...I have long admired Liz's work at Paislee Press. I am not a digital scrapbooker, at all, but her clean designs and clear appreciation for simple always drew me in. So it was a no brainer for me to apply to be on her Design Team. :)
Charlie's Collection
- Discovery by almanacindustries
- Shanna Murray Illustrated Decals — be brave ribbon
- Fox Boy by trafalgarssquare
- school bus by AlexWijnen
- art that tells YOUR story! by Laura Zeck
- Golden Retriever Illustration by lmnoprint
- discover by rkdsign88
- modern baby clock elephant by decoylab
- small sailor postcard by tuttistudio
- muddy morning by belleandboo
Clara's Collection
- Shanna Murray Illustrated Decals — so beautiful ribbon
- Baby elephant by amberalexander
- Read With Me by sarahjanestudios
- Cute Little Bird Woodburned Wall Art Panel by Cabin
- Up The Stairs We Go by belleandboo
- Woodland by trafalgarssquare
- Girl in the Yellow Suit by kikiandpolly
- Fox Girl by trafalgarssquare
- My Little Bird by trafalgarssquare
- Little Scholar by trafalgarssquare
...pen and paper...two of my favorite things!
...here's the truth: I miss organized scrapbooking. I miss deadlines. So when I was approached about teaching a class at Studio Calico, I jumped at the opportunity.
Introducing Pen & Paper.
(Honestly, I'd just like to print out the logo and wallpaper a room in my house with it).
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I wrote in a journal (oh, painful to read now) for ten years growing up. I wrote my mom a note every night before bed. I majored in journalism at Lehigh University and received my master's in writing from The Johns Hopkins University. And I've been memory keeping almost as long. I'm thrilled to join the two together in this class.
I chose some of my favorite storytellers to contribute to the class: Pam Baldwin, Elizabeth Dillow, Magdalena Hanell, Melanie Louette, and Jill Sprout.
As an added deal, Studio Calico is bundling Pen & Paper with April Foster's, "Snapshots" class for only $30. You can find the link for the bundle deal here.
...And we're off! Hope you can join us.
...the one photo that beats them all
...The one that you look at on your phone after walking back into your office and it makes your heart skip a beat, takes your breath away, really.
I caught her. I finally caught her. The her that runs toward me when she sees me at any point during the school day. The her that runs ankles touching butt. The her that has enough hair for a Pantene commercial. The her that smiles with her whole face, her whole body really.
We were together. I forget the rest. -Walt Whitman
...a walk through Charlie's album (again)
...since posting these here is about the only scrapbooking-related deadline I'm facing these days, I'm going to try to do this every six months (or more).
Several of these pages you might have already seen on Studio Calico. And this isn't everything, but it's the highlight reel.
And if you are the person that googled, "pink prom dress" and has been reading my blog ever since but skips over all scrapbooking-related posts, skip ahead.
These are far from good scans. Things are crooked, backward, and just plain wrong. But that's real life. And they are done.
I have always incorporated "project-life-esque" pages into my scrapbooks. Everything is mixed together. The kid's report cards are in there, as is artwork. I'll share Clara's album next week. Or next month. It's nice being my own boss!
...yes, I still scrapbook
...the scans are horrible, some of the picture are crooked. But I needed some photographic evidence that I am, in fact, still scrapbooking.
Even if it is super, super simple. Even for me.
...old school
...pinterest really is a wonderful thing, because it ever-so-subtly gives hints to your husband-who-likes-to-plug-things-in that you might want, well, something that doesn't plug in. Like a typewriter.
When I opened this baby up on Christmas morning the first thing that overwhelmed me was, "It smells like Pop Pop." Well, not exactly like my grandfather. But like an old man's office. Like my Pop Pop. The other night, I left the lid open after scrapbooking and came in the next morning overwhelmed by the smell. Maybe he's here.
After taking a little time off, I'm in full-on catch-up mode (probably should've saved this for the Olympics when I stay up to times I have no business staying up until). And I'm using the typewriter for it all.
I asked Ken if it sounds like I'm pounding out the Next Great American Novel down here. I forgot how LOUD a typewriter is. I find myself wondering who it belonged to.
I love it.
Better pictures to come when I'm caught up.
...goodbye, again
...This is my last month on the creative team for Studio Calico.
Again.
But this time, it was my choice. You can read about the last time here. I could copy and paste a lot of the things I said on that post, but here's the gist:
The scrapbooking industry is so different than it was ten years ago when I first joined the game. Truthfully, I find the emphasis on social media and self-promotion exhausting, and, when I try to do it, it always feels…unauthentic. I love to scrapbook. I always have. But in this industry, that just isn’t enough any more. And that’s OK, but it’s time for me to walk away because that’s who I am. A hobbyist. Someone who loves watching her children look at their scrapbooks, not admiring the latest product or technique, but the memories. Scrapbooking is a small part of a big life. And it will continue to be just that.
My last PL spread for Studio Calico using the Blue Note Project Life Kit:
...it's a good thing I'm a scrapbooker
...Because there's gotta be somewhere to keep these pictures so they can stay in our family history. Forever.
Clara refused to sit by herself, so for her package, we got a family portrait. Maybe I should photoshop Ken's head in there and call our family Christmas photo done? Could we be wearing any more colors or patterns?
She was even happier for her class photo. I hope her teacher uses this for her Christmas picture:
Charlie's portrait? Olan Mills-worthy:
His class picture? Hm. Not so much: