Reptiles

I need to start this post with a disclaimer - I absolutely, positively HATE reptiles, especially snakes. I've told my boys that I will never allow them to own a pet snake, and most likely nothing from the lizard family either! However, my boys don't seem to mind snakes or any other reptiles, and they were totally enthralled with the reptile tent at a carnival type event we attended in 2015.

They wanted me to take their pictures as they handled the snake and touched various other animals. So despite the fact I cringed as I look at these pictures, I couldn't leave them out of the scrapbook.

Scrapbooking Tips:
With the exception of the letter stickers I used in the title, I used all The Stamps of Life supplies to create this layout. I created the border by die cutting various size circles, overlapping them, and adhering some with adhesive foam.

I did die cut some circles using the Dotted Circle Dies and used the holes to stitch around the circles to give some dimension to the border. All in all, I really like this page - even if there are snakes on it!

Watering the Flowers

This is one of those moments with a toddler that can't help but make you smile. For some reason, Zach had shed his shorts, put on a swim diaper, but got sidetracked when he saw a watering can on the porch. I had to keep from laughing as I saw him come out in a polo shirt, his sneakers, and a swim diaper! This kid probably made ten trips in and out of the bathroom, filling up the watering can, and watering the tiger lillies out front. Too cute!

Scrapbooking Techniques:

This was a fun layout to put together and it features one of my favorite techniques - using strips of brightly colored paper to create a background! 

One way I stretch my stash of letter stickers is to mix and match when it comes to creating titles. Many times, I will use tiny letter stickers to spell out the smaller words in my titles, such as: the, and, of, a, in, etc, like I did in this title. It also can be more aesthetically pleasing because you can scrunch a title to fit in a smaller place, or more easily center it because you don't have to fit in the full size letter stickers.  

Zach in the Bushes

I love to create layouts of the everyday, normal things that happen. The way I think is if something was cute enough to take a picture and laugh about it, it is "scrapbook worthy".

Dave was outside working and the boys were playing in the yard. For no apparent reason, Zach started climbing into the bushes! He was extremely determined to get into them and would not give up. Then, as soon as he seemed to reach his goal, he climbed back out. At the time I found it very funny. Zach didn't typically stick to something for longer periods of time and to see him be so persistent for something that didn't make a lot of sense was cute and quirky! So . . . it ended up in the scrapbook.

Scrapbooking tips:

Because of all the green in the pictures, I used green/earth tones for these pages. I thought the rusty orange color was a nice contrast so I carried the orange strips across both pages.

I did not want to take a long time on this layout, so I chose a sketch from Scrapbook Generation that featured all 4x6 and 6x4 photos to save time on cropping. The thick strips of paper were easy to cut and ink, and I used stickers that coordinated with this paper collection to embellish the layout. The stickers had phrases on them to take the place of the title, and thereby saving time on spelling with letter stickers. Altogether, this layout took only 20-25 minutes!

I even kept my journaling short and sweet!

Ice Cream for Breakfast

I created this layout to showcase just some of the ice cream the boys (& Mommy!) ate for breakfast at Give Kids the World Village. What I found funny was that out of all the flavors and toppings they offered, both boys got the exact same thing every visit - a chocolate cone for Caleb and a vanilla cone for Zach. Not much has changed . . . except now Caleb will ask for lots of chocolate syrup and Zach will have a little vanilla ice cream with his whip cream!

Scrapbooking Tip:

I loved the pattern paper I found with ice cream and popsicles, but it was a busier print than I typically use. The only embellishments I used were ice cream cone stickers and then I left well enough alone!  

Splash Pad

  

While staying at Give Kids the World Village in Florida, the boys loved the Splash Pad! It was so much fun watching Zach run and play in the water. He was having a blast! Caleb wanted to experience it too, and thankfully he was still little enough I could pick him up and carry him. Dave would do anything in his power to let Caleb experience everything Zach was doing, so not caring what I might have looked like or what people thought, I just picked him up and got wet right along with him!

