Day 52: {layout}

As it is right now, layouts often sit on my desk unfinished for days, sometimes weeks. I finally was able to put the finishing touches on this layout for Brayden's 2nd birthday. I used K and Company Dreams (I think that's the name) and Core'dinations for the title and tricycle. I stickled the red for the tricycle. I really like all the frames of Brayden opening his presents and Ava's reaction to him getting his own tricycle.

Layout-Brayden's first hair cut

We finally cut Brayden's hair for the first time ever. It was really long. Well, too long for a boy, I guess...Anyways, I have more pictures I want to scrap, but this is the main page. I used a sketch from an old pagemaps, I think. The title is cut from Robotz, welded on my Gypsy. If you ask him what happened to his hair, he responds with, "um, the lady cut it." So I thought that would be a cute title. The plane is from Mickey and Friends and I used a white gel pen to just add a few things here and there. The scissors are from Happily Ever After and welded with my Gypsy. I'm thinking I should add "before" and "after" with these two pictures? But I kind of like it.

I'm trying to get more elaborate with my scrapping, but I just can't. Either my brain can't think that way or I'm scared. It's a little of both, really. I'm so linear when it comes to these things, flowers, brads and buttons escape me!

October 18

It's rare that I use scrapbooking layouts for P365 but I couldn't resist with this one. This page is from my Rock the Dress album from my wedding. It was already done, but plain with just the matting and the pictures. I got the Rock Princess Cricut cartridge and this girl was on it. Perfect, right?? and I blinged it up with glitter like crazy. I couldn't help it. I love love love it. I ended up redoing a lot of layouts because I used mostly the Rock Star DCWV paper and the cartridge was awesome with it.

October -Christmas?!

While the babies napped, I was able to sneak out to our local Scrapbook store. The owner had made this countdown and I Loved it! She let me take a picture so I could do it at home. She said she got it from a magazine, and I would credit it if I could remember which one it was. I think I'd like it better in the cardboard (because I know that's not what it's called, but I can't remember what it is). She also told me that she would bind it for me and all I would have to do was buy the binder things.

September 24-A card

I didn't get a card for my sister, so I thought I'd make one. Everyone knows my deficiency in card making. It really is bad and no one (even myself) can figure out how! So I was a little worried trying to make a wedding card for her, but I did. I used DCWV All Dressed Up, a cardboard heart that I flocked with white flocking, .99 ribbon from JoAnn's and a jewel one of my wonderful scrapping friends shared with me. The "C" is for their new last name, but it was from Hocus Pocus Thickers and it was purple. I put silver over it. And it looks like a "G." :(

Dirty Scraps challenge 2

At Dirty Scraps, the new challenge is to scrap a pivotal moment, good or bad. What was a time your life changed? I scrapped about the time I found out I was pregnant. My life had already changed by the time I had my baby, so it was at the moment that I saw that "Little Blue Line."

The journaling reads:

My life changed with that LITTLE BLUE LINE. I wasn't married, hadn't known him that long, I partied, lived like a single 20 something. All of a sudden, I had another to take care of. I had to tell my Dad...My single life became a family life. I cried when I found out. Scared. This wasn't a puppy or a boyfriend break up. My life wasn't changing, it jumped the tracks. Nothing, now, is for me. Every decision is affected by my children. They will become who they are because of me. As I have become who I am because of them.

Dirty Scraps

I found this new challenge site Dirty Scraps that is just starting and I think it is amazing! The idea is to scrap EVERYTHING. Not just the good moments, not just the fun stuff, not just the perfect pictures. The raw, the dirty, the not so fun because in truth, that makes us who we are just as much as those perfect moments. It is about getting our frustration out, charting new territory. I love the idea and it is harder than I Thought. I don't scrap like other people do, I think I'm very amatuerish compared to others. But I hope doing this will help me break out of that and get a little messier in my scrapping.

The first challenge: To scrap a peeve and include the positive you have gained from it. The journaling reads: "I get angry at myself. Because I lost my job. Because I'm a poor planner. Because we moved in with my parents. Because I lose patience with my children. I feel stuck, lost, like a loser mom. I can't find a job, my kids act crazy, I feel weak and worthless. I get mad at myself for being MAD. I don't want to fail, but I'm ready to give up" "BUT my kids are my everything. Every tear is dried with their smiles, every frustration forgotten in their laughter. Every worry lost in a snuggle. Do I struggle? Do I beat myself up? Yes. Does it matter to them? No. And that is what keeps me going through this hard time."

Around the outside of the journaling boxes are words and phrases associated with the feeling within the journaling. The white box is a picture I haven't gotten done yet, but I took it for my 365 project. That day was one of "these days." I know the layout probably loses something with this picture, but I wanted to get it scrapped and done and I will add the picture as soon as I get it printed out.

Scrapsketch 171: Chop!

We visit a Chinese buffet place where my parents know the owners really well. Ava wanted to use chopsticks and Chong, one of the ladies there made her "training chopsticks." She was a pro! She had so much fun using them. The papers are from DCWV Spring Stack and the title is American Crafts mumbo jumbo stickers I found at Big Lots ($1!) . I inked them withe colorbox ink and outlined them with Bic Mark Its. I used Scrapsketch sketch 171. It's from a week or so ago, but I'm going to add it there anyways :).

New pages!!

I finally took more pictures of my layouts that I have done. I have pictures of ALL of them, so I will only post a few at a time as to not overload my blog :)

I really wanted to share this one first because it is one I did for the Challenge Blog Hop and never uploaded. Kinda bummed about that. In the paint splatter, it says (said, I think my babies got a hold of the stickers) v2.0. So the title is technically "Picasso v2.0."

More to come!

Blog hop challenge 6 : Chirper Challenge

I skipped 3, 4, and 5 but I will go back, I PROMISE!! (See a trend? Scared of cards, I am...) I Love the challenges especially because they will make me do things I haven't before. So here is my entry for the Chirper Challenge. This is a new blog for me and I love it. I love what my cricut does but I don't use it to it's full potential. There are some other blogs on this hop that focus on that too. That makes me super excited.
It is from my daughter's Mother's Day Tea at her daycare. I thought of it immediately when the challenge was "sweet" glitter, and stamping. The cupcake was stamped and Stickled.

Blog hop Challenge 1: Scrapsketch

This is for scrapsketch challenge 1, from the blog Scrapsketch.

This one was hard for me, although I'm not sure why. You can't really see it, but around "outtakes" is a circle of silver glitter dots. The journaling reads, "Our photographer made sure we had fun during our shoot. We really enjoyed ourselves!"

I have been using scrapsketch sketches for a very long time (since they started :/) but have never shared any of my creations. I really like the simplicity of the sketches and that it gives a chance to embellish at will :) I'm scared of embellishing so I like to take it a little at a time!