Scrapping my girl!

I sometimes worry that I don't blog or scrapbook my children equally. Clara would certainly say that I pay more attention to Henry.  As a 16 year old boy, he wouldn't notice. LOL! So, just to make sure everything is even, here's a few layouts I made today with Clara.  The one up top features a photograph taken when we were "performing" at the Experience Music Project Museum at Seattle Place. Love her expression!

And here's one I made about her running track last season. You probably can't tell, but I started with this Starting Point from Shimelle.  All paper is from Club Scrap. Embellies in the second one from Heidi Swapp.
Do you ever have to worry about scrapping about people in your life equally?

Sympathy & Thank You Cards: Counterfeit Kit Challenge

When putting together my July Counterfeit Kit, I made a card kit add-on because I knew I was going to make some cards for a card swap. I chose to feature the Michael Strong Whirl-a-gig collection from Club Scrap, but only used the blues, whites and yellows in my main kit. So, I put the coral papers in my card kit add-on, along with some other papers, flowers, ribbons and buttons:

I like to keep Sympathy cards fairly simple, and I like the ones I made. I hope the coral isn't too cheery/bright for the sentiment. What do you think?

I also made some thank-you cards, which I think worked just fine with the color palette (although the light coral/pink paper doesn't scan very well). It's been a while since I participated in a card swap. For this one, I'm sending in four thank-you cards and getting four different thank-you cards back. Same thing with the four sympathy cards.  I used to participate in them all the time but got burnt out on them.
What about you? Do you do card swaps?

Album Case for my Houston Memory Cards

After having completed my Houston Memory Cards (see this post and this post for an explanation and an example), I decided they needed a special home.  In my stash, I found a Club Scrap kit to make an "album case." I used some Club Scrap Retreat papers and added the tags I made recently and the last bits from my May Counterfeit Kit to complete the album case.  The picture up top is what it looks like closed. 

You open the case like a book, and on the right hand side is a tray, where the album goes.  The album itself is simply a set of 6x6 page protectors held together with large rings.

On the left hand side is a three sided tray which is slightly larger than the tray on the right, so it works like a lid of a box.  I added a tag and journaled about my project on the left.

I really love how it turned out! I'm going to leave it out on my sideboard and hopefully someone will open it up, take a card out of its page protector and read my wisps of memory captured inside.  Thanks again to Sian for the idea!

Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop: Summertime Birthday Party

The Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog is hosting a blog hop that should provide you with lots of inspiration.  You can check out the CKCB main page at this link.  Each of the posts in today's hop will tell you about a favorite web site/manufacturer and will create a project using inspiration from that website.  I chose Club Scrap because it remains my all time favorite paper arts producer.  Even though my counterfeit kit doesn't feature Club Scrap product this month, their website is full of inspiration.  If you go to the main Club Scrap site and click on the "Inspiration" tab, you'll see galleries based on their collections, a video archive and lots of other fun stuff.  Within each collection, there are sample cards, layouts and projects.  I based my Houston Memory card (see explanation here) on a card I found in the "Lotus Pond" gallery.  Here's the link to the card which inspired me.  It was made by a very talented Club Scrap member named Farley:

I almost forgot . . . the inside of my card reads, "During the summer which Cordelia and I spent in Houston, our aunts and uncles decided to throw us a birthday party since we were never in town for our 'real' birthday.   We were both born in March. I only ever had one summertime birthday, and it's one I will never forget."
I hope you have fun perusing Club Scrap's website for inspiration, as well as the other websites in the blog hop!
{As with most blog hops, it's possible that blogger may have problems or the timing of posts may be a bit off. So, if things don't go smoothly right away, check back in later}
To continue on the hop, click on this link to go see Jennifer.


And, if you get lost along the way, here's a complete list of the participating blogs:

Counterfeit Kit Challenge       http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/

Emily http://aplaceformyscraps.blogspot.com/

Ashley         http://papercatnipcupcakes.blogspot.com/

Patty                 http://pattycakescreations.blogspot.com/

Lisa J                                   http://thesimplelifewithlisa.blogspot.com/

Julie Ann         http://julieannshahin2.blogspot.com/

Milissa http://millermall.blogspot.com/

Jennifer G. http://jennifersjumbles.blogspot.com

Lesa         http://cutescrapbookingideas.com/

Tricia http://scrapquilt.blogspot.com

Karen http://icouldbescrapbookinginstead.blogspot.com/

Lisa A.         http://dreamingofcreativity.blogspot.com/

Glinda         http://razzledscrapper.blogspot.com/ 

Rinda         http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/

Jennifer C. http://www.mypair-a-dice.blogspot.com/

Christy                 http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/

Michelle         http://creativeoperation.blogspot.com/

Bethany                                   http://inspiredscrapper-bethany.blogspot.com/

