the "I" in team

It's that time of the year again! Time to dust off the ole' bat and glove and focus on springtime sports. Last year was my daughter's first experience playing a sport that wasn't feminine in any way. But she is still very much a girl, and I wanted these page layouts to reflect that. I used soft pinks and lilacs and baseball stickers to do these pages. I also captured my daughter as she is, wearing her pink butterfly shirt to practice, swinging her pink bat and holding her pink baseball mitt, and taking her T ball pictures in front of the tulips that were in bloom.

It can be hard to get pictures during the game. I've noticed this with soccer and dance as well. The kids just seem so far away from you when they are on the field (or on stage). I've found it easier to get closer during practices, when the coaches probably won't mind as much. It's OK to ask for permission, and the coaches will probably appreciate that and try to make it easier for you to get a good shot if you ask. They will let you know the best time to take the picture, so that it won't interfere with practice.

While we are talking about coaches, I'd like to give you my little tip for making coaches feel special. I like to give my favorite coaches a little thank you gift at the end of the season. You can give a framed photo, or if you're willing to spend a little more, get something made with a picture of your child and the coach or the whole team. We gave my daughter's soccer coach a mug with the team picture on it last year. We were even able to personalize it to say thanks to the coach.

Right now, my daughter is just about to start Teeball for the spring season. She is also getting ready for her dance recital which will be at the beginning of next month. Soccer started 2 weeks ago. Whew! I have plenty of opportunities to take pictures; let's just hope I get time to scrap them!

Scrap Happy!

For more Easter page and picture ideas, simply click on my past blogs. I have several past blogs on Easter. Remember, Easter isn't really about eggs and bunnies. It's about a God who loved you so much that he gave his own child to save your life. Happy Easter!

Easter pages

Last year I took so many pictures of my daughter in her Easter dress. It was special because it was the first time she had picked out her own dress. I think she is so beautiful! When it came time to do the pages, I had a lot of fun, using sticker packs from most of the power pallets on the many pages. On this page, I included shots I had taken of her dancing around in the yard. I love it!

For this page, I used my pink pen to do most of the embellishing, framing the photos with it ....

and matching it to this sticker. This was where I got all the inspiration for this page. Since I didn't have any other stickers that would match this one, I made my own flowers.

This page was probably my favorite because it screams "KID!" It's just so colorful! I used the CM primary paper from one of the power pallets and started the word "jellybeans" with one of the everyday ABC stickers. I like how the papers all match in the pallets. It makes it super easy to mat a picture. Notice that I also cut the eggs so that I could have the bottom of the picture slip underneath them. I tossed a couple of jellybean stickers up in the corner and I was all set.

All the embellishments here are Creative Memories, and no, I do not sell it or get paid to mention them. I simply like the quality!

Scrap Happy!

Finding "me" time

I have been scrapbooking my son's album this week and I'm appreciating this desk that I can leave a scrapbooking mess on. In the past, I would scrapbook in the basement or years ago, upstairs! So, having my scrapbooking area set up so close to the action of the house is enabling me to get a lot more accomplished in the short time I have. The page I did last night contains one of my all time favorite pictures of my kids. I had it blown up to an 8x10 since I liked it so much because I wanted it to be a page of it's own. I decorated this page simply, using a quote sticker that I really liked from the Inspirations pack. (CM) I used a black pen to write my title, so that it would match. I drew the hearts freehand and then did something I don't normally do. I colored my finger and used it as a stamper to fill in the hearts. It gave them a soft, imperfect and personal feel.

When looking over all the pages I've done this week in my new son's book, this simple one was my favorite! I feel that most of the pages I've done this week are not that creative, and are pretty plain, as my goal is to get the pages completed. I have done a lot of journaling at this point, because I really wanted to write out the details of how we found out we were expecting him, his birth story and different things like that. I'm blessed to have saved one of the old baby boy kits from CM. It's now retired. I was tickled to find the baby boy sticker pack, still for sale on Creative Memories' website. They also have new baby packs, as well as new kids packs. I placed an order on the website and was pleased with how quickly they shipped it directly to me! Things are going to get accomplished now!

Scrap Happy!

Basketful of Clean Baby

Babies smell so good! I don't know if it's the special baby shampoo, the fact that they eat nothing but milk, or that they are so pure and sweet, but they smell delicious! When I hold my little man, his soft hair is just at the right level for my nose to smell, and for my lips to kiss him on the top of his bobbing little head.

