Baby's First Year Album

I made this album with a retired Stampin' Up! Simply Scrappin' Kit before Aidynn was born. It's a calendar-style album that I'm going to use to record everything from her first year. I made an album similar to this when my daughter, Kaylee, was born & it was so convenient! I made the entire album & then each month all I had to do was write down on the calendar important firsts or other things that I wanted to remember & then fill in with some favorite photos from the month & other memorabilia as well. This is such a quick & easy album because I just use the same layout for each double-page spread. I've already filled in the month of July for Aidynn & can't wait to complete this album for her throughout her first year. So easy & it makes a great gift too for someone expecting a baby. Sorry some of the photos are a little blurry, I didn't take the time to remove each sheet from the page protectors.

Here's the cover of the album:

And here's the title page of the album (the pink square on the bottom right states all of her birth day stats):

Here's the completed spread for July. The left side has 2 pockets to hold favorite photos that I print out each month & other memorabilia. I also write a "Mom's Thoughts" page each month recording any memories or thoughts that I have at the time. Then I have a 4-1/4" x 6-1/4" piece of card stock already glued down on the upper right corner to frame a 4" x 6" photo that I print each month. For Aidynn, big sister Kaylee picked out a puppy stuffed animal that we'll take her picture with each month to watch her grow throughout the year. Each month's puppy picture will go in that spot. Then on the right side is the calendar where I'll write the events, firsts, etc. that I want to record for each month.

A close-up of the left side:

A close-up of the right side:

And then here are some other 2-page spreads that I really like from the album:

The Stampin' Up! Simply Scrappin' Kits are really such a great way to complete an album like this because they have everything you need-card stock, designer paper & self-adhesive die-cuts. And everything coordinates so well! I love it! And I'm excited for the release of the new Stampin' Up! digital scrapbooking program (coming this fall) because I think it will be even easier to create great albums like this one!

I've Been Nesting...

I realized that I indeed have been nesting. I was getting worried because I've had no desire to nest in the "typical" manner-cleaning, organizing, etc. But, being the crafty gal that I am, I have been nesting in my own way by getting all sorts of crafty projects done that I've been meaning to do for a long time. I am so proud of myself for finally getting some of these things done! So yay for nesting! Just don't come over to my messy, unorganized house! :) Anyway, I'll try to show you photos of some of my latest crafty tasks, but those that are baby related will have to wait until after my little one arrives. At least I've been keeping myself busy instead of just sitting around waiting to pop!

So here is one book I've been meaning to do for a LONG time! I was so good about getting my daughter's portraits done, but then I had nothing to do with them. I hang the current one on our wall, but the older ones just were left in a big envelope since I don't have room to put them all up. I decided to create a portrait scrapbook to house all of those adorable portraits. And it was so quick & easy to do because I used a Simply Scrappin' Kit (you may remember this one from a long time ago-Friends & Flowers), I used the same format throughout the scrapbook & also my daughter is only 3 so I didn't have too much catching up to do here! I find these types of scrapbooks where I only need to update them once a year work best for me!

*Sorry about the glare on some of the photos, I didn't want to take the time to take each page out of the plastic page protector. Also, if there's a blank spot for a photo that just means it's hanging on my wall!

I hope you enjoy seeing this & maybe feel inspired to get some scrapbooking done yourself!

Our Family Christmas Scrapbook

I decided it was time to finally get our family Christmas scrapbook going. It's something that I've been meaning to start for years! I decided to start in 2006, the year my daughter was born. And my plan is each year to add a few more pages of our favorite photos & memories. I'm using the Stampin' Up! I Wish Simply Scrappin' Kit for this & I love it! The designer papers are so pretty, the colors are great & the self-adhesive die-cuts make it so fast & easy! Well, here are a few pages that I've done:

A Belated Birthday Card

As this post title says, this is a belated birthday card. My sister-in-law's birthday was last Friday, but we didn't get her gift over to her until Monday. We hope you had a happy birthday, Charis! Anyway, her gift was one of these card boxes & cards that we made at my September Stamp Class. So I made this card with some of the leftover supplies I had from the class. It's a very quick & simple card!

One Last Petal Party Card...

...for now!

Yes, finally, the last card I made with my half of a Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit! I really do love the Stampin' Up! scrapbook kits! They make not only scrapbooking so easy, but cardmaking too! So I've made all of the projects that I've posted over the past few days with only half of a kit (I did add a few sheets of solid card stock to stretch it a little further) & I still have one full 12" x 12" sheet of designer paper left along with some of the self-adhesive die cuts & scraps of card stock! So although you may be sick of the Petal Party kit for now, I can assure you that I will be posting more projects with it in the future! :)

More Petal Party & a Reminder

Here's another 6" x 6" scrapbook page I made with my half of a Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit. I love Stampin' Up! Scrapbook Kits! They make scrapbooking so quick & easy! For this page I just added some simple stamping for the journaling. Can you believe how much I've been able to make with just half of the kit? And I'm not done yet! Ok, to be honest, I've added a few sheets of coordinating card stock just to be able to make the extra cards, but that's it! The kits really go a long way! Reminder: If you are coming to my September Stamp Class please RSVP to me by tomorrow so that I can order our supplies!

