Thinking about Grandmothers

Today I have a slight departure from just talking about scrapbooking.

I want to spend a little time talking about my grandmothers. This is inspired by Tara Mohr and her request for people to talk about the power of grandmothers.

I truly believe that both of my grandmothers shaped who I am today. As my parents were young when I was born, my grandmothers were young as well. My paternal grandmother, Alice, deeply shaped me when I was young and coming of age. She was the most incredible, beautiful, smart, radical person that I knew. She was putting herself through college when I was in middle/high school, majoring in women's studies. She worked and spent a lot of time on a college campus. She lived in a hip, urban neighborhood. She seemed indomitable.

Here is a photo of us in downtown Seattle when I was in middle school. Easter 1982. Check out her amazing leather jacket!

During the years that I was struggling with my relationship with my mother, my grandmother was my confidant and safe place. There was nothing I couldn't say to her, and nothing that she couldn't help me with. She seemed to know so much about life, people, and how to deal with complex issues. I could stay at her apartment in the city and go to see a concert, she would take me shopping and let me buy things that I loved, even if they weren't always the most appropriate. She was always proud of me and would show her love for me in a million overt ways.

I actually asked to move and live with Alice; I was so struggling with my mother and hated where I lived. At that time my grandmother seemed like the only person in the world who understood me. I don't know that I would have made it through some of those years without her.

For such a strong, independent person, Alice died young after a aggressive and debilitating battle with Parkinson's Disease. Somehow, after the diagnosis she just gave up. It was one of the most awful things that I have ever watched. The person who had been strong for so long just gave up. She died in 2001 and I miss her, and the person she was through most of my life, every day.

My maternal grandmother Tricia was a very different type of person. She was formal, traditional and hard to hug. However, she too impacted my life dramatically. She had fiercely high standards for behavior  and grammar and shared my love for reading. After my grandfather died in 1985 I really came to know Tricia better. She moved closer and was involved more in my daily life.

My mother struggled in her relationship with Tricia, but as the granddaughter I had a totally different experience. I loved her, wanted to make her proud and found her quirks endearing rather than annoying. While she was not the most emotionally demonstrative person, I knew she loved me and I was confident in our relationship. I loved to hear her tell stories of her years growing up in Seattle, the escapades she had with my grandfather.

My relationship grew through my adulthood, and she got to know my husband and the grown up I was becoming. In a very different way she was also fiercely independent and radical, it just looked different. In her older age she did what she wanted, said what she wanted, and wore her white bikini whenever she wanted. She didn't seem to care about what other people thought and she continued to be curious about life and the world around her. I treasure all of the time we got to have in my adult life.

Unlike Alice, Tricia fought her weakening body and lived longer than anyone expected while battling congestive heart failure. There were lots of hospital stays and dire warnings. In the end she died at home with her family in 2009.

Here is one of my favorite photos of Tricia, Easter 2008.

It feels good to write down some of my memories of these two amazing women. I love that we are taking time to honor grandmothers. I know that these two women shaped me in powerful and undeniable ways. I know that they loved me, that I loved them, and that I ache for them and their wisdom in their absence.

If you would like to participate in this grandmother project, check out this post and join in!

Finally, here is a scrapbook page I created a couple years ago to honor these two women.

What I did in March

After LOAD (time to sign up for LOAD 513!) finished, I decided that the most important thing for me to do was to get my photos in albums! I spent the first half of the month working on this, and even though I'm not done, I now have a plan for where to put everything. You can read more about this in this post.

I did find a little time for scrapping too. I used Shimelle as my primary inspiration, and tried to make some progress on using up some of my kits. They seem to be multiplying in my house! Right now I am only subscribing to Scrapbook Circle (LOVE), but I might have to cancel everything for awhile and really scrap my stash. I'm starting to wonder about when to dismantle the kit; how much do I use before I call it done? I used to use up everything, but that is starting to feel unrealistic.

