Happy National Scrapbook Day

That's right!! It's a holiday!! Did you take the day off? Did you set aside some creative time? I did because it is National Scrapbook Day (NSD)- the biggest holiday of the year you know!! Heehee!! But, seriously, I love this holiday. It is a day that I get to set aside time with my BFF scrappin buddy, Samantha. We spend our whole day creating, watching blogs and sites for challenges, eating and of course partaking in a fun adult beverage. It's just plain fun!

To get my creative juices flowing and yours too, here is a couple pages I made recently.

That's my darling dear Mackenzie on her birthday in February. LOVE her!! I used the Front Porch Blend add on kit from Studio Calico to make this page. I love the circle overlay and played off of the circles with my patterned paper choice and the embellishments I chose. I am looking desperately through the Silhouette store to find the shape of that overlay for my cameo. I need more!

Next little bit of inspiration: Carter's leg surgery.

I love that I was able to get the before and after pictures. Carter did not want me to take the before picture but I snuck and did anyway. Look at that crooked leg! I had to have a picture of it! Well, here comes the funny part... the doctor caught me taking a picture of his leg with the soft cast finally off while we were waiting for the hard cast to be put on. The doctor says, "Wait, you are doing it all wrong!" He takes my camera and gets on his knees and takes the lovely 'after' photo! I love it!! I would have done that too, but Carter was throwing a fit about the picture taking and so I was just trying to get one! Thank you Dr. Ballock for getting the picture that I wanted. And of course, Carter was happy to oblige the doctor!

I used paint with my stamps to create the background and layered some washi tape with it. I used the Popcorn add on kit for this page.

Okay, one more inspiration for NSD: My Little Monkeys.

This next page is from our trip to Kalahari over Spring Break. I love that I got a picture of all three kiddos together.... that's no easy task. I love this one, mainly because of the picture. 

I used lots of paper layering, paint and mists for this one. I also used the Daily Grind add on kit from Studio Calico. 

Now, I'm off to create some more on this wonderful holiday. Happy National Scrapbook Day and may you create many wonderful memories for your families.

College Visits

It's about time I update on some of the college visits Carter went on during the winter. Going in the winter gives you a real feel of what it is like during the school year. We made some summer visits with Alexa and Mackenzie and that tells you nothing about what it is like to hike across campus in the wind, sleet and snow. Well, Carter got a taste of the real deal.

Up first: O-H  I-O

That's right OSU! 

Of course, Ohio State holds a special place in my heart. I walked the halls of those buildings, slept in the dorms there, learned a lot about teaching and life and met the love of my life. So, it is a special place. But, this is Carter's decision, not mine, not Steve's. But, right now, it is his number 1 choice. Go Bucks!!

The block letters are Quickutz (now called Lifestyle Crafts) University font... perfect for high school and college pages. I used the papers and embellishments from the Front Row kit at Studio Calico.

We did tour the Mansfield campus for Ohio State also as this is a likely place he would be his freshman year. That is the one drawback for him in choosing Ohio State.

It's still Buckeye Country just on a much smaller scale!

Next, we toured Ohio University.

Carter called it "OLD."

"Civil War Era Old."

I thought it was pretty.

He also felt it was really just too far from home- yay- knock that off the list! Don't get me wrong I like OU and will be furthering my education there with an online program.... but it is too far away for my baby to go!

Next up, Kent State University:

He loved that it was Akron's rival- it's always good when there is some sibling rivalry right?

He thought it was a little smaller than he would like. 

He loved that the game Halo was created here!

It is something to consider.

So, the first 3 tours I put in my Project Life album.

I used the Block Party Project Life Kit from Studio Calico for that page.

And, last but not least, our tours brought us to The University of Toledo.

He LOVED that there was 2 Carter halls and a Carter bus stop.

Now there's a reason to pick a college!

Carter thinks that Toledo may be #2 on his list. We shall see how this all pans out in the near future as he starts his Senior year :(

And, once again, I added the tour to my Project Life album. This one uses the Popcorn add-on kit and the Front Row kit from Studio Calico.

A Little Stitch Fix Project

So, I've been looking at the little style cards that come with each of my Stitch Fixes and trying to think of a creative way to keep them. (If you are not sure what Stitch Fix is... you need to know, so check out my post here and here.) Anyway, the little style cards are so cute and helpful in teaching you how to pair your piece of clothing with other pieces and accessories. I love how they show you a way to wear something casually as well as dressed up for a special occasion and of course, what to put with it. 

(If you aren't sure what I am talking about, here's a picture of a style card from Stitch Fix.)

