01/31/18 - "Seriously Cozy" and Monthly Re-cap

One of my scrappy goals this year is to try really hard to keep up w/ my scrap-worthy photos!

This is why I am branching out into different styles/sizes/types of documenting.

I have plans to write a blog posts explaining all that...eventually.

 

For today though I am sharing:

- my most recent completed project; #23 for the month/year.

- a re-cap of my month in general.

(Another goal I have this year is wanting to do a re-cap at the end of every month.)

 

First the layout:

12x12 Layout

 

"Seriously Cozy"

 

Journaling:
"Friday Morning: hanging out w/ Hamlet in between running errands...
Afternoon: Repeat, but this time Panini decides to join us. 1.12.2018"

Question: Why do cats look pissed off even when they are doing what they want?!
LMAO!

 

For those who are new to my blog, just a heads up, I LOVE animals and my animals are pretty much the world to me; they are (just barely) under my kids and husband, LOL, so I spend a lot of time cuddling w/ them.

I actually have 3, the other is a dog,  but it's very difficult to get them all together at the same time!

This particular day I was able to get a photo of 2 of my babies together...and although I think ALL my pet photos are scrap-worthy...this was even more-so!

 

A lot of the products on my layout came from the "The Scrap Room" January Kit(s):

 

 

And my (favorite) Simple Stories "Emoji" Kit.

 

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Now for my monthly re-cap:

 

Number of projects created = 23

 

12x12 Layouts = 6

4.5x8.5 Traveler's Notebooks Layouts = 6

Mini-Album (Dec Daily) Pages = 4

Pocket Pages = 6

OLW Pages = 1

 

4 of the above projects were done for a challenge I decided to join for the first time this year: the Counterfeit Challenge Blog... now that I know what I'm doing, I'm hoping to accomplish more for this challenge next month!

 

BTW - Some of these I haven't yet shared, but I will.

 

Also, non-scrap related: I read 3 books.

My goal is 25 for the year; last year I read 23.

 

Anyway...

I'd say it was a productive month!

Tomorrow is the first day of February and I am looking forward to a new month of scrappiness!

Hope January was a good (and productive) month for you!

 

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>>Sticker Challenge
15 Stickers
*INCLUDES TWIST*

01/28/18 - OLW?

Hello there!
How has 2018 been treating you so far?
So far so good...hopefully!

Today I wanted to talk about "One Little Word" or "OLW" as it's also known.

Before I go into what I want to say about it, I want to explain OLW to those of you who do not know what it is.
It was created by Ali Edwards, Scrapbooker Extraordinaire, and this is how she explains it (copied from her website):

"What is One Little Word^®?

In 2006 I began a tradition of choosing one word for myself each January—a word to focus on, to live with, to investigate, to write about, to craft with, and to reflect upon as I go about my daily life. These words have each become a part of my life in one way or another—a process I document via simple creative monthly prompts from January to December."

In case you're more of a visual person, here's the link to her site:
Ali Edwards OLW

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Okay...
Get the concept?
Good!

Now for my story.

I tried OLW, once!
And it was a fail!
What did I fail at? Following the workshop...
I paid for it, did like one prompt and then that was it...
I was done!
I realized though I love the concept of OLW I am not a "prompt" type of girl.
I need freedom to explore things my way and workshops and prompts are just way to stifling!

I have not approached OLW since then...whatever year that was (I can't remember!).

But this year as I was seeing posts for OLW I decided maybe I can still participate.
'Choose' a word and use it in my own way.
And as I thought about it and continued to read the various OLW posts, and see what words others were choosing, my word finally just came to me!
That's when I knew I had to do SOMETHING OLW related this year!

I do not know yet what my OLW journey will consist of but...
I do have my word and that's a great start!
The fact that a word came to me, chose me, tells me I'm meant to do something w/ it!

So what's my word?
Well, actually it's 2 words.
Two words that I feel go well together when I think about what they mean to me and how I need to incorporate them into my life:

Less/More

They even have the same amount of letters! #WINNING
And I do feel they CHOOSE me, which is the way it's generally supposed to work w/ OLW.

Now I need to figure out why (though I kinda know) and how I will use them.

Thanks for reading my rambling!
I would love to know if you are participating in OLW this year, whether officially or unofficially (like me) and what your word is!
Please leave me a comment below.
Thank you!

01/27/18 - "Cats Are Jerks" / -Jan '18 CKC-

Hello!

I created this layout last night using ONLY my January "Counterfeit Blog" kit.

I also used their current challenge of "Inspired By Nature" as inspiration.

