Layout of the Week - FRIEND chipboard mini album

I'm excited to share this week's Layout of the Week with you!  But first, I want to apologize for missing all sorts of blogging opportunities last week.  It was Spring Break here and we took Jake in to have hernia surgery on Tuesday.  We were expecting to be home that day, but our wise surgeon advised us to stay overnight in the hospital just in case the little guy needed some extra pain meds.  And thank goodness we did, those extra pain meds let him sleep through just a few of the MANY interruptions...I know that the wonderful nurses & residents have to check in on patients all night long, but boy, it sure would be nice if patients could get more sleep in the hospital.  So my schedule was thrown for a loop last week.  But I'm bouncing back this week, just like Jake...baby steps for both of us!  If you're in the Portland area & in need of an excellent Pediatric Surgeon, I highly recommend Dr. David Bliss.  He's done surgery twice now on Jake and he's a great listener, explains everything so even people who aren't medical geniuses (like he is!) can understand and he's saved the lives of countless preemies, infants, toddlers & kids!

So back to my project!  I created this mini album to celebrate Delaney's 8th birthday.  I did actually get it done a couple months ago, so she did get to see it before her 9th birthday!  I used Bo Bunny's My Word Chipboard FRIEND album and Basic Grey's Lime Rickey collection pack, plus a ton of fun embellishments to create a fun, bright colored album, perfect for Delaney's Tie Dye Slumber Party Photos. (Read all about our Tie Dye Slumber Party activities HERE.)

I used one of my favorite tips to squeeze a ton of photos into this small book.  I created photo collages with Costco's photo organizer program so I could cut them apart and put all different sizes of the tiny photos on my pages.  I love being able to create these collages and use so many photos in such a small format album.

Here are all the fun inside pages!

Of course, since it's Friday, you can join me over at Ann's for her Virtual Girls' Night Out!  I'll be celebrating mine by working the crop tonight at Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio in Beaverton...if you're in the area, call to sign up (we have a couple spots left) or stop by & shop, I'd love to meet you!  Be sure to check out our online community if you're in need of some extra inspiration, we have 300 project photos for you to enjoy!

Tips

Use Costco's photo collages to squeeze a few more photos into your projects!

Don't be afraid to mix it up with bright colors & patterns, it creates a whimsical page!

Use paint to coat the edges of your chipboard albums, it covers up any number of flaws in your (or my) paper cutting skills!

Supplies

Basic Grey Lime Rickey collection pack paper & stickers

Bo Bunny My Word Chipboard Album - FRIEND

So many embellishments...it would take a year to list them all, if you have a few you're wondering about, leave me a comment & I'll get you the manufacturer info.

Layout of the Week - Believe Achieve (my words for 2010)

I just have to say, I love this layout.  It isn't very often as scrapbookers that we create layouts about themselves.  At the beginning of this year, I read a lot of different blog posts about finding a word for yourself for the year.  The word would be your theme word, giving you something to focus on throughout the year.  I started to think about myself and all the things I've done in my life and the things I'd like to do in the future.  Being the mom of a two year old, it has been a while since I've thought about my own goals or even thought much about myself at all.  I was just starting to get back to thinking about me when Delaney turned 6 and was at the end of her year of 1/2 day kindergarten.  It was nice to look ahead at the things I could start to do for me once she started school full time in September of 2007.  And then suddenly my world was turned upside down.  I found out I was pregnant with Jake in June of 2007, just a week before Delaney was done with kindergarten.  It was quite a shock after about 5 years trying to conceive and then coming to terms with our being a 3 person family.  I still can picture the look on Dave's face when Delaney & I told him we'd be having a baby.  I'll tell you more of this story another time, but suffice it to say, shock doesn't even come close.  So my thoughts took an about face, away from what I wanted to do with the "rest of my life" and toward raising another little one.

As I was reading these "word of the year" blog posts in January, I thought maybe I should think about me a little sooner this time and not wait until Jake was going to be in first grade...for goodness sake, I'll be 43 by then.  Here's my first Believe Achieve blog post.  And the thought of turning 40 this year also added to my eagerness to make plans that were mine alone.  For years, I've been involved in scrapbooking in some way, working on albums at home, helping my friend with projects, working at Whimzee's, writing my blog.  I also began another of my efforts at being healthier and losing weight this year.

Being someone who isn't short on words, I couldn't narrow my choices down to just one.  For my 2010 words of the year, I chose Believe and Achieve.  I chose them even before I walked into Jake's room to get him up from his nap and saw those exact words stenciled on a plaque on the wall in his room.  Dave chose it at a baby boutique when we were shopping for bedding & decorations for his room.  It hangs over his crib and someday we'll explain to him what they mean...right now, he just enjoys pointing out that there is an "A" on the sign.

