesses in one pile, minnie's house in another etc. Together we stuck them all on. Bridie especially enjoyed putting the double sided tape on the back of the photos.

We attached all the photos at once, just so we don't lose any of them. Writing 'the story' though, is a process I am hoping we will be able to stretch out for a few days. That is a really interesting process in itself. Bridie chose which page she wanted to write about, and which colour pen to use, and then she tells me what to write.

Although I am sure that I would have written how much fun it was to visit Minnie Mouse, and how much Bridie loved exploring her house, I had definitely forgotten that Bridie had pretended to eat Minnie's food, and hadn't realised that it had made such an impression on her. Another reason why I am really enjoying these projects with my kids.

Holiday Scrapbook Kits for my Boys

This is a project that I am feeling really excited about. In an attempt to better document my children's perspectives of the adventures they are having I decided to have the boys scrapbook those adventures themselves! Hayden is 9 so should be able to manage this fine, Campbell is 5 - he will be dictating any journaling and I will write it for him.

Other than that, I am hoping I will be able to let them do their thing. Hoping. I may find myself jumping in with a suggestion here and there, and obviously the basis of it all was my doing, but still, better than all done by me, right?

So here is the holiday scrapbook box. It includes albums, spare pages, embellishments, and any bits and pieces they gather along the way, that are waiting to be included in their scrapbooks.

I made two mini albums (8 x 8 inches - not so big that it is intimidating, but big enough to fit those treasures I am sure they will accumulate!) The colours came straight from a Kristina Werner Challenge a few weeks back - nice and summery (oh yes, we get to enjoy two summers this year!) and perfect for boys. Apart from a couple of little differences on the front, so we can tell them apart, the albums are the same. I decided to stick with the same colours for both, so that the box of goodies could just be divided between them without, hopefully, any arguments.


To get them started I have made a few pages of various sizes and colours. A few are already in the albums (to give it an actual album feel - it was amazing how excited they were to see those few blank pages waiting for them in THEIR albums!) The rest are waiting in the box. I have also included a few envelopes and memo cards (some decorated with a strip of patterned paper, some not). I wasn't sure how into it they would be when I first was putting it all together, so tried to keep it nice and simple (I figured I could always recycle those pages for something else!) The boys know too, that if they need something else - different size or colour etc, we can make it to suit.
Also in the box, a selection of embellishments - punched shapes, stamped images and journaling squares, strips of patterned paper for borders, and card for titles. Once again, this is just a starting point. We can add any other embellishments as we go along.

So how is it going? Better than I had hoped! Both boys are really excited about this project. I was a little worried that it might feel a bit too much like holiday homework (not the intention, but, just quietly, an added bonus of a project like this!) but so far that hasn't been the case. They are excited to choose photos, and put the pages together. We have had a few fun activities happening over the past couple of weeks, so there is a bit of catch up to do. Letting them choose what they want to document, when, is part of the fun for them. Interesting for me too. I was sure that Campbell would want to start with his T Ball classes - he has really been enjoying them, and so looks forward to Mondays at the moment. But no. The thing he most wanted to document .... when Daddy hid Jaffas (yummy NZ candy for those North American readers!) in the popcorn when we had a movie night last week. Here it is...


Confession time. That isn't the actual popcorn. We didn't take a photo at the time. Campbell suggested we could maybe make some more and take a photo of that. Ulterior motives perhaps? Maybe. Stunt popcorn tastes delicious! As for those jaffas - I might have suggested that we could maybe use this circle punch to make some.... but Campbell picked the red card, did the punching, cut one in half and requested that I please write 'chomp' next to that one. Such a fun thing to do together!

And check out this proud boy showing Daddy his first scrapbook page...

This project just gets better and better! (did I mention Miss Bridie yet? Oh yep - she wants in on the action too - tune in next time for Bridie's Mini Album!)

Aiming to scrapbook from a different perspective

A couple of weeks ago I had a reminder that my children see the world differently from me, a lot of the time. That isn't a new thing. Most mornings I ask Bridie what she wants for breakfast, and she replies, with total outrage in her voice, she doesn't want breakfast, she wants FOOD!! Just to clarify, most times, when Bridie wants FOOD, she actually means potato chips. And there I was thinking breakfast was food too! (For the record - she doesn't get potato chips!) Different perspectives - it's kind of hard to miss.

