LOM Layouts

For the past 8 weeks I have been immersed in sorting, purging, and organizing 20+ years worth of photos. And thanks to my new Library of Memories (LOM) system, as we take more and more photos I now have a system for keeping them organized, telling the stories behind them in meaningful ways and displaying them so we can enjoy them right now.

It's a great feeling to know that I am working on the legacy for my boys... photos and stories of their parents, grandparents and great grandparents. Photos and stories of extended family members and other people who love them. Photos and stories of their lives. I love this!

We have another 8 weeks to go in the LOM class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking and we will be tackling things like how to deal with storing memorabilia and all the kids' school items, but at this point after having done so much work I am ready to reap the rewards of my new system and do some scrapping!

So, I created these 4 title pages for my new LOM Albums: All About Us, People We Love, Places We Go and Things We Do.








As you can see I used the same plan for each, which helped them come together fast and will give the albums some cohesiveness (I am a big fan of page plans!). All new layouts from here on out will fit into one of these four types of albums. No more worrying about making sure that layouts are scrapped chronologically, or that I am caught up with my scrapbooking. Just focusing on enjoying the process of scrapping and the resulting pages. I love thinking about my family looking through these albums and enjoying them and all the stories they will hold.

I also had a bit of time to work on my Project 365 album, and I will share some fo those layouts in the next few days.

Ahhh...it feels good to create!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Why, Why, Why???

This is typical of the type of conversations I have been having with Grayson lately...

G: What are you doing mommy? ( just as I am getting into what I was hoping would be a nice relaxing, quiet shower)
Me: Having a shower.
G: Why are you having a shower?
Me: Because I want to get nice and clean.
G: Why do you want to get nice and clean?
Me: Because I don't want to be dirty.
G. Oh. (Pause) Why don't you want to be dirty mommy?
Me: Well, I like to smell nice and look pretty.
G: Why do you like to smell pirty?
Me: Argggh!!!! No...I didn't really say this...I just imagined saying it!

Seriously, though, how do you make a conversation like this end??? Grayson is in such a "why" period right now. I love him dearly but it tries my patience! I shouldn't be surprised because I remember my dad telling me that I went through a period when I was young where I would ask "Why" to almost everything that was said too. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Oh well...

Hope you had a great Valentines Day. We just took it easy yesterday, but today was a busy day with my God-daughter's birthday party and a family dinner at my aunt's house. Tomorrow is the Family Day Holiday, so we are lucky to have yet another free weekend day ahead of us. I hope to get a lot of old photos sorted for my Library of Memories class and get them placed into some photo storage albums in preparation for the next step which is placing them into category drawers. I think it will be a great system for quickly finding photos from various years/seasons as well as identifying and scrapbooking photos that have more personal meaning.

I am also looking forward tomorrow to seeing a sneak peek at the new line of Creative Memories products which will be available March 1. I love new scrapping supplies...yummy!

Lastly, I got an email from the lovely Georgana Hall over at Adornit. They have just launched a new monthly kit program and she posted a tip I submitted on how to use your scrapbooking time effectively. Watch for a new kit every month and more tips from busy scrapbooking moms just like me and you.

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

How do you Scrap? GIVEAWAY!

It feels so good to work with and help others that love to scrap as much as I do. I had a great day hosting a workshop for 7 lovely ladies who created an average of 5 scrapbook pages each today! And we had one gal who was brand new and created her very first layout ever about her sweet son. (And so another unsuspecting soul was introduced to this sweet addiction known as scrapbooking...!)

A lot of the discussion today was around the idea of being "caught up" and the organization of albums, and whether you scrap chronological, event-based layouts or "just because" layouts. I for one am in the middle of transition from scrapping chronologically to a more open style. I am hoping to really grasp the philosophy behind this style of scrapping when I take Stacy Julian's Libray of Memories class that starts in February. I am so excited! It feels like a whole new take on scrapbooking for me and I am looking forward to embracing it. I have set up my new albums that are divided into four categories that really make sense to me: All About Us, People We Love, Things We Do and Places We Go. Any layout I create could easily fit into one (or more) of these categories. Here is a shot of my album shelf with my new albums all labeled and ready to go:

I am using the same albums I have been using since I started scrapbooking - Creative Memories 12 x 12 Strap Hinge Style Album in four different colors - Green, Cobalt, Ruby and Chocolate. When you use this type of album you would normally work right on the page and that really supported the chronological style of scrapping I used to do. But with the introduction of these cool side loading page protector sleeves, I can now scrap on whatever type of 12 x 12 paper I want, slip it into my album and rearrange at will. I am so happy about this because I think CM albums are one of the best quality albums out there and they have a lifetime guarantee. That's important to me because if I am going to put all this work into preserving and sharing my family's story, I want to know that my album is going to last for a LONG time! I am one happy scrapper because now I get the best of both worlds.

