Album completed.

Goal achieved. Mission accomplished. My 2013 scrapbook album is completed and it's a great feeling. The album itself is an American Crafts 3-ring binder. This is the third time I've used this album and it will continue to be my album of choice.
This years' scrapbook is made up of 57 pages. 127 photos. 4 pocket pages. 2 double layouts. 12 Christmas pages. 6 birthday layouts. 30 different people including Santa and Mrs. Claus. 2 pages without any photos. 1 class photo. 71 pieces of wood veneer. 37 sequins, not including the see through envelop full of sequins. All because of 1 handsome boy.
This scrapbook documents my family's story. My favorite story to tell. Now it's tell to make more memories so I can do it all over again. I can't wait. A

Holiday concert.

I am so lucky to have such a handsome boy to help me create beautiful pages. I love this picture. The green dove pattern paper is from Tradition by Authentique Paper. So is the striped paper and a few of the embellishments. A company that I am not so familiar with, but plan to be after this layout. I think it's a perfect match with this photo. The Charles Dickens quote was taken from the product strip attached to the paper. I knew I wanted to use it as soon as I discovered it. I struggled with the title on this page because I refused to omit that quote. I settled on the above because the size of the letters worked well with the other elements.
I used a few gold accents which turned out great with the different cream tones being used. This is a much more successful way for me to use gold. Compared to the previous gold page I attempted, this makes me feel like I am not ready to give up on the gold trend, yet.

4x6 photo case.

Today I am sharing a product that I've just discovered and couldn't be happier with. This 4x6 photo case is simple and inexpensive. The exact case above is made by ArtBin and I purchased at A Cherry on Top for $2.49. And I think it's worth every penny. This tickles both ends of my funny bone; photos and organization. I was able to find a similar case at the local five & dime store for only $1.39. I bought 10 of them and plan on giving them to the unorganized people I love the most.
Of course I added a label for the date. I used some small journaling stickers that I probably wouldn't of used otherwise. The options are endless with all the cute labels and tags on the market right now. You could also use washi tape. I plan on organizing all of our loose pictures this way. One of the most helpful ways I'll use this box is on my scrapbook desk for all those extras that don't make the cut. This will keep my desk clean and eye only on the photos that are on the to do list. Happiness for $2.49. I'll take it!

All pages aren't created equally.

They just aren't! Some pages take more time. Some take less. You can dedicate a ton of time to create a page and the end result just doesn't make your heart flutter. On the other hand, sometimes the simplest page will speak to you. It might be the layout, the photo, the attempt of trying a new technique, the story you are documenting, or maybe you finally decided to use that one piece of paper you've been saving for just the right project. Regardless the reason, it's normal to take more pride in one compared to another. This also applies to the cost of pages. A page with 52 embellishments, tons of papers, and a long Thickers title will usual cost more than a page the demands less fussiness and a Cameo cut title. To me, these factors seem to balance out each other.
Previously, I've told you my albums are in calendar year fashion. Starting fresh in January and always ending the album with way too many Christmas layouts. When I review the album as a whole I always have my favorites. I also always have a handful of pages the I am not that fond of. Both of these groups are surrounded by pages that fall someplace in the middle. Full of pictures I don't want to forget and stories I am proud to tell. Simple pages and more difficult ones. Pages that are expensive and other made out of scraps. The balance of these pages make my albums perfectly complete to me.

Gold.

Gold is pretty trendy right now in the scrap book world. Actually, did you notice the amount of metallic dresses at The Golden Globes? Yup, style and design trendys seem to hit everything from fashion and home to our crafts to what we think is COOL right now. I had high hopes for this page and I think it fell a little short.
The picture is a metallic print from Persnickety Prints. The metallic print is a super cool product, but is picture dependent. It takes the right picture to really show of the shine. I have a better example in the days to come. With the glowing lights of the carousel I knew this was the picture to take a stab at a gold page.
I paired the gold with wood elements and kraft paper. A mix I am seeing a lot of different places. The stars are from Studio Calico. The stacked group of gold embellishments are from Crate Paper by Maggie Holmes, who seems to be leading the pack with the most beautiful gold accents. I placed the title on one of those accents. Wow, where did that beautiful hand writing come from? From me, thanks to my collection of fonts and a printer. I made use of the see through window and traced my title. I used the Silhouette program for the correct sizing and placement. Not a bad idea, huh?
I am happy I tackled this trend with enthusiasm, but not very enthusactic about the results. But that's OK, not all pages are created equally.

Sending cake to heaven.