On to my current pages. I have three pages to share. All three of these pages are from Sketch to Scrapbook Page by Shimelle. I am still finding her extremely inspiring, and I love a good sketch!

First, a page from last summer. I used this sketch, and followed it pretty literally.

I created a bit of a diagonal, with the embellishment cluster at the bottom and top and the banner. I'm still working on photos from our trip to Spain last summer.

The next layout I created from very recent photos. We went to an event with a photo booth and had so much fun! I took half of three strips (shared the other half with friends) and created a little block.  It felt fun to scrapbook something that just happened!

Here is the sketch:

And, here is my take:

I had a lot of fun with this layout, and I thought it was nice to be able to use lovey Valentiney paper for something that had strong emotion, but wasn't just about Valentine's Day.

My last layout for today I just created. Again it is about a more recent event (I kind of like to go back and forth between something older and something newer). I came to my work space and these photos jumped out at me. I had them printed at Persnickety Prints, and used their new Polaroid photo option. I think that it looks pretty cool. They do such a great job on the printing, it is hard to use anyone else! I just wish that they printed the meta data on the back like Shutterfly. I guess you can't have everything!

Here is the sketch:

And my take:

Luckily, Shimelle is more prolific than I am (she is probably the most prolific scrapbooker out there!) so there are even more sketches that I haven't tried. I'm also thinking about signing up for 28 Sketches part 2 with Lisa Day at Big Picture Classes. It is a perfect companion for LOAD513!

I have a few more posts planned. I'm going to share my thoughts about Project Life (I have a kit that I'm playing around with) and Day in the Life, March edition. I have a ton of photos, so it will be a photo-heavy layout.

Have a great week!

All About Albums

I seem to be in a cleaning house phase. Maybe it is the after effects of LOAD213, or maybe it is just the right time. At any rate, I've been in the mood to organize and think about my scrapbook space.

This month for my One Little Word challenge, I am taking action. I knew right away that I wanted to finally address the problem with my scrapbook albums.

Up until 2009 I kept chronological albums. This totally worked for me. I scrapped until the book was full and then I moved on. I used post bound albums, which was very challenging if I ever needed to add a page, or change the order. I actually loved this one brand, and bought as many as possible before they went out of business. Eventually I needed a new album.

Then I found three-ring albums. Hooray! I love the ease of movement and the flexibility. Even if the two pages don't line up right next to one another, I still love the overall ease of the three-ring binder. I fell in love with We R Memory Keepers, and I have a wide range of colors.

Then, I took Finding Photo Freedom with Stacy Julian. Rocked my world. I stopped putting pages into albums and created a giant stack. I re-sorted pages into different categories, and I lived that way for two years.

During that time I thought a lot about my albums, how I enjoyed them, how I liked to look at them, and what might work. I also took Shimelle's class, Cover to Cover. Slowly I was coming to a place that I felt more confident would work for me.

In the end, I think that I am more of a chronological scrapbooker. I scrap what I want, when I want, but I file the pages in chronological order. That works for me. I like how the story flows. And, I know where to find a specific page. I think that with only two people in the family, separate albums just didn't make as much sense.

So, I took all of the pages out of the albums they had been loosely organized into albums and the stack of un-filed pages and I started putting them in chronological order. One thing that I learned right away was that I was terrible at dating pages! As I went through each page I tried to date everything and remember when things were happening.


Here are two pictures of this process in the midst of the work.

After I sorted and filed everything I went back through each book and looked for missing pages or stories (a la Shimelle). This was actually a lot of fun, and I remembered things that I had forgotten. I found this very satisfying.

Now I have a list of pages to create, I have to work on title pages, and I am trying to decide how to use the different colored albums that I have. Still trying to figure that out.

My system isn't perfect. There are some pages that are more about me (31 things class) that just don't seem to fit in the regular album. I might create a special album that will house these types of things.

