One Album Current!

When I last posted, I was debating plugging along in my 2009 album or going back to the boys' albums to get them caught up. I opted to work on the recent stuff. Sometimes you just have to do something recent. I am happy to announce that my youngest's album is officially current! This morning I did a page of something that happened a month ago, and it felt good! Okay, technically there is one more page that could go in his album, but I am not about to split hairs over not having a page made for something that happened a week ago. I don't even have those photos on my computer yet (and I'm usually pretty good about doing that).

We'll see what I decide to do next, get my other son caught up or dive back into 2009. I'm not feeling a tug in either direction yet. I could go back to knitting until I decide. In case any of you are wondering, the crochet has gone on the back burner. I finished that one square, and have yet to start another.

While I think about what is next, here are some of my new pages.

Papers: DCWV
Border punch: Martha Stewart
Brads: Making Memories

Papers: DCWV
Sticker: Provo Craft
Cricut Cartridge: Calligraphy Collection (used inks instead of blade)

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Alphalicious
Sketch: Amy Alvis

Papers: DCWV, Provo Craft
Misc: K & Co.
Cricut Cartridge: Lyrical Letters

Crafting Overload

I've felt a definite sense of crafting overload the past couple of days. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it means I've been blessed with the time to devote to crafting. Usually one craft takes precedence over another, or I feel more motivation for one over another.

The past few days, I've wanted to do them all. I finished knitting my latest baby blanket. My next project will be another blanket, this one a wedding gift. I bought the yarn for that today, but needed a needle project in the meantime. I generally do my scrapbooking during the day, before my brain has turned to mush. At night in front of the TV is when I prefer the soothing repetition of knitting. To keep my hands busy at night, I decided to attempt crochet again. I actually learned crochet from my grandmother when I was around ten years old, but never could understand the patterns. Figuring out crochet patterns has been a challenge, but one I've had some small success with. I finished crocheting my first Warm Up America square today. Since I'm ready to start knitting the new blanket, though, I think my new-found enthusiasm for crochet will head to the back burner.

During this time, I've still been cranking out scrapbook pages. I even did three today, but haven't taken the time to scan them yet. I think some of my scrapping motivation is from my friend's crop this weekend. Every President's weekend, she gets together with some of her high school friends for three days of catching up and scrapping. She is hosting this year, and invited me to join them. I couldn't commit to the whole weekend, so I thought it best to skip it. I couldn't bring myself to get organized enough to just go over for the evening, knowing I wouldn't get more than three pages done. Three is usually my max at at evening out scrapping. My process has become so streamlined over the years, I can easily get that much done at home and not have to pack up my stuff. Granted, there is definitely the social aspect of going to a crop, and I could certainly have used a girls night out, but I didn't want to feel like an intruder. I hope my friend gets lots of pages done, though, since this is her main scrapping time of the year. I don't want to have to tease her about getting more done sitting at home by myself. Maybe I will show up at her house tomorrow night--with my knitting!

New Pages

Once again, I have slowed my scrapbooking pace, as always seems to happen after my gangbusters January. I am still getting a perfectly respectable amount of pages completed (quite a lot, by some people's standards). I was also back in knitting mode for awhile, getting another baby blanket out of the way.

We are having our first taste of spring weather today, and instead of going out and getting some fresh air, I decided to finish the scrapbook page I started last night.  Now that I have that one finished, I can have my internal debate about what to scrap next. I feel like I am making good progress with my 2009 album, being halfway through April. However, I just received a print order from Shutterfly, which contains the photos to get my boys' albums completely caught up--well, until I take pictures of their tae kwon do awards ceremony tonight.

While I mull that over, I'll post my layouts from the past week or so. One advantage to scrapping two-year-old photos is you can get a quick look at how much your children really have grown and changed. It was a bit surprising to see how much my oldest has changed. These photos are from before he got his glasses and lost his top teeth. It was nice to see a hint of my little boy, instead of the loud, jack-o-lantern toothed pre-tween that has come to roost in my house. That is a story for another day, though.

Papers: DCWV
Cardstock Stickers: Paper Studio
Border punch: Fiskars

 Papers: Paper Studio, Provo Craft
Cricut Cartridge: Opposites Attract

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Stretch Your Imagination

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Mickey Font
Snaps: Making Memories

New Table, New Pages

Well, I didn't surpass last January's forty completed scrapbook pages. The flooring project started sooner than I (and my hubby) anticipated, so I was unable to get any scrapping done for about a week. For the record, my January 2011 page total was thirty-five, which is still nothing to sneeze at.

My husband and his dad did a wonderful job installing new laminate flooring on our entire first floor. During the process, my scrapbook "desk" was disassembled. I use the term "desk" loosely, as it was really a piece of shelving screwed to my storage cubes. It was not the ideal situation, but it served the purpose. Taking it apart and putting it back together, however, weakened it even further, so I decided the time was right for a new table. In case I haven't mentioned it before, my scrapbook space is actually in our living room. I am gradually taking it over as mine, just as my hubby has overtaken the dining room as his home office (we do also have a family room, where the couches and TV are, so it's all good!)

I tried various configurations of my stuff, finally settling on what I have now. So far, I am happy with this set up.

There is even enough room left by the windows for me to add two chairs and a small table. As of now, I'm thinking red!