I enjoyed my daughter as a baby. I still do. She's six, but since she has been sick, I am transfixed by her tiny little woman hands. When did they lose their chubbiness? When did her fingers get so long and slender? Since the baby, I find myself amazed by the fact that her legs seem to stretch on and on and her head is gigantic now, compared to my new baby boy. When did this happen? Until he was born 2 months ago, she was my baby! Now, she suddenly seems so grown up! You can see this in pictures where she is proudly holding her brother. I see it in daily life. She no longer calls me when she is going to get sick, she merely reaches for her basin. She answers the phone, doesn't expect me to check on her after I've put her to bed, and only needs help washing her long hair in the shower. I can casually suggest things to wear, but the days of my choosing her outfits are long over, even for family pictures.

I was so excited to get the pictures I ordered in the mail yesterday. Now I have pictures to scrap for my daughter's album. Exciting pictures of her becoming a big sister, and our giant pine trees being chopped down, our super bowl party and Valentine's day. I look forward to making fun pages for her to look at again and again. I love scrapbooking, duh! So I look forward to that aspect of it as well. But all of this is for her to remember how important she is to her daddy and I. I guess a big part of it is also for me to remember her as she was when she was still my baby, my little girl and soon to be a little lady.

Scrap Happy!

Taking Great Zoo Pictures

A lot of the same rules apply at the zoo, as they do in life. I took this picture of the camel, and while it's cute, scroll down and see how much better the camel looks when I took a close up of it. Rule: Close ups are the best!

I took 13 pictures of the lions and from several different angles. Once I was home, I went through and found the one I liked best. Rule: take a lot of pictures! Here is the lion roaring....

and here is my daughter roaring right back! I stuck my camera over the railing to get the picture of my daughter's face. In the picture below, you can't even tell she is roaring, and there is too much "nothing" in the picture. Boring! Rule: point of view is very important!

We move on to my favorite creatures at the zoo, and also the cutest!

This picture was taken right after my little guy had woken up from a nap. He was so happy to see us! The only problem here is the flash on glass. I had to use the flash, because there wasn't enough light inside and because it is very hard to get a good shot of my little guy without flash since he moves almost constantly as he tries to keep his head up, which makes pictures of him blurry! Rule: Make sure your kids are well rested if you want a smile.

This picture is just because we were in the right place at the right time. Rule: Have that camera ready, because you just never know when that photo opportunity will occur at the zoo!

Ok, I just liked this guy's expression! Rule: If the animals are closer than normal, take advantage of it!

And here we have my camel picture that I love so much! This was also another perfect zoo picture day because it was slightly overcast, which makes for good pictures.

Other zoo rules:

Don't take pictures through the fence. If you can see fencing or netting in the picture, it isn't going to work.

Bring extra batteries! We all know why and some of us have had to learn from experience. But if your batteries do run out, you may be able to get at least one more shot by shutting your camera off for a bit and even removing the batteries and then putting them back in.

Don't use a flash when taking pictures through the glass.

Sometimes it's nice to take picture of your kids from behind, looking at the animals. I like to do this but point something out to my daughter that is off to the side and causes her to look that way. Then I get a side view of her face, and it's really cute.

The Pittsburgh zoo has footprints of some animals in the cement, (I particularly like the polar bear) which you can have your kids put their feet next to. This makes an adorable picture.

Scrapbooking zoo pages is fun. Please take pictures of your kids at the zoo, and not just the animals. Then, when you scrapbook, you can put several pictures of animals on a page with at least one picture of your kids.

I like to get a picture of my daughter with the "Kid's Kingdom" sign at the zoo. You can see her grow through the years.

Getting pictures at the monkey house is tricky for me. Usually, I just enjoy the stinky little beasts and give up the idea of taking pictures there. I did get a cute one of my daughter looking at the gibbon this last time. It looks like he is looking back at her and they are both resting their heads. It's funny. To take it, I focused on her and didn't stand too close.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures and maybe learned something, I don't know! Are there any places or events you would like to take pictures, and would like ideas or tips? I'll try to help! Just leave me a comment and let me know. I'll do my best to answer your questions in one of my future blogs.

Scrap Happy!

As if I need another excuse to take pictures!

