Nathalie Squares

I was flipping through the latest "Creating Keepsakes" and found this simple layout that I just loved. It's just a plain paper with squares of patterned paper to form a background. A couple of embellishments and a photo. Just up my alley.

So, I grabbed one of my Basic Grey packages and chose 5 sheets of patterned paper that I liked. I knew that anyones that I chose from that package would go together, so I just picked the ones I liked best. I cut a bunch of 2x2" squares and inked the edges with Dark Brown Chalk Ink. I stamped a couple stitches borders and added a sticker or two and the matted photo. I really like how it turned out and it really was so quick.

Tiny Hands, Tiny Feet

The other day, I sat down to scrapbook and wanted a quick page. I grabbed some tan cardstock and went in search of paper which would go with it. I ended up with this peachy pink dotted paper which was so outside my normal zone. I thought I'd go with it and see where it led. I get tired of always using the same colours. From the dotted paper, I managed to find two colours of cardstock which would match, which was rather impressive since they are not colours I would normally buy. But it was meant to be.

What resulted was a layout I really like. It's simple, but I still like how it turned out. And I even like the peachy salmon colours.

I'm Back

I got back super late Sunday night (really early Monday morning) and have been feeling rather overwhelmed as I try to get caught up. Needless to say, there hasn't been any crafting going on. I am quite excited to start working on my Vegas scrapbook. I just need to wait for a bunch of my friends to send me the photos and then I'm going to see what I can do with it all. I have a bunch of ideas in my head, so hopefully I don't lose them before I start.

In the meantime, however, here is an older layout of mine. My sister was over one day and we wanted to scrapbook, but weren't feeling creative. So, I flipped through a magazine and stopped on the first simple layout I saw and made us both create based on that. Sometimes doing those quick, simple, copied layouts really gets me excited and motivated again. The heart is Grungeboard which I inked using Distress Inks. Very quick and simple embellishment.


I also want to say a huge Congratulations to my friend, Jackie, who was one of the top 5 winners on the Flourishes Blog Contest. You can see her card here. You can visit her awesome blog here.

So Simple

I love the simple clean look, which is good for me since I don't seem to have a lot of time to create really detailed and in depth pages.

Here is a page that really is a 5 minute layout. Just mat the photo and add an embellishment (this is a cut out from my Cricut - Pagoda) and then either stamp a title, use a sticker as I did or print the title as I did.

Brown Eyed Girl

I did a photoshoot when Kayla was maybe about 3. I caught this picture and what really stood out to me is her big brown eyes. They're gorgeous. One of my favorite songs is "Brown Eyed Girl" so I chose a simple layout and the song title as my title.

I made some vellum tags with my Tag Maker and then just embellished them with buttons. It's a simple layout, but one of my favorites.

It's been awhile

How does it get to be so long in between posts?? I haven't been stamping much lately. I've done some scrapbooking, but not this week, so I guess I figured I didn't have as much to say. I'll try to fix that. I have tons of card scans, so I'll try to post some of those.

Here is a really quick layout I did of Eric (have I mentioned that I'm almost caught up to his 5th birthday??? Just a few more layouts and I can put his book away and sigh a bit of relief). Eric is very dramatic and I joke that he's my little Drama Queen. I can't imagine him as a teenager. I took this photo and it reminded me of his nature, so I wanted to try to capture that.


It's a pretty basic layout. I matted my photo and then just stamped a little frame with a Magenta stamp. To figure out where I wanted the frame, I just marked the four corners of the photo and then removed it and stamped my frame. I cut out a couple pieces of matching paper using Spellbinders Labels 8, but they seemed to get lost, so I inked the edges in a dark navy ink. I wanted to journal on my one label, so I just measured it and typed it out on the computer and printed it on bond paper. Then, using repositional adhesive, I stuck it over where it had printed on the bond paper and ran it through the printer again and it printed perfectly on my label which I then adhered to my layout.

Core'dinations

I didn't get a chance to stamp or scrapbook today. Sadly, work took over and I had to actually get some things done. I'm really hoping my sister comes over tomorrow and scrapbooks so that I can keep my motivation going.

I did want to post though. I found a scrapbook page I did a couple of months ago. It's another one of Eric (I have been working on his album and trying to get it caught up since I'm not as far behind in his as I am in Kayla's). We were at my parent's acreage when one of the mares foaled. The kids got to see a baby horse less than an hour old. Although Eric was a bit young, I still thought it was an incredible experience.

I did a simple page with some patterned paper and then layered some core'dinations brown paper on top. I sanded the edges and distressed it a bit to make it fit in with the theme. Then I just needed to mat the photos and stick it all down.

I do want to thank everyone who has visited and posted. I really enjoy reading the comments. I'm going to run my contest for another day or two and then do a draw. I'll post the winner this weekend. Good luck!

Smile

I wanted to do another quick layout today, but all of a sudden it was 8:00 and I hadn't gotten into my craft room. But I did it.

One of the reasons I wanted to start blogging was to showcase different ways to use product. I love reading about what others do and so I wanted to share too. And I didn't want to inundate my customers with a ton of emails, so those who are interested can read at their leisure. I'm going to be ramping it up a bit and starting some contests and giving away some prizes. Stay tuned!

