Keeping Calm & Carrying On

Christmas Morning: An October Afternoon Layout

Ciao Bella! Happy Thursday! One of my crafty goals is to really finish up my 2010 layouts and albums. I have Christmas layouts to complete and a short trip to the Mall of America at the end of 2010 that needs to be scrapbooked and then I'll be headed into 2011. 

Today I have a 2-page layout, primarily using October Afternoon's holiday patterns, stickers and chipboard elements I recently completed.

 

I color-blocked this page because I wanted to use several patterned papers that I liked from the collection. I'm also very into using paper doilies so I cut them up and layering them in the background also.

Christmas traditions changed drastically in 2010 following my brother-in-laws death, and that's why it is so important to me to write it down, type it up and document it forever.

The coordinating page looks a little something like this:

(Ignore the wretched I-just-woke-up Christmas morning look on my face!)

Again, I kept with the doilies.

Here's a look at the two-page spread as it will go into my 2010 Album Vol. 4:

I think the crazy busy red pattern on the right-side is balanced with small blocks of patterns on the left-page. Don't you think?

Athlete: A Making the Team Layout

I'm honestly not quite sure if I've shared this layout with you before. I created it for Bella's CHA Booth display, and just recently I've gotten around to completing the coordinating layout for the right side.

The product featured is my Making the Team collection. The products have lots of grays and browns and whites, and includes the common sports colors like red, royal blue and hello. Last year was my niece, Madelyn's, first go-around at basketball.

I used nearly all the chipboard embellishments pieces throughout the layout. Here's a peek at the Making the Team chipboard elements from Bella Blvd:

      

I used  both of these sets---you know me and my need for alpha letters by now ;)

I added several little details to this page including sanding the edges of the elements to create the rustic white edge, adhering coordinating monochromatic pearl to the polka dot and pattern, and also laying word stickers across the dense areas of the alpha title "athlete".

Also incorporated are several of the Cute Cuts paper elements, along with some bling stars by my friend Teresa Collins.

 

The coordinating left-side base is a 12x12" photo enlargement that I adhered strips of the Borders embellishment pattern to the top edge.

Here's a glimpse of the Borders embellishment paper:

"No 23" are corrugated alphas from Jillibean Soup that worked perfectly. I also used one of my favorite supplies, the Photo Signature pen by EK Success to journal right on top of my photograph without having to worry about any smudging.

Love love love this pen (I think I have five at all times in case one dries up or runs out). You can find them here at Amazon for less than $3.

I also added some of my fun brand new Stick Pin Flags to the layout as well.

Have you purchased any of these cuties?...there's so many different kinds, colors and themes...

Two Peas in A Bucket and Scrapbook.com have a whole bunch of them for sale!

I'm excited to have finished this layout after starting one side several months ago.

If you'd like to find more ideas featuring my sports products, visit Bella's Making the Team collection gallery by clicking here. 

A Sentimental Layout: Priceless Gift

Once in a while I still make two-page layouts that look great side-by-side! Gotta love that! As I continue to scrapbook Christmas 2010 (which seems like it takes forever because I take so many photos each year), I love playing with so many different Christmas colored & Christmas themed products. There is NEVER a shortage of it in the paper crafting world, that's for sure.

Last year I wrote about how sappy I was at Christmas time when my sister asked me & Steven help her and the kids decorate the tree. It was such a traditional thing that she didn't want to do alone after losing her husband. It was really emotionally exhausting....and I did not see that coming. "Why?", you might be asking. Well, let's take a closer look...

Because, little did I know how sentimental and timeless ornaments really are. I noticed my sister pausing and just losing herself in space as she grabbed this ornament and hug it near the top of the tree. Even though it had seen it's better days (notice, the little girl's leg is broken off), she reminded the kids that daddy had bought her the ornament when they were really young & dating in high school. I can only imagine the memories that flooded her heart & mind in that moment.

This is why last year I flooded friends & family with ornament gifts. I really wasn't trying to be morbid, but honestly, what a cool way to remember someone year after year as life changes and time heals. Ornaments are such great, inexpensive (for the most part) gifts to give to those you love that will stay around forever.

