Scrapburbia

Same Only Different...

Hehe, I be you didn't know I am 251 years old! Actually I was 26 (and forever will be) but my cutest-ever kids used a 2,5 and a 1 candle... somehow the math adds up :) And I know you wish you got a HOME-MADE piñata for your birthday!

That layout is perfect for events with lots-o-pictures, like bad hair days, Christmas and piñatas! You can really pack the 3"x3" photos on there!

The second layout is the kind of layout I do when I'm flipping through photo albums (as opposed to scrapbooks) and feeling sad about how the time with my babies has gone so darn fast! No matter what period in my life I am in, it always seems like I'm so busy... but then 5 years later looking back I wish I could go back to when I had nothing but time. 

(I would be EXTREMELY ungrateful if I did not take the time to mention that right now, my life is bliss... I get to hug and kiss my monkeys all day, cook dinner, do dishes and scrapbook with no pressing deadlines and creative mountains to climb. I won't have to look back at this time and wish I'd done things differently so I could have been there for my kids... not that I won't want to go back and do it all over again, but I won't regret not being there.)

My kids are romping carefree in the yard. No school, errands, or laundry to do...okay there was laundry... but that isn't what comes to mind when I look at these pictures. I remember Josh's Fuzzy little head and Amelias dirty knees. I can smell the yard in the warm summer sun... and how frustrated I was that it was such a mess... but geez, at least my kids HAD a yard!

Isn't it funny/ironic/frustrating to know how good we've had it and didn't even know it... alright... I still wouldn't want the fixer upper house... but the yard I could totally live with! We had peach, cherry, apple and plum trees, not to mention grape arbors and bazillions of roses. 

If I knew then what I know now...

    

One of MANY unfinished projects...

The day before Christopher was born, last June, my mother and I were running errands. The Fabric Store is ALWAYS on her to-do list! (she has 16 grand babies and 6 of them have been born in the last two years... she makes a blanket for EVERY-SINGLE-ONE!)

Anyway... we were in the fabric store when I laid eyes on this quilt and fell in love with it. 

I was about to have a baby, and I knew it was a boy, plus I was already in the middle (okay, beginning really) of another quilt...

It took a lot of talking... but I did manage to convince myself that I could leave without the fabric to make it.

My Mom said... "It's so easy, we could put it together tonight. If one of us cuts and the other sews, we'll have done in no time!"

So I say..."I don't know, I really shouldn't spend the money on it..."

To which she replies..." Well, you have a birthday coming up, I'll just buy it for you!" So she bought the fabric and we headed out the door... (My mom does this sort of thing, she just can't help it. She loves to make people happy... In fact, this year for Christmas she made aprons (including ruffles and pockets) for all the girls in our family.  And that my friends is something like... TEN aprons!!!)

Now, I did mention that this was the day before Christopher was born, but I didn't know that then... well I sort of didn't know that. I was a few days overdue and I had had a doctors appointment that morning which was Wednesday, and he told me "I am busy this weekend, so let schedule and induction for Monday." If you've had kids, you know what 5 more days feels like when you're already past due.

Jim and I stopped on the way home to pick up some caster oil.

It happened to be the wrong kind, so my mom and I picked up the right kind, along with a smoothie to pour it into.

I didn't feel any different, I assumed that caster oil was an old wives tale and it wouldn't do anything. For a while it didn't... until it did. Not labor... but several bathroom trips. Until, finally at 3am, a trip to the hospital where Christopher was born that morning.

(any excuse to stick a cutie baby picture up there. By the way... this is the face that most folks get when meeting Christopher these days - not a big smile, or tears... just a casual "yeah, so?")

Needless to say, that lovely fabric did not get cut and pieced back together that night... it sat for several days. During those first few weeks when sweet baby Christopher slept, I was able to put it together.

That is to say, the quilt top is finished. I still need to back and bind it. But Christopher doesn't sleep quite as much these days, and when he does... there are so many other things that need to be done.

I know I'll get it finished eventually... maybe when his royal cuteness starts school?

Sand in my pants!

I mentioned last week that I did 2 layouts with Crate Paper chipboard embellishments... but only showed you one... here's the other...

And... because it helps to see them together, here's the first...

If you'd like to see the sketch again you can check it out here. I also did this layout at the same time, can you see the similarities? 

Are those birds not the cutest! I feel like I stretched out of my "comes naturally comfort zone" and really liked the result. I love both of these layouts... the colors are warm and colorful and there are lots of little details (like the scalloped grass!)

After doing these I decided that when I am out shopping, I need to look more closely at embellishments NOT JUST PAPER! Which is tough! I am a full blown paper-addict... I admit it! These little chipboard goodies came in a kit... and thank goodness they did because I probably wouldn't have picked them up otherwise. Not because I don't love them...they are super cute... but embellishments can be a little intimidating. 

Wow, that was like therapy... I didn't realize I felt that way. I thought maybe it was because I'm just cheap, but NO ONE would ever call me that, and besides I have WAY TOO MUCH paper to get away with an excuse like that. 

SO... from now on when browsing a scrapbook store I am going to make sure I make myself choose more embellishments over paper. After all... I have enough paper to last three lifetimes!

(as a side note, I've noticed that my local LSS doesn't always carry matching embellishments... maybe they've quick bringing them in because I'm not the only that is too chicken to pick them up?)

 

Arrrggg... It be Digital Monday Matey!

Alright, time for a little technical talk here, see the small green stripes? The paper I used actually had a white background but I used my blending layers to change it up a little, and make it blend with the background. Your BLENDING MODES are found here, on the layers palette...

 

Oooh, see there's the paper with a white background.  If you've never played with blending modes, try this: Open two "pattern papers" (make sure they have different colors and/or patterns), drag one over to the other so they are on the same file. With the top layer selected, scroll through the blending modes... 

