Let's Get to Scrapping!

Although I started crafting a bunch after I went to a Stampin' Up party and got some rubber stamps, I really dove into scrapbooking more than stamping. Then, that got replaced by card making, because scrapbook pages took me sooo long to finish. It was fun to do, but I found making cards so much faster and just as fun.

But I have a million photos and wanted to scrapbook with some of them, so I challenged myself to do 10 pages in 2 weeks. It's one week tomorrow and I have half, so I guess I'm right on schedule.

For this page, I went super simple, with a busy patterned paper, matted photos and minimal journaling. I wanted to document 80s Day at my son's high school in 2015, since I'm an 80s kid and Ben raided his dad's closet to get the tie, Miami Vice jacket and sunglasses. It's the Circle of Life, my friends...lol.

For this next page, I went with a slightly more complicated for this photo. My son indulged me by letting me photograph his Braces Off Day and the goodies the orthodontist gave him, but I'm pretty sure he was just rolling his eyes at me when I wasn't looking.

I used a cork-look paper and lined paper to give it a kind of school feel, with little rubber teeth from a promotional brush-your-teeth rubber bracelet from a dentist. I didn't add any journaling at all to this one, except I wrote lookin' good in a font similar to the stickers I used for the title. I tucked in some die cut ticket things and two journaling cards and added an arrow and enamel dots to mimic pushpins on a cork board.

I do prefer the bottom page, even though it took more time with me flipping through my supplies to find just what I wanted, but it did take longer of course. The process of trying to find the right elements is what makes this fun for me.

I'll keep going on my 5 pages, but if I get too close to deadline, I might throw in another fast and simple page like the top. There's something to be said for getting those memories down, no matter what. 

Happy Friday!

Chark

Family Friday

I've been sorting though photos and found a couple I had put away for a scrapbook page. My mom had a photo from a 1955 that I've seen since I was a kid. She's sitting on a moon while visiting Lake Erie. We also have a photo of my husband's mom and dad sitting on the same moon at Buckeye Lake, a resort area in Ohio. I've always loved these photos.

We were visiting a museum a couple years ago and saw an exhibit on the popularity of these moon photo booths in the 50s. They had a moon to pose with, of course every one of us posed with it. I made sure to print my daughter's photo in sepia and then made this page of my mom and my daughter. It makes me pretty happy!

I went with a book and star paper I had in my stash because I felt it was perfect for the story of my two favorite women. I used pink glitter photo corners, because it needed a little fun. The photos sixty years apart and my mom is 19, while my daughter is 23.

I'm also sorting through my mom's pics and she has these in her collection. The guys I don't know and will have to ask if she knows. The left pic is her mom, her grandma and her two great-uncles. My grandmother is about 15 here after they came to America from Hungary, about 1906. I love finding old pics of family. But they are definitely fragile. 

They're photos that have had details painted onto them, which is something some photographers did. I think because their photos weren't that good! Just a guess. Maybe they thought it made them look better. I'll have to research a bit and see what I find.

Happy Friday!
Chark

Happy Pineapple Day

So, today is Pineapple Day and although it's not my most favorite fruit, I do like it once in a while. And I definitely like it in Pina Coladas or cake form :) One way my mom used pineapple was in these Soft Pineapple cookies. They are so tasty, though she always added some buttercream frosting and this recipe doesn't call for it. They are very soft cakey cookies, which is probably why I like them frosted!

If you want to celebrate Pineapple Day, you could always buy this adorable partial die from Hero Arts or the color layering stamps over at a2z Scrapbooking. Pineapples are pretty popular right now in the craft world, perhaps since pineapples can be a sign of welcome. 

Although while we were visiting an old plantation near Baton Rouge, they told us that guests received a pineapple on the breakfast tray when it was time for their visit to be up. We found that kinda funny--hey, nice seeing you, take this pineapple and get out now.