I wanted to document the story and my thoughts as I am sharing them here today onto a layout. 

Once again, I played with my new Designer Tapes (now available at stores)!

I used a ruler to create my journaling lines and then mixed and matched my handwriting with the sticker alphabets from the new High Fives^tm alpha sheets (Bella Blvd).

The coordinating page (right side) holds the rest of the photos I chose for the theme. It was hard to narrow them down because I snapped so many, but I thought these were the most important:

1) My neices having fun hanging their handmade ornaments from school

2) Angela rewarding Carson as the new "man of the house" the job each year of putting the star on top of the tree-just like Daddy used too

3) and all of us together (Stella & Mio pups too) when it was all finished.

I repeated the border strips of Designer Tapes and the paper tearing on this side as well, to help pull the two-page spread together.

After adding some flowers (Prima and Bazzill) and Twine, I called it a day. I'm really happy with how this one turned out and will definitely remember this moment for years to come, if not forever. If nothing else, it's a gentle reminder not to take advantage of the redunancy each year that can become of the holiday season.

Double Page Layout: What are You Thankful For?

I must admit....I'm super excited to share this next double-page layout with you. It's from Thanksgiving 2010 when I created these business-card size die-cuts with each guests name. The dinner guests had to find their card and then complete the phrase, 

"I am thankful for..."

So I have been sitting on all these little cards wanted to make a layout and I've finally completed it! 2010 was the first year I hosted Thanksgiving all on my own and I wanted to start a tradition for the guests to participate in...and this was it!

2010's Thanksgiving was just days, literally, after my brother-in-law died in a car accident so I thought it would be beautiful for everyone to document what they were thankful for amidst a sad holiday. Not to my surprise at all almost everyone mentioned Chris or the important of family.

The layout came together quite quickly as I wanted to put the cards and everyone's handwriting on full display. I just added a bit of Bakers Twine and bows here and there to separate the cards a bit.

Because I ran out of room.....there were a lot of guests....I added mine and Steve's cards to the coordinating page:

I loved this picture of the kids helping me prepare the turkey on Thanksgiving morning. But I didn't realize Madelyn's eyes were closed until I had it enlarged and printed....oh well ;)

And here's the layout side-by-side as it will be put into my 2010 Album:

As plenty of you know I offered a new style of documenting Thanksgiving Gratitude by offering several free digital downloads for 2011's Thanksgiving. You can check them out here......I'm already brainstorming ideas for 2012!

Layouts from Thanksgiving 2010

I know it's a new year, but I still have some layouts from 2011 I have to share....I just finished scrapbooking Thanksgiving from 2010. Yes I know I'm a bit behind. The pictures might be a bit "old" but the products are not! 

For the past couple of years my 2 nieces and 1 nephew sleepover the night before we celebrate Thanksgiving in order to help "prepare" for the big day. They like to help me cook, clean, set the tables and everything else that goes into preparing the family Thanksgiving spread.

This layout is pretty simple. It incorporates mostly the "Cute Cuts" paper sheet from my One Fall Day collection. By cutting out the large elements I created a small scene around the photos.

I bought those really cute leaves a long time ago and was excited to use some embellishments from my existing "stash!"

Here's the coordinating page...again photo heavy....Here I've mixed together Finally Fall (2011's Fall Collection) with One Fall Day (2010's Fall Collection).

Add some texture to your layout by simply coordinating button colors on a polka dot print....

This was another die-cut in my existing "stash!" I just love when I use up product I have ;)

I must say I love what the photos document. In addition to the teamwork and excitement of preparing the turkey, my parents recently moved out of this house and it's been updated a ton. For example, that blue patterned wallpaper no longer exists. So I just love the small details that capture the element of time within this layout! 

I have plenty more Thanksgiving layouts to share in the next couple of days! Hope they'll inspire you, as I know we are all working on different holidays and themes all year long ;)

Double Page Layout: Madelyn @ 9

Remember at the end of October I wrote this post about printing photo enlargements for scrapbooking? Well I've used some of my wonderful enlargement prints for this double-page layout of my niece Madelyn.

Doesn't the large photo make such a huge impact?