Cool huh?

There really is no rhyme or reason to what they do, and different colors together can do some crazy things. For instance, check out the Scenic Route Home Page, lots of blending modes there! 

Alright... on with the layout...

 

I realize now that I am seeing the sketch, it really looks a lot more complicated than it is, so i made another without all the froo-froo stuff... (FYI, all the froo-froo stuff is by Sande Krieger, found at  Two Peas In A Bucket.)

Aaah, there... that makes a little more sense. I modified a sketch from a class I taught last year at conventions, called "Mix it up, Boy," it's a traditional layout using all Scenic Route of course.

This can be a pretty quick layout... two 6"x12" strips of coordinating patterns and two 1"x12" matching stripes and voilà... ta-done!

Have a lovely Monday!

Sarah

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Okay, no, it's not my birthday, not even close... but it kinda feels like it cause just look what is somewhere between here and Canada on it's way to me!

 

I know! It's amazing right! Helen Dardik's Blog and Etsy Shop are in my "best art and daily reads" folder, it didn't take much to convince myself to snag this one up, LOVE IT! YAY! Her Illustrations are fun, have incredible colors and surprise me everytime. I'm going to go to IKEA the minute mine arrives to find the perfect frame!

I bought one other print, which I will show you later... Did you know you can find incredible prints from amazing artist for EXTREMELY reasonable prices on ETSY?

Here are a couple more for you to swoon over before you head over there to get one for yourself :)

   

Same... Only Different.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE-PEA!!

Today, my bestest girl Amelia is turning 11!

 

AND, in other (though less exciting) news... here are todays layouts!

 

I ran across the first layout as I was flipping through my albums... it's a little dated, at least it is to me, but I still really liked the layout so I "lifted" it from myself!

The little chipboard bits on the second layout are from Crate Paper... and I liked them so much I did another layout right away with them (of course you'll have to wait to see that one!)

You may have noticed my wonky scallops, and that my friends, is because I apparently can not be bothered with scalloped scissors (or, they just don't come in that size...take your pick.) But I like them that way. I for the most part am a free hand cutter, sometimes I'll draw first... but I don't have a die-cut machine...YET!

Sunshine and polka dots

This layout was me trying to figure out how to get all the pattern papers on the layout because I LOVED them all together... without overwhelming the pictures. PLUS... I got to use those super cute Making Memories Polka Dot stickers! It's a little brighter than usual for me... but I love it none the less!

I have been having so much fun scrapping all of our San Diego road trip vacation pictures from 2008! Rather than go to theme parks and big attractions, once a year we jump in the car and drive... No plans, no hotel reservations, usually toward the Pacific Ocean. Our kids haven't been to a Disney Theme Park (yet), Sea World, or a Six Flags. We'll go eventually, but for now we love hitting the open road.

We've seen almost the entire west coast, except for a small piece between L.A. and Big Sur. We found all of the lighthouses between Newport, Oregon and San Francisco Bay, stopping at tide pools and Fish 'n Chip shops along the way. We found sun ripened peaches right off the tree at a fruit stand in who-knows-where. Certainly some of my favorite memories are on these road trips, and I am crossing my fingers that my kids will feel the same way. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our 2006 trip from Salt Lake City to Newport Oregon, down the coast to San Francisco and back home.

Oooh, I cannot wait for Spring Break! I don't know if we'll get out of town then, but we are going to Maine in June for a wedding!

What are your favorite vacation memories?        

I LOVE Lynda.com!

Is there something in your life that you share at every possible moment? Even the lady behind you at Costco, cause she brought it up...For me that's Lynda.com.

Seriously.

I first met "Lynda" a few years ago at Photoshop World, which is awesome! It's like CKU for photography and design geeks...it's a blast! Anyway, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the little coupons that were handed out for Lynda.com at the time, and to be honest I don't remember exactly when or why I decided to check it out.

But let me tell you what, when I finally did, it changed my life!

I little dramatic I know, but it literally did. I know Photoshop... well, very well. I think I've said before that I'd rather right a letter in Photoshop than Word, simply because I know how. But my Illustrator skills were lacking. Lacking as in, I opened the program, smoke came out of my ears and I quickly shut it... 

There were so many things I wanted to be able to do as I was designing product for Scenic Route but that Photoshop just didn't handle very well, I knew I had to learn Illustrator. So went to Lynda.com, paid a mere $25 and learned Illustrator in a weekend.

I am not kidding.

Ever since I have told anyone and everyone that even mentions wanting to learn ANY software program that Lynda.com is the go-site. You can literally learn 100's of programs for $25 a month... with no subscription! Aaaaahhhh (Those are the choirs of heaven singing)

This means you could learn PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS--- like... TONIGHT! You could be a digi scrapper extraordinaire, and edit your photos to perfection! Then, when your a pro in Elements, you can move right on to the Adobe suite including Photoshop CS4, Illustrator, and InDesign and then you'll be the hottest thing to hit the design world since ever. (In fact if you think you the next diva of the scrapbook world, but you don't know how to get out of your head and into reality... I am not kidding, this is your chance!)

But wait! There's more!!!

No, no there isn't... you just need to go check it out NOW!

Digital Monday

I am still getting the hang of digital scrapping...I'm not finding embellishments that really float my boat. The extras on this page are really some of the few that I really loved.

I found Labels, Brads, and borders all by Sande Krieger at  www.twopeasinabucket.com

And, these fun Bingo Cards from Kenner Road also at TwoPeas.

I also love these papers and frames by Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals.

Where do you find digital "extras" that you really love?

Just wondering...

Where do you go when your scrapping away from home?

Do you like to go to a local store for a weekend crop? A scrapbook expo near home? Over to a friends house or is the party always at your place?