Starting the new year off right

Happy New Year!
I usually don't make or keep resolutions in the new year, but this year is different! I have the feeling that this year is a clean slate, and a new start. I'm very excited about my resolutions, which I keep adding to! It's easy, because the list is in my head! I of course want to catch up on my daughter's album, get more organized, lose enough weight that my jeans will fit comfortably again.... the list goes on! I have already completely organized my daughter's room, even the closet. I have not eaten any junk in the new year, yet! It has been a whole entire day, though!
I am starting a new project. An album for a friend of mine's son. She has 2 boys and feels that if I just help her get caught up on one of the 2 albums, she will be able to keep it up from there.

Tip of the Day: Have a friend help you when you are sorting a large amount of photos. They won't know the month or events like you will, but having an extra set of eyes might catch things that you missed. If you are alone, sort your photos and then go slowly through them one more time to make sure that none of them are out of place. I hate finding a photo from Christmas in with my Easter pictures. Chances are, I found it as I was getting ready to scrapbook the Easter pictures and I have already scrapbooked the Christmas pictures pages and pages ago! In that situation, I end up trying to squeeze it onto an already ccompleted page, or just pitching it altogether.

Scrap Happy!

' Tis the season!

I haven't written much lately, have I? I'm sorry, but these last few weeks have been insanely busy! We are finally leaving for our vacation tomorrow, a day late due to a death in the family! I have finished my Christmas shopping, created a few of the Christmas gifts I am handmaking for family, sent the presents for out of state family members, decorated the whole house, packed, baked all of this year's Christmas cookies, had family Christmas photos taken, signed and sent all of my Christmas cards, and hosted my Christmas Open House!
Leaving for 2 weeks in December is harder than at other times of the year, as evidenced by my list above! Can you believe that I actually have found some time to scrapbook?! I have! I have been working on the album pages that I give the grandparents and my sister. This year, I'm also making one for my little brother, who is leaving for the Army in the new year. I have also decided to make 2 of those do-it-yourself calendars you can buy. That's just like scrapbooking a 12x12 page for each month. I have to finish all of this by Christmas and I will have one week to do it in! So, yes! I have been scrapbooking every spare minute, and often late at night.

Tip of the day: Don't buy vegetable spread to use as butter in your Christmas cookies! OH! Sorry! You say you want a tip that has to do with scrapbooking?
When making 4 albums for different family members, I'm often working with a lot of the same pictures for all four of them. In order to keep from getting bored, doing the same layout 4 times, I choose a different theme for each album and stick to it as much as I can. One of my close friends, Bekah, is making sister albums for herself and her 3 sisters. In her case, she has chosen to make the books identical so that no one will be jealous or cry "favoritism!" But she has confided that this can be very monotonous.

Scrap Happy!

Thankful heart

I had a great Thanksgiving with my family today! It was so special, because it was the first time in a long time that my mom was able to be there. She usually has to work. We had my family over, (minus my brother and his little family,) and my husband's family, which consists of his Mom and Dad. My husband is an awesome cook! He made a very memorable meal. We all loved the sweet potatoes, even those of us who HATE sweet potatoes usually. We all ate in my workshop area, since that's the only place we could fit everyone! We don't have a dining room. With the carpet and faux fireplace, it was really cozy!

I'm thankful for so many things! When I start listing them to myself, I end up going on and on for 20 minutes! My newest blessing is my new niece! She made me an aunt for the very first time! She is a tiny, little bundle, weighing under 5 pounds right now! Alas, I haven't seen her as she lives all the way in Texas! Thank God for pictures and the internet! I have already gotten to look at photos from this very Thanksgiving day! Even through the computer, I can see that she has changed so much the week since she's been born!

As I celebrate my birthday tomorrow, I look back and marvel at all the changes that have happened in my life this year, and thank God that I don't look as old as I am!

Scrap Happy!