Isn't that just so cute! Now I know 2 ways to wear that dress. So, anyway, back to the project.

The nice thing about the style cards is that they come with the cutout at the top in a plastic sleeve. This way, they can all be kept together. I made a little flip book out of chipboard covered with patterned paper and then tied with a ribbon. This way, I can untie it and add new style cards as they come with my fixes. 

For the cover, after adhering the chevron patterned paper to chipboard, I cut the quote out of another patterned paper and adhered it. I added the sticker letters "Style" and the thumbs up transparency, star die cut, and sequin with a floss knot. I attached all of my style cards and tied it shut with ribbon. I called it done and am happy with it.

 I love how I can add more cards as they come by untying the ribbon. It is small enough to just keep in my makeup drawer and pull it out when choosing an outfit. And, it's a great way to keep those cards from getting unruly in my tight drawer space.

If you are interested in getting your own Stitch Fix, follow my referral link. (I am not affiliated with Stitch Fix, I just love getting my own Fixes.)

December Daily

I'm trying my hand at a December Daily album and the daily journaling that comes with that. The December Daily idea comes from Ali Edwards. She does one every year and it is always so awesome. While I'm making the December Daily my own, I am also taking a class at shimelle.com called Journal Your Christmas. I thought by combining the Journaling with a December Daily album, I would have a unique memoir of the holidays this year. My book will be called Anticipating December 25. Now let's hope I stick with it!!

The album I'm using comes from the December Daily kit at Studio Calico. I misted (Mr. Huey) the album first and then used clear crackle paint (Tim Holtz). Inside the cover, I pasted the calendar page- I still need to fill in the stuff we will be doing!

My journal prompt for today is "This Christmas I will..."

Believe in ... the spirit of the holiday, the love that surrounds me and the Lord, my God.

Be grateful for... my family and friends, my health and my family's health and our jobs.

Always remember... to have faith in those who love me and in myself!

And, finally, a Christmas Manifesto from Shimelle.

A Few More Pages!

Just a couple more pages to share today! I have been on a roll- I love it when that happens! 

Alexa loves to take her own pictures. She's always posing for herself. She's so silly!

When people ask me if the girls are best friends, I say "Yes, best friends and worst enemies!" Twins are such a unique relationship... you can't get any closer than they are.

And, finally, another page for the Senior Albums. It is really hard deciding on how to narrow down all the pictures I have of them with their friends. I guess if the Senior albums explode, I will put some pages elsewhere!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

A couple more for the Seniors!

I've been good at keeping up with the Senior albums for the girls. (I'm feeling a little neglectful to Carter's albums though- I promise your turn will come buddy!)

Anyway, this first one is from the winter formal. Some of the pictures on the page are a little cloudy, but that is actually fog they had at the dance. I'm so glad the girls have been taking pictures at these events for me!

I love the flower from Making Memories, but that sucker was hard to get to stay glued on. I finally put a hefty glob of glue down and stuck my marker box on top of it over night and that did the trick! That flower is not going anywhere!

Next up is "Prep Rally"! That's right Prep, not Pep! They spend more time prepping for all the events that I just had to get a page in there of all that!

And, I have one more page that is celebrating New Year's with their friends. I used some black Zing to emboss with the bubble stamp in the background. It really does add more pop than just using an inkpad.

The first page is using Studio Calico's Wildflower Add-on kit and the second page uses Candy Shoppe kit with add ons. And, page number 3 uses the Babbling Brook add-on kit.

Have a happy Monday (:

Pages to share!

I have a few pages to share today. My scrap space has been a little bit busier lately. Now, I just need time to show y'all the pages I've made. Hopefully, over the next couple of days I can do just that! We'll see how that goes!

This one was my favorite! I love that picture of her!

Here's a couple of pages from our hike in the Metroparks- I love that we have this practically in our backyard!

And, finally a Christmas page!

For the first 3 pages I used the Candy Shoppe kit and add-ons. And for the last page, I used Holiday Lights add-on. All kits were from Studio Calico (:

Senior Albums

I've been diligently working on Alexa and Mackenzie's senior albums. I want them ready for their graduation party. All the pages have a kraft background as that gives a unity to the books and it is a fav of mine anyway (easy for me to scrap with!)

This one will go in Alexa's album- it documents her struggle choosing a college- Kent State lost, being with her sister won!

Elite 8 for Mackenzie's album.

The football team made it far this year, but sadly the Elite 8 was the end of the road for them.

I used some Zing on the alpha stamp to add some pop!

More Elite 8 for Alexa's album.

More to come!