Process Video + Crate Paper

This vacation photo reminds me of one thing. My son’s constant chatter pool side. At 7 years old, it was a chorus “hey mom, look at me, hey mom, look at this.” So while I really wanted to relax and get lost in a book, it wasn’t happening.


I think back to this vacation and remember two things: “hey mom” and the image of his little behind. This picture captures that story.

The words are definitely the focal point here and so the photo is surrounded by them. Oh, and the flamingos. I love those hard and had to find a way to use them! Take a look at this quick process video to see how it all came together:

Documenting words + photos is at the heart of scrapbooking design for me. This page and stage in my boy’s life is part of the story I want to tell.  And that “look at me” stage? - it has mostly passed just like I knew it would. 

SUPPLIES | Crate Paper Poolside | October Afternoon Labels | Crate Paper Enamel | Wide Format Printer | White Linen Cardstock |  Scraptastic Summertime Rolls Kit

Maggie Holmes Confetti + Disneyland

COLLECTION | Maggie Holmes Confetti + Crate Paper Craft Market

STORY | This family selfie was taken right at the start of our first day at Disneyland. I wanted to remember this perfectly happy moment. Because anyone who has traveled with three kids under 8, knows these moments are fleeting and rare. I wanted to capture that feeling of being excited to get our vacation started – but still stay true to the reality of families and vacations.

DESIGN |  Confetti and Craft Market are a match made in scrapbook heaven. They both have a nice soft feel and neutral patterns that are great for any story you want to tell.

I started the design with a base of patterned paper. I loved this paper so much, I wanted to use it all! I chose my favorite patterns and layered them in a cluster right in the center. To give the photo a little lift, I placed a chipboard frame just underneath. Adding some chipboard to the edges of the frame adds a punch of color and shape to the space.

I love how the bright pink LOVE title stands out from the softer feel of the background. It adds just the right amount of pop to the center of the design.

The final touches include a little diagonal smattering of flair and wood pieces that ground the journaling space.

This was fun to create + a real story I want to remember.

SUPPLIES | Patterned Paper:   (Maggie Holmes, Confetti, 6×6 paper pad) (Maggie Holmes, Confetti, Jubilee) (Maggie Holmes, Confetti, Snapshot) (Crate Paper, Craft Market, 6×6 Paper Pad) (Crate Paper, Craft Market, Studio Paper) Embellishments: (Crate Paper, Craft Market, 12×12 Chipboard) (Crate Paper, Craft Market, Wood Veneer) (My Mind’s Eye, On Trend, Flair)

COLLECTION | Crate Paper Kiss Kiss

STORY |  This layout started with a favorite picture. A selfie of my husband and I from this past summer. It was a gray, misty morning on the beach and the photo has this dreamy quality to it. That got me to thinking about our impending anniversary and the path that led us to here and now. It’s been good, but this has been no fairytale. I like real stories and real life, so that’s what I journaled about. Some warts, some great things and the sentiment that I would still do it all over again with him.

DESIGN |  I began the layout with the color chip sheet of patterned paper from the 6×6 paper pad. The color gradient and simplicity of the design make it a favorite. From there, I layered a die cut journaling card, some chipboard, stickers and tags to create the center of the layout.

I framed out the photo by using two square chipboard frames in pink and gray. This keeps my photo front and center despite all the layers and embellishments surrounding it. The story is important here so I went with a bold, large title smack in the center. I like how these Thickers are a neutral, white and gray woodgrain and keep the bottom of the layout mostly white.

I’ve been playing with very soft colors lately which is a big change for me. I love the ethereal look of white pages and soft colors. It’s a phase.  I’m sure I’ll be back to my usual bold palettes on the next round of layouts, but for now I’m enjoying it!

Maggie Holmes Open Book + Gossamer Blue

COLLECTION | Maggie Holmes Open Book + Gossamer Blue

STORY | Documenting a silly little picture. My niece had the big camera and was trying to take a picture of us. She kept telling me that I was way too short for my husband and that I should try to stretch a little. This cracked us up. And the shot she got was one where my husband was trying to come down to my level. It's oh so silly and very us.

DESIGN |  I started with the idea of arranging elements in a grid. I started with the 4x4 photo and built around it. Using die cuts from the Open Book collection and layers of patterned paper gave me a simple but interesting frame around the photo.