Breaking albums

OK, here is my confession...I bought albums on sale at Michael's right before I committed to being a consultant. This is just 2 years ago. I bought these albums and gave them as gifts to my Mom, Mom-in Law, and my sister that Christmas. Every Christmas, I get copies of my favorite pictures of my daughter from that year, and I make pages for them to add to their albums. I'm the "professional", so they always have me put the pages into their albums. This means I'm not constantly taking pages in and out of these albums, they have only been touched 3 times at the most. Can you believe that these books are literally falling apart?! Sure, they were cheaper, but no wonder! They are junk! I was putting some of the pages in this year, and the strap that runs along the back of the album ripped! This strap is made of paper. Creative Memories makes an album that looks just like that one. Their straps are plastic. They don't rip! Another pet peeve of mine is the plastic straps in the cheaper books. These straps are part of the binding and hold the album together. The plastic sticks to the page and warps the page protector. Creative Memories uses plastic straps that are buffered. I never knew why they were buffered, but it must be so that they won't stick to the page protectors. Creative Memories costs more, BUT you get a better product, a lifetime guarantee, and they test their products extensively. It's worth it to me! Anyway, I had learned my lesson, and knew to be very careful when putting the other paper strap on. IT BROKE, TOO! AAAAAG! Now I have really learned my lesson, and I am just going to buy a Creative Memories album and replace it!
So, let's review. I bought the albums to save money, and ended up having to replace them in 2 years. I ended up spending more money than if I had just purchased CM albums in the first place!

Tip of the Day: If you want to save money on albums, ask your consultant to give you a call any time she has specials. Buy all the albums you will need over the coming year at that time.

Scrap Happy!

Busy weekend

This weekend, I had a poorly attended workshop, (hey, it WAS light up night!) and a vendor fair. I've only done 2 vendor's fairs, and I've come to really enjoy doing them! I set up my table with some supplies, and then my cutting tools and everything I've brought for me to use. I sit there and I scrapbook! Sometimes I get so engrossed that I don't even notice that someone is at my table. This is actually a good thing, because they don't feel like I'm watching them. I figure this also shows people how easy scrapbooking is! Best of all, I get to scrapbook! I'm now almost done with August. Since it's now the middle of November, this means that I am still quite a ways behind! I want to try to get all caught up before my trip to Disney World in December.
At the Vendor fair, I booked 2 parties and had several people interested in my making their albums for them. I also was able to meet several scrapbookers who didn't have a CM consultant. I felt like it was a day well spent!

Tip of the day: It's always a great time to sign up to be a consultant! The sooner you do it, the sooner you start buying your supplies at cost! Most of the "work" I do as a consultant is done at home. I hardly do parties or shows at all. I just love my job! Does it show?

Scrap Happy!

Grown-up scrapbooking

I realize that not everyone who scrapbooks has children. So, I thought I would think back to three years ago, (which seems a long time ago) and think about what I was scrapbooking. I remember being completely caught up! I wasn't really however, because just when you think you are caught up, you realize that there is another album you could be working on! My goal in the year I was pregnant was to scrapbook my whole life up to that point. I completed 2 albums, as well as keeping my current album caught up. I scrapbooked my childhood, and did an entire 12x12 album of the years my husband and I dated. I left work a whole month before my daughter was due and spent a lot of that time finishing those albums. I also had insomnia, so I often scrapped through the night. I finished my goal just prior to her birth!

Before I had a child I took pictures of our everyday life. My friends, sporting events, home improvement projects, vacations, my dog, my friend's kids....Pretty much the same as I do now! Now the difference is that most of my everyday life revolves around my daughter, so she makes her way into almost every picture! And I've found that I often don't bring my camera with me if I didn't bring my daughter with me! That's not necessarily a good thing! I take photos to remember these times and events I'm living. When I look back, I should have pictures of the events that she wasn't a part of! With the way I'm losing my memory, I'll probably look back and not remember that I often left my camera at home, and I'll think that I didn't do anything without her!

Tip of the Day: Take your camera with you the next time you go out without the kids!

Scrap Happy!

Sports!

This year, we have been blessed by getting to go to a Pirates game, a Pens game and 2 Steeler games, the latest one being this week's game! And all but one of them have been absolutely free! Over the years, I have taken photos at all 3 of these venues and created layouts highlighting these pictures. I have a few tips on how to preserve these photos. These tips can also be modified for theater and concert fans. Be creative!
Remember, if you are going to any sporting event, act with class, come dressed to support your home team (even if you have to borrow a jersey or team shirt from a friend. It will make you feel like a true fan!), and cheer at the top of your lungs!

Tips of the Day:
* Use the team colors to decorate your page.
*Use the team's symbol to inspire you, using the colors in it, or even drawing the symbol right on your page!
*Include the tickets in your page layout.
*Make a little pocket by using a CM sticker pouch and fill it with confetti, either from the actual game, or make some of your own!
* Write down what the weather was, where you were sitting, any crazy things that happened and don't forget to include the final score!
* Be sure to capture the whole day, from tailgating to where you went to celebrate after the win.
* Ask someone outside of your group to take a photo of all of you together.
* Take pictures with the field behind you if possible.
* Take a photo of the stadium! You might feel like it will be around forever, but it won't!

