April 12

Last week was the 12th once again. I took my pictures and finished the layout. It doesn't happen in an instant, that's for sure... I spent small amounts of time a couple evenings last week and over the weekend editing the pictures and making the layout. Sometimes that's all I can get... a couple minutes here and a couple minutes there. But I LIKE scrapbooking and pictures. So it's actually a rewarding, rejuvenating way to spend a few minutes of my day.

I get asked a lot, "how do you have TIME to do all that?" Well, there's not much time. And with John out of town last week, there was really no time. I just started the week with the intention that my evening priorities after JT went to bed were one load of laundry each day and to finish this layout.

So JT and I spent some evening time with friends, played outside a lot, ate dinner, talked about everything, and watched Charlotte's Web. And I spent my "me time" before my bedtime doing three loads of laundry and scrapbooking this one simple day in the history of our lives.

The template I'm using for my 12 on the 12th project is from Ali Edwards' Yesterday Today class. It works out really well with plenty of spaces to put photos, paper, words, embellishments and still have lots of room for journaling. My emphasis this year is definitely on telling the stories about how we spend our days. The butterflies are from Vera Lim Designs.

Last year on this day, we celebrated Easter. And hung out with my parents. And I also used a butterfly for a page accent:

I love looking back and seeing how much has changed. Look at JT sitting in his high chair. Now he's almost too big for the booster seat.

document our week

[ Ali Edwards ] : 168 Hours : Welcome To A Week In The Life

It's a busy week. We're documenting it.

digital vintage

I might have mentioned my fondness for Flickr Commons. Recently I noticed that the local Upper Arlington Public Library is now participating, too. Score!!

One of their images is a map of Franklin County with no known copyright restrictions. It's so interesting to me that our neighborhood and the surrounding area used to be owned by a couple families (I think they had horse farms here). And their names are familiar because present-day elementary schools and roads are named after these families.

I have loved maps forever. I probably took more geography classes in college than a business major really needs to. Incorporating maps into my scrapbook pages is a way to capture a sense of place and history. Here's a digital scrap layout I made of our little family using the map as the background paper:

On this layout, I used a small portion of the map as one of the squares in this template. I also included a bit of a scanned newspaper ad from 1944 - saved by my Grandma. There is also a bit of a canceled check signed by my Grandma's father. The check was written for oats! I paired these little bits of JT's heritage with pictures of him that I reworked this past week.

Now I'll just need to print it out and figure out if there is room for another page in his baby album.

goodbye snow

What. A. Winter. That was a crazy amount of snow! To commemorate the season, I made a page with some pictures and the words we used to describe the mass quantities of white flakes. You know, like SNOMG, snowmageddon, and snowpocalypse! Were there other other catastrophic descriptors for the winter wonderland that I missed?

This layout is really simple. A block of 4 nearly square photos, letters cut with my sister-in-law's Cricut, rubons, and hand lettering. Nothing fancy, just had to get it out of my head and onto cardstock. Die-cut cardstock with a scallop edge to be specific.

I paired the layout with 4x6 photos of more snowy adventures. I also included a journal block to write a few more of my thoughts. The journal card is an overlay from Designer Digitals, Title + Journal Photo Overlays No. 01 by Ali Edwards. I like printing out a handful of these at a time to fill in a quick story among several photos.

And now... I'm ready to move onto spring!

cut and paste

We're in the habit of doing the same things year after year. Every year, we go to the beach with my aunt and uncle, hiking with my family, and host Easter at our house. One thing that I've done the past 4 or 5 years just for me is a scrapbooking getaway weekend.

This past February was again at the Scrap Happy crop in Tiffin, Ohio. I adore this uninterrupted time away with my sisters-in-law. We get to catch up with each others' lives, unwind, and maybe even get some scrappin' done. This page is one I put together at that retreat.


This layout celebrates the first completed art project JT ever brought home. And I use the word "completed" loosely, since it wasn't colored. I am so excited for him to show interest in crayons, glue, scissors, paint, or anything creative. I'm ready for a little crafty buddy! So the working bear paper bag puppet was a really big deal for me.

My inspiration for the layout was from this page at Two Peas in a Bucket. It's not a total scraplift, but I did like the panoramic photo that takes up two-thirds the width of the page. I also liked the simplicity of the design and colors used. I added some Bam Pop papers, Sticko stickers, and the cutest hedgehog stamp ever.

Now if only the pages I created in February will keep me going until next year's getaway crop...

inspiration

A few things inspiring me right now... Amy's glitter eggs.

I actually made these eggs when she posted them before. But I didn't finish them nearly so sweetly...

A bunny bunting...


The latest Anthropologie catalog... can I take some pictures now?


And I'm thinking about participating in Ali's week in the life 2010. Hmmm...