Now for a GIVEAWAY!!!!! This is the first time I have given away anything on my blog and I am excited! I realized the other day that I have had this blog for a year now and have really enjoyed it. I know I get quite a few hits each day, but my readers must be shy because they don't leave many comments, and I would really love to hear from you! SO...I'm giving away a Creative Memories page kit to TWO lucky reader who leave a comment! If you live in Canada, leave a comment to this post about the questions below by next Saturday, January 31st and I will draw for a winner on Sunday February 1st.

So, here's the questions for you about how YOU scrap.

• Are you a chronological scrapper?
• Do you make pages about special days and events?
• Do you scrapbook the everyday moments?
• How do you organize your albums/pages?

I can't wait to hear your answers!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Christmas Cards

In my earlier post today I said I was going to work on the photocard that we would send out with our family photo on it. Well...I got sidetracked and decided to play with paper and glue instead of jpegs and pixels and made some "regular" Christmas cards!

In October I took a class at BPS called Giving Well. The instructor was Kolette Hall who is a stamp and product designer for Hampton Art (you probably have some of her designs if you have ever shopped the dollar stamp bin at Michael's!) Besides giving us 14 great gift idea projects during the class, she also provided us with designs to use on tags and cards. I used the card designs today to make these cards:

These are very different cards for me...usually I spend time designing one or two cards and then make several more identical ones. This time I made fourteen different cards using the same materials. Each one was trial and error and I just did whatever I felt looked good with each of the little templates from Kolette. It was fun to not have a plan for a change! In addition to a few pieces of 8.5 x 11 cardstock and 2 sheets of 12 x 12 double sided paper I also used some brads, ribbons and buttons I had in my stash, so this was a very inexpensive project!

I think I'll work on the digital photocards tomorrow!

Happy Scrapping!

Noreen

OH...I also changed the template on my blog to three columns using instructions and HTML code from this blog. There was lots of good info - check it out!

Getting Organized

My house has been in a state of CHAOS ("Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome" according to FlyLady!) since we moved in over a year ago. We started renovations on our 40 year old bungalow before we even moved in and we have been at it ever since. Right now I have a missing cabinet in my kitchen where the dishwasher is supposed to be installed in the next couple of weeks and all the dishes that were stored in that cabinet are on the kitchen table. Sam's nursery is 95% complete...we just have to actually set up the crib once we find it in the storage locker we call the garage. Our newly developed basement looks great except for the masses of rubbermaid blue totes that need to be labelled and stored in our storage room...which still needs shelves. Sigh...it goes on and on and on!

I am constantly thinking about storage and organization and how everything will look and function once I am done. I dream of having organized, color coded closets and shelves full of perfectly aligned matching rubbermaid totes with matching Dymo labels. In my scraproom I imagine finding a place for everything so it can be right at my fingertips...how many more layouts I could create! I am working towards that dream, but does anyone ever actually finish organizing? Or is it a constant ongoing project?

But, I am happy to report that I have had sucess on TWO fronts! I have finished creating two organizational planners that will surely help me stay organized in other areas! One is the Christmas Planner I was mentioning that I am making as part of a BPS class called "Cut the Crazy out of Christmas". The other is a Household Notebook inspired by both FlyLady and Organized Home. I put the "guts" of each together over the last couple of days and then because I wanted them to look great sitting on my shelf or counter I stayed up way too late last night and created covers and spines for both using my digital scrapbooking program from CM - Storybook Creator Plus.

Here is the Christmas Planner:

I used a free digital kit from Shabby Princess called Holiday Magic for the artwork and LD Coffee House as the font on this. Because I didn't have a digital copy of the photo I wanted to use, the cover is actually more a hybrid project...I started by making a template, printed that out onto cardstock and then added the printed photo and journaling onto the cardstock.