Last summer, I wrote a princess story specifically for each girl who attended Princess Camp. On the day of the photo shoot, I tried to take pictures that would go with the story I had written them. The last day of camp, I gave each of them photos that I had taken that week, some posed and some random shots and let them scrapbook their personalized books. Are you following me? I have since changed all 15 of the princess stories on my computer, putting my daughter's information in to make them HER stories and have created a collaboration of all of them for her to have. Now I just needed the pictures to go with the stories! The picture above is from the "Candy Princess" and the picture below is from "The Island Princess. " It has taken quite some time to personalize the stories, print them ( I ran out of ink!) and take all of these pictures to go with them! But right now, I'm actually taking a break from putting all of the stories into plastic sleeves and into a folder. So, I'm getting there.

Having just had a new baby, it was harder to find the time to do these things, but it was really nice to have that special time with my daughter, getting her dressed to match the story and having little photo shoots here and there. Today she wrote me a short little note (on toilet paper!) thanking me for making the book for her. I bought her some princess scrapbooking supplies, and intend on letting her have free reign designing pages for the pictures we will insert in the non-photo safe plastic folders. I'm hoping that she can scrapbook at her desk, while I am right nearby, catching up on her album! I'm sure we'll be reading these stories at bedtime for a few years to come!

A Digital Baby Album

I'm caught up on my new son's digital album because I do a few pages every time I have enough pictures. The fuzzy photo above is what the side of the screen looks like. it shows you the pages you have completed, and the page you see blank is left waiting for pictures I want to take of the baby's room.

He already has 38 pages in his album, and this is one that I just did today.

I'm really loving this kind of scrapbooking. My supplies aren't all out everywhere, my pages are so easy to switch around if I decide I want different pages facing one another, and there are so many cool things you can do with the Storybook 2 Creator program! After I took this picture of the above page, I decided I wanted to give the circular photos some shadow, so I did! It changed the page so much. I do miss my stickers, but you can purchase "digital stickers", I'm just being cheap and also, I know that the more toys I have to play with, the longer it will take me to do a page!

For example, I designed the page above, making the picture of the baby after his bath the background (it has a bit of a haze to it as well, to make it soft) and adding the pictures with soft edges to complete the page. This is the second page of his first bath. The first isn't shown here, and I will journal on it, leaving this page journal free. I still do my journaling later, even in my digital scrapbooking! See, uploading photos and creating pages are something I can do while nursing, and I save the journaling for a time when everyone is sleeping.

Scrap Happy!

Representing!

I was contacted by my daughter's instructional supervisor telling me that my daughter was chosen to represent cyber schools in a yearly campaign of some kind. This campaign chooses students that have chosen an nontraditional method of schooling, be it private school, homeschooling or cyber school, and tells their story. So, I felt it was a huge honor for her to be chosen.

They typically send out a photographer to take pictures of the child in their school environment. This year, time was of the essence, so they told me the dates and times which happened to be the week we were already living through! None of the times worked for me, and there was some confusion with them asking us to drive out to Midland , PA (much too far away!). The person putting all of this together asked me if I knew a photographer in the area, and if not, the plan was to send someone from Midland out. The only issue still seemed to be time, as there was just a week left until the deadline. I sent her a few of my recent pictures and offered to take the photos if that would be easiest. So, she agreed, and these are a few of the dozen photos I sent in.

At first, my daughter was disappointed that a photographer wasn't going to be coming out. But I let her choose her own outfit, and I think she had as much fun posing for the pictures as I did taking them. We didn't have any arguments, and the lighting in our new addition was great!

I don't know if you'll see any of these pictures in a newspaper or postcard or anywhere else, but I'm pleased to say that I took them. My daughter is a beautiful girl and one of my 2 favorite people to photograph. She makes my job easy!

Scrap Happy!

free digital prints!

I have spent hours choosing the pictures I want and putting uploading them to various sites so that I can order them for the least amount possible! I figured out that I could get them cheapest at Sam's Club, however I am not liking how they are uploading from that site. They just don't look clear, and it takes longer. So, I went back to Snapfish, because I know I like their quality, just not their shipping prices! Then today I found out about Artscow. They have a promotion that will let you get quite a lot of digital prints for free when you first use them. Since I have quite a lot of pictures to get developed from January & February, I am in the process of uploading my pictures as I write this! I wanted to share this deal with all of you, too! I think if you mention my name as the one who referred you, I might get even more free photos. Exciting!