I typed up some "interview questions and answers" for Madelyn's 9th birthday. Then using a punch I created flower-centers out of them and scattered random facts throughout the two pages.

I think making these facts smaller keeps your attention on the photographs.

The layout incorporates my Christmas Wishes collection....imaging that?! A Christmas product collection for this birthday-themed layout! The pink/red heart pattern is so versatile!!!

Again (as you saw yesterday) I incorporated the chipboard numbers also, along with the Baby Blooms A Bella flowers, and Prima paper and silk, flowers too!

And here's the coordinating side...with an even larger photo!

On this side I just added a few embellishments in some "empty areas" to carry it through the coordinating page.

And this question I'd like to add every year to their "birthday interview":

You Think about Dad the Most when.....

I thought Madelyn's answer was very true and genuine. She's often calling my dad (grandpa) for help with Science and Social Studies. Us Hunt Girls are definitely not the left-brained type ;)

These enlargements make for some pretty quick pages! I'm going to continue adding them into the mix here and there! What do you think?

(If you're looking for resources for printing enlargements these are the 2 I used: Mpix and Scrapbook Pictures) Have fun!

Double Page Layout: Carson @ 4

I recently worked on my nephew's fourth birthday photos mising mostly Bella with a little OA and Doodlebug.Each year on the kids birthday I conduct a short & sweet "interview" to document some of the favorites at the time. I write the journaling and save it for later when I scrap the photos.

As always some chipboard alphas for the title...

The coordinating page sticks with the color scheme and has these three photos from his fun birthday night at Monkey Jos bouncy-place.

The Miniatures stickers that I've designed are great for small details. There's a total of FOUR of them on this side of layout. 

It's great to be an auntie, a girlfriend and a sister at times like birthdays! The kids love looking back on these layouts to see how much they have changed....from their looks to their "favorites."

Double Page Layout: Shopping & Dinner

Last year I traveled to the beautiful Salt Lake to visit my dear friends at Doodlebug!

It was a true girls weekend loaded with shopping, giggling and catching up!

One of our stops was this charming antique/thrift store, Broadbent's that Tonya really wanted me to see. It has the ma&pop charm with the coolest retro signage outside.

After a full day of shopping, and I mean full, we drove up the mountains and had dinner at this awesome place too! I *love love love* the mountains, so this was just perfect!

It's pretty hard to believe that I've known "the doodle-less" (as I like to call them!) for more than 7 years! I always look forward to spending time with Cynthea and Tonya and the gang and can't wait for our next adventure!

O' CANADA: BC Crop for Kids 2011

I've created several layouts from my trip to Canada last year. I'm going to spread them into a couple different posts, consider this part 1.

Allyson and I traveled last September/October for the annual BC Crop for Kids fundraising event.

Each year Sandra and team raises thousands of dollars for the local Children's Hospital. I was excited to represent Bella Blvd in a couple different workshops at The Ramada hotel.

This layout has a bunch of photos from those couple of days including the huge hotel crop, some traditional details (the White Spot), and people that we met too.

I'm all about the details. Stitching is so time consuming, but really pays off most of the time. I love adding details to the Sophisticates chipboard alphabets!

During the event we roomed with Jennifer Edwardson of Scrapbookin' Adventures. Before heading to Vancouver Island to teach at her store, she took us shopping and around downtown Vancouver. 

More chipboard alphabets and numbers, buttons and stitching!

I saved some of the Canadian money (dollars and coins) too. One of my other layouts uses it in a more subtle and clever way!

Every layout needs a little bit of pink, right?!  ;)

I mixed and matched the Quattrofina alphabet stickers to add the subtitles and details throughout the 2-page layout.

I used my handy dandy tiny flower punch and my scraps to create trios of flowers throughout.

See what you can do with a couple sheets of cardstock, needle, thread, buttons and scraps?!

Here's a look at the completed 2-page layout:

I'll be sharing more from my trip to Canada soon! 

 

Double Page Layout: Camping

It's becoming something "we do" more often.

There are plenty of layered embellishments on this layout including product from so many different manufacturers (Bella Blvd, Jillibean Soup, Crate Paper, October Afternoon, Basic Grey, etc.). 