Now, I'm going to play along with Noell Hyman at Paperclipping and finally finish my 12-12-12 Yearbook! Seriously only a few pages and the cover to go. Perfect inspiration for that album!

How have you organized your albums?

Day in the Life: February

I am so inspired by Ali Edwards' new take on Day in the Life. I have enjoyed this project in the past, and this year is even more fun.

As I shared in January, the idea is to do one page (or rather two 6x12 pages) each month, documenting the last day of the month. So far I have been able to follow along and I have had a lot of fun.

In February I took a lot more photos, and I really had to choose what to highlight. I went back and forth on the photos and in the end I'm pretty happy with the collage. I tried to choose some photos that were different or unique for the day.

I do not have a large format printer, so I am choosing to print online. I completed my order from Persnickety Prints and I can't wait to actually see how they turned out when I hold them in my hand. I ordered both January and February, so it will be very exciting! I also ordered some of their new Polaroid style Instagram photos. We'll see what it looks like in person!

Here are my pages:

LOAD Wrap-Up

LOAD (LayOut A Day) 213 is over, and it was a lot of fun.

I took a break in the middle for a vacation in Hawaii (yay!), and was able to complete a few more layouts when I got back. I was really proud of all of my work, and I really had a lot of fun.

Here is a shot of all of my layouts at the end:

My Layouts LOAD 213

I want to share a few of my final layouts, including my layouts that were inspired by Shimelle's sketches.

First, a sketch with a design on the diagonal. I used Heidi Swapp's Color Shine and I have to admit, I'm in LOVE! Her spray mist is incredible. I am a huge fan. Here is a close up of some of the color shine.

Close up up Color Shine

This layout was based on another sketch from Shimelle. I really liked the three little photos on the bottom. These are fun photos, and a great memory. I also used the "Live for Adventure" that was printed on the background paper.

Finally, I want to share one of my favorite layout, just because the photos are so much fun.

I am really proud of all of my finished pages. I love the routine of scrapping a little every day; it feels good and relaxing. If you are considering, I really recommend LOAD 513! Keep your eye on Layout a Day and registration will be open soon (I'm sure). Or, join Scrap Happy!

LOAD 213: Scrap Happier

I have loved the theme for this February's LOAD: Scrap Happier. There is nothing like getting a message every day about how to be, scrap, live or feel happier. Lovely.

I knew that I would not be able to scrap every day, as I was heading off to vacation on the 19th. I didn't want to scrap while away (although this can be fun too).  Before we headed out I completed 11 layouts.

I really liked them, and it felt good to be in the habit of scrapping every day. I think that it really helped me to make it through a stressful time at work and sleep well at night. It is interesting, but I found that it relaxed me and helped me calm my mind before going to bed; I slept really well.

On vacation I completed two pages for my Day in the Life, January. All told, I have 13 pages done this month! I hope to get back into the habit when we get home (something to look forward to after vacation).

Here are some of the pages that I created this month.

I like how I used different embellishments on this one.

Love how this came together in under an hour!

I love those two foxes!

This is one of my favorites-and it won a prize!

This one has a flip up page protector.

I wanted to add this last LO because it is a good example of not-so-great photos with a great memory. I printed six photos really small (4x3). They were all dark (taken at night with an iphone). I really wanted to scrap them, but it was hard to find any paper that worked with them. I finally put this together and used a 4x6 protector with two photos on the front, two on the back and two underneath that you can see when you lift the flap. This way the dark color didn't dominate the page. In the end I'm very happy with how it turned out!

I hope to start back up when I get back from vacation and finish out the month. 

Day in the Life January 2013

Ali Edwards has once again created a wonderful way to document every day life.

In the past I have participated in Week in the Life and Day in the Life. These are in-depth looks at a week or a day.

This year, as a way to incorporate this idea into her project life, Ali is focusing on one day each month (usually the last day of the month) in a 6x12 layout. This was totally inspiring to me and even though I'm not doing project life, I want to incorporate these snapshots into my album (and I have some 6x12 page protectors!

