Planning! or really STICKERS!

I would love to think of myself as a "planner". In December and January, so many bloggers and You-tubers were showing their 2023 planners and demonstrating their planner style for the new year. I love to plan to plan, but seriously fail in my efforts to keep it up. By mid-January, I'm like, where is that planner???? 😜

But I love stickers! Who doesn't love stickers?

And I found this really cool Seashore Sticker Book that I am using in my Book of Days calendar (note: NOT a planner LOL). 

I have been using my calendar as a sort of scrapbook to recall what has happened crafty-wise and kid-wise. When I have a moment (which are few these days) I'll print a photo sticker or two and add some notes about what I am crafting, and what antics we've been up to recently.

Here are a couple of months from my 2022 calendar:

When I had more time, I was an avid scrapbooker, and I hope to get back to album-making someday (once my life is re-arranged!) Until then, this serves as a creative outlet AND a small record of our happenings. Stickers like in this book can be used in any planner or calendar, or even scrapbook. They are fun and so well-designed.

The photo stickers are made using an HP Sprocket 2x3 Instant Photo Printer (and as of this posting it's on a HUGE sale right now). I like this 2x3 Sticker Paper and look at this cute pink case! It's got to be cute, right?

Now, I am still a Creative Memories Advisor, and I'd be remiss to not include some of their stickers in this post. Take a look at these beauties:

Serenity Stickers (3/pk)

Snowbound Stickers (3/pk)

Scrap Happy 2 Stickers (3/pk)

And this adhesive special is a don't miss. 

For a limited time, you can purchase limited-edition adhesive products AND have the opportunity to earn exclusive Vivid Melodies Heart Sticker Packs and Mauve & Violet Metallic Dot Tip Pens FREE! Click FREE STUFF and ADHESIVES and FAQS for more info.

Okay, enough about my stickers....I just LOVE them!

More Promos and Deals!

Have you hopped on over to Forever.com yet for their 10 Days of Deals? Today's is another awesome print deal - 50% off all Artisan print jobs!!! Get your page prints and storybooks printed today!

And they added a special Deal of the Day just for today! Perfect to start your Christmas and Hanukkah scrapbooking.

Now over at Creative Memories, check out FREE SHIPPING on orders $80 or more - this is only between November 4-8 so you still have time!

Check out the beautiful Winterberry collection - it's pretty cool with it's icy blue and purple color scheme.

And did I mention the new Border Maker cartridge? The Crystal Chain is my favorite one yet!

Don't forget to stock up on adhesives and refills while you're browsing my CM site. You don't want to run out!

Enjoy your day and let me know what you are scrapbooking today!

One a Day

Being an avid photographer and album maker, it pains me when I cannot find a few minutes to work on my album pages. Late last year I had come across the concept of scrapping one photo for each day of the year. So, even if I cannot get to my family and special albums, I still have a record and at least one photo of what happened during the year. One week is a double page layout so at the end of the year, I’ll have a complete album (that is if I can keep up!) I am a wee bit behind, but I am finding that catching up is pretty quick. I am making my album digitally, but you can do this with paper scrapping, too.

Last night I worked on the last week of April 2011. The top photo is the left page and the bottom one is the right page…

 

Feels good to be working on these pages…every once in a while when I have a bigger chunk of time I pick up my paper scrapbooking and work in my daughter’s dance album, or my son’s baby book (which I just finished the other day – woo hoo!) I have an ongoing series of family albums, but I am super behind in them, like I’m working back in June 2008 STILL!

And as you can see, I take pictures of EVERYTHING and scrap all of it!

So you know, I made these pages in Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus 3.0 software using my own layout and the Fabulous Digital Power Palette.

Seven is Super

For the past few years I’ve made 8x8 digital scrapbook pages for my daughter showcasing the highlights of her birthday party. Five was Fabulous, Six was Stupendous, and this year, SEVEN IS SUPER!

Her Girl’s Rock Dance party will live on forever.

Page made using Creative Memories Storybook Creator 3.0 software, Decorative Click and Fill 12x12 Pages and the Fabulous Digital Power Palette.

Celebrating a wintery day

Whoa, we have had ALOT of snow in the great Northeast this winter. It all started on December 27 and it we’ve had an average of 2 storm storms a week since. And I don’t mean light flurries, dusty snow that you can simply sweep off the porch, oh no! Inches and feet of the white stuff. The week after holiday vacation, my daughter only had school one full day due to all the storms. And let’s not forget the ice storm that hit the afternoon after a morning of 6” of snow fell! Crunchy snow isn’t so fun. And since that we’ve had two more snow storms to add more on top of the slippery crunchiness. Icicles abound now as the temps have finally risen above 4 degrees and the ice on our roof is melting.