Here's hoping a chilly weekend ahead means some inside time spent crafting...

vroomin'

Last weekend I scrapped exactly one page for my own album. Yay! I mean, 10 would be great, but I'll take what I can get, right? I took these pictures on St. Patrick's Day. They aren't anything spectacular, but they do represent right now in JT's life. He's all about the trucks. And we are LOVING the spring weather and sunshine. The title is his own verb. When he drives a truck, he says he's "vroomin' it." I'll ask him to put his trucks away and he'll say, "Can I vroom it over there?"


I ordered supplies for some upcoming projects and threw in some just for fun items. The box arrived last week, so I was feeling inspired. I got Glimmer Mist in Lemon Meringue and Candlelight. It doesn't show up very well on this red background, but it looks spectacular on textured white cardstock - like a little spritz of sun!


The photo booth template is by KristyAnn Designs. I have used this template before on 2 or 3 different layouts. One of the strips of photos is hanging in my office at work. It has pictures of JT when he was about 7 months old. It's a favorite template... highly recommended. Use the template to size and clip your photo, layer under the strip, and select "overlay" as the blend mode. Presto! It's a great way to tell a story in 4 small photos.


I'm pretty excited about the wheat grass in the first picture, too. JT got some seeds on a field trip to Great Harvest Bread Company. Apparently if we take the grass back to them and show that we grew it to at least 2 inches, we get a free cookie. JT hasn't taken much interest in the wheat grass, but I bet he'd notice a chocolate chip cookie the size of his head!

October 12

There really isn't a good way to catch you up on what we've been doing since I last posted in July. You'll have to follow on Facebook or Twitter if you want to hear the latest updates. Those updates are a bit more real-time. So for the blog, let's just jump in with something recent.

I'm still capturing our lives each month on the 12th. I'm loving this project. It's very exciting to have 10 layouts completed for this year. I love seeing the little things change. Like when JT moved from the high chair to the booster seat. And when he started potty training.

There's also security in the things that stay the same... like playing at the park, morning and bedtime routines, and drinking coffee- mmm,mmm.

Next year I want to change the layout up so I can feature larger photos and more journaling. I always capture more details of the day than I am able to share in this 8.5x11 layout. I think a 2-page 12x12 layout may be more the ticket next year. And it will probably still be digital because I can get those completed pretty quickly.

So if I start posting again, is anyone going to read? If you are still reading, leave me a comment. I'd love to know you're here!

tweet, tweet, document

I'm taking Cathy Zielske's Everyone Can Write a Little class. It just made sense since I was already on twitter and facebook doing just what this class is about. As I learn to document the everyday as it happens, 140 characters at a time... these are some thoughts I've had.

• Use hashtags to categorize. You can aggregate them into a single scrapbook layout later. Here are some good themes: #grateful, #prayer, #wish, #whatif, #proud (of someone & why).
• Fortunately/Unfortunately. There is this book I love on this very topic. And really, for every negative there is a positive and vice versa, right?
• CZ has mentioned dialogue. I love this. For me, I label my immediate family "Me", "JT" and John is "Hubz". Again, a great way to do a layout or aggregate the conversations that happen in your house.
• Picture this: the prefix to use for those times when your camera isn't handy. Write a blurb that describes the scene you wanted to photograph. Maybe if you get a collection of these, your eyes will begin to see things differently and your photos will evolve? I'm just projecting here.
  
• Tell a story as a knock, knock joke. I can't wait to try this.
• Say something... then pose as the reader and ask a question. "What's that you say?" State the obvious question and answer it. It can be done in 140 characters!
• Dear ____, I prefer to address inanimate objects. You know, like the darn printer at work.

And in the spirit of using the same tools to keep in touch with your friends and network and note the everyday, I propose doing each of the following each day:

• Take a picture and link to it. Cameraphones are awesome for this. Or link to someone else's pic or anything that inspires you that day. Focus on visual inspiration.
• Link to music, a book, or art that is inspiring you. Could be any medium. Could be new or old. Maybe you'll see some trends and can scrap a page about it?
  
• @ someone. Reply to someone else. Laugh at their joke, commiserate with them, or just say hi.
• RT something someone says. If you hear about something cool or funny, retweet it. Others may also enjoy. And it documents what you are finding interesting on that day. Worthy of noting.

Now follow me on Twitter or Facebook to see what transpires. :)

March 12

Another month, another 12 pictures on the 12 of the month! Looking at these layouts together makes me think "wow these days sure pass quickly." It's like a blur. I guess that's why it's worth taking the pictures - so you can look back and remember.

If you draw conclusions from this layout you will think that our mornings last half the day, my toddler has his own blackberry, and I don't water my plants until they are pretty much dead. And you'd be right about the plants. :-)

challenge #3

Happy Friday the 13th! Again!!

And now for the last of the challenge layouts from the all-weekend crop. Sunday's challenge page was to (1) use some of the paper we got as a gift at the crop, (2) embellish with a tag and eyelet or brad, and (3) cut a photo into a silhouette. The silhouette was my contribution... for which I'd like to send a shout out to my friend E who totally rocks the silhouettes!