Scrap Happy!

Christmas Cards

It's almost time to start addressing those Christmas cards! Are you looking for a different idea for your Christmas cards this year? I was! I found several ideas in the Family Fun magazine. I decided to make a collage of pictures showing our year. I laid out the photos and some memorabilia on a flat surface and simply took a picture of it. Some photos I included were photos of Daddy and daughter in the snow, our family at the beach, my daughter and her best friend, tickets from some of the sporting events we went to, a picture of one of the newest members of our family, Aunt Sara, a sea shell, Mickey trinket, and a picture of our dog, Elmo. I took this to the store and had photo cards made. These are our Christmas cards this year! It's similar to the idea of writing a Christmas letter. I liked it because I was able to incorporate pictures and trinkets, giving it a 3D feel!

Tip of the Day:I used at least one photo from each season to show how my daughter had grown during the year. For the best result, use close ups. Use photos that are very clear and bright. No dark pictures! Set up your collage outdoors for better lighting, but don't have it in direct sunlight. I set my collage up on the floor of my porch and stood over the picture to take it. I zoomed in a little so that the photos would be easier to see.

Scrap Happy!

the once a week scrapbooker

Lately I've been feeling that if I haven't scrapped, what is there to write about?! As a result, my blogs have been here and there, nothing very dedicated. I finally scrapped yesterday! I had a call from a customer who's more like a friend, and her and another friend came by to scrap with me! I got caught up in what I was working on, and couldn't stop, even after they left! I am pleased to announce that I have finished the second book for the 10th grader! It feels like I've been working on it for a long time, because I have been working on my daughter's as well. I like it and I hope the family loves it! Now on to book #3!

Tip of the Day: I'm forced to admit that often when I want time to scrapbook, I just start an endless parade of DVDs for my 3 year old. She is only right in the other room, but I feel guilty when she watches more than one video a day. Another option is for me to let her "scrapbook" right alongside me. She has her own scrapbook; an inexpensive paper one with a leopard print cover that I bought at Walmart. I give her stickers, markers, scissors, paper and sometimes doubles of my pictures, and let her have at it. This way we're spending time together and she is doing something somewhat productive.
Scrap Happy!

My 50th blog!

HI! I just had a day filled with scrapping! Today was the second of my Croptoberfests and I was able to meet my goal of having 12 people attend! Four of the girls came to both, because we had so much fun! Today, I made muffins and my mom brewed coffee to start everyone's day off right at 10am! We accomplished a lot in the 9 hours we were all together. The conversation was awesome! I love hearing the stories of how everyone met their husbands! Some shared pictures of their kids 20 years ago, and pictures of them going to their first dances and the prom. We praised the work of artists able to tie the right colors together, use scrapbooking tools in unique ways, and finding that perfect page element to tie it all together! We helped each other with page ideas, and shared our supplies. We ate together, laughed together, and congratulated the mother who didn't even shed a tear as she completed the pages of her youngest daughter's first day at college! My daughter "scrapbooked" with us for awhile, even sticking a few surprise stickers on Gramma's page when she wasn't looking! Through the door, I had the most beautiful view of the neighbor's tree in all of it's golden-orange splendor.
(sigh!) It was the perfect day!

Tip of the Day: I'm stealing this from a friend who was doing this at my Croptoberfest today. She is just starting a photo album for her daughter. She is alternating every page with pictures of her daughter on one page and her daughter's husband on the facing page. She'll do this as they grow up, until they meet. It is very sweet, and something you may have heard of, but I just wanted to remind you that you don't need to worry if your kids are already grown and you haven't made them an album yet! It's never too late to start!
Scrap Happy!

Croptoberfest

HI! I had my Croptoberfest today, the first of 2 if you are counting, and it was a lot of fun! It was hectic at first, and one person showed up an hour early, thanks to the time change. Over all, I think it was a long, but productive day!
Of course, everything happens all at once! My Aunt JoAnne from Arizona is in Pennsylvania today, but it was her last here day in a short weekend. (she just came in for a funeral) She and my Mom stopped by, and that was really special because I got to show her my business, and my workshop room, "in action"! She is actually a fellow consultant! That's not all! She is the person who got me started with the whole scrapbooking obsession! So, it was exciting, but hectic, and I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Tip of the Day: Take a second to thank the person who introduced you to scrapbooking. That first little 3 ring binder and tape tabs , and photo-safe tips my aunt sent me changed my life! It was years before I told her that she was the influence that got me started on what is now not just a major hobby for me, but a career! Thank you, Aunt Jo!
Scrap Happy everyone!

