Scraps-R-Fun

No Time Like the Present...

It's that time of year again... a time during which we as sentient beings pause, consider, and reflect on the last 12 months. What joys have we felt? What trials have we endured? How could we have done better? But why do we do this? 

I don't really know the answer, nor do I expect one from anyone who reads this. But I do know that I take this natural transition in life to consider how life is going, and of course, how life will go for the next 12 months. 

In doing so, I'm reviewing my Project Life Albums. For my non-scrapbooking friends and family, for 2013, rather than simply create pages that highlight big events or feelings, I chose to do a Weekly documentation of my year as it happened - capturing the more day to day experiences of my year. I learned I have a pretty boring life! Nonetheless, rather than baring my soul and deepest reflections of my near past and uncertain future, I'll highlight my year through some of my favorite moments captured. 

This year I experienced my first snow day - work/school closed because of the snow. It was my first winter in 19 years, and living in Flagstaff allowed me to relish in its beauty rather than feel miserable (which is how I felt in Illinois). I also fell in love with my first foster puppy. Hugh was such a card. So smart, but such a stinker. It was a bittersweet day when he found his forever home!

Early in the year we moved my dad into his own apartment. It was hard. He was sad. But he tried to make the best of things. After MANY months, he finally felt at home in his new place. But the week I moved him, I made sure I spent time with the friends I missed so much since moving to Flagstaff. That made it a highlight. 

Ahhh, summer... I wish it could have lasted forever. Although we had record amounts of rainfall this year, I was able to get outside just barely enough to feed my spirit. But learning and playing with my fellow doc students, and then having Val arrive with the horses. That made the sunny moments even more enjoyable. This is such a beautiful place to live. Some days I feel very lucky.

One of my favorite moments of summer though was our stakeout. We had naively been storing extra bags of dog food on our front porch. After a while, we started noticing holes in the bags, then dog food all over the porch (whoever it was, didn't like the dried carrots and peas amidst the food). Then after coming home from a late dinner one night, we witnessed THREE racoons scurrying around on the porch. I failed to get a good photo though. So, I decided to wait up that night knowing they'd be back. Sure enough, I captured the moment perfectly. I almost didn't want to move the dog food into the house because these guys made me giggle so much! 

Then, before I knew it, it was fall. With cooler temps, but warmer colors. As free and breezy as I felt in summer, the fall warmed me. I felt grounded with the start of the season, the start of school, the start of my very last academic year of coursework. I had much to look forward. 

It will come as no surprise to those who know me well that the best highlights of the year had to do with animals and wildlife. So, the final moment I'll share here is the morning I headed to work and a small group of elk decided to cross my path. These are majestic animals. They take my breath away every time I get a glimpse, and I will never tire of it. 

Here's to 2014 everyone! 

Coming Back in Style...

Hey friends! I knew that once the semester started, I'd be hard-pressed to blog regularly, but I had no idea how seldom I'd even think about blogging. I've certainly not stopped crafting, but have been mostly sharing through Instagram and Facebook. So, please feel free to check out my IG account (@scrapally) ! I've been busily sharing many of my Life Documented and Project Life layouts there... 

But this weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with some of my favorite crafty ladies, and they reminded me how much fun cardmaking, stamping, and playing along with challenges are! After working on a couple of Life Documented layouts, they convinced me to participate in some Moxie Fab World challenges. Oh, what fun Cath is having on the Moxie Fab World blog right now! I started with the Stickers and Tape Challenge . Here's my entry... 

I created this fun little number by adhering various tapes to a subtle patterned cardstock and then cutting into squares. Then I cut each square in half so that I'd have a bunch of triangles. To finish the card, I lined the triangles up, added some stitching and stamped the sentiment using my favorite stamps - Paper Smooches . 

 

Next up I decided to tackle the Ready Made Embellishments Challenge . What better way to start out than with the new Simple Stories Snap Cards. I am all about the fun hashtags ( I may be a bit obsessed with them). So, the #Awesome on the 3x4 Snap card from the Her set immediately caught my eye. Pair that up with the fun black and white animal print 4x6 card from the same set and you have a Simple Stories match made in heaven. A little washi, some bling, a few more Paper Smooches stamps, and a titch of pearl paint, and you have a fun and easy card! 

