First Shave

Summer skies

road maps vol 3

2013

beautiful dreamer

kraft alpha

freebie template

Glimpses

Dreamer

bric-a-brac

Mixing old and new photos.

Over on the Get it Scrapped blog there is super inspiration on mixing old and new photos, I have a layout featured there too.

Stefanie Semple says, “So often I get all bent out of shape by the nitty gritty of everyday life, things the children say, things they neglect to do. The days seem so long and yet the years fly by and soon the two oldest could be leaving the nest and I know that I will miss them then too.”

“I paired two family photos, taken more than ten years apart, putting them next to each other, as if on a timeline . I made them both black and white to remove distracting background elements and colors. I suppose I am highlighting the changes that ten years have made, the growth in the children, more than anything else.”

The kraft background allows the primary colored elements to pop. The heart, doily and word art are red and form a strong visual triangle around the photos; the giraffe and measuring tape are nods to their growth; the sunrise paper block is a reminder that the sun will come out again tomorrow and that everything will work out. The butterflies are a subtle reminder that what the caterpillar thinks of as the end of his life – is merely another beginning. Stitching, photo anchors, staples and buttons all add visual attachments. The string bow on the giraffe adds an important dimensional element.”

 Tell me about it

 Strength in hope

Summer glow

 I signed up for Jana Morton's Blending class and actually made a start with this layout. I began with a freebie template by Li (that will be a Tuesday Template at ScrapMatters in October) and a kit by Scrapyrus Designs called Beach Treasures. I created a second square layer within the layout - liking the "on a block" look inspired by Debbie Hodge's class, over at Scrapbook Coach. I created tension by allowing some paper strips and elements to escape the constraints of the block. Three clusters create the visual triangle. A foundation of splatter brushes adds an invaluable additional dimension. The metallic elements give much needed visual attachment.

Beach treasures

Hearing voices

I have a layout featured over on the Get It Scrapped blog again, this time its about using different people's voices for your journaling. I get into a rut, most of my journaling sounds like I am leaning over your shoulder telling you the where, why and how of the photos you're looking at. I speak, with my voice directly to the child whose album it is or the family member who is looking at that family album. Sometimes though a family memeber remembers something differently or puts their own spin on what "actually" happened. In my house I get to record rewrite history. What I journal in the layout - that's what happened.

Duets vol 2

100% boy

“This layout celebrates our trip to Akureyri through my husband’s eyes.”

“I gathered photos from our trip and then copied and pasted pertinent facts about the destination from Wikipedia. I used Teletype font, which is a typewriter font, for this factual journaling. 

Below the photos I chose a hand writing font to render my hubby’s thoughts and feelings about our day trip around the town there.”

Audi A6

road maps volume 6

truly thankful

Modern media

I remember when tvs didn't have remotes, when you had to physically get up to change the channel, when you'd sit and watch whatever was on because you had a cat on your lap and were too cozy and comfortable to move. Then we got a video recorder, this allowed up to change the channel (if the tv was on #9)  by clicking the video machine remote. Sigh - what bliss. When we got married we didn't even have a tv for the first year and we survived it fine. Then we got a huge, box type Phillips tv. We watched what we could, if we missed a programme that was too bad. A few years later we bought a video recording machine of our own. Now we could tape those favourite shows and not miss then if life intervened. Huge step.

Next many years later was DStv. More channels, including MNet. We watched movies most Sunday nights. Still no taping - for that we needed a PVR - too expensive. We would often sit to watch something and miss the beginning or end of scrolling through the myriad of channels searching for something, anything that we could watch as a family.

Then hubby capitulated and we brought home the PVR. Now we could watch a channel and tape 2 others. We could schedule up to 20 series. This radically changed what and when we were entertained. I love that I can sit down and watch what I want to when I want to. Such bliss. My remote and tea and telephone to hand. Still weighed down by cats and still cozy.

Coach potato

Debbie Hodge, on the paper clipping round table, mentioned how she uses modern media to record and use technology of today to capture her memories and add to the everyday story telling she does.

She asked for some layouts from the creative team and I had the one above handy, so you can see my 2 cents worth in the blog post, here.

Embrace your flaws

road maps vol 6

embrace your flaws

Blessing Event

Splendour

mask effect templates

Re-styled

Hipster wannabe

mask effect

Splendour-ifous

Duets vol 3

Splendour

mask effect

Scrapbooking ideas

If you're anything like me and on the look out for scrapbooking ideas - look no further than this article on the Get it Scrapped blog. Debbie never ceases to amaze and inspire me.

I have a layout featured in this blog post - Loving Project life.

I love taking a photo every day of the ordinary things that fill our lives. So often something small happens that I want to remember but that doesn’t merit a complete scrapbook layout and Project Life is a way to scrapbook these happenings. I have been taking a photo per day for three years now, but this year is the first that I am creating layouts with them.

I love the simplicity of the photos and captions and the speed with which this scrapbooking can be done. I know that as the years pass, I will look back on these days with fondness, my daily frustrations and the quirks and foibles of the family a thing of the past. 

This page showcases photos taken from the 3rd to the 7th of June. The rest of the week would be on the right hand side. Here are photos of the municipality trimming the tree in our neighbor’s garden so that I have a view of the neighborhood restored, our cats seeking company and huddling together as winter arrives, my son hiding from the camera in his winter school uniform, and veggies steaming for supper, and the scrabble board since my daughter has recently discovered this game.  

I may not create my layouts each week, but since I blog almost daily about our lives (privately) I have the stories and snippets recorded and just need to pair them with photos. I make sure that the layouts are up-to-date by early the following month.

My oldest son has recently gone for a job interview, and the second one has 40 school days left before he finishes with only exams ahead. What will the ordinary be  like next year? How many children will I still have living at home? Life changes at such a pace and I want a daily record of what life is like, and cell phones, digital cameras and taking photos has become affordable and easy and accessible to us all. 

Tell me about it.