Christmas Layouts

I really had fun scrapbooking Christmas this year, because I felt I had a lot of embellishments to choose from. In the past, Creative memories had a few packs of stickers, and that was really it. But over the last few years, since "power pallets" appeared, you can choose from all different styles to fit your personality and pages. I personally favor the kid's choices, and for obvious reasons! The page above was done on the old 12 x 12 pages, which means that all the new power pallet pages don't fit unless they are cut. I have to say that one thing I love about the TRUE 12x12 paper is that you can use it in any direction, unlike the old pages. For instance, the holly border I used on the side could also have been used on the top or bottom of the page. Instead of cutting a strip off the side o fit my old pages, I simply cut it along side the holly border. This also helped me to be able to cover up some of the distracting backround in my pictures. The stickers that come with the power pallet work great, since they match the colors and style. All pallets also have title stickers, which are clear. See the title sticker on this page? It is in the bottom left hand corner. I am a HUGE fan of title stickers!

The page above shows how I have used some of my older stickers, piling them in a Christmasy clump in the corner of the page. The vellum title says twinkle, and matches the picture alongside it, not shown here, since I am zooming in on the details!

I gave up trying to turn the above picture, as you can get the gist of it just fine. In this instance, I am using the gold flecked pages, so I didn't want to cover up the whole page with a sheet of paper. I am using the jewel power pallet pack. I used one page, tore it in half with the tearing tool, and put one half on this page and the other half on the facing page. (not shown) it's hard to see the details, but I put a title sticker on some holly paper, matted it in green, used a heart punch (both sizes made matting the hearts easy)and wrote love on it, sticking it over the little title's corner. The green strip across the page does not go all the way through. It is cut underneath the photos where no one will see it.

I can't just use all the new goodies, I also have to use some of my older page embellishments when they will look good with my pictures. These Christmas stickers and journal boxes are from older power pallets, but I like how easy it is to mat my photos with the matching paper so that they all co ordinate!

I had to do a great page to show off this adorable picture! 8x10 photos can be kind of a challenge to scrapbook with, especially if you want to keep the corners free in case you need to tke out the picture later to frame or whatever. I used large corners to keep my photo on the page, which is paper from the power pallet. It already had the trees on it, I simply added some snowflakes from the matching sticker pack. I also bought the new Holiday vellum titles, and although I only used a couple this year, I did use one on this page. The titles are not always the right size for me, so I cut this one into seperate words and was able to use frosted splits to adhere them to the page the way I wanted to.

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of my 15 pages I did this Christmas! I enjoyed talking about them. Life here is good. I'm slowly healing, My daughter still enjoys her new title as big sis, and we have all been very blessed with the delicious meals sent by friends. My little guy continues to charm us with his ability to smile in his sleep when we coo or laugh. Our house with the added addition seems like a huge palace right now, and we don't mind being snowed in when there is no good reason to take a newborn out anyway!

Scrap Happy!

It's a boy!

I had every intention of telling my birth story here today, of calling everyone as soon as the baby was born, and of starting a scrapbook at once. But instead, I am feeding, changing poopy diaper after poopy diaper, welcoming well wishers daily, and trying to eat while the baby sleeps. I love that I can comfort him unlike any one else. I love holding him in my arms. I love the rare treat when he smiles or has his bright eyes open. I love all of it! He is perfect. I'm just enjoying him and this family time without school and work. It is awesome.
Scrap Happy!

Boy or Girl?

I very much enjoy taking pictures of my blossoming belly. It is so amazing to me when I feel this life inside of me moving, and even more so now that I can identify a heel now and then as opposed to some random body part! I don't know why, but I often forget to pay attention to the world behind me when I am taking pictures of myself. When I am photographing others, I am facing them, and looking at what will be my picture, so I'm much more aware of what is in the background. But when i am taking a self portrait, I don't notice the background until I look at the picture I just took. I'm really not into doctoring up my pictures, except by physically cropping or using a red eye on an actual print, but I played around with this one on my computer a bit. I also took pictures of my belly really close up, which shows that it is an exact circle! Very funny! But I wasn't happy with any of those, since they were so close, I didn't use a flash, and they are a bit fuzzy.