The inside of the Christmas planner has custom made dividers using artwork from the BPS class, and then I personalized it by stapling on strips of gingham ribbon along with the divider tabs.

And here is my new household notebook! How sweet!

I used the Recipe Book Digital Kit from Creative Memories for this cover, and a font called LD Telegram. I love the vintage feeling they both have! Inside I used ready made pocket dividers which will come in handy for slipping items into.

I created both covers as 12x12 layouts in my Storybook Creator Plus program and then simply trimmed them down to fit inside the outer sleeves of each binder. Because I knew I would be trimming them I kept the majority of focus more towards the centre of each layout. I did the spines as two 3" x 12" strips, printed them both onto one sheet of cardstock and then trimmed them down to fit the side sleeves on each binder.

On the whole I LOVE how they turned out and I think I will really be inspired to use them often!

OK...only 978 more organizational projects to go!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Bye Bye October...Hello Christmas Rush!

It happens every year so I should know by now to expect it, but the day after Halloween seems to mark the pre-Christmas craziness! And I have jumped right in...I am taking 2 Christmas prep classes @ BPS...Giving Well 2008 which is almost over, and Cut the Crazy out of Christmas which has just started. I have lots of fun project ideas under my belt and am now in the process of creating a customized Christmas planner so I am well on my way to getting organized! I know I know...I say every year that this year will be different, this year I will be organized, but I really have a feeling that this year I will make inroads to that goal!

Today I also had a Creative Memories booth at the first of three trade/Christmas shows this month. It was great - I got to meet a lot of other moms that have home based businesses and made a good amount of sales and contacts. A lot of people were really interested in Digital Scrapbooking, Photocards and Storybooks/Photobooks. This is really where my focus has been lately, so it was fun to initiate some digital newbies! And, I picked up a couple of Christmas gifts as well. I met a wonderful lady named Roxanne who sells personalized children's music CD's so I picked up 2 - Elmo singing songs about Grayson and Barney singins songs about Sam! Love them! We had a great chat about online commerce and it really got me thinking about about additions to my business, especially on my personal website. I have a few ideas that I am putting into place and will post when they are up and running.

In the creativity department, I finished up and submitted this layout to the Just Cre8 challenge which was to use a rebus on your LO. Mine uses letters and pictures for the title; "You Love To Read".

"You Love To Read" 12 x 12 LO by Noreen Smith. Paperbilities cardstock, Stampin Up letter strip, unknown patterned paper strip and brads. Century Gothic font.

I cannot believe the talent in this group of contestants and am really enjoying seeing their work. This weeks challenge is to design a LO based on one of three ads posted on the site. It's due Wednesday, so I better get working!

And, I can't resist posting pics of my pumpkins. Literally! Grayson was a pumpkin for Halloween and was oh-so-sweet! Sammy got to wear a Winnie the Pooh outfit, but was pretty unimpressed with the whole deal this year! (Next year I'm sure he will kick _ss!)

Here they are just before all the Halloween festivities began. They are getting to be good friends. Man I love these 2!!!

We went to a local mall for Halloween activities during the afternoon with our good friends Wendy, Amy and Sean and got to make slime and trick or treat with lots of other little ones. Here they are - the Pumpkin, Princess and Pirate!

Then in the evening I took Grayson around to a few neighbours.

Although he has been out Trick or Treating before, this was the first year he was really into it. He kept saying, "Just one more house Mom, just one more!" It was fine weather (17 degrees during the day) so I didn't mind being out walking around. (*I remember Halloweening when I was a kid and it always seemed to be so cold...you had to choose a costume that either had lots of layers or could go over your coat so you could keep warm!) Anyway, he had such a good time and what a candy stash he ended up with! He couldn't believe it! It was a really great day!

SO...onto the next holiday! Good luck getting organized...I'll post my planner once it is in the works!

Happy Scrapping

Noreen

Busy Weekend

What a great weekend we had!

