MrsMommyCEO

Scrapping?!?

Life has been crazy lately, seems like there is always a million things to do and never enough hours in the day. I'm going better about prioritizing and not stressing out in an attempt to do everything... but right now that means that my scrap time is non-existant. It makes me sad, but then, I'm filling me time with things that make me feel good as well, so it's a good thing too!

Yesterday Nathan and I spent over an hour in the craft store... it was really nice to have just one little guy with me. I found that I had so much more patience and that his mood really fed off of mine and we had a wonderful time. I didn't mind the endless stream of questions... heck, I even spent 10 mins (while waiting in line at the fabric counter) explaining how the paper ticket machine works and why they have it! It was just nice to have a time that was not overrun with irritation and impatience... instead we just enjoyed each other's company and I realized it's something that I not only need to do more often, but that I want to do more often.

Yes... I bought fabric. Because I have lost my mind and wish to throw money away. Seriously, I've never been handy with a sewing machine, but that is probably mainly because I've never actually tried to learn to use it. I normally sit down and play around on my own and get frustrated when I get up and don't suddenly have a couture creation in my hands. But this time, I'm determined to at least accomplish some curtains (for my new craft room/office... YAY, I'm so excited!) and a few pillows for the chair... IN MY CRAFT ROOM! Any tips? Advice? Patterns? LOL!

Oh, but back to the scrapping, I don't believe I've posted these few pages that I did last week...

 
For Digi-Dare #108

 

And now I'm off to bed! One of my new "resolutions" is to get up early each morning for some me time (lately it's been time to sit quietly with a cup of coffee and read)... but it's kicking my butt because the night owl in me wants to stay up, but the human in me is screaming, "SLEEP... NOW!"

Friday Scrappin

So I've been working hard towards my goal of NOT layering (specically not layering with paper strips). One of the easiest ways that I've found to achieve this is to step outside of the normal scrap supplies that I work with. My favorite right now is Kasia, because I find that her kits really stretch my creativity...

 
Using Dancing Elephants

   
Using Autumn's Kiss

 
Using Dear Diary

I'm happier with these pages than I've been with any in quite a while... I also think that is partially because I didn't browse the galleries before creating them, so they are just me, my take on these kits without trying to be like anyone else.

And of course, I've added a few new things to my wishlist that I want to share...
 
Full of Wonder NEW today at Weeds and Wildflowers! I've seen so many gorgeous pages in the galleries with this one that I just have to try it for myself!

 
Beary Sweet NEW at Shabby Pickle today! I'm such a sucker for red lately, so this is right up my alley!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

I've been bitten by the...

organizing bug! I swear, I don't know what's gotten into me. To quote my sister today, as I was dusting under my DH's desk, "You've got to be on something"!

I spent the weekend re-organizing all my photos. I've decided to take a more chronological approach to scrapbooking, simply because I've found that I'm HORRIBLE at making actual albums... so I'm following one of my scrap idols and my friend Vanessa and switching to Shutterfly books. Being the OCD person that I am, I can't print randomly, so I have to have books for each month (or a couple months) but they have to be in order!

**Editted to add: They are all spoken for!*** What this also means is that I'm going to do a little RAK... I've got 5 American Crafts Modern 8x8 D-Ring Albums that are just collecting dust in my office. I have Green, Red, Pink, Navy and Brown.... so I'm giving them away, first come first serve and please let me know a few color choices. All you have to do is email me at jacbernardo@gmail.com with your address and it will be on the way to you! I've also got extra packs of page protectors, so I will throw some of those in with each album.

And this falls in line with the other organizational project that I took on this week... my office. I swear, I am stretching every square inch out of that room that is absolutely possible. At this point, I'm going to have to start hanging things from the ceiling because I've got so much crammed in there. My business is run out of my home and we've turned what would have been a den, into an office. It houses three desks, a minimum of 3 computers, sometimes 4, 4 printers and oodles and oodles of shelves. We also keep all our shipping material there (except the excess inventory that is stored in the basement) and right now we are stocked for the holidays, so the room is ready to explode with boxes, envelopes, and packing paper! I spent Sunday sorting through my desk, setting up two new cabinets with baskets and bins (because I LOVE bins) and just generally throwing things away. It feels amazing and I alwas find that I'm so much more creative when I have a clean desk.

I have fit in a bit of scrapping though...
 
