We Will Always Have Paris

Layout: 21 Months

 

I stumbled upon these pics the other day and wanted to scrapbook them.  I didn't really have a story to tell... the pics were snapped in my backyard while my hubby was mowing the yard and the girls were poking things with sticks.

As I've mentioned before, I keep 4" x 6" index cards for each girl on a monthly basis.  I jot down milestones and "likes" and "dislikes" and anything I want to remember.  I was able to flip back to November 2010 and find Baby A's card.  It allowed me to add journaling:

 
I didn't want the journaling to detract from the pictures, so I used a CTMH 4" x 6" flip flap to conceal everything.  All of the journaling was hidden under the third picture on the second page of my layout.  It is easy to flip and read the words inside (with a tab to make it obvious).  Want to order some flip flaps for yourself?  Just drop me an e-mail at korie@wewillalwayshaveparis.com!

The details:  Stampin' Up! (paper & Sizzix die), Sizzix (die), McGill (file tab punch), Close To My Heart (Typeset alphabet stamp set) & CTMH (ink).

Finish It Friday: Disney 2007 Album - Day Two

We are taking the kids to Disney World next month and I thought it was high time I started working on the scrapbook from our last trip to WDW.  Scrapping our last vacation is just adding to our excitement about this year's vacation.

 
One more Disney layout done... now I only have about 40 more to do!

Supplies used:  Basic Grey "Pyrus" (patterned paper), Making Memories "Acorn" & "Monarch" (paint), EK Success "Mickey" (punch), Stampin' Up! "Linen" (stamp on #2), Palette ink (on #2), unknown chipboard & brads

Layout: ?

 
Anyone who has had a child knows about the steady stream of questions that starts flowing around the age of three.  Baby G. never stops.  I thought it deserved a layout.  Besides, that top picture was so perfect, it needed to be scrapped!

Details:  Basic Grey "Curio" (patterned paper), Grasshopper font, Creamy Brown and Chestnut Roan (Clearsnap chalk inks), Basic Grey (chipboard), MPIX (photo processing)

Layout: 17 Months

I love when I have large groupings of photos of the same moment.  These are just shots from a random morning last July.  None of the photos is particularly extraordinary.  But, when you put them together, it really shows off Baby A's personality.

I opened my photo storage album the other day and these were the first photos I stumbled upon.  When I order from MPIX, I have them put the month and year on the back, so I was able to quickly determine when the photos were taken. 

Every month (sometime around the 15th), my Toodledo task list sends me an e-mail reminder to update our family cards.  I keep an index card for each child and one for "us" as a family each month.  I make lists of the kids' favorite TV shows, foods, and hobbies.  I capture what is going on in their lives and our life each and every month.  It makes it incredibly easy to go back and add journaling to random photos (such as the photos above) later.

I store these photos behind my "All About Baby G.", "All About Baby A" and "All About Us" tabs in my Library of Memories Category Drawers.  To make this layout, I just pulled Baby A's card from last July and I had my journaling!  When I was done, I added "all scrapbooked" in red and put it back behind her tab.

I use photo collages quite a bit to get a ton of pics on one page.  This is my favorite style:

With the 1/4" border around all the sides, I have a block that is 10.5" high and 10.5" wide.  I can then mount it smack dab in the middle of a sheet of patterned paper & I'm done!

Here are the specs:  Basic Grey (Urban Prarie patterned paper), EK Success (the large scallop punched pink & white borders), Papertrey Ink (button dies and coaster chipboard), McGill (file tab punch), Marvy (scalloped circle punch), Sizzix (chipboard circle), Maya Road (chipbard numbers), American Crafts (rub-ons), Judi-Kins (Diamond Glaze on die cut buttons), Offray (ribbon), Zutter (corner rounder) and CK Journaling (font).

Two Local Crops To Raise Money For American Cancer Society

Two dear friends are holding separate fundraising crops in April to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

 
Jennie G. and her team, "Cancer Sucks", will be hosting a crop on
Saturday, April 9th.

Time:  9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Where:  Lorton, VA
Cost: $45/person
(includes breakfast, lunch & snacks)
For more information, and to register, please go to:
http://www.scrapforacause.com

Loretta S. and her team, "Holding Onto Hope", will be hosting a crop on
Saturday, April 16th.