I have done most of my major layouts for Eric's 4th year. I have a few single layouts left, then his birthday layout and a couple miscellaneous ones with extra photos I haven't yet used. I found this picture and knew this is the page I wanted to do. Although the photo is just a year and a half old, I can't believe that's him. He's changed so much! We have a big rock in front of our house and the kids love to sit on it and pose for photos. This one was taken Easter 2009. I knew I wanted a simple layout and so I basically just matted the photo and added a title. The title is made from Grungepaper which I love! You can cut it with a die cut or I cut it with my Cricut. Then you can make whatever shape or letter, in whatever size you want. Then you can colour, spritz, ink, stamp on it. It is just about impossible to wreck it. Even if you soak it with liquid, it doesn't peel or get all fuzzy.

Grungepaper has a right and wrong side. The right side is soft, kind of like suede. The back side isn't soft and has a criss-cross type pattern. I cut my Grungepaper with my Cricut. I got a new mat out because my old one wasn't very sticky and you want lots of stick. I typed in my title and then cut it on multicut with high pressure. It was fine. I just used my regular (not deep) blade. Then I inked my letters with Blue Iris chalk ink and I put my layout together.

For those interested in Grungepaper, it now comes in 6x12 pack (6 sheets to a package). I have several packs in stock. You can email me or post if you'd like one (they're $6).

The colours don't show exceptionally well (they're navy blue and tan) as it's late and there isn't a lot of light. I wanted to post tonight so I couldn't wait to take the picture tomorrow. Sorry!

I'm going to have a draw from comments and send out a little prize to a random poster, so please let me know what you think.

Happy Thanksgiving

While technically today is Thanksgiving, we celebrated yesterday. Both yesterday and today, though, I reflected on how thankful I am.

There are the obvious things for which to be thankful: my wonderful husband, my beautiful children, my close-knit family. We are lucky in so many ways and I try to acknowledge these throughout the year.

I am truly thankful for my hobby though. I am so lucky to involved in stamping and scrapbooking. This hobby has afforded me so many wonderful opportunities and friends. I have a ton of friends with whom I share this interest. It's fun to be able to get together and to stamp and chat. I am part of two wonderful stamping groups in real life (Pretty Mean Stampers and Wye Not) and an incredible online group (Canadian Stamp Talk). Through both groups, I have met and chatted with people who share my desire to get our fingers dirty and see what we can create.

I'm also very thankful that stamping has given me opportunities I would not have otherwise had. I have been very blessed to have been able to teach at one of our local stores, "Stamp-A-Doodle" and through the encouragement of others, I have submitted my cards and have been honoured enough to be published. I also gave thanks yesterday and today for my business. Through it, I have been able to get a lot of the new product and have been able to play with it. It's always exciting when a box arrives and I can open it and rip through it like a child at Christmas.

Yesterday, Kayla wanted to make a Thanksgiving card, so we spent some time together in my craft room. I was flipping through a "Scrapbook and Cards Today" magazine and a layout caught my eye, so I just copied it. I'm so far behind, that I often flip through magazines to get an idea and then take it from there.

Again, I used one of my Basic Grey packs (this time it was "Oliver"). I needed 6 coordinating patterned papers and it would have taken me forever to look through my stash of papers to find 6 that I liked together (and that colours matched). So instead, I just flipped through my pack and picked out 6 pieces. I then cut everything, sewed the squares and stuck it all down. Then to finish it off, I just added some of the die cut stickers and used the letters to create the title. It was so quick and it took the stress out of having to get everything to match. Here are the photos.

Oliver Paper pack by Basic Grey.

Layout

A 10 minute layout

I haven't scrapbooked in months. I am so far behind and it's overwhelming. Seriously overwhelmed. How am I ever going to catch up?

I have all my photos organized, but the sheer volume makes my head spin. I love taking photos and so, I have entirely too many to begin with. The other day, the kids and I played in the leaves for a couple of hours. I was talking to Glenn that night and told him I took 200 photos and needed to go through them. His reply? Sadly, I don't think that's an exaggeration.

The hardest part is to start though. I always hate starting to stamp or scrap after not having done it for awhile. I have to find my creativity which often takes awhile and the first few poor cards and layouts seem to pay the price. I know that once I get into the groove, I actually look forward to going into my room and creating though, so the journey is worth it.

My sister was over the other day, and we keep talking about getting back into the groove. It's hard with 6 kids between us, but I told her we were just going to start. I opened up a "Creating Keepsakes" magazine and on the last page, there is always a 10 minute layout complete with instructions, so we grabbed our pictures and started.

I've started ordering Basic Grey paper packages lately. I love that all the papers in the package go together and they also include a page of die cut stickers and another page of die cut letters (all self-adhesive). I know I can just grab a few things, put them together and it will work. So, that's what I did. I used the "Pyrus" paper package this time.

Once we got started, it truly was a 10 minute layout. It's very simple, but that's OK. I quite like it and what really matters is I did it.

Here is the finished layout. It's just a picture of Eric and I wrote on the little journalling card: "I love your big brown eyes." Nothing earth-shattering, but that's fine too!




I actually have one more of these kits in stock if anyone is interested. As a note, I always keep my collections together in the plastic in which they came. Then, I know when I'm doing a project, I can just grab the pack and everything in it will match.

I see on other people's blogs that their pictures all look very pretty. I will get there. I'm not sure how to do that for 12x12" layouts. I do eventually get them scanned and can post them then, but I'd rather post them when I actually do them. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has some!

For those having turkey today, have a wonderful day. I'll do a Thanksgiving post tomorrow.

Jacquie