 

2-Page Midori Travelers Notebook Spread

(each page is 4.5 x 8.5)

 

"Cats Are Jerks"

Journaling:
"David wondered why the plant on our rain barrel was growing so weird; he suspected Panini...he was correct! 07.16.16"

I also scrap lifted this layout from a fellow SB.com member:

 

 

This makes Layout #4 for the Counterfeit Challenge and layout #20 of the month.

I'm telling you if you haven't tried scrapping in a Travelers Notebook, you should!

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Additionl SB.com Challenges/January:

>>Sticker
15 Stickers
*NO TWIST*

>>Hoarders
16 Items
*NO TWIST*



01/26/18 - "(Love)This Boy's Eyes"

Good Morning, and Happy Friday!

Even more happy for me because it's my Friday Off!

Whoot!

 

Today I am sharing my latest Midori Travelers Notebook Page

(4.5 x 8.5)
Have I mentioned how much I love making these type of pages?!



"(Love) This Boy's Eyes"

Journaling: "This photo doesn't do 'them' justice, but they are truly gorgeous! #BrownEyes

16 Jun 2017"

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Poor Hamlet...so much pink on his layout, LOL!

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For the January Musical Inspiration Song Challenge
The song chosen for me was:
"A New Day Has Come" by Celine Dion
I was inspired by the lyrics:
"All in the eyes of a boy"

I had posted the photo of Hamlet, on Instagram, back in June 2017. The caption I had written to accompany it was: "It's been a while since I shared a photo of this handsome fella; love his pretty brown eyes!"

So it's only natural I use this photo for a layout using that line as inspiration!

I realize technically when I wrote the caption there was only one eye of his showing, but still I felt the need to point it/them out and how much I love them...because they truly are gorgeous!!

BTW - do you see the cute little pig stamp I used (Next to the line "This Boys eyes")?

It's from a company called: Stampmojis
I found them on Instagram and I actually commented on one of their posts and they sent me a free set; SCORE!

The set includes 23 other emoji animal stamp, and 1 poop emoji stamp!

I stamped the dog, the cat, and the pig...since my family includes one of each!

If you want to check them out, here's the link to their site:

Stampmojis Website  (BTW - I'm not getting paid for this... I just think they're cute!

 

And also I used some items from my favorite paper line at the moment:

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

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For entry into the following other January Challenges:

>>Use Your Stamps
- I used 2: the pig and the date stamp
*NO TWIST*

>>Hoarders
-The Polka Dot Paper
-Date Stamp
*INCLUDES TWIST*

>>Stickers
7 & 1/2
- Yellow Circles/Cut in Half (3 & 1/2)
-"Sparkle"
-"XOXO"
- Sparkle/Star
- Journaling/File Label
*INCLUDES TWIST*

01/18/18 - Dec 2017 / Jan 2018 "Ugly Paper" Challenge

Hi, there!

I'm here to share not one, but two, Ugly paper layouts!

I didn't realize until I was writing my post about January's papers that I never shared December's!

Actually I have another I need to share in my archives, I'm a bit behind...but that one will be for a later post.

 

Okay here we go!

 

 

First a reminder of the rules (you can skip this part if you already know them):

  

1. After signing up, the host gives your name and address to another participant

2. The other participant sends you 2 "ugly" papers and at least one ugly embellishment

3. You MUST use both papers; the embellishment(s) is optional

4. You are allowed to use other items as well, as long as the 2 "ugly" papers are included in the layout

5. You are allowed to alter the papers and, if used, the embellishment(s) but they must still be recognizable 

 

 

 

 

"January Uglies"

 That "hopes and dreams" card is made of a flimsy plastic material

 

 

 "Her Christmas Hopes and Dreams"

Journaling:
"Madison was thrilled to get these stuffed animals for Christmas.
She -REALLY- wanted the Five Nights at Freddy's fox; the pig was just a bonus surprise!
12.25.16"


As you can see I used the paper on the right as my BG.
The "veggie" paper I used to mat my photos but I hid what I could and turned the rest into mistletoe w/ red self-adhesive pearls.
The "Hopes and Dreams" embellishment I used as part of my title.
The red and white flags are "sticky-notes" that came from the Target dollar spot as did the silver stars.
I finished w/ a Studio Calico, "This Magic Moment" 3x4 card, which I trimmed down, a winter sticker from Echo Park, Christmas-themed word stickers (that I have had in my stash for YEARS!) and finally a sticker from the Simple Stories Emoji paper and embellishment set that I am currently so in love w/ ("All The Heart Eyes" is right!)
In the end I feel like I really pulled off the festive feeling of Christmas despite what I started w/; and I feel pretty proud about it!

