So, What Changed?

This is a picture of all my chronological scrapbook albums. The album on the left is 2011. The albums on the right are all the rest. The bottom album is from 2010, the next one up contains 2004-2006, the top three are from 2007, 2008 and 2009 but not necessarily in that order. If asked, I would have said that I scrapped less in 2011, but the size of these albums tells a different story.
So, what changed? Good question. I went through all of my albums to find the answer. A quick flip-through shows a lot of the same types of layouts; New Year's, birthdays, funny and/or cute and/or interesting everyday moments, kid milestones, coloured eggs and carved pumpkins.
Have our lives gotten more interesting? Not really. Busier? Don't think so.
So really, what changed? Well, let me tell you:

• From 2004 to 2006, I had a separate album for Christmas and another for vacations. This freed up a lot of space, and allowed me to fit 3 years worth of layouts into one album. 2006 marked 10 years together for Scott and me, and seemed like a good cut-off for these themed albums. I also liked the idea of the whole year being together.
• Our pets got more interesting. Don't get me wrong, our dear German Shepherd, Tabitha had her puppy moments. But by the time I started scrapbooking, she'd grown into a mellow, well-behaved, albeit beautiful, dog. Beautiful, as we know, only gets you so far and there were only so many layouts I was willing to make of our Tabby in the same regal poses. The cat fared a little better, but even he couldn't compete with the puppy escapades, cutesy faces and melt-your-heart cuddly moments Lilah and Bella have given us.
• I take more pictures that I can use. Going from film to digital and obtaining progressively better and better digital cameras, along with more practice and being less timid about getting the pictures I want has given me a little more to work with.
• I've changed albums. In 2010, I switched to albums that fit both 12x12 pages and those with 4x6 sleeves. So now, more of the pictures I'm not scrapping end up in my albums. They say this is quicker. They are wrong. I still get fussy with title and journaling inserts. I'm ok with that.
• My layouts have gotten "bumpier." 2011 was the year I really kicked up the texture.

And that's my thoughts on the ever-growing size of my scrapbook albums. Hopefully I'll be able to keep things in check this year. I need to, I'm officially out of room on my shelf!

Same Trip, 3 Different Layouts.

For a special year-end treat, Cole's grade 4 class went to Niagara Falls. Although unsure if it would be such a treat for me, I volunteered to supervise. I'm really glad I did. My group was a pleasure to accompany (an advantage to being the mother of one of the class' prominent "problem children" I guess....all the other kids they give you are the good ones!) and I got lots and lots of really great photos.
Over the summer, I've slowly worked on the layouts from our trip. So much happened that day, I couldn't possibly make a single layout about it! Because each moment I wanted to document was so different from the others, it resulted in layouts that were in stark contrast to one another.
The first layout I did as part of a challenge on the MMM message board. It's from Bird Kingdom, where we were witness to so many beautiful, exotic birds as they roamed free through the aviary. This was kind of scary for me, as birds aren't particularly kind to me. But I minded my business, snapping their pictures and they minded theirs, posing and preening for me, and we got along famously.

The second layout features pics of Cole, hamming it up and goofing around while we waited for lunch. The colours are more vibrant and the whole layout more playful, taking cues from the background, his slithery souvenir and Cole's fun-loving mood.

And finally, a layout about the Falls themselves. I got the opportunity to take a whole lot of pictures of the Falls throughout the day. Another reason why I enjoyed my group so much; they were very happy to take their time, soak in the scenery and take lots of pictures too!

To me, the shots I got had a very aged quality to them. Likely just the water and spray playing with the lighting, but it worked nicely with these patterns from a K&Co. paper pack I had.

In my album, the opposite page to this is 4x6 sleeves showcasing more of my favourites of the Falls and the impressive skyline.

And there you have it; 3 very different layouts showcasing equally different parts of a wonderful, memorable day!

A Monkey of a Birthday Card

I made this card for Cole to give to Kelsey for her birthday. The sentiment was perfect and was a fitting match to the sock monkey paper I'd bought ages ago with Kelsey in mind!

It also worked for Use it Tuesday's latest challenge to use two hoarded items. First, there's the monkey paper I'd already mentioned. Then, there's the die-cut quote which came from a sheet of birthday die-cuts that have sat forgotten in my embellie folder for years. The buttons are also old, from a Basic Grey kit of long-ago. The orange patterned paper and baker's twine are both new, but still leftover scraps from recent layouts. So that brings the tally to three hoarded items, two scrap items. Not bad for a little card!

Scrapbooking as Therapy

On a school morning, not that long ago, I had some issues getting Cole off the computer. Transitions have been particularly tricky lately and this day was a prime example. Even so, his outburst caught me off guard and rattled me more than usual.

Neither the quiet drive back home nor the scenic-yet-heart-pumping dog walk afterwards could calm me down. There was a layout brewing in my troubled, shaken mind. I had a title, I had tidbits of the journaling. I did not have the sketch mapped out, but I knew there had to be paint and ink and I wanted my hands coated in both before it was done.

