Oregon Coast Line

As you have probably noticed, I do not scrapbook in any particular order! To me, scrapbooking in date order is boring... I like to re-live past events, and by creating layouts that are not in any particular order lets me "jump" around from one event to another & then back again!!

Even the way I decide on what to scrapbook isn't always the same! Some days I choose the pictures first, then the paper & finally decide on a layout. Other times I have been inspired by a sketch or someone else's layout, then decide on the pictures & paper!

No matter what your "style", as long as you are getting layouts done, you are preserving those memories!!

So with that in mind... For this layout I went back to July 2008!

I found the layout on the Sketch Support by Scrapbook Generation Publishing website. If you haven't had a change to check out these website, you need to!! They have sketches of 1 & 2 page layouts, cards & something they call Add-On Sketches. The one things I like about this website is that they list their layouts by the number of pictures on that layout! So if you have 5 pictures of one even, instead of looking though all the sketches, you just look at the sketches that have 5  photos! If you have 10 pics... they have 2 layouts for you to choose from!! :-)

As for the paper, I used the retired "Fresh Print Traveler" collection from My Little Yellow Bicycle.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

Driving around Cozumel

December 2008, for our 3rd anniversary, we went on our 2nd cruise to the Western Caribbean! What a great time we had! Out of all the places we stopped, Cozumel was my absolute favourite!! We rented scooters & drove around the whole island... stopping at whatever interested us! Because of this, I'm sure that we saw way more than anyone who took one of the tours offered through the cruise line. What memories we have!! I can't wait to go back!! This layout is a reminder of some of the things we saw...

Isn't this a bright, fun layout!! When's the last time you use bright Yellow cardstock as your backdrop??!!?? It definitely jumps out at you! :-)

This is a great layout to make when you have a number of smaller (scrap) pieces of paper from one collections, or patterned paper that goes well together! Depending on the sizes of you pictures, will depend on the size of paper you will need, so before you start a layout like this, go through your photos & decide which ones you want to use & which ones you can cut down in order to focus on the main part of the picture. Once you have cut your pictures to the sizes that you want, then start cutting your paper. You will notice that I chose to only mat one of the 4x6 picture & had that one go above my border line. This helps it stand out from all the rest!

The paper I used for this layout is from Reminisce... however I could not find this Caribbean collection on their website... must be retired...

Well till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

Run Jump Play

This is my baby girl... Cassie! Don't you just love the larger picture on the right hand side... What timing!! :-) I just had to use that as my main picture!

She's our 1st Golden Retriever. Her & I have spent many hours walking/hiking. We haven't done nearly as much walking over the past little while as we normally like too, but with all this rain we've been getting, who really wants to go walking in the back country and get all muddy... (That's what Quading if for!!!)

For this layout, I used Crate Paper's Brook Collection & would you believe I started this layout back on June 4th, 2010 when I was at a Scrapbooking Retreat that Scrapbook Parade hosted!! I pretty much had the layout all done, I just needed to do something with some of the pictures!

As you can see from the following pic, I used a bunch of brads to create a circle around a close up picture of Cassie. Because of the scalloped edge, I just didn't like the way it looked, it seemed to blend into the layout instead of popping, so I finally decided to add a circle just a little bit bigger than the picture. This just made the picture stand out a bit more. Also by creating the circle of brads, your eye naturally is drawn to that picture!

I did a similar layout of Cassie when she was younger & that time I used heart brads, with the bottom of the hearts towards the picture! I should pull that layout out sometime & post it for you as well!

I also used pop-dots, to add dimension, on the small squares across the bottom of the page that made up the title.

Once again I thank you for stopping by!

Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

Wilson

This layout is a very simple one, with lots of "white space"... meaning that not every inch of it has something going on. I usually like to get as much into a layout as possible, but when I went to do this one, I only had the 1 picture of Wilson that was taken this day... so what do I do?

When looking through magazines or checking out different websites/blogs, I see quite a few layouts with only one pic, so this was my first attempt...

I'm going to share a little secret with you.... I like to save money... who doesn't these days! But did you know you could do it & still scrapbook!!??!! Honest!

One of the ways I have found to save $$ when scrapbooking is that when I plan on covering most of the cardstock with patterned paper, I cut out the centre of the page! That's right, the cardstock edge on this layout is only 2 inches wide! There is a big 8 inch square cut out of the back!! This is what I used to mat the picture on this layout as well as the larger pic on the last layout - Is it Bath Time?!! (FYI, I did the same thing on that layout as well!!)