I've been able to break in my new space by getting some more pages done from our 2009 spring break trip. I'm a little excited that I only have one more two-page spread to do and that trip will be finished. At least I will have one spring break trip scrapped before this year's is upon us.

Here are my new table's inaugural pages:

Papers: Provo Craft, DCWV
Border Punch: Martha Stewart

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Stretch Your Imagination, Mini Monograms
Letter Stickers: American Crafts, Provo Craft
Sketch: Amy Alvis

New Batch of Layouts

I have five more pages to go to match my January 2010 page total. I will try to make it, but the flooring project will reach my scrapbook area soon, so I may be out of commission for a few days. Plus, I am told that my workspace must be disassembled in order to complete the project. I wanted a new desk/table anyway, so that process may speed up, at least.

In case you've wondered how I can get so many pages done, I'll share my secrets: 1) I only clean enough to keep the vermin away (and not at all while the house is in construction mode!), 2) My kids spend way too much time watching TV and/or playing on the computer, and 3) I subscribe to the KISS method of scrapbooking--Keep It Simple, Stupid! You'll notice that I don't do any fancy techniques. I use very few embellishments. I scrap 4x6 photos. I hand write most of my journaling. These simple things definitely help expedite the process. I don't necessarily feel I am sacrificing quality, either. My primary focus as a scrapbooker is preserving memories. The photos and the stories are what are important to me, not that I used the latest and greatest stuff. However, I do prefer using my newer DCWV Stacks to my old Slabs that date back to 2003!

Here are a few of my newest pages:

 Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Mickey Font, Opposites Attract

 Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: All Mixed Up
Border Punch: Fiskars
Date Stamp: Making Memories

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Lyrical Letters, Stretch Your Imagination
Border Punch: EK Success

Since I'm working on my album now, and not the boys', you'll start seeing more pink. I end up with so much pink paper, I try to make it work whenever I can. I've been working on our 2009 Spring Break trip. At least that should be finished before this year's Spring Break. If I really get moving, I could even finish before the end of the month, but I have a feeling the floor just might stop me. We'll see...

"Cheese Racer" Triumphs!

Yesterday was the Pinewood Derby for my older son's Cub Scout pack. This is one of the highlights of the year for the boys. Even my youngest gets in on the fun. Starting last year, they held an "open class" after the official races so parents and siblings could build and race cars. All three of my "boys" made cars this year.

This is the six-year-old's car. It is some type of rocket.

My husband made an Army jeep. This was for show. He didn't add any weights to it. All of the boys loved racing against it. I think it was because it was a cool-looking car that one of the leaders made that they were able to beat!

The only official car was by my Webelos scout. He saw the cheese car design in a book, and quickly decided that would be his car for this year. By the time the races started, the kids were cheering "Go Cheese Racer, Go!" to the tune of the Speed Racer song.

This was his fourth Pinewood Derby car, and I've loved seeing how much more active of a roll he's taken in the construction of his cars over the years. Their pack's rules allow the top two finishers in each rank to advance to the District competition. He made it the first two years. Last year he didn't, but I was so proud of the sportsmanship he showed, especially as he came to realize that his car wasn't doing too well.

This year, however, there was no stopping the Cheese Racer! It won every heat in the webelos division. Then the three division winners had another set of races to determine the overall pack winner, and...the Cheese Racer won!

I, in general, am not a crier, but did have a Misty-eyed Mom Moment when I realized he had won. For me, it's an even sweeter victory, because if you read my baseball post from a week or so ago, you know that this child is never going score the winning run or make the last out in a game. It's good to see him excel at something other than academics.

Now the Cheese Racer heads to the district competition that will be held at the end of March. He will be racing against nearly 100 cars at that level, as opposed to the 20 at the pack level. He should stand a decent chance, although all that really matters is that, according to the Scout motto, he "Did his Best."

Scrapping Snow Day

Today was the fifth snow day of the school year. We seem to have so many around here that they are not something we look forward to. The boys kept themselves surprisingly well-entertained for several hours that did not involve electronic devices. Of course, this meant more things for me to clean up, seeing that they were making use of their Christmas "food toys," ie, the Easy Bake Oven and the DQ Blizzard Maker.

In between cleaning flour off the counters and pieces of a broken bowl off the floor, I got some more scrapbook pages done. I have fallen back into my chronological pattern, since I spent the other night setting up the first half of my 2009 album. I feel a real sense of accomplishment, though, since I can say that I am now officially less than two years behind, as I am working on pages from March 2009.

Here is my latest batch of pages. I didn't do all of these today. I've discovered that it is easier for me to scan my pages in batches, rather than one at a time, since my laptop is not connected to my scanner.

Papers: K & Co. and Provo Craft
Border punch: Martha Stewart

Sketch:  Amy Alvis Papers: DCWV
Letter Stickers: Frances Meyer
Snowflakes: Cricut Joys of the Season, Stickles

Sketch: Amy Alvis Papers: Provo Craft (really old ones, too!), DCWV
Title: Cricut Lyrical Letters

Papers: DCWV
Cardstock sticker: Paper Studio
Border Punch: Fiskars

Papers: DCWV

Sketch: Amy Alvis Papers: DCWV, Provo Craft
Cricut Cartridges: Lyrical Letters, Mini Monograms, Joys of the Season

We already got the call that tomorrow is another snow day (I am not surprised), so maybe I'll get some more pages done. I don't know, though. The boys did pretty well today. I'm afraid I won't be so lucky with their behavior tomorrow.