Be a memory keeper...

I am the memory keeper of the Starsky family.  It's the reason I am not in very many photos.  It's the reason my children roll their eyes everytime I say, "wait, let me get my camera".   It's the reason I have a page of quotes from our family on my ipod.  It's the reason I scrap. 

 

 

The challenge this month at Scrap It Girl is MINI-BOOKS.  It was the kick I needed to make this family dictionary that has been an idea in my head for a VERY long time.

 

 

 

I used this fabulous paper from My Mind's Eye for the front and back covers.  I covered these wood rounded rectangles from my stash with the paper-- making sure I spread the glue thinly all over, right up to the edges (I used Tacky Glue).

 

I sanded the edges to make sure the paper and the wood were like one.

 

 

Then, I inked the edges.

Then, the fun part.  I cut lots of papers into 4x6 cards and typed the definitions of all of our family sayings.  It's all of our "secret codes" and all of the phrases, sayings, and names we have for things that are unique to our family.  We had kept a list on the fridge for about a week and just kept adding to it when we remembered one.  I used paper colors that coordinated with my front and back cover (turquoise, aqua, olive, lime, kraft brown, etc.)

I used my sticker stash for the word/phrase at the top of each page.  What a great way to use up my stash of alpha stickers (however, my stash doesn't appear to look any smaller--hmmm).

 

On some of the pages I added washi tape or a piece of ribbon or paper trim. 

 

On the top or side of each page I added a shape, tag, tape, or border and then glued two cards together (so the tags and shapes stick out between the two cards).

 

After decorating the front cover with some Sizzix alphabet letters, I punched holes in all the cards, drilled a hole in the covers with my Fiskars Hand Drill , slid in a ring, and tied a few ribbon scraps on the ring.

So, now it is your turn.  Make a mini!  Take the Scrap It Girl August Challenge--there is a great prize pack too!

~Kelly

 

 

Be pushed out of your comfort zone...

  Papers are a mish-mash of Bella Blvd., My Mind's Eye, Close to My Heart, and others



Over at Chicagoland Scrapbooker, we (the design team) were given the assignment to scrap with a color you find difficult to work with.  Now, I would never say I "hate" orange, after all, I do love my Fiskars/Fiskateers, but I find orange really difficult to infuse into my scrapbooking layouts. 

I find it bright, overpowering, and difficult to coordinate with other colors--I can't even get different shades of orange to complement each other!

Here are my tips for working with orange...

• Use a neutral to tone it down.  In this layout of "the silliest witch", I  have used black to keep the orange from overpowering the layout and the photo.
• Take your cue from the holidays.  Halloween and Autumn photos give you a starting point for orange---use it.
• Play off a bit of orange that is present in your photo.  In the photo on my layout, her orange t-shirt peeking out from under her cape is all I needed to permit the orange layout to happen.  If she was wearing a yellow or green t-shirt, I just don't think I would have chosen an orange background paper for this layout.

 

Now, it's your turn.  What is the color you love to hate?  Create a layout with the color you find difficult to work with and link it in the comments at the Chicagoland Scrapbooker post, found here, or post it on the Chicagoland Scrapbooker Facebook page.  You have until April 5th (noon, CST).  We are pushing you out of your comfort zone...do you accept the challenge?

 

~Kelly

Be efficient...

 

I'm not always the most efficient when I am away at a crop.  Between chatting with friends and feeling like I'm going to want something that I left at  home (despite overpacking and bringing a ton of "stuff"), I don't always get a lot done. 

 

If I had a plan, instead of throwing supplies in haste an hour before I leave, maybe I would be more efficient.  

This past Saturday was a little different.  I got quite a few pages done and then was inspired to be really efficient.  I used a birthday paper pad from My Mind's Eye and this cute owl stamp from Close to My Heart to create 10 cards in a jiffy.

 

 

 

They were all inspired by the design of this card above that we created at the Make and Take table.  My daughter will love all of this glittery goodness as her valentine!

~Kelly

Whatever is sung...

What is my scrapbooking world coming to? 