Give it a try some time!! :-) And for those of you that are wondering... Yes, I have done this with double page layouts as well!!! :-) Let me know if you try it & how it worked out for you!!

Thanks once again for stopping by!!

Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

FYI - I completed this layout in under 2 hours... meaning that I beat my record, for creating a 1 page layout, by an hour!! Oh & the paper I used for this layout is also from the "Happy Together" collection by Fancy Pants!

Is it Bath Time?

This is the newest addition to our Family! He's name is Wilson & he LOVES water!! I call him our water dog! Anytime he can play in water, he does. We learnt this very quickly... I use to fill their water dish almost to the top. All I can say is that it's a good thing we have the water dish in the laundry room, on the linoleum floor... Whenever he goes for a drink, he has to put both front paws in the dish. Then when he's done, he walks forward so that his back paws go through the dish as well. Of course this leave a trail of water all over the house! There are even times when he decides to DIG through the bottom of the water dish. This causes water to get all over the place... even up the wall!

The night before these pictures were taken, Wilson got rather dirty outside, so when we brought him in, I took him straight to the tub for a bath. The next day he came inside & went straight to the tub, trying to get in!! I guess he figured it was Bath Time!! :-)

I had fun doing this page... it just all came together & within 3 hours it was complete!! For me that is a record!! One page layouts don't normally come very easy for me... guess that's why I don't seem to do many of them! :-)

I've been experimenting with new things lately or by trying something new... this layout is no different!

1. In the centre of this page you see the striped patterned paper with the brown strip... well when I scalloped the edge of the striped piece, it left me with a very thin strip of paper which I put right up against the brown edge... this give it the impression that the brown piece is on top of the striped patterned paper.
2. You will also notice the triangles going across the brown stip... this was also something new. Those are actually rub-ons & are actually suppose to be joined the other way, creating a larger, thicker triangle strip. It was just too thick & not long enough to use in this narrow space... so first I marked the paper with a very thin line so I would know where to place the triangles, so that they would all be in a straight line. Then I cut the triangles into smaller pieces & lined them up along the line. I really like the way this turned out. It filled in the brown strip so that it isn't so bold!
3. The strip paper was blending into the other paper & I wanted the edging to stand out more. As I had already attached the paper to the layout, I wasn't able to ink the edge... so I took one of my copper pen & went along the edges!
4. Lastly, I used pop dots on the 2 smaller outside pictures that are on the bottom half of this layout!

Oh I almost forgot... The paper I used for this layout is from the "Happy Together" collection by Fancy Pants! (If you click on the Happy Together link above, you can scroll down & see the triangle rub-ons that I used!)

Thanks a lot for stopping by!

Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

Goofy Hats - Simple Stories Blog Hop

Hi Folks & Welcome!!

There is lots of information to cover in this post but trust me it will be well worth the read, so let's get started!! :-)

Last June / July I was introduced to the company "Simple Stories and fell in love with their line of product. Well at the beginning of January, they announced (on their Facebook page) that they were going to have a Fan Blog Hop! I was lucky enough to be one of the first 7 people to respond! All we needed to do was create a layout using their line of product (which isn't that difficult), and they would get the word out!! Oh and to top it off, they are giving away PRIZES!!! How cool it that! :-)

This is how it works - you have 2 chances to win. The Blog that has the most comments at the end of the day wins a Prize  PLUS one of the people that commented on that blog will also win a prize! A second prize will be given to someone who has left a comment on the Simple Stories blog.

Now that you know how it works, let's take a look at my layout!  I used their "25 Days of Christmas" collection.

I often find myself not using all those little letters that you find on the sticker page, well as you can see, I finally decided to use them. I wasn't able to say everything that I had wanted to say on the journaling card, so I thought I would make it apart of my "Title"!!

Whenever these guys get together, they don't need Goofy Hats to get them going... no, all I need to do is bring out the camera!!