And that's how I spent my weekend, how about each of you? 

My Small Space Solutions: Part III - Paper, Kits, and Scraps

Welcome to Part III!

First, an update as to how my reorganization is working. I am pleased to announce that it's working GREAT! I didn't expect that I would need both table tops, but I've been working on playing catch up with my weekly review (aka Life Documented) album and what I've done is used the table behind me to lay out all of my various kits and supplies in little piles. So, as I work and design on one table, I sift through and have access to all my kits spread out on the other table. This has worked brilliantly and I've used a large variety of new and old supplies! Gotta love a system that helps you use what you have. Here's an example using Simple Stories lines, Smarty Pants and 24/7. I even used a vintage 7 Gypsies roller stamp on this layout proving my point that if I can SEE it, I will USE it. 

Today, I'm going to tackle kits and paper in general... I started subscribing and/or purchasing scrapbook kits since 2007. To say that I may have a large pile of kits would be an understatement. Though, I can proudly say that I don't have any older than 2 years.  How do I know? Because one rule I've always held is that I give myself limited space to accumalate kits. In my old studio it looked like this:

And this goes with Small Space Solution #6: Limit Your Collections

 My system was this... as a new kit arrived, I took the supplies and transferred them to a Cropper Hopper Page Planner. These are no longer available. If I were to buy them now, I'd either use the Page Arranger or the Envelope. If I had multiples of kits, I'd use the latter since it provides more depth. 

Once I put the kit contents into the envelope, they would go into the wire basket shown above on the left (I'll talk about the one on the right in a moment). If the basket was full, and no more kits could fit, then I went through the basket and emptied one or more of the envelopes. This way, I never had more kits than what fit in the basket. This was a great system until I moved to my smaller space and I had nowhere to store the basket. Yet, I still like the system itself. I discovered the Cropper Hopper pockets fit perfectly in my Expedit. So, I devoted one full shelf to kits.

The shelf in the bottom right hand corner of the photo holds all my kits. Once the shelf is full, I empty a kit (some into my stash, but mostly to a donation). The photo above also shows how I store all my letter stickers and...

Small Space Solution #7: Sort General Supplies by Color

This I realize is not a new idea. But I can tell you that for supplies like my letter stickers, sorting by color is the only way to go. I can easily get my hand on any form of sticker from Thickers to my old KI Memories. Each color has a Cropper Hopper envelope (or in this case the Paper File). Then they are stored in the top right shelf shown above in "Rainbow Order." 

Also stored in rainbow order is my cardstock. Remember I said we'd return to the right basket. Well, in that basket I store my 12x12 cardstock.

scraps worth saving are also stored here. They are slid into more page planner pockets and sit behind the coordinating color cardstock.

In a previous solution post I explained that I purged all my 8.5x11 paper. I went from having paper here (cardstock on the bottom, patterned paper on the top):

AND in the basket to just the cardstock above and here:

Which brings me to Small Space Solution #8: Keep Only What You Will USE, not what you love:

When I went through to purge my paper, I thought only about what kind of scrapping have I been doing lately? What colors, patterns, and themes are most likely to support my photos? I also considered age of the paper and if the company was still in business. But my number one question when downsizing was still, "will I use it?" Then I sort the patterned paper by manufacturer in the Cropper Hopper vertical storage. I did have to cut the storage containers so they would fit inside the Expedit. I recommend cutting first and then assembling if you are buying new. I also recommend using tin snips or some other heavy duty cutter as it was difficult with scissors. 

Well, that's where we stand on paper and kits today... more details coming soon. Have a great Sunday as we eek out the last few days/weeks of summer.

 

She's Such a Smarty Pants!

So, I'm back! How'd you like yesterday's reveal of the Say Cheese line? Pretty adorable, right? Well, this next line might be my fave of the season. With school starting up right around the corner, Smarty Pants is sure to be a big scrappy hit. Getting this great school line in my hands inspired me to finally scrap some of my favorite graduation photos from my daughter's high school graduation. 

Although I love all the touches and embellishments, I think my favorite part of this line is the set of basics papers - one side lined notebook and the other side a composition book print! I am in love with it! Here it is in red. But the navy! Oh, the navy! Go check out all the colors at the Simple Stories blog!

