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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Two for Tuesday - Christmas Hats

Does anyone besides me collect Christmas stuff?  

Scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, cards, decorations...I'm a sucker for the colors and feel of Christmas...

And, gladly, there always seem to be plenty of pictures to draw from for Christmas layouts...at least in my world.

These are pretty old pics...2011...but they have been carted along to every crop I've been to for a year and never scrapped because I didn't bring the hefty Christmas Collection with me.

This last crop I did, I sorted out a Christmas kit, as it were, and went to work on some Christmas photos.

As you may well have noticed, this falls into my very favorite three photos on a shelf format...def one of my go tos!


I am so in love with these photos...these ages are some of the very best for kiddos. They would try on any hat and ham around in them for hours.


I can't get over how little my little is...they do grow up WAY too fast...but that is why I scrapbook!

Peace, ya'll!

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Remember

I bought a Somerset Memories magazine some time ago and fell in love with the work of Louise Nelson that was showcased there. 

I don't often use black as a background. I was inspired to use the black background, white paint and one key color to design a layout.


Here's the thing - this layout was REDICULOUS fun!!! The hard part was waiting for things to dry so that I could put it all together.

While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I built the layered photo piece.

Then assembly was a breeze!

This is a technique I see myself using at least a few more times...Its too fun not to include again!

Peace, ya'll!


Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Swim

These photos are not new....

But they are significant.

My sweet big boy was not fond of getting his face wet. He didn't want to be in the shower, only a few inches of water in a tub.  Definitely not in a swimming pool.

So swimming lessons were a pretty big deal...as I look at these shots, my heart swells and my face has a huge grin...this was a moment that I will always remember.

I hope my little guy will too.


Really, this is a very simple approach...its all about the pictures and the story...its all about the moment when he mastered his own fear. 

He's already quite proud of this moment, even only a few years after the fact. He recognizes it as a moment of triumph. 

I hope this layout will help him remember the next time he comes up against something that he fears....

Peace, ya'll!


Thursday, April 14, 2016

TV face

Have you ever sort of looked sideways at your kids and noticed something you've never really seen before?

After several such occasions, I noticed that my littles have this rapt expression any time that they were in front of the almighty glowing box...

We have dubbed it "tv face!"




We're pretty strict about tv time. But honestly, an occasional 30 minutes of silence while a favorite show is on can be quite rewarding!

If something brings total stillness, complete silence, huge unblinking eyes and that open cod-fish mouth, it cannot be good for you in any large doses. Hence - the limited time in front of a glowing box.

But it does make for a great layout....

Peace, ya'll!

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Layouts....

This year, I have a plan....

To do something with these:


Yes...that is like 2 feet of layouts....

And no they are not in books...

And yes, I should really do something about that....

And no, I don't have anything more than intention to get them in books...

But I can work with intention.

Peace, ya'll!

Thursday, April 07, 2016

big boy bed


This is my second layout made with the Doodlebug Hip Hip Hooray collection. I fell in love with the enamel dots and letters when I saw them on line, so you may be seeing those on my projects for some time to come. 

This is another of my projects that falls neatly into my more day to day design style - lots of photos and lots of story. 

My hope is that even though I don't do Project Life, my kids will get a great feel for what their lives were like through layouts like these. 


Some time ago, I took a series of classes on the basic foundations for layouts...this one is somewhere between a shelf and a grid...its one of my go to's for stacking lots of photos onto a page.

It is worth talking about why I don't do multi-page layouts anymore to accommodate lots of photos.

For starters, I like single pages. Its a canvas that I'm quite comfortable with.

Also, I have found that even a large event, one that generates tons of photos - say like Christmas, Easter, a school program - still produces micro-stories within the larger story. So, I may produce, for example, 4 or 5 Christmas 2015 layouts.  However one will be about the decorating tree, one about the gifts under the tree, one about opening gifts, one about the dinner, one about the aftermath...and so on and so forth.

If I stick to the smaller story, a one page layout works well.

This canvas size gives me room enough to tell a story, be artistic and use the right photos and still be concise. I am forced to edit myself to fit things onto the page - which makes me choose the right words and the right story...

All that to say....this is my sweet spot...

Peace, ya'll!