I made the scalloped borders with my Cricut (the actual cartridge, I'm unsure of at the moment). I thought they looked a little like rainbows. So I misted them with rainbow colours, but made sure they were in splotches instead of long, symmetrical ribbons. I felt this represented my mood, and autism in general, more accurately. The hand started out as a sideways fist, as if it were pounding on the wall, but that didn't show up too well.

I left the journaling to the end. Originally, I wanted to write directly onto the page and use 1/3 to 1/2 of the page for it. Yes, I had that much to say. But all of the inking, painting, misting, the mess and the creating focused and refined what I needed to say. Using the journaling cards allowed me to use a stamp I have that my broken rainbows reminded me of, "Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms." And just like that my tone and perspective changed:

I goofed up, slacked off a bit. It happens.

He freaked out. It happens. Sometimes it happens even when he's given ample time and warning.

Really, it comes down to having the tools to cope; sure-fire ways to stay calm or calm down and release the tension, anger, frustration, disappointment and all-around deflated self-worth. I, for one, have a few tricks up my sleeve. Music helps, walking is good, but it's my problem solving hobbies that wield the most success lately, and that would be gardening and scrapbooking. The messier the better.

Yes, I called scrapbooking a problem solving hobby. You have a message, a moment in time, maybe some pictures. You want to put them all together, make them look pretty, make them tell a story. How are you going to achieve this goal? Therein lies the problem to be solved.

Often, I don't scrap about whatever is bothering me. There is just this unspoken need to take some quiet time where I can create, get messy and make something pretty. Other times, it is about literally working through whatever my troubles are. Either way, I find it very therapeutic and very necessary. I won't even try to sell it as being cheaper than traditional therapy. I'm not truly convinced that it is. But it is far more satisfying for me!

Just to clarify, I don't often talk about Cole's autism. He was diagnosed as mild-to-moderate autistic and I know our struggles are equally mild compared to what many other parents have to face. So I try not to whine and complain, but I do need to work on admitting that while it could be a lot tougher, what I go through sometimes is pretty tough all the same.

Keeping perspective is key to me. Autism explains his behaviour at times, it is not to blame and it does not solely define him as a person. Neither will it define me as a parent.

Oh yes. I have, on occasion, given the finger right back to autism!

Double Inspiration for Double Trouble.

I quite fancy this layout of mine. Maybe it's the subject matter, maybe it's all the wonderful product, maybe I'm just so happy I got this picture and captured this story. Then again, maybe it's all three!

Ok, a little info about the product first. I love, love, love Bo Bunny's Double Dot line! This is the second or third layout where I've used it as the background paper. The colours are yummy and the patterns are perfectly neutral (or maybe it's more understated and distressed) for backgrounds, matting or diecutting/paper piecing.
Then there's My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose. I've been drooling over this line for a while and finally broke down on my last shopping trip and grabbed my favourites, two of which I used on this layout.
And the matte for my title? That's from the Simple Stories line, which just started showing up at my LSS's and I'm assuming is a new company. This matte was from a sheet of flash cards. So far, I'm really liking their stuff!
Now, you can see Double Trouble in the picture; that would be Scott and Cole. But the double inspiration I'll have to explain a little. See, this layout has inspiration from two different sources. First off, I used this Pagemaps sketch from waaaaayyyy back in November of 2009 to get started:

I've used my sketch book a bit more lately, as I've been having troubles getting started on some recent layouts. My Pagemaps archives have been particularily helpful!

The second bit of inspiration would be in the title. Last month, Lora did a blog post on using her Dymo label maker and mine has been on my mind ever since. This just seemed like the perfect place to add a little Dymo magic!

Oh, and something that is just all me: "finger painted" inking in the background of the title block.

Supplies I Can Recall: Paper - BoBunny, My Mind's Eye, American Crafts, Simple Stories. Stamps - BoBunny and unknown stars. Twine and Paperclip - Making Memories. Button - Basic Grey. Ink - Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress inks. Fonts - Cricut and Dymo. Ricrac ribbon - superdooper thrift store find.

Practice

This is Kelsey's first season of softball. Scott is very excited about this. He loves that the kids have both taken an interest in one of his passions, something he can teach them a thing or two about. I snapped these pics while watching them from the porch.
Admittedly, baseball isn't one of my passions, but that didn't stop me from having fun creating this layout! I put some scrap cardstock through a crimper, grazed it over my Versamark pad and embossed it for a rough, corrugated cardboard look and then tore along the edges. The title is chipboard letters that I inked.

The scrap paper I used while inking the letters ended up looking really cool, so I just had to use it for a journaling block!

Products I Can Recall: Patterned paper: Echo Park. Cardstock: American Crafts. Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Barn Door. Chipboard letters: Making Memories. Embossing powder: Zing.

Coach Dad

So, in my last post, I shared the troubles I was having with my spending freeze and the decision I made to lift it. On Thursday, I made the trip out to one of my favourite LSS's with a list of layouts I needed supplies for, including the one of Scott's year as Cole's assistant ball coach. I'm very happy with the results: All the paper, except for the navy cardstock, is new Bo Bunny. The journaling tag is from a Jenny Bowlin set I found in the sale bin. The Thickers were already in my stash.

It feels really good to have finally completed this page with results I'm so happy with.