Ahhh.... scrapbooking.

I always feel my stress level come down and my sanity level go up when I get a little time to scrapbook. Its just a miracle if I ever get a chance to share it!Since my time is so limited, I've been trying to chose pictures that are meaningful or that have a story behind it. But I have so many meaningful pictures that I doubt I'll ever be done! I've only just started Christmas photos!Another lesson I'm learning with limited time to scrapbook is that everything doesn't have to be an "artful masterpiece". Sounds simple but I am a bit of a perfectionist and I have a hard time getting to "good enough." It is more important that it is done, than done perfectly, right? (I'm still trying to convince myself of that one!)
Thanks for checking in!
Cheers,
Christy

A little scrappin'

Finally... a little time to scrap and then post. I made the card above with some scraps and older pieces and embellishments. I love how old stuff feels new when you haven't played with it for a long time. I love the card above so much, I may not be able to part with it. :) These 2 layouts are "pre-Max photos." Seems like a lifetime ago that I took these but I knew they needed to be preserved in a special way.
Here's to hoping I get more time to scrap and share new stuff soon! Cheers!
Christy

The best of both worlds

Sometimes I feel like I have the best of both worlds: 2 wonderful kids AND the time to scrapbook them. Don't get me wrong....I am not bragging! I'm just feeling very grateful for what I have. I know the little time that I have now will come to a screaching halt as soon as little Max arrives but for now, I'm trying to keep creating and really appreciating the time I have with the kids. Life is great! Seize the day! Here's a new layout with them too:

Have a great weekend!
Christy

Dirty little secrets about parenthood

So, after the first week of school I've just learned another "Dirty little secret about parenthood." You know those "secrets", like the one about babies and sleep? People tell you, "The first few months are hard but once they start sleeping through the night, it will get a lot easier." LIE. It doesn't get easier, you just slip into a new phase.... like teething or some other cruel phase. Sleep through the night? My kids are pretty good sleepers but in the last 5 1/2 years, I have never gotten more than 7 nights in a row of full sleep. Someone has a bad dream, or can't sleep, or needs a drink, or had an accident or something else... It's exhausting!

So here's the new lie people told me. "Once your kids are in school, you'll have so much more time to yourself." LIE. But I really believed it. It seemed so accurate that after being a stay-at-home mom that once Maddie started Kindergarten and Sam started pre-school (isn't he handsome in that photo above!), I could (dare I hope...) scrapbook and sew or maybe read a book for grown-ups. What a dirty secret! Here's the catch: I am the chauffeur. Most of my day is spent in the car driving, dropping kids off, picking kids up, and waiting for them. Yeah, I might be alone more but this time is certainly not leisure time to myself. It's exhausting!
I'll get off my rant now and show you my big Kindergartener on her first day of school. She really loved the first week and was a little mad when she couldn't go today (Saturday).

She seems to have grown up so quickly! I am starting to forget details about the night she was born so I did a layout about it. Its so different than most of my layouts because it is almost all journaling. Using my own handwriting too! I hate to see my writing on my pages but I felt this was an important story to tell.
One of my new goals is to start scrapbooking "THE STORIES." These are the concrete memories that bind our family together. The next ones I want to get down are about the other kids' birth and about how Brentt and I met. Also, the story about when Brentt ate "Tete a vouex" on a trip to Paris. For those who don't speak French, that is Calves Brain. That'll be a fun story! Here's a new 2-page layout from the fair this summer.
Every year I save the photo Christmas cards that people send us. I stitched a pocket onto the page so we could add it to our Christmas album.
This was a favorite picture from last Christmas so I finally got around to scrapping it.
Because I was in a Christmas mood already, I pre-made a page for 2009. Lord knows when Max arrives, I'll have a lot less time to scrapbook!I have pre-made some pages for Max's baby album too. I'll show them to you soon. But for now, we have some friends who are adopting twin girls so I made her this page:
My favorite detail is the Tim Holtz crackle paint around the edges. It added so much texture and interest. Anyway, thanks for checking in. Have a great weekend!
Christy

New layouts

I'm finally scrapbooking again and it feels so good to get some pictures down on paper. I've been so busy with life (and doing other crafts --lets be honest here! ;) ) that it was nice to dedicate time to slap down some good memories. I got a ton of pictures scrapbooked last weekend but only took photos of a few. I didn't want to bore you completely!

