Scrap Studio - 10

These are the paper organizers by Cropper Hopper. In my old house I used the wire cubes from Target for paper storage. When we moved, I bought these and these are SO MUCH BETTER. I love them.

I only have 3 but so far, it's been enough. The first is all cardstock (sorted by color, but not labeled by color) - this is the only one that's almost full. The next one is patterned paper by theme (labeled). The last one is patterned paper by color (labeled).

Did I mention that I really like this way of organizing paper??? LOVE IT!

Scrap Studio - 9

These 8 "photo boxes" are on my wall shelves and hold embellishments by color.

Anything that's a generic color and not any type of theme goes in these (beads, glitter, buttons, eyelets, brads, etc).

Each is labeled with the color family:
- Orange & Yellow
- Purple & Black
- White, Clear & Natural
- Red & Pink
- Gold & Silver
- Brown
- Green
- Blue

I've had these organized like this for a while and really like it. The ONLY time it's a pain is if I'm leaving my house to scrap. It's not travel-friendly.

Scrap Studio - 8

As you round the corner from the closet, you'll see a set of 3 hanging frames (western themed of course). Then there are three wall shelves.

The top shelf is out of reach for me (I'm only 5'2") so it holds decorative items. From the left: a stuffed owl (my sorority's symbol), a framed photo of Spencer and his friend Hugh, an OLD camera that I snatched from my FIL, a painted horse (also snatched from FIL), and a vase of corks (I'm odd, I know...I just like them).


You'll see more detail on the other shelves in a second...

Scrap Studio - 7

This is the inside of the other closet door. I store all of my fibers and ribbons here unless they are full rolls or tiny scraps. Each color family has a large binder ring which is hung on this kitchen organizer (I think it's made to hold potholders and such).

I LOVE this method. It really helps me *see* what I have and it looks fun too :)

Scrap Studio -6

This is the inside of one closet door. I attached various kitchen organizers that I had leftover after the move (free...another perk of my job). They hold a variety of things: paint, modpodge, super glue, spray adhesive, circle punch, decorative tapes).

Scrap Studio - 5

Beside the western shelf is the double-door closet. This is a photo of it WIDE OPEN. I am embarrased to show this!!!

The top shelf is totally full of completed 12x12 albums. I have NO idea what I'm going to do when I run out of space up there...which is going to happen soon.

Left side of closet: some plastic containers holding BowMaster, paper making supplies and garden flags (all appropriately labeled). I also keep empty Target and Michael's bags over here to use as trash bags.

Slightly more to the right: the file cabinet contains...yup, files. Boring. On top of it sits two plastic containers - one with old greeting cards (I'm a packrat) and one with stationary (for those rare times when I actually write a letter!). The basket contains full spools of ribbon.

To the right are 6 "blocks" created using the wire cubes from Target. These hold a little bit of everything: books, CDs, fabric, Spencer's school stuff, cards I've made waiting for that special occasion, Glue Dots, envelopes, brown paper bags, etc, etc, etc. The top left "cube" has sections and holds 12x12 bags of themed items...these are for themes that I have a LOT of stuff for or have an album going and want to keep all the supplies together - dog, school, house, horse, Christmas.

On the wire cubes are two bulletin boards that I made out of denim and suede lacing.

Scrap Studio - 4

It might not have been obvious in pictures so far, but my scrapbook room is decorated in a western theme.

In the area between the door and the closet, is this western shelf. There are 2 metal stars hung on the wall (only 1 is showing in the photos). There's also a denim nightlight.

Top shelf: western decorative items and frame

Middle shelf: smaller albums (5x7, 8x8, 6x6), and a few other books (idea notebook, Bible, spanish workbook).

Bottom shelf: A couple more albums, sketch book and my precious teddy bear, Bradley.

Scrap Studio - 3

This is the other side of the storage in the "island".

Top shelf is where I keep my stash of adhesives (a perk of working for an adhesives company). The white drawer contains booklets from appliances, electronics, etc (not much fun). On top and beside that are various papers - printer, colored, photo, etc.