Here is the e-mail ArtsCow.com just sent me:

"You can now enjoy 1200 free print credits, including 600 4x6s and 600 5x7s. Remember to Login your account, and check out the "Credit and Discount" for other photo gift credits, we will post coupon codes and special discount offers there frequently.

8" x 8" Custom Imagewrap Hardcover Photo Book (20 pages)At $6.99 with free shipping. Checkout Coupon Code : PBS699 For New member only, one use per Household. Limited time only. "


Scrap Happy!

Of guys and dolls

I love this picture. I can't tell you how hard it was to get it on my blog, so I won't, but that was the reason I am a week behind. In this picture, my children are laying on my chest, so I couldn't see what I was taking until after I took the digital picture. This is my second shot. The first one was just a bit high, so I cut a little off the tops of their heads, but I adjusted it and liked the result. The natural light from the window is above the kids, and I liked how the soft pinks and blues looked with my girl and boy. I'm amazed how much my son has already changed since this picture. His face is filled out now. I love to hold him.

I have not traditionally scrapbooked since my son was born a month ago. But truthfully, although I have been taking many, many pictures, they are usually of the baby, so I'm not too far behind in my daughter's album. I have been keeping up with his pictures, because I have been making an online album. It's easy to go on the computer and choose a page layout and the best pictures, and lay out several pages that way. Then when I have time, I go back and journal. I have already done over 20 pages in my online album.

I have also gotten the kids pictures taken professionally. I had my kids get photos in their Steelers jerseys and I framed one and gave it to my husband for Valentine's Day. I was actually able to keep it a secret! I think I saw tears in his eyes when he unwrapped it, yet he denies it. I had gotten our daughter's picture taken the last time the Steelers went to the Super Bowl, and he had mentioned once that we should get their pictures taken again since the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl. Anyway, they were cute pictures.

I took the baby to get his one month picture taken this week, and although he was crying, we did get several keepers. None of him smiling, but several of him with his eyes open. I had brought 2 outfits, which ended up being needed, as he spit up on his first one! I also kept a cloth at the ready. When choosing your professional pictures, make sure you look at the whole shot. I have noticed that just like an amateur, the photographers will sometimes cut off a hand or foot or have it off centered in a way that doesn't look natural. Also, the props that they use can tend to get dirty or stained over time, so watch as they are taking the pictures and be sure to say something at the time so that you don't regret it later. I learned that from experience!

Lately, my little guy has begun smiling even more, and getting a shot of his wide, gummy smile has been a fun accomplishment! He is making eye contact, and is getting fun to play with. His hair seems to be curly, and can even get kind of crazy. I love his baby coos and sweet smells. I enjoy him immensely!

Scrap Happy!

Our Birth Story

I loved being pregnant for the last 9 months! I was in no hurry to go into labor, especially with the addition being built. Our house has been dusty, noisy and dusty..oh, did I already say that? Well, it was. I was told that the addition would be done by Thursday, and that is the morning I ended up getting contractions! Knowing the guys would be at my house soon to start work for the day, I jumped in the shower and managed to stall the contractions.

After they left that night, I cleaned for 2 hours, and then took a nap. when I woke up, contractions started, and I had them all night. I didn't trouble my husband about it, I didn't even get up, instead I counted the length of my contractions in my head (in Spanish) and would sleep in between them. I have no idea how close together they were, but I wasn't worried. That Am, when I got up to get some cereal, they petered away again.

I started to clean, this time starting on the kitchen. I have to tell you that while you may be thinking I was "nesting", I'm not sure that was all it was. You see, my kitchen was coated in dust from the work on the addition, and I just wanted to get it clean now that the work was all done! It really needed cleaned and I felt the baby would come at any time.

I ended up calling my doctor, because... (and I hope this isn't TMI)#1. I had been bleeding these last 2 days, but mostly #2. because my friend and husband had begged me to call. I was surprised when they wanted me to come right in. Well, I didn't rush right in, and didn't even call my husband until the last second, telling him to not be concerned and I'd call when I got home. As I was leaving, the office called and told me that they were now taking their lunch, could I come in from 1-1:30? I tried to call my husband, but got a message saying he was out of the office for 2 weeks! Great! Now I figure he is at the doctor's in the parking lot, waiting for me and I had no way to reach him. (He was.) I left and went around the block to drop off some library books, and as I passed my street, I saw his truck park in front of my house! I did a 3 point turn in the middle of the main street and zipped up before he had made it in the house. He wanted to get the overnight bag and take it with us, so..OK, I'd wait in the truck. He can't get in the house. Yep, apparently the deadbolt won't open! Ok, so we head to the doctors without the bag.

