With Just 15 mintues...

...give or take a few, you can make a complete page and find that you will like it. Lately, I have been trying out some 15 minute layout ideas from Scraphappy.org. If you are like me, you have more photos than you know what to do with. There is, after all, only so much time in the day and never enough of it. I do my best not to focus on whether or not I am behind or caught up with scrapbooking. It's supposed to be about enjoying the process and then enjoying those moments when you can share your stories with others. That being said, I do love the process...and sometimes I go overboard with it. How many times have you sat down to work and then enjoyed embellishing and moving everything around on the page to make it "just so"? I know that I can take hours on a page before I am happy with it!
  

Now, before I show you my page, I will admit that it took me a little over 15 minutes to do. I did not, take longer than 30 minutes though. This little experiment has allowed me to let go of my need to keep adding things to the page. Simple is the name of the game: a simple example, a simple  set of supplies, a simple page....and voila!

October afternoon papers,Fancy Pants felt flower, colorbox white ink
crochet doily cut from place mat

I was so glad to finish this page. It is page two of "Can I Have a Cup of Co?" which I made months ago. So now I challenge you to try something new and share it at Scrap Our Stash!

Someday

   As part of a recent writing assignment, my son was asked to illustrate and write about places he would like to visit. One of those places was France...or more specifically, Paris. I was struck by how passionate my son became as he talked about what he thought Paris was like. I felt like this would be a great moment to capture...one of my son's dreams. I think someday it will be neat to reflect back upon this page...especially if we ever get to visit Paris.

Sketches 4 All January Gallery girl Scraplift

  To capture the romance of Paris, I chose this older, cream colored paper from my stash. I don't know who makes it, but I do love the look of the white on cream words and phrases printed on it. For a Masculine vibe, I chose to go with a black, green and blue color palette. The Making Memories and crate paper patterned papers were a perfect fit. I mixed in some Crate Paper die cuts with Restoration border stickers, along with pink paislee chipboard, making memories flowers, and some office supplies. I must admit, that when I received the package of Pink paislee chipboard, I never thought I would find a use for the Eiffel Tower!

Scrapfit,workout#36
Scrap Whispers challenge #86
Frosted designs 1-25-11 Sketch

 The journaling was done on a Maya Road sheer ticket. A Tim Holtz compass mask with black magic glimmer mist adds to the travel theme. A fun set of pages, and a fond memory...and maybe Someday, there will be some photos of us in France.

I really didn't like that!

   That's what my son told me when he saw the pictures I had printed. They were photos of him and his Dad riding "Storm Force Accelatron" at Islands of Adventure. Both he and his Dad thought they would be getting on something akin to The Mad Hatter's tea cups at Walt Disney World. Let's just say this ride was not quite so tame.
   While they both were not fond of the ride, I am fond of the Layout I made about their experience. Since the ride was about Storm, from Marvel's X-men, I used white paint to create a tornado. To further the effect, I smeared and splattered Black Magic and Glacier glimmer mist, then drew swirls with a pencil. The fun, colorful polka dots of SEI's monsterville paper seemed the perfect complement to a theme park page. using a Kraft paper background softened some of the bright colors and busy action.



also submitted to Frosted Designs 1-21-11 challenge

 I made it a point the day we were there, to photograph the ride's sign so I could use it as a title. I fussy cut this out of the photo, along with Storm. I made Storm jump out from the page with some 3-d foam. I left part of the white boarder from the photo paper when I cropped down these wallet size photos for page two. it was a time saver and also helped me create separation between the busy blurred images. I wanted the photo of my husband and son exiting the ride to be set apart. So I mounted it on a chipboard block and added a transparency to it. The transparency said "you and me" on a small corner. I found these cloud and lightening shapes from American crafts Vinyl Teen to be perfect( prior to this page, I had no clue where I was going to use them! ). I used them to cover the word on the transparency and then as accents on the page. Green and black sequins add the finishing touches.

I completed this as the January Scraplift Challenge over at Sketches 4 all. My Fellow DT Stacy made this page for us to lift:

Made by Stacy Rodriguez

As you can see, mine changed quite a bit from the original. That's the beauty and the fun of scraplifting though. Maybe you should give it a shot...post your creation over at Sketches 4 all!                              

                               

The Pink Pancake Party

  Pink is not a color most boys would love. I admit, it is not always one I favor. However, pink is the main color for Valentines day. So when I saw pink pancake mix, I thought it would be a sweet way to treat my little sweethearts. I also picked up some vanilla pancake mix with red, white and pink sprinkles, however, it was truly the pink pancakes with chocolate chips that garnered all of the attention. After all, how often do you see a pink pancake?!?!



Sketchy Thursday's Feb. GDT challenge sketch

   I wanted a Valentine's feel for the page, but I also wanted a homey, cozy feel. Basic Grey's Bittersweet collection was the perfect choice. I loved the pinks, reds and whites while the brown prints reminded me of the chocolate chips. Add in some Pink Paislee Bayberry cottage brads, Prima lace and some hand stitching and I had the cozy feel I was going for.After dotting the "i" in pink with a heart, I accented the title with glossy accents and marker to make it pop out a bit more.