Anyhow, I am delighted to say that I have completed all but 3 pages of Christmas 2008. (it will be 15 pages in all) I have only to do 3 pages of professional photos, which I am scheduled to pick up this week. I am happy to have gotten Christmas done. It was so much fun to scrapbook! I've missed it, even in this short period of time since being caught up. I didn't really do anything too inventive or fancy. I mostly used the Christmas power pallets for this year, and on gold flecked pages, which sadly CM doesn't make any more.

Happy New Year! Scrap Happy!

Christmas memories

I took a lot of pictures on Christmas. Even though I still hope to scrapbook them before the baby comes, I couldn't help but take a lot. I didn't feel like I was getting very many good ones, but I kept clicking away anyhow. I have really missed scrapping! I always have plenty to do, but when I think I should sit and take a break, I feel sad that there aren't any pictures to scrap. It's like my daughter said to me the other day, " My heart feels better inside when I'm playing instead of just watching T.V." I feel the same way! I feel like I'm wasting my life when I watch TV, but I feel like I'm accomplishing something when I am scrapbooking.

We had friends come over today that we haven't seen in 3 years! They were home for the holidays and we just sat around talking. While my daughter played a game with Ken, his wife patiently sat and looked through one of my daughter's albums. We were able to show them the page I did from their wedding. My daughter had no memory of them, and that's why we brought out the album, hoping to jog her memory. It didn't work, but it was nice to see how good I looked 3 years ago! Ah, my adorable short haircut, beautiful dress, tan and a tiny belly....lots different from my basketball tummy and sloppily pulled up hair, oversized sweatshirt and a pair of my husband's pajamas. Yes, sadly, that's how I looked today when they came to visit! I still have the pictures to remind me what I was like and to inspire me for the future!

Tip of the Day: My daughter has 20 albums. When I was looking through the albums to find my friend's wedding pictures, it really helped that I had the dates inside the front of the album. On the inside of Creative memories albums, it has lines on the inside of the album cover. I have written my daughter's name, which book it is, and the dates of the pictures inside, such as May 2007-July 2007. You can also spring for a little bookmarker made of metal ( I think they have silver and gold) which showcases a little frame that will hang over the binding. You could place either a picture or a date in there. I think these are around $10. Another option is to send the binding away to get printed and personalized. This would definately be the easiest labeling option, but it isn't cheap, since you need to pay for shipping and handling as well as the printing. I've done this for a friend, and it really does look classy!

Scrap Happy!

Merry Christmas!

I'm not sure why this picture shows up so dark on the computer. Reviewing it on the camera, you can see the stockings and details. It's the perfect picture. But not here. So sorry!



Christmas preparations have taken over and although I see photos everywhere as my little girl experiences the excitement that Christmas being just around the corner brings, I am trying to hold myself back from photographing it all and just enjoy being with her.



I just completed all of my holiday preparations today, wrapping the last gift. Other than the constant housework that needs done, I find myself at a loss to know what to do for fun! I am so used to scrapbooking always being an option, but now everything is neatly packed away, waiting as I am for our addition to be done so that I will always have a desk of my own to scrap on!



My constantly moving belly lets me know that I need to clear my memory card (Which I will do after saving my favorite photos on a disk.) Since I have most of the photos in albums already, now is the time I do this.



Tip of the Day: I'm always learning, and one thing I recently discovered was a new way to journal in my daughter's album. Some ways I journal are by writing things on my kitchen calendar, or writing a diary-like entry in a notebook after an event. A new technique that recently worked for me was to ask my daughter questions which I jotted on a post it note and kept with my photos until it was time to scrap the pictures it went with. We had been to the circus, and I just asked her things like her favorite part of the show, the funniest thing there, what she would want to be if she were in the circus, and things like that. I quickly jotted down her answers and found them tremendously helpful when it came to journaling the page. Usually, I journal pretty much from my point of view, so this was a completely different perspective, and I loved it.



Scrap Happy!

Pages, Pages

I know that I've shown you one of the pictures on this page before, telling you that we need to celebrate the little things. This simple little page is doing just that. I rarely use non Creative memories items on my pages, but they don't make ribbon, so I purposely bought scrapbooking ribbon just to match this page. I had a vision of what I wanted, and although it's a little bulky for me, it is just what I had in mind, so I'm very happy with it.

