Scrapbook Remix #4

How fortunate that this prompt came in time for me to work over the weekend.  As I said yesterday, not in the best scrappy mood just now.  In fact, after working today on my Prompt 4 layouts, I am now sitting on my bed with a heating pad as my back screams "YOU WILL NEVER SCRAPBOOK AGAIN!" in it's best Wizard of Oz voice.  Stupid back, stupid legs, stupid middle... I'll show you!

So I did two layouts for this Prompt.  Weirdly, I had to read it over and over to understand exactly what my purpose was... there was so much said about that Scenic Route paper that I just didn't figure out what I was supposed to be aiming at.  (Now, we all know that this is very much about the MS - about the fact that there are times when I am pretty much just an idiot.  Especially when I am having a flair coming on like right now.  Stupid MS!)  But I finally figured it out - it's those pesky little florals.  No, really I kind of like a floral sometimes.  Let's face it, I firmly believe that a layout isn't complete with some flowers and butterflies or birds.  I'm just that scrapbooker.  And that's fine with me.
 
Now before I get started on those layouts, I just want to say that I had almost forgotten how hard scrapbooking can be for me sometimes.  Lately it has seemed so easy to pick that paper and that paper and cut it and glue it to some cardstock (even though it takes a while - let's face it, it has always taken me hours to complete a "10-Minute Page").  But the past few days pages have taken me forever even though the process of selecting papers has been quite quick.

For instance, when I printed the photos of my birthday, I knew exactly what papers I wanted to use.  So I started out with a 10"x10" square of the large floral on gray cardstock as my starting point.  Then I used my large eyelet border punch on the small floral and placed it on a strip of green pp on top of  on top of the 'teal' dot (also cut with the large eyelet border).  As you can see, that is totally not the way it ended up.  For almost 24 hours, I would change this and change that; getting up from bed and working on it in the middle of the night.  So... no, this is not what my vision started as but this is what I ended up with and yes, it looks very familiar to so many layouts I've done - but hey, that's fine with me, at least I like it. 

A Prepared Birthday - Cardstock:  The Paper Studio; Patterned Paper:  Crate Paper, Echo Park, Pebbles Inc; Flowers:  Prima, Recollections;  Stickers:  American Crafts, EK Success; Brads & Pearls: The Paper Studio;Punches: EK Success, Martha Stewart; Ink: Ranger; Pen: Sharpie

Once I finished this layout, I realized there needs to be an accompanying page as I have more photos that I want to use and story to tell.  Hate that my dark pink glitter letters look so purple in this photo - but we all know I can't take a picture worth a darn.  And I have especially found that, even though the lighting is better inside the house here, the photos are not as good as the ones I used to take on the side of my shed.  I have found that here using my cell phone actually seems better than my 'real' camera. Hmmm....

Since hooking up with Pretty Papers.True Stories., Shimelle has totally made me a lover of B-side papers.  I have found that they are the easiest thing in the world to work with as they mix-match so well and work for almost everything.  This has totally changed my life!!! (No wonder she's my scrapping hero!)  I now enjoy scrapbooking so much more and am more productive than ever as this comes together for me so much easier.  Before, I fell in love with A-sides and bought papers based on that love... only to find when I got home that I had no clue how to use them.  However, using all those tiny patterns for backgrounds, mats, bits & pieces - well now, I can do that!  And so, for much of my paper shopping I have strictly bought for those little patterns (in conjunction with the colors of course).  But as I am a paper pack/pad buyer, I have gotten my hands on quite a few A-sides in the process... and a few of them I really like (like that 'Good Life' paper I used on GiGi's layout last week).  So in the vain of trying 'new' things, I tried something a little different than anything spoke of in class (yet?). I used an A-side as a background on my 2nd layout:

Ever So Happy - Patterned Paper:  Echo Park, Pink Paislee; Stickers: American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, Echo Park; Flowers: Creative Memories, Recollections; Punch:  EK Success; Ink: Ranger; Pen: Sharpie

 

This is definitely one of those A-sides that I really liked, thought would be so great to use on a layout, then got home and had no clue what to do with.  But once I figured out that I wanted to use that floral and then pulled the Pink Paislee paper, it came together quite quickly.  I used the cameras cut from Echo Park This&That to hide some (not all) of the yellow flowers around the border. And other than the flowers, those are the only embellishments I used!  How easy is that??!!!  And you know what, I really love this layout in person.  Even though the original floral didn't have the yellow in it, it really flows well with the other elements of the page - they actually look as though they could have come from the same paper line.  I inked everything with black this time, and used a gray Sharpie for the journaling.  It just works for me - maybe not everyone - but for me, and that's fine.

I want to put in a product plug here... I love.love.love. Sharpie Ultrafine Pens.  I have so many colors but my favorite are the black, brown and gray that I use for journaling.  I got mine at Office Depot for $1.00 each and they are the one item that not only stays on my craft cart, but in my purse as well.  Also, I love! EK Success border punches.  Not only are they the easiest thing ever to store, but they really cut smoothly for me and the indicator markings are spot on. 

Okay, now I have to go find the charger for my laptop.  I hope everyone is spending every minute of their time creating something wonderful (okay, well at least some of their time)!  Happy Sunday.

Cheerio!

P.S.  Have you ever noticed how many words light up when you spell check anything about scrapbooking?  Like the words 'scrapbooking', 'journaling', 'cardstock' & 'florals'... it just cracks me up everytime.

"Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression." - Isaac Bashevis Singer