My favorite detail is this glittery title sticker from Crate Paper. I love the fancy font and little bit of whimsy that it adds to the page.

This is one of those ordinary (but funny) memories from our California that I want to remember.

Crate Paper Confetti + Winners!

One of my recent favorite. I love this paper from Maggie Holmes' Confetti line. I left it uncovered as part of my embellishing and journaling. Just a few layers tucked here and there and some wood and enamel dots from Pinkfresh. Simple, kind of clean and highlights the photo. Loving this style right now.



And because I took so ridiculously long to announce the winner from the National Scrapbook Day hop, I'm going to pick two winners:

1. 
   Jessica FloresMay 3, 2015 at 7:02 PM

   What an awesome box of goodies! I'm happy to hear that you're making videos again! I can't wait to watch them :).

   ReplyDelete
   
   
   
   

   1. 
      JanisMay 4, 2015 at 1:18 AM

      Loved seeing your wonderful craft room and also enjoyed seeing your Mend LO. Ouch...that pained expression says it all.....ugh... Thank you for the chance to win that fabulous haul of a super-generous blog prize!!! Wowza....that is going to make someone VERRRRRRRRRRRRY happy!!
      <3 br="" j="">
      jwoolbright at gmail dot com
      HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com

      ReplyDelete

Janis and Jessica please email me at nancydamiano@gmail.com with your addresses and I'll get those boxes out to you! Thanks so much for following the blog hop.

Scraptastic November Kit + Maggie Holmes Open Book

My goal this month was to design two layouts that were radically different with the November Scraptastic kit. At first look, the Shake it Off kit has a very soft, feminine feel to it. I started at that jumping point and chose to highlight this photo of my niece at the Bippity Boppity Boutique in Disneyland. It was my favorite shot from our trip – the look on her face is just priceless!

The intricate design of the wood veneer complemented the ‘fancy’ feel of the photo. I painted it with a thin coat of watered-down, white acrylic paint so it wouldn’t steal the spotlight from the photo. It is that beautiful! I also thought it would be the perfect “o” to my “xo” title. The idea for that came from the rub-on on the side of the photo that reads: ‘I love everything about this’. I do and I wanted that sentiment to be front and center.

My challenge here was to go with a bold palette, use at least 3 photos and a tiny title. The complete opposite of the “XO” page. The kit has so many versatile patterns and colors that it was easier to do this than I had anticipated.

First, I picked out the heart patterned paper and two coordinating cardstock colors. Then I laid out the photos in a grid design adding a spot for journaling. Next, Iayered a small veneer title, die cut card and embellished tag for pops of color and dimension.

The finishing touch came at the end with the three layers of triangle photo corners in the lower left side. Stitching the edges, using two different patterns and stacking them gives this area of the layout weight and that something ‘special’ detail. On the opposite corner, I used the patterned heart paper to balance the design out.

It's a Two Peas in a Bucket Garden Girl Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Two Peas in a Bucket Garden Girl Blog Hop! A Garden Girl is the title we receive as designers for the Two Peas website. As Garden Girls we create projects, host challenges, teach classes, and participate in events all designed to inspire your creativity. This week the Garden Girls are sponsoring special projects and giveaways on our personal blogs. Be sure to follow the list below as you hop from one blog to the next. Each Garden Girl is hosting her own giveaway so be sure to read the instructions for how you can participate in each contest. If you get lost simply either start at the beginning of the blog hop again or skip to the next blog listed below.

Wendy Sue Anderson: http://www.wendysueanderson.blogspot.com/

Julie Campbell: http://www.stampedinhisimage.blogspot.com/
Jenny Chesnick: http://mrschez.typepad.com/
Laura Craigie: http://evidenceofagoodlife.blogspot.com/
Nancy Damiano: http://thepaperorchard.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Gallacher: http://jengallacher.blogspot.com/
Lynn Ghahary: http://lynnghahary.blogspot.com/
Jen Jockisch: http://jenjockisch.com/
Shimelle Laine: http://www.shimelle.com/
Jen Martakis: http://www.jenniferann75.blogspot.com/
Kimber McGray: http://kimbermcgray.blogspot.com/
Becky Novacek: http://www.beckynovacekphotography.com/blog/
Kandis Smith: http://www.mycreativetreasury.blogspot.com/
Jill Sprott: http://wordplaywordwork.blogspot.com/
Shannon Tidwell: http://www.shannontidwell.com/
Lisa Truesdell: http://gluestickgirl.typepad.com/
Rebecca Trump: http://rebeccaleighann.typepad.com/
Jaime Warren: http://jaimewarren.typepad.com/forward_focus/ 
Kristina Nicolai-White: http://kristinanw.tumblr.com/ 