When it comes to documenting their adventures and achievements though, I am guilty of forgetting about that. Most times I am documenting what I think is important, the way that I saw it, and hoping that they like the final product. They do (whew), but they are liking the way Mummy documented her perspective of their activity. This month I am aiming to include a lot more of their own perspective in my projects, their projects, our projects.

So how to go about doing that? I have a few ideas, and a couple of projects that we have started on. I want this mixture of perspectives to be the beginning of an ongoing change, so I am thinking these ideas and projects need to be easy things, or they might not happen.

• Maybe the easiest thing to do will be handing the camera over. This is not a new thing - we have done it before, but actually using those photos for a project is the next crucial step. Juggling one camera between three children will also prove interesting (and may even be worthy of a scrapbook layout of its own!) We are about the head off for a few days holiday, so we shall see how that goes...


• Getting their input into my layouts - especially those layouts about things we have experienced together. That is not difficult, right? Finding out what did they like? What did they not like? What was their favourite bit? We all went to a symphony orchestra concert at an incredible outdoor venue at the weekend. On the way home we asked them for one word to describe the evening. Bridie said 'the music was AMAZING'. Hayden wanted to go with amazing too, but changed it to EXCITING. Campbell summed it all up with 'WOO HOOO!' Are those not great words for a layout?


• There is a park nearby that we go to often. It has occurred to me that we all love it there, and all for different reasons. Bridie loves the playground. Campbell loves that he plays T Ball there. Hayden loves looking for bugs, and wildlife. Peter was amazed to see a wild deer roaming around. And I am loving taking photos of all the beautiful wild flowers and plants. Next time we go I am planning on taking photos of every one's favourite bits and putting it together on a layout. Watch this space!!


• Perhaps the thing I am most excited about, are the 'holiday scrapbook kits' I have made up for the boys. Of course then Bridie wanted one too. Mini albums for them to scrapbook themselves, with a little help as required. So far so good - the kids are as excited as I am. Campbell has 'scheduled a meeting' for tomorrow morning. When I am reading the newspaper, he has asked that I please come into his room so we can have a talk about his scrapbook. Bridie wants to write some more of her 'story' tomorrow please, and Hayden has requested we print out some photos tomorrow so he can get stuck in. Did I mention we are supposed to be going on holiday tomorrow kids? LOVING the enthusiasm!

So that is the plan so far. Does any one have any other good ideas for scrapbooking with children? Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Oh, and sorry about all the words (and no pictures) this post. I promise, we have photos coming - especially now there are FOUR scrapbookers in the house!

Time for a Scrapbook Layout

As I have mentioned here before, Bridie sure does love her baby dolls, even more than her birdy pyjamas. Since the birdy pjs have a layout of their own, I figured it was time the dolls got in on the act too.

This layout is actually a little while overdue. I first started thinking about it way back when I was dyeing these flowers. Unfortunately, the original idea that looked awesome in my head, did not translate so well to paper. Sigh. Don't you hate it when that happens? So I set it aside for a while, and had a rethink. Version two didn't really do it either. More time passes. Until this week, as I had a bit of a tidy up of my craft 'room', rediscovered this project, and decided enough was enough, stick it down already!

So that's what I did. Punch out a few more flowers, rearrange some stuff, and STICK IT DOWN! I love it when you can make all your own embellishments to perfectly match your project. These ones were inspired by the dress Bridie was wearing in the photo. Flowers, hearts, and lines for the long stems. The crimped pieces were intended to mimic the texture of the fabric.

Ingredients for this one (All SU!):

• pink pirourette, pacific point, certainly celery, bashful blue, and white card stock
• pacific point ink, brilliant blue stampin'write marker, and pink pirouette ink (for dyeing the flowers, and sponging the edges of the pink card)
• 'ABC Alphabet lower' stampset
• Fabric flowers from the Pretties Kit
• Rhinestone Brads (ice, round)
• Punches: 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, Small Oval, Heart to Heart
• Crimper

Now to go and find what else is lurking in the half done pile!

