I recently got my hands on my mother-in-law's digital camera and was able to get her pictures from a trip we took to Vermont. Pete's cousin Alissa got married and we were able to make it out for her wedding. Here is the scrapbook layout I made with the pictures from the trip. The patterned paper is Basic Grey (my favorite) and the word embellishments are from my scraps that have been around for about 7 years (I finally used them up!). I was happy to scrapbook since I have been trying to limit my scrapbooking. The only reason for this is that I think of the sheer amount of books I will end up with when my daughter grows up... (for someone who does not like clutter, it is scary). I do print most pictures once they are fixed up though and include them in a photo album for my daughter along with some journaling.
Since my daughter was born almost two years ago, I have had two 8x10 frames hanging on her wall where I display various scrapbook pages. I switch out the pages about every three months - usually with the seasons or when I develop a new batch of pictures. Here are the two pages I recently made with Faith's Valentine pictures. I found the adorable polka dot paper and shimmer paper at JoAnn Fabrics during one of their awesome 4/$1 paper sales. I'm trying to curb my purchasing of paper and other crafting things in order to use up what I have, but it is so tempting when the paper is that cheap!
Yesterday I decided to tackle the ridiculous mess in my bedroom (also my office/craft area). I have been trying to get my things organized for weeks, but only would get half way done before someone needed my motherly services. This would then leave an even bigger mess. I had cards and decorative papers covering my desk in an attempt to finish them and bills and other miscellaneous items scattered everywhere that needed to be dealt with.
I finally was able to get everything done yesterday. The majority of the cards were finished and filed away and bills were paid. In organizing my remaining paper crafting supplies, I stumbled upon half completed scrapbook pages from last summer. I ended up getting pretty excited because I love scrapbooking but was way too busy until recently to partake in the fun. Here is a page I finished up. It was nice to work with some summer pictures, especially because we are barely seeing the sun these days in Wisconsin. This page uses Basic Grey paper, my absolute favorite paper line. It has been for about 6 years now and I am always excited to see what designs and color combinations they come out with next.
I have been thinking about what my next creative ventures will be and have come up with two I am interested in. First I want to learn how to knit baby hats. There is a book I found called Baby Beanies that I fell in love with at first glance. The hats would make great presents. The other project idea I have is to make a scrapbook of my favorite recipes. I am really getting into finding new recipes lately and it would be fun to put together a book with my favorites. It would also be a really memorable gift to pass down to my daughter when she is older. I will update with posts of my progress as I begin my new projects.