For my special project, I decided to do a Christmas morning layout. Did you know we are just 53 days away from the big day! I love the holiday season, but I rarely have time to scrap because I'm too busy decorating, celebrating and eating. I got a head start this year and dug into my pile of paper, chipboard and stickers from Crate Paper's Peppermint line to come up with this.

Nico on Christmas morning with his pile of gifts and cute little grin. The pictures aren't the greatest - but the memories are. 

To make the garland, I punched out the peppermints from Crate's Candy Cane patterned paper. I pierced the center of the candy and threaded the pieces through some red and white twine. This is one of the favorite things about the layout and it was pretty simple to do.

I am giving away a $20 gift certificate to twopeasinabucket.com. To enter, simply leave a comment and tell me what your favorite holiday is! I will be drawing a random winner on 11/8/11. Good Luck! And be sure to visit each blog for other prizes.

SUPPLY LIST: (Click on the picture for details)

InLinkz.com

Crate Fall 2Peas

Fall always reminds me of bringing Nico home from the hospital. I remember the day we walked out of the NICU with our tiny baby - fragile and yet so resilient in many ways. Fall was the season I became a stay-at-home Mom, learned all about apnea monitors and how to give a baby CPR. We had to keep him inside and away from germs and people for months. It was a long season.

When the following Fall rolled around we made up for it by visiting as many pumpkin patches and festivals as we could. I think that you can see just how grateful we were to have him in these pictures.

This layout is copyright twopeasinabucket.com

My assignment over at twopeasinabucket.com was to make a Fall page. I thought these pictures went well with the Farmhouse line by Crate Paper.

I used a mix of solid and printed paper to add color and a farm feel to the page. The three staggered photos add clean lines. The corrugated alpha and felt flower are from Jillibean Soup and match well with this line. I "hung" two photos with some twine and cute chipboard clothespin from Crate. And those tiny white letters are from Lily Bee - I keep using them on everything!

For a complete supply list, click here.

Crate Paper Family Portrait

Our assignment this month over on 2Peas was to create  a layout with a wedding theme. Now I have have plenty of wedding pictures to scrap (probably hundreds), but I've been intimidated by the project. It seems so daunting and I have no journaling from the time, so some of the stories have been lost.

I was looking over my proofs trying to get inspired and I kept laughing at some of the photos. I remember this being the 'wedding of my dreams' but now it seems that everything was "too much". Too much dress, huge flowers, poufs, huge wedding party...this is so not the wedding I would have now. So that's the story that I went with.

This layout is copyright Two Peas in a Bucket.com

I think the title says it all -  Retrospection: Age byproduct. I used 3 wedding proofs to tell the story and one of my favorite lines - Family Portrait by Crate Paper. Love the bold, non-traditional wedding colors.

The chipboard wedding cake is from Crate. I added the stick pin and an alphabet letter sticker "D" to personalize the cake. I cut three long strips for my ribbons and attached them with fabric brads. I used Thickers for the title and sponged them lightly with brown ink to tone down the bright teal color.

Next, I added strips of patterned paper and stickers to create a border along the bottom of my page. For a complete list of the products I used, you can click here.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll be back soon with some everyday life pics and a little Rocket Age.

Crate Paper Green Army Guys

I made this layout for the 2Peas Garden Gallery with one of my favorite boy collections ever! Kudos to Crate Paper for making something that is perfect for all of my boy's pictures.

Nico fell in love with the Green Army Guys from the first Toy Story movie he saw 3 years ago. Since then he has collected all of toys, the soldier costume and walkie talkies.

Click on the layout for a closer view.

 All of the papers and chipboard are from Crate Paper.

One of my favorite parts of this layout is the wooden star filled with brads. I like how it looks like a jumble of toys.

