Grandma's Favorite Christmas Gift-- Photo Calendar

What was I thinking 10 years ago, I'll never know....

For Christmas way back then,
I gave my mother and my mother-in-law a photo calendar.
For each month of the calendar I had carefully selected pictures of their (then) only grandchild.
In January, my daughter was sitting in the snow, in July she was splashing in her baby pool, in September she was sitting in the leaves.
I made each page look like it came out of a scrapbook...cardstock, ribbon, brads, the works.
I used a colored blank calendar I ordered from Current.

The grandmas were beyond thrilled!
They studied each month and 'oooohed' and 'ahhhed'.
My mom promptly hung the calendar on the wall to admire.
My mother-in-law immediately started filling in her appointments on her calendar and stuck it in her bag to carry everywhere.
They both asked for another calendar the next year.

What had I started?
For the next several years, I made calendars for the grandmas.

One year to save time, I made the calendars digitally with one big picture on each month.
My mom was a bit disappointed.
"Where's the pretty layouts? Where's the ribbons?
Where's the fun papers?"

So....
what am I doing the week before Christmas every year? 
You guessed it---Making calendars!

Now, before you start thinking that I'm complaining...
I need you to know, I actually enjoy making them.

I do very little traditional scrapbooking throughout the year,
so taking the time to make the calendars is quite fun.
I love looking back and reviewing our year month by month.
I just wish I wouldn't wait until December to get working on this project!

Here's a few shots of the calendars for 2013.

March



October

November

Now...the real reason for sharing all of this with you,
is to keep myself accountable to my new goal.


Goal:  I will start working on the 2014 calendars in July!
(Someone please follow up with me on this, thanks!!)

 

 May 2014 be filled with met goals and less stress!

 Happy New Year!

 

CONTINUE READING

Quick, Easy, Guilt-Free Scrapbooking!

I've always loved documenting activities and events in scrapbooks.

The first scrapbook I made was in high school with pages full of my crazy 80's outfits and hairdos, boy crushes and dance pictures.  This page is of me getting my braces off and getting my driver's license.

I always smile when I look back at these pages full of the things that were important to me as a teenager.

Apparently my spelling errors didn't bother me back then?

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After college I picked up scrapbooking again documenting my married life full of traveling, teaching and house projects. Fast forward to today where my albums are jammed packed with my children, family events and activities that fill our busy life. It brings me so much joy to see my family looking at past scrapbooks, remembering all the fun times we've had together.

My daughter loves to pour over the pages in her baby scrapbook where I have documented all the details of her adoption. I caught her just the other day sitting on the couch looking at her baby book.

 

I love the process of scrapbooking where I can co-ordinate papers, cut patterns, create designs, add embellishments- like ribbon! (I do love ribbon!) The only thing I don't love about scrapbooking is the time it takes to make the pages. Hours seem to disappear with very few pages completed. Pictures stack up, months go by and guilt sets in as another year passes without a completed scrapbook. Well, I've finally found a solution that works for me.  

It's called Project Life by Becky Higgins.  Watch her short video and you'll be so inspired!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHJ5pox_s2M&feature=player_detailpage

Basically, Project Life is an album

filled with divided photo pocket pages.

The pockets fit your pictures perfectly.  You slip in a picture in each pocket without cutting or gluing.

The small pockets in the center of the page are designed for journaling cards...or if you want, you can always cut down pictures to fit in the pockets, too.

The journaling cards look like a deck of cards.  They're blank, ready for you to record happenings and memories.  They fit perfectly in the small pockets.

That's it!
You might have noticed that I've added some ribbon, paper and stickers...I couldn't help myself! 

But, really none of that is necessary!

You can choose to take a picture a day and journal about it, or just do a page for every month, holiday, event

or Emergency Room visit! (We actually have a few Emergency Room pages!)

It's so fast and simple to slip in pictures, that I often work on my album in the car.  If you missed my Scrapbooking in the Car post, click here.

The point of Project Life is to document your life stories for future generations to enjoy and share without spending tons of time.  Want to know more?
Visit Becky Higgins' website. Watch her Project Life video.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHJ5pox_s2M&feature=player_detailpage

Of course her kits are completely sold out for this year, however you can order the separate pieces.

-album, -pocketpages -journaling cards

That's all you need to get started.
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I'm writing this post for a few friends that asked to know more about how I scrapbook.

CONTINUE READING

Family Christmas Album

Scrapbooking Christmas Card Photos!

It's a little rare to get snow in the Seattle area...but a few days ago we awoke to beautiful, thick, fluffy snow!

The kids were so eager and excited to get outside and enjoy every minute of the snow.  The beauty and the excitement of it all, reminded me of Christmas.  Thinking about Christmas reminded me that I have some Christmas album work to do!

Backing up a bit...

I started a Christmas Scrapbook Album the first Christmas my husband and I were married. I included a few photos (my, we looked young back then) and our Christmas letter.

The years went on...

Kids arrived!

Each Christmas I would continue to add our Christmas photo and letter.  I also started to include the annual Santa picture. 

I wanted to include all the Christmas family photo cards we had received, but I didn't want my album to grow too quickly.

When I found this idea from Ali Edwards--click here- I knew I had found a solution!

Here's how to do it!

Gather all your Christmas photo cards and get out your biggest square punch.  I used a 1-1/2" punch by Marvy Uchida. (I'm on the lookout for a 2" one for next year.)