Using Rustic Charm by ScrapKitchen

 
Using Absolute Cherry Crush by Lauren Grier, Shawna Clingerman and Penny Springmann

 
Using Hawaiian Sunset by Zoe Pearn

 
Using Pink Elephants and All That by Shawna Clingerman

Lots of scrapping...

I've finally had a bit of scrapping mojo lately, so I've been trying to take advantage...

 
Using Autumn Blossoms by Amanda Heimann and Pineapple Plantation

 
Using Saturday in San Diego by Eva Kipler and Sara Amarie

   
Using Boo 2 You by Cori Gammon, Fuzzy Knitted Alpha by Zoe Pearn, and Dressed up dots by Robin Carlton

And a new page for my IWYTK album... Fall in Love...
 
Using Autumn Blossoms by Amanda Heimann and Pineapple Plantation

Camera? What Camera?

Yeah, now I really know how down I've been lately... I've taken no new pictures. I keep trying to scrap, opening my photos to scrap folder and closing it because I just am not inspired by what I see. I finally figured out why... all the photos that I haven't scrapped (from the last few months) are candids. There are lots of group shots, event shots, and photo series... and I don't really like to scrap those! LOL

I'm a portrait "photographer" and that's primarily what I enjoy scrapping. I like close-ups and more artsy shots, even if they don't tell a story. I think that I am more prone to let my journaling or titlework tell the story than the photos.

So now that I'm feeling a bit better, I've been carrying the camera around all day, trying to get some better shots to work with because I have SO many fun kits to play with!

How about a little sneak peek to start? Here is a layout with the GORGEOUS Pasha by Lauren Grier and Libby Weifenbach...
 

I also picked up a few kits (a few... a dozen, it's all the same right) at the Shabby Pickle Sale today... I need to stop falling in love with new designers because I feel so compelled to buy EVERYTHING in their store! How have I avoided Kasia's designs for so long?!? I'm just dying to work with this little jem...
   

Those elephants are so adorable and they are just perfect for my youngest son!

I also had to pick up these...
 

Because I have been eyeing them for the longest time and $1 is just too good of a deal to pass up right? No idea what I want to do with them. I'm kicking around a page for my IWYTK (I want you to know) album about depression or feeling blue, which is sort of fiting for the issues that I have.

And here are a few other pages that I haven't shared yet, one using the adorable Traffic Jam by Julie Billingsley and the other using A Spy's Life by Christy Lyle for the SSD Treat of the Month...
 

Don't you love it when...

You discover something "new" in digiscrapping?

I've only been scrapping since February of this year and I spend 90% of my time at the Sweet Shoppe... because it's just the best there! In the begining, I never ventured out to other stores because I found it all so overwhleming. There was SO much out there and it seemed very easy to get caught up in the buying (or more acurately the hoarding) and not actually scrap.

Now that I've been doing this for a little while, I'm more comfortable with knowing what kits appeal to me, not only visually, but as a scrapper. I've learned to stop buying everything that looks cute! So now that I'm venturing out a little more, I've found some new designers to be OBSESSED with!

First is obviously Cori Gammon... have I mentioned her enough lately? I just absolutely adore her style and the realism of all her kits. You can find her here at Scrapartist! Here's a page that I did recently with her Retro Techno...
 

I've also just stumbled on to Bren Boone (see the LO in my previous post!) and I'm just love her style. Both of these designers are a bit different from my normal style as their creations are much more on the realistic side... but I'm finding more and more that I really like exploring that side of scrapping.

So enough of my rambling! How about some new pages from that latest releases at SSD?

 
Using Punkin Picking by Traci Reed and Meghan Mullens

 
Using a Spy's Life by Christy Lyle and Fee Jardine

 
Using Unscary Tricksters by Christy Lyle and Eva Kipler

 
Using California Girls: Midwestern Farmers Daughters by Libby Weifenbach and Krystal Hartley. This LO is a two page spread using the latest SSD Cookie!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Could they be more different?

I sat down to scrap this afternoon and I knew that I had two kits that I wanted to use... Heart of Fall by Traci Reed and Kay Miller and the one I showed you yesterday, Sugar Maple by Cori Gammon. I've also been really pushing myself to try and break out of the pattern I seem to fall into with pages.... where they all start to look the same!

So here is one...
 

And here is the other...
  

LOL...I was looking at both of them in the gallery and I swear, if it wasn't the same baby n the photos, I don't think anyone would guess that they were by the same person. The interesting thing for me is that I like them both... one being more minimalist and simplistic and the other more element intense and layered.