And here I used some Paper Smooches dies. I mean, how cute is that little notebook pad die? I love. The numbers were made with the Paper Smooches dies also. 

I can't wait to see this hit the stores and see what everyone else makes with the line! 

That Time of Year

I love this time of year! Not only am I spending my time relaxing, with my school brain shut off, it's also the time when scrapookers know that new product is on its way! Simple Stories has some fun stuff this summer that is about to debut at the trade show, CHA. The first line out of the gate is Say Cheese. Check it all out at the Simple Stories blog. Although this line is perfect for those grand California or Florida adventures with the Mouse, it also works for the every day! Here's a little sample I did with this fun line:

 

I added some stickles for a little sparkle in the star on the left and the heart on the right, and I also paired this line with some Paper Smooches stamps. The speech bubble is filled with stamps from the Kinfolk set and the journal cloud is filled with a fun little design from Cyber Cafe. 

I also love this line for cardmaking! Here's another Simple Stories/Paper Smooches pairing... 

Here I used a piece from the paper with the 3x4 cards. I love that paper! Then I added the sentiment from Salutations and a zig zag border from a set whose name I cannot remember! The Maya Road Paper Twine finishes it off, and this card might have taken 15 minutes to make. Love it when it just all goes together! 

Now, go check out the blog for more peeks at the full line. I'm sure you are going to love it! 

Life Documented

I'm so excited to be sharing the news from the Simple Stories family... we're expanding! Check out the behind the scenes details here... and be sure to check back TOMORROW, June 2nd, to see the announcement of the full Life Documented team! You are going to be blown away by the amazingly talented women who have all come together to show how quick, easy, and meaningful you can make scrapping with a Life Documented philosophy and Simple Stories' supplies. In the meantime, I've added our new logo and a sneak peek of my pocket page layout going up on the blog next week. And don't worry, the current scrapbook team isn't going anywhere, so you can continue to check out their amazing work as well! I hope you'll join us all month for the fun and inspiration! 

Holy Moly, TEN DAYS!

Where did the last 10 days go? I have no idea. All I know is that today is my last day of EDF677, and I have a lot of work to do to finish up. But finish, I will.

In other news, be looking for a happy, scrappy announcement tomorrow, June 1st! Som exciting stuff happening. 

To hold you over, here's my latest layout posted on the Simple Stories blog using the I {Heart} Summer line.

The photos are from our first week in Flagstaff last summer. It was so beautiful up here. Taylor and I fell in love with our surroundings instantly. In addition to the SS line, I also snagged a piece of my Jillibean Soup Placemat from a recent Cocoa Daisy Kit to frame my focal photo. Those placemats are a fun little item from the Jillibean lines! 

I'm off to a meeting at the university and then to bury my head in my computer to finish my class before the weekend! Have a good one all! 

 

Oh Blog Family - How I've Missed You!

This blog often gets a backseat when I'm in the midst of school and working hard. I wish it didn't. But the summer is here, vacation time is near, and I'm planning on doing plenty of reflection and relaxation. To transition into what I hope will be a more continuous blog schedule, here's some life moments and catch up:

The Boy:  

Let's start with my boy child. Where is he? Not in Arizona. This one started a new job in California this week that best of all... he sounded excited about. He even called the other night "just to say, 'I love you.' " Hmmm... nonetheless, it was good to hear him happy, and isn't that what any mom wants for her kids? 

I stole this photo from his FB page... I love it actually. He is out in the wilderness, enjoying nature and doing what he loves...exploring. I'm pretty certain the photo is from the latter part of this winter when some friends and he backpacked across about 20 miles of the Arizona Trail. Whiskey (left) and Zeppelin (right) look like they had fun too, don't they? 

Although the job is seasonal (just the way this boy likes them), it sounds like it will lead to some great opportunities later on. The second best part is when it's over, he'll be able to make it down here to Arizona for a bit and visit. I miss my grandpups. 

