Scrapbooking 2013

Well, it didn't even take half of 2014 to finish this up. I just had to leave out the whole baby thing because that will be its own book. :) I can't wait. My challenge this year was using things I already had.
The only way I could scrapbook was when the baby was asleep. That didn't make it very easy to run off to the store whenever I wanted.

To start off the year, here is Francis at 7 months. I used a sizzix alphabet and brown cardstock to make the title. Pictures of him and complementary patterns were mounted on a light brown cardstock and arranged in a colorblock pattern. I added some journaling and mounted it all on a brown pattern paper. 

My husband's February birthday dinner in Chicago was captured using plain green textured cardstock. I used my new favorite tool- a corner rounder- to round the corners of the photos and the accent paper. I added white ribbon rosettes and included some journaling on a premade flag. 

In March, my girls and I went to Chicago to see a musical. We are taking a photo of our reflection in 'the bean.' I chose a greenish-blue floral background paper and accented the photo with purchased patterned circle cut outs. I added a die cut block for journaling. 

Spring! I chose bright yellow for the Easter Egg page. I also had a patterned paper with eggs and flowers, which I cut up and used for decoration. I added some spring border stickers and a small title block. 

This was breaking the pregnancy news to my mom. At her birthday dinner, I gave hr a grandma to be shirt and this 'coupon' for a grandchild. I chose a green patterned cardstock for the background and accented with different shades of green shape cut outs. I included a small tag for journaling. 

This page showcased our vacation up north. I used a dark green background and accented with green tree paper. The photos were trimmed and placed right on the cardstock. I added some leaf stickers and used a leaf font sticker alphabet I had for the UP NORTH title. For journaling, I created and wrote on a leaf die cut. 

For a belated birthday gift, my husband and I went back to Chicago to see the Book of Mormon. The photos are of us on the Navy Pier ferris wheel. I used a purple cardstock background and accented with a multicolored stripe paper. I used a cityscape die cut to draw attention to the page. I added a title using a purple alphabet sticker set and topped the page off with some multicolored gems. The second page is us eating and swimming. I used a glitter background with glitter flowers to bling it up. The photos are mounted on plain pink paper and accented with a purple polka dot photo corner.

Our annual car show, Dubs in the Valley, was captured this year on a wooden pattern background. I mounted the pictures on green cardstock which I randomly added some brown wooden stamp pattern to. I think I was kind of stuck on a green kick for this year! I punched out matching green gas pump die cuts to which I added black letters for part of my title. The rest was made with green bubble alphabet stickers. 

Carter's third birthday was a shark themed pool party. The photos were mounted to an old frame mat and attached to a plain blue cardstock sheet. I added sea life stickers and a 'wave' shape for journaling. 

I used a stripe patterned paper with green (again?) and patterned paper accents. I also used the corner rounder on these photos which highlight two of my friends' birthday get togethers. Stickers of gifts and a party hat finish off the design.

Happy Halloween! This year, I went as a teen mom and the husband a firefighter. Since he was about to enter a fire training program, his costume is actual gear. I added an orange and black corner rounded paper to plain black cardstock. The photos were mounted to orange paper and accented by Halloween themed stickers. I added a die cut in the corner for journaling. 

To create my pumpkin farm page, I used modeling paste on the background of a sheet of cardstock to create texture. I then painted the whole page with dark brown paint. The photos are attached to real burlap which I frayed and sewed brown string patterns into. The glitter title was created from stickers and leaf shapes were added. A small tag journalin spot was created by adding a tag. 

I chose this owl pattern paper for our jack o' lantern page. The photos are mounted to black paper which is mounted on an orange patterned cardstock. I cut out an owl ribbon to place along the bottom. I used a die cut alphabet to cut the title out from foam and mounted it on nesting ovals. To finish the page, I added some 3D Halloween stickers. 

Our 2013 Holiday Card! I used a solid blue background and mounted a corner rounded snowflake and stripe patterned paper. I cut out a circle from a snowflake patterned paper and used it to accent the card. I added a white opalescent ribbon and placed a line of the paper over the middle. I used some snowflake and snowmen stickers and a blue, white, and silver chipboard alphabet as the title. 

Scrapbooking Athens

Even though I went to Athens, Greece back in 2012, I'm finally done with the photo album!

For the first page, I selected a paper pattern the included a journaling spot. The page was embellished with  photographs of our hotel, a Greek flag, and a sticker titled Athens. I also added the front cover of my old Passport.

The second page featured the Temple of Zeus. This landmark was just a few feet away from our hotel. I used two matching sheets of rocky roman numeral paper for the background and plain tan paper to accent the photos. I added brown glass mosaic tiles as embellishments and added journaling on a layered frame die cut.