Scrapbooking Tip:

This is a quick and easy layout that went together in just a few minutes. I followed a Scrapbook Generation sketch that I have used multiple times. I love being able to include six 4x6 photos and it saves time because you don't have any photos to crop!

Even though I love to include journaling, there are some pages that just don't need it, and this was one of those layouts. It is in a vacation album, so that alone tells me when and where these pictures were taken, and the pictures are pretty self explanatory. Scrapping a vacation album can sometimes feel like an endless project and if I can get away without journaling on a couple pages it saves so much time! Also, I find when I'm working on a specific album, the more I can get done in a shorter amount of time, the more my creative juices flow!

Never Forget

I put together a layout of pictures to remember the time we went to the NY State Fair memorial honoring all state law enforcement officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty. The boys and I were there for the dedication ceremony in August of 2014, but it was the first time we had been back. Jim was visiting a gun show being held at the State Fair in April of 2017. The fairgrounds were empty and we walked over to show Alyssia. 

I am still blown away when I see all the names of men and women who have died in public service - and these memorials don't even count military losses. For every name there are families who loved and grieved. Children who grew up without their father or mother, spouses who kissed their loved one goodbye not knowing it was their last moment together, and parents who had to do the unthinkable and bury a child. 

In the past, when I would see these memorials, I would walk right past. It wasn't that I didn't recognize that people have died for my freedom, and to keep me safe, but it wasn't until Dave died that I understood the cost. Now when I pass memorials of any kind, I'll linger for a minute, read the names, and think about the family left behind. In the act of stopping and consciously reading some of the names inscribed, it is a way of honoring and never forgetting the sacrifices made.

Scrapbooking Tips:

This is a layout I made using paper scraps from my Stamps of Life card kits. I also followed an Allison Davis sketch from her SixbySix2 scrapbooking class. In that sketch's notes she described how to create the piece work which involved cutting paper into 1x2 rectangles then cutting the ends on diagonal lines. 

When I showed some fellow scrapbookers this layout, a recurring comment was, "This must have taken so long!" It did take longer than most layouts I do, but it didn't seem it because I broke the work down in chunks. I cut my rectangles and then stuck them in a bag. During my lunch break at work I traced and cut the slanted edges. While watching TV, I inked the edges of each piece. By breaking the layout down into smaller tasks, it didn't feel like it took that much extra time. I also felt like I was scrapbooking a little every time I pulled out my paper rectangles!

I also have been asked why I chose a purple and grey color scheme. Those are NYSP colors, and Dave was a very proud NYSP Trooper. 

In the photo below, if you look at the stone under 2013, Dave's name is the last one listed.   

Catch a Wave

All around the pool at Give Kids the World Village there are photo opps set up. That's where we took these fun photos. Zach was really getting into posing but he kept climbing up on the wave and wouldn't stay on surfboard! 

Scrapbooking Tips:

Because I used so many full size photos, I kept my design as simple as a 1/2 inch border running above and below the photo block. I placed my title directly on top of the photos to draw your eye right to the pictures.

If you look at the layout, you'll notice that it looks like I did not leave enough space between "a" and "wave," but that was deliberate. When I carry a title across two pages I make a mental note to adjust for the space that will naturally occur when I put my layout in an album. If I had left a space between those two words it wouldn't have looked right once they were in the page protectors.

Once in the album, the title spacing looks normal.

After trying many styles and brands of albums, I decided to use  We R Memory Makers three ring albums for a couple of reasons. The biggest and best reason is the ease of putting layouts into your album - you can add pages without taking apart the whole album. Another reason I chose to use these particular albums is the wide variety of colors they come in. I choose a different color for each year's layouts and my shelves look like a rainbow of color! They are also durable, high quality albums - and the price is right if you wait for JoAnn's to run a 30% off sale and use a free shipping coupon! 

You can check out my favorite albums here.