I tried a couple new things with this layout... all of which can be seen in the photo below:

1. I used a product called "Pearl Pen" by Viva. (I used # 401 - Dark Brown) This is a great way to add a bit of dimension to your layout, as you can make the "pearls" what ever size you want! Very cool product that I will be using again soon!
2. I finally used a transparency!!! I have talked about using them for some time now & found that the transparencies from Simple Stories are AWESOME!! My main concern about using transparencies has always been... how do I keep them in place without the glue/adhesive showing... Well I no longer have to worry about this when using the transparencies from Simple Stories as they just sticks to the photo - no glue or adhesive needed!! I can turn the page upside down & it doesn't move! :-)
3. I have a tendency to use pop dots when adding embellishments or my journaling squares, but for this layout you will notice that I raised the large group photo on the left hand side page...   

Thanks again for stopping by & don't forget to Hop on over to the last blog --> Liz Qualman!


Till next time... Happy Hopping.... I mean Scrapping!! :-)



PS - Please don't forget to leave a comment below for your chance to WIN some very cool prizes!!  :-)

Just in case you have missed someone's blog, here is the list for you!!

BLOG HOP SCHEDULE:

1.            Simple Stories www.simple-stories.com

2.            Martha Saenz: welcometomarthaworld.blogspot.com

3.            Simple Stories Design Team Member  

               Kim Holmes http://www.theholmescrew.blogspot.com

4.             Amanda Albright: asquared.typepad.com

5.            Cindy Pittman: scrapixie.blogspot.com

6.            Simple Stories Design Team Member

               Emily Pitts http://www.emilypitts.blogspot.com   

7.            Sara O’Shea:  knittingprose.com

8.            Simple Stories Design Team Member  

               Allison Landy http://scrapsrfun.typepad.com

9.            Kate Blue: Kateblue.blogspot.com

10.         Simple Stories Design Team Member

              Wendy Morris http://scrapnspire.blogspot.com

11.          Naomi Armenta: http://snipitytweetwhispers.blogspot.com/

12.          Michelle Brekke: http://wildnkrazie.blogspot.com/

13.          Simple Stories Design Team Member

               Liz Qualman http://lizqualman.blogspot.com

Gorgeous Sunset

Hey there, just finished this layout and wanted to share it right away!


A couple weeks ago, we made a quick trip up to Parksville to pick up paper for the layout I'm working on for the Simple Stories Fan Day Blog Hop that is taking place this coming Friday, January 20th! Anyway, while I was in the store up there, Scrapbookin' Adventures, I saw a layout that I liked & it looked so simple to do. Once I got in the truck, I quickly sketched it on the back of a receipt so I wouldn't forget it!


We stopped in Nanaimo & my hubby said we could stop at another scrapbook store & I saw this paper... it's BoBunny's "Forever Fall" collection. It's not a colour I ever really buy, but it was just calling out to me. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I knew I had to get it.


On the way home, that's when it came to me, use this paper to do the layout I had seen in Parksville. So when I got home I put the layout together, but then what pictures do I use... Well tonight I was looking for some winter pictures & came across these pictures... They were taken this past September when we were camping in Parksville! I took Cassie for a walk as the sun was setting... sure glad I took my camera as well!!

This picture really doesn't do it justice, but this was the only one that wasn't washed out or too dark! As I've said before, I like to take multiple pictures of the same thing - action shots. In these pictures, the setting sun is the only thing that changed! In the large picture you can see the sun just above the hill, yet a couple seconds later, you can no longer see the sun. This picture I cut into small squares across the bottom... a small mosaic pattern!


It's hard to tell, but I also inked all the edges with my gold coloured ink.


Well thanks again for stopping by!


Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

New way to Share your Photos - # 2

Here's the second one...

I didn't look at these pics until after I had already given it, so they aren't the best, but at least you get an idea as to different ways you can decorate them!

There is a bit of a glare on the above pic, so I added this one as well...

The pic I took of the top one, didn't turn out, so I don't have a close up of that one, but here are the middle & bottom ones...

If you decide to make one yourself & have any questions, please post a comment or send me an email! :-)

Hint: I use a glue stick to glue the base paper to the record. When adding your mats, don't use your normal mounting square, instead use a better double sided tape... I use Pioneer Photo Memory Mounting Taper. It looks like this:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

New way to Share your Photos - # 1

I made a couple of these a few years ago as Christmas gifts... this year I decided to make a couple more, one for each of the girls.

Can you guess what it's made of??? Would you believe records!! ;-) Honest!!

Here's a close up of each of the sections:

As you can see, I made it so that they can add their own photos & change them whenever they want!! :-)

If you use your imagination, there are all sorts of ways you could decorate these records! Give it a try, use your imagination & let me know how it turns out for you!!

