Slow Down

Well, I have not been scrapping as much lately because I am focusing on my health right now. I have needed to get into a regular exercise routine, eat healthier and lose weight for a long time. I have finally found the motivation and have spent the past 9 weeks dedicating 40-60+ mins 5+ days per week working out. Needless to say, this is really cutting into my scrapping time! With that said, I have not yet completed my monthly Project Scrap for July, but I have gotten a few pages completed.

Template from Suzy Q Scraps. Kit is When You Smile by Designs by Kat except for several elements from various designers. The picture is my dtr sound asleep for the night with her flip flops on! The title is "Embrace Your 'You'ness."

Template by Megan Turnidge. Kit is Summer Lovin by Chelle's Creations except ink alphas by Scrappin with Liz. This layout is in response to a challenge where I just wanted to scrap this sweet pic of Katie.

My son's baseball team took a trip to a Braves game at the end of the season. He and dh had a wonderful time and even took a couple of selfies! Template is Scrappin with Liz-doubled and big picture spot divided to make a two pager. Kit is Summer Lving by Chelle's Creations and Sporty Baseball by Kristin Aagard.

This template is from Little Green Frog Designs. Kit is Summer Sorbet by Tracie Stroud with various elements from Bella Gypsy kits.

Well, that's about it (especially since I have to save the post and clear the browser between uploading each image)! It is the end of August and I haven't even scrapped a page this month! I'm gonna have to get back in gear to turn out 80 more pages this year. Maybe things will settle down and I'll be inspired again once we get back into the school routine.

Checking In

Well, our fourth was rained out last weekend so the town's actitivies were postponed until today. We had a good time at the parade, fishing tournament and fireworks! I hope everyone had a good fourth! I haven't been scrapping a lot as I am in the middle of a good book, but here are some of the layouts I have completed in the past few weeks:

This is my June Project Scrap spread. Somehow I only ended up with the template for the right side, so I rotated and tweaked it to get the right side! Memory Lane and Penelope kits from the Shabby Princess.

This template is from Scrappin with Liz and kit is It Wasn't Me by Designs by Kat.

This layout is for the first challenge of Iron Scrapper at Scrap Orchard. It is 100% from the Iron Scrapper week one collaborative kit. Each week this month there is an unbelievably huge kit available for $4!!!

Anna, my middle child was saved in May. She is the first to be saved and I was very touched to be the one she came to. Template is Fiddle Dee Dee. Kit is Close to Heart by Designs by Kat. Alpha is from Katie Pertiet.

Kit and template by Megan Turnidge. Just a fun layout about stopping for ice cream the other day!

My son made it all the way to regionals in Bible Drill this year (his first year to be eligible for regionals)! Kit is Jump by Fee Jardine Designs. Alpha is from Cats and Dogs by WM Squared. Template is from Little Green Frog Designs. Font is Pea Bhea.

Okay, this one is a mish-mash. Chipboard alpha is from Suzy Q Scraps. Green alpha, cardboard flower stacks and stars are from Bella Gypsy. Dot alpha is from Designs by Dani. Everything else is from Mischief and Mayhem kit by Secret Stash.

Here is a quote I saw the other day that I love! A picture is worth a thousand words and a scrapbook layout is worth a million memories. Here's to preserving all your wonderful memories!

Mid Year Mark

Ok, if I have figured correctly, we are only about 2 weeks from the middle of the year! I can't believe how fast this year is flying by. Things have been relatively calm around here for a couple of weeks, and we have had some great family time together.

I have been scrapping quite a bit and I am currently at 115 layouts for the year. Technically, this puts me slightly ahead for my yearly goal of 213, but I always slow down during Christmas holidays so I really wanted to be further ahead than this. Maybe I can really kick it in gear over the next few weeks and get further ahead. It's funny how sometimes you are inspired almost everyday to scrap a memory, and sometimes you don't get inspired at all for several weeks. (Sometimes my lack of inspiration seems linked to whatever good book I am lost in!)

Of course, challenges always seem to get my insipration stirred up! Along with the daily challenges at Scrap Orchard, I have signed up for 104 Days of Inspiration with Traci Reed. Basically, you get two challenges each week via email. I am loving it so far!

Okay, here are the layouts I have done in the past few weeks:

My Project Scrap layout for May. Kit is Parker by Shabby Princess and template is, of course, from her as well.

