Joshua Tree Visit

Back in the game! So I am working my way through the photos I have and am trying to get them scrapped. Here is a layout of our visit to Joshua Tree National Park. It was such a fun trip with great hiking and lovely friends.

Of course I pulled out my Apron Strings Smaller than a Breadbox kit and had a blast. This kit had a sampling of Fancy Pants Designs Summer's End. It was full of good colors and quality paper. Hope that you enjoy!

A lesson in Zebras

Oh my goodness! Thanks to the San Diego Zoo I know far more about zebras than I did before. Now I know that there are three kinds of zebras. There are plains zebras, mountain zebras and Grevy's zebras. Plains zebras have broad stripes all over. Mountain zebras have narrow stripes that widen at the rear and their undercarriages are white. Grevy's zebras have narrow stripes very close together and also have a white undercarriage. A trip to San Diego zoo sure beat out Zoobooks for fun, informative animal knowledge.

Here is a layout I did using the new information I have on zebras. Could not resist some animal nerdiness on a layout! I used more of the Imaginisce happy camper line and a little bit of October Afternoon's county fair. All came from Apron Strings kits. No real surprise to anyone I am sure. Hope that you enjoy!

At the zoo in San Diego

I am finally back to scrapping regularly thanks to LOAD (layout a day). For the month of February I am trying to do a layout every day. Of course, the flu struck me and I got off to a slow start, but am back on track now.

Here is a layout I did on the San Diego zoo. I used Imaginisce Happy Camper line. It came awhile ago in my Apron Strings kit and I have been saving it for just the right theme. And here it is. Hope that you enjoy!

Recipe for crazy fun

Best way to enjoy an evening. First, get a four year old little girl who is game for anything. Second, decide to decorate gingerbread cookies. Third, make sure you have matching aprons. (A key ingredient in happy baking.) Fourth, do NOT take your eyes of said four year old...the icing does not last if you do. Lastly, once the sugar high has ended fall asleep!

Here is a layout I did of my niece, Gillian, and I making cookies. We had an absolute blast. I pulled out the Apron Strings Smaller than a Breadbox December kit. Which had a sampling of my little shoebox. This is from their Winter Wonderland collection. This paper is so playful and naturally I am hoarding the rest. You may see it pop up here soon, but for now it is under lock down while I decide on my next holiday layout/ project.

Getting ready for next year...

Okay, so January is here which means I have less than 12 months until next December. Seriously!! So, I am relying on Jingle Belles to get me up and moving towards a new Christmas card goal. This week's prompt calls for presents. We can have presents on the card or we can use wrapping paper. I went with a fun present stamp given to me by my good friend, Dara. I pulled out my Apron Strings kit and played with some Echo Park paper. I really layered on the paper. I could not seem to stop myself. Hope that you enjoy.

Compare and Contrast

So, as part of a scrapbook challenge, I had to compare two thoughts on one page. It turned out to be a lot of fun.

This page is centered on the differences in how Aaron and I travel. Essentially, he is a destination type person and I am all about the journey. We find ourselves sometimes at odds but more often giddy at the ideas and plans of the other one.

The paper naturally came from the Apron Strings kit and the idea came from my favorite Scraphappy group! It was a lot of fun to play around with contrasting paper and ideas. Hope that you enjoy.

Solvang, California

Here is a layout that I did on my day trip to Solvang. It is a little Danish village, north of Santa Barbara. It is lovely. Here are just a few pics of the village and the sites. I used a color scheme suggested by Scrap Happy. The paper is from Crate Paper and came in my Apron Strings kit. Love Apron Strings!!!

Hope that you enjoy!

Back to life and reality

After a weekend with my sister and Aaron, I am back home and back on target. I am finally scrapping all my fun photos with Alice and Renee. They came out for a visit and we hit the sites, big time. Here is a quick layout I did on our trip to Disneyland.

The sketch is from ScrapHappy and the paper is from my trusty Apron Strings Kit. It is Fancy Pants's Beach Babe line. It was quite a fun mix to work with. And the sketch let me use a whole bunch of my favorite scrapbooking tool, patterned paper! Good times!

Hope that you enjoy.

Coming back

Oh my goodness! I feel as if I am coming out of an underground tunnel. I have been busy, distracted or not in the mood to scrapbook. But I remembered Lain Ehmann's comment about creativity being similar to exercise, doing it daily is better. So, a little here and there should get the creative mojo back. First, I worked on my halloween cards and candy holders and then I worked on some layouts.