January 31st was actually an interesting day, and I was glad to document all that I did. However, I only took pictures the first half of the day! Oh, well! I had plenty of things to write about, and already I'm loving this idea of a once-a-month check in. I'm posting this now because Ali just reminded everyone about Day in the Life-February, next week. Now is a good time to think about what you might want to do.

I bought Ali's digital kit from Designer Digitals, and it is very easy to use. She even has a tutorial on her blog, if you want some tips on how to set this up.

Here are my pages for January; some blurring for privacy.

A little Shimelle

I was excited to hear that Shimelle would be back this year with new sketches and starting points. These are some of my favorite inspirations. Somehow she just throws a few pieces of patterned paper down, and it looks great!
I was excited to hear that Shimelle would be back this year with new sketches and starting points. These are some of my favorite inspirations. Somehow she just throws a few pieces of patterned paper down, and it looks great!

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I started with this sketch. I had two photos ready to go, and thought that this would be perfect. In the end the two photos were hard somehow; I think that the colors were just different enough that it was hard to find something that would work.  But, I persevered! In the end I like the page, and I am glad that I captured the memory.

I have also been working my way through one of Shimelle's classes: Pretty Paper Party. This class originally ran in 2011 and a group of us are going through it together again right now. It has a ton of ideas and inspiration for using patterned paper (or pretty paper of any kind!).  I was inspired by a challenge to use stripes and dots on the same layout and patterned paper as a background for another (not hard for me these days!!!) Both are below.

Now, it's time for LOAD!

LOAD 213 Blog Hop

WELCOME!

This is my first ever blog hop, and I am thrilled that it is all about LOAD. If you just arrived from Cheryl, then you are in the right place. Lost? Heather is the beginning of the hop.

LOAD, what could that mean?

LayOut A Day...LOAD. This term was created by the fearless Lain Ehmann.

Lain Ehmann

I remember reading about LOAD before I ever tried it myself. I shook my head and said, "That is crazy!" And, it is! It's crazy fun!

The idea behind LOAD is that you make time EVERY DAY to scrapbook. And, by doing this you figure out more about your own process, what it is that drives you and how to fit in crafting every day.

I first tried out LOAD through Big Picture Classes, and Lain's class there, The Mother Load. This 12 week class was all about preparing and then undertaking a layout a day. I think that this was a good way for me to get started and try it out.

Since then, I have participated in two additional LOAD challenges, February 2012 and May 2012. I go about this a bit differently than some folks, and that is what I love. This is guilt-free scrapbooking, and you get to do what works for you.  Yes, I have tried to complete a page a day, and I often do, but NOT ALWAYS and that is OK.

The theme for LOAD213 is Scrap Happier, and I can't imagine a better theme. I'm always trying to remember that this hobby is supposed to be fun, and it is! If you are lucky, there might still be spaces available. Click here to find out!

In order to help you plan and stay happy during LOAD we have put together this hop to share our thoughts and ideas.

Here is what I have learned:

1. There is time almost every day to scrap
2. I feel good when I create, rather than just watch TV (fun too!)
3. I love connecting to my photos and memories
4. I love the community and positive responses
5. I love Dani's daily videos!
6. I am inspired when I create and this impacts my entire life, not just scrapbooking.
7. LOAD is fun, fun fun!

Here are some tips for you to prepare:

1. Have adhesive. Lots of adhesive.
2. Print out your photos and have them ready. I find that it is easier to complete a page a day with one or two photos per page, and one page spreads. Sometimes 2-pagers work, but they are harder.
3. Clean off your workspace before, but don't worry about cleaing during!
4. Plan meals ahead.
5. Think about hard days, where you have a lot going on. When can you find 30-45 minutes to scrap?
6. Don't stress are worry. Whatever you do is perfect and better than if you did nothing.