At the office, they tell me I am in early stages of labor and to go home and wait for my contractions....you know the drill. They decide to put me on a stress test to check on baby. It's nice to hear the heartbeat and OH! Contractions start again. Right away they are 6-7 minutes apart. (I forgot to mention that I am at 4 cm and 75% effaced.) Well, apparently the baby doesn't like the contractions, it's little heart rate slows to 90 with one and then drops to 80 with the next and the nurse and midwife come rushing in and tickle the baby's head and tell me I should go straight to the hospital.

So, we go home to get my bag and I am having regular contractions. My husband breaks down the door to get my bag, we collect my daughter and MIL, and head to the hospital in after school traffic. I am breathing great through my contractions, with no formal training!!! We get to the hospital between 3:30 and 4, and I walk up to the triage. We go in to fill out paperwork and then they stick us in a room and won't let my daughter in. They say she can come see me once I am settled in my Labor and Delivery room. I have found that I want to sit up during contractions, and breath through them. I tell my husband to hold my hands and to remind me to breathe, and remind me to relax. He was a very effective coach, and reminded me, even when I got snippy with him for doing so!

The baby was still not reacting to the contractions well, and they wanted me to stop sitting up since they couldn't hear the heartbeat when I sat and shifted the monitors. But that was the way I was coping, so I ignored them, instead focusing on the heartbeat of the baby and asking after each one if it was OK. They rushed me to L&D, and the doctor came in fast. They wouldn't let me see my daughter, and that about broke my heart. I cried then. Meanwhile, she was wanting to see me as well. I hadn't even gotten to kiss her and tell her I'd see her later! It was just all happening so fast.

I love how the new nurses would come in as I am having a contraction and introduce themselves to me! I had to ignore them as they would ask me questions and everything! Honestly! I was kinda busy girls! The doctor asked me how bad the contractions were, and I felt I could manage. I have had migraines and pretty horrible cramps in my life, so I felt like I'd had worse pain. They did ask me about every 5 minutes if I wanted an epidural, and that was annoying! Even my dear husband was getting worried that it would be too late for me to get one. They checked me and I was 6 cm dilated and they broke my water which had been bulging since the doctor's office.

OK, now the pain is bad, and to top it off, they will not let me sit up! They will let me get on my hands and knees, but that just won't work for me. I am feeling pressure. I finally agree to an epidural and they have to give me an IV as well, and the epidural takes 3 tries to get it right. This is all while I am having contractions pretty much constantly at this point. As soon as they finish the epidural, the doctor checks me and says it's time to push since I am at 10 cm! Ok, they said the epidural would start working in 10-12 minutes! I pushed the baby out in about that! Oh, and I screamed and was a little grumpy and said, "I can't do it!' more than once. It was painful! But I will always have this mental picture of my son being born. Holding him, I immediately saw perfection. I felt an immediate connection. I felt complete again.

With him, I don't feel any pressure to impress anyone. I don't feel any competition. I don't feel any hurry. He is my baby. I can spend hours sitting on the couch holding him; looking at him. I have a second chance to be a mom, to experience everything new through his eyes. I have my girl, and now I have my boy. This is my life.

He's 3 weeks old now, and I can't always get him to stop crying like I used to. I see him changing right before my eyes. His face is fuller and his feet come down into the footsie area of those tiny sleepers now. When his fists grip my hair, it hurts! It is both a relief and a burden that the place he is most comfortable is in my arms. I am mesmerized by his tiny feet, taking picture upon picture of them in my goal of capturing the smallness. I have pages and pages done in his online album I'm making for him. I'm going to fit as many pages in it as CM will allow me to.

Scrap Happy!

Size Relationships

Having just had a tiny baby, I find myself very interested in the smallness that makes up his world. His tiny feet....

A body that isn't much bigger than a beanie baby....

his head in comparison to his Daddy's hand.....

or his sister's hands with his.

There is just so much to love about this tiny little person!

Scrap Happy!

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!

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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.



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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!

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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....

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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!

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