Favorites first...
I had to document that sweet picture first. I love how it turned out and I'll have a hard time just slipping it in a book. Maybe I'll frame it...?

This next layout is of the kids with Sam's birth-grandparents. We had such a nice time together at this Christmas party. Good memories! I'm loving those velvet flowers from Maya Road. Oh! And have you seen what Maya Road has coming out for CHA?!? FABULOUS! Here's their pre-view.

My friend Cydne is going to flip over these new beauties from Maya Road!This is one of a million CHA previews! There are so many GREAT products that I don't know how I'm going to be able to remain "calm and sensible" at CHA next week. I'll be so excited! I hope I don't make a fool out of myself.... ;) But I probably will! Thanks for checking in!

My confession

Hello.... my name is Christy and I have a confession. I am.... a scraplifter. Yes, I do it occasionally. I take someone else's design and I make it my own. And I'm not ashamed of it. Wink! That's my *big* confession. ( You thought I was going to tell you something juicier, didn't you?) I think scraplifting is quite acceptable ....as long as you give credit where credit is due. Right? Isn't that why scrap magazines and blogs exist? I think its a fun way to get ideas and no matter what I do, my stuff never ends up looking exactly like the inspiration piece.

So, I was checking out some of my favorite blogs and found this idea on the amazingly talented Danielle Flanders' blog. This is her version:I scraplifted it and here's my version. I am *loving* Pink Paislee stuff!
Similar yet it never turns out the same.

Grandma's are so special and have such a unique relationship with their grandchildren. I only wish we all lived closer.

Also, I am such a fan of Danielle Flanders that when I saw this adorable door sign and I had similar supplies, I had to make it too. She even gives you a bit of a tutorial on how to make it. Of course her version is pink, girly and wonderful! Here's my version I made for Sam's door using the Pink Paislee Vintage Moon Topsiders.

Thanks for the inspiration Ms. Flanders!
Cheers!
Christy

busy... busy... busy...

Do you ever have those times when you have about 10 half-finished projects and you're always busy but never getting anything done? Well, that's been the story of my life lately. But finally, here are a few new scrappy things finished.

I went to the scrapbook expo a couple weeks ago and bought all kinds of new "toys". I also took 2 classes, both by Rusty Pickle. Both were taught by the talented Casey Rivas, who is just as charming as she is talented. The first class was a calendar class which is one of those half-finished projects that I hope to finish in the next 3 months.

The second class was a Birthday Reminder Book and I actually finished this one:
This is perfect for me because as life is getting busier, I'm forgetting some important birthdays. Please feel free to send my your birthday and I'll add it to my book.This beautiful card was a make and take from the expo. I didn't want to worry about it drying so I brought it home to finish. I'm not sure who will be the lucky recipient yet.... ;)

In June Maddie had her first dance recital and I finally have it in a layout. This picture does not do it justice. Its actually very sparkly and the photo opens like a card to reveal another picture. The card is actually one of those musical cards from Hallmark. It plays the Conga song, the same song that she danced to. She loves to open it up and dance along!
The last thing I'm going to show you is this Christmas bracelet I made for myself. I *LOVE* Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and I was over the moon about these buttons I found off etsy. Then when I found this empty bracelet by Creative Cafe at the expo, I knew this would be a new treasure!
This week we start singing class for Madeleine, a "Family First" parenting class for Brentt & I, Karate for Madeleine, and a Tiny Sports class for Sam. Busy... busy... busy...

My BFC

This layout is dedicated to my friend Cydne (aka: my BFC). Next week, Cydne and her family are moving to Spain for 3 years. For the past 4 years, she has been a big part of my day-to-day life. Our kids are about the same age, she's my work-out buddy, my scrapping buddy, and my playdate pal. She's the one I call at 8am to see what she's up to for the day. If we don't get together, at least I've had my "Cyd-fix". She is a great friend but really, its so amazing that we are such close friends because we are complete opposites! I'm organized, she.... improvises a lot. I'm a detailed planner, and she can be enviously spontaneous. She does not stress about the little things in life and well... I'm a control freak (admitting it is the first step, right?). Being her friend has made me a better person. I know our friendship will continue even though she'll be on the other side of the world. I'll just miss our day-to-day interactions.

