Playing With Paper!!

On a roll! 2 days in a row!

Redecorating my craft room has been a blast.  I am currently working on adding the my personal touch to the decor.  Many months ago I bought a photo stand scrapbook from Michaels and I finally decided to create something with it.  Wanna see?

This is what the front of the album looks like.  It sits on top of a pie safe I use for stamp storage so it is easy to see & very accessible.  The photo is our family Christmas card from a few years back.  I chose red, black and white as my color theme for the album to match my room.  

Here's another layout:

I was thrilled to find the red/white hounds tooth paper in my stash because I am using black/white hound stooth throughout my room.  Unfortunately, I can't remember who made the paper - thanks anyway.  The flowers are by Prima.  I love the photos!!  They are from Easter 9 years ago - the kids all looked adorable.

Can you stand another layout?  

For this layout I used plain white and red glitter cardstock.  Super simple but really cute. 

If I have a photo I really love, I always print an extra copy.  I have a basket in my craft room where I keep all my favorite photos.  When I am looking to hang pictures on the wall-that's my go to place.  To create this album, I hit my basket.  I loved making this album because I love all the photos in it.  And I am so happy to have all these photos displayed in my room.  My craft room is definitely my happy place!!!

In a funk...

I have been paper crafting for about 12 years.  Scrapbooking and card-making have been a huge part of my life (sometimes almost an obsession!).  I have my own dedicated crafting room, tons of supplies and endless photos to be placed on layouts. I never thought I'd get tired of scrapping but lately I just haven't been excited to create.  Have you ever felt this way?  I miss my creative time and am trying to get back in the swing of it.  In an attempt to find my mojo, I think I'm going to clean my craft room and re-discover my own stash!!  

As I was looking through photos this morning, I came across this layout I completed a while back.  I love this paper - it's by Simple Stories.  The photo's are from my dads birthday this past March.  I was inspire by a layout from PageMaps.  

Well, wish me luck as I clean out my office.  Maybe if I find some forgotten supplies I will find my lost enthusiasm too!!!

Cards for Father's Day!

I can't believe Father's Day is Sunday.  Time is just flying by...  I needed to create a card for my husband and my father-in-law so I sat down this afternoon.  This is my first card:

I am going to give my husband this one - super simple.  And I used scraps from Echo Park.  I really like is simplicity.

This card is for my Father in Law:

I used scraps for this one too.   But I found my inspiration here:

http://glimmercraft.blogspot.ca/2013/06/fms-89-sn-june-summer-challenges.html

I love Fresh Made Sketches blog - always so inspiring!!

 

Well, I was happily surprised!

In the next town over from mine, they just built an new Joann's.  There was a Joann's before but it was tiny and difficult to find things.  But the new store is amazing!  I prefer to shop in my small, local scrapbooking stores but sometimes it's nice to have a bigger store.  So, I was in Joann's not to long ago and came across some patterned paper that caught my eye.  The designer is Heidi Grace - do you remember her.  I bought paper from her many years ago and never actually used it.  But this paper was really pretty and this is what I used it on:

 I used a sketch from Pagemaps (June 2012).  Everything is from Heidi Grace except for the heart doily and the cardstock from Bazzill.  I love this layout!!  I love the colors and the patterned paper - it all works so well with my photos!

Have a great day!!  

On a roll...

Oh how I missed spending time in my scrapbooking room.  We have been so busy the last few weeks and spending a ton of quality time together as a family, that yesterday we all needed a break from each other.  So I spent a few hours in my office.  I wanted to create a layout with pictures from my sons 9th birthday and this is what I came up with:

I needed some inspiration for this one and found it with Pagemaps - from January 2007!!!  An oldie but a goodie!!!  The patterned paper is from Bella Blvd (I found it at Paper Anthology).   I use my cricut to cut out the 9's (Cuttin' Up cartridge).  I love simplicity of this layout - it is a perfect fit for my style.

So, did you have any time to create this weekend???

Having fun at the Land Ho!

One of our most favorite places (beside the beach) on Cape Cod is the Land Ho Restaurant.  It is in the town of Orleans and has been there forever. It is a local favorite and once you go - you will be back again.  Great food, fun atmosphere and wonderful service.  Everyone in the family loves the Ho!  No trip to the Cape is complete without a cup of chowder or cheeseburge club from the Ho.

I took these pictures last summer.  We had a table outside on the patio, it was a perfect evening.  I chose the patterned paper from Lily Bee Design because it kinda reminded me of the tablecloths on the tables at the Ho.  I used borders strips from Bazzill and Thicker for the title.  Happy layout for a happy night!!

Sunset

One of our favorite things to do on Cape Cod is watch the sun set.  We walk down to the beach, wine in hand and wait for the magic to happen.  Although I have hundreds of pictures from sunsets in years past, I always take more!  The layout below is from last 4th of July:

I followed a sketch I found on the Pagemaps blog (January 2013) as inspiration.  The patterned paper is from Echo Park and I think it works perfect with the photos.  The embellishments are from Me & My Big Ideas.  And I used my Cricut to create the banner for the title.  Here's a close up:

 

 I just can't seem to get enough of banners lately - they are addicting!!

Just when I think I am caught up...

I need to figure out a way to organize my photos.  I keep coming across pictures and events I need to scrapbook.  I recently realized I hadn't scrapped either of my daughters graduation from last spring - both pretty big events I don't want to forget to include in the family album!!  Here is the layout I created for my daughter Grace's Moving Up Ceremony:

The patterned paper is from Pine Cone Press - I found it at Paper Anthology (thank you Michelle!). The paper is themed for Valentine's Day but I like the way it looked with my pictures.  The paper has some black accents that I thought was a nice compliment to the black in Grace's dress.  To add a little extra to the layout, I added the circles (some lay flat against the page while others are "popped" with foam dots).  I am super pleased with this layout - super sweet just like my Gracie!!!

 

 

Not always bad when it rains on vacation!

We had the best weather on our vacations this summer.  In August, it only rained once while we were on the Cape and it was at night.  We busted out the old family movies and had a movie night.  Everyone enjoyed it - especially my kids.  I think they love seeing their dad, aunt and uncle as kids.  Since the Cape house is a summer house, the living room isn't huge so we all squeezed together on the couches to watch the show  - and I had to take pictures!  I couldn't wait to scrap them!!

 

I am very pleased with this layout.  The patterned paper is from Pebbles (Family Ties Collection) - I ordered it from 2peas and I may need to order more.  I love it!!!  I also ordered the litttle chipboard clouds from 2 peas - they are from Maya Road.  I think I may be developing a small addiction to chipboard!!   I "misted" the chipboard to match the paper.  I think the clouds are adorable.  And I love the overall look of the layout.  What do you think?

Happy New Year!!

I am so happy I have been able to find time to play in my office - I have been creating a bunch of layouts and getting my albums up-to-date!  This is one I worked on yesterday:

The photos are from my oldest daughter and the Marching Rams at Giants stadium for a band competition.  It was a really exciting day and I was so proud of her!!!  I love this layout - nothing better than a clean & simple layout!!  What do you think?