On the third page, I stamped a crackle pattern on brown paper to add some texture. The photos are of us going to see the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion. I added a photo tab with some journaling and a hand drawn title. A few brown metallic tile stickers were added as embellishments.

I used a map print cardstock for this page. To frame the photographs, I used a crinkled up yellow parchment print. Both landmarks were very close to our hotel as well. I used a black alphabet sticker set for the titles.

These photos were taken on our way to the Parthenon. The background paper is a cracked mud print and I accented the photos with brown paper. I added some stickers as embellishments along with a real ticket from sightseeing. I added a flag shape as a journaling spot. 

This page shows us at the Parthenon. I used a yellow parchment print and rounded the corners of the pictures. I accented two of the photos with plastic pillars I found on Ebay. I topped the page off with some stickers as well as some brown metallic pearls. For the journaling, I used unmarked pages from my old Passport. 

Also located on the Acropolis is the Erechtheion. I used a crinkle metallic white pattern sheet for the background and accented the photos with squares of tan paper which I had stamped in a crackle pattern. I attached real marble mosaic tiles on each side and added a journaling spot using a film strip die cut. 

We just happened to stumble upon the Kerameikos ruins and decided to visit. It is an old potters village and cemetery. I chose an old swirly looking pattern for my background paper and added a second background paper of a grey print. The photos were then accented with a silver paper. I added some small metallic black tile stickers as well as some stickers from a Greece travel set. I added a small flag die cut to include some information on the site.  

These photos were taken at the ancient agora of Athens. I used a tan background paper and made my own photo corners. I used texture paste on some cardstock which I then stamped with my crackle design used on previous pages. When it dried, I painted them a soft brownish tan and then a darker color to highlight the pattern. I then used a die cut to cut out the photo corner shapes. I added Greek alphabet die cuts to spell out Agora. The journaling block is in the middle of the page. The corners were rounded and I added a metal brad which I thought looked like an old coin. 

The Stoa of Atallos is one of the most well preserved monuments. I used a tan paper which I thought resembled a tile as the background. The photos were glued on and accented with metallic gold photo corners. There is a border sticker of small circles on the left side. The name of the monument is spelled out in Greek on the bottom and a small section for journaling added on the top of the page. 

The Temple of Hephaistos is shown on this layout. I used a plain tan paper and chose a rocky pattern on which to mount the photos. I also chose to spell out this monument in Greek along the top of the page. I accented the title sticker with a circle die cut of the same paper used on the photo background and the flag shape used for journaling. I added a small world explorer sticker in the upper right as a final touch. 

These photographs were taken in the National Archaeological Museum. I chose a violet marble pattern paper for the background of the layout and accented with tan paper. I added a few rounded edge squares of metallic white crinkle paper for some extra texture. I used brown pearls to make the squares stand out even more. 

I chose to transition from the rocky, old monument pages to the city and beach photos starting here. I chose a plain white background and accented the photos with a fun blue stripe paper. I added some travel themed stickers and a rounded corner white block for journaling. I accented the journal block with the same striped paper, but oriented it the opposite way. 

These photos are just a few from being around the city. We stopped at many, many restaurants, parks, and shops. Almost every dinner we had was accompanied by wine and bouzouki players. It was awesome! To capture the 'Greekness' I chose a bright blue background and white for the photos. I added circle die cuts of a medium shade of blue as accents. I used a tag for some journaling and added stickers of the Greek flag, Plaka- which is the historic part where we stayed, and a Greek Food title. 

There was one day where we ventured over to the famous Constitution (Syntagma) Square. We visited the National Gardens and watched the changing of the guard. I chose a blue tile mosaic accent paper offset on a plain white background. The photos and journal block were mounted onto plain blue paper. 

For Mary's birthday, we spent the whole day lounging at a beach. The beach had perfect sand, blue water, and white umbrellas. It was absolutely gorgeous. I used a white and turquoise patterned paper as a background without matting the photos to anything. Instead, I accented the page and one photo with white ribbon. I added one tailor bow to the middle ribbon and a white journal spot. The title was  made from white alphabet stickers. 

We burned up an entire day on a cruise that dropped you off at three islands for a small excursion. We visited Aegina, Poros, and Hydra. We went swimming but mostly just walked around and looked at the amazing sites. 

For these two pages, I chose a light blue cardstock background and matted the photos on dark blue and white. The pictures were randomly placed so there wasn't a color scheme. I accented the page with a few travel themed word stickers, a sticker of some of the Greek Islands, and the three island names in Greek. It was a marvelous vacation!!!