Scrapping An Event

Today I decided to delve a little bit into the process of creating this layout, and "event" layouts in general. I tend to lean more towards scrapping the "everyday moments" pages, but the big "event" memories are just as important to me. I want that reflected in our family scrapbook albums. This summer our family took a trip to Denver for a few days. I knew I wanted to record this trip, and finally tackled it this weekend. Here are some of my thoughts and tips about it.

1. Dealing with lots of photos & stories. With big events, there's always a LOT of photos. I find it difficult to scrapbook these design-wise, but these are stories I really want to tell. There were lots of stories from this trip - the driving, visiting friends, going to the zoo, staying at the hotel, swimming, going to a baseball game, etc. I was toying with the idea of doing a couple of separate layouts to document this trip, but in the end I realized I just wanted to get it done and move onto other stories. So I decided a two page spread with a handful of my favorite photos from the trip + some journaling would suffice. Something I sometimes forget is that I don't have to scrap every photo! As long as the story is told, that's what's important. And I can always go back and tell a story in more detail - in fact, I created a layout a few weeks ago that focused on a specific story that occurred during this trip while we were at the zoo. (It's the Bad Day layout from this post.)

2. Find a kit or products you love. I have been eying this Leavin' on a Jet Plane kit by Laura Banasiak and Jenn Barrette ever since it was released. The first thing that caught my eye were the colors! And being by two of my favorite designers I of course loved the patterns and elements. I can't get enough of that map paper! Earlier in the week I participated in a speed scrap at Scrap Orchard sponsored by Laura and was lucky enough to win a coupon to her store. I snagged this kit along with the Watercolor Alpha I used for the title - I love a painted alpha. Just having this kit made me want to create something with it... without it this page would probably still be un-scrapped. (I'm pretty sure that's not a real word!)

3. Mix up the design. For these types of layouts, I almost always choose a linear blocked design. I think it works best with so many photos. To change it up a bit, I put everything slightly tilted on a diagonal. I think it adds just a bit more interest and whimsy. I also think mixing up the title with different alphas (or fonts) and making it big adds to the design.





I hope you found this little peek into my process of scrapping this event helpful. How do you approach big events or too many photos? I'd love to know!

xoxo,

Project: Love, Me - September Layouts

I cannot believe it's already September 21. Fall is upon us - hooray! I just finished up my Project: Love, Me layouts for the month. The theme was iInspire and you can find the prompts on the PLM blog. And of course all these layouts were created with the iInspire bundle.

Week 1:



Week 2:



Week 3:



Week 4:



xoxo,

This Week...

... I got a few pages scrapped.

This first one I like because it's that minimalist look I love, and I did all on my own - no template! I also created my own title using a font and adding a white stroke and a drop shadow. I'm really liking that look for text, and have been seeing it a lot in digital kits lately.


{created with A Perfect Day kit by Designs by Anita; Lobster and Lucida Console fonts}

Here's one I've had in my mind for a long time - over a year since I took these pictures! I knew the photos would match the colors and them of this adorable kit perfectly. And I used that same trick I mentioned before for the title work.


{created with Bathtime Baby kit by GG Digital Designs; flowers from Berry Merry kit by GG Digital Designs; template by Cindy Schneider; Love Ya Like A Sister and Lauren Script fonts}

This is another memory I've been wanting to scrap for a long time - my daughter's baby blessing. Dunia came out with this great set of templates, and I loved the idea of incorporating word strips from a kit into the journaling. I think it turned out simple and sweet.


{created with Embrace Simplicity vol. 3 templates by Dunia Designs; More Than Words kit by Dunia Designs and T for Me; Susie's Hand font}

I also did one for the Telephone Tag game (a scraplifting challenge) going on over at Scrap Orchard, but I can't reveal it just yet... you'll just have to check back! :)

xoxo,

Behind the Pages

I've been thinking about some better ways to go about posting on this blog, even questioning why I keep posting here. I'm not trying to sell or market anything... I'm not really a part of the whole "blogging" world in that I don't really follow a lot of other blogs or get involved in any sort of blogging community... and as I thought about it, it just comes down to this: I love scrapbooking. I'd like to share that love and passion with others, and hey, maybe it'll even inspire someone.

I'm not one to spend a lot of my time writing up tutorials or making videos... I just don't have that kind of time! Honestly, I'd rather just be scrapping. :) But instead of just posting my layouts like I usually do, I've decided to add a little blub with each of them explaining the "why" and "how" behind them. Just a peek into my thought processes, the trends I like, and products I use... basically how these layouts came to be! How I scrap. So here we go...

As soon as I saw this silly, monster-themed kit by Dunia, I knew exactly which photos I wanted to use. I captured these last month and I just think they are priceless. So much so that I had to blow it up to take up half the page! I'm really loving that look lately.


{created with Some Kind of Monster kit by Dunia Designs; MTF Playtime font}

I did a similar design for this layout of my son learning to ride a bike. This layout was actually done for a speed scrap at Scrap Orchard - they call it their Make It Snappy or MIS challenge - and it was a lot of fun. I had never done a speed scrap there and wasn't sure I'd like it but I ended up LOVING it. One hour, six directions, and you get a fun prize if you finish and upload your layout in the hour following.


{created with I'm Outta Here kit by Captivated Visions; Problem Secretary Normal font}

This layout was born out of feelings I have about my daughter, and it felt really good to get it out on a page! Man I love this girl so much, but she has been a difficult little thing... I really liked the idea of using a soft and sweet kit to illustrate how adorable she really is, but adding the little scribbles and relying on the words to express my frustration.


{papers and elements with The Sweet Life kit by Faith True; scribbles from Milkshake Scribbly Splatters by Laura Banasiak; stitching from Stitch Hiccups 1 by SuzyQ Scraps; MTF Playtime, Pea Hayley Jo, and Slab Tall X fonts}

This family layout was done for the MSA Newsletter challenge. I think this Dani Mogstad kit is so scrumptious! The challenge was to scrap a family photo which worked well because we had family photos taken last year but I've never scrapped them. I was really inspired by all of the beautiful wordart in the kit, so I put most of it on there to sort of look like a photo wall. This kit is perfect for fall, too.


{papers and elements from Birds of a Feather kit by Dani Mogstad; Love Ya Like a Sister font}

Hope you enjoyed the little peek into my brain and the inspiration for these layouts! Thanks for stopping by, and happy scrapping. :)

xoxo,