Who would have thought...Looking back at the beginning of the year

Now that Distance Learning is in full swing in Minnesota, I am busy all day long, setting up my classes, assessing student work, emailing (lots of that!), and Google meeting. As a result, I'm not scrapbooking as much. I'll share what I make as I finish.

In the meantime, I thought I'd go back to two pages I made for Simple Scrapper in January to start the year:

This page is actually really important right now. I looked back on the last year and some struggles we went through and reframed them as positives. I'm finding myself doing that a lot nowadays, of course, taking small sips of gratitude as the day progresses.

Craft-wise, I love the stitching template. It comes from a misting mask from Studio Calico, but you could achieve the same effect with a ruler and a paper piercer.

I used some flowers that I tore off a greeting card to use. I like the effect.

Next is a page about an event that broke my heart last year, the sudden death of my dog Lola:

For me, pages about loss are also pages about memory. I want to remember them, so I like recording the great things we experienced. In this case, my dog Lola in December stopped moving and eating, so we took her to the vet, where we discovered she was suffering from blood inner chest cavity, more than likely from a heart tumor. There was no end available that did not include terrible suffering, so we said her goodbyes. As she passed, I reminded her of all the terrific adventures she'd been on as a part of our family. The journaling here basically recounts what I said. That is what I want to carry in my heart.

Craft-wise, I ended my journaling with perhaps my favorite memory, one that the right hand photo shows. I think ending with the best memory is a good way to commemorate tough things.

Happy layers on a scrapbook page

The school year has started out. We're not too busy with writing yet, though it's coming soon. Mostly we've been enjoying the start of Dominic's last year in middle school and the start of Rowan's first year in high school. Here's a page I made recently about the two of them and a stint in Dinner Theater:

They'd seen the show for several years and dreamed of being in it, so I want to remember each year they do it. Since it's so dark at the show, I only included one shot of the finale number, which was well lit; the one of the boys I took after.

To lighten the photos, I picked a light background paper and happy-colored Project Life cards to layer over it. They weren't enough, so I added a couple strips of scrap paper. I put the photos on top, then embellished.

Before I stuck everything down, I added some mist for some texture. Here's some details:

I don't have a lot of the Illustrated Faith line, but I was happy to use it on this page.

Some old and beloved Basic Grey layered flowers worked well for contrast on this layout.

After I was finished, I realized how symbolic, albeit inadvertently, the background paper with crosses was. My son the stickler, however, said, "They're pluses not crosses ,Mom." He obviously won't be the English teacher. Sigh.

Thank you for coming today! I hope this gave you ideas about adding colors and layers to capture the feeling on the page, even when the photos aren't stellar.

Scrap retreat: Single page layouts

Hello! It's been a busy month: two birthdays (mine included), plus the research paper at school where I comment on the process writing multiple times (collecting the final drafts right now), plus my eldest registering for high school. Sigh. So I'm going back a month to share some pages I made at a scrap retreat back when it was cold. I'm focusing on the single pages first.

This first one celebrates Mother's Day, plus the fact that I get to spend the day with my boys watching superhero moves every year (thanks, Marvel--for real!):

At the retreat I brought my Project Life cards to make a hole in my stash. It worked!

Next is a page about my eldest's birthday last year:

I found I was more inspired to scrap when I got regular product in the mail, so I subscribed to Ali Edwards' story kit. You can see some of the product on this page, plus the glorious chipboard floppy disk photo frame that I finally had a use for.

Next a page about my son attending summer camp at Leonardo's Basement, a terrific place that focuses on science, art, and social skills:

The arrow was from the Ali Edwards kit, part of a pad of shaped paper. I find it easier to work with when I mount it on white cardstock (it's see through otherwise), though you can still see the edges a bit. Sigh. Love this older Heidi Swapp architechture paper on this page.

Another page about my younger boy, with his favorite shirt from last year (try not to be mesmerized):

When your son comes home with a recipe he wants to make, it must be done.

Another scrap weekend from last spring with my talented friend Tina:

At this latest scrap retreat I challened myself to use long-neglected products in my stash. Here you see a mask and some mist, along with my circle cutters, which are dying (Farewell, Coluzzle. I loved thee well.)

And a page about a funny story at the Arboretum last summer:

I used lots of girly products on this page, since it was about nature. I think the wood gran and print paper as the background subdue it enough for a boys' page.

Finally, what may be my favorite:

A few years ago we went to the Boston Aquarium. When there, the boys and I had fun trying on some funky fish hats. At the Sea Life Aquarium at the Mall of America last year, we did the same, so I put them together on this page. On this scrap retreat weekend, we made a jaunt up to Pine City to the Scrapbooking Company, where I got this nautical product. I thought of using it for our last trip to Maine, but I cracked it open and used it for this page. So glad I did!

Thank you for checking out my pages! So, so sorry about the neglected blog this past month. Soon I'll be sharing my two-page spreads, plus my March pages for Simple Scrapper.

March pages for Scrapbook Circle

Hello! The March kit for Scrapbook Circle, Oh Happy Day, comes just as winter in the Northern hemisphere is drawing to a close, and I am delighted with how much color it holds. I bought both add-ons and more paper, I loved it so much. Here are my pages.

First, a page about my son and coding, a page where I used a lot of the main and the add-on Beautiful Day:

I drew color inspiration from his Minecraft sweatshirt--no lie. Since the kit had lots of wonderful yellows too, I added that to punch it up (and because it goes with his hair).

The background had grey misting with some yellow dots, and I altered the speech bubble to house the title, which I stamped and stitched.

Then I made  page to commemorate the pond at the Landscape Arboretum Rowan fell in as a toddler.

