Life Is A Daring Adventure

Recently my kids had Spring Pictures at school. I don't typically get the school pictures because experience shows I take WAY better pics than the photographers do...ahem...but on this day I was asked to come in and help with the whole thing, and the parent helpers get a free sheet or something like that. Huh. Well, I do love to keep EVERY photo of my children (I've said to my husband that its the only time that exact look is captured) so I went ahead and picked the two 5x7's - one copy for each kid's scrapbook and one copy for my scrapbook! Perfect!

Here's the page I made with my son's photo for his book, and I used THIS sketch:

Supplies:
Stamps: Daring Adventure
Ink: Midnight Muse
Paper: Marina Mist card stocks, Parker's Patterns DP
Accessories: Natural Ribbon, Regals Brads, Mat Pack, Stapler

The journaling is beneath the tag, in the blue, but I've blurred it out. Pretty sure this is the first time I've used Marina Mist... I like this quote and I like using quotes or lyrics or other things in my kids' books. I like them seeing how they personally fit into the world of quotes and how it can apply to them. This child of mine has BIG dreams and always has a plan for some adventure he's aiming towards, so I thought this one suited him well.
And! We discovered yesterday that this fun Daring Adventure stamp set is soon retiring, darnit! Hurry and get it if you love it too! The brads are going too!!

Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Stamp, Scrap, Sew, Share Create April blog hop! Michelle picked the theme of "Just Because" , so the projects I have for today are perfect for such a theme!

 

Nothing says "Just Because" to me, quite as much as scrapbooking! I take and print off hundreds of pictures and while sometimes I need to get a page done for some kind of event, usually its just because this is the set of pictures I want to scrapbook, lol! So! for a blog hop titled Just Because, I put this page together using THIS sketch....

Supplies:
Stamps: Collage Curios, Daring Adventure
Ink: Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade marker
Paper: Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade & Very Vanilla card stocks, First Edition DP, Sunshine & Sprinkles DP
Accessories: Natural Ribbon, 1 inch circle punch


This card uses THIS Freshly Made sketch, and is definitely a Just Because kind of card, just because I have a friend who could use something happy in the mail!

Supplies:
Stamps: Feel Goods, Creative Elements
Ink: Primrose Petals
Paper: Primrose Petals & Whisper White card stocks, Patio Party DP
Accessories: White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch

Now go see what everyone else makes when they have some Just Because time! *grin

Click button to visit Julie's blog!

Divided Page Protectors!

Those on my email list have been told this post was coming...for months. *sad! This was my first purchase from the current catalog when it came out and the latest to finally play with, but I am excited to show this to you!

First, some info: I have seen Divided Page Protectors for a while in the general crafting world and thought it looked like a fun way to scrapbook - especially for those who are intimidated by scrapbooking. This concept allows you to only "scrapbook" a section, instead of a whole 12x12 page.
But there IS a slight catch...Personally, {and scrapbooking IS personal, you have to find what works for YOU} I scrapbook the photos I want to scrapbook right now but I like my books to be chronological. Which means, in order to use one page of these Divided Page Protectors, it has to work with the next event.
Solution? Use these sheets with photos that were printed "in order", or a big event that will take several pages, or even a single event book!

I started with a 4-day family reunion from last fall! I knew this would be a several-page-series so I printed off some of the photos and got started. (I know its hard to see- its really hard to photograph shiny plastic! but you should be able to click on the photos to see them larger...maybe that will help?)
page 1a:

page 1b:

See how nicely that works out?? I'm quite happy! I only scrapped a 12x6 inch section, big enough for a bit of mood-setting colors and stamps, and plenty of journaling, but not overwhelming or even all that time consuming!

And this next one is a really neat layout anyone should be comfortable with, just like all those photo albums we have stuffed with pictures from our old film cameras!!

Since this page is full, I will do the journaling on the facing page, which is fine because look at all the photos I just fit in here! The part of me that is obsessed with snapping pictures is very happy with a page like this, LOL!

And, to fit the back side of the above page protector, I looked at the photos I still need to print and selected the perfect ones for the next round of photo printing! I'll print 5 shots and journal and embellish the final slot! Isn't that easy?!

Is this simple enough to get YOU scrapbooking? Its only $5.95 to order 10 Divided Page Protectors from Stampin' Up! Find it on page 169 of the current catalog. It would make a fun Christmas gift for your scrapbook buddies too!!

Inspiration Everywhere!

My blogging buddy Susan posted a card that used THIS challenge, to create a card based on your blog header! What a fun idea! I created my blog header in My Digital Studio, so its already using Stampin' Up! products. My paper card needed a bit of retired product, but hey, that's one less sheet of retired DP in my stash now!

Supplies:
Stamps: Daring Adventure
Ink: Early Espresso ink & Marker
Paper: Early Espresso & Certainly Celery card stock, retired hostess pack of DP
Accessories: Bird Builder Punch, Mat Pack

A little more birthday...

So sorry I haven't posted much this month. I'm sure you all know how summertime goes and you steal a little crafty time when you can...and when you can't, well, that usually means we're off creating memories to scrap later, lol!
I do have my son's birthday card to share... I thought this set was appropriate because he's reached a milestone age and is definitely entering an adventurous future!

Supplies:
Stamps: Daring Adventure
Ink: Always Artichoke, Early Espresso & Midnight Muse Markers
Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso card stocks, Well Worn DP (retired)
Accessories: Regals Brads, Mat Pack

And here are the thank you notes he's writing up for his friends. I love this note card style that Becky Roberts shares. These are much simpler, since they're thank you notes for children, lol, but its a quick and fun style of card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweets for the Sweet, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Pumpkin Pie & Whisper White card stocks

America the Beautiful!

Happy, happy Independence Day! We had a pretty low-key day, but we did come up to my parents and enjoy some yummy dutch oven cooking, and then got to enjoy a fabulous firework show in a tiny town. I love the 4th of July because I AM proud to be an American. I love our gorgeous flag which is hung in many more places, and all the great music that stirs the soul, and the fact that people ignore politics this week to just be proud of our heritage. That's important to me and I love it.

Earlier this week I came across a scrapbooking challenge to make a page dedicated to the beauty of our country. I happen to live in a state filled to the brim with a wide variety of beautiful landscapes. I also had these photos printed and waiting for me to play with them. I thought they fit quite well- between the hike itself, the views from the top and the stunning summer sunset, it captures a few facets of what I find beautiful in America.
Plus, it makes for a great post on July 4th!

I wanted to emphasize the sunset on the page so I sponged the journaling square with four inks to make it look like the setting sun. I have hiking boot prints from the Daring Adventure stamp set to emphasize the hiking part, lol.

and here's a closeup for how my own sunset worked out, plus the journaling in case you care. *grin This was at a family reunion last Labor Day weekend, which we held at the scout camp my husband has run 5 different summers.

Supplies:
Stamps: Daring Adventure, Just Perfect Alphabet (retired)
Ink: Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Always Artichoke
Paper: Cajun Craze, Old Olive card stocks
Accessories: Stamping Sponges

I hope you had a happy and safe 4th of July too!

Take Two

I got this stamp set a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to play with it. I'm reasonably sure this sketch came outta my own head, and I basically made it twice, just used both angles. Maybe upcoming birthday cards for a few guys...maybe not...haven't decided, but I do like them! I really love the images with the color combinations.

Supplies:
Stamps: Daring Adventure
Ink: Basic Gray
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze card stocks
Accessories: Silver Brads

Supplies:
Stamps: Daring Adventure
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Garden Green, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Regals Brads, Mat Pack (retiring)