I think I broke a lot of design rules on this page, but I was running low on sleep at this point. I think 2 photos is ok, but using 2 cupcakes was wrong. Feels like it should have been one or three. And the tag isn't worked into the page very well. But then I look at that drooly-faced, bald-headed, big-eyed baby and I don't care one bit about design. :)

challenge #2

The second challenge from the all-weekend crop was (1) to use paint in some way, (2) experiment with alcohol inks, and (3) to make an embellishment out of felt. The felt was my idea. I've been toting around a stack of it and never getting inspired enough to follow through on it. So, challenge it is...

I am quite pleased with my stitched owl. Of course, I predicted that John would say, "What does an owl have to do with these pictures?" Men. Owls are hip and trendy. Roll with it.

Today is the 12th! I am taking pictures all day today for 12-of-12. Hopefully a layout (probably digital) will be heading your way soon.

friends don't let friends...

At our all weekend Scrap Happy crop, we like to play games between the 3 of us. I mean, if you don't want to put yourself out there, you should just stay home to do your scrapbooking, right?! As the shirts say, "friends don't let friends crop alone."

Each day we each issued a challenge for one layout that day. That means one layout had to contain all three challenges for the day. Friday's challenges were (1) to use only paper from the scrap bin, (2) stamp an element for your page, and (3) hand-write your title... like old school scrappin' days!

Here is my take on the first challenge:

You should have seen the girls squirm when I stapled the sheep to the page... they may both need therapy after scrapping with me. Haha!

I've got 2 more challenges... but you'll have to wait another day to see more. Toodles...

holiday mini album

The last weekend in February was my annual get-away scrapbooking weekend with my sisters-in-law. That weekend always brings me joy, joy, joy. And completed projects!

I present, our holiday adventures. Weighing in at 5 by 7 inches, and about an inch and a half thick... sandwiched between delightfully see-through acrylic covers... tada!




Click the photo to see more of the album. I still need to add some journaling on the last pages, but wow, does it feel good to get a project out of my head and onto paper (and glue).

I love this little album. We had some great times and great pictures in December.

the 12th

February 12-of-12, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Hello blog! Here's what we've been up to lately. Peace out...

on the 12th

Because there isn't enough to do in my life, a new project! On the 12th of every month, I'll take pictures and scrapbook them. I'm following along folks on the 12 of 12 blog. I'm excited to have a year's worth of these. Later...

new philosophy

I have a new philosophy. It's that bad photos are better than no photos. And since it's going to be winter for a while, expect lots of poorly lit photos on this blog!

Here is a pic of JT playing with the cookware. I think it bothers John when JT plays with the cookware. Like, "why not play with toys... they are actually fun?" Or "hey, we eat off that stuff and you drool a lot." Or perhaps, "I don't get the allure of the steamer basket and isn't that kind of dangerous for a 16-month old?"

Me? I'd let him play with pretty much anything except my x-acto knife. The kid has an insatiable curiosity. And I think if I can raise a good observer and problem solver who continues to be curious, I will pretty much have succeeded as a mother.

A couple weekends ago I traveled to Wooster for a crop with my sister-in-law, Theresa. She was the crop hostess... just me and her in her basement. It was a blast. We were up until 3am both nights and did some shopping during the daylight hours.

Now I have to show you one of the things we made. Theresa had instructions from a book about scrapbooking on the cheap that showed how to make an expandable file folder covered in fabric. We modified the design a bit so that it became a mini-album instead. And oddly enough, Theresa remembered that my brother had given her some screw-posts just like the ones in post-bound albums. So we used those to bind the pages to our books. I don't know where the heck he got those things!

My album is covered in a strechy denim fabric that worked out great. I love the crazy circles on the inside fabric... Theresa nabbed this one from the remnants bin at JoAnn. The red numbers strip is fabric gaffer tape from 7 Gypsies. The chipboard pieces are either painted or embossed.

I thought "b3" was a good familial representation for right now. I'm into numbers at the moment, so I'm working them into my layouts and projects at will.

I'm not sure what will go in this album, could be a while before I finish other projects and have time to think about it. I'll probably decorate it some more when I decide what goes inside.

a week in the life

Ah, the life...

I finished up documenting a week in our life complete with the journaling on Sunday night. Here are some more of the pics.












Now, I'll get right on making these into a mini album! :-)

document day 3

We're still at it with document our week. I'm downloading today's pictures and writing my notes. Here's a sample...

document your week

Ok, so I'm following along with Ali Edwards' document a week in your life project. I took a bunch of pictures Monday evening. But let's see how I do the rest of the week, especially during the daytime. I tend to fall off the wagon as the week goes on. Tonight's photos were pretty cute. This one in the tub is a favorite from the batch. It's going to take me a while to process and post all of them. Tomorrow's excitement: swimming lesson!

This project should fit in nicely with the start of my Big Picture Scrapbooking class with Cathy Zielske, Design Your Life, that starts October 2. (Holy cow, that's soon.) I convinced Jenny to join me, so it's going to be even more fun to participate in the class with one of my best pals!