My paper stash

I signed up for this new class called "Pretty Paper Party" over at Shimelle.com and the first message/ ice-breaker challenge is to take a picture of your paper.  Your stash or your favourite piece or a bin of scraps or whatever you want.  She also talks about "types" of paper people so after reading that I feel I could label myself as:

• a reformed Pattern Contender -used to not want to cut fav papers - now I say screw that!! Let's get pages DONE!!  Here's a good example of me perhaps finding a creative way to "save" a fav paper.  See that paper with "BE YOU."?  I loved it and didn't want to cover it up so I am mounting it on a 12x12 canvas and putting it up on the wall (love the nasty MESS on the floor).  I am painting the BE YOU. in in red as my room is all turquoise and red and the letters were hot pink.

• I'm also a reformed Collection Packer - used to buy the paper packs from  a few fav companies and only make pages using those papers.  In THAT pack.  With THOSE stickers.  hee hee...  How did I cure that affliction??  I started getting page kits from companies that mix up companies and papers and FORCED myself to use them.  haha... now I love it and almost all my papers are sorted by colour rather than company.  But I'll admit, there are exceptions to that rule for a few companies (Echo Park, Crate Paper, Basic Grey) but I have had pretty itchy fingers lately and a teeny tiny voice in my head saying "sort them out.... pull the stickers... use those papers sister!!"

 L to R: themes (only for "boys", "winter/Xmas", "travel" and "school" as I was having issues finding those), 2 paper holders sorted by colour, 2 paper holders sorted by manufacturer, {next row} 12x12 cardstock, blue bin full (FULL yay!!) of kits. {next row are all card making stuff and 8.5 x 11 cardstock}

• I AM a Paper Collector!  I love paper, it's really the cheapest part of scrapbooking if you only buy a few sheets but I have never had a conversation with a piece of paper before (that is a whole other level up from me... now my Thickers... pretty sure we've had several conversations!!)  You can see above my 4 shelves of paper (oh the shame!!!).  And okay, yes, it's actually 5 shelves of paper but the bottom one is 8.5x11 from when I used to be a Stampin' Up rep and did card classes.
• And I am a Scrap Sorter.  Cause I'm an anal kind of person!!  Do the words "let's organize" send a thrill down your spine?? They do to me and yet... I'm also a super visual person so those two tendencies can to collide sometimes.  {I'm working it out... sigh}  Here's my scraps file, sorted by colour (cardstock and pp together - but yes, the pp is all at the back and cardstock all at the front, that is my anal-ness showing again)

So there you have it. My pretty long winded accounting to myself and the world about my pretty paper habits :) I'm just glad she didn't ask us to account for our letter stickers... that is where this all gets downright embarassing!!  (case in point, very top picture of the crap all over my floor... I count 8 alpha minimum in that stack of stuff, LOL)

Take to time to do something scrappy today... (or just go buy some new paper!)

Jen

Sketch of the week

I am currently obsessed with Shimelle Laine and every layout, video or class she's ever done.  Yes, I will admit it.  But I love her style and love her videos that she does start to finish with just a bit of creative editing (cause she's right, we really don't need to sit and watch her ink everything but I love that she TELLS us she did that!).  So I am obsessively working through her awesome blog (www.shimelle.com) and found her Sketch of the Week series. Here is my take on her sketch for Nov 2, 2011.  I did some serious scraplifting here but loved the simplicity of the layout and how it let the picture be the focus.  Cause this was one of those pictures I cry while I scrapbook (yes, I know I look really happy in it).  And one that after I take it... I almost dread scraping it cause I know it's gonna make me cry.

So here is Shimelle's version:



And here is mine:

And so you know why this seemingly happy picture made me cry, here is the journalling:

"I'm always sad the day before the boys' birthdays.  My babies are growing up and while I love their new independence and traits, I miss them little.  So my last hug ever from a seven year old of mine cause he's (title) not quite EIGHT yet..."

Take the time to do something scrappy today.