Some thoughts for during LOAD:

1. Try to visit the gallery and give some love.
2. Share YOUR layouts in the gallery, you will get some love! 
3. Don't spend too long in the gallery (it is fun, but don't forget to craft).
4. Don't compare yourself to others: REALLY. Just do your own work and enjoy the process. Sometimes I get really involved and spend three hours (gasp) on one page and it is pure pleasure. Other times I can get it done in 20 minutes and feel great.
5. If the prompt doesn't work, just skip it! The point is to craft every day.

When this is all over, or maybe even during the fun, you might want to consider Lain's private group, Scrap Happy. We are a community of friendly scrappers, and we keep the fun going between LOAD challenges, and sometimes even have our own LOAD challenge!

Ready to hop forward? Click here to visit Marygail!

Want to see some of my previous posts about LOAD? You can read them here, here, here, here, and here.

Here is a list of the entire blog hop!

Heather Dubarry Where it all begins!

Alison Day

Danielle Taylor

Alison Charlton

Christy Strickler

Lynnette Nagle

Julie Shepler

Joy McHargue

Kelli Panique

Cathy Holiday

Leslie Smith

Lori Martin

Connie Hanks

Betsye Erazo

Marcia Fortunato

Regina Huminski

Beth Soler

Kristie Sloan

Danielle Hunter

Katrina Forman

Jessica Baldwin

Cheryl McCain

Briel Schmitz: YOU ARE HERE!

Marygail Mello:Go Here Next!

For the love of a journal

Over the years I've had a variety of diaries or journals. When I was a young girl I had a very special diary with a lock and a very small key; it seemed so precious! I hope that somewhere in my childhood boxes this diary still exists, but I haven't seen it in many years.

In high school and college I kept a sporadic journal in a series of blank books with flowery covers. Reading those is still a bit painful; the angst of adolescence is hard to bear, even in retrospect! Not to mention so many embarrassing moments. So glad we all grow up!

For most of my young adulthood, I didn't keep a journal or a diary. I think that I was so busy trying to keep up with my life (years as a new teacher and then enjoying married life). How I wish I had some documentation of those years, even if they would be embarrassing to read today. In 2003 I started scrapbooking, and therefore I do have a sort of documentation or record of our life, but not really the same as what you might write in a journal or diary.

In the summer of 2010 I was traveling and visiting a friend. She told a story about another friend who had visited and had a 5-year journal. I was immediately intrigued. "What was it like? How big was it? How much did she write every day?" I was full of questions. My friend didn't know all of the answers, but I knew that I had to find one of those journals, and soon!

When I got home, I searched online, and ended up purchasing two different journals (this one and this one), to see which I liked better.  I'm glad that I did this, because it turned out that my husband was intrigued as well, and took over the book I didn't choose! Since then we have written faithfully in our journals every night. They have traveled across the country, across the pacific ocean and across the Atlantic. Both of us laugh at old memories captured there and we are struck by coincidences and patterns in our lives.

Our journals, half way through (DH on left, mine on right)

 When I come home and write that I had dinner with two friends, and then scan up to the previous year and see that we had dinner on the SAME DAY the year before I stop, pause, and thank them for being in my life. These moments are powerful.

If you don't already have a journal, I encourage you to find one. Maybe it has a lock, or a flowered cover, or maybe it has lines for every day of the year, spanning five years. It honestly doesn't matter! What matters is capturing your story.

Happy New Year

It's a new year!

Time to get going on this blog! I have some projects that I have been working on almost ready to post. But first, a little last bits to close out 2012.

My One Little Word in 2012 was Enjoy, and I felt very close to it all year.  I had completed a few of the projects for Ali Edwards class at Big Picture Classes, but I had not put it all together in a meaningful way. Before I embarked on my new word, I really wanted to say goodbye to Enjoy and finish out my pages.

I created a couple new pages and added to a few that I had already created. In the end, I was very happy with how they turned out.