Bottom shelf holds boxes of misc. things that I don't use often. Dark blue boxes are shoe boxes that I covered in denim. White ones are just photo boxes from Michael's. Most of these aren't scrap related, but they are well-labeled!

Scrap Studio - 2

I apologize for this photo being blurry. This is part of the storage in the "island".

Top shelf holds a Xyron, light box, basket with cross stitching and containers of foam alphabet stamps.

Bottom shelf holds larger "in progress" albums and some random things.

Scrap Studio - 1

So, we've been in our house 8 months now - actually today is the 8th month anniversary...shall we celebrate?? I figure it's time to share my scrapbooking room. I really love it and enjoy the layout. But it's not painted and I can't stand white walls! It will be a pain to paint since it's so full, but I hope we get around to it soon.... I have a TON of pictures to post, so bear with me.

This is the view of the room as you enter the door (which is at an angle...kind of hard to explain).

I created the island by placing 2 of these cabinets back-to-back. They are open-backed as well, so it optimizes the storage space inside. This is my main work area and my basics are usually sitting out, as you can see in the photo (trimmer, adhesive, scissors, notepad).

I really love the island. I had the same furniture in our old house but we had it set up differently. All the cabinets are counterheight, which is perfect for me, as I prefer to stand while scrapping. By standing at this island, I can see the computer and the TV.

Layout - Raffikki

Here's my layout for today. It's also based on a sketch and will go into my "Book of Me". If you're bored, here's the journaling:

"While I was in high school, I just adored watching Disney movies such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Aladdin. My friend Tabitha and I would waste away evenings or weekends with this as our entertainment – don’t worry, we had healthy social lives too! But, I watched them so much, that I had most of the lines - and definitely the songs – all memorized.

My favorite character in The Lion King was always Raffikki. I don’t know what it was about him – especially since he doesn’t even speak in the movie! In college, my 2 roommates, (Jamie & Meg) and I decided to take a summer trip to Disney World in Florida. I was very excited about the trip, of course!

But I admit - I was most excited about going to The Animal Kingdom and having my picture taken with Raffikki! Though, as an adult, I don’t watch these movies as frequently, I do still love them – and I definitely still love Raffikki."

Supplies:
Patterned paper - not sure
blue twill
Letter stamps - Provo Craft
Font: The Blue Cabin
"Midnight Blue" acrylic paint - Plaid

Layout - F-150

Yet another sketch challenge and I also had to use inking on this one. When I found this patterned paper, I knew it was perfect for these pictures. But I also HAD to incorporate pink since I'm wearing pink in the photo...plus it helps give it a feminine touch.

PS - I do not own an F-150. I know you probably can't read the journaling but it's just wishful thinking.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - Scenic Route (background) & Creative Imaginations (border); Letter Stickers - Sticker Studio; silver wire; "Jet Black" ink pad, StazOn; Metal Tag - Making Memories; Font - Bodoni MT

Layout - Cultural Arts Day (school)

This is a layout for Spencer's school album. It was Cultural Arts Day in Kindergarten. It's not the best quality photo, though. It was done based on a sketch for a challenge and I only had one day to complete it.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny Press; Letter Stickers - Creative Imaginations; "Smile" punchout - O'Scrap; "Working at Playing" sticker - Pebbles, Inc.; Hunter Green Zig Writer; Green embroidery floss

Dalton...

For those of you that keep up with my blog, you've heard me mention Dalton Help Foundation, which is a charitable organization friends of ours started. The proceeds they raise go to help pay for expenses related to their autistic son's therapy, treatments, etc., as well as donated to other organizations that benefit autistic childrenin our area. If you click on the link above, you'll see a picture of the entire family and basic information on the foundation.

I don't think I've shared actual pictures of Dalton himself. Dalton's mom (our friend, Brigitte) sent these photos which were taken by Dalton's therapist at school. As you can see, he's absolutely adorable and very happy. It's amazing that this child has so many things he must struggle with daily.

Please keep Dalton and the Herron family in your prayers daily. Their strength and conviction is amazing and inspiring.