Fast and Simple Scrapbook Pages

Recently, I mentioned that I scrapped 15 pages at an all-day crop and shared a bit about my scrapbooking process.  Today, I thought I'd share some of those pages.  The page up top is a fairly typical page . . . quality paper from Club Scrap, 4 pictures arranged in a very linear way, a journaling block and a few embellishments.  Most of the time, I scrap in double page spreads.  Here are the two I did with fall pumpkin patch pictures:

My Fourth of July pictures:

And layouts from DD Clara in Junior Lifeguards:

You can see they are all very simple, but they are done!  You can click on any of them to enlarge them and see more details. 
I also mentioned that sometimes I start with blank layouts and then find pictures that work.  Here's an example of that type of layout:

The layout started with the background papers (beige an blue), plus the dark green paper strips and blue and green photo mats.  These six pictures I had from our summer vacation matched the color and feel of the blank layout.  I found a stamped dragon fly border and embellies in my stash from some sort of page element swap, which I thought completed the page well.
So, there you have it!  I think my favorite page is the fireworks page, although I am also quite partial to the last layout as well.  What about you? Do you have a favorite?

Let's Talk the Process of Scrapbooking

On Saturday, I went to an all day crop with some of the friends I have met through the West Coast Club Scrap group.  It was so much fun, I made this art journal page about it!
It was also very productive.  I got 15 pages done. I'll try and share some over the next few days.  As I was packing for the crop on Friday, I began thinking about my process for scrapbooking and how it has changed over time.  These days I only scrap once a month or so, and it's usually at a crop of some kind (a group of friends getting together to craft/scrapbook).  I rarely pull out my scrapbooking stuff on my own; I'm much more inclined to do art journaling when I have a time at home.  I also tend to prepare what I call "page kits."  I'll select the pictures I want to scrap and put them in a bag with the paper and embellishments I plan to use.  That way when I get to a crop, I have (most of ) what I need.  Often, I will also put the sketch in the bag which I plan to use.  My favorite sketch tool are the idea decks of cars from Club Scrap which tell you how many of each size paper you need and where to make the cuts to create the sketch.   Of course, I feel free to improvise once I get started!  Club Scrap also has a wonderful tool/process they call "Assembly Line Scrapbooking," where you create blank layouts with their coordinated paper.  Then, when it comes time to crop, you simply match up pictures with existing blank layouts.  I know it sounds like it wouldn't work, but, trust me, it does.  So, that's where I'm at these days with my process.  It's quick and efficient. I like the pages I complete and really like the fact that they're completed.  They're not as creative as my pages used to be, but I channel my creativity into my other interests.
I'm curious to hear about the process that you use to scrapbook. . . please share!

Quick Thank-You Cards & A Reminder

I make a lot fewer cards than I used to make.  I have so many things on my artistic plate that cards seems to have been left behind on the buffet line.  And I'm okay with that for now.  But today I needed some thank-you cards for vendors, parents and community members who helped out with a soccer event we held over the weekend.  So, I pulled out a set of Hampton Arts acrylic stamps and a "greeting to go" pack from Club Scrap (basically pre-cut, pre-scored card blanks and mats) and proceeded to make up a set of thank-you cards.  It was fun, and I'm glad that I was able to do it.  But, truthfully, it didn't reignite any card making muse. And card making will remain off my plate for the most part in the near future, I think.  What about you?  Are there things you used to do that don't really call to you anymore?

And the reminder . . . I'll be pulling the recipient for pass the book tomorrow, so if you're interested in Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, go to this link and let me know!

Scrapbooking with Tim Holtz

This week's Compendium of Curiosities Challenge over at the Studio L3 blog is Multi-Medium Collage. Since I'm on a scrapbooking binge, I used the technique to make these embellishments for a snow play layout (you can click on the layout to see it larger):

I used the snowman and snowflakes from Tim's seasonal grungeboard package.  All the paper for the layout and the embellishments is from Club Scrap's Gratitude collection.  I had a bit of difficulty with the little pointy parts of the snowflakes, but I think they turned out okay.  Inking the edges was also key!  I also think patience is important to this technique and using thinner paper would have been easier.  All good lessons learned, and I'll definitely return to this technique again.
Thanks for the challenge Linda!

Scrapbook Tuesday

I got a lot of scrapbooking done on Saturday.  Most of the layouts are pretty routine, but I thought you might like to see this one, which used Shimelle's idea of a panoramic photo with embellished borders.  It's from the photo shoot I was asked to do for the local Little League program for kids with special needs.  You can read more about that photo shoot and see more pictures from it in this post.  And here's what the two page spread looks like:

All paper from Club Scrap's "Expressions" collection.
ETA:  Thanks for all the good luck wishes yesterday - they worked! The boys won 8-2, and they advance to the championship game (scheduled for Thursday night, I think).  If they win, then they go to the state tournament in Sacramento!  Even if they lose, they get to play again for the championship because it's a double-elimination tournament, and they don't have any losses yet. We'd love to keep getting those good luck vibes!