Another summer top ten spread. I realized after placing all the pics, that my numbers were gonna go right to left and, while my OCD wanted to fix it, it was very late and my heavy eyelids won the battle! :) Kit is Tracy Howard's Capture Life July. Alpha and numbers from Chelle's Creations.

Template is Little Green Frog Designs and kit is Hold Your Horses from Bella Gypsy with a few sneak ins from various kits.

Template is LGFD again and kit is Apple of My Eye from Chelle's Creations.

Templates from Scrappin with Liz. Whew! That's alot of pictures! Kit is I Love You 100 by Bella Gypsy.

Have you spotted a theme? All the "highlights" layouts? I did a photobook for my parents! This kit is Cozy Up by Bella Gypsy.

Template is LGFD with blend added. Kit is Hoppin into Spring by Kay Miller Designs except alpha which is from Bella Gypsy.

 These pictures are from just a few days ago. As I looked at them, it just struck me what a beautiful girl Anna is growing up to be. Kit is No Bummer Summer by Bella Gypsy and Megan Turnidge. Template is from Shabby Princess.

Well, that's it for now! As I look at these layouts, I realize Will is a bit missing. Guess I better scrap some about the little fellow next. Happy Scrapping!

May Layouts!

Well, things have calmed down a bit around here! T-ball has ended and baseball is winding down. I have scrapped more, but I am gonna have to kick it up a notch to get to 106 layouts (halfway to my yearly goal of 213) by the middle of the month! Here are the rest of my May layouts:

The pictures in this layout are from my mom's phone when my ds fell asleep under the buggy in Walmart one day three years ago. I never scrapped them because they were not good quality and I couldn't blow them up much. A challenge to use this template was the perfect inspiration! Kit is Night Owl by Tracy Howard except purple alpha from Taste of Easter by Suzy Q Scraps.

This one is about my girls constantly catching catepillars/bugs! Mostly Buggalicious kit by Kristin Aagard.

This is another picture that is not good quality. I tweaked what I could with color and lighting, but it was still not crystal clear. However, it is about her dreamily letting the wind blow her hair through the window so I figured it didn't have to be super sharp. Don't be afraid to scrap those pics that are not perfect. Sure, a great pic really makes a layout, but a bad pic still tells the story and capturing the memory is what's important! Everything is My Sunshine kit by Megan Turnidge except the butterflies.

Another old pic! Love the feeling that I am catching up on those old pics I never got scrapped because I was a SUPER slow scrapper who thought every page had to be a perfect work of art. This layout came from a challenge to use the word life in the title. I immediately thought of the day my 88 year old grandma wanted to ride the four wheeler with my son! You can't read the journaling, but it says she whispered to him to go fast! Kit is My Happiness by Tickled Pink Studios. Template by Little Green Frog Designs.

Love the ability to get so many photos in! That task is so easy with templates from Scrappin with Liz! This particular layout is all about my ds getting to go on air with a local meteorologist and touring the TV network. It was a very cool day and I am so happy I got the memory scrapped. Kit is Techno Geek freebie from Scrap Orchard designers except orange alpha from Bella Gypsy and green stitch alpha by Chelle's Creations.

I am making a photobook for my parents which will include the yearly layouts of my kids with a picture from each month, so I made this layout to go in it of my sweet neice, Ellie's, first 8 months. Brady's Room kit. Template by Chrissy W.

Template by Little Green Frog Designs. I got lazy on this one and didn't label the kits. Sorry.

This layout is a summer recap of 2010. I love these "Top Ten" lists for summer! Template is another by the lovely Liz. Kit is Perfect Picnic collab from Scrap Orchard.

Well, that's what I accomplished in May. I am currently at 100 layouts for the year! I will check in again in a couple of weeks! Happy scrapping!

Spring Fever

Well, all three kiddos are in baseball/t-ball and we are enjoying these beautiful days/evenings. Needless to say, my scrapping has been put on the back burner. Baseball season is winding down in the next two weeks and school is out in a few days so I hope to get back on track toward my goal of 213 layouts for the year. I have kept up with my Project Scrap which is good.

If any of you have gone to mediafire for the free template and thought you had to download "ilivid" in order to get the template, please go back. The download file for the template is just below and to the right of the middle of the page. You will have a 10-20 second wait before the download begins, but you do not have to download anything extra!

