I've been a bit obsessed over Photo Walls as of late. I've even created a board devoted entire to the subject over at Pinterest. I feel a project coming...
I like the randomness of the one above, and how she mixed b&w in too...

I love how this one was done with just one photo shoot.

Same here.

I love the scale of this one, and that most of them are candids.

I keep coming back to look at this one because it involves a stairway. And mine looks bare. Possibly a weekend project??

BTW, I did enlarge that photo from last week. A 20x30 print at Costco, done in an hour for $8.99. It doesn't get any better, folks.

Enjoy your day! :)

Summertime Acrylic Mini

I got a jumpstart on my summer by setting myself up for success this year. I love how last year's book turned out so much, that I decided to repeat the format this year. (All contents of this project are found in the Main June WIP Kit found here.)
While you can't really see it in this photo, the acrylic helps in layering the look. The colorful letter stickers are on top of the acrylic, and were added after the first page was complete. Everything else for the cover is mounted on the patterned paper underneath.

Using the kit and a few sheets of cardstock, I made this in no time at all! The acrylic in the kit was used as my front and back covers. I made holes in them using the Crop-A-Dile. Since the links from last year's book don't work any longer, I decided to make my own edited version on Microsoft Word, and printed them out to use here. I intend to only do bullet journaling, just like last year. Short + sweet=LOVE. *Note--I will be emailing the printable to the customers who purchased this kit, in case you'd like to use this format for your own Summertime mini!

The colors of cardstock I selected will coordinate with the Echo Park paper well. Armed with a few border punches, I put the book together in less than 30 minutes! Now all I will need to do is add the photos...

For example...take the above collage photo. I created it in a 4x6 format, and wanted to show our son and nephew as they played with a police car. Sometimes, picking just one photo isn't enough, ya know? So on the right side of the mini would be the picture, and on the left, the journaling printable would read something like...

I see...

Two 5 year old boys in hot pursuit

I hear...

Sirens, walkie-talkies, and lots of belly laughter

I feel...

Relaxed and happy

I smell...

Dinner cooking on the grill (pork chops!)

I taste...

Ice water

I want to remember...

How much these two enjoy each others company.

Nothing to it! I don't have any particular guidelines set up in my head. Like I said--this is all about SIMPLE. I will be sure to throw in an update this summer, and then show off my finished book before shool starts. Fingers crossed that you will play along, too! :)

Enjoy your day!

One More Hometown Summer Layout

I really can't get enough of the Hometown Summer featured in WIP's Apil kit.  With some precious leftover scrap pieces, I paired them with a sheet of Crate Paper's neighborhood and some Fancy Pants chipboard for this layout.  This collection is really too perfect for summer layouts, and here I use two 4x6 photos matted in white cardstock.  I used a banner border in the middle of the layout for a visual break and accented it with buttons in the WIP April kit. 

Summer is right around the corner and I look forward to the kids having fun in the water toys in the yard again :)  And indeed, they can water the lawn while they are at it, lol. 

There will be no need for watering this weekend my neck of the woods as we will have a rainy weekend: all the more incentive for me to be indoors and scrap with the May kit :)  Have a great weekend everyone!

Photo Prompt

Grab your kids in their everyday clothing (grass stains and all) and head to your front door. The hour before sunset, snap a picture of them. Or two. Or ten. Force husband to act goofy behind you so the kids don't do the fake smile thing. Bribe everyone with popsicles.
Thanks for the inspiration, Willette. I love the results so much, I'm enlarging it for our foyer. :)

Summer Bucket List

With the help of Jamie's post on 60+ things to do for summer, I plan on making a Bucket List with my kiddos when the school year ends in a week. I'm stealing this idea for the visual prompt that I found on Pinterest.
You can see the original idea here. Wow. Wheels are turning...

In a creative rut?

I found this here, and had to share...

...and I hope I remember to refer to it the next time I need a little shove...

Hope it helps someone out there today!

In Praise of Old Stash

I've got lots of old stuff in my scrappy stash, and I'm not afraid to use it! In fact, I've been on a mission lately trying to incorporate my old stuff with my new, and it's fun to dust off some of those "oldies but goodies" and glue them onto my pages.

A bunch of years ago, watch crystals made their appearance on the scrapbooking scene. I had a hard time finding them, and when I did, I bought a whole bunch of them. I used a couple, and then a new trend came along and I forgot about them.