I am caught up on my daughter's albums! Yes, I am waiting on soccer page elements for a 2 page spread from this fall. (I ordered them over a month ago! Now I know what I put my customers through, making them wait when I was a consultant!) But other than that, and some pictures I have yet to order, (14, this includes my November pictures for my famous "rundown of the month" pages and a 2 page spread of Thanksgiving) I am officially caught up and up to date!

I don't know yet what I'm feeling, since this is a developement that has happened in the last 15 minutes, but I am hoping to spend some time with my daughter, get my Christmas baking done, and get my Christmas cards sent out. There will always be something that needs done, but with her albums like this, wow! I haven't been caught up for such a long time! I just want to enjoy these last few weeks of my pregnancy and celebrate Christmas! I did it!

Scrap Happy!

Belly shots

It's almost time!

I love this picture of my belly and my little girl. The night I took this picture in my bathroom (because the lighting is good there, even at night!) I felt like my belly could not get any bigger or I'd pop. I could see my veins all through my stomach, it's very weird, and I was trying to capture it with my camera. If I stand facing the mirror in the bathroom, I can aim the camera at my belly, and see the screen in the mirror. So, that was what I was doing and my 6 year old just kept hopping into the photo at the last minute! It was funny, actually, because sometimes you couldn't see her face, because she would pop in, yet my belly would be in the way, and the picture only showed her chest down! Anyway, she hugged the baby and it was so much better than the other shots I'd been attempting to take, that I snapped this picture instead. (Well, after a few tries)

I finished journaling my Disneyland pages and the book is complete. I'm currently working on September 2008, and I think I'll be able to catch up on this book before baby comes! I currently have a sore throat and cold, no fun. Yet, other than normal pregnancy quirks, this is the first time I've been sick since I've been pregnant. So, I can't complain. I have felt invincible and was shocked and disappointed to catch a bug at the end of my pregnancy.

Besides putting up my Christmas decorations and baking the first batch of cookies to freeze ( and some were eaten now!), I also worked on an album I continue for my Gramma. It's one of the smaller albums, so I can whip those pages out pretty fast. But it leads me to my Tip of the Day: Something I have reverted back to lately is the use of punches. They are so versatile, and you can use whatever color paper you want to match your page. Several heart punches can be grouped together to make a flower. There really is no end to the possibilities. I have also drawn right onto my page a few times lately. It sure changes the look of the book and can be quite a lifesaver if you can't find just the right sticker. If you don't trust yourself to write on the page, write on a piece of photo safe paper and silhouette it or keep it in a strip. Above all, let your creativity flow and have fun scrapbooking! Be like me....

Scrap Happy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Disney!

It's almost December! It sure is cold enough to be, isn't it?! I have been scrapping away and have almost finished my Disneyland trip from this August. I only need to journal it. I feel like I have been neglecting my family for the sake of catching up, but it's actually good for me to sit still and not rush around doing too much since I only have a month of pregnancy left. (I'm perfectly able to rush around, but when else will I have the excuse to sit still?) Now, if I could only figure out a way to scrapbook as I nurse, I'd never get behind! ...hmmm...



Some of the pages that I did, I absolutely love! I'm used to doing Disney albums that coincide with the Christmas season, so I've been somewhat confused as I was scrapbooking this trip, listening to Christmas music, but not using any Christmas things on the pages. I'm serious! It's been different! Creative Memories came out with all new Disney sets, and that has been fun to use, because everything is new. I can't wait to finish journaling so that I can show this book off!

Scrap Happy!

The post below has a picture of one of my favorite pages from this Disney trip. Take a look at it!

Using a Map

This picture is from a page I did in my daughter's Disneyland album. I'm not able to put the picture I took of the page I'm talking about here onto the blog at this time!