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BTW - if you're interested in seeing w/ Joseph got that same year I also scrapped it in Ugly Papers; December's set...

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As always, first the papers:

"December Uglies"

 

And the layout...

"Gag Gift"

(Get it? "gag"... LOL)


Journaling:
"What's worse than coal in your stocking? Poop in your gift!
Don't be alarmed, it was fake.
It was accompanied by $1 store underwear covered in chocolate syrup and...$200! Merry Christmas, Joseph!12.25.16"

A creative but gross way to give money, for sure!
(add this to your list, Cindy! LOL!)
Joseph was so startled he tossed the box aside...but once we assured him it was fake, he reluctantly dug in until he found his gift: $200.

Again I used one paper as the BG and the other to mat the photo.
I backed the photo a second time w/ a white scrap of paper from my stash, in order to break up the 2 busy patterns.
The Ugly Embellishment frame I used as part of my title design...
and some more of those super cute emoji stickers!

As usual I had a really great time w/ this challenge and will continue participating throughout 2018!

01/16/18 - "Life Is Good" / -Jan '18 CKC-

I have been feeling very creative lately and have been "crafting-up-a-storm"!
It is January 16th and I have already completed 15 pages this year.
I have been creating in many different forms: 12x12, 6x9, 4.5x8... Traditional, Traveler's Notebooks, Pocket Pages, etc...
And most, if not all of my layouts, have been simple and quick, which is why I have been able to scrap so much in such a short time.
I'm trying to do less over-thinking this year!

Only problem I have w/ the situation is if I want to share I feel like I may be causing sharing-overload to my readers/viewers!

So I'm trying to best determine how to share?
Try to group like projects together and post all at once instead of posting as I complete a project (maybe)?
This would also allow me to have to write less blog posts, which can sometimes be a PITA (Pain in the A$$)!

I'm not sure yet just how I plan on sharing.
But I will be!


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For today though,  I will be sharing my latest Counterfeit Kit Club post.


This spread was created using ONLY my Jan CKC kit
Well, not ONLY... there is one item that was not in the kit, but I swear it was an accident!
Accident?
Well, maybe that's not the correct word...
See what had happened wuz...

I started working on the layout on Sunday night...
Then finished it on Monday morning, forgetting for a second that I wanted to use JUST my kit.
By the time I remembered the emoji sticker was already stuck to my photo and there was no way it was coming off, LOL!
But EVERYTHING else is from my kit!
Link to Kit: Doreen Jan CKC kit

The layout is a 2-Page Midori Travelers Notebook Spread; each page is approximately 4.5 x 8.5
("Midori" is the name brand of the notebook )

BTW - I chose the title because it represents how I feel and (probably/hopefully) how Hamlet feels.

"Life Is Good"

Journaling:
"When you look out your kitchen window and see a happy pig enjoying a nap in the sunshine...
you know Life is Good.
12.10.17"
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It is also a scrap lift of the left-hand side of this layout by a friend over at SB.com:


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time...

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For the following January SB.com Challenges:

>>Scrap Lift the Person Before You
I scrap lifted the left-hand side of this layout by LelaScraps-n-Stamps:
https://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/135841/view/6021213/-1/0/0.html

>>Use your Stamps
- the column of hearts on the photo (stamped onto a file label sticker )

>>Stickers
21 stickers
*INCLUDES TWIST*

>>Hoarders
14 Hoarded Items
*NO TWIST


>>Scrap w/ Your Scraps
1 Scrap
*INCLUDES TWIST*

01/11/18 - "At 15"

#TBT

A layout I created in December 2017

 

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(I actually wrote this blog post in December but forgot to post it)

 

My daughter will be 16 in January.

I very rarely can get a photo of her so since I was able to get this photo, and she is about to exit her 15th year, I decided to do a page about some of her likes and dislikes at this age.
The only reason I was able to get this photo is she wants to change her hair again and I told her I needed a photo of what it looks like right now to send to her hair dresser.
Hey, whatever works, right?!
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Edited To Add -
She now has BRIGHT Blue Hair
and she saw this layout, sitting on my desk mid-design, and got upset that I used the photo so I'm not going to be able to use that trick anymore; ugh!