Movie - Failure to Launch

Last night Matt went to Blockbuster (alone!!!) to pick out a movie for us. I begged him to take ME into consideration while choosing. When he got home, he first showed me Underground II. UGH???? Luckily, he was hiding Failure to Launch behind his back!!! So, we watched it this morning and I really liked it. It had some really funny parts and I'd definitely recommend for anyone looking for a good romantic comedy. And despite how weird he might be in real life, I still think Matthew McConaghey is an absolute cutie! And if you're wondering...Matt watched the other yucky movie on his own so I can't comment! (The autumn layout was completed while he was watching that).

Layout - Autumn Splendor

This is a layout of our fall decorations last year (in our old house). I really had fun decorating! Though I love summer, I'm looking forward to decorating for fall again this year.

Layout - Snorkeling in Key West

This is a layout of our snorkeling boat ride in Key West last year. I still can't believe I'm posting something with a picture of me in a bathing suit...yuck! BUT, I'm proud of how many times I've been able to incorporate pink into my albums lately!

Layouts - House Album

As soon as we started building our house last summer, I started an 8"x8" house album to track the progress. I took pictures every week and did a pretty good job of keeping the book up-to-date until we moved out of our old house in December. Now that we are in the decorating stages, I am trying to get the book updated with that sort of stuff. So, after working the last few days, the album is caught up again, and finally has a title page.

I have not scrapped every room in the house yet, but I am waiting until the room is resembling "done" before doing so. So, I've done the entire downstairs where we've painted and made a small attempt to decorate, etc. We still have a long way to go, but that's the fun of it...a work in progress.

As you can see, I've tried to keep the album very simple so that it's not a huge "task" to keep it caught up. During the construction, I labeled each week with a number stamp (Jersey, MM) so now I'm using those on each page as well, but letters instead.

Cards - New Home

Last night I made 3 "new home" cards. One is for Spencer's teacher, who just moved yesterday. The other 2 are for new neighbors. The one on the top right is for our neighbors that we've already befriended. I thought the quote was appropriate since they only live two doors down ("The road to a friend's house is never long"). The bottom card has a quote that is hard to read in the scan: "Home is where one starts from".

I cut the doors from patterned paper but don't remember the manufacturer. Sorry! The striped paper is Wild Asparagus (MME). Top left "home" rub-on is from Colorbok. Other two quotes are from Memories Complete, I think.

Card - Birthday w/ Photo

This is a birthday card I made for my aunt yesterday. The photo is from a family visit last year. I used all Christina Cole paper...

Top row, left to right:
oldest sister, mom, aunt, 2nd cousin
Bottom row, left to right:
1st cousin, me, middle sister

Layout - Rio (Cameron)

I found this 8"x8" layout the other day. It was done in a class 2 years ago at the CK Convention. So, I went ahead and threw a picture of Rio on it and added it to his book. The only other thing I did was add the "friendship" rub-on to the metal plate.

Layout - Levi

This layout was done as a sketch challenge. As I was wrapping it up, I threw on some buttons to fit the qualifications for another challenge as well (nothing like the feeling of killing 2 birds with 1 stone!).

I rarely do baby pages so this was really fun. I had to make a special effort to buy some babyish papers at the Convention. I really like these. It was fun to crop the photos into circles as well.

SUPPLIES
Patterned Paper: Junkitz (Baby Collection)
Letter Stickers: Artic Frog (larger); Li'l Davis Designs (smaller)
Misc. buttons
"Denim" Zig Writer

Layout - Rise & Shine

This was a challenge to do a page about your morning routine. I took pictures of different "aspects" of my morning, converted to B&W and printed in a small size...

I hate this page...one of my least favorites in a while. Good concept, fine pictures, good products - horrible combination.

Supplies:
Letter stickers - Creative Memories, Stickopotamus, and KI Memories
Pens - Sharpie & White Gel Extreme
Patterned paper - Christina Cole

Layout - Scrappin' Oasis

What a super fun page to do!!! I love when I actually get to use some pink.

The challenge: Use 2 polka dot papers and 2 striped papers.

The sketch is from PageMaps. The paper is all Kaleidoscope.

Layout - Rio (3rd Birthday)

This is a 2-page layout, 8x8 size. YES, we actually celebrate the dog's birthday...every year. My journaling was getting repetitive each year, so I just didn't journal this time!