My favorite thing about this page is the subject matter. These pictures were taken on my brother's birthday, because Eli insisted that we had to send a piece of birthday cake to Uncle Travis. This is the first opportunity I've had to scrap about the passing of my brother. Travis died 3 years before Eli was born and there isn't a day that goes by that I wish they had met each other. I always have and will continue to talk about Uncle Travis with Eli. He knows that he is in heaven. This year I suggested sending some balloons to him on his birthday, but that wasn't good enough. Eli wanted to send cake. We were very unsure if it would even work, but I had to give it a shot. Let's just say it was a tiny amount of cake due to weight and engineering problems.
I wanted this page to be fun and bright. It was a birthday celebration and I wanted it to look that way. I picked a playful piece of pattern paper. On top I framed it with some birthday ribbon, on bottom I
used a piece of washi tape. I love the white on white clouds. I cut them out with my Silhouette Cameo in various different textures of white and velum. I pulled a few clouds down into the picture area and paired them with some important words. I took the time to journal on this page because it was such a special occasion and I wanted the story to be told. Journaling tags seem to be my favorite lately.
Thoughtfulness is something Eli & Travis have in common. I am so proud. Always remember, never forget. Big T in the sky.

Unplanned pages.

The above page is the product of an all day crop. It was the last page on the to do list. My eyes were tired, my back was aching, and my creative brain was starting to misfire. My only plan was to make sure this picture made it in to the album. Hey, it's not everyday I get a picture of myself that I approve of. It turns out that I kind of like the result of too many m&m's, laughter, and exhaustion.
If you've read any of my other blog post you know I am a planner. I struggle with allowing myself to just create without over thinking it. I think this page is fun, corky, and eye pleasing. It reminds me to just create! That the result will not be a disaster. The vintage mini playing cards were an Etsy.com find that I scored. A super fun embellishment I might have not used if I had planned this page out.

Pretty pages for boys.

This is the prettiest page my guy has ever had. I am guilty! His scrap book is full of primary colors and bursting with navy blue layouts. But so is our laundry basket. The vibrant colors of the flowers in this picture made me search for bright greens & purples. I stayed mostly within collection lines with an older My Mind Eye's line. It was actually a 6x6 paper pack I had on hand and I was able to accomplish what I wanted to with it. I feel like the black accents with the kraft paper make this somewhat girly page successful for my rough and tough boy. I am pleased with the result of using more girly papers and hope this has opened my mind to looking past the boy paper lines. NOTE: The "favorite" wood veneer was actually a speech bubble. I snipped off the extra little piece to make it work where I wanted it to. Yes, I had him buy flowers for a date with his cousin to see Berenstain Bears Live. I remind myself daily that I have a man in training and he is going to have to snag a good girl so I can be relieved  of my duties.

December activies.

The above calendar was floating around Pinterest and I knew I wanted to use it as soon as I saw it. It took a little investigating and a few different pins until I found it's original source. I located the calendar as a printable on another beautiful ladies' blog. Most seem to be using it for their December Daily album which is usually a mini-album. But who has time for a mini-album when you are a loyal 12x12 girl. I printed it as a full page 8.5x11, because that is the biggest size I am capable of printing. I then placed it on card stock. I added all of our holiday activities to the calendar as the days grew closer to Christmas. I am super happy I took the time to document the holiday season. I am not so happy this page is full of my ugly handwritting, but I had no other choice due to lack of space. Being OK with my handwritting is something I hope to work on this year. Following this page in the album will be many of activies listed above.

Goal set.

The goal is to finish last year's album before we move! Move date is February 10th and I am hovering someplace before Halloween in the album's progress. With Eli back in school I feel like this might be a realistic goal. Which is the thought right before I remind myself of all the packing and cleaning there is to be done. Ugh. The only other fact working against my success is that I tend to have a heavy trigger finger around the holidays. When I first started scrapping I vowed not to be one of those crazy Christmas paper addicts. In the previous weeks I've had my on eye on the holiday collections and thinking that maybe those Christmas crazy ladies aren't all that bad. Realistic or not, I am going to go for it. Wish me luck. Ready. Set. Go.

Neon colors.

Neon colors isn't something I have a lot of experience with, but this photo was begging for them. I had to do some digging in my stash to see if I even had enough neon color elements to create a page. I placed them on a white 12x12 page to make them pop. I did very little planning for this page which is something I am becoming better at and hope to keep doing. What? No journaling again, Bridgett? Not true. Take a closer look at those Tim Holtz playing cards. E4 S3. Yup, that's right Eli, age 4 Stella, age 3. That's enough journaling for me. Also take a closer look at the white resin flower on the bobby pin. It's another amazing embellishment from Freckled Fawn. A company that seems to be right on trend these days. The male-female washi tape is also from them. That makes two elements that worked well with my neon colors and my two favorite little people.

Teachers gifts.

These were the gifts Eli gave his teachers for Christmas. I had to dig out the vinyl for this one. The clipboard is very inexpensive and just fun. I did adhere the apple and her name to the back of the clipboard to prevent bumps while writing when in use. Don't forget that means you have to mirror your images and layer backwards. Not a difficult task if you have the basic vinyl skills under your belt. Just takes a little more brain power to stop and think it out. A lot of times when making tumblers I pick up whatever is on sale, but I wanted these ladies to receive a nice cup. So, this time I spent a little extra to get the nice cups they sell at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. That way if my vinyl falls apart they will still have a nice cup. I made a cute little tag stating "top dishwasher rack only" and filled the cup up with Kisses. Don't forget these extra steps to make your gift look complete.