 

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"At 15"

 

Journaling:
"At 15
Madison hates being called 'Madi', has blue-gray hair and a nose piercing, loves hard rock music, Batman, and pigs and wants to be a veterinarian when she 'grows up'.
11.24.17" 

 

 

 

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For the following December Challenges: 

>>Anything Goes Challenge
Daily Challenge - Day 4
Use a black base on your project
 

>>Stickers
12 total
-Alphas (4)
-Stars (3)
-Heart
-Cassette
-"#RAD"
-"today"
-Swirly Border
*NO TWIST*
 

>>Hoarders
13 Total Items
-Alphas (4)
-Small circle punch
-Purple Paper (used in 3 places)
-PL Card
-Cassette sticker
-Washi Tape
-"Noted"
-"today"
-Star and #Rad" puffy stickers
*NO TWIST*
 

>>Music Challenge
Category #3 - Artist
I have the group name Metallica on my layout on my daughter's shirt
*INCLUDES TWIST* of star
 

>>Scrap w/ Your Scraps
1 Scrap - Used in 3 places
- The purple paper
*NO TWIST* 

01/08/18 - "Snacks" / -Jan '18 CKC -

Happy Monday!

Though I'm not having a "Happy" Monday today...

but I'll try not to dwell on it.

Sharing another page created w/ my January Counterfeit Challenge Blog kit;

-click here for a reminder of my kit contents: My Jan Counterfeit Kit.

 

Also inspired by "Week 1 of  the Monthly Challenge" of the SB.com "January Anything Goes Challenge":

 

 

"Snacks"

Journaling:
"In Dec 2017, I joined the $1 Snack Nation club; (+2.99 S/H). I get a variety of (6) snacks mailed to me each month in exchange for filling out a short survey about each snack. I've priced some of the snacks in the store...for example the Mint Gelato bar is $2.99 and the Ocho bar is $1.99 at World Market. Those 2 snacks alone cost more than my whole Snack Box!"

I included photos of my Dec and Jan Snack boxes.

More info about the AGC challenge:
AGC - Scrap a Weekly Photo challenge
The monthly challenge for January is FOUR layouts, one for each week of this coming month. We're going to photo document ONE day of each week.

Here's what you have to have.
1. A photograph from a day in the week. More than one is ok, but one is required.
2. A layout featuring that photograph.
3. Journaling notes - either in your gallery or on the layout or hidden behind it - SOMEwhere about the day that you've chosen to make one of your 52 days of 2018.


My photo of January's Snack Box is my photo for Week Jan 1-6 of this project.
It is also the first photo I took in 2018.
Which is why I also entered it in the "First photo of 2018" challenge at SB.com
(Food the first photo of the year?! Well I don't call myself a "foodie" for nothing, LOL!)


FYI - I actually wound up scrapping the rest of my photos for that week..after creating this layout.
I will be sharing that in a later post.
Also, heads up, I've been scrapping  A LOT so be prepared for a lot of posts coming your way!

01/06/18 - "Your Order..." / -Jan '18 CKC-

Good Morning!

Happy Saturday!

I'm happy today because... it's Saturday, LOL!

Also because of this (simple but fun) layout: 

 

"Your Order Has Been Shipped"

 



Journaling:

"Though I posted this on Instagram on 11.26.17, in anticipation of Christmas gifts being delivered, this is actually me...ALL YEAR!"
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A page for my December Not-so-Daily album

Page size is approximately 6x9
This is a Pre-December page that I wanted to include in the album

(yes, I'm doing a December 'Daily'; more on that later!)

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This is my first project using my "Counterfeit Challenge Blog" kit for January 2018.

- which is my first time EVER playing along w/ the blog

Here's the link to that post: My Jan CKC Kit 

 

Also my first project for the SB.com Anything Goes Challenge

- Counterfeit Kit Challenge; Week #1

 

(I'm using my counterfeit kit for 2 different monthly challenges)

This is the criteria for the AGC Challenge:
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2018 is the year of the Dog
The DOG - Chinese name: GOU
Ranking Order - Eleventh (11)
Fixed Element - Metal

This is how we were instructed to apply the info above to our WEEKLY CHALLENGE project:
1. Use the word DOG as your layout's topic.
2. Put an 11 somewhere on your project.
3. Use an earth tone neutral palette for your color scheme.
4. And include metal embellishments.

Again, for this project we could ONLY use our Counterfeit Kit.

 

Here are the ways I met the criteria:

 

- The word DOG inspired me to scrap this photo of a meme w/ a Pug on it

- "11" is in the journaling
- Used Earth tones: Green and Beige
- Metal embellishment is the arrow paperclip
(which I probably would have never used had it not been for this challenge)
- I used only my Counterfeit Kit items

I had fun tackling this challenge w/out having my full arsenal off scrappy stuff to choose from; it definitely made me think!