My Workshop Warmover

It has been awhile since I've written! I have done some scrapbooking this week and I have planned out my pages through August. Since I use Cm albums, it isn't hard to insert the pre-vacation pages I just completed this week. I would have done more scrapbooking, but my dear husband has been busy winterizing my scrapbooking area and I don't want to get in his way! My workshop area is in the garage and can get pretty frosty! So he bought me one of those fireplace looking heaters and put up insulation this week! He also dropped the ceiling lighting and now it's so much brighter! I'm excited to show off my new, warmer workshop area this weekend at my Croptoberfest! Croptoberfest is an all day scrapbooking event with prizes, and other special activities. I'm having 2 this year. One this Sunday the 30th of October and one on November 5th. My goal is pretty modest! I'm hoping that a combined 12 people attend. I'm also hoping to get some pages done myself!

Tip of the day: It's the time of the year when your hands need lotion 24/7. However, be very careful when you are scrapbooking, to have clean, unlotioned hands! Wash your hands before scrapbooking, and then dry them thoroughly. Make a habit of applying lotion to your hands upon the completion of the days scrapbooking. Before I go to bed, I put a liberal amount of Jergens Ultra lotion on my hands and I wear clean socks on my hands! You can buy fancy mits, but socks work at keeping the lotion on your hands all night.
Scrap Happy!

scrapping through the night

I had another one of those nights on Friday! You know the kind I mean. I could not stop scrapping because I just kept having ideas for pages! I have days where my creativity flows like a rain-flooded river and other days where I feel like I'm looking back at my own reflection from a dirty puddle of water. I was afraid to stop scrapping for fear that Saturday I would wake up without the great ideas. I ended up scrapping on Saturday, too. My pages still turned out great! It was perfect weather for scrapping; rainy, dark and cold. Better yet, I'm working on pages of SUMMER! So, for a little while at least, I was warm and still dressed in my bathing suit!

Tip of the Day: Lately, I live by the less is more when it comes to scrapbooking. I like clean lines on my pages, no clutter, few embellishments. But for my 4th of July page, I did something different! I covered the page with 2 different sheets of paper , one a patterned red and the other a star covered navy blue. I tore the blue, so that the tear showed white. These 2 large triangles of paper cover the page making a nice background for the 3 photos. (one is matted in black) I also made a tag out of white paper, trimmed in black. I punched a star-shaped hole in it, and shredded some paper to make the ribbon for the tag. I wrote right on my finger, and used my fingerprints to make a border to decorate the tag. I placed white letter stickers on more of the navy paper and cut around it, so that each letter has it's own mat. I used star stickers to dot the "i"s and to decorate the tag, which said "July 4th, 2005". I am so pleased with the end result! I think that some days are special and your page should reflect that! So for special days layouts in your photo albums, don't hesitate to go all out!!!
Scrap Happy!

The trees are falling apart!

Fall this year has been beautiful! We in Pennsylvania have had nice weather, and the leaves have only recently started to fall. Yesterday, my mom and daughter spent a lot of time outside, and they gathered up acorns, pinecones and leaves of red and yellow. My daughter was shocked to find the leaves all over Gramma's yard! "The trees are falling apart!" she said. Ironically, I had just finished my pages of our beach vacation that morning. Remember how I said I was going to try to use only certain sticker packs and paper? Well, I ended up using the ones I had planned for most of it, but using paper from several packs and adding a few stickers from different packs as well. I'm very pleased with the end result, and even my husband didn't seem to notice the error I had made, skipping an entire page and using it for a completely different day! If he didn't notice, then I think I'm safe, because he and my daughter were the only other people there!

Tip of the Day: Something my mom seemed to like in my beach pages: In a journaling area on one page I wrote the date, put a sprinkling of sea shell stickers to break up the page, then wrote a little something else, added another sticker, wrote...you get the idea.

Packing up the beach vacation

Well, all good things must come to an end! I am working on the last 2 pages of my beach vacation. It has been so nice...At least I now get to show other people my vacation, through my pictures! I love that part of scrapbooking, too!

Tip of the Day: I always put my pictures in chronological order, always. Well, I made a mistake with my beach pictures and ended up putting an entire page out of order. I mean, it's several DAYS behind, and I just couldn't go back and figure out how to squeeze it in. Fortunately, no one will ever know besides me. That's the great thing about a beach vacation! You are wearing a bathing suit in every picture! My tip, don't sweat the small stuff! In this case, I was able to let it go.
Scrap Happy!