Now, you know there was a challenge... it was to use a number in the title. I went with super simple...just get the pictures scrapped and the challenge completed!

It's about time for Rio's birthday celebration again...anyone up for some Frosty Paws????










Supplies:
"R" - TLC
Ink - "Jet Black", Staz On; "Narcissus", Versacolor
Date stamp
(3 was printed on my computer and used as a patterned to trace and cut from cardstock)

Altered Letter

There was a challenge to alter something (I know...God forbid I actually do something without a challenge first!).

I've had this white letter forever and it's just been calling out to me... "Alter Me! Alter Me!".

My scrapbook room is done in a cowboy/western theme so I covered the front of the letter with some cowboy patterned paper (Karen Foster) and sanded the edges. However, I wanted to make it a little feminine. So, I added strips of Kaliedoscope paper around the edges, which has pink polka dots on it. I finished it off with several pink bows and my name in Heidi Swapp rub-ons. It's now hanging by pink ribbon from a cowboy hat hook. This was very simple to do!

Layout - Rio (Rainbow)

No, my dog is not gay. There was a challenge to do a layout using every color of the rainbow. I thought this dreamy photo of my Rio would be perfect. This is 8"x8".

Basically I just used a variety of patterned papers (scraps) and inked the edges with an orange ink pad (Rubber Stampede), but you can't really see it in the scan. I made a very small attempt at doodling. Journaling was printed on the yellow scrap (font: Georgia).

Layout - Rio (Gamecock)

This is an 8"x8" page for Rio's album (that's my dog, in case you're just tuning in). I just ADORE this photo. Too funny. Gamecock football season starts in 15 days!

Anyway... I modeled the saying after the KI quote stickers that Elsie Flannigan uses on a lot of her layouts...need to find some of those...but I digress.




Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Scenic Route
Sticker - Sports Solution
Fonts - 2Peas Tasklist & LB Cory
Inks - "Jet Black", StazOn; "Frost White", Colorbox

School layout - reading

This page was done for a challenge to use a Dr. Seuss quote. In case you can't read it, I handwrote the quote on the a torn piece of notebook paper (isn't this the sloppiest, yet coolest, idea??? If only I'd thought of it). Anyway... back to the master of rhymes...

"The more that you read
the more things you will know.
The more that you know
the more places you'll go."
-- Dr. Seuss

The photo is of Spencer, in Kindergarten, reading to his class. It's been so exhilarating to watch him learn to read!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Creative Imaginations
Stickers - Pebbles, Inc.
Punchouts - O'Scrap
Ink pad - "Jet Black", Staz On
Black pen

Glutton for Punishment

When Spencer was in Kindergarten, the teacher recruited me to do scrapbooks for each student. Throughout the year, she took a lot of photos. She'd have them developed, label the child's name on the back and then send them home with Spencer. Of course, I don't do anything the easy way and it was a lot of work. I was glad to be able to help in some way, though. It's hard when you work full time and can't volunteer at the school and all that. Anyway, I did 8.5x11 pages which I put in 3-prong folders for each child and they received them at the end of the year.

His teacher last year was totally different and, to my knowledge, never took a single picture. However, it appears that his 2nd grade teacher might be more like kindergarten. After only 3 days of school, she already had pictures on their class website from Meet the Teacher and the First Day of School. I had told her I was a scrapbooker so now she has recruited me for a similar project. I would love to find an easier way to do it, but still be creative. Of course, I did wait until the last minute last time...maybe just being more organized and proactive will help.

So, I guess the point of this post is to say I am such a glutton for punishment.

More blog questions...

1. If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be? On a beach or lake

2. What's your favorite article of clothing? jeans and a “stretch tee” from Gap

3. Favorite physical feature of the opposite sex? eyes

4. What's the last CD that you bought? Carrie Underwood, I think. Now that I have an iPod, I just download songs that I like and don’t buy as many CDs.

