Paper & Glam

Thankful

This is a bit overdue since I wasn't able to check in on Thanksgiving. I was stuck in bed, sick with the flu.  I didn't even get to eat : (. I guess that's what I get for running in the rain but I was just dying to hit my favorite route in Napa (Congress Valley Rd for the Napans). Oh well, I'll just be looking forward to next year. : ) 

I still wanted to write my Thankful list before we switch gears into Christmas mode. I LOVE Christmas and can't wait to enjoy the holiday I get to celebrate the birth of Christ, my Lord and Savior. However, I don't want to move on without taking the time to honor Him on Thanksgiving - the holiday celebrating the fact that God has been faithful to us. He is who He says He is, and He has kept His promises.

So here is my list of blessings, the physical manifestations of my exceptionally and truly blessed life. I set a timer for 15 minutes...

Daisy's soft puppy fur. My relationships. Technology. Blogs and the wealth of information they provide. Bottled water. Vitamins. Running. Nike +ipod. Gold's Gym. Beach Bootcamp. My vehicle. Warm Uggs and cuddly blankets on chilly winter days. A good book and a crackling fire. Nature. The clarity and wonder that can be found there. My faith in Him. LOVE and HOPE. Inspiration. Sports. Football. Scrapbooking. Memories and the ability to preserve them. AMERICA. Music. iMac. Organization. Pictures. Pink. Juicy sweat suits and yoga pants. Coffee. Holiday decorations. Santa. Belief, that it makes things REAL. Christmas cookies. Cutting down our own Christmas tree. Traditions. Warm homes. Journaling. Creativity. Virtual friends. Down comforters. Favorite jeans. Cupcakes and pink frosting. Movies. Twilight books. Gold Canyon candles. Inspiration. Uplifting and genuine people. Hot summers. The Word and His way, THE way. The University of San Diego. Country music. Rock Church Podcasts. The sound of Daisy's squeaky toys. Seasons. A drawer full of colorful socks. Nail polish. Trader Joe's and Costco. Photo printers. The ability to learn and grow. Old friends and new beginnings. Change.

Here is the link to Stacey...my inspiration for listing my blessings on my blog. I'm hoping to make an annual tradition and daily rememberance.

The Great Purple Challenge

I'm excited to share a product challenge I did with Mary and Laura! The overarching theme was to use supplies in our stash we wouldn't have ever pulled out without this challenge to guide us. And when Laura and Mary say "challenge," they're not messin' around. Here were the requirements:

1. Purple

2. Vellum

3. 13 of anything (brads, rub-ons, photos, or whatever fun stuff you have in your stash!)

4. Ribbon

If you're thinking along the same lines I was when I first read the requirements, it may have been something like this, Ok I haven't used vellum since 2004 and purple is reserved for Easter and Halloween. But that's kinda the point, to go outside your design box.

Here is Mary's take on it. I love Mary's designs because they are always incredibly elegant and detailed without sacrificing simplicity. This purple challenge is no exception, even though Mary says purple gives her an aneurysm lol. If you want to see more on this layout or more of her beautiful work go HERE. 

 Everytime I open a magazine I see one of Laura's layouts. She has such a fresh perspective on scrapbooking. I love that her layout reminds us that it is not always about the pictures. At the end of the day, scrapbooking is a venue for telling our stories. Pictures are just the way we illustrate them. To see more of Laura's work visit her HERE.

Lastly, here's what I came up with:

Side One

I dug back into the pre-digital era archive for some pictures with any trace of purple in them. This was my room in high school. The brads, my "13," are adorable bling from Heidi Swapp. The background paper is vellum. The vellum I found in my stash actually allowed me to really showcase the Monet in my room.  Monet is my favorite painter. I wanted to highlight this painting since it was one of things that I love most about my high school room.  I always felt like I could get lost in it. It's called, "Nympheas et branches de saules."

Side Two

I bet you've got some cool stuff in your stash too, go explore! If you liked something in 2004 enough to buy it, it's probably still great product.  It's not about the paper line or the latest and greatest products, it's about the memories! I love how Mary and Laura challenge reminded me to "take scrapbooking back to it's roots!" (as Kayce put it).

Also, I'd like to give a special thanks to Kayce, for superimposing the 4x6 pictures onto the layout while I was in Napa for Thanksgiving. Without her I wouldn't have been able to participate in the challenge.  Thanks Kayce!

Mini-Book Idea

Here's a mini-book idea, for scrapbookers who "don't do mini-books." Have you heard yourself say that? Are you a strictly 12x12 girl like me? Well I've had a bit of an epiphany as far as the little guys are concerned. 

In an effort to use some of my supplies, I've decided to make my first mini-book. I know it may seem strange that I've been scrapbooking for 5 years and I have never made a mini-book...but yes, I'm just that anal-retentive. I've been an exclusively 12x12 scrapbooker since the beginning. But here's the catch...I'm going to make the mini-book using my scraps. So instead of my usual process of making a layout and then making cards from the scraps (which is usually more of a quaint idea, than a reality), here is my new plan.

1. Make a layout (See the Ghoulish Grub post below).

2. Use the scraps to make a few mini-book pages.

3. Use the scraps from the mini-book to make cards. - I'll post these too. I guess I'll be set for next Halloween since I didn't quite get to sending out cards this year. : )

My mom is forever saying she doesn't get to see pictures of what I'm up to. And that's totally true, so I've decided to make her and my best friend/roommate/the coolest girl ever (below) ongoing 8x8 mini albums. I wasn't originally planning on making 3 mini layouts about the same happening, but I have extra pictures and paper, so I figured why not? 

One lesson I learned while making these first three layouts was not to cut down 12x12 Bazzill to 8x8 because that created more scraps, therefore, defeating the purpose of the book! So I cruised to Michael's and got a couple 8x8 cardstock stacks with my 40% coupon. So I recommend that route if you like this idea. 

Right now I have a lot of double prints because I have the photoshoped versions (I use these for my full-size 12x12 albums)  and then there's all the pictures I printed before I got photoshop and Totally Rad Actions (I"m using for these prints for the mini-books). 

Here's a little preview of what else I'm workin on for the blog:

- A fun challenge with Mary and Laura (we're posting on Black Friday)

- A new storage solution I'm loving

- Christmas layouts!