This page is one of my favorites. I loved that my daughter was learning to read the maps while we were on this trip. I liked letting her lead the way. This page is simple. I cut one of the California Adventure maps to fit the 12x12 page, covered it with a piece of vellum, and put the pictures right on top. In order to adhere the map to the page, I used a tape runner. To adhere the vellum to the map, I used clear photo tape. I also put some adhesive in the middle of the map, using frosted splits to do this, so that you wouldn't see them. I often "Disney-up" my stickers and pages in subtle ways. This time, I simply used a mickey punch to add a Mickey to the top sticker.

Scrap Happy!

Busy Bee

Don't mind me, I'm just scrapping! I have been neglecting other household chores in order to spend as much time scrapbooking as possible. This week, I finished journaling my 18th book for my daughter, and am now a full day into our Disneyland trip. Most of these pages feel very uninspired. It could be that I am just trying to get it done, but I don't want to do boring pages just for the sake of getting caught up! This is Disney after all, and who knows if we will ever get back there. I may just be feeling hampered by the new stickers and papers that Creative Memories has come out with. I find myself trying to work around the new product rather than the pictures, and that's no good. I have laid out all the pictures on page layouts for after the Disneyland trip. I am feeling that this really can be done in time. I have a month and a week until my due date and multiple picture taking opportunities between now and then, one of those being Christmas! ( that's a big one!) But I can do it!

Scrap happy!

Croptoberfest

November 2008

Yesterday, I was able to go to Croptoberfest and scrapbook all day! I finished 11 pages and laid out pictures for my whole Disneyland trip. Whew! The food was wonderful! It was quite literally a Thanksgiving feast! We were each given an exclusive sticker pack and with a purchase, we were given a coordinating paper pack. I was just happy to be scrapbooking, well fed and immersed in healthy girl talk. Several of my friends were there, and we all had our own tables. It was a really nice day. Fortunately, my friend Bekah had come with me and carried my bags into the building. As I'm midway through my 8th month of pregnancy, there would have been no way I could have carried all of them! We used a wheelchair and loaded my bags onto it since none of them were wheeled carts.

As I was getting all the pictures ready for this day away, I realized that once I'm done with my Disneyland album I'll almost be caught up!

Quilts and Scrapbooks

This week, I am adding an extra blog, because I'm getting this out so late and I'm sorry! Here's why it's late: The baby's afghan and my daughter's quilt. (Both are firsts for me.)

As the warm weather draws to a close, so does my pregnancy! I have had several projects that I've been trying to complete before the baby comes and I am pleased and a bit relieved to tell you that I have completed the quilt I wanted to make for my daughter! I have also made the baby's knitted afghan big enough that it could snuggle up in it if it was born right now. But I am still planning on making it bigger and I'm working on that. It is also included in the first picture. I'm a long way from done on my daughter's albums, but I keep on plugging away and some days I feel so inspired! I can take hours on one page, and sometimes that's OK. I know that if I take hours on each page, I will never finish, but there are times when I can't help it. If I have an idea, I don't think that I would be satisfied with any less!

Scrap Happy!

Autumn Leaves

Ah, the leaves have fallen and the winter winds are blowing in. *chill* Sorry about that! Here are some pages I did to remember those beautiful leaves of autumn. This page was kind of a collection of pictures taken around the same time. On a walk, we found these very cool leaves, and I took a picture of them. I simply silhouetted them and used them to center both pages. I also used my leaf punch to create a bottom of the page border and to add a little color to the page. Notice I used white facing black pages. Yeah, I just liked how the leaf in the middle contrasted differently on both.

Leaves! My daughter decided she wanted to rake the leaves and jump in them. Her daddy helped, and she had so much fun raking them, jumping in them until they were scattered, and then raking them again. I used a blue backround because she has blue in her shirt. It was getting dark, so the pictures aren't the best quality, but they show the happiness on her face. Classic!

This page was done years ago. My scrapbooking style was just evolving into the way it is today. this blue is one of my favorite blues and I actually use it in my scrapbooking quite a bit. I cut out the leaves by hand (using a stencil) and then used a pointed, yet blunt edge (like the cap of a pen) to give the leaves some texture.

I am a scrapbooking machine! I am guessing that I have to complete 3-4 pages a day in order to get my daughter's albums caught up before Baby comes. So I am proud to tell you I whipped out 11 pages yesterday. Leaving my things out on the desk in my room really helps and so does the kicking of the baby, reminding me it will be here sooner than I can prepare for it!