You're reading a blog of a girl that NEVER reads BOOKS. No, I'm not proud of that, but it is a fact. I rarely sit down with a book. I'd much rather relax with a magazine with lots of pictures and less text ;) I've always been that way!

The reason for my confession today is this layout documents this "golden" weekend last year (September 2010) that I was able to sit down for literally an entire weekend and read a book, The Help, while enjoying wine and the great outdoors! 

Left Page:Coordinating Right Side:

I printed my journaling onto cardstock and scattered it throughout the layout by using my corner round to create office-style tabs to label the photos. 

I split the large pine-tree sticker between the center of the layout, onto both pages. The branches resemble arrows which help make your eyes move and look in the directions the branches are pointing. 

 

Bella Blvd Layout: Retirement Home

In September 2010 my parents purchased a new home on a lake. 

The Finally Fall collection was a perfect fit not only because of the colors (seeing that it was fall and everything was turning colors), but the facade of the house is neutral and the collection has references to home as well as fall (like the houses border strip above).

Because I couldn't eliminate any photos, I added a coordinating page.

This place already holds new family memories for all of us. I know it will be a place of vacation, family fun, picnics, and more for probably the rest of my life ;)

Here's the completed 2-page layout.

White on White: A Wedding Layout

I've been inspired lately by so many tone-on-tone layouts I'm seeing. I'm not quite sure if I've missed the trend or not, but I wanted to give it a try. I played with some white cardstock, some Matha Stewart Doilies and some misc elements as well to add some pops of color.

These photos are from a family wedding last summer. I know we look hot and sweaty (which we are from dancing all night long...) but they capture my Steven so perfectly. After all this time, he still gives me grief about taking so many photos and doesn't make it easy for me!

One of Bella's past Artistas, Michelle Clement, inspired me to document the date and year in this more out-of-the-norm way by writing out the date with sticker letters.

I layered lots of the doilies on top of each other with pop-up adhesives, added some buttons and October Afternoon elements. But, even if it was just a few sentences, I had to document by journaling; and here's the truth of it....

He's like five years old sometimes making crazy faces....but these photos are so "us" and that's why I love this layout.

And here's a look at the layout side-by-side.

So, what do you think?

As promised here is the the two-page layout documenting the state fair in 2010.

I mixed my Halloween line, Too Cute to Spook (Bella Blvd) with some Jillibean Soup paper for the background, Lily Bee Chipboard flowers (text print) and Smash Book tape by EK Success.

And played with various stickers (Sassafrass & Bella) for the title and journaling. 

The coordinating right side looks like this

The Miniatures^tm stickers (Bella) add lots of fun details for both layouts and cards and went perfectly with the "laugh" script sticker by KI Memories.

It's a bit bright and eclectic.....what do you think?

Bella Double Page Layout

More patriotic inspiration for you today!

Today's K.I.S.S feature includes a couple paper punches, colorful buttons and my favorite Bella Blvd papers and you're good to go!

It's been a long time since I've used a paper punch to actually krop a photograph.

It's also been quite a while since I've created a double-page layout....so today's you're lucky. You get the K.I.S.S. feature x2!The coordinating page is even simple-er (if that's a word, ha!) bringing in the flower embellishments each punched from patterned papers in the Family Dynamix Collection. I sanded the edges of the photos to help them pop off the navy blue background (patterned paper from my Mr. Boy collection). And added our ages with Lily Bee's tiny alphas...one of my new favorite scrapbooking things. I think I have bought them in every single color!

 

Double Page Layout

This layout will be very special for a very long time. My grandparents live, eat and breathe gardening & fresh air. When they came to Bella last Spring it melted my heart to see how much they love me.

Mixing and playing with multiple manufacturers' products is one of my specialties. This layout includes product from We R Memory Keepers, My Minds Eye, Jenni Bowlin, American Crafts, The Twinery, Bella Blvd, Jillibean Soup, Sassafrass and October Afternoon.

Looking at this layout makes me really wish Spring/or Summer would just arrive already. The weather is such a downer for my creative spirit.