A couple of weeks ago, our challenge at How Much Is Too Much called for 8 patterned papers, among other things, and I knew the May WIP kit would be perfect for this challenge because of all the fun papers that came in the kit. I made this page for my Book of Silly (that's my mom in the picture), and I thought those little kids on the "Summer Fun" print would be the perfect whimsical touch. I wanted to do something fun and different with them. Enter the watch crystals.

Here's a closeup so you can see the crystals better. I glued them on using Ki Memories Gloo, which dries clear. You might notice some other oldies on my page. The challenge called for 8 rub-ons, too. I have TONS of rub-ons and always forget to use them, which is why I love the HMITM challenge--gets me digging through my stash. Those rub-ons are ancient, but added a colorful bit of whimsy that I was going for.

I did a search to find watch crystals, if you're interested in getting some, and you can find them here. They add fun dimension but aren't too bulky.

Do you like using your old stuff? What "oldies" do you have in your stash that you've used lately?

June 2011 Work in Progress Kits

ETA--Many of you may remember last year's Summer Gratitude Mini shown here. This kit includes 2 4x6 acrylic pieces that will be used for this year's mini!
Main June WIP Kit--$30

Contents of this kit include: 15 patterned papers (2 from Bella Blvd, 2 Kaisercraft, and 11 Echo Park Summer Days), EP Summer Days cardstock sticker sheet, EP Summer Days alphabet sticker sheet, 5 mini popsicle sticks, 2 4x6 pieces of acrylic, 2 binder rings, various cloud and sunshine die cuts, 12 label stickers (yellow, green and purple), Donna Salazar photobooth negative die cuts with acrylic inserts, 2 Shabby Chic labels, 1 manila envelope 4x6, 6 Kaisercraft die cut labels, 2 XL yellow tags, five white pre-stamped shipping tags (as shown above), and 17x5.5 mini accordion fold out.

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June Add-On Kit--$22

Contents of this kit include: 10 patterned papers (2 Girls Paperie, 1 House of 3 by Pink Paislee, 2 My Mind's Eye, 1 GSD Studio by Melody Ross, and 4 Kaisercraft), 1 pink alphabet, 1 Crate Paper die cut sheet, 1 chipboard box, Queen & Co orange pearls, 1 purple mini alphabet by My Little Shoebox, 2 epoxy popsicle sticker sheets, 1 My Mind's Eye cardstock sticker sheet as shown, 1 bubble box journaling sticker, and 5 purple envelopes.

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June 2011 Project Kit--Father's Day Album $30
ETA--Many of you have done Father's Day Mini Tribute Albums like this one and this one from years past. This year, I will be using this kit to make mine!
Contents of this kit include--5 sheets patterned paper (2 Basic Grey, 1 House of 3, 1GSD Melody Ross, and 1 Kaisercraft), 2 sheets 12x12 chipboard, 1 wooden owl, 3 stamped manila tags, 1 black pinstripe tag, 2 7Gypsies measuring tape book binding strips, 1 Basic Grey Life of the Party mini monogram stickers, 2 4x4 black envelopes, 2 JBS patterned paper strips, 7Gypsies screw-on antique brass knob, 2 black chipboard pieces 6x8, black chipboard binding 1.5x8, 1" binding mechanism, and 10 vintage labels from Shabby Chic Crafts.

Grab a Girlfriend...

...and go see this movie. Better yet--grab a whole bunch of them, tuck your kids in, kiss the hubs goodbye and hit the late show with your besties. Seriously. You won't be sorry you did.

As I was walking in, I ran into other girlfriends who were coming out. I was warned to empty my bladder before going, because it was that funny. They weren't kidding. So I'll add to that prudent advice by telling you to not go for the medium drink--aka the bladder buster.

I will also state that this is NOT a movie for children. Or for those who are sensitive to profanity or potty humor. But if you're looking for a laugh-out-loud movie with a lot of heart and a storyline, you'll like it. It is wrong on so many levels, you can't help but laugh. Or snort (like I did.)

Didn't know we did movie review on ye ole blog, eh? You never know what you're gonna get here, I tell ya...

Back later today with the June Kits! :) Enjoy yourself until then!

Thinking of you cards...

I used my Mother's Day flowers to create these photos, which will go on as "Thinking of You" cards. They're set to print out as a 4x6 photo, as is. Just right click and save onto your computer, and print away!!

Enjoy your day!