I'm planning on going to a Croptoberfest next Saturday. Does anyone want to come?

Scrap Happy!

Pumpkin Patch Layouts (part 2)

Ah, the Pumpkin Patch! Such a fun place of discovery! These pages are pretty plain. I used cool paper in brown, which looks great with the orange and tan that you find at a pumpkin patch, and stickers from one of the power pallets to match. I always ask someone to take a picture of me with my family, so that my girl can remember that we were all there.



This page below was of a field trip we went on last year. It was a different pumpkin patch, and I knew we would be going with my husband a few days later to "our" pumpkin patch, so I didn't plan my daughter's clothes the way I normally do. Still, I like how the purple looks with the orange. It's fun! I also crammed 6 pictures onto this page, but by silhouetting 2 of them, it doesn't look cramped.

This is another page from the pumpkin patch, but we are doing different activities in this page than choosing a pumpkin. I used the square stickers to go with the window in the play house. I continued the square them, leaving all of my pictures with straight edges, and even using the checked purple paper. The reason I matted each picture was that when they laid right against the purple, they looked washed out. The burnt orange checked paper created enough of a barrier to preserve the colors in my photographs.

There are so many memories in these pages! Scrap happy!

Pumpkin Patch layouts (part 1)

What I like about this page layout is mostly the pictures. I used pumpkin orange paper for these pages, which you will see isn't my norm. In the top left hand corner, I matted my picture from on top, cutting the lined part out of a journal block. I also cut my daughter in a silhouette sitting on her pumpkin. I like that i took a picture of her pumpkin all by itself.

Don't underestimate the outfit you have your child wear! This yellow sweater was chosen not just for it's warmth, but for the way I knew it would look next to the pumpkins and straw! For the page above, I used a natural page and used a paper apple embellishment I'd gotten from Croptoberfest to go across the top of the page.

The polka dots on this page might be pastel, but they match perfectly with my daughter's sweater, as well of the fun lightness of the day! I used horseshoe stickers in each corner of the pony picture to draw your eye to it.

I seriously plan my daughter's outfit more carefully for the pumpkin patch than for other activities throughout the year! I love the pumpkin patch, because I always get the greatest pictures! I don't know if it's the time of year, the background or what. Notice that I used orange alphabet stickers right on my picture. I helped to draw them out by using black letters underneath making a "shadow". I also matted my favorite picture on the page with the orange paper, and used a strip of this same paper as a thin border for both pages in this 2 page spread.

We have made going to the pumpkin patch our tradition for the last few years. Of course, we go to the same one, early in October or late in September, so that it's still warm. We like to get a carmel apple, take the hayride to the pumpkin patch, and let our daughter choose an overpriced pumpkin, which is worth it, just because we get to take it from the field. We always take home a jug of Cider, sweet memories and a lot of pictures!

My blog next week will include more pumpkin patch layouts. I like to make my layouts different from year to year, and that can be difficult because I usually use only Creative Memories products. One way to get cute products that change from year to year is by going to Croptoberfest, a fall, all day scrapbooking fest. Included in your fee are little fall themed page embellishments, and there are usually exclusive fall items that you can buy then that won't be available other times. I missed Croptoberfest this year, but I'll point out some of the products I've gotten there on my page layouts. Lately, Creative Memories has also been putting out sticker sheets for each power pallet it comes up with. This is nice because you can get the fall stickers and they will all look different. it gives us more of a variety! For instance, you could order the fall stickers from the jewel pack and the pastel pack, and they will be different. Some people don't realize that you can order just the fall pack, you don't need to order the entire power pallet. However, if you order the whole pallet are you will always have paper to match your stickers.

Scrap Happy!

My Lil' Pumpkin!