I love the greens in this kit, plus this cool triangle paper, which reminds me of water. I sewed the banners down instead of attaching them with the wooden hangers they came with. I like how Rowan in his red shirt pops against all the green.

Next was a page that tugs at my heart. My grandmother died recently, and these photos were ones that she kept over the years. I made this page for my dad (she was his mom) for his birthday.

For this page, I used the papers from the add-on Beautiful Day, plus my favorite embellishment, the flair from the add-on Good Vibes. Lots of embellishments from the main as well.

For the title, I was trying a play on words: love notes/love noted. I think these photos are my way of noting how much she loved us all.

There's some amazing washi with the kits--the gold in Good Vibes that I used on the water page and my final layout and this love washi that came with the main. It was perfect for the page.

Finally, a page that highlights the printables that come with the kit:

When we traveled in Boston last summer, we took to imitating the statues we saw--there were so many!--and taking photos. I used the triangular printable as the border above the photos.

The title tiny letters come from lettering from an old kit--lots of gorgeous blues in this kit.

More washi and die cuts and flair from the add-ons!

Thank you for visiting and seeing the pages I made. I hope you go to Scrapbook Circle, check out the ideas there and these wonderful kits. In addition, this will be my last month with Scrapbook Circle. It's been an inspiring two years, and I've enjoyed my time with their products. I'm glad this terrific kit was my last to play with because it was truly inspiring.

February pages for Scrapbook Circle: Only You

Hello! I have enjoyed working with Scrapbook Circle's February kit Only You. In a perfect example of serendipity, my kit arrived the day I left for my January scrap retreat. Hooray! My first pages there were from this kit, then I finished them when I got home. Here they are:

One of the things I loved about this kit was how coordinated the papers were, not just for Valentine's Day, but for pure happiness in general. I used a sunburst template to cut my favorite papers and then sew them down on this joyous page about my boys and why they love each other.

The acrylic words in the main kit worked well for a title. I misted the background so they would stand out more.

The kit also came with some sequins. I used most on another page, but I dropped many that I kept finding all weekend. Every time I did, I glued them on this page, LOL! I also punched circles from scraps to add to the confetti joy.

Though there were many joyous papers, two fit together in a different way, so I used them on the following page about my sons' love of tinkering and their subscription to Tinker Crate:

I used a lot of embellishments from the add-on I got, Date Night. I liked how versatile they were.

The next page I made with what I had left over when I got home, another page about my boys. I like doing pages with numbers, so I used the numbers from the main kit to guide my journaling their story by numbers:

My eldest came up with the title. Thank you, Rowan.

Next a love and smooches page about my husband using photos from a trip to one of his favorite restaurants, the Happy Gnome.

This was the page I used the rest of the sequins on, making a shaker bag for decoration, using a clear bag that held another embellishment in the kit. More of the add-on appears on this page:

Finally, a page that took me a while to get to look exactly how I wanted it to look. We visited the Science Museum in Boston last summer and went to the Pixar exhibit there. I took my favorite posed photos from it and put it on the page:

I initially wanted to used square photos, then cut them into smaller circles, which worked better. I again picked my favorite papers to accompany the photos on the grid.

Until I added this gold frame, the grid was a little dull. Breaking the grid created more interest.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you go to visit Scrapbook Circle and check out the kit Only You and its add-ons, especially Date Night. I used up almost every bit and am left with only bits of yummy embellishments I can continue to use on other projects.

Finishing projects part 2: a messy mini

Hello again! I'm still working on finishing up as many projects as I can this summer in anticipation of a busy school year. Here's my updated list:

1. Finish creating the boys' 5th and 6th grade school album pages
2. Edit and print photos from Custer S.P. (2011)
3. Create mini albums with thank you cards from school
4. Finish the Disney album (2010)
5. Update the Easter mini-album
6. Complete the iScrap class/album
7. Complete the Get Messy class/album
8. Ask Derick to finish journaling his London album
9. Complete 5 Vacation Faves (2015)
10. Create cards for my Dad
11. Rowan school album photos: 3rd, 5th, and 6th; class photo 4th and 6th
12. Dominic school album photos: 2nd, 4th, and 5th;class photo 3rd and 5th

I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use the mini-album from the Get Messy class for my 5 Vacation Faves album this year. Here's the cover:

I had gesso'd the cover a long time ago and finally got around to using a mask and modeling paste, punches, more gesso, and mist to finish it up. Here's the back cover:

I finished the lessons in the class--there were about 7--to do the internal pages for each family member. Here's the inside pages:

The font I used up here on the right is a nice one I should use more often called "Wolf in the City."

Most of the products I used came with a kit I bought with the class. I also used stuff lying around, like some journaling cards cut from patterned paper from Shimelle's first collection, I think.

More modeling paste and a different way to mist.

This is maybe the one part of the project I may change. We had to create a pocket with vellum and confetti punches, so I did it with my son's picture. I think it would have looked better with a photo where he was occupying more of the frame. As a result, I may add another photo of him somewhere, maybe by adding another page.

Another note about the pocket page: I put this flair on the inside of the pocket and it didn't look good, so I cut it out and adhered it on the outside, adding the number sticker to cover the cut.

This might be my favorite page spread. I stamped with a couple texture square stamps in different colors to make a photo mat. Not in the class lesson, just an idea I got.

Thank you for checking out my mini-album! I am so happy with it, even though it isn't what I typically do. The class is no longer available, but you might check out Studio Calico and ask; they do seem to bring it back or offer updated versions.

(One final confession: I technically haven't finished the class yet. I haven't done the photo transfer--there were three techniques taught--because I wasn't sure how I wanted to use them. Now I have three ideas, two for this mini-album and one for scrapbook page, so I should finish that lesson (and therefore the class) shortly. I'll share those when I get done.)