These words are important for me to remember this year, because I have a few goals for myself.  I want to expand my blog and find a sponsor or two (if anyone has any suggestions, bring 'em on!) and I hope to be chosen for a Design Team of some sort in 2010.  I also want to continue with my efforts to work out, eat healthier and by doing those things, lose some weight.  One more important goal, for the whole family really, is to make smart money choices.

I think that I am moving toward all these goals, but I do have to remind myself everyday, that I have to Believe in myself and make efforts in order to Achieve them this year.  I created this layout to highlight my words and remind myself everyday of what I am working toward.  I challenge you to find a theme word or two, even three or four, who's counting.

In creating a layout that highlights my words, I wanted to use some of my favorite products.  The papers are from Lily Bee and the embellishments are from all sorts of places.  I wanted to show contrast in this layout.  Not only am I a mom and wife, I also have personal and professional goals outside of my family.  These goals will benefit my family in many ways, but they are my goals.  I chose to create contrast in my layout by placing the rhinestone "BELIEVE" on a distressed piece of corrogated cardboard.  The rhinestone title also contrasts nicely with the slick orange "ACHIEVE."  I created depth by using a cardboard circle covered with word filled paper.  I used pop dots to raise my photo above the background.  Again highlighting my words, I used Photoshop to print them on my photo.

I love this photo of me.  I asked my friend, Pandra, to shoot a photo of me to send in with a design team application.  I was planning on changing & doing my hair first, but she just got out her camera one night when we were hanging out with friends.  They started telling jokes & I couldn't keep a straight face.  It just all went downhill from the very beginning....  This first photo was the best of the bunch!  Thanks P! :)

Tips

Think of a theme word for the year & remind yourself of it everyday!

Create a layout or project highlighting your word and place it somewhere you will see it everyday!

Don't be afraid to create contrast with by using totally different embellishments in your layouts.  Rhinestone & cardboard...glitter & slick plastic.

Have a friend shoot some photos of you and create a layout that shows your personality or how you felt that day!

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Lily Bee
Rhinestone Title - Kaisercraft
ACHIEVE & 2010 - THICKERS by American Crafts
Paint - a variety of craft paints

This post shared on Today's Creative!  Be sure to check them out for links to all things creative and the best features of creative blogs on the internet!

JulieChats - Featured Craft Blogger @ Scrapaholic Studio

I have some exciting news!

I'm the Featured Craft Blogger on the Scrapaholic Studio blog by Mrs. Licky.  Along with the features, she shares her layouts, cards, and all sorts of things she creates with her Cricut in her posts.  Be sure to check out her other Featured Craft Bloggers, down in the "Interview with Crafty Bloggers" section.

It was a lot of fun thinking about all the questions and getting my answers together.  I had the chance to think about how I got into scrapbooking and crafting in general.  It was fun to chat about my favorite scrapbooking supplies and tools.  I also got a chance to revisit my goals in blogging and scrapbooking.

I am trying to remember my words for 2010, BELIEVE & ACHIEVE, each and every day.  I try to do a little work toward my goals each day.  And the honor of being featured on another blog is a big part of my goal of bringing my blog to more readers in the scrapbooking community!

Thank You, Mrs. Licky!!! :)

My Words for 2010

I've been seeing so many scrapbooking bloggers who have chosen their "theme words" for this year.  I find tons of inspiration in the blogs by Ali Edwards and Katie the Scrapbook Lady.  Click on their names to read about their words for 2010.  I started wondering what type of word I might choose that would embody my goals for this year.  I thought about all the goals I've set for myself in 2010.  One of the big ones is to get my act together & get back into exercising...OK, it has been a few years, but I still call it getting "back" into it.  Along with the exercising, I'm working on eating less & healthier foods.  Of course these two things add into another big goal of losing weight.  Those three are my personal goals for my body in 2010.  Then I have an entirely different set of goals for myself in 2010.  These goals concern my love of scrapbooking and this blog.  My biggest goal for the blog is to eventually, hopefully in 2010, begin to gather some sponsors.  I am still relatively new to blogging, starting about a year and a half ago.  So I have some research to do to even start out toward that goal.  But I think that setting big goals gives me something to work toward.  A smaller, probably more attainable goal, is to find more followers who are interested in scrapbooking and papercrafting.  I'm taking some steps to reach that goal already.  And of course I'd appreciate it if any of you could pass along a link to my blog, or grab my button to jazz up your blog!  Thanks in advance! :)

So after considering these goals, my word, or words just jumped right out at me last week when I was putting away Jake's laundry.  Hanging on the wall in his room is a saying that Dave chose when we decorated Jake's room.  It says, "BELIEVE and ACHIEVE."  Reading it that day made me think of my goals and I realized that these two words would help me reach my goals for 2010.

So along with eating healthy & working out, I'm going to BELIEVE I can ACHIEVE my goals in 2010!  I'd love to hear your word(s) for the year...or just get you started thinking about what they might be!  It isn't only in January that we can resolve to strive for something special for ourselves and our families this year!