 

The Girl:

 

 Ahhh, the girl child... what can I say? This one is a free spirit, similar to her brother, and yet so different. The girl child is taking it easy this summer. Since she started late, she doesn't have any job out of state to run off to. So, instead, she's staying in town, taking a summer class, and doing baby, house, and pet sitting for various folks in and out of town... so AZ friends, if you need someone - call. :)

Here she is with Inca, the newest member of the Landy Pack. Yup, she convinced me we should adopt this one. How could I say no after she drove 11 hours in one day to pick her up from a tiny shelter in New Mexico? I tried! Believe me, I tried! But the girl child was persistent - as she always has been - and finally, I conceded that this sweet pup needed to come home with us. She's still being fostered because she had to get 100% healthy before she could be around Sweetness (no spleen means no immune system). But she will be with us soon! 

Then there's me:

I finished another 9 credits this spring in addition to working for the university. It was OK until the end of the semester when a ton of large projects came due at one time. That's ok - summer is here and I am ready for the slower pace. I'm already enjoying life so much, even though I'm taking classes. I'm sure once the June Summer Session starts, I'll be stressed again, but I'm not working/going to school at all in July or August, and I plan to get a bunch of hiking in. 

I also have big plans for sewing and gardening! Hah, we'll see how much all of that comes to fruition. 

I even have some exciting crafty news to share, but that will have to wait a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'm going to keep working on my Week in Review album as well as whatever else my heart desires. Here's a few of my recent faves over the last few months:

Week in Review - using a mix of Simple Stories [email protected] and Cocoa Daisy kits

 

 

A sneak peek at my blog post coming up on Wednesday at Simple Stories using the fun Urban Traveler line:

And a quick layout using my first Cocoa Daisy kit from February. 

 

So, that's my catch up since February! Hope you are all well in blog land! 

My Project Life Perspective: Thinking Out Loud

There's been a lot of PL talk of late with the release of Studio Calico's PL Kit Club and the announcements of the new creative teams for both Becky Higgin's product as well as the SC kit club. To be honest, when I started PL, I did so because "everybody was doing it." I also thought that this would be a good way to document all my camera phone photos... and my original intent was that PL would only be my photos from my phone (and I've pretty much stuck to that). But when I started, I had little time, got behind very quickly, and was frankly a bit bored with the process. I liked working in small chunks (the individual pockets), but found some of the process a chore. I couldn't really find my groove. 

Then, two things happened. First, Simple Stories released its [email protected] Studio collections. I'm very lucky in that I received the whole lot. Now, I realize this is about to sound like an advertisement, and I suppose it is. But be that as it may, I can sincerely say that had it not been for this line of product, I would have given up on Project Life around week 9 or so. Instead, I started playing... Project Life has been a true process for me and my style, and it took me many weeks and lots of different layouts before I found my footing. The fun really started though when I made this layout for the blog and instantly fell in love with the way the product worked.

The colors, the simplicity, the preprinted designs that are easily embellished, and the American Crafts 10x12 page protector...It all clicked for me. And I started playing more. Soon, I had Week 12 done too.

Here they are side by side. For Week 12, I tried a different page protector. I thought that the strip down the side would be fun. I'll be honest though, I don't like it. It's made longer than 12" and so anything that is preprinted doesn't fit and slides around way too much... I won't be buying more of those sized protectors...

Then I started experimenting. I am more interested in finishing this project than following some predetermined notion of *how* I should do this. So, here I decided to combine weeks together because I didn't have a whole lot of stuff to say or photos to include. 

For the title, the 4x6 card is preprinted with the label on the right. I then added a label sticker on the left and the ampersand sticker in the center. Above is just a 4x6 transparency. 

I recently read a post by someone who said she wanted to see DT mistakes and imperfect work (I'm paraphrasing). I thought that was a really fair thing to ask because even as a DT member, my work isn't perfect, and I don't like everything I produce. My Week13-15 spread was one of those times. It's just all too busy for me. But, it is what it is and onward to Week 16 I went. I think I for this week, I wanted cleaner and more simple, more like an actual scrapbook layout... and here, here is when it all started to click.

Shout out to my friend Kim Hughes and her super adorable Paper Smooches Stamps. My journaling card here uses her Cyber Cafe set which is just too much fun. Seriously. Love. 

 

I also realized that my life goes in spurts. During particulary busy times of the semester, I just don't think about photographing my world. I figured, I combined two weeks, why not three? 

And in a mad rush to "catch up" I decided that I would leave my photos unembellished. 