Jen

Some new pages...

I've been busy and here are the results...

I've got a few more but haven't edited the pictures yet.  On here very soon.

Take some time to do something scrappy today!!

Jen

Start to finish...

I always like to see how people build their layouts so I took a few as this one was progressing.  I could have fiddled with the embellishments for another 3 days (and may still fiddle) but it's finished for now.

Here's how it started...

Then I worked on it more and moved stuff around:

And here is the end result... that I think is finished :)

Take the time to do something scrappy today!!

Jen

Blast from the past

Well, I got my second layout done with 2003 pictures.  I used more paper from the same kit and made it work with my pictures. They are from fall and my son is wearing a pumpkin costume so I pulled in some orange Thickers (gotta have Thickers on a layout or it doesn't feel done for me, haha) and the orange journalling envelope (which is REALLY OLD) and background paper.  I think it worked out nicely.

(SIDE NOTE: My son is almost 10 now... looking at pictures of him when he was 14 months old... sigh, so cute and I wish I could go back and spend one more day with him like that - temper tantrums and all.  But not with that hair, I don't want to go back to that hair, shudder)

Take the time and do something scrappy today!

Jen

New and Old

I've been working through a bunch of sketches and wanted to use some kits I haven't opened yet.  So I paired this great one layering tons of patterned paper without really having a picture yet to use.  It's paper I usually wouldn't have bought myself but still love the look of (I'm just really not the shabby or trendy type - I'm more into bright colours and stripe/dot/zig zag tend to be my go-to's).  Then... when I was ready to put my embellishments on I knew I needed to find a picture.  I randomly clicked on some old ones and the second month I looked at... wow, a picture of me and my husband and my eldest son and we are on a flowered couch!  I have ABSOLUTELY no pictures from 2003 (this pic) scrapped at all and so even though it isn't a great picture (and I am hating on my hair so much I wince just looking at this) I am using it.  Here it is:

This layout has paper from: Sassafrass Lass, Crate Paper, American Crafts, Pink Paislee and Studio Calico as well as some felt alphas from Making Memories that are years (and years) old.  (the 3 die cut tags are Studio Calico).  I take no claim to being creative enough to mix these papers together, they are from a kit I get monthly from Cocoa Daisy.

I've got pictures and paper laid out from the same kit and the same month (cause now I can mark October 2003 as "scrapped", wahoo) and may hit "Publish Post" and turn and start that too.  I can't wait to show my son, who is 10 in August, this picture of our little family when it was just the three of us!

Take the time to do something scrappy today... it certainly made me smile!!

Jen

On a roll...

This is what I love to see... me creating a couple layouts a week :)  I actually only really did one so far but finished off two that had been sitting waiting for a picture(s) too so I will claim those too, LOL

First is this one, the one I did start to finish.  It's from pictures only 2 weeks old which excites me a lot to get stuff documents so quickly.  I used a variety of papers I had stored under "boy/kids themed" and had had for a long time.  Another thing that excites me... using up my stash.

This double pager has TONS of pictures on it, all mainly 2x2 or slightly smaller. It went through about 5 "renderings" as I wasn't happy with it.  I tried it with a flip up, I tried it on different backgrounds, etc and then went, screw it, I like lots of colour despite the busy-ness of so many pictures and NOW I like it.  This is mainly an older Crate Paper collection called Season. I love buying the 12x12 collections and then it's almost one stop shopping for paper and embellishments.  There is (of course for those that know me) Thickers on it too.

This last one is from my kids cross country runs this fall. It was really (REALLY) hard to get decent pictures but with some creative cropping it doesn't look half bad.  I used my stash and these are all different brands but do know the top left and top far right are Basic Grey (Wander).  I started a new 12x12 patterned paper organizational system during my recent scrapbook room reno and it's really helped me use up paper. 

I'll be posting pics of my scrap room reno soon.  Just putting on the last minute touches and waiting on a poster.

Take some time and do something scrappy today.  (It'll make you smile)

Jen