Whole Lotta Layouts

It's been a stormy week here, so rather than being out running around in the rain, I actually stayed in and did some scrapbooking. The good news is, I am down to 10 pages to finish my 2009 album. The bad news is, I'm still waiting for a good sale to get some more prints made. If I finish the album before I get my next set of prints, I always have my fall-back project, the portrait album (this is a separate album of the studio 8x10s that used to be in frames).

I said before I was going to try not to post big batches of pages all at once, but I'm doing it again this time. Some of these I just didn't get around to posting before we went on vacation, and some I actually did all in one day.

Papers: DCWV (the background actually was a Christmas paper that I was able to cover up the holly and cardinal)
Border punch: Fiskars
Rubons: Making Memories
Letter Stickers: EK Success
Stamps: Stampin Up, Inkadinkado

Papers: DCWV
Stickers: old freebies from Creating Keepsakes

Papers: DCWV
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
Cricut Cartridges: Mini Monograms, George & Basic Shapes

Papers: DCWV
Rubons: Making Memories
Cricut Cartridge: ZooBalloo

Papers: DCWV
Border Punch: EK Success
Stickers: Paper Studio, American Crafts

Papers: DCWV
Border punch: Fiskars
Sticker: EK Success
Brads: Paper Studio

Papers: Provo Craft, K & Co
Die Cuts: K & Co
Cricut Cartridge: Tear Drop
Embossing folder: Cuttlebug

The Dream is Over

Well, our first cruise has come and gone. The Disney Dream is a beautiful ship and we had a wonderful time! A four night cruise definitely feels a little rushed, especially for newbies who want to check everything out. It seemed like we were always doing something and never really did get around to the relaxing part. A few more days on the ship would have helped that, I think.

We got home late last night, and I spent all day doing our laundry. At least while I was doing that, I was able to organize my photos. I got them all copied onto my computer and renamed the files. I even managed to post some of them on Facebook. We had a number of professional photos taken on the cruise, and I purchased the CD. I was disappointed to find that the second disc couldn't be installed. I sent an email to their customer service after their phone went unanswered (and FYI, the photographers are not employed by Disney). Hopefully I will get more than the automated response from them.

I did buy a scrapbook album and a kit, which has a few papers and some stickers. What I liked about this particular set is that it was dated 2011 and includes some "Inaugural Voyages" pieces. As usual, after a trip, I feel like I want to work on those scrapbook pages right away, but then I remember I am still stuck in 2009. I didn't take as many pictures on this trip, though, as I did during our Disney World vacation last year. I think the count for the cruise is a little over 300 photos between my new, waterproof point and shoot camera and my aging, yet beloved, Nikon D50. My poor Nikon had an accident a week before we left, though, and I broke my zoom lens. I still need to find a replacement, but fortunately, a photographer friend of mine had a lens he was willing to lend me.

Here is just a small sampling of photos from the trip:

This was in the terminal before we boarded the ship. The boys had no interest in character photos.

A view of the main pool area. Very tiny pools for such a large ship.

Our excursion in Nassau. The boys enjoyed this much more than the bus tour of the city which followed the zoo.

I was completely satisfied with how my new little Olympus Stylus Tough handled itself in the water.

Our whole gang before getting back on the ship at Castaway Cay.

One of the professional shots with the actual ship in the background, instead of a backdrop.

Another professional shot during dinner

We all dressed alike for Pirate Night. This was another pro shot.

Birthday Pages

We are less than a week away from our cruise now, so full-blown excitement is kicking in. It's fun to be able to say, "This time next week, we'll be on the boat." I even got the boys' suitcases out of the basement today and considered packing some of their stuff. For me, that is major progress.

I am still manging to sneak some scrapbook pages in here and there, and naturally, since I'm getting ready to leave town for the better part of a week, I can see the light at the end of my 2009 album. Unless I've forgotten to include anything else (I came across some pro portraits I needed to scrap), I think I am down to 14 layouts to complete the album.

I figured I'd share my pages from the boys' birthdays in 2009. These may be the last I post until after vacation. I have a few pages waiting to be scanned that I'll try and get posted before I leave, and who knows? Maybe I'll get a sudden burst of scrapping energy and crank out most of the rest of this album. Or maybe scrapping will have to be my reward for getting packed for the trip early....