First, I printed a favorite photo really large and included one of the quotes I collected earlier in the year. It was an Instagram photo, so some of the bits around the edge are distressed; I liked that!

Then, I added words to each of these photos from the year. The words are the synonyms I had writtedn in January! I love how this turned out.

Finally, I said goodbye to my word and remembered many good things about the year.

Next, I will be sharing about my new OLW!

I'm back!

Wow! It has been a very long time since I updated my blog. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. The good thing is, I've been having a lot of fun and doing a lot of interesting things, therefore, I haven't had time to blog.

I haven't had as much time to scrapbook, though.

Maybe now that it is winter, things will change and I will be back at the creative front. I hope so!

This fall I took a class from Shimelle called Scrapbook Remix, and it was all about using patterned paper. If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend the class. You get a lot of value out of Shimelle's classes, and I always find her inspiring. One of the prompts was about how to use your scraps in different ways. Without giving away the content of the class, I want to share what I created.

Deborah came over, and when she arrived I said, "Do you have something that you are planning to work on?" Luckily she was open to my idea, so I shared the plan and we got to work. I dumped out all of my scraps on the table and we started sorting. A few hours later we both had two layouts done (each!) that we loved! This was fun, a great way to use scraps and an inspired idea (IMO). I could see doing this a few times a year.

Here is my first layout, completed with red and yellow scraps.

And, my second layout using pink and green.

So fun!

Luckily this got my creative juices flowing and now I am inspired to get to work on Journal Your Christmas (also with Shimelle). Once you purchase the class you get to take it every year! Last year I did about half of the prompts, using a 4x6 divided page protector. That is my plan again this year. I will complete the prompts that work for me and I will use a divided page protector, adding my completed pages to my holiday 12x12 album. I think that it was a total of about 4 pages last year. I liked the small size (similar to project life) and manageable during the holiday season. I bought three 6x6 paper pads to use, but other than that, I will use my stash.

I chose these 6x6 papers:

LilyBee Christmas Cheer

Basic Grey Aspen Frost

Teresa Collins Christmas Cottage

I plan to be back more often! Thanks for sticking with me.

Scrapbook Getaway

This weekend was a heavenly treat: a weekend away with friends scrapbooking!

On Friday we drove up to Vancouver Island to the Wyldflower B&B where Jocelyn runs amazing crafting retreats.  We were pampered and well taken care of every minute of the day. Her brand new crafting wing is perfect for crafting and her beds are cozy.  The setting is calming and relaxing. I hope I get to return!

Here we are hard at work!

Here is a round up of my creations this weekend:

Inspired by leahf at Scrapbook Circle

Based on a Shimelle Laine Starting Point

Now, I'm packing up and trying not to feel sad. I will remember this weekend for a long time. Sorry about the picture quality-I'm rushing to get this up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Creating a Mini Book

In April I went to Great Wolf Lodge with a few friends. It was a quick getaway, one overnight. It was the first night of spring break, and the perfect way to start off with fun.

I decided to make a little mini book for one of the boys on the trip. It was for his birthday. I thought that it would be a fun way for him to remember the trip.

First, I took a 12 x 12  piece of chipboard and a 6x6 pad of paper. (Kraft Happy Day Funday by My Minds Eye)

I cut the chipboard into four 6x6 pieces, and covered the front and back of each page with paper from the paper pack.

Next, I added in photos and some embellishments. I kept it pretty simple, as the paper was already very busy.

I left one page blank for journaling. This where I wrote a message to him.

I added some decoration to the back cover (can you guess that it's his 5th birthday?)

At the very end I punched two holes in each page, added rings and voila, a little mini book.

I actually tied some ribbon onto the rings, but I forgot to take a final photo before I gave it away!

This is a simple project, and can be created in one day if you have the photos. This is great gift, and a great way to remember a special event.

I don't usually make minis, so this was a super fun project.

Happy Birthday Charlie!