Time:  9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Where:  Boyce, VA
Cost: $50/person
(includes breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks)
checks payable to "American Cancer Society"
Click here to print out the flyer and registration form

As most of us have, both of these women have had their lives touched by cancer.  They have both blown me away with their dedication and devotion to raising money for the American Cancer Society.  I will be out of town for Loretta's April 16th crop (I desperately wish I could be there to support her), but I will be attending Jennie's April 9th crop.  I do hope that the local gals will turn out to support both of these fine events.  If you can't attend, maybe you could contact Loretta (540--955-2266) or Jennie (703-470-5434) about donating towards their teams (or donating a prize for the raffles & door prizes?).

Good luck Jennie & Loretta!

Post-Kokuyo Adhesive Options

I get several e-mails a week, asking if I've found another source for the beloved Kokuyo adhesive.  I've heard rumors (from inside sources) that 3M has acquired Kokuyo and will be releasing it in the states.  I did notice that JetPens is selling a Scotch (3M) product that looks like the Dot N' Roller.

I've also heard from readers in Japan, swearing that they are still buying up Kokuyo and that Kokuyo is still releasing new products.  Reader Deb even sent me a sample of the new Kokuyo mini (very very cute!), but her friend in Japan couldn't tell her when it would be released. 

Regardless of the rumors, it is next to impossible to find right now.  (Although a reader recently spotted some refills at her local Archivers -- go check it out!).  So, I've been left to my own devices to find a replacement.  I've been fortunate to have a number of on-line companies send me samples and I've raided every store around. 

 
(Just a handful of the dispensers in my "adhesives" drawer -- I have two drawers full of adhesives.)

I started to review a ton of the adhesives, but then slowly realized that I only liked one of them.  One!  And the one I like, I really, really, really like.

Drumroll, please.....

My Stik by Scrapbook Adhesives (a 3L company)

 

 

(Ignore my crappy production values... I couldn't get my movie software to work this weekend)
(Thanks for the Flip camera Suni, you rock!)

I loved this adhesive so much that I am now carrying it in my on-line store.  I'm placing a bulk order, so I'll be passing the savings on to you.  Click here to get yours.

Layout: JacPeas

Every August my best friend and her hubby fly out from wherever they are living at the time to spend a week with us.  We spend our days eating great food, playing games and sight-seeing.  It is a great way to end the summer.  I snapped these shots last year during their visit.  I love the big picture.  That open-mouthed laugh just sums up my best friend.  She brings joy & laughter to everything.  

The 2009 visit was the first year with their beautiful new baby.  She's expecting another this month (!) and I can't wait to have four little ones running around during next summer's visit.  Too much fun!
 

Layout: Thank Heaven

 
 

Man, I love me my Basic Grey papers...

More layouts coming soon!

Layout: Metamorphosis

 
Oh, how I love a good Fall festival!  I finally got around to printing more pictures from last Fall this week.  I loved these pics of Baby G. getting her face painted.  She was so serious about the whole thing!!

I was really happy with this layout.  To make my own butterfly embellishments, I punched out the butterflies (love that Martha Stewart punch), distressed them with chalk ink, added glitter using Diamond Glaze, and then stacked one on top of another.  I bent the wings up on the top layer to give it some depth.  It doesn't look so great in the scan, but in person it's beautiful (if I do say so myself!).

The scan cut off the top & bottom of the second page.  It is actually framed in the brown patterned paper that is on the first page.

Supplies:  Wild Asparagus patterned papers by My Minds Eye, Wishblade die cut title in Duality font, Martha Stewart butterly punch, Martha Stewart glitter, EK Success Border scalloped punch, ColorBox Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan, Stampin' Up! tag punch, button, Prima flowers & Prima leaves.
 

Finish It Friday: 25 Days of December 2008 - Days 22 & 23

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel....

 
I chose to work on my 2008 "25 Days of December" album for this week's "Finish It Friday".  I'm so close to being finished with this project that I may just push on through the weekend and finish it by Sunday!  Today I was able to finish up Days 22 & 23:

I've been fortunate that I took a ton of pictures during the holiday season of 2008.  It has made it incredibly easy to document our annual traditions and show exactly what we did during those 25 days.  I tried to take a photo of our Christmas card tree every evening before we went to bed.  I certainly don't need to scrap all 25 days, but it sure made it easy when I went looking for photos to show different stages of fullness.

Now, two more days left to do & they are big ones --  Christmas Eve (which is huge in our house) and Christmas Day.  These will probably both have multiple pages.  And now that I'm so close to completion, I'm once again excited to work on it!