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Alphalicious
Stickers: Hallmark

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Lyrical Letters
Stickers: Paper Studio, Mrs. Grossman's

Papers: DCWV
Stickers: Paper Studio
Border Punch: EK Success

Slow and Steady

My scrapping momentum has definitely slowed down from my gangbusters January, but I am still plugging along. I am working on September 2009 now, so I feel like I have made some progress.

What is more exciting to me now, is that I can officially say that we leave for our cruise next weekend! I can't imagine how these people that book their trips more than a year in advance are able to pass the time. And after seeing how far in advance these cruises start to fill up, I am still amazed that our family was able to book three cabins in a row only three and a half months in advance.

When it comes to packing, I am definitely a last-minute gal, so it will be an accomplishment if I do any packing before next Thursday. I do, however, have our T shirts made (yeah, I decided we'd be one of those families this time, and am subjecting the extended family to it as well). I also decided to buy a waterproof digital camera for the trip that I've been practicing with. After getting a DSLR I said I'd never go back to a point-and-shoot, but this should be better than a disposable 35mm. Plus, I'll be able to take it on our beach trip this summer.

I should probably do a better job at remembering to post layouts as I complete them, instead of putting a whole bunch on at once, but until I do, here's the latest batch.

Papers: DCWV, Paper Studio
Cricut Cartridge: Lyrical Letters

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Lyrical Letters, Opposites Attract, Calligraphy Collection (flourish)
The pull tab on the left side hides the cell phone picture I took in the ER, showing the gruesome damage. We had copies of the x-rays, but lost them when our computer crashed later that summer.

Papers: DCWV
Stickers: Paper Studio
Cricut Cartridges: Alphalicious, Calligraphy Collection, Lyrical Letters
Border Punch: EK Success

Papers: DCWV (my new dots, stripes & plaids Stack!)
Sticker: Pebbles, Inc
Cricut Cartridge: Doodlytype
Border Punch: EK Success

Summer 2009 Pages

I haven't worked on any scrapbook pages yet this week (crocheting has distracted me again), but I feel like I am making progress. I was counting the layouts I have left to complete my 2009 album, and it is somewhere in the twenty range. If I can get a really good streak going, I could be starting on my 2010 album before I know it. Our Disney cruise is less than a month away now, so that planning/packing will soon be a distraction. When we get back, though, hopefully I'll get a renewed sense of urgency, wanting to get caught up so I can scrap that trip (after, of course, I do an album for last year's WDW trip!).

Here are my latest pages:

 Papers: Provo Craft
Cricut Cartridge: ZooBalloo

 Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Mickey Font, Lyrical Letters
Cuttlebug embossing folder: Swiss Dots

 Papers: DCWV
Title sticker: Bo Bunny
Border Punches: EK Success

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartrides: Tear Drop (title) George and Basic Shapes (statue)
.cut File Crazyaboutscrapping's Cricut Creations

Another Album Current!

As of today, I officially have my oldest son's album current! Now it is back to my 2009 album. I actually did do a page from June 2009 this afternoon. I gave up my addictive little facebook games (Bejeweled Blitz, Zuma Blitz) for Lent, and I already notice an increase in my productivity.

Here's the last batch of his pages. It is nice to have scrapbooked Christmas 2010 long before Christmas 2011.

Papers: DCWV
Punch: Fiskars

Papers: Provo Crafts (and really old ones, too. I force myself to use them sometimes)
Cricut Cartridges: Opposites Attract, Alphalicious
I remembered the ribbon after I had the rest of the page done. Easy embellishment, but not exactly coordinated with the other colors.

Papers: DCWV
Punch: Martha Stewart

Papers: DCWV, Provo Craft
Cricut Cartridges: Jasmine (title), George & Basic Shapes (border)

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Lyrical Letters 

Scout Pages

I'm trying to get back into the swing of scrapbooking. Knitting and crocheting has kept me distracted. I've pushed my 2009 album to the back burner once again and have been working to get my older son's album current. Three more pages should about do it, except of course, for the photos from the past month or so.

Here are some Cub Scout pages I've done over the past few weeks that I never got around to posting. My son has a separate Cub Scout album, and most of these pages don't get duplicated for my album. I had to draw the line somewhere!

Papers: Provo Craft, K & Co., DCWV
Stickers, Rubons: K & Co., DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: All Mixed Up, Lyrical Letters

All Supplies: K & Co.

Papers: DCWV, Paper Studio
Embellishments: K & Co
Cricut Cartridge: Mickey Font