Picking a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch is a BIG deal! We walk all over ALL of the patches, making sure we find the perfect one. My daughter does the choosing, but we point ones out from time to time. After I took this top picture, I told her, "You don't have to pose, honey. Just live your life and I'll take pictures of it."
This pumpkin was the hugest one we found, and was the one she wanted. But it was so heavy, we were afraid of what it would cost, not to mention, it would be a load for Daddy to carry! As she bent down to try and pick it up, I leaned over and popped this picture. Cool! The best one today!
Once home, we took some posed pictures with her chosen pumpkin.The one above was actually taken last. She had gotten up, thinking we were done, and was using her pumpkin as a seat when I called her name. What a cutie!My Little Pumpkin!

On a totally different note, I have finished scrapping book #17 of my daughter's 6 year life. I am just up to her 6th birthday party, which was at the end of May. So that should tell you how far behind I am. I figure in 2 1/2 or 3 more albums, I will be caught up. This is not an exaggeration, rather a rough estimate! (Remember, we have a vacation to C.A. that I have to scrapbook!) I also received the digital Princess camp album in the mail this week! It is so awesome! I love it! I did make one major mistake, writing a girl's name incorrectly. Oh No! I feel horrible about it! But I only did it once. Still....

Scrap happy!

Bobbing for Apples!

I'm scrapping, quilting, knitting and being kicked from the inside out! Just a reminder that my little one will be here before I have time to complete everything that needs done. Having my scrapbooking things out all the time has been nice because it's easier to get a page or 2 done.

I'm including a page from last year's Harvest time. I used pink and orange paper for the Harvest party in my daughter's album. On this page, I traced a red apple diecut to make apples in lighter colors that would match the page.

I generally do use a lot more pink than the average scrapbooker, just because my daughter wears a lot of pink! This time, I thought it would be a little unusual to use pink on an autumn page. That's why I wanted to do it. I achieved this easier than you would think, using one of the Page Pallets kits from CM. Since the orange and pink were both in the same pallet, they really blend nicely together. To make it easier for myself, I used the same 2 paper colors for the whole Harvest Party. This not only makes it easier, but it keeps the whole event connected in your album.

Well, I am going to wrap this blog up so that I can make a pumpkin pie! I've been craving one lately. Scrap Happy!

Three months to go!

I have to admit that I saw a picture like this in a baby photography book, and that's where I stole the idea. I loved it! The hardest part about taking this picture myself wasn't the aiming of the camera, but covering the rest of me up so that I was decent! I used a black sheet behind us, brought in an extra light, and opened the blinds a little (as much as I dared!) for some natural light.
Wow! So much has happened in a week! I have been using the Cm program, Storybook plus and LOVING it! I can't believe all the stuff you can do with this program, it blows every other kind of digital album away! I am almost done with my album, including journaling. I'm just trying to get the Disney princess embellishments I've had trouble ordering. I have done just a page or 2 of Jae's traditional album this week, even though I did leave everything out and plan to do the same in the upcoming week. I actually preferred to do the digital album!!! It was just so fun figuring out all the features! You can add pictures and text anywhere you want to, which is pretty awesome! You can mat your pictures, use so many fonts, enlarge your pictures and text, even make tags, shadow, change texture (just by sight, it won't actually feel different), and so many other things I won't even get into here! I do have to say that because of all the options, it can take quite a while to do an album, although it always has taken me a long time to do a CM digital album, probably because there are so many more options than the other guys. UPDATE! When I wrote this last night, I hadn't finished the album yet, and now I have. I went to the Cm website and found my consultant's website and ordered the princess embellishments. Let me tell you , it was pretty easy! This is just a download, so it cost me just $4, no shipping. I could use it immediately, too, and believe me, I did! It was awesome! I had so much fun, and stayed up til 3am. UG! But I couldn't tear myself away. I reviewed my book carefully, and it's a good thing, too because I had some things that were too close to the edges and needed adjusted. I kept a scrap piece of paper and wrote down the page numbers and what needed switched and then saved all that for today. So, I ordered my album at last, and it is probably the best one I have ever done. (updated on Oct. 5th)

Anyway, I still have found plenty of time to do all the other things in my life, including hobbies! I started on the back of my daughter's quilt and I am making headway with the baby blanket, probably because I tried to work on it for an hour a day this past week. I like knitting because you can do it while watching TV. I also ordered a bunch more pictures, and am just waiting for them to come in and swallow me up! Seriously, I am so behind I don't even want to try and figure out how much I have to average a day in order to be done by my due date!
Scrap Happy!