Thanks to Scrap Happy's august sketch, I was able to put together a layout fairly quickly. Of course, Jenni Bowlin's Be Our Guest line was huge help as well. It came in my fun Apron Strings kit. There was a prompt from Scrapping Everyday Miracles about friends going the distance and it inspired me. Although I did not follow all of their criteria, I used them as inspiration.

Last month, two friends from Louisville, flew out to visit me. They traveled across the continent just to see me. I was so excited. They came for my birthday and stayed the week. We had a great time. So, in thinking about friends who literally went the distance, I scrapped this fun photo of Renee and Alice in Little Tokyo. Hope that you enjoy!

A little time, a little paper and a little prompt...

Thanks to Apron Strings Smaller than a Breadbox kit and Scrapping Everyday Miracles, I have a layout. I really liked playing with Jillibean Soup's new line Watermelon Gazpacho. I found myself using more of the background side of the paper. Lots of fun, bright colors and delightful polka dots, gingham and stripes. Ah, my favorite combinations.

Scrapping Everyday Miracles provided a very playful challenge this month. The prompt was "you have to laugh." Essentially it was about the things in our life that make us laugh, things we might otherwise take for granted. The stipulations were to use that theme and add a funny picture and a recycled element. So, I pulled out a fun sepia toned photo of Aaron that I have wanted to use for some time now. He is sitting in the Goofy car at Disneyland and just grinning. This layout prompt really allowed me to journal about Aaron's quirky sense of humor and how his "goofy"ness really makes me laugh. The recycled element is the ribbon, I pulled it from projects that folks have sent me. It was nice to reuse and repurpose. This was a great challenge and I really enjoyed using up some fun Apron Strings stash. Hope that you enjoy!

At the County Fair

I love the fair! Having grown up in Columbus, Ohio it is required. We have one of the biggest state fairs in the country. It always took us two days for the fair. One day was junk food and rides...and what a gruesome combination that can be if you are not careful. The next day was shows and livestock. This day was reserved for horse shows, quilt shows and various cooking demonstrations. Then we would tour the stockyards and choose our favorite chicken!

This year I had the pleasure of attending the San Diego County fair. It was delightful! I saw a llama competition for the first time. This was also the first time I saw a turkey corn dog and deep fried girl scout cookies! You just cannot beat the fair for fascinating entertainment and quality cuisine!

Hope that you enjoy the layout! This is paper from my smaller than a breadbox Apron Strings kit. It is Echo Park's Summer Days. It was so much fun to play with and such a great mix of colors for my fun fair pictures!

Birthday time

I have been wanting to use this Bella image for some time. It is quite cute and playful! I colored the image and then started to choose paper. Yes, that is probably backwards of what I should have done, but it worked out alright.

In fact, it was swell! I got some Cosmo Cricket Social Club in my Apron Strings kit. I have been wondering what to use it on and then the Bella came. I was able to stamp the card base with a flower from Stampin' Up's Remembering You. I also used their Night of Navy ink. Then I layered some pattern paper and cardstock. Finally, I popped a flower on the image and called it a day. Hope that you enjoy!

Baby Showers

Got to visit some friends in Louisville and make it to Richelle and Dave's Baby shower. Took lots of great pictures and have even managed to scrap a few. Here are a few layouts telling the story of onsies, cake and other fun things.

Most of the paper comes from my Apron Strings kit. I have been having a ball using up my Five and Dime. I have also been seriously scraplifting from May Flaum. It is so easy to scraplift from someone so talented!! What can I say?

Thanks LOAD for keeping me on track

Well, we are a long way from Mother's Day, but I could not resist this layout! My sister is such a fabulous person, and such a good mother. I decided to do a layout on how proud I am of my wild, little sister becoming this great parent.

I finally got to play with the PEEP papers from We R Memory Keepers, and the goodies from my Apron Strings kit. This is a sketch from the Scraphappy group and it worked beautifully! Thanks to LOAD, I am working my way through my photos and getting them scrapped!

Once again, I had a lot of fun playing with paper and beautiful photos! Hope that you enjoy!

Back in card mode

Back in black...well, actually I am back in pink and green. Thanks to my Apron Strings Smaller than a Breadbox kit, I have new We R Memory Keepers Peep to play with. What does one do if one has lovely Easter paper and no Easter pictures...you make Mother's Day cards!

This was a great deal of fun and even though the pinks do not entirely match up, they will be loved. How do I know this? Because they are mothers! Both women think it is lovely that I make them handmade cards...it is not grandchildren, but they are still grateful!