Now, I am not really complaining, really. Have I’ve been going a little nutty? Yup. Going a little stir-crazy? You betcha! But, we’ve had a ball outside playing when we can. When I start getting persnickety about the weather, I sew, play games with the kiddies or scrap. These things always make me smile.

Here’s a bit of digital scrapping I did to remind me that snow isn't all that bad…

These are shots I took in our yard the day after the big Christmas blizzard that literally stalled transportation and closed business & schools in the Northeast for days. Look at these photos. The pure joy in my kid’s faces is what is truly important.

You know what their favorite part of the day was? Lying in the winter snow lazily gazing up at the beautiful sky filled with white puffy clouds. It is the most still I think I’ve ever seen them.

Honest beauty.

Is the snow really that bad?

Not at all.

Fall Fun

Took an abundance of photos the other day when the kids played in leaves....we have literally dozens of trees on our property. That means leaves, leaves and more leaves!

Believe it or not, the weather has been so yucky, we haven't had a chance to get out there and PLAY!




But we did today - yay!

Here's all the details on how I made them:
Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 software
Blueprint pages from pixels2Pages
Cheerful Autumn Addition "Cheerful Leaves" paper for the background
Cheerful Digital Power Palette Red Paper28 and Yellow Paper27 for photo mats
Fonts Cornfed (title) and Amienne (subtitle and journaling).
"Leaves" on big photo is from the Cheerful PP filled with Cheerful Hatch paper from the Cheerful Autumn Addition.

Full size pages under the Scrapbooking link...

Now look back at the photos and just enjoy them. It really was a fun afternoon!

Window to the world

Well, at least one to a beautiful scene.

I made this page in a matter of minutes using StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 for the PC and a tutorial from the Pixels2Pages blog. The tute was super easy to follow and the results are stunning. (It had to be easy - I did it with my 2 adorable kids RUNNING around the house!)

I actually used a paper fill on the "Cape Cod 2008" lettering. The paper used is Paper 8 from Nature's Whisper Digital Kit (which sadly isn't available any longer). The ABC lettering is the Sophisticate Alphabet Letter Set. I had to type each letter individually, arrange them how I like them and then I grouped and flattened them together, under the Arrange tab. Once flattened, you can apply any paper and/or surface effect to them.

Oh, and for the background (the area surrounding the window pane) I simply filled it with the same photo, just cropped it to only show the water portion. By using the same photo I was certain it would match and no tweeking would be needed.

Pixels2Pages has a TON of Blueprints and tues to help you create the best digital pages you can. And they are always coming up with new ideas, challenges and freebies!

Full of Love

Whoa.

I am reading the best new book.

Here it is

It is inspiring, thoughful, and motivating - all things I need right now. Nancy O'Dell speaks about the power of love, the power of sharing that love and how her mom shared & created 53 scrapbook albums, Nancy's personal treasure of love. She also has photography tips and album page layouts for us.

I have to admit, I hesitated ordering it (and I get a discount!) I am so very glad I did. It arrived yesterday, I started reading it last night and only put it down when it got ridiculously late (or should I say early this morning)!

It's available HERE if you're interested.

You so won't be sorry.

~Carrie

Please note: This is a personal review of this book, I paid for my own book and am blogging about it because I truly was inspired by it!

Last Night's Scrappin'

Loved last night! I held my monthly scrap crop last night and for three wonderful hours a bunch of us scrapbooked and chatted up a storm!

I am still working on Juliana's dance album, and - yay - almost caught up! Only one more section to finish (that is until I take more pictures at dance class {grin}).

These are two of the 5 pages I got done last night...

Helping motivate the other scrappers, and seeing the happy faces when memories are relived is why I do what I do, and have for almost 10 years.

It is SO worth it!

Make some memories, and tell those stories, today!

~Carrie

17, 18, 19...TEN-TEEN!

On the 2 Peas in a Bucket website recently, the weekly challenge was to create a page about a funny story. Just had to do this one! So, here's my page.

It's a 12x12 single page layout created in Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus. I used Delight Digital Power Palette Paper #3, embellishments tag #12 & CuteAsCanBe and Digital Overlays - Baby Girl, overlay #7 filled in with paper #2 from the Delight Digital Power Palette.The photos are edited with the Parchment edge. I also added a dropped shadow to all items. Fonts used are CK Becky for journaling and Bosshole for the title.

