Very Soon

We have now stayed three nights in our new house and we're loving it! We don't have the internet there yet and have to wait probably another week due to the fact that the company is swapped with business. I did hook up my computer last night and open Elements! And I forgot that I started two pages before our move. I was really happy to see them!! One page is pretty much done, just never posted. The other page needs journaling and a few more final touches. I'm excited to have Photoshop back and to get in some scrapping during moments I don't feel like cleaning and painting! So hopefully I can get more pages done before we get the internet so that I'll have a nice bunch to post. Oh how I've missed scrapbooking!!!

Butterflies

Friday Pages

Tracks

I wanted to use a good amount of pictures for this page, but did just want to throw the pictures on it because I love these pictures! I saw at layout in CK's June issue (page 26) and thought I would try it with these pictures. I really like how it turned out!

Spring

Rockford

I had tried scrapping these pictures the other day, but with the vertical one of Titus, I was troubled in finding a good layout. Strange, I know. So I saw this picture layout in a magazine and thought that it would work perfect. I also have been thinking about the new calendar grid that I downloaded (www.creatingkeepsakes.com/CT3) and thought it might be fun putting the pictures on the actual calendar. I just had to move the dates around to match the dates in March. I think I like how it all looks. Oh and I saw Jessica and Christina use flourishes that were outlined. I haven't asked if they used a stroke on them, but that's what I tried here and it seemed to work well.

Butterflies

Do you ever get butterflies? Butterflies over creating and scrapbooking? I would have to believe that I'm not the only one. Today I was looking through my new "Computer Tricks for Scrapbookers 3" that I won for a page I posted. While browsing, I was getting ideas, wanting to try new things and just HAPPY that I scrapbook - then the butterflies started. It's weird. I can't explain it. Maybe it's all those creative juices coming together. Lately I've been thinking about how thankful I am that I scrapbook. Yesterday someone said that it was really great that I scrapbook. It is really great. I know that I cherish pictures from when I was little. I already cherish pictures that I've taken of our family. And I have to believe that my children will cherish the pictures taken and STORIES that go along with the pictures.

Now mind you, the butterflies were fluttering and I thought, "I'm going to blog this". While blogging a few other things first, my 3.5-year-old son came in my room with his pants off showing me that he peed. I don't know what was going through his head at the time (since he's been potty trained over a year), but he showed me what happened. This is also amidst random bickering between my two kids. Although I'm still excited about scrapbooking, the butterfly wings slowed in their fluttering. Such is life as a mom. I know the butterflies will come back - probably around nap time!

Old Photos, Wonderful Memories

While at my parents this past weekend, I decided to go through some old photos, bring them back and scan them so that I can scrap them with my own stories and memories. There are a lot and I won't blog them all, but I wanted to give a little sample of some of my favorites (a LOT more are on my Facebook).

Decorating Christmas cookies was a family tradition that started young and one that I carry on with my family. I think my mom is just gorgeous in this picture!

My grandpa was my favorite person. I love this picture of him and I. He died when I was 11, but I have some amazing memories of him. It still makes me cry when I think of him being gone (and as I type this), but the warmth of his love and sweet memories I'll always have are deep within my heart.

This was me at my second birthday. I was happily surprised at how I can see Leah in myself. I plan to use a picture from this day on her 2 year birthday page!

Even though I was young, I remember this skirt being one of my favorites. Don't you just love that expression!?

Little Girl

Awesome hair! How I wish it were like this now!

My Strawberry Shortcake banana seat bike!

In my dad's pants and shoes. Stylin'!

My sisters and I loved sitting in the truck of our car halfway through apple picking. We would eat apples with crackers and cheese and felt so "cool" to be in the trunk.

Both Grandparents

My Grandpa and Grandma Reed (my dad's parents) on their wedding day, October 12, 1946. My Great-Grandma Hartley (Grandpa's mom) and my Great-Grandma "Du" (DuRussel) (Grandma's mom) are next to them.

I LOVE the excitement on my grandma's face! Although I wouldn't choose this for my bridesmaids, I actually love the headpieces her bridesmaids are wearing! I love all things old.

My Grandpa Andrew and Grandma Betty - my mom's parents. My grandma was pregnant for my mom in this picture. My mom's dad died when she was 13, so I was never able to meet him.

My grandpa shortly after returning from war. I think this picture is truly awesome!

Thankful for Home / Play date

Ahhh....I'm home! I've been out of town for 9 days visiting family and doing things to the house we are buying on the other side of the state. Tonight the kids and I got home while my husband went back to start a new work week. I can't wait until we are in our house and back to living life as our family unit! For now, I'm so happy to be back to our apartment. My own things, my own computer, my own bed, my own everything! I am *really* excited to scrapbook again! I've really missed it! I even want to scrap pictures from this month! *gasp*

Today I realized that I didn't post a page from before we left. I'm really into different colors right now that are just not common for me. I really like the button "flower" my friend, Christina, created so I decided to make one myself. I knew the colors I wanted to use and then chose the buttons. I later realized that except for one button, I chose the same buttons as my friend without even knowing! Great minds think alike, I guess! I'm lovin' the brighter colors! I'm thankful for my friend's and other's blogs that I'm able to look at, get ideas, and try new things for myself. I'm so looking forward to getting back into scrapping tomorrow (or maybe tonight)!

Friendship

This layout idea mostly came from pg 24 in the June CK magazine.

Father's Love

I think I plan to use this as a gift next month! I created an 8x10 of this (for the gift) because I want this page for my scrapbook!

Valentine/Birthday

I took ideas from pg 25 of the February 09 CK magazine for this page. I originally had a big heart behind our pictures but then liked the flourishes better. I really like being able to "hide" certain elements to see what looks best rather than just deleting and then possibly changing your mind!

This page was inspired from pg. 57 of the June 09 CK magazine. Lately I've been trying to focus on the main pictures of the event rather than trying to use most, if not all, of the pictures taken. For this page, there were a lot of other pictures I *could* have used, but for me, these tell the story. And that is what I'm really wanting to accomplish!

Friday Pages

Flowers

I really love the color in these pictures! I have never been a fan of the lime green that's in the ribbon in the picture on the left, but I decided to try and use that color on this page. I did, and I liked it! I think the green and the pink really look great together!

Mother's Day Gift

I created this picture art for my mom's Mother's Day gift and found a really great frame at Wal-Mart (of all places) that matched the colors wonderfully.

My mom and I.

She really liked it! Yay!

Sweet Moments

If you look close enough, you can see our blue eyes. I LOVE it!! I got the basic idea for this page from page 23 in the June CK magazine.

I Made It!

I seriously sat down about 5 times to scrap these pictures. Nothing I came up with was falling into place like I had hoped or wanted. Then today I got my June Creating Keepsakes magazine and loved the front cover layout and decided to try it with these pictures. I'm trying to focus back on having fun while scrapping. I kind of lost sight of that because I didn't want these pictures to conquer me. I think I'm happy with the result and that's all that matters.

Merry & Bright

I've been changing a lot of pictures to black and white lately. There seemed to be so many colors clashing and so much going on that changing them really helped. One of my favorite things about that, too, is that I can then use any color I want. This page doesn't have the traditional red and green Christmas colors BUT they are Christmas colors! I have some of my Grandma's tree ornaments and they are these colors. My Grandma also uses these colors for her Christmas cookie sprinkles (which I did this year too and will from now on). There is something about these colors that takes you back in time a little and I love that!