Saturday it was off to Butterfield Acres Farm to go one our first ever PUMPKIN HUNT! Grayson was so excited as I had been talking it up for about a week before we went! It was even more exciting because Sean and Amy were going to be there too. We had afternoon tickets which weren't out first choice as Sean and Grayson do need "rest" time in the afternoons, but as it turned out it was good thing. The temperature had dropped the night before and they actually had some snow on the ground due to the higher elevation of the farm. Thankfully by the time we got there at 1:00 pm it was a little warmer, but Shane needed a touque for his bald head and Grayson decided he wanted his cosy hat as well. Shane took Sam in the Baby Bjorn and we bundled him up with a fleecy jacket, mittens and hat as well as blankets.

So off we went. We boarded a farm wagon pulled by a tractor (a big hit with Grayson!) and headed out to the pumpkin patch. There was literally frost on the pumpkins, but Grayson found one that he liked.. It was almost bigger than he was!

After the actual hunt, we went back to the farm in the wagon and were able to decorate the pumkins in the warm but smelly barn! (Being a city gal sure makes you sensitive to those farm smells!) Here is Grayson and Sean back in the wagon:

After we finished decorating we visited some of the animals - sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens and llamas - that live on the fram year round. Then it was off for a bite to eat. Sam did really well...he didn't complain being hauled around or being cold, and I fed him in the Jeep afterwards and he was happy as could be! It's funny though because you see pictures of folks who live in warmer climates going to pumpkin patches and it looks like our summertime! And although we had fun, I think it would be a little more enjoyable on a nice warm day! But all in all it was a good day and we would like to do it again.

Sunday was a big day for Sammy - his Baptism into the Catholic Church! We had him baptized at St. Luke's church, and Deacon Louis LaPointe performed the baptism itself. My good friend Wendy McDowell is Sam's Godmother and Shane's longtime friend Rob Anders is his Godfather.

Sammy was so good during the ceremony, and actually slept through most of it. Grayson was on his best behaviour as well, and looked so handsome in his dress clothes. We are so proud of both our boys!

Afterwards we had the family over to our palce for a celebratory lunch. My cousin Michelle and I are both only children so she is like a sister to me. She is 8 years younger than me and was still a baby as I was growing up, so we are both happy that her little girl Payton and Sammy will grow up together. Payton is a couple of months older than Sammy, but she is such a petite sweet little girl. Here they are together:

And here they are with the big guy Grayson. I'm sure as they all get older he will keep them in line!

The only downside to the celebration was that mom wasn't with us. I really felt her absence this past month during my birthday and Thanksgiving celebrations. I think this Christmas will be pretty difficult as well. We will have to plan some kind of celebration at the nursing home, although I don't know if she will realize that it is a special day or not. Anyway...it was great weekend and we have some special memoreis from it!

On the scrapping front, I have signed on for a great challenge at Just Cre8 - a great company headed up by Sue Sykes who contributes to Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine. It is a 5 week challenge and it is set up so you don't see anyone's work until each challenge deadline has passed. I will be excited to see what everyone comes up with for this weeks challenge of using a famous advertising slogan as inspiration for your layout.

I am also taking the Giving Well 08 class over at BPS and am getting lots of ideas for holiday gifts and cards. I haven't made anything yet, but I am creating a great resource file of ideas to go back to. I think I am also going to take the Cut the Crazy out of Christmas class (also at BPS)in November from Georgana Hall. Looks like a great way to get inspired and organized in a creative way for the Holidays! Now I have no excuses to be rushing once the Christmas season rolls around!

Happy Scrapping!

Noreen

Do Not Call!

If you live in Canada you can finally sign up on the National Do Not Call List. Easy to do and I am looking forward to peacful dinnertimes, as this is when we always seem to get telemarketer calls!

We are having a quiet week...

*still not able to post pics, but techy hubbie hasn't had time to figure it out for me. Oh well. (Maybe I need to switch to Typepad???)

*painting Sam's nursery today...he will have to move out of our room at some time!

*Grayson and I will also be doing some Thanksgiving baking - cookies and a pie to take up to Lloydminster for family dinner and some banana chocolate chip muffins for the trip. Yummy! We are going to leave on Friday to make a relaxing weekend out of it. I love Thanksgiving...it really signals full-on Fall and the beginning of the holiday season...next comes Halloween and pumpkin hunts, then we start getting ready for Christmas.