These are my March pages. The template is, of course, from the Shabby Princess (Project Scrap Bundle 1). The kit is hers as well, Penelope.

Here's the April spread! Again from Shabby Princess, Project Scrap Bundle 1 template and the kit is Heartfelt.

This 2-pager is all about the girls combined party last year. The template is from Scrappin with Liz and the kit is a Scrap Orchard collab called Happy Skies (March 2013 mega).

I am really loving the grid look inspired by the Project Life/Project Scrap themes. This is another template from Scrappin with Liz and the kit is an SO collab, April Showers. These pictures are from two years ago and I have been meaning to scrap them for a long time because they just make me smile. I finally got inspired by one of the daily challenges at Scrap Orchard. Turned out pretty cute, I think!

Here's another one that just makes me smile. Template is a freebie from Little Green Frog Designs and kit is Leafy Treetops by Chelle's Creations.

This is another old photo that I included in a photobook, but never scrapped the story. So, now I have a layout for Anna's personal scrapbook with a short, but sweet story for background. I read once that you should never worry about scrapping/using a photo more than once. This kit is Ocean Safari by Kristin Aagard.

One last layout of this great photo of Katie from 2 years ago. The color and sharpness of the photo were not great, so I was unsure how to scrap it. Changing photos to black and white hides a lot of flaws! The kit is Ocean Safari by Kristin Aagard and the template (rotated and altered) is from Scrappin with Liz.

Well, that's about enough I guess! Hope you enjoyed them!

Spring Fever!

Well, spring has arrived along with baseball season! Will is playing 10 and under and Katie has decided to try t-ball. Needless to say, we are very busy. I shouldn't have bragged about being well on my way to 213 layouts, because my scrapping has come to a screeching halt! Well, not a halt, but we are definitely stop and go! hehe! I haven't completed my Project Scrap layout for March and April is basically over! However, I did do the year in review layouts for all three kiddos in the past week and a half so I will share them with you!

 All pp and elements from Twinkle Toes by Kristin Aagard except alpha Bunny Trail by Julie Bullock.

All pp and elements from Parks and Recreation by Kristin Aagard except alpha from On the Road by same.

Paper and elements from Sunshine in the Rain by Kristin Aagard except Alpha Mats by Erica Zane and number alpha from Miss Mint.

This is the third year I have done these layouts and they always turn out to be some of my favorites. I went back last year and did 2009, but before that I had only film pics (Yes, I held out on going digital! What was I thinking?)! Anyway, I hope to get back in the groove before long. I should be back in a week or so with my Project Scrap layouts.

Happy Spring!

Free Template!!!

Well, I just finished ordering prints from one of my two favorite sites for scrapbook prints, Persnickety Prints. I always buy packages when they have their biannual sale and then wait until I have 50 layouts before I print. It is sometimes difficult to wait until I have 50, because even though I have the layouts here on my computer, there is something wonderful about having them printed and putting them in chronological order in the different albums! I have now completed 75 layouts for the year so I am well on the way to my goal of 213! I have a little something to help YOU scrap faster. I created a template for you! I'll share the template and the layout I created from it at the end of this post. Now, to my recent layouts:

This layout was created from a Make It Snappy challenge at Scrap Orchard which is a fun format in which scrappers are given 7 instructions over the course of 35 minutes and then given an hour to complete their layout. I used a template from Scrappin with Liz, but altered it quite a bit by converting one photo spot into two, adding layers of paper under the pics and tilting things a bit to add playfulness to the layout. All papers and elements are from Cozy Up by Bella Gypsy. Both the template and the kit are available at Scrap Orchard.

Just a little layout about trying out cute new hairstyles from a blog I found on Pinterest (My new habit that keeps me up late when I'm not inspired to scrap!). All pp and elements are from Reach for the Sky kit by Lyndsay Riches.

This layout uses another template from the fabulous Liz! The papers and elements (except the polka dot alpha which is Bring on the Cake from K. Hatfield) are from The Little Things by Bella Gypsy.

This is the template I made for you. You can download it from Media Fire here.

Here is the layout I created with it. I added a large picture to the grouping and a small one in the upper right corner. I also decided to use soft colors and make a girly layout even though one would typically think boyish with the big star. Now, I can use the template later for a layout about my son and perhaps rotate the orientation of the pictures to get a different look. I hope you enjoy the template and would love to see your layouts! Just link them up in the comments.