The right side includes lots of stickers from the Toy Box collection and strips of patterned paper.

And lastly, a little hanging green army guy. That's Nico's favorite part. This layout is now hanging up in his playroom. He loves the picture of himself with the Green Army Guy in Disneyworld and every once in a while I catch him saluting it. Crazy boy.

This layout is copyright Two Peas in a Bucket.com

I'm busy working on assignments this week. Trying to get ahead of the game before we go on vacation. Five projects in three days - I can do it right? Ha! I'll have some photos from the weekend and a Cricut project coming up this week. Have a good one!

Easter Then & Now

I have a new Easter layout that posted over on 2Peas this morning to share with you. Up first is a blast from the past Easter - 2006 to be exact. It was our first Easter with Nico and we tried to do everything Easter related with an 8 month old baby. I have to laugh when I look at those egg coloring pics - although he does seem to be a little into it.

 I remember starting our tradition of the easter egg hunt that year even though the boys were only  8 months and 20 months old. Here's a photo of the entire layout. I apologize for the bad picture! It's so hard to take pictures of 2-page layouts.

Click on the layout for a closer view.

I created a scene at the top of the layout with the Neighborhood collection from Crate Paper. Lots of chipboard and patterned paper layers here although the end result is still clean lines. I would love to say that it was a simple layout to put together, but it definitely wasn't. I struggled with this one for quite a while until I got the look I wanted. Balancing the scene up at the top was tricky.

 

Fast forward 5 years and here are Nico & his cousins getting ready to hunt eggs this year.

What happens when 3 people try to take a picture at the same time? The kids don't know where to look! This happens every year. Sigh. But I still love the picture for being perfectly imperfect.  

We are recovering from a serious peep hangover today. There is nothing like having a house full of kids hyped up on sugar all day long. My niece and nephew are staying with us a few days this week, so I might be a little slower than usual getting stuff posted up here. Bear with me! There's a green army guy page coming up soon. 

Hope you had a great Easter!

Emma's Shoppe by Crate

I had a lot of fun playing with Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper this week. It's pretty unusual for me to make "pink, girly" pages, but every once in a while I have a story about my niece and I get to indulge in more feminine styles. To tell you the truth, it was hard! I'm not sure I achieved the exact look I was going for, but I guess this is as girly as I get.

This layout is copyright Two Peas in a Bucket.com

 The page is about my niece and how I love to indulge in buying her outfits and matching accessories. She gets so excited every time she sees me with a bag from Gymboree. It's funny how she can't read, but she knows that logo. I've included a picture of her as a newborn in the very first denim Gap dress that I bought her and then some current pictures from this past summer.

 My favorite part of the layout is this spool of thread. I made it out of a journaling sticker from Crate's Family Portrait line. The shape reminded me of a spool.  I wound the yellow string around the sticker and then added the buttons and pin. I tried to highlight the clothes theme with the size sticker, buttons, spool end stickers and fabric trim.

This was fun and pink and girly, but I'm ready to return to the wonderful world of BOYS!

Breakfast & Bikes

Did you ever have a seemingly insignificant moment in the past that you remember vividly? Almost like your mind took a snapshot of it.

That's what I get when I look at these pictures from our vacation to Sanibel last year. It was an ordinary morning and we took a bike ride from the inn to this great little place for breakfast. I remember being happy...just pure happiness, for no particular reason than everything was going right in my world . I had to put it all down on paper and I came up with this...


I love you Restoration by Crate Paper, I really do. I wasn't going to buy it because I have so many lines of paper already and it's a little on the frou-frou side. But the colors, oh those bold colors finally got me. I kept picking it up on a recent shopping trip and when I saw the bicycle, I immediately thought 'Sanibel'. I had to have it and I'm glad that it came home with me.


This is a really simple layout, just some layers of paper and chipboard. The chipboard filmstrip I picked up in a store in Massachusetts recently. They were in a bin and I picked up a bunch but unfortunately I don't know who makes them.

I was very inspired by this layout made by Michelle Lanning - one of my very favorite scrappers ever. No one does layering like this girl. You can see where I got the idea to double up the stamp-edged paper from!

So there you have it - one vacation moment and a little Crate Paper. Hope you like it! Up next...Halloween & Pink Paislee....