I sometimes think that I'm constantly searching for my "style" or my niche with scrapping and maybe this goes to show me that I need to accept the fact that I just don't have one... and that's okay!

And now I'm off to bed... these drastic changes in temperature (from 90 to 50 here in just two days) are killing my allergies and I have a cold... AGAIN!

What a day...

Whew... if every Monday is like today, I'm not getting out of bed next week!

Today was Nathan's first day of preschool (which he LOVED!) but it wore me ragged, trying to get Wesley to the bus stop... come home and get Logan and Nathan ready to go... drive Nathan to school... Come home and rush through my normal Monday morning work, because I only had an hour... then it was back to school to get Nathan... rush home for lunch and then off to a doc's appt. By 2 pm, I was so exhausted... and I hadn't really done anything all day!

Thankfully at least through all my running around, I had the Eagles game tonight to look forward to. As soon as the boys are in bed, DH and I are going to kick back with snacks and just enjoy the game!

Since I missed Sweet Shoppe Saturday's AGAIN, because I spent 4 hours at the local YMCA for the boys soccer games and then the rest of the day got spent on housework, I have some gorgeous new releases to share....

From La and Christy Lyle... TOXIC RAINBOW
 

Another fantastic Scoop from La and KCB... BEEP BOOP
 

And the stunning Happiness from Zoe Pearn...
 

That's all for now, but I promise to be more consistent with my posting from now on!!!

Odds and Ends...

What a weekend, I feel like I have so much to catch up on!

First... can we just stop and talk about how awesome the Eagles were on Sunday? I'm still reliving moments of the game in my mind and I'm just blown away! The experience of being there and seeing it all live, feeling the intensity and the adrenaline... it's amazing! I'm also really grateful for the time that my husband and I get to spend together, just the two of us. It's something that we don't have very much of and I think right now it's very much needed.

I also have a few new pictures to share! Wesley started school last Tuesday, and other than the exhaustion of going back, he's doing really well...

 

Nathan is also gearing up for school to start on Monday. It's so adorable, he met his teacher the other day and he keeps forgetting her name and calling her Miss Marigold, from Blue's Clue's... it's hilarious! I remind him that her name is Miss Sherri at least 10 times a day. He's very excited though, which is making me a little less nervous!

 

And then there is my little man, my sunshine, who is suddenly standing, cruising, clapping, waving, and doing so-big! I'm so proud of him! And his front teeth are FINALLY coming in, so he'll no longer be my little vampire!

 

And of course, I missed Sweet Shoppe Saturdays in all the hubbub of our first soccer games, so here are some new pages using releases from this weekend...
 
Scary Moon Cat by Lauren Grier

 
Cheeky Girl by Zoe Pearn

 
Cheeky Boy by Zoe Pearn

And now I'm off to get some sleep... or maybe watch some Monday Night Football! LOL

Challenge Spotlight

I'm thrilled to be hosting the Inspiration Challenge at SSD this week and I hope that you all will play along too!

Coming up with the idea wasn't easy, but I think that taking the steps to be more inspired by ourselves and our own skills and talents is a very important thing. I think when doing anything creative it is very easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves to others... which almost never ends well.

Here's some tricks that I use to pick up my creativity and my mood when I am feeling down on myself...

• STOP looking in the galleries! I think that the galleries are a wonderful inspirational tool, but if they are causing more negative feelings than positive ones then it's just productive.
• Try a different approach! I scrap mainly by choosing my kit first and then my photo. So when I need to kick up my creativity, I start in a different way... maybe with a template or even word art, just to really help me try something new
• Just do it! Grab photos, elements, whatever and thrown them on a page. If you aren't feeling like anything is coming together, just keep going anyway. When you are done, throw it away. Sometimes I can get through a creative block if I just stop thinking and start scrapping.
• Let yourself walk away! When all else fails, take a break. Just turn off the computer for a whole day, take the pressure off and see if that helps!

I'm by NO means an expert, far from it, but after scrapping and working in a creative field also, I'e found things that help me. And of course, always turn to your friends for support. Everyone goes through down spells and sometimes just hearing about other people's experience can really help you to feel like you aren't alone!

For this week's Challenge, I spun my own Hanging Out layout and came up with this...

I hope that everyone has as much fun with it as I did!

Here's a few other new pages for your viewing pleasure... LOL!