First, my husband gets a scrapbook page to himself,

now it's me (and my grammy)! 

Wow!...I don't know what could be next!

This page is doing multiple duties for me--

One, as mentioned, it's a page that includes pictures of me...

that RARELY happens.

Two, over at Scrapping the Music, the prompt this week is to scrap using a song that your mom or other family member sang to you, or one you sing/sang to your children. 

"I Love You a Bushel and a Peck", which I just found out is from the musical "Guys and Dolls", is an old song that I remember my grandma sang to me.  I had just heard it playing in grocery store the other day, so it was serendipitous (oooh, my word of the day) that this challenge came up this week.  I filled a big photo album with pictures for my Grandma's 80th birthday a few years ago, so I knew right where I had these photos.  The first one is me and her circa 1969 and the second is from just a couple of years ago.  We both look the same, don't you think?

The other challenge at Scrapping the Music this week is to scrap using the song "Over the Rainbow" as inspiration.  I'm hoping to get his one done too because it is one of my favorite songs (especially the version by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, which was used in the episode of ER where Dr. Mark Greene dies of a brain tumor--saddest episode EVER--cried buckets, sorry I'm digressing).

Third, there is a CHA "in spirit" on-line crop going on over at Fiskateers, and Challenge #9 is "Who's Who"--challenging us to scrap about a special relationship...enter me and my Grammy!

Lastly, I'm still following along with Smitha Katti's Quilt Block of the Month (ala scrapbook page) over on the Fiskars site.  We are on block #6 and I must say this one was a little more challenging in the "cutting and measuring" department.  Paper is much more forgiving than material, which is why I don't quilt.

I wanted to share with you the method to my madness when I copy, I mean am inspired by these quilt blocks. I make a rough sketch, and I do mean "rough" (as seen above). I number the different patterns that she uses and their placement in the block. Then, I start picking papers. For this one, I knew I was going to go with colors in the brown family so as to not overwhelm the muted colors in the photos. I picked a hodge-podge of papers from My Mind's Eye, Close to My Heart, and DCWV, then started cutting. 

Once cut, I laid the triangles onto a base paper (yes, I know, you can see a little peek of coral cardstock on the right side of the page--refer to above statement/mantra, "paper is more forgiving than material").  Once glued down, I started arranging and planning for my photo placement (definitely over that smidge of coral cardstock peeking through), embellishments, and title.


I added some twine, flowers from Kaisercraft, bling from My Mind's Eye, and a layered flower that I created a base for using the Threading Water Fiskars border punch.

 My Grammy lives in Florida, so I don't get to wrap my arms around her neck too often, but I'll send this page to her and it will remind her how often I would like to.

As for me, I'm liking that with one page I crossed off a bunch of challenges on my scrap list.  A "picture" of efficiency!

~Kelly

whatever is mastered

Second only to me, my husband gets in the least amount of scrapbook pages I make.  Poor dear, seems to lose out to the kids and the dogs most of the time.  BUT, this time....it's all about him!  He is the grill master at our house, and in these photos he's showing off the fabulous Father's Day apron that the kids created for him (it says "King of the Grill").

My dear Fiskateer friend, Groovy Deb, has taken over the challenge blog, Scrap Our Stash (as if she wasn't already SO groovy)!  The July challenge is "stars and stripes" and I knew that these pictures of the grill master would be perfect.  These fabulous 2-sided, red/white/blue patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye and I am so proud of myself for not hiding them away to save for "something special".  I have a tendency to do that with papers I love---I know it makes no sense, it's just silly ol' me.

And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making pinwheels!

I could put them on everything I make right now I think they are so cool!  Maybe, because it reminds me of the 4th of July parades when I was little...my dad would attach metallic red, silver, and blue pinwheels to my handlebars and they would spin while I would ride.  I couldn't find a picture that had those pinwheels on it, but I did dig up an old 4th of July picture of me and one of my brothers.  In this picture (I think it is 1976), I had decided to decorate my doll buggy rather than a bike.  I am groovy! (just like Deb)

Happy 4^th of July!

God Bless America!

~Kelly