Yes, It's Another Petal Party Card!

Here's another super simple card I made with my Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit!

Another Petal Party Scrapbook Page

You are going to be so sick of this Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit by the time I'm done posting everything I've made with just half of a kit (remember that I started off by making this project here)! I can't believe how big my "baby" is now! Have I mentioned that we started potty training last weekend & she's already a pro? I am ecstatic! You'll also notice that I do all of my scrapbook journaling by hand. I just think it would take me so much longer to do it all by computer. Plus, I like the personal touch that it adds to my pages. And since I don't keep an actual journal, my scrapbooks serve as a journal too.

It's Blog Candy Time!!!

Well, I've reached a couple of milestones with my little blog here! First, I've had my blog for 1 year now! I can't believe how fast that year has flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was trying to figure out how this whole blog thing works! Also, this is my 200th post! I also can't believe that in the past year I have made 200 blog posts! Wow-I sure have been one crazy stampin' mama! And as I type this post, I have had 25,848 hits on my blog over the past year! So as a thank you to all of my blog readers I thought I would give out some blog candy!

Here's what you'll win:

It's one of my favorite gifts to give out-a monogram tin & matching notecards! Obviously I will stamp everything with your initial or whatever initial you want!

For more photos of what's included in this click here.

Here's what you have to do for a chance to win:

I'm always looking for new inspiration for color combos (Sometimes I feel like I'm always using the same colors over & over again!). Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Stampin' Up! color combo is. (If you've never tried Stampin' Up!, then tell me what your favorite color combo is.)

*Please note that I do moderate my comments, so your comment won't show up on my blog until I have published it.
I'll pick a winner through random.org on Sunday night at 9pm (Pacific Time).

Good Luck!

And here's another card that I made with more of my leftovers from my Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit! I can't wait for my September Stamp Class-it's going to be fun girls!

A Petal Party Scrapbook Page

So I also made a few 6" x 6" scrapbook pages with the leftovers from my Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit (remember, I am still only using 1/2 of the kit!). I love scrapbooking, it's actually what got me started in the whole papercrafting thing to begin with, but I just haven't done much of it since my daughter was born. I guess it's just so much quicker to make a card! I have to say that these smaller scrapbook pages are super quick & easy too though. Here's one of the pages I made:

Another Petal Party Card

As promised in this post, here's another card that I created using my Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit. Just to show you even more ideas of what you can do with the rest of your kit after completing the projects in the class.

September Stamp Class Project

I am so excited for my September Stamp Class Project!

I have to be honest, I did not come up with this idea myself. I found it on Andrea Walford's blog Sunny Stampin' that she got from a Stampin' Up! Regional Conference. It may look familiar too! I made one for my friend Anya for her birthday a couple months ago (to see that one click here). This is such a great project to keep for yourself or to give as a gift-the holidays are just around the corner! So first let me show you the pictures of what we will be making...

This is the outside of the box:

These are the cards we will make (you can stamp them with any greeting you want, or leave them blank & stamp them as needed):

Here's a picture of the box open with the 6 cards plus envelopes inside:

The details:

We will be making 1 decorated box & 6 coordinating cards (envelopes included).

You will receive half of a Simply Scrappin' Kit-Petal Party (a $10 value). This includes 3 sheets of 12" x 12" double-sided designer paper, 4 sheets of 12" x 12" textured card stock & 3 sheets of self-adhesive die cuts (see photo below).

Everything will be pre-cut for you & ready to go for the class. Even after making the card box & the cards, you will still go home with quite a bit of materials from the Simply Scrappin' Kit. Stay tuned over the next few days because I'll be posting lots of other projects I've made with the remainder of my kit!

Class Info:

DATE: Friday, September 26th

TIME: 6:00pm

PLACE: Julie's House

COST: $15

(You must prepay for this class by Monday, September 15th so that I have time to order the Simply Scrappin' Kits!)

RSVP: To me by Monday, September 15th

And please invite your friends & neighbors too!

If you have any questions please email me!

Quick & Cute Little Gift

So here's the gift that I made Anya (it matches the card in the post before this one). It is a box made using the Simply Scrappin' Kit-Rose Cottage & it holds matching cards & envelopes (it's sized for the Small Open-End Envelopes). Of course, I didn't come up with this fabulous idea myself! I saw it first on Stamping With Roxy here. And so I saw that she got it off of Andrea's blog here. The great thing is that Andrea actually made a tutorial for it on her blog so you have all of the measurements, directions & photos to see how to make one of these. It was so easy & so fast! It makes a great little gift! Plus, I think I'll have to do this as a class soon, but maybe I'll wait until the new Simply Scrappin' Kits come out in the new catalog! So fun!