While I didn't feature any pineapples, I did make a scrap page (it's been awhile since I made one) with my new Pretty Little Studio goodies. I think I should probably get a commission from them since I'm so enamored lately :)

I'm loving the bright colors of the Hello Heather collection and the gold striped paper is so lovely. You can see the shine of the stripes on the right edge. 

I added some gold die cut hearts (that they threw in for free--they always give a little something free in my orders!) and used a 12x12 sheet of teal shimmer paper.

I think it's pretty colorful and fun for this pic of my daughter. The black word die cuts and tiny phrase were from the same Heather collection and the ampersand was a gold sticker from PLS. They look good together I think. 

Happy Monday!

Chark

Throwback Monday

Ok, it's not Thursday, but I thought I might do a throwback post any way. Here is my first scrapbook page, in our Vacation Travel Scrapbook. I thought we needed a scrapbook because we plan to see all fifty states and my husband's idea was to see them alphabetically.

Of course, I thought he was crazy since we drove to the farthest point in Alabama from Ohio with an infant, but the baby did fine and we had a blast. We were saving Alaska and Hawaii for when the kids were old enough to remember them and now we saving them because our kids are making us broke! :) We'll get there one day, just not now.

This is our very first state and my very first page. Here in the close-up you can admire my use of decorative edge scissors and trimmed ephemera from the guidebooks, apparently we stayed at a Days Inn. 

Of course, my favorite part is the adorable kids in the photo, sitting on the edge of the minivan eating candy from Miss Colleen's Kitchen near Gulf Shores. We had to go there, since our daughter is our very own Miss Colleen. She was excited to see her name there and more excited to eat a yellow chocolate sucker.

We're on the letter M now and turns out, we have a lot of states that start with M. We've seen Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan and now we have four more M states to go. This year is Minnesota. So if you have any suggestions on what to see there, be sure to let me know!

I still need to scrap the Michigan page in the official Travel Scrapbook and I'll probably use some beach themed items from Pretty Little Studio, since we went to the lake. They have a new collection that I'm coveting, along with some vintage die cuts. Love PLS, where I keep getting pretty things to hoard use. I promise I will use them soon! (I'm not affiliated, just like them). I bought this little die cut and lurve it, but still not sure what I'll do with it. Probably a baby page from when my old kids (15 and 21) were babies.

Happy Throwback Monday...Throwback Thursday really does sound better, doesn't it?

Chark

Easter Means Chickies

Got the cutest chick stamps from 2 Cute Ink digital stamps, printed him on kraft and colored him up with my Prismacolor pencils. Then I realized I had some pics from last Easter's egg hunt (so sad, one kid at college means a one-kid hunt but he's all for it still, so that's good) that I could scrap. So I did! 

You might notice that the Hulk (who is attached to the pick-up) is holding an egg. That one took the son awhile to find. I'm not the fastest scrapper or the best, but I enjoy it and I loved being able to use the chicky stamp on the page. Ever stamp, digital or rubber, on your scrapbook pages?

Happy Friday!

Chark

Life's A Beach

I managed to do another beach scrap page, even though I didn't take a thousand pictures. I liked the ones I took and they motivated me to scrap. I like the beginning of this page, but it feels unfinished. I need a title and maybe a little design help.

I'm taking suggestions if you have any. Where would you put the title? and journaling? Do you like the center cards or not? 

In the meantime, today is...

Women's Equality Day

"Women’s Equality Day commemorates 26th August 1920 when votes to women officially became part of the US constitution." And it now represents how organizations support women's education and right to live free of violence across the globe. Now that's worth celebrating! Thanks for the info, Days of the Year. 

I highly recommend Iron Jawed Angels with Hilary Swank. It's a gorgeous piece of film that I got out from the library and opened my eyes. I will never take voting for granted again.

Happy Wednesday!
Chark

Easter Cuteness

If you're a scrapper, you probably have older pictures that need scrapped...or maybe you don't. I had these from 2008 (don't judge) and finally got them on a page. The Doodlebug Easter Parade paper and stickers I got were just too cute to leave on the shelf. 