Re-living my beach vacation

I've been scrapbooking my beach vacation, and (sigh) it is so nice to remember! I've been getting my pages done so fast, because I did page layouts ahead of time, and I have been doing simple pages; some cropping, a matted picture here and there, some stickers and paper for a splash of color, and plenty of journaling. There was one walk on the beach that I really wanted to remember, so I just have 2 pictures on the page, and a lot of writing. I went into great detail, so that I won't forget how the moon looked on the ocean waves, and the sweet things that my daughter said, and the cute things she does. Some things you just can't capture in a photo!

Tip of the Day: If you are going to be sharing your scrapbooking tools with other scrappers, make sure to label them with a sharpie or sticker. People don't mean to take your things, but it can easily happen when everyone's things get mixed.
Scrap Happy!

Pumpkin Patch

Over the weekend, we took my daughter to the pumpkin patch. I don't know why I never took her before! The drive was long, but it was in mostly rural areas, so we were able to enjoy the changing leaves. Once there, we took the hayride to the pumpkin patch, all 3 of us, sitting on bales of hay. My baby girl sat between her father and I, with one hand on each of our knees. It couldn't have been more perfect! Walking through the pumpkin patch was a treat, too. She was very particular about the pumpkin she wanted. The criteria was that it had to be small, like her, spiderless, and clean. This was a tall order, and she did adopt several pumpkins along the way. Mom and Dad were enlisted to carry them of course, but she eventually chose "the one", and to my amazement, it isn't near to perfection by a long shot!
I took almost an entire roll of film there! I just wanted to capture the day. It was so much fun!

Tip of the Day: I take great care to watch what's behind my subject when I'm taking a photo. It was killing me when I saw a mom take several pictures of her daughter with her chosen pumpkin, because she had the gravel road in the background. If the mom had taken the picture from a different angle, the whole pumpkin patch would have been behind her daughter; clearly a better background! Train your self to look at the whole picture!
Scrap Happy!

If you find yourself in a desert, make a beach!

I'm Back! I decided to just skip July and most of August in my daughter's album for now and go straight to scrapping our beach vacation! I am loving it! I don't want to tear myself away! I'm using Spargo pages, which is something new for me, but let me tell you, it looks so good with sand and ocean pictures! I'm also using the new wave paper from the Aqua paper pack, and Nautical Beach and Canada sticker packs. I'm going to try to do the whole vacation using just these products. I like to challenge myself, what can I say? I am probably going to end up using other paper colors as well, to compliment my photos. I've done 3 pages over the weekend, and I'm having a ball!

Tip of the Day: Every Beach vacation, I write the year in the sand, and sometimes I'll write "Ocean City" as well, and then I take a picture of my little one with the writing.

Scrap Happy!

A scrapbooking desert

Hi! It's me again, and I hate to admit that I haven't scrapped in over a week. My challenge didn't get the desired affect, and I failed miserably! I just don't seem to have the desire right now to scrapbook! Don't be horrified, it's probably just a phase, and I'll get over it as soon as I make time to scrapbook! Until then, here's a tip!

*.:Tip of the Day: Dots can make such a difference! :. Sometimes, I like to sprinkle a little pixie dust, if you will, all around a sticker, page title, even my pictures themselves.*. Here's what I mean. You have completed your page, but it just looks so blah! Using the fine tipped pens, draw some tiny dots right on the page, here and there. I like to use the round tip pen as well, but a little more sparingly. You can use as many colors as you like, or just one. Stop when it looks just right! .:
:*:Scrap Happy! :.*

Take me out to the ballgame!

For someone who often pretends she is playing in a go-go (baseball) game, my daughter really didn't pay much attention to what was happening on the field when we took her to her first Pittsburgh Pirates' homegame. It was the last game of the season, and a toasty 79 degrees in the stands! But the Pirates actually WON, and they even hit a couple homeruns, so we were able to see some fireworks! Best of all were the shots I got of my 3 year old, eating ice, wearing my too-big baseball cap, crawling through the pirate ship, and smiling with her mom and dad before the game. She loved the pirate music and the players turned into pirates that they showed up on the Jumbo tron. She ate the meat and tomatoes out of my gyro, loved having a huge pretzel, and made her dad and I crack up when she threw her arm up in the air and yelled to get the lemonade vendor's attention! These are the memories that I didn't get captured on film. But through the power of the pen, they will be remembered!

Tip of the Day: Save your tickets and put them on the page next to, but not touching your pictures.
Scrap Happy!