Click "here" to see the second one I made...

Oh as for the size, in the past I have used the small records but for these ones,  I used the 10 inch ones. If you don't have any on hand, I've found that you can pick them up fairly cheaply from the thrift stores! :-)

Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

3 of 4... Snowman

This is the 3rd layout using the same basic layout design! Again the paper that I have used for this layout is from Echo Park's new "Winter Park" Collection.

This page is a reversal of the 2nd page. I've now moved the strip that was along the bottom, to the top. I have also moved the large picture to the middle, so that the patterned paper on the left of the large picture is on the left hand page. This provided room for 1 more picture as well as a journaling square. (which I raises with pop-dots)

Did you notice the top boarder??? How I have 1 large snowflake right in the middle of the page? It can be hard when you have a strip of paper that runs across the whole layout like this one does, but I love it when I can match up the paper from one page to the other... it makes the page flow so much better!! :-)

Now let's look at the final layout in this set of 4...

If you missed page # 1, click here... If you missed page # 2, click here!

4 of 4... Silly, Chilly, Days

This was the last of the 4 layouts that I worked on & it's also the one I spent the most time on, as I wanted it to be different than all the rest!! I just wasn't sure how I was going to do that. For this layout, I took the 1st layout & flipped it upside down! Hope you like the way it turned out!!

And incase you hadn't already guessed, I used the Echo Park's new "Winter Park" Collection again!! :-)

As you have seen with all these pages, I don't have my Christmas / Winter pics yet... so when I make layouts without pics, I have a set of white paper cutouts in different sizes that I use to plan the layout! So as I was playing around with the group of 4 "pics" on the right hand page, trying to decide on the sizes, I happen to leave a space in the middle... I though that it was a nice change from the 4 square pics that I was originally trying to figure out. This space allowed me to add a pop-dot or some sort of embellishment! (I don't plan on sticking with the snowflake that is currently there, I won't decide on what I'll add until I add my pics... I just didn't want to leave it bare!)

Also because I wanted the bottom of the pics to all line up, I had to be "creative" with my picture sizes, hence the 2 7/8 x 5 or the 2 3/8 x 5!!

When I remove the fake "pics", I write the measurements down (as seen below), so that when I'm ready to add the pics, I can cut them to the correct size! It will save a ton of time when I get my pics!! :-)

You will also notice that instead of the title "Snow" that is on the bingo card, I used the words found on the ribbon that runs across the bottom of the page - Silly, Chilly, Days!!

Oh 1 last thing... when I add the bottom right hand pic, I will round the corner... so 3 of the 4 corners will be rounded... I didn't want to round the "Snow" bingo card.

Thanks for following this set of 4 layouts! Hope you enjoyed it!!

Till next time... Happy Scrapping!! :-)

PS : If you missed page # 1, click here... page # 2, click here or page # 3, click here!

2 of 4... I Love Winter

This is the 2nd layout using the same basic layout design; using Echo Park's new "Winter Park" Collection.

As you can see, the bottom of this layout is basically the same as the last page, other than the size & the distance from the bottom of the page!!

I also changed the sizes of some of the pictures and move the larger picture to the right side of the layout. If you don't have a 5 x 7 pic you wanted to use, you can always replace it with 2 smaller pics!

Click here to go to layout # 3...

If you missed layout # 1, click here!

1 of 4...

I know, it's been quite a while since my last post! That's what happens at this time of the year, we get busy with all the preparation that we have to do for Christmas! Theres setting up the tree, decorating the house, preparing food, entertaining... the list just never seems to end! :-)

Even though I don't have my pictures back yet, I thought that I would share the layout that I have been working on these past couple of days... The paper that I have used for this layout is from Echo Park's new "Winter Park" Collection.

One of the quickest ways I have found to get a number of pages completed, is by taking a basic layout like this on and either changing the measurements, sizes of the pictures or even reverse it as I did here, or turn the layout upside down like I did here or even here!!! :-) As you can see, every time you change the direction of the layout, you get a whole new different feel to the page!!

So next time your "creative juices" just aren't flowing, give this a try & see how many pages you can get done!! :-)

Oh ya - as for a title, once I have my pics, the title will go above the far right hand pic. As for journaling, I will probably add a matching journaling card somewhere on the page!

If you didn't clicked on the links above, click here to go to the next page....