Nothing like a good sketch

Once again I am pushing past my paper hoarding. I am using the paper for current projects rather than saving it for the best rainy day project ever. What am I saying? It is raining here in Southern California, so I guess I did save it for a rainy day project.

First, a big thank you to Friday Sketchers for a very inspirational sketch. Their design team had some really fun samples to check out! Next, to Stamping Up, I say thanks for the stamp set Life Cycles. It has been more fun that I can tell you. I wish I could display them all, but for now I am just showing off the basket cycle with the friend quote. Lastly, another big thank you to...by now you have probably guessed it, Apron Strings. The paper came from their Smaller than a Breadbox kit. It is Bella Blvd (one of my favorites) from the Sunny Happy Skies collection. I was holding off on using this paper...hoarding it for the perfect project. Then I said, "Jana, this is awesome paper and you have some cards to make. Brighten some days, you old scrooge!" So here we are.

Another round of five thank you cards for the troops. I would almost feel sorry for the super girly cards, but I am just hoping they get to our ladies over there who could probably use some pink and some bling! The last card is a fun friend card that I could not resist playing with.

There is just something about happy paper being used that puts a big smile on my face. Thanks to Sunny Happy Skies, I am a sunny, happy girl!

Cute pictures take a while to scrap

In addition to my paper hoarding, which is now common knowledge... I am a picture hoarder as well. I know that you are wondering, "where does it end, woman?!" It is just so hard when you see super cute photos! Alright, I will own it, it is just so hard for ME when I have super cute photos. I have to wait for the right, super cute paper and the right, super cute embellishments.

This layout is part of that serendipitous experience. I have super cute pictures of my niece at the local science museum. I have some super cute paper from my Apron Strings kit. More of the Imaginisce Animal Crackers. And I have some super cute star beads and flowers.

The colors do not show that well, but trust me, in person, this layout is a blast. It helps that Gillian is such a cute subject! Apron Strings does it again.

A simple housewarming gift from afar

My fabulous friend, Becca is moving! As I type, she is moving boxes, two labs, toddler, baby and husband to a new pad. And I thought I was tired.

After turning to my Apron Strings kit again, I pulled out the We R Memory Keepers' family keepsake line and made her some treats. First, I made her a simple housewarming card. A little bit of Bazzill cardstock and some embellishments and it was complete. Then I thought that she might be busy...pause for understatement. And it will take her a while to scrap a page on the new house, or move. Or even worse, she might forget to take pictures of the moving process and new house. Hence, the playful 8 1/2 x 11 layout for her new home. All she has to do is add the picture and through in a little bit of journaling if she wants.

Another day of sending love from one coast to another.

Catching up

Back with more Apron Strings fun! This is Birthday Challenge #4. It was a blast. First, you choose elements of a cake you want to bake. Then you are given the scrapbook equivalent of the cake ingredients. For example, I chose a vanilla cake, with strawberry filling, buttercream frosting and fresh fruit on top. Sounds good right? In Apron Strings terms that translates to white or kraft cardstock, with patterned paper that has dots or circles, some buttons and finally paint! Good times were had!

I decided to do a simple layout of my husband at the zoo. He is my favorite person and the zoo is quite possibly his favorite place. We walk through the gate and the man turns into an 8 year old kid who cannot get enough of animal planet. It is one of the many things I love about him.

Thus, the layout has him happy and painted up. Once again, I turned to Mind's Eye Alphabet soup and ranger paints. Paint makes it feel like a real project... must be all the mess!

Cannot get enough of San Francisco

I am almost done playing with my San Francisco pages. It was such fun, that I think I am trying to hold onto as much of the vacation as I can. One more page with lots of pics and then one last page with lots of journaling. And then... maybe I will be done.

This page could not be completed without the inspiration of Apron Strings blog and their sketch ideas. Thankfully, they have seen me through my San Francisco scrapping.

Most of you know that I am a paper lover! When new paper lines come out, I race to the store to see them. I try to check out as many sneak peeks as possible. Paper is one of the many things that I heart. HOWEVER, I am a hoarder. I cannot bear to let some paper go. As in, "it is too pretty to use." "I cannot find the right picture, occasion, stamp, etc. to go with it." "I can't just cut it up and use it on any old thing."

So, on these pages, I finally broke down and used my last sheet of Basic Grey Nook & Pantry and my only sheet of Lullaby Lane's Puppydogs and Pigtails. The flip sides of both are fabulous too, which led to a lot of dilemmas. And I am glad that I had paper worthy of such a wonderful city.

Now, if I can just find the perfect project to use up the leftover scraps. It may be another few years for that! Here is hoping.