Speaking of holidays, Julie and I are doing two Christmas/Home business fairs...one in Riverbend on November 1 and one on November 22 in Pineridge. There will be lots of great Christmas shopping opportunitites! Click here for all the info.

And although I really contemplated taking Cathy Zielske'sDesign Your Life class over at BPS, I think I am in more of a Holiday mood and have decided to take a couple of classes that focus on the upcoming Holidays instead: Cut the Crazy out of Christmas, Giving Well and Gratitude Memory Box. I think I will be able to have fun scrapping and making crafty things as well as get ready for the holidays!!! It's all good!

Hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving long weekend!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

A birthday present for myself

Some things are serendipitous. I have just finished the Have More Fun class over at BPS with the magical Stacy Julian. She wrapped it up by issuing a challenge to us and to all her blogging friends. Here's what she said:

"You have everything you need right now to be vibrant, happy and fully engaged in the creative process of life. Sometimes you just have to slow down, look around and realize it! Here’s what I want you to do …• Snap ten or twelve photos of your life right now. Or find recent photos that you've already taken.• Compile these photos in one of these super-cute Bazzill Mono-Mini albums• Keep or carry this album with you, tucked in your purse or desk drawer for one full year.• Promise to glance through the album every time you stumble upon it or pull it out. • On October 1st, 2009, create a scrapbook page about your experience." See her post, her album and a list of all her friends who took up the challenge on her blog.

So, with today being my 41st birthday, I thought it would be great idea to create the mini-album to capture my life now and then be able to compare it to what things are like in one year. In fact, I think this might be the beginning of a new tradition...creating a birthday layout or project each year. You could say this would be a birthday present for myself!

So I made my sweet little album to keep in my purse using some cute pink embellies and cardstock. BUT...I have been trying to post the photos and I still can't do it. I think I will have to create a slide show and post it that way. Anyway...I WILL somehow post and share it. (PS I am still trying to post the rest of my "30 Days Hath September" album layouts as well!!!)

As another birthday comes to a close, I think of all the things I am blessed with in my life - Shane, my boys, my extended family, good friends, the basics - home, food and clothing- of course love, laughter and happiness. Those are the best birthday presents of all.

Happy scrapping,

Noreen

Catching Up

While I have been pretty good at getting my daily pages scrapbooked for my "30 Days Hath September"album for my Have More Fun class, I have been terrible at posting them...both to this blog and to the class gallery! I blame it on breastfeeding! About two weeks ago I decided to try Sam on a bottle so Shane could feed him if I ever had to be away from home. So, I started expressing after I gave him his last feeding of the night (usually around 10:00 pm). By the time I was finished, it was inevitably late and I was exhausted so I was going straight to bed. This USED to be my free quiet time when I would surf and blog and post, so that is why nothing has happened lately!

But tonight I had a little time and thought I would catch up. But when I tried to post the photos of the layouts, I could not for the life of me get them oriented correctly...they would always post on the page sideways. Does anyone have any tips? Once I figure it out I will post, post, post!

Regular photos seem to work fine, so here are a couple of recent ones.

Here's Grayson "testing" a Halloween chocolate lollipop! (Can you believe I'm thinking about Halloween? Yes, the stores are full of it already...G.wants to be a pumpkin.)

100% trouble? 100% cute! Sam is weighing in at 17 lbs at only 14 weeks! Sheesh!

Sammy and I. What a little dear. I had to take this myself holding the camera out in front of us...pretty bad, eh?

Speaking of photos, I was getting really disappointed in the quality of home-printed photos I was getting with our all-in-one printer. So I sweet talked Shane into a new wide format Epson R1400 photo printer!!! YAY!!! I am so excited! Not only will it print out photos that are archival and higher quality than drugstore or big box processing, but I can now print my 12x12 digital scrapbook pages! I can't wait! And, Shane's little perk is that it prints on CD's/DVD's. Hopefully if my photos look better, my pages will look better.

Otherwise, we really seem to be getting into a routine finally. We have been able to get out to the stores and play dates, and life is a little more normal. I have time to get organized and clean the house and even fit in a little scrapbooking. I have been working on my website and have updated my free weekly page plans, which I really enjoy creating. Julie and I had a Creative Memories booth at the Baby Show last weekend and are planning Christmas trade fairs and a couple of all day crops. Things are going well!!! I guess it's true that the first three months with a newborn are a real write off in terms of having a "normal" life, but now that we have passed that milestone I think we are getting BACK to normal, and I like normal!!!

