Color challenge

Some layouts are challenging because of their content; some for design. Others present color challenges.

I came upon these two photos and wanted to put them on the same page since they represent a time in Daughter's life when she was seemingly on the phone all the time. (Those of you with teenagers can understand this!) But the plaid couch and the periwinkle t-shirt in Photo #1 plus the brown tones in Photo #2 presented a major color issue. Sometimes the easiest solution is to re-print the photos in black and white, but time is of the essence for me these days, so I decided to try to make the colors work.

In addition to the color problem, one photo was vertical and one was horizontal, presenting a small design challenge.

My first step was to cut both photos to 4x4, which eliminated the design issue and also helped a little bit with the color issue, since most of the maroon pillow in Photo #1 was now gone.

Next, I looked for a color scheme which would somehow link the two photos. One approach I often use in challenging color situations is to rely on neutrals, as I did here with the dark brown background and white mat. I chose two other colors (olive and periwinkle) to work with the brown and represent both photos.

I chose a simple block design in order to incorporate punched circles in two shades of olive and dark brown which tie the color scheme together.

Gosh, life would be so much easier if people would choose clothing to match their surroundings!

This one will get me in trouble...

These are photos of my daughter three years ago on the day she got her braces. She has really grown up in the time since these photos were taken, so I'm sure she won't be too pleased that I'm posting them! But hey...it's my blog! :-)

This is a super-easy design that I will be repeating, so prepare to see it again at some point! The nice thing about this particular design is that the journaling is printed directly on an 8.5x11 sheet of white cardstock. The cardstock sheet doubles as a mat for the photos and backing for the title. All in one step...can't beat that.

And sure enough, there's a bit of Ki Memories striped paper (Fruit Stripe, specifically!), but the good thing about this layout is that it allows you to CONSERVE your striped paper.

Whew! Good thing I've got that under control.

Only 1,000 layouts to go!

Here's a layout I finished up recently, based on a Got Sketch sketch I've used a couple of times. If I find a design that works, I have no problem using it again and again.

This sketch works great for three horizontal photos, although the original design calls for two vertical ones. Because of all the music performances we attend, I have mostly horizontal photos. So I adapted the sketch slightly and made it work.

Another layout done...only 1,000 to go!

Some layouts are harder than others

Plowing through boxes of photos, I tend to skip over those that are hard to handle. I'm not a fan of scrapbooking holidays under any circumstances, but photos of the last holiday season we shared with my mom are really tough for me. Only recently have I been able to look at those photos, let alone scrapbook them.

But now that I'm on a mission to finish a lot of scrapbooking before graduation, I've forced myself to deal with those subjects. And I'm happy to report that I'm finally finishing up this particularly difficult set of Christmas photos. Hard as it is, I'm glad to have the pages finished and put in the album.

My Ki Memories friends will recognize this paper right away as part of the Christmas set from a few years back. This particular stripe is one of my all-time favorites. I bought several sheets of it and (of course!) only use it a little bit at a time! :-)

Feline Friday: "Feed Me!" Starring Lily

For today's Feline Friday, please enjoy this "digital short" starring Hungry Lily at lunchtime. Be sure to turn up the sound and listen carefully!

Sorry the words go so fast at the end! In case you are wondering, here's what you missed:

Did you hear me ring the bell? (Lily rings the bag of bells when she's hungry.)
Did you hear me purr?
Thanks for watching!

Warning: Embellishments!

I'm posting this layout specifically for my scrapbooking friends, who know all too well that I use embellishments very sparingly. A package of chipboard or a jar of flowers will last a LIFETIME at my house.

So, dear friends, try to stay calm when you look at this layout!

I'll invite you to COUNT the embellishments: 2 American Crafts tags, 5 flowers, 4 brads, and a die-cut flourish!

Now pick yourselves up off of your scraproom floors and carry on.

And don't get your hopes up that anything radical -- like paper tearing or PAINTING -- is on the horizon. :-)

Inspired by CZ

Here's a very simple layout I made last week based on one of Cathy Zielske's digital templates (see it here). There's no reason digital designs can't be created in paper!

