Sunday, October 30, 2011

Make it Snappy at Scrap Orchard

I love speed scraps. I made a double layout during my last speed scrap. It is another Balloon Fiesta layout. I love the photo of the two bees "kissing" so I wanted it to be nice and big. One of the most awesome things about the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is all of the special shape balloons. I love to see them in the sky. I would have titled this layout "Special Shapes" but I had to use an alpha for the title and I hate making long titles out of alphas!
Shapes
Groovy Kinda Love by Designs by Kat;
Alpha from Snowy Day by Lyndsay Riches
The scrap instructions were nice and simple this week, which is probably why I had time to make the double layout. I have tried to make a double layout before this for a Make it Snappy and had to give up and post a 12 x 12 in the gallery in order to make the deadline.

1. Choose 2 papers and make them your background.
2. Choose how many photos you want and frame or mat them.
3. Add some stitches.
4. Add some paint or glitter splatter or a scatter/spill of some sort behind your photos.
5. Add 2 of the following: flowers, stars, hearts, circles.
6. Add a title with an alpha.
7. Finish with shadowing, adding whatever it needs, journaling, date, etc.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

LYM Week 40

I'm behind in my Log Your Memory weekly layouts. Before today I hadn't done single layout for October. I think it's a combination of being busy and feeling ambivalent about this month's theme. The theme for October is "In My Experience: Life Lessons, Roles, Philosophies". The challenge for Week 40 was:
Journaling Challenge: Share your advice on how to manage the basics of life.
Document the lessons you have learned about how to lead a successful life or your personal philosophies regarding such tasks as money management, housekeeping, maintaining friendships, choosing partners, or balancing responsibilities.

This is my layout:
Welcome to the Real World
Adore by Designs by Krista;
Raffia from Harvest Time by Designs by Krista (Blog Freebie);
Fonts: American Typewriter-Condensed Bold, American Typewriter
The journaling reads:
I found this article in Reader's Digest back in 1987 when I was  high school. I pulled it out and have been carrying it around ever since. I love the advice inside especially:
Never answer an advertisement seeking a "liberal roommate." You probably are not that liberal.
They aren't kidding when they say "Wash whites separately."
Never date a man who still goes shopping with his mother.
"Heat included" does not mean "Heat guaranteed."
Be nice to little people. You're still one of them.
Nice people get roaches too.
Face up to it, you must dust.
Dirty laundry never goes away.
Hurry up and learn patience.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Strength. Courage. Awareness.

Amy of Unforgettable Moments has made a template pack in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Strength. Courage. Awareness. Template Pack by Unforgettable Moments
I used the template pack to make this layout. While on our farm vacation we spent a wonderful afternoon in Jefferson City, which is the captial of Missouri. My husband's entire family calls it "Jeff City" though.
Jeff City
Mommy's Little Monster by Unforgettable Moments;
Strength. Courage. Awareness. Template Pack by Unforgettable Moments with Amy Peck;
Fonts: Baskerville-Bold, Baskerville
I also used a different template in the pack to make this layout about the original barn on the family farm. I made the layout and my husband provided the journaling. After all, I am scrappin' our life.
Barn
Strength. Courage. Awareness. Template Pack by Unforgettable Moments with Amy Peck;
An Autumn Afternoon by Unforgettable Moments with Amy Peck;
String (recolored) from Brave Little Patient by Unforgettable Moments with Amy Peck;
Fonts: CK Broad Pen, CK Easy Goin
Photo Action: Very Vintage by Jenny
On the square photo, I used a photo action that I found on Deviant Art. If you are interested, it can be found here.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Project 12 through the years

I make and print a Project 12 album every year. I started in 2008, although at the time I had never heard of Project 12 or 52 or 365. Each year I make a monthly 2 page layout for each month with photos and journaling that highlight our activities for that month. All the other spreads you've seen in this blog about the things we do and the things we see will be placed behind their month layout in chronological order in the scrapbook. So the month layout gives context to the layouts that follow it.

In 2008 I had just discovered digital scrapbooking and every layout was identical, with a calendar with journaling on the left and matted photos and journaling cards on the right. The paper was by Jessica Sprague from her Brushabilites class and the tag was created in that class. I made the calendars in Word, which did not import into PSE well at all! Here are examples from my first P12 album:



In 2009, I bought a special kit for my P12 project called A Year in Progress by  Denise Zavagno/ScrapDZines, it had a kit for every month with appropriate papers and elements.  I used a free template from Log Your Memory for each left side and used it as inspiration for the photo blocking on the right side. I adjusted the photo blocks on the right for my photos each month.



2010 is  a bit of mess. I began P365, but began petering out in March and basically stopped sometime in April, so I'm going to make my P12 layouts and for the first few months, the monthly layout will be followed by detailed layouts for each week. I'm kind of frustrated with that album so I stalled out in April. You can see from the layouts that follow that the number of photos per month just keeps falling.
I decided to use my Year in Progress kit again for this album.