Around this time, the PL talk at Studio Calico started picking up. And this was influence #2 that has affected my approach to PL. Suddenly, I started enjoying the process, not feeling soooo far behind, and I began to realize that I could make this as simple or as creative as I chose to make it. }DUH!{

I also started looking around at more people's PL work thanks to the DT announcements. I went and really read Becky's blog, and it hit me. THIS was the reason I started scrapping in the first place. I wanted to document my family's history in a fun and creative way. But documenting was the key. Onto week 20 I went.

My favorite part of this layout is the journaling card... and I used my new Maya Road twine I picked up on clearance at Scrapbook.com. OMG - this twine is divine... so nice and THICK. Love it. 

For this card I simply used a 3x4 card and layered it on top of a 4x6 card... wrapped it in twine and added a sticker and Queen and Co. dot and called it a day!

Then it happened. I came to a week where I actually DID something! Finals were over, and we attended a concert and it was a GREAT week and I had a LOT of photos!

So, for week 21, I made a three page spread. I added a BH "J" style insert and went to town, and I have to say, this is my favorite PL page to date. 

Closed, it looks like this. And here is a close up of the title card. I wish I could remember whose PL I was looking at that taught me it's OK if things fall off the page and get cut off. I almost moved the "smile" so it fit on the card and then realized, hey - it's cool to get cut off. So, whoever you are who inspired that, thank you! 

And bonus, I FINALLY used my Studio Calico month stamps! 

Then, open up the J insert, and you have this spread.

I used the [email protected] journaling cards for the first time on this spread and loved them.

And, I've accepted the truth that washi tape makes any PL card look better.

Here I added a 3x4 card to the top of my 4x4 photo to make it 4x6. I love using the 3x4 cards in that way! 

Finally, I added ephemera to my layout for the first time. Our pit pass to the Sugarland concert. I used my Cameo to make the cut, some 6x6 grid paper behind the cut, and some stickers layered under it. The feather is a mistable from Studio Calico. It came out a little darker than I hoped, but I still like it. 

I'm pretty sure that from here on out, I need only the following items to complete the rest of my Project Life.

1. [email protected] Studio Collections (can't wait to see the new stuff coming out at CHA next month!!)
2. Washi tape. I apparently love it in bits and pieces both on others' layouts and my own.
3. Wood veneer. They seem to be a staple in my PL album. I like that they give texture without too much dimension. 
4. Stamps. I don't use them often, but I like them on occasion. Need to figure them out better because of how many I own!
5. My Cameo. That thing is just plain awesome. It's my favorite tool ever. 

So, there you have it. My ups and downs of Project Life. I'm pretty bummed that I'm only on week 22 and we are in the last week and a half of 2012... not sure what that says about 2013 and this process. I was set on doing monthly layouts for 2013... but I don't know now. I think I may change my mind... 

In the Midst of It All... a Simple Stories Share

I realize I've left you all hanging! For that, I apologize. But what can I say, life has gone off into a tailspin. But in the midst of not one, not two, but THREE contract jobs, teaching my class, looking for a rental in northern Arizona, and thinking about (yeah, I haven't actually started) packing up my home of the last 19 years, it's the time of year when scrapbookers around the world share in the excitement of the releases of all new paper crafting product and goodness. That's right, it's CHA-Summer (for my non-crafty friends, that's code for the summer Craft and Hobby Association vendor trade show). 

I am so stinking lucky because I get to play with some of those new releases before they get into your hands... for example, Simple Stories perfect answer to a cozy fall day, Harvest Lane

Deep, rich, wrap myself up in a warm blanket as the nights get cooler colors, no? 

 

But while Harvest Lane is lovely, Take a Hike has my heart... unless you live under a rock, or this is your first time to my blog, you know that my family - all of us, Ryan, Taylor, even the dogs... LOVE being out on the trail, on the farm, or in the woods... and well, Simple Stories couldn't have made me happier when I saw the sneaks of this one...

The greens, browns, and oranges are the perfect combos for an outdoor layout, but what makes this line spectacular is the addition of a gorgeous navy and pop of yellow - in polka dots. I seriously cannot get enough of this line... 

So pop on over to the Simple Stories blog to see the full release... as well as the Christmas line, and well a really cool surprise toward the end of the week for a line you might just "snap" right up ;) !