The series of pics are of my son completely missing an egg and it was kinda cracking me up...wait, crack, egg...I made a pun! Still, it was funny because it was like he assumed it would just appear if he kept looking in the same place. And our daughter immediately starting eating her candy before her brother even finished finding his. Kids!

I made these journaling cards out of the paper and added some washi and the little critter stickers. For the background, I started with a white page, sponged on some Distress Inks in random order (Picked Raspberry, Lemonade, Peacock Blue)  around the outer edge of the paper and added more Doodlebug patterned paper. It was actually a really quick page and that's saying something for me. I'm definitely a slow scrapper.

Happy Easter!
Chark

Welcome Back!

If you're like me and you took a break from blogging and regular life during the holidays, welcome back! It's nice to let things slide for a few days and just enjoy the family and laze about. So I did. Hope Santa was as good to you as he was to me—I still have a few gift cards to spend, so I'm looking forward to that.

I just completed this page about my son using the JCPenney portrait that I had made. It's 10x10 and I bought it specifically to scrap. I love the different pictures they put on it and the background is actually his shirt.

I used this Carta Bella gaming paper, foam Thickers, a wood @ symbol and wrote a few words and called it a day. Often my journaling can be brief, even though I'm a writer by trade. How about you? Do you journal a lot or a little? I just think a title and a the pics can say it all...sometimes. 

Happy Monday!
Chark

Fearless Friday

I am fearlessly going to post my very first scrapbook page from 2001. My husband and I decided to see all fifty states and it was his idea to see them in alphabetical order. I knew we'd need a scrapbook of our adventures, so I bought one and picked up a few die cuts. And now for the reveal...Alabama, please step forward.

 

What I love about this page is how stinkin' cute the kids are. I have teenagers now (although only one more week til my oldest is 20!) and I think seeing them as youngsters is one of the many benefits of scrapbooking. I had my daughter write and draw on the page too, just for history's sake.

For the first few years I did only the vacation pages, once a year. Then I got the bug and started making more pages of events, everyday happenings and celebrations. 

Here's a page five years later, where I handmade most of the accents. I watercolored the beach, doodled the words and played around.

I started spending time online and I heard how people had a supply "stash" and heard stories of organizing and purging supplies. I couldn't believe people had so much stuff they couldn't keep track of it.

Years passed and I have to say officially, I have actually purchased an item I already had because I forgot I had it. sigh. I have become a hoarder, a woman who loves pretty things and buys supplies "just in case." I don't buy jewelry or purses or shoes to get my fill of loveliness, I buy artsy supplies. 

And, you know what? I'm ok with that. I like my craft closet! I like my paints and inks and stamps and Stickles! I like knowing my kids and my friends will say, "I knew you'd have something I could use."

Scrapbooking, card making and other papery crafts just make me happy. They make me feel talented and competent and artsy. They make me feel creative and, when I make something, I can usually find a good use for it. So I am fearlessly showing you my first page because it was the first step toward the creative life I now lead and the outlet that made it possible. 

Things may not always turn out the best and I roll my eyes looking at my old pages, but I won't remake them to update how they look. They have a story to tell too, about our life and about what I've learned along the way. 

I think it's cool when someone likes my pages or cards, but here's a little secret—I don't make my scrapbooks for future generations and my cards have only a secondary purpose of wishing someone happy birthday. I make them because I enjoy the process...I make them for me. 

Shhh! Don't tell anyone that I don't actually care if the kids toss the pages after I've gone. I made them for me and me alone. Because I have a creative itch to scratch and it makes me happy to jump in and make something. I hope you enjoy your process too and don't feel a bit fearful of looking back at older art...even if you shake your head at the sticker sneezes you made once upon a time.

Happiest of weekends!
Chark
p.s. We're on M in the alphabet now of visiting the continental US in alphabetical order (we'll get to Alaska and Hawaii in time). There are a LOT of M states. Michigan is next year and I'm already planning the official scrapbook page.