I was so frustrated with 2010 that I moved onto 2011, besides it's always better to scrap while the memories are fresh isn't it? This year I'm doing something different. All the previous years have the same basic layout repeated for each month. This year I decided to do "One Month at a Time" over at Get It Scrapped! Each month a free template is provided to scrap the previous month. They also provide a page of prompts to help you document the current month. Here are two layouts that I've recently finished.
March 2011
Veni, Vidi, Venti by Sherwood Studio;
March sticker from Time Flies By by Sweet Tomato Designs; 
Fonts: CenturyGothic

April 2011
Template from One Month at a Time April 2011 by Tami Taylor;
Let Me Tell You by Laura Banasiak and Litabells Designs;
April sticker from Time Flies By by Sweet Tomato Designs;
Arrow from This is Me by Captivated Visons;
Fonts: CenturyGothic

Balloon Fiesta 2011

We attended the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta this year. It was the first time that I had ever gone. I took almost 400 photos, so expect more layouts.
Balloon Fiesta
Just Me Collab by Brine Design and Siamese Studio;
Tatch-Its6 {Decorative Stitch} by Brine Design;
Lifted Frames 5 by Brine Design

Friday, October 14, 2011

More Farm Photos

When we go the family farm we always take the time to tour it (and neighbor's farm, too!) on four-wheelers. This year in addition to the tour on the four-wheeler, my husband and Uncle Buddy took the German Pinschers on a walking farm tour. The dogs had a great time.
GPs on Farm Tour
Groovy Girl by Designs by Krista;
Fonts: CK Academi
a
I used this great kit by Designs by Krista called Groovy Girl and it is currently on sale for $1.50, that's right a buck-fifty, you can't beat that.

Fasteners Galore

Don't you hate it when you need a staple or some stitching and the kit you're using doesn't have any, or any other fastening devices for that matter? When that happens I do one of two things, I go searching through my stash for a staple, clip, stitch or brad or I tell myself that I'm using a tape runner to attach my item and leave it bare. Brine Design has come to all our rescues when this happens in the future. Today she released oodles of attachy-thingys over at 9th and Bloom. I'm a sucker for brads in digital and real-life so I grabbed this one:
Tatch-Its 2 {Prongs & Brads} by Brine Design
And used it to make this, yet another farm layout:
Amazing
Alana (paper pack) by Brine Design;
Tatch-Its 2 {Prongs & Brads} by Brine Design;
Journal spot from Toothless by Brine Design;
Fonts: CK Academia, Chaparral Pro-Regular
And Brine Design also has these Tatch-Its in her shop. Previews are linked to Personal Use items, CU items are also available in the shop:



Thursday, October 13, 2011

Make It Scrappy (I mean Snappy)

Somehow my life has been so hectic that I've missed over a months worth of Make It Snappys over at ScrapOrchard. I was finally able to participate this week though. Here are the instructions:
  1. Choose an odd number of photos....1, 3, 5, .......
  2. Choose an even number of papers and use 1/2 of them as your background....do what you will with the rest! For instance, I used 6 papers: 3 stacked as background and 3 as paper strips, but they could be mattes for photos, block, shapes etc.
  3. Use at least one frame somewhere on your page. It can be on the photos, behind them, no where near them....whatever as long as one is on the page :)
  4. Use at least one circular element on your page....circles, flowers (kinda), brads, buttons.... you know ;)
  5. Add in some paint, glitter, spills, scatter, something along those lines.
  6. Use a piece of wordart or an alpha (or both) for your title.
  7. Add anything else you need to make it your own. Journal, date, shadow, save and upload
And here is my layout:
My Fave Five Farm Pics
Quotiety by Captivated Visions;
Quotiety Freebie by Captivated Visions;
Quotiety Numbered Papers by Captivated Visions;
Frame from Imagination by Designs by Kat;
Painted Overlay from Foliferous Overlays by Captivated Visions;
Fonts: Handwriting-Dakota, GillSans-UltraBold


I took these photos while the little boys and I were walking around the farm. This was the same day that I got all the photos of Rudy in action and the same day that left Ollie so exhausted. This is the third layout from this day and it was our first day on the farm!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Scrapping Survivor Week 3

I made the cut after week 2 and am still in the Scrapping Survivor challenge. This week's challenge was to write a love letter, which I thought would be easy-peasy, since I am all about the journaling and the doumenting. I began a really nice two page layout full of blended papers and photos about my husband and then . . . the journaling wouldn't come. I just had a mental block. The layout was due this evening and this morning I tossed everything I had and started again, with a new subject, my dog, Rudy. Here is my Week 3 layout:
Rudolph Valentine
Brads from In My Own Backyard Chat Freebie by Allison Pennington
Film Strip from Lights, Camera, Popcorn by Piccolina Designs
Background Paper created with Hayes Island Variant Action by Pete Perry
Fonts: Chaparral Pro
The letter reads:
Dear Rudolph Valentine,
 
    I remember when I met you on December 29, 2006. I just knew that I had to have you. Luckily for me, you had just been returned to the humane society, so I was first on the list to adopt you. Everyone who came in after me also wanted you, lucky for me I had claimed you first. Who would have ever thought that such a tiny chihuahua would fit into our pack so well? You were skinny then, weighing in at 3.75 pounds, but now you are a healthy 4.5 pound chihuahua. You were underweight, because you had been found living on the streets, fending for yourself. I still wonder how you survived. You are one tough little dog.
    On this day, you, Ollie and I had been left behind in the house while Richard took out the German Pinschers for a long walk with Uncle Buddy. So the three of us wandered over to the corral to have some fun. When we walk you off-lead, you get this bout of feistiness that causes you to run around wildly and attack Ollie repeatedly. It's pretty funny.  On this day I was lucky enough to get several pictures of you in action. Although truth be told, the first was an accident. I was framing a nice photo of the flower bed and when I pressed the shutter, you zoomed through the frame. After that though, I turned my lens on you. I adore you, my dear Rudy, and I am so glad that you are mine.
                                                    Love,
                                                    Angela


I made the background paper by running the Hayes Island Variant Action on a photo. I didn't quite like the colors when the action was finished so I placed a copy of my original photo over the Hayes Island copy and changed the blending mode to hue. The action is free and is available here if you'd like to try it on your photos. It is a Photoshop Action. I don't believe it runs on PSE. I also extracted Rudy's paws and placed them over the vellum. What do you think?