 

 

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Also for the following SB.com Jan Challenges -

>>December Daily
- An ongoing (year-long?) challenge to finish up your 2017 DD or scrap your 2017 Christmas photos

>> Hoarders:
9 items
-doily
-paperclip
-BG paper
-photo mat paper
-button
-word stickers (3)
-half circle sticker
*INCLUDES TWIST* of new item - the tag was sent to me as an RAK about 2 weeks ago.

>>Sticker
8 stickers
-Stars (3)
-half circle
-words (3)
-file label/journaling spot
*INCLUDES TWIST* - stickers purchased/received within the last 6 months
-the stars

 

 

01/04/18 - January "Counterfeit Kit Challenge" kit

As part of my goal of broadening my creative horizons, I am finally taking the leap and participating in a challenge blog that I've always been curious about but never brave enough to try; the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog

 

The gist of it is...

They present a current kit, current being no older than a year, from an existing Scrapbook Kit Club and then we have to create our own counterfeit kit based off of it.

We then have to use our counterfeit kit to create projects throughout the month.

The blog also offers challenges to help motivate us to use our kits.

 

This is my first time and I'm really excited but also nervous!

 

Okay, so here is the inspiration kit:

 

To make it a bit easier on myself, I decided to make a list of the things that stood out to me when looking at the photo:

Patterned Papers:
-Reds and Greens
-Snowflakes     
-Polka Dots
-Repetitive Pattern
-Flowers
-Black and White

Cardstock:
-Teal
-Green
-Red

Embellishments:
-Christmas
-Red Alphas
-Bling
-Tags (large and small)
-Metal Embellishments
-Word Stamp(s)
-Flowers
-Word 'Shapes'

Then I added a few random embellishments I knew I would need to complete a layout:
-Washi
-Mist
-Journaling Labels/Spots/Cards

Here is my kit:

I laid the papers out top to bottom left to right in order of the inspiration papers...
Hopefully you can tell what papers I was trying to copy
I also added 1 extra cardstock paper so that I have 2 different shades of teal.
(The cardstock on the bottom is actually a light red, not pink.)

The embellishments have no particular order...
And in trying my best to copy the embellishments I included things I wouldn't normally use, flowers and metal embellishments for example, to hopefully help me get out of my scrappy comfort-zone!
*Fun Fact - I really had to scrounge around for metal embellishments as I don't buy/use them at all!
The ones I found were most likely given to me; I sure as heck don't remember buying them!

BTW - my kit is a great mix of old and new and I like that!

The ladies at the blog give their kits names so I'm doing the same.
I decided to entitle mine "Newbie" for 2 reasons:
1) It's the first time I have participated in this challenge so I am a "newbie"
and 2) it is the first kit of the "New" year

Hope I can actually accomplish something w/ it.
Wish me luck!

01/02/18 - NYE 2017

Hi and Happy New Year!

 

I created this layout yesterday.

Not my first layout of 2018, but my first 12x12.

3 regular sized photos = 12x12...

since I am trying to be more deliberate as to what/why I choose to scrap on the larger size.

 

"NYE 2017"

Journaling:
"Hamlet spent NYE the way he spent most of 2017... cuddled in a blanket, sleeping.
After he went to bed, Spotty took over.
#SameBlanket
> Nothing Changes <
12.31.17"
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Yes, the ringing in of 2018 was a wild one for us, LOL!
David and I were both awake when the ball dropped but we actually missed it because we were watching something else and we were going to switch over just in time to watch it but it turned out our living room clock was slow, DOH!
We heard fire works going off outside, and we we're like "what?! It's not even time yet?!" and we switched the channel over and saw that the ball had already dropped!
Oops, such a great start to the New Year, NOT!
Oh well...LOL
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This layout was inspired by the following SB.com Jan, 2018 challenges:

>>Scrap Your Pet
*INCLUDES TWIST* of polka dots

>>Musical Inspiration
The song chosen for me was "New Years Day" by U2
I chose the line "Nothing Changes" and included it as part of my journaling.
*INCLUDES TWIST* of using new products

>>Last Photo(s) of 2017
These 3 are the last 3 photos of 2017.
The bottom photo of my dog, Spotty, is the actual last photo of 2017.
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I hope your NYE went well and that 2018 is kind to you!
TFSB!

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Most items used on this layout are Jillibean Soup w/ splashes of Studio Calico and Simple Stories
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Also for the SB.com January Sticker Challenge:

12 Stickers
-Alphas (7)
-Word/phrases (4)
-file label (behind "cozy")
*INCLUDES TWIST*
-All the stickers except the Alphas
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