Saying Goodbye

The past few days have been sad ones in our house. Not only did we have to say goodbye to our visitors yesterday (and I have to say, although they weren't exactly noisely, it sure is quiet around here today, and we are missing them a lot!) we have also been saying goodbye to our Gran, who passed away on Thursday.

One of the things that I enjoy most about this hobby, is sharing it with friends and family. Not only by giving cards etc, but also sharing the opportunity to create stuff, especially with my children. I love that they enjoy and appreciate what I do (craft stuff anyway, not so much the laundry etc!) and that they can join in. I wanted to suggest to them that perhaps we could make Gran some cards, but Bridie beat me to it - asking if they couldn't please draw Gran a picture. Better and better. Something they really wanted to do, and not just to make Mummy happy.

They all sat down to their creating, and Hayden and Bridie were soon happy with what they had done. Campbell on the other hand, surprised us with the time and care he took over his picture, first carefully drawing it with pencil, and then colouring it all in. He was at it a long time. He asked me to write a message on the back, and then added some more drawing there.

The thing that struck me the most about his drawing was the fact that Gran - who he had drawn first, had something in her hand. Since the rest of the drawing involved planets, and rockets and the like, I feared that what Gran had might be some kind of laser, or gun, or other favourite boy accessory. When I asked Campbell what it was, he told me it was Gran's walking stick (with a 'how can you not know that?!' look on his face).

Of course. Gran's walking stick. It was a relatively recent (past couple of years) addition to Gran's life, and is not really something I think of when I think of her. For Campbell though, that walking stick is a major part of Gran's identity (He and Bridie both were quite partial to that walking stick!) - so much so - that it was right there with her in his picture.

I have been thinking about this a lot since then. The different ways that we see, and remember things. It occured to me that this has huge significance when it comes to scrapbooking. Most of my scrapbooking is about my family - especially the kids - and milestones big and small, that they are experiencing. Things that I think are important, and with the exception of perhaps this layout, where Hayden had some input, all are entirely done from my perspective.

I am thinking I might need to change that.

I did have a couple of projects rolling around in my head already that were going to involve the boys creative input. I am thinking that I need to get them out of my head and into the 'box' and really make them happen.

Vague, I know. Once they are out of my head, I will share them, I promise.

The Waterlily Gardens Layout

Wow - I think this is the longest I have gone between posts. I feel like a slacker! We have been so busy exploring with our visitors, taking LOTS of photos, but other than that, not really being so creative. Except of course, the baking of 231 butter cookies for Hayden's cultural fair at school yesterday, and the recreation of 'cool belts like the Indians make' for Campbell and Bridie (did manage stamping, embossing, and eyelets on those!)

So here is a layout from a while ago. We had had a family trip to the very lovely waterlily gardens in Waihi, and I decided to try to recreate the waterlilies on a layout...

At the time 'Bodacious Bouquet' was the stamp set I had that was most likely to resemble waterlilies (if you squint your eyes a little!) and I was quite pleased with how it turned out. The lily pads were just flowers (I am thinking from another stamp set?) with a cut up the middle. Attached in random fashion, with some of the 'leaves' and flowers raised up with stampin dimensionals. The block of photos (6 photos, punched into squares) is also raised from the celery and blush mat, using dimensionals (having first attached the photos to a piece of hidden card to make life a little easier!)

Of course no waterlily garden would be complete without a dragonfly, the perfect 'DIY' embellishment. I first stamped it in place using celery ink on the celery 12 x 12 card, then stamped again on vellum, cutting out just the wings, and attached them over the dragonfly that was already stamped on the card. I added another card body over top of the wings using a dimensional (partly to hide the adhesive showing through the vellum) and added a couple of brad eyes. Because the wings are slightly offset, it kind of gives the impression the dragonfly is actually flying...

With only two days of school left for Hayden, we are in need of more teachers gifts - that promises a good chance of another post soon. If all goes well! On the other hand, Rocky Mountain National Park is calling us!

Wild about Animals

Argh! I have just spent the morning (well, part of the morning) cleaning the plastic toy animals from Campbell's school. Incidentally, I discovered in the process, baking soda is great for getting those annoying marks off the soft plastic toys. While I sat there, leaning over the bath, scrubbing, with my fingers getting pruney, I got to thinking about this layout...