So... I say all that to explain this next layout. I made her and I this matching layout that is not my style at all. Its whimsical, crazy, and free.... like Cydne.



They have a lot of texture, techniques, paint, and patterns. I learned some of the techniques, like paper shaping with water from a class on SISTV. I'm also using gesso in a lot of my projects too. I love this stuff! Here I spread it out using a fork and heated it up so it bubbled, then painted it.

Canvas art

Eversince I took a class at Papertales here in San Diego, I've been inspired to do canvases featuring vintage photos. This one that I just finished features a picture of my mom when she was just one year old. Its easier than you'd think to make. The canvas is 8" by 10" and I used Making Memories Noteworthy paper. First I painted the canvas with a glossy black acrylic paint. I then layered and adhered the papers on with a glue medium. I then applied the rub-ons (from Amy Butler) and the letters and gave it a finish with the gel medium (matte). The photo is an enlarged photo copy. I cut the photo out and then I adhered it to chipboard covered in pink paper. After cutting it out, I used pop dots to give it some dimension. The finishing touches were adding the flowers (from Amy Butler), the chenille ric-rac and the fabulous white paper fringe (adhered to the outside of the canvas) which I bought at Papertales.

The best thing I love about doing canvases is that you can add as much dimension as you want, and you don't have to worry about smooshing it inside a scrapbook. Here's a photo showing some dimension of this canvas.

I hope my Mama loves this art-piece as much as I do.

Some things you can make...

I've been busy creating so many new projects. The kids have been sick so they've been sleeping more and we've been confined to the house. My lack of adult interaction has been vented through my scrap projects.

After the CHA new releases of Halloween lines, I've been inspired to use more of last year's stuff. BTW, have you seen the new Pink Paislee Halloween line called Vintage Moon. I LOVE IT! Oh, but I also adore the Halloween Cosmo Cricket line. Oh and Little Yellow bicycle has these fabulous velvet embellishments. Oh the excitement! Ha... I'm such a scrap nerd. But its that energy that inspired this creation.

Here's how you can make it: This is a 12 by 12 sheet of acrylic cut to this shape ( I just traced another piece of paper this shape). I inked the edges with Staz-On black, added some patterned paper (the purple spiderweb paper is from Making Memories, the black glittery paper is from Doodlebug, the witch shoes are from Reminisce patterned paper), and the bat and the saying are a sticker from Rusty Pickle. I punched holes in the top with my crop-a-dile and set the eyelets. With a little black rickrack, it makes such a spooky wall hanging. I hope you'll try it!
This next project started as a design team challenge for Yellowbird Scrapbook Store. The challenge was to "Go Green" by taking something that would have been trash and give it new life. I was not really excited about this challenge because quite frankly, trash doesn't excite me. But after a few cups of coffee, this coffee can became inspiring and is now our dog's treat bucket. This would also make an adorable cookie jar or piggy bank.

Here how you make it: Cover the coffee can with patterned paper. This paper from Sonburn Designs already had the cute dog pattern. Add the felt yellow scalloped trim from Creative Cafe to border the pattern. Add letter stickers to spell "TREATS". These letters are from American Crafts remarks book. Then I added black rickrack to the edge of the top. The top is embellished with dog buttons from "Dress it Up." I just cut off the back of the buttons with a scissors. Just make sure you use a heavy-duty glue for these. Last one here was another assignment for the design team. The project uses all items from Daisy D's or from around the house. My favorite part is the denim pocket. Madeleine had outgrown a pair of shorts and I simply couldn't wait to give them a new life.


The flowers are circles cut from plain cotton fabric (old sheets, a dish towel or curtain linings work great.) I cut them using my pinking shears but using a straight edge or fraying the edge of the fabric looks nice too. You gather the flower in the center and stitch it together (at the center) when you've arranged it the way you like. I brushed the tips with copper colored acrylic paint and added a brad. The ribbon "stem" is loosely adhered to the page with glue dots.
I hope you make some of these things. Feel free to email me or comment if you want more instructions or have questions. I'd also love to see what you make from these ideas.

Cheers!
Christy