Corner Bookmarks!

Many of us take these summer days and use them to dive into some good books. I know I look forward to reading a good novel after spending several months absorbed in professional journals for work. These bookmarks are great for finding where you left off. Not to mention, they are a great gift to give to those readers in your life.

Here is the link to the tutorial for making this great bookmark. Enjoy! My creation is pictured below. I used CTMH's "Sweet Home" and added a handmade rosette in the middle.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/cornerbookmark/

Why Journal?

I have so many of my scrap peeps asking me, "why bother journal our pages?". Or I will have some who say they don't like journaling because they don't like their handwriting. Well for all of you "anti-journalers" out there. This post is for you.

Journaling is important. Though you have the basic memory in the photo you are trying to preserve through scrapbooking, the details of your memory may fade with time. For instance, traveling with my family is precious time for me. I love to scrapbook my vacations with my husband and children. Having children, I feel like I want to freeze every moment, right down to the sweet little things they say. So I use journaling as an opportunity to log those things such as the following: favorite things that were said, funny pronunciations of words when your children are small, or even including the description of that one outfit your child wants to wear all the time...LOL.

So here are some tips:

• Keep a small notepad in your purse/camera case/beach bag to jot little things down (don't forget to include the date)

• If you don't like your handwriting, consider typing your thoughts using a fun font on your computer (be sure to print it out on acid free paper...may I suggest CTMH cardstock/B&T Duos)

• If you are not a "writer", just include a few words that will capture the memory of your photo

• Have your children sit and look at the photo you are scrapping and come up with a thought to journal together.
  


• Have Fun!!!! Remember, this doesn't have to be a 2 page essay. Something simple is all you need.

I decided to start making some extra effort in making journal cards for my layouts. Pictured here are a couple of journal cards I created using a theme made for "Splendor"

Summer Fun Being Preserved!

Splendor!

Let the fun begin! This year we decided to pull the girls out of school one week early and kick off our summer with a trip to Busch Gardens! What fun we had. I couldn't wait to get home and get scrapping! I decided to use CTMH's "Splendor" to capture the best moments of our trip.

Pictured above, I added some dimension to my pages using Splendor Designer Brads, Soft Set Eyelets, and some ribbon. These pages were super easy to make and fun too.

Be Yourself!

This time of year, many of us are celebrating the graduates in our lives whether they'd be graduating preschool, elementary school, high school, or college. Just a little shout out to you all.....Congratulations and remember to always be yourself....."Just Be You".

I'm Bored!!!!!

The one phrase I dread each summer is "I'm Bored"! Especially since we take lots of long car trips. So I got this great idea to make a little box filled with some travel sized fun stuff. I filled mine with some dice, crayons, and play dough and can add little things like mini pencils and notepads for score keeping and rubber bouncy balls and playing cards. I used "Zippidee" from CTMH to make mine. I added some stacked craft buttons and a ribbon to use for taking the lid on and off. Perfect size to throw in my purse or beach bag too. A great thing to have while on vacation and need something to occupy the kids while waiting for service in a restaurant or an extra activity for the beach if your little ones need to take a break from the sun and water. Coming soon, I'll be doing a mini scrappers workshop (for kids) and we'll be making this great craft.......

Let the Summer Fun Begin!

So here we are quickly approaching the end of the school year. As a family, we decided to pull the girls out of school a little early this year so we can enjoy some family time together in Williamsburg, VA. What a blast! It was exhausting, as you can see our youngest pictured here losing her battle with sleepiness:






This time of year is also the time where we say "thank you" to all of those amazing teachers we are fortunate to have in our children's lives. That is when the ease of CTMH product comes in handy. With 4 wonderful teachers to thank, I decided to get out my "Zippidee" pack and the May "Stamp of the Month" and get cracking.