Redoing Christmas Scrapbook Layouts

BEFORE

I started working on my Christmas album the other day and looked back to a few Christmases ago. I really have changed my scrapbooking style so I wanted to redo a few of the old ones. My first Creative Memories consultant did not believe in using embellishment in her scrapbooks and soo that is how I first learned to scrapbook. It took a few years to have my own style. I love distressed papers and nostalgia items so I have just started scrapbooking with a full background instead of white. Most of the time it is a distressed look - So Called Solid. I guess the most important thing to do when you scrapbook is make it something you love. Don't save paper or copy something exactly unless you love it because someday you will want books that communicate who you are and what you love. The change is a process and I am sure I will change more as time goes on. This is one of my first redos. I only remembered to take a picture of half of the double-page layout before I started taking it apart but the other side is pretty much the same flipped.

AFTER

I did take a picture out because I am not sure it is the same year :-) I used Basic Grey Dasher. I rounded one of the corners on each photo. I also added a green ribbon from Michaels and a ribbon slide by Making Memories. I inked all the edges. I like the way it looks when the journaling looks like part of the design instead of the box I did the first time.

On the matching page I added some snowflake brads and used a sizzix die in my cuttlebug to make a bookplate that was attached with white brads. I am happy with the change and will show more redos in the days to come. My only regret is wasting the solid paper from the first go round.

Another Birthday Scrapbook Layout

This layout was again made with Basic Grey Skate Shoppe. I love their So Called Solids. I love the distressed and inked look. The font is a free download from acidfonts.com. I used a Making Memories metal frame and some satin edged organdy ribbon for the small picture. I may go back and ink the paper edges a little more. Right now I am into distressing. I got a Tom Holtz video and some of his alcohol inks the other day. After I practice I will post some pics of my projects.

Daniel's 10th Birthday Scrapbook Layout

Today's layout was made with Basic Grey's Hang 10. All the paper had the edges inked. As you can see I am bad about remembering candles for birthdays. We used a scented votive on my son's cake when we celebrated on his birthday. We did have a real party later with real birthday candles. It was in the summer so the kids could swim. Hopefully I will get to scraping that party soon!

Thanksgiving Scrapbook Layout

Today's layout has more prints than I am used to combining unless they totally match. I am not sure I like it. Sometimes I go back later and love it and sometimes I take the layout apart and redo it. Some of the paper here is Creative Memories and some is from a Paper Stack. The little pewter leaf is Making Memories.

I used my Cuttlebug to cut the tag - one of paper, one of chipboard. I got a new die yesterday. It is the old-style Sizzix thick red die. I had to figure out the "sandwich" for the Cuttlebug. It was the hardest to use of all the dies I have tried so far because it is not flat on the bottom. I ended up with the "C" plate and a piece of cardboard. The cardboard was the kind that comes in a Creative Memories paper pack - sorta' like the back of a tablet.

Check out this BEAUTIFUL BASIC GREY Paper. I found a picture of the papers on Scrap Etc. Here is the link.

http://moniquemclean.typepad.com/scrap_etc/

Sodding the Yard Scrapbook Layout

Here is another layout where we are fixing our home. When we moved in there was no grass in the front yard. It had died from neglect. That was the biggest negative in considering whether we should buy the house. We had never redone a yard but read a lot about it on the internet and decided to order sod. We ended up ordering less than half the amount we actually needed. It took several days to till the yard, grade the dirt and layout the grass. It was so worth it! This layout uses the Basic Grey Pheobe collection again! I used a photo of the grass cut in half as the border on the bottom.

Check out the Basic grey site. Everytime you click on the Home link you can see a preview of one of their new collections. There are 2 that will be great for scrapbooking boys. One is archaic and the other is boxer. I cannot wait! Like I need more paper :-)

Azaleas in Houston Scrapbook Page

Last year my mom broke her kneecap. The boys and I went to Houston to take care of her for a few months off and on. I love the color in these photos and I don't get to scrapbook anything with flowers very often. This paper is from the Pheobe pack from Basic Grey and is called Angel Island. The solid is Bazzill and I used green vellum to journal on.

Kitchen Renovations Scrapbook Layout

I love this Recess Basic Grey paper. This layout uses three different prints. The first renovation we did when we moved into our home was to rip up the kitchen floor circa 1966 and replace it with oak laminate. It was pretty easy and made a huge difference. These are my before and after pictures. We also removed a lot of wroght iron features. We still have some work to do in the kitchen.



This is another layout using the same paper. I inked the edges to give it a little more distressed look.