Happy scrapping!

Noreen

More "30 Days" pages

My 30 Days Hath September Album for my BPS class continues!

I am: 1) feeling proud of myself for keeping up with one layout per day 2) loving how I feel throughout the day - more aware, more present, more engaged with everything that is happening! Even though my days are ordinary and some would say boring, I am noticing little moments of of charm, happiness and clarity in them since I started working on this album. I am getting to know myself again as I contemplate what I am doing and why. I find myself asking myself why I am doing something or why I am feeling the way I am (whoa...that was a very "Austin Powers Spy Who Shagged Me" type of sentence!!!!)

Anyway...loving how quickly the layouts are done and really enjoying doing all the writing - visual journal style!

Here are the September 3 and 4 pages, photographed side by side.


And September 5 and 6:

I have also found that I am working on other layouts while or after I finish these fun little snippets. Getting lots done these days!

PS...I had to swing by Scrapbookers Paradise today...they are having a 4/$1 paper sale until September 20! GO GO GO!!!

Happy Scrapping,

Noreen

30 Days Hath September

I mentioned that the September project in my BPS class was to create a layout a day, resulting in a memorable album showing snippets of our everyday life for one month. So far I am doing well...I have a bit of a formula I am going to use for each layout and have gathered all my supplies together in a material file for easy scrapping. Even after doing only 2 layouts, I can see that this is going to be a very revealing project - one which causes me to live in the present and to be more aware of the precious, fleeting moments. The theme is Collect, Capture and Record. Stacy J. provides us with a prompt to use if we like, or we can simply focus on the day's events or other insights. I hope to share all the layouts here...even it they are not posted on the day they were created.

Here is the materials file. I am using a cute gated album by Fancy Pants and the coordinating papers and elements are from a digital kit called Sweet Cherry Pie. Both by Nancie Rowe-Janitz.

Title and Dedication page...the "why" of the project:

September 1: Since each page is only 6 x 12, it is a bit of a challenge to get a photo, memorabilia and journaling in. Today I hinged the journaling card so I could use the back and inside.

September 2: The photo is only adhered on three sides to become a pocket for an email recieved today.

I was worried that this project might be too much - a layout a day when I have a newborn and toddler at home? Well, I think it will be: a) manageable since each 6x12 layout is only taking me a few minutes each night to scrap; and b) really worth it as a cool exercise in self-awareness.

I'll keep posting every couple of days!

Happy Scrapping! (It feels really good to be scrapping again myself!)

Noreen

Grass, Poop and Stitches

A strange title perhaps, but these three seemingly unrelated things have dominated my life for the past two weeks.

First, Grass. WE HAVE GRASS! We finally have a yard that can actually be used! We have grass that the boys can play on! We have a patio that we can place the patio furniture (that we bought 4 years ago!) on! We have a fence that is not falling down. It has taken a year of waiting and a few weeks of work and it is done finally. I am so glad!

Here's a couple of pics...Grayson "driving" the bobcat, and that lush green instant-yard sod being laid.

Second, POOP. We have been potty training Grayson for what seems to be an eternity (about 4 months in reality). Nothing we tried seemed to work and we'd take one step forward and several steps back. He was getting pretty good at going pee, but never wanted to poop on the potty. After chatting with my friend Wendy who was going through the same thing with her son Sean, I decided enough was enough. So, I took a cue from Wendy and resorted to bribery! Here's the deal: Grayson got to pick a fabulous toy of his choice that was to be his reward for going poop on the potty. Once he went, he got the toy. If he didn't keep going on the potty after that, the toy was taken away. The toy was dubbed "the poop toy". I know, I know, but wait, it gets better...

Also, we decided that it was very important to celebrate this new found skill, so we had to make a cake (AKA the "Poop Cake") and we had to sing (you guessed it) the "Happy Poop-Day" song(sung to the tune of "happy birthday"!). For all it's inanity, it was effective... he has been going in the potty consistently for over a week now with only only one accident. And each time he goes, Grayson tells me "Happy Poop-day mom!" Yay Grayson!