5. Where's your favorite place to be? home

6. Where is your least favorite place to be? work (ok, I know it could be worse…)

7. What's your favorite place to be massaged? Back.

8. Strong in mind or strong in body? Mind – yes; Body – not so much

9. What time do you wake up in the morning? 5:00 a.m.

10. What is your favorite kitchen appliance? I didn’t know I was supposed to actually like kitchen appliances…

11. What makes you really angry? oh, I could write a book… people that drive too slow in the left lane LOL. Seriously though…lying – that’d be my worst.

12. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? I’d take any – would love to just be more musical – but if I could pick, I’d probably say the drums…wouldn’t that be FUN? Or maybe the guitar.

13. Favorite color? brown

14. Which do you prefer...sports car or SUV? SUV (but more specifically a truck – 2006 F150 King Ranch…brown, of course)

15. Do you believe in an afterlife? Yes

16. Favorite children's book? Where the Wild Things Are; All Judy Blume books

17. What is your favorite season? Summer

18. What is your least favorite household chore? I don’t like ANY of them! Vacuuming is probably my least favorite b/c I hate the noise.

19. If you could have one super power, what would it be? to either create more hours in a day, or stop time so I could get more accomplished

20. If you have a tattoo, what is it? no way.

21. Can you juggle? nope.

22. The one person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to? Probably my dad’s parents b/c they both died when I was relatively young. It would have been nice to have had more of a relationship with them.

23. What's your favorite day? Saturday.

24. What's in the trunk of your car? Not much right now. A Lowe’s Vendor vest…gosh, that might actually be it.

25. Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger? hamburger!

First Day of School

Here are a couple of snapshots of Spencer on his first day of school (which was Wednesday). His mom took these in front of her house before heading off to the school. As you can see, he was in fine spirits. So far he seems to really be enjoying 2nd grade and we are very impressed with his teacher thus far.

Last Pages - Cub Scouts

This is a quick page that I threw at the end of the album to hold his miscellaneous patches, etc. that didn't "fit" anywhere else in the album.


















This is from our last den meeting of the year.

Christmas Party - Scouts

Pictures from the Pack Christmas Party...

Supplies:
Letter Rubons - Creative Imaginations
Patterned Paper - Basic Grey

Flag Ceremonies

Two pages of two different flag ceremonies.


Supplies:
Patterned paper & vellum - Paper Adventures
Navy Zig Writer
















Supplies:
Patterned paper - It Takes Two
Stickers - K&Co
Navy Zig Writer

Music - Cub Scout layout

These are pictures of the den singing at a pack meeting and receiving their music belt loops.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper - DMD
Ink - "orange" and "royal blue", Rubber Stampede
Letter Rubons - Creative Imaginations

Nature Scout layout

The boys went on a hike and then did some related projects in their next den meeting. I journaled about them along the right, incorporating words cut from patterned paper.


Supplies:
Patterned paper - Carolee's Creations
Stickers - K&Co
Navy Zig Writer

Den Leader layout

I wanted to spotlight Matt as the den leader and give him his own special page. I used patterned paper that was in "strips", which I cut apart and attached to the olive background.

Supplies:

Patterned paper - Carolee's Creations

Stickers - K&Co

Navy Zig Writer

Tiger Cub Den

This is just a miscellaneous page to show off group photos (one serious, one silly) of the den. I scanned Spencer's actual Tiger Cub patch (which is sewn to his uniform) and printed it out to include on this page. Very simple & easy page.

Supplies:
Patterned paper - Kaleidoscope (dots); Creative Imaginations (stripes)
Letter stickers - Creative Imaginations

Pinewood Derby layouts

I ended up having to split up the layouts for the Pinewood Derby. I did a one-page of Spencer and Matt working on the car. Then I did a 2-page layout of the actual event.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper & stickers - K&Co
Pen - "Navy", Zig Writer

I included the actual patch also.

Blue & Gold Banquet

I scanned, reduced and printed out certificates that were given to Matt & I.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper - It Takes Two
Stickers - K & Co
Pen - "Navy", Zig Writer

Raingutter Regatta - Scouts layout

Another layout from Spencer's Cub Scout album. This is the Raingutter Regatta. I included his patch directly on the layout.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Miss Elizabeth's
Pen - "Hunter Green", Zig Writer
Letter stickers - Artic Frog