It's an old favourite, that some of you will have seen before, but it fitted with the theme for the day, so I figured I would share it again anyway. We have a good supply of animals ourselves, thanks to Santa, and all the kids play with them a lot. They were an early favourite of Bridie.

Although she was pretty good at keeping the animals contained back then, this layout was supposed to show them all spilling out of the box. I wanted the stamped animals and the photo to kind of blend together. I stamped them out on white card and then cut them out - that was the trickiest part of the layout - then positioned them over the edge of the photo, and across the bottom of the layout, some of them upside down and topsy turvy.

I used the sentiment from the Stamp set as a title for this layout, and with the darker cardstock, this was the perfect opportunity to pull out that white gel pen for some quick journalling. I won't mention the colours used here, as they are long retired in colours. The stamp set though, is still available - the very versatile 'Wild About You'.

And now I have to do some emergency repairs on a beanie baby monkey - poor guy, it seems his arm is falling off (oh yep, we've been cleaning the beanie animals too - it's a regular zoo round here at the moment!)

In the blink of an eye...

First a confession - this isn't a new project, but I thought I might share it anyway, because it kind of fits in with the 'Arthur Howard' theme I have been running with lately.

A couple of years ago, we were watching Hayden do something, I don't remember what now (good story so far?!) and it suddenly struck me that he was growing up. Fast. When the heck did that happen?! So I asked Peter - when did Hayden get so big? and at the exact same time as he replied 'gradually', I thought to myself - 'in the blink of an eye'. Thoughts that followed this...

1. Boys and girls see things differently!


2. Wouldn't that be great for a scrapbook page?


3. Perfect for the Ali Edwards layout I saw in that mag - now which mag was it...? (for the record, it was Creating Keepsakes, July 2006, p76

Hayden was born pre digital camera - so we have a LOT of actual photos of those first few years. (We have a LOT of photos of Campbell and Bridie too, but they are of the digital variety - not actual prints). Many of those photos are bad, or duplicates, or fuzzy etc - they are never going to feature on a layout of their own. But on a layout like this, they are perfect! Just cut them into circles, size depending on the photo, and you are good to go. There were 14 photos on this layout....

fourteen!

Not to mention some stuff from the stash

(at the time Hayden was 7).

Now this really was a super quick and easy layout - perfect for clearing out those shoeboxes of photos (sorting through the photos was probably the longest bit). A little bit of handwritten journalling around the outside of the page (part journaling/part frame) and there it is - still one of my favourite layouts. Other than a piece of cardstock, and all the photos, the ingredients for this one were simple - some Autumn Leaves rub on lettering, Tim Holtz Design 'H', '7' and tape measure strip, and a black pen.

If you were impressed by the fact that two years on, I could not only remember the ingredients, but also the page number of the magazine that had the original Ali Edwards layout, then I have a little secret. Although I would like to lay claim to a freakishly mega memory, it is pretty clear that that is not the case. It all comes down to what is happening behind the scenes....

Yep, right there on the back of the layout - ingredients, inspiration, and of course the date and a name. Maybe you all do this already, but if you don't, you should start! One day you might need to know that stuff!

'Standard' sizes for scrapbook layouts

and more on the A4/letter hybrid, previously referred to as 'this size'

Possibly I am the only one who needs an explanation on this one, but just in case you all think I am going crazy, I am going to explain the thinking anyway!

As you may know - 'standard' card sizes are different in NZ/Aust and America.

In NZ we have 'A4' - 21 x 29.6ish cm (based on a quick measure of the nearest piece of card). In America they have 'letter' - 8.5 x 11 inches. A4 and letter are not the same size. A4 is narrower, and taller than letter. Not by a whole lot, but when your card is A4, and your page protectors are 8.5x11inches, there will be a bit sticking out the top. It will also not be quite as wide as the page protector.

This is where the 'hybrid' comes in. Obviously, having part of the layout, even if it isn't a whole lot (1.5ish cm) sticking out the top of the page protector is not desirable. I trimmed this bit off before I started the layout. This time round I didn't worry about the difference in width. The card was only a little smaller (around 0.5cm) so I figured not enough that it will fall out of the protector. If you really wanted a snug fit, you could add a bit on the side, but, I couldn't be bothered. Instead I have ended up with a layout that is A4 width, and letter height - a hybrid - 'this size'. Is this what other people have done? - or have I just put way too much thought into this one?!

