Yes! I found time to scrap! And I wanted to share the page with everyone who has been so wonderful to us this year — all of you steadfast, patient and creative blog-friendly folks. Wishing you (Each and every one!) a love and light-filled year that is better than you could possibly imagine!
What are you doing for National Scrapbooking Day? If you're not already scrapping, here are the Top 10 Things to Do.
It was this time last year that I first dipped my toe in the digital scrapping pool, testing the creative waters. Before I knew it I had cannon-balled into the deep end.
I've always been a hybrid scrapper because hybrid layouts afford me the best of both worlds. I can achieve the texture and dimension I love without excessive bulk. And I can journal to my hearts contents and tuck the journaling blocks behind photos or into pull-out pockets or sleeves. Maybe someday I'll explore more hybrid projects, but right now I'm tickled pink with things just as they are.
It is ironic that, instead of scrapping, I'll be spending the day at one of my favorite Spring festivals: Maryland Sheep and Wool. I've been attending this festival for years, so I couldn't throw over a "girl's day" outting to the fairgrounds with friends who are as addicted to fiber as I am.
With a little luck National Scrapbooking Day next year won't fall precisely on MD Sheep and Wool weekend. But even if it does, I'll still manage to get some scrapping in somehow.
I finished another digital layout the other day for Little Sprout's First Year Album. It was created for the heart-shaped photo challenge over at Sunshine Studio Scraps.
This challenge gave me a new goal: to start and finish a layout in three days. That's a whole lot better than the last layout I did for a challenge...the one where I missed the deadline and then took nearly 90 days to complete the layout makeover. I'm so excited that I achieved my goal!
I know, I know...
Everyone ELSE writes (and apparently speaks) ← Ooh, ha ha! A pun. Get it? (Psst, look at the title of this blog.)
Everyone ELSE writes, "I got RAKed!" It is the same faux pas we all blindly accepted when America Online (AOL) first came into being and e-mail in-boxes started singing, "You've got mail!" No matter how many people say it or how long it goes on, it's still wrong. So I write it the way it should correctly appear in print (with the exception of contracting the "I" and "have," because I'm not a complete tyrant.) Here ends the grammar lecture.
What are RAKs? RAKs are Random Acts of Kindness. This acronym had popped up a few times on other people's blogs before I timidly asked Mr. Sunshine about it when it appeared on his blog.
He was terrific about explaining and even sent me The Obsession Kit as an Easter present. Honestly, chivalry may be hog-tied and stuffed in the back of a closet somewhere in this country, but Mr. Sunshine proves that it is not yet dead in his corner of the world. Here is a link where you can find out more about The Obsession Kit: where to buy it.
Can you believe that Ellie Lash RAKed me a few weeks before Mr. Sunshine did? I did remark about Ellie's wonderful kindness and generosity in Kindness Is Never Wasted, I just didn't know such things had their own Internet acronyms back then, ha ha! I can be slow on the uptake sometimes.
And here are images of the two delicious kits Ellie sent me just for sharing the recipe for Chocolate Coconut Balls! (For the record, the recipe really is that good. Try it, you'll see.)
With all this digital scrapbooking goodness waiting to be utilized, there is only one thing to say.
Better start scrappin'!
Or how to finish a layout in no less than 90 days.
That's not even my longest lag. I kid you not. There is a traditional paper-and-glue page that sits unfinished, waiting for . . . oh, who am I kidding? Waiting for me to get over the fear of doing it wrong and ruining the expensive, coordinated supplies.
Be that as it may, I finished a digital layout for Little Sprout's First Year Album yesterday. And I cranked out a digital section divider page today! That's progress, baby. Yeah!
It's a good feeling to complete a scrapbook layout that was particularly frustrating and look back at the creative transformations along the way. It shows me that I am getting better. Even if I still scrap at a snail's pace. Or a tortoise's, if the tortoise and hare analogy works better for you.
Here is the first incarnation of the Budgie Boy layout. I originally created it for my first ever scrap challenge. The goal was to scrap an endearment or pet name. The journaling needed to reflect why the name held special meaning. An amazing designer named Michelle Sparano complimented how I laid out the crossword-style title and got me thinking. So I decided to rework the page to play up the crosswords.
Quite a bit of time passed as the idea germinated in the back of my mind. Then I half-hazardly searched for crossword elements online. A few more weeks passed.
Then Caelie Haine's very wise words whacked me back into action. She used to say, "It's not brain surgery!" (She's a doer. That's one of the many things I admire about her.) Over-thinking was getting in the way of doing, I decided, and it was time to get to work.
Without further ado, here is yesterday's finished layout:
[drum roll, please]
Last but not least is the digital section divider page I cranked out today during Little Sprout's morning nap. (Hey, hey hey! I may actually be getting back some me time.)