Here we are with the Poop Cake (it was only fitting that it was a chocolate cake!)

Third, STITCHES. My boy keeps me in stitches all right, but not always the laughing kind. Yup, Grayson had to get stitches this week. I don't know how he managed it, but he fell and cracked his head against a vase/planter at his dayhome on Monday. Poor Mel (our lovely careiver) called me and said "Your son needs stitches!" We both rushed to meet at the Alberta Children's Hospital where after being triaged and getting freezing put on his head, he got his 5 stitches. He screamed blue-bloody murder while it was being done, but he was a trooper and afterwards got his much-promised yellow popsicle. Since then he has complained that his "stitch" hurts and "I no like my stitch mommy". Poor guy...I'm sure it's itchy and sore, and it's hard to explain to a three year old why you can't touch it or scratch it. His "stitch" will come out on Tuesday, so hopefully he will feel much better then. Here he is at the hospital...bandaged up "before" and with the stitches "after". Poor little guy!

But with all these crazy things going on,we're still trucking along. Sam is getting fatter and cuter each day (and sleeping 9 hours a night now!!!!!!)

...and all my boys are smiling. Lucky lucky me!

I didn't get a lot of scrapping done in August, but I am looking forward to September with Stacy J.'s challenge of scrapping your everyday momets everyday! Yup, we're making a "30 Days Hath September" Album with a layout for every day. I'll try to post as many as I can, but if I just get them done I will be happy! It's the final project in our Have More Fun class. I would definitely recommend taking a class from BPS...it has been a great learning experience as well as a wonderful opportunity to meet great scrapbookers from all over the world online. Love it!

Happy Scrapping

Noreen

FUN - Days 4, 5 AND 6!

Obviously I am not very good at posting daily am I?! (ie: I started this post yesterday and never finished it!!!) Well, Sam has been fed and is down for a wee nap, my other boys are gone for the day, I'm on my second cup of coffee and I have maybe 15 minutes before I need to grab a shower! So, here are some more FUN ideas to make up for the past couple of days.


#1 - FUN foods - what kinds of foods do you remember enjoying from your childhood? What was a special treat or reserved for special occasions? AND, which foods remind you totally of summer?


*popsicles...especially the homemade kind on plastic sticks


*freezies - love the long ones


*big hunks of watermelon eaten outside


*toasted marshmallows, hot dogs and s'mores over a backyard fire


*milkshakes and smoothies with crazy straws


*icy lemonade and lemonade stands


What other fun foods can you think of (no really...I need some more ideas!!!) Let me know!


#2 - Another thing that I think is fun is dollar stores...especially Everything for a Buck or Dollarama where everything really IS just $!! I like to take Grayson there and have a look around. He gets a couple of new toys without breaking the bank, and I usually find a few trinkets myself!


Why not take $1 or $5 or $10 (whatever you can "blow") and take a trip to your local dollar store. I bought all these scrapbooking embellishments for just $10!

I loved the colors of the chipboard letters so I had to have 4 different kinds, and the decorated brads were too cute to pass up. Now, it's true I use mostly Creative Memories products, but if you find something fun to add some variety to your pages or to make some cute cards with, go for it! There are no rules in this hobby...that's what is so great about it! (Just please make sure any products you buy for use in your scrapbooks are acid and lignin free!!!)

#3 - This whole site is full of FUN ideas for you and your kids! Lucky for me, Grayson has still been going to his dayhome since Sam was born, but today is his last day since Mel (our fabulous dayhome provider) is going on holidays, so Mr. G. will be home with me for a couple of weeks. Now since my back is still not 100% and Sam is a greedy little feeder (sometimes every 1.5 hours during the day!) I thought I should have a lot of little activities ready to go to keep G. busy. I got a tonne of good ones from this "Let's Explore" site and am looking forward to trying our quite a few over the next two weeks.

So that catches me up on posting my FUN ideas! Now I have to catch up on some FUN scrapbooking projects using one of my favorite tools -punches! I am working on a layout to be displayed (I think I will use CM Everyday Display instead of a shadow box) and one where you "create" your background paper by using up your scraps with your punches! Cool! Will post as I finish up.