Since I was on a roll, I continued onward with page two, this time adding a 7gypsies journaling tag and a bread tag. I recycled that bread tag from my cupboard and added some stickers with glossy accents. I love the way it looks hanging off the thread.

I do apologize that my son never smiled nicely in the photos. It was, evidently, due to the large quantity of pink present at the time the photos were taken. He did, however, eat his pink pancakes down to the last crumb.

The Process of Creation

It is something we all experience, especially as scrapbookers. We each have our own unique way of capturing what we want in our work. I was lucky enough to capture my son's creative process. Every year, we try to make a new decoration. This year, we made ceramic ornaments. As my son has gotten older, his process has evolved and become more precise.

Scraphappy.org January Sketch
7 Gypsies journal stamp, Crate Paper North pole collection papers
glimmer mist splatter background: electric blue and meadow
Pink Paislee Old school Glitter Alphas

His hands were literally a blur of motion. I realized I had captured this in several photos. So I used one to zoom in on his blurry hand. The rest of him is however, quite still and serious. he takes each step with complete, yet haphazard precision. It resulted in a gorgeous poinsettia ornament that I am proud to showcase.

1-11 Sketch Challenge from Frosted designs
Crate paper North Pole collection chipboard and papers
twinery cappuccino twine
buttons-unknown
Pink Paislee Old school glitter alphas
Glimmer mist in meadow and electric blue
Holly stickles

I enjoy capturing these moments with him. I know his creative process will continue to evolve. However, as he gets older, I wonder how often I will be privy to it. Either way, I will always enjoy the results of his labors.

Warm Wishes

   If you live in a cold climate, then this page may very well make you laugh. I live in a tropical clime and recently, we had a cold snap with record low temperatures. I took a photo during the afternoon of our patio thermometer. I like to document the weather. I think it's good to remember that, wherever you may live, the weather is sometimes the same, but at other times unexpected. I know that's a given...but I also know many times we have a tendency to overlook such small details. Those small details may prove interesting later on. But I digress...

   So back to the page at hand. We reached a high in the low 60's. It's not really a big deal...except when you factor in that we have no central heat. We live in a place that rarely gets this cold. So this means that the house is only 3-5 degrees warmer than whatever it is outside. So this was taken during the day, and you can well imagine when the temperature dropped 10 plus degrees at night how cold the house was. For us it was freezing! We survived though...bundled up, with lots of hot cocoa to drink and some warm wishes.

Some of you may recognize the cute snowman 4x6 card from the WE R Memory Keepers merry January line. I love the paper. For whatever reason, I thought I'd be satisfied with the 4x6 pad. I don't know why I thought this. Anyhow, since I am currently on a spending freeze, this meant I had to get really creative with my stash. The white polka dots of MY Mind's eye's Andrea Victoria line reminded me of snow. Since the color seemed to fit well, I added the matching black sheet and then inked both with colorbox white ink. For a little added texture, I ran some leftover clear packaging through my texture boutique with a Swiss dot embossing folder.

I sanded it a bit and then layered on making memories chipboard snowflakes and lush brads. Some prima lace and hand stitching finished off the page. If you like the page design, then check out Sketchy Thursday's Jan. 6th post. BTW, there is a wonderful challenge to scrap about winter over at Sketches for all in the challenge forum. Maybe I'll see some of your creations over there. I hope so. Meanwhile, I am off to start page 2...

Bake: another pagerize this Challenge

  January is all about new things at Scrap our Stash. So for this Pagerize challenge, I chose to use my latest Treasure Box Club kit. I thought the cooking themed papers and canvas trim border from Little Yellow Bicycle would be the perfect complement to the photos of my son baking a cake. The Maya Road office sheer journal spot reminded me of a recipe card. I clipped it in place with a Making Memories paperclip. I was lucky enough to receive these cute die cuts from a swap I did earlier in the year. They were the perfect complement to the page.

Since I was on a roll with these papers and die cuts, I finished off a matching 2nd page.

There is still time to participate in Pagerize this #5. Just share your take of the cute page by Sarah shown below  over at Scrap Our Stash.

We're all looking forward to seeing what you can do.

Project 2011 Scrap Our Stash

Let's face it...deprived I am not. I have SOOOO much stash it's ridiculous. I also think, that as I improve my skills as a paper craft artist, I have learned to do more with less supplies. It leaves a lot to be used. I wish I had a wonderful cabinet or closet, so I could shut the door on it when I was not working. Someday, I'll have a dream scrap space. Until that someday happens, I had best use up what I have. So I am joining in on a fellow DT's challenge ( and also participating in the penny pincher challenge at club CK). What better way to scrap what I have...with the support of friends. If you want to join in, check out the post here. Year to date...I have 4 pages down. Let's see how many I can make before I cave into retail therapy.

Happy New Year

So many people celebrate so many different ways. At sketches 4 All, We thought we'd celebrate by adding some bling to our pages. Thus the phrase "Bling on 2011" was coined! If you love fun challenges and adding bling to your pages, then this fun event is for you! The prechallenge has posted. The rest of the event will soon be in full swing. I hope to see you there!

Let's Scrap Sketch 6-2-10