Back to Scrap!

Do any of you get stumped when it comes to scrapbooking, the thing you love the most?

Scrapbooking is what really opened the major door to crafting for me, in 2003, when I was 17 (!). Since then, I've run into some major scrap-roadblocks, mostly due to my fear of lack of organization. Confession: I can't stand the thought of completing a page or Scrapbook, only to discover later that I documented something inaccurately or in the wrong order. I mean, I obsess over the order of photos down to the week, day, even hour and minute as far as sequence. It's ridiculous. This has become a huge creative handicap for me, causing me to never really finish my scrapbooks.

Is that crazy? 10 years and not one real finished album to show for it. Oy. :(

We got married last October, and I told myself that day would be the official end to me putting off documenting because of this fear. I'm struggling with it for sure, but I am also getting back into scrapping (both 6x6 and 12x12) and I could not be more thrilled! I am happy to report that I had a day free from work the other day and had a scrapbook marathon day.. I completed quite a few pages, both large and mini, and even tried some new techniques! Here are some peeks at my 12x12 pages, complete with a technique I finally got brave enough to try: ink misting/masking!

Thanks so much for reading along. I hope I can be of some help or inspiration to someone else who struggles with the business end of scrapbooking, too. Just try to remember it doesn't have to be perfect (perfect is such a terrible word). At the end of the day, if you enjoy looking at the art you've created - and at least know the people in the photos and a rough year ;) - you've accomplished great things! Until next time..

HAPPY SCRAPPING!!
Emily

Bridal Shower Decor!

Hey there!

This past weekend we celebrated my dear friend Amanda's bridal shower! I'm so excited to celebrate the upcoming wedding of 2 of my best friends! :) The four of us bridesmaids all worked together to pull off a beautiful yellow and grey themed shower on Sunday.

I didn't get as great of photos as I had hoped, but here's what I was able to somewhat capture of the crafty stuff -- the banner, food labels, and a keepsake box with notecards.

For the banner, I spelled out "bride to be" using my Cricut and Cindy Loo Cartridge with deep grey cardstock. I used the George + Basic Shapes cartridge to cut out 2 hearts. (Good old George - it seems so plain but always manages to come in handy!) I adhered the accented letters and shapes to yellow and grey cardstock cut to 6x6" square pennants using liquid glue. I used a ribbon punch to punch two holes in each square-shaped pennant, and finally, began weaving grey grosgrain ribbon through each slit. I love love love the finished product! The colors were perfect and it hung beautifully on the mantle! (Do you spy the gorgeous lemon centerpieces??)

For the Vegan-Friendly food labels, I cut some nice thick yellow cardstock to 3x3". I scored it at 1.5" and folded it in half. Using Lawn Fawn's Smitty's ABC's, I spelled out "Vegan Friendly" and stamped it on all the of the mini cards in pretty grey London Fog ink. Next, I punched some hydrangeas in the dark grey cardstock. I rolled them petals, layed the flowers using liquid glue, and adhered one to each card. Once they were dry, I used Platinum Liquid Pearls to add a subtle and pretty center to each bloom. I loved these! The bride did too, and wants to repeat using them at the wedding. :)

Finally, as a keepsake for the bride, I make a "Shower Memories" box and lots of notecards for all the guests to record a memory or advice on. To begin, I painted a kraft box and lid with yellow acrylic paint - I did 2-3 coats to get a good even color. I created a flower using grey cardstock and Tim Holtz' Tattered florals die. (This brought back QUITE the memory of my own wedding, just 6 months ago, for which I die cut and embellished hundreds of the Tattered Florals by hand for my reception centerpieces. A labor of love and totally worth it!) I added a bit of Tea Dye distress ink for dimension, and finished the center with a pretty yellow October Afternoon button and grey baker's twine from Doodlebug. I stamped a vintage lady in London Fog on ivory cardstock and added Mustard Seed Distress Stickles to her dress. After cutting her out, I adhered her and the flower next to one another on the lid of the box. I adhered a strip of dainty grey lace along the bottom, and wrote "Shower Memories" in silver metallic Sharpie. This was a lot of fun and I was pleased with the finished product!

Finally, I had lots of fun creating a variety of cards for guests to write on. I cut them to various sizes, and decorated them with a variety of stamps, punches, border punches and washi tapes. I hope the almost Mrs. had fun reading over them! <3 p="">
Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you have and questions, comments or requests just let me know. Happy crafting!
xoxo,
Emily

P.S....

Mini Valentine using Lawn Fawn Flying By and Mister Huey's

Hello! I'm here to share the first of a short series of mini-valentines I am creating this year. First up is one for my brother!

I began by creating my own patterned paper, using Studio Calico Mister Huey's and their chevron mask. I am a little late on this spritzing bandwagon, but I am loving experimenting with them! I ordered them a looooong time ago from Peachy Cheap and they've just been sitting in my craft room looking pretty..until now! I love the soft result I got when I used this Tiffany-ish blue (obsessed with that color) on white cardstock. I trimmed a 2 7/8" square.

After it dried, I adhered the misted paper to a 3x3" card I trimmed and scored out of some nice thick Papertrey Ink Spring Moss cardstock.

Next, I stamped both paper airplanes to Bazzill Basics Coconut Swirl cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I trimmed them with my cutterbee scissors and colored some accent lines with Copic CG1.

I did some direct stamping onto the patterened paper for the flying lines and the exterior sentiment - I stamped all in Memento London Fog. because there was no elipses stamp, I used my Memento marker in the same color to add some to the end of my sentiment. I added the airplanes on foam adhesive. Finally, I added some washi tape for some texture. I did the same direct stamping and washi tape techniques on the interior.

I've got a few more Valentines to make, so stop back in! Thanks for reading. :)

xoxo

Emily

Beginnings of Honeymoon Smashbook

Hello!

I've been working on our honeymoon scrapbook! I decided to use a Smashbook to document our honeymoon, mostly because I kept SO MANY little scraps, ticket stubs, and business cards along the way, and Smashing makes it so easy to use these details. LOVE them!!

I began by printing 172 photos. Ha! I then organized them with all the memorabilia from our trip and matched each thing to a page. This is my fifth Smashbook, and the first one that I have done this much organizing for (because I LOVE the freedom that comes with not organizing them!)

The book is really just in it's beginning stages, but I decided to add a few photos here on my blog. I'm trying this thing where I blog more often... :) Once it is finished, I'll probably make a video of a flip-through to really show all the details.

172 photos...wowsers, penny.

love this page and couldn't bear to cover it up!

a peek at my workspace! my memento pens are resting in a wedding centerpiece! ;)

VERY messy workspace + coke. :) washi tapes are also housed in recycled wedding vases!

first page! love this old-fashioned alpha stickers my mom found for me at TJMaxx, and this vintage-y floral paper from Sassafrass!

I can't wait to finish more as well as share it. Thank you for reading!

xoxo,

Emily