Using the square punch, simply punch out all your Christmas photo cards.  Sometimes the pictures are too big. (For this family, I split their picture onto two squares.) 
Once all your pictures are cut, lay out the squares on your page and glue down!  So easy!

I still include our Family Christmas card, Santa pictures and a few Christmas photos, but now I also add a layout of all the Christmas card photos we receive.
Here's a look at 2007.

2008
This year I punched some and hand cut other pictures to fit.

2009

2010 Christmas Photo Cards

(I'm displaying these for awhile to enjoy!)

CONTINUE READING

Scrapbooking In The Car!

My 'awesome' husband likes to take road trips and do all the driving himself!  (No complaints on that one!)  I like to be with my 'awesome' husband, so I choose to join him on the road,(yes, the kids come too).  I used to read and sleep while riding in the car, but I've come to realize that I'm much more fun when I'm awake.  So, now I scrapbook in the car.  It's true!  I can stay awake, have 'meaningful' conversations with my family and get caught up on my scrapbooks.  It's a win-win-win situation!
To name a few memorable trips...I've scrapbooked in the car from Seattle to San Fran, Seattle to Boise, Seattle to Portland, all through the state of Montana, all the way down into Yellowstone, and all the way up into Banff. I've scrapbooked in the car on numerous trips from Seattle to Spokane and home again!  Once I even tried scrapbooking on California's twisty-turvy, scenic Highway 101...(let's just say, I won't be doing that again).  With all my traveling, I've learned a thing or two (or 300) about scrapbooking on the road.  Here's a few things to keep in mind.

Michelle's Top 10 'Scrapbooking in the Car' Tips:

Tip #1  Sit in the front passenger seat!

(This is very important!  Apparently, no driver wants to be seen escorting their spouse in the backseat. OK?!)

  

Tip #2 Only bring the very basic scrapbooking supplies you can get by with:

small cutter, scissors, adhesive, pens, paper, photos, etc.

(Remember, you have to fit (comfortably) in the seat with your supplies AND you can't put extra supplies on the driver's side...I've tried!)

Tip #3  Just bring sheet protectors or pages from your albums.  Do NOT bring your entire album in the car.
(Trust me, no driver wants to be jabbed by the corner of an open album, on a sudden stop!)

Tip #4  Use a lap desk!  You can't scrapbook without a flat surface.

(Make sure the kids have their own lap desk so they won't be asking to use yours!)

Tip #5 Always stop what you're working on and look up!  You'll want to enjoy the view.

  (Besides, car sickness and scrapbooking do not mix, I know this rule well!)

Which brings me to...

 Tip #6  Always have a plastic bag handy!
(You need somewhere to put all those paper and photo scraps, of course!)

Tip #7  When journaling, (yes, I journal in the car) always be sure you're on a smooth, straight patch of freeway, no turns, bridges, overpasses or rough roads!  Don't journal when the driver is merging, passing or...um...texting!

(My favorite time to journal is at long stoplights. Tell the kids to let you know when the light turns green!)

Tip #8  Do not go through the drive-thru while you're scrapbooking.  Also, be sure you know when the car is close to stopping at restaurants, sightseeing spots and (if you're lucky) rest areas! 
(It takes a bit of time to put your scrapbook things away...and you do not want to miss out!)


Tip #9 Do not scrapbook in the dark!  Put your things away before it gets dark.
(Do not even think about using the overhead light!)

Tip #10  Have fun!  If it's not fun, don't do it!

(You can always read and sleep.)

A Few Other Pointers:

The easiest type of scrapbooking in the car is creating Project Life pages. 
Project Life is an album pre-designed with photo pockets to easily insert pictures that you take daily or weekly or monthly...however you want to use it.  It also has pockets to slip in journaling cards. 
I try to take a picture a day, order a couple weeks' worth at Costco, then record it in my Project Life album. (Yes, I'm on a first name basis at the photocenter.)

Check out a few finished Project Life pages, all assembled in the car!

Week of Jan. 9th-Jan. 15th

Week of Feb. 6th-12th

Week of Feb. 13th-19th

Other easy things I often do while riding in the car:
-delete and organize digital pictures on my camera and computer.
-sort and label already printed pictures (use Post-its to help remember which pictures go where or to who.)
-assemble cards/invites and address them (Many, many handstamped Christmas cards were created in the car from start to finish!)
-sort through pictures from just one trip or event.  I use the ride to think about which pictures go together, which pages the photos would go on, color themes, etc.  Ziplocs help me sort and organize my photos so I'm 'miles' ahead when I'm ready to scrapbook them!

Have fun on the road!

CONTINUE READING

Valentine Scrapbook Pages

 

I'm digging out some old valentine scrapbook pages to share.

 

I made pockets for the valentines by sewing ribbon directly to the page.

I sewed around the picture as well.

 

I found super-thick ribbon for this page.

The letters are stickers.

On this page, the letters are from Quickutz. 

The polka-dot ribbon is glued down on top of the valentines.

 

This was special paper that had the word LOVE cut out.

 

It's funny to look back and see these old valentine pages from when the kids were little.  Once they started reading, I was no longer allowed to scrapbook their valentines.  Instead their valentines are tucked away in their rooms and read over and over and over.  Love that!

CONTINUE READING