I'll leave off today with a few new photos that I love...my good friend and gifted photographer Tracy McLeod came to photograph Sammy as a newborn and do some family shots. They are all precious and I can't wait to scrap them! Here are just a couple of my faves!

Have a great Friday and Happy Scrapping!

Noreen

PS...I changed the look of my blog to reflect some of my favorite fun colors. Lime green rules! I'm also going to try to add a slide show and re-organize some of my blogs and websites to make better sense (if I can figure it all out!)

FUN - Days 2 and 3

OOOPS...didn't get to post yesterday...someone (namely Sam) didn't want to be put down all day long!


BUT, I do have TWO fun things for today!


First...FLIP FLOPS! I have to tell you that Stacy Julian asked us to buy or create a fun and crazy pair of flip flops to wear while we were doing the online class. Well, I wear flip flops regularly around the house anyway! They are nothing special - mostly from Old Navy or Wal-Mart and cheap like borscht, but I love 'em! I seem to have one of every color, and during the summertime especially I love to wear the bright ones! I love to see that pop of bright color when I glance down at my feet, and all the better if I have bright toenail polish on as well! Here are a few that are in rotation right now:

And speaking of color, my second fun thing for today are these plastic plates, bowls and cutlery from IKEA:

Again, so cheap ( $1.99 for 6 plates or bowls or cutlery sets etc.), but so much FUN! I bought them for Grayson, but I pull them out to use for myself anytime I am having a little snack. I love the stauration of color, and the royal blue, turquoise and lime green are my favorites! (Hey that one of my favorite color combinatons as well!)

It's a grayish sort of day here, so I need an extra boost of color...lunch on a turquoise plate please and I think I'll wear my polka dot flip flops!

Happy Scrapping!

Noreen

What's Fun to you?

Stacy Julian asked us to think about our definition of FUN this week...what does FUN mean to you? I haven't come up with my definition yet, but I am mulling it over! I decided I would try to think of at least one FUN thing each day for the rest of July. And I will try to post them for YOUR consideration as well! Hopefully it will inspire us all to have a great, FUN summer!

First up, a no-brainer...SCRAPBOOKING! It is such a fun hobby, but if you are finding yourself booged down with guilt or overburdened by the time factor, challenge yourself to set a timer for 30 minutes, grab some product you never use and like NIKE...JUST DO IT! Send me your page so I can post them as FAST AND FUN layouts!

Here's a FUN layout based on a Stacy Julian challenge:


Goggle Man, by Noreen Smith. 8x5 x 11 layout. Creative Memories paper, Sharpie pen.

Bonus FUN idea for today: USE FUN COLORS...visit http://kuler.adobe.com/ and try out some new fun color combinations. I made some using MY favorite fun, bright colors...
search "noreensmith" to see them. And why not wear a fun, bright color yourself!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Having some FUN this summer

So in the midst of everything else that has been going on, I signed up to take an online class through Big Picture Scrapbooking taught by the fabulous Stacy Julian! It's called "Have More Fun" and that's exactly what I have been doing!

The class started last week and so far we have done three challenge layouts, a mini album, had lots of fun online chats, started a project with a book called "Wreck This Journal" (SUPER FUN!!!) and are now onto another project using an Altoids tin!!! All the projects have been fast and easy, and are designed to make you rediscover the fun of scrapbooking instead of worrying about designing THE perfect layout or getting "caught up". It has been very satisfying and I am actually thinking everyday about how I can have more fun in my LIFE..not just in my scrapbooking. (Let's face it, this past year has NOT been that much fun for me, and life is too dang short!) In the spirit of fun, did you kow that tomorrow (7-11) Slurpees are free at participating 7-11 stores? And did you know that you can find out all about the HISTORY of the SLURPEE online? (Thanks to fellow BPS'er Tamara for this info!) What fun!

So here are just a couple of my fun projects:

This was Friday's 30 minute challenge...grab some photos and don't worry about decorative products, perfect layout etc, and use a one word title. I completed this in just 22 minutes!!

This is the mini-album project we created. I used photos of baby Sam and made a little album of his first hours/days. Each page has a little pocket for additional photos or journaling. Sweet!

I am having so much fun, and I'll definitely keep posting what we are working on. Go have some fun!

Happy Scrapping...

Noreen