Cathy is my very favorite scrapbooker. I admire her skill as a graphic designer, her consistently minimalist style, and her unique way with words. Her designs are practical and timeless. And if you're not reading her blog, you should be!

Christmas in March: Wall-Hanging

Here's another one of my projects from the 2009 Better Homes and Gardens Christmas from the Heart book. I shared a some other projects here and here.

This is a wall hanging which I made using a frame purchased at Michael's. I had the mat custom-cut at an art store to fit the frame, then I created the design to fit inside the opening of the mat.

I used patterned paper, rub-ons, and QuicKutz die-cut ornaments to fill the left side of the opening. On the right, I used large die-cut letters were cut with the "Typewriter" Accu-Cut font.

I especially enjoyed this project. I may have to re-create it someday to hang in our house!

Deer in the headlights

On Saturday, we made a three-hour drive to northern Iowa to watch one of our daughter's last show choir competitions. By the time we arrived back home, it was around 1:30 AM. As we approached our house, we saw a deer walking through the snow on our boulevard.

We suspected there might be more in the vicinity and sure enough, as we pulled into our driveway, we spotted three more deer standing in our backyard under the evergreens! This must be a regular late-night deer hangout spot, as I've seen them on more than one occasion near our trees in the middle of the night.



We pulled the SUV around and let the lights shine into the backyard.The deer stood very still for the longest time and looked right at us. I remarked to Spouse that they had that "deer in the headlights" look. (Somehow he failed to appreciate my wit at 1:30 in the morning!) One of the smaller deer even came forward curiously. Since we had been at a show choir competition, we had the camera handy and grabbed a couple of shots.

We occasionally see deer in our neighborhood, especially at night, but this was a very special treat! With the harsh winter we've had, I've been worried about the deer. It was very fun to see them up close!

A whole lot of crazy (and not much scrapbooking)

Maybe it's typical of life with a graduating senior in the house, but things around here are suddenly crazy. It's all good and wonderful stuff...there's just a LOT of it happening at once. Between show choir competitions, Mock Trial competition, college music auditions, last minute applications, and the minor detail that oh, she STILL HAS TO ACTUALLY ATTEND SCHOOL, things are really hopping. And we only have one child. It's a good thing, too, because I'd never keep up with the activities, let alone the scrapbooking.

OH...THE SCRAPBOOKING.

Somewhere in the past couple of weeks of CRAZY, I went from being a Goal-Driven (if somewhat delusional) Scrapbooking Mom to a What's Scrapbooking? Mom. Each day brings a new event (sometimes two!) and each event concludes with the uploading of 74 more pictures, putting me even further behind than I was that morning.

Reality set in this week when Daughter brought home her box of printed graduation invitations from school. Barring any unexpected catastrophes, it would appear that she is actually going to graduate. Which means that I am actually going to have to get quite a bit more scrapbooking done. LIKE SOON.



Back in February (the last time I scrapbooked), I actually accomplished quite a bit. Here's a rare "everyday" kind of page depicting a snowy afternoon back in 2007. (Click to biggify and read the journaling, so you'll know what the heck was happening in these photos and won't think our kitchen looks like this all the time or that we routinely bury teenagers in the snow.) I do so much "event" scrapbooking that I think it's important to do some everyday kinds of layouts once in awhile.

Because (even though it seems like it right now), life is not just a series of events.

Feline Friday: Easy Rider

Whenever she gets the opportunity, Lily catches a ride on Daughter's shoulders. She happily drapes her furry body around Daughter's neck and rides along, presumably enjoying the view from this higher-than-normal vantage point.

Three bonus points to anyone who can spot Tinsel in this photo. :-)

Even Easier

You already know that I'm a simple scrapbooker. But right now, I'm a simple scrapbooker living under the pressure of graduation, so I'm looking for ways to further simplify my already-simple approach without sacrificing design or content.



Wide-format printer to the rescue! For this layout, I printed a 10.5" square text box (with an overlayed title text box) directly on my 12" page. It made the perfect "frame" for 2 photos, a journaling box, and some of my favorite Ki Memories striped paper.

Nothing fancy, but I like the simplicity of this sort of design. Better yet, it's one more memory captured.