Digital scrapbooking

Lately, I have been doing some digital scrapbooking. Not that this is entirely new to me, but I have learned several things lately, and thought I would share. First, as you know, I am a huge supporter of Creative Memories. I had made several albums using them, and was always happy with the free program. However, I had some problems with the last book I made, and couldn't get it to print. Finally, and this is over a year after I had completed the album, I found a number for CM, called and received another number for the tech department, sat on hold for about 7 minutes and finally talked with a wonderful guy, who understood my uncomputer saavy way of saying things and was able to help me answer all of my questions! Now, in the meantime, I had purchased the new Storybook Creator plus from Creative Memories and found it harder to use than the original FREE version that you can download by going to Creative Memories website. In fact, I became so frustrated one day, that I felt sick and had to give up on it! I decided to try another company! ( I know, *GASP!*) But Picabo turned out to be a big pain as well! I had to download all this stuff, and then I ended up not wanting it. It was a huge waste of time. I always get my pictures printed from Snapfish, an online company, and I'm usually pretty happy with them. I order them and they get shipped right to me. I like that. So, I noticed they had a sale on scrapbooks and decided to make one of my family summer. We saw so many family members this summer, and I wanted a book for myself to remember it. One night, when I had insomnia from my pregnancy, I went on and completed a whole album! I found it very easy to use. it was very simple, there just weren't a whole lot of options for backgrounds and layouts. But when I ordered it and got 40 % off, I was excited. (You have to watch for the sales, they aren't going on all the time. But you can always create a book and wait for a sale. Just be aware that although they do not tell you you can only order one at the sale price, that has been the case, at least I've heard that is. I personally didn't try it.) The book came so quickly that I was amazed. Compared to CM, it was much quicker. I was pleased with the result, although the pictures are a bit grainy, you get what you pay for! After receiving this album, I really wanted to get back to CM, if only so that I could return the product if I couldn't get it to work. After calling the CM tech, finally geting to order the album I'd made for my cousin a year ago, and having it shipped straight to him, (that was a nice feature and saved me paying shipping twice) I started to work on an album for Princess Camp. One thing I like about CM over the others is that I have more room for writing. I never felt like I had enough room for journalling with Snapfish, and often it really wrote small, too small to read on the computer screen. Sometimes you can enlarge your font, but not always, and at times you lose a lot of the words by enlarging it as much as you'd like.
So, that's where I am now, creating an album about Princess Camp via CM. I like that I'll be able to send my album to the other princess' moms when it's done. Then they can decide if they want one, too! I still have to figure out how to add on the second disk from the Storybook plus, but I'm getting there!

As for traditional scrapbooking, I decided to take over my daughter's desk for a bit and leave my scrapbooking supplies out. I have done a few pages and my problem there is that I have laid out all the pages, but have consistantly forgotten things I want to include (8x10 pictures, a program...) and end up having to reconfigure everything. Fortunately, I do this on paper with a pencil so that I can fix my mistakes. Whew! It's hard feeling this much pressure to get things done before the baby arrives! I haven't even mentioned the quilt and afgan I'm making!
Scrap Happy, I know I am!

capturing the little things

My daughter learned to tie her shoes last year, but since she didn't HAVE shoes that have laces, she had to learn on a shoe that was too small to wear. This is fine, but it really would have been strange if I had taken a picture of her tying a shoe that wasn't even on her foot. This soccer season, when she pulled out her cleats and started tying, I had to run in and grab the camera! I am impressed with all of the little things. When she learns to snap, does math in her head, suddenly shoots up an inch and 1/2 seemingly overnight, and says her classic sayings, the most recent one being, "way six" meaning that this is something that is perfect for 6 year olds.
A lot of these things are impossible to capture in a picture, so I write them down, and make mention of them in her album. But when I remember to capture the little things that I can take a picture of, I'll hold on to those memories forever. So, by all means capture the high school graduation in meaningful pictures, but don't forget to take a picture of that first lost tooth as well. One last thing; just as I didn't get a picture of the first time she tied her shoe, it's OK to get a picture a little late, even months later. It's still just as exciting!