Change of Focus

I said I would be back with another post in my Why I Scrapbook series, however, since Monday I have had a lot on my plate.
We looked at FIVE houses on Monday and found what might be our future home. All of my free time has been consumers with home stuff.
A couple of sneak peeks...the daisy bush in the front of the home. I love daisies and felt an immediate sense of "this is home" before even going inside.

The view off the back deck is lush and green. I see lots of cookouts and hangouts back there if this ends up to be our home.

Be back soon with something scrappy!!!

Baby Shower Goodness

My BFF Allison hosted my baby shower over the weekend and I feel so blessed and overwhelmed with love following the party. It was wonderful to have some best-friend time over the weekend- it is so hard to come by these days! I think I went a little photo crazy with this post, but I couldn’t choose just a few! 

Sleeping baby cupcakes. 

I reused the Ikea vases from our wedding decor. I love a good excuse to pull out these sweet little bud vases! 

Mimosa punch. I didn’t have any, but I heard it was pretty tasty! 

Mason jars and cute straws! 

So excited to start the baby’s library! 

Fruit salad in a watermelon carriage. 

Super cute paper straws!!

Tie-Dye App State onesie?  YES PLEASE!!! 

MORE BOOKS!!! 

Diaper cake made by my aunt and grandmother. I love all of the stuffed animals and toys! 

And a goofy picture to finish the post! I was exhausted and a little punchy by the end of the party...can you tell? 

I’ll be back tomorrow with another post in my Why I Scrapbook series.

Why I Scrapbook- WHEN

When do I scrapbook?

I have found it really difficult to have a lot of work-life balance lately so I try really hard to protect some crafty time each weekend.

I also love to scrap while Ry is watching sports. I love sports, but he could watch something competitive 24/7 and in order to spend our time together I do something I love while he does something he wants to do.

I find myself sketching ideas and layouts when I’m in meetings and thinking of journaling while I’m driving down the road for work. I guess you could say that I’m scrapping all the time!

Why I Scrapbook- WHERE

A long time ago I mastered the art of lap scrapping and travel scrapping. I have my supplies packed and ready to go most of the time! I hate packing and unpacking, but since I am still unsettled and not in a permanent home, it will have to work for now. I still don’t have a designated “scrap area” and certainly hope I will be able to dedicate space in our future home to my crafts someday soon. In the meantime, here is what I have:

Paper Storage

I love this 10 drawer container Ryan bought me last year. It has wheels, which don’t work so well in our current housing situation, but worked wonders on hardwood floors! I have my papers/scraps divided by colors: white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, and brown/kraft. I 

Paints/Stamps/Inks and Embellishments

The polka dot bag is full of alcohol inks, mists, paint brushes, and such. The black basket contains my frequently used punches, two staplers, and my colored staples. I have paints/inks/stamps in the plastic drawers, and embellishments in need of organization in the wooden drawers on the bottom of the stack. I find it hard to work with this system, but anticipate a change soon! 

Where the magic happens

 Most of my scrapping takes place in front of the TV with my hubby by my side. I use the coffee table and tray tables to scrap on. You can see about 3 different projects in process on the coffee table. I need to clean it off before Ry fusses at me! 

This is usually my view when scrapping. Paper nearby, TV on, cat in the way! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Why I Scrapbook- WHAT

Sometimes I think I love my supplies just as much as I love the finished pages themselves! I have always loved office supplies, pretty paper, and stickers. I had a sticker collection as a small child and would have to have more that one sheet of the stickers in order to justify using the stickers to decorate a notebook or letter to a pen pal. My crafty hoarding started at a young age...I blame Lisa Frank!

Paints and Mists
I love getting messy and making my own backgrounds with paints and mists. I think mists are my number one go to item when it comes to scrapbooking. I don’t feel that a layout is complete without at least one little mist! 

Pretty Paper
I love when I find a pretty piece of paper and it fits my picture perfectly or conveys the mood I want to convey. I love pretty designs, but stick to the simpler designs with my techniques.

Bling and Things
I love bling, buttons, punched butterflies...I cannot think about a layout without some sort of blingy fun stuff! 

Journaling is a MUST
Often the most important part of my layout is in the journaling. I want to tell stories through my scrapbooking and feel that journaling helps to tell others where you have been and why you feel it is important to document your memories through this art form. (More on that later!)

Here is one of my most recent layouts that has all of my favorite things: mist, bling, pretty paper (though not that much) and journaling.

Photos by: Pixels on Paper

Thanks for stopping by!

Why I Scrapbook- WHO

Who do I scrapbook?

My husband- I love scrapbooking memories of the two of us together. I am still working on scrapbooking all of my favorite wedding photos and love finding a new favorite picture each and every time I look for a wedding photo to scrapbook. 

Our little one- I have been scrapbooking some of the ultrasound and baby bump pictures with journaling about my feelings surrounding this wonderful transition in our lives! 

Look at those feet!!! Who couldn’t love those feet?!?!

Our Cat- I love these two and get so much joy out of watching Eureka play with her many toys, catch her mice that I throw at her, and be the most adorable and annoying cat all rolled into one body! 

Over the past year I have evolved from mainly scrapping about myself to scrapping about myself, my relationship, my family, and my friends. Also our cat. I’m a tiny bit obsessed with our cat.

I also scrap about everyday things such as workouts, goals, and food! I love documenting simple memories and my feelings associated with those memories. For me, scrapbooking is therapeutic and I have taken the approach of documenting some of my favorite memories as well as some difficult memories through scrapbooking.

I created this layout a few weeks ago as I am trying to get caught up on all of my wedding layouts. I love this picture of my brother and me before my wedding last May. It was such a special moment because through much of the wedding planning, I was unsure that he would be able to take time off from the Peace Corps to come home and celebrate with us. I am so glad that he was able to be home and stand with me on my wedding day.

Photo by: Pixels on Paper

Why I Scrapbook Series

I have been away for a while, but was inspired to get back to blogging by my friend Loni. She has started a brand new scrapbooking blog and last week she wrote a series on why she scrapbooks- I think that is the perfect way for me to get back to blogging since I am now back to scrapbooking.

Over the next several days I will be posting about all of the reasons I am so passionate about memory keeping and scrapbooking.

WHO
WHAT
WHERE
WHEN
HOW
WHY


I will also be sharing some of my recent layouts with you all.  I have been documenting many of the wonderful changes happening in our lives right now. I created this layout a few weeks ago during the My Scrapbook Nook online crop:

Thanks for stopping by!