The same thing happens with what I consider the more 'traditional' 12x12 layouts.

In America they have 12 x 12 inches - while in NZ we have 30 x 30cm. We also have 12 x 12, because lots of stuff comes from the US, but, stuff from NZ is often 30 x 30cm.

30 x 30 cm is often refered to as 12 x 12, but it is not quite the same as 12 x 12 inches. (Have I confused you yet?!) 30 x 30 is slightly (about 5mm in both directions) smaller. This would only be a problem if you did 12 x 12 layouts, and then tried to put them in a 30x30 album. I know this because I tried to rearrange my layouts once, and discovered that several wouldn't fit in the nice new album I had bought especially. Darn it! I now make a point of trimming all my 12 x 12 inch layouts to 30 x 30cm, before I start the layout, just in case a rearrange is needed in the future.

I am guessing that if you are in America this is not even an issue - all your supplies will be intended for your market. In NZ, it is only an issue when you are mixing supplies from NZ and elsewhere. And maybe that isn't a problem at all? Maybe it is just me?

Anything is better than folding laundry. Even trimming 5mm off the edges of my layouts!

When you were 8, now you are 9...

Here it is. The first of the Arthur Howard picture book inspired projects. (See this post if you have no idea what that is all about!)

This project was a direct CASE of the book (remembering the book was 'when I was five... now I am six...'). It is a double page layout, but one of the things I really like about this idea, is that each page would work just as well as a separate, stand alone layout. I'm going to put them in the album together, but one day down the track, if we want to change it around, we can. That way I also get to count it as two projects. That is important. I need all the projects I can get on the done pile!

So, to the details. The colour of the card and patterned papers is Baja Breeze - I think this may be a happy replacement for the recently retired soft sky that I was rather fond of. The numbers were from the great SU 'Simon Lower' chipboard set- also recently retired (I know, that is not helpful to you, but hey - check me out! I'm using stuff from stash!) covered with the baja paper, then sponged with a little ink around the edges. Letters for the titles were rubons from a pack I got from Warehouse Stationery in Tauranga, a while ago - Color Rubz 'Upper West Side' by Scrapworks. Great value! I will be sad when I finally get to the end of the pack (more stash stuff used though!)

Another paper from the Baja Patterns paper pack was used for the layout background panel, and a third paper was used for the journaling blocks (the lines on the paper made that easier).

To add a little interest, (and because I was experimenting a bit!) I wet the edges of the patterned papers, and rolled them up to create a border. Wetting the paper first makes it easier to crumple it the way you want, and an added bonus is that when it dries it stays where you put it. I used an aqua painter, but a wet cotton bud will do the job just as well.

These double sided papers were especially good for this technique - you get to see a hint of the reverse, but because the same colours are used it is kind of a subtle effect - not too in your face and distracting.

That was about as complicated as it got. The rockets were cut from a basic grey patterned paper and the dinosaurs were stamped using the prehistoric pals stamp set, and a mixture of old olive and choc chip ink (NZ readers, pretend you didn't read that bit about the dinosaur stamps - hopefully this stamp set will be coming to a mini catalogue near you soon!)

Most of the journaling was in the boxes, but some I added around the outside of the photos and the rocket/dinosaur. I am really liking the idea of journaling that doubles as a frame. I think this is also a good way to get started with handwritten journaling if you are not usually a fan (I used to HATE it!) - somehow it just isn't quite so in your face as a big block of journaling might be.

I think what I like best about this project, is that Hayden got to have some input. Often, other than posing for photos, or saying or doing something silly/funny/clever etc, my kids don't get a lot of input into how the projects get put together. This time it was all about what Hayden's interests and activities were - and who better to tell me what they were than Hayden himself! I really enjoyed seeing him look at the finished project, and see what I had done with his ideas - the things that were important to him. A wonderful reminder of why it is we do this scrapbooking thing!

A little bit of blog stuff to end on - I am still trying to figure out why the heck some photos can be enlarged when you click on them, and some (all of these!) don't. Sorry about that. Any ideas please let me know!