A Quick Layout

I really want to get back to scrapbooking, so I joined Club Scrap's Summer Camp in the hopes of getting organized and caught-up.  It's a month-long "competition" with incentives for creating layouts.  I try hard not to get too caught up in the competition and focus on enjoying myself.  I spent some time this afternoon finding and organizing my completed layouts and my photos "to be scrapped."  I'm pretty caught-up through 2009 and have completed a few layouts for 2010, so it shouldn't be too hard to get back up to speed.  After doing all the prep work, I wanted to actually complete a layout, so I used Shimelle's idea of arranging still life photos around portraits to complete this two page layout about the nature hike my DH and I took earlier this spring.  I really like how it turned out.

Alcohol Ink Monoprint Cards

This week's challenge at Studio L3's Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities Challenge is the alcohol ink monoprint technique.  To mix things up a bit, I tried block glossy paper, instead of white.  The metallic mixatives showed up well, but I had trouble getting much color from the other inks to show up.  Once I had the backgrounds made, I chose to use Tim's South Africa stamps to make two cards, in honor of the World Cup and because they seemed to go well with the darker shades.  I also stamped some of his birds on another background I had but decided to hold on to it for now.  I'm sure it will go nice on a Halloween tag later this year.
Once I had my supplies out, I made a bunch more backgrounds! 
Here's a card I made with white glossy paper:

The stamps are from Club Scrap.  I hope you like this background, as you'll be seeing more of it this week (LOL!).  I'm loving these challenges and wanted to say a big thank-you to Linda for linking folks to my book review of Compendium of Curiosities.  The Review featured a few other creations with alcohol ink monoprinting.  You can read the review and see those creations here.

"She" is an inspiration

The book She, by Kobi Yamada, is full of inspiring quotes about women.  In the past, I've used the quotes as the basis for a tag swap and a fat book stamping technique class that I taught.  I'd forgotten about it until recently when I found it while tidying up.  It seemed liked a good starting point to complete this little minialbum project from the Club Scrap Sonoma Collection.  I think it would make a nice graduation gift for someone special.  Here are the inside pages:

I took these pictures on portrait mode as an assignment for the Get Out of Auto Mode class I'm taking, and I like the bokeh in the background.  Want to be inspired by some other amazing women?  Come check out the All About Me/My Favorite Things blog hop starting tonight at 10:00 California time and going on for the weekend.

Let's Talk Kit Clubs (Swatch Books)

For the last nine years, I've been a member of Club Scrap, one of (if not the) original scrapbook kit clubs.  Besides having original, very high quality paper and designs, they are always a little ahead of the curve on techniques.  From the beginning, they offered stamps and stencils are part of their kits. Their customer service is amazing, and the owners (Tricia and Dinah) make you feel like they know you, even if they have thousands of members all around the world. They offer a variety of different levels and kits, and I've tried lots of different variations over the last decade.  But I've never seriously considered dropping my subscription.  I'm a very happy customer!

Club Scrap often includes little projects and minialbums in their kits. Sometimes I put them together right away, but sometimes I put them into a hatbox for later. Well, my unfinished projects hatbox is currently overflowing, so I pulled out a few projects to work on this week.  I made these two little swatch  books this afternoon, and it was such a nice feeling of accomplishment.  Not sure what I'll do with the top one (decorated with the Club Scrap Gratitude collection), but I'm going to use the second one (decorated with the Club Scrap Memoirs collection) to keep a list of art ideas!

Are you a member of any kit clubs?  What has been your experience with them?  I'd love to hear.

A Tag Full of Wild Flowers

My mixed media group is doing a tag swap this month with the theme of "flowers," and here's my creation. Sprayed tag with candlelight glimmer mist.  Stamped clovers using Tim Holtz brushless watercolor technique.  Stenciled violets onto tag with light moding paste and painted them.  Stamped sentiment onto tag and added flower punched from plaster (spritzed with adirondack colorwash). Stamps and stencils from Club Scrap.

4-in-1 Layout

I seem to have found my scrapbooking mojo again!  This layout has been percolating in my head for a while.  It's about the trip to San Francisco I took with the kids during the holidays.  I was inspired by four different challenges in completing this layout:

• for Shimelle's Something for Nothing class, I dug out and used a lot of metal embellishments - 13 brads and 8 metal framers;
• for Scrap Weekly, I wrote my journaling first to make sure that I told the complete story without running out of room (you can see the original challenge prompt here);
• for the Building Pages class, I worked on a lesson about using circles; and
• for a Club Scrap challenge, I used their December kit called Ornamental.

I really like the layout and love completing challenges!  It looks a lot better in real life or even if you click to enlarge it.