Try it - and let me know how you did!

~Carrie

Celebrate a Milestone

Our baby boy turns one this week, I so cannot believe it! To mark special joyous events, I have always created scrapbook layouts for our family album. That's why many of us actually scrapbook. I have also found that to get thru particularly hard or trying times, scrapbooking proves theraputic. Our son turning one is truly a happy occasion, however, it is also bittersweet. My baby is no longer a baby, and I am saddened by that very thought. I decided last night to create a simple 8x8 layout to remind me of what a cute, sweet big boy he is becoming. I'll display it in a Creative Memories Mini Everyday Display (I have it in chocolate). It's a simple layout that truly makes me smile!

I used StoryBook Creator Plus (SBC+) software and 8x8 Everyday Predesigned Pages - a collage page worked the best for me. I always use a ton of photos. Love the predesigned pages as all I did was drag and drop the photos! I made the text color white, and used the Traveling Typewriter font. Lastly, after selecting all the elements using Ctl-A, I added a shadow and was finished! Took all of 10 minutes tops!!!!

Journaling Challenge June 2009

Happy sunny Tuesday morning!

I was inspired by digital scrapbooker, Anne Aspres of http://www.designerdigitals.com/ to create a page that is journaled about what I'd have absolutely zero desire to actually do in my lifetime. If you cannot think of things you'd rather not do, try adapting this idea to what your preschooler, teenager or pet may have no desire to do....like "stop texting", "eat broccoli" or "stop chewing on my slippers". Or do a page about that one thing you would absolutely NEVER do (in my case, it would be skiing).

This would be a great layout for either traditional or digital scrappers, and could be just one page as I've done, or a two-page spread.

Here's my digital page...I created it in Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus (SBC+) software using Anne's .jpg photo. After importing her photo into SBC+, I added it to a blank 12x12 page print as the background and then unlocked it for editing. I used the custom and wand cutters under the Tools tab to remove what I didn't like and keep what I did (mainly the words "Absolutely No Desire" and the floral design). Of course, you could start from scratch and create your own. I added my own photo box, text boxes and shadowing (I like to use light shadows on the journaling so it's easier to read).

The background paper is Recipe Book by CM, the fonts are Traveling Typewriter and Pea Posey. I prefered to color my photo sepia to blend into the page elements. This page only took me about 15-20 minutes to create, even with interruptions from my 5-year old :)

Try it, and let me know what you think!

~Carrie

Want to attend a FREE class?

...from the comfort of your own home?

Just had to pop back in and tell you all about the FREE webinars that are currently being offered. These are classes that last from 30-60 minutes long and you sign in thru your computer! Did I mention that they are FREE?

Find out all about it through Facebook. Join Facebook (also free) at http://www.facebook.com/ and join the group "CM - Go Digital". It's not all digital, there are webinars about traditional scrapbooking as well. Just earlier this month, we celebrated National Scrapbook Day over Facebook, right on the computer! Don't forget to "friend" me on Facebook - let me know you found it thru my blog :)

We also have web classes through my website at http://www.mycmsite.com/sites/cgraziano/includePage?jspPage=helpzone/webinars2.jsp. All different kinds, even a virtual get together!

Jump on this bandwagon NOW, and don't miss all the fun!

~Carrie

Gift Card in a Pinch

Good afternoon!

Had to come up with a fast baby gift card today, and it was so easy! I used SU!'s new textured 3x3 note cards (So Saffron) and their Very Punny Set and it came together fast.

Stamp the image in Stazon Jet Black and color with watercolor pencils and your Aquapainter. I used generic colors as the card is for a friend who is newly pregnant and it's too early to know girl or boy. Punch out with Creative Memories' Square Maker (1-1/4") and mount with a SU! DP Almost Amethyst Square (1-1/2"). Mount a scrap of SU! DP Certainly Celery across card, add white grosgrain ribbon with sticky tape and add the image on top with a pop-up glue dot. I find these glue dots work well when there is ribbon underneath. Personalize the inside to fit the gift recipient and you are DONE!

Enjoy your day...as my friend Tina often says ~ onward!

5-Minute Layout

Hi! I am so excited! Today I took a few minutes while Jewels was at preschool to work on some sample pages using Creative Memories (CM) new products for this month. I LOVE the Starry Night Album Kit and matching Starry Night Perfect Fit Paper Pack!!!! I used it here in this layout (recipe CASE'd from Splitcoatstampers about a year ago, didn't write down artist, so sorry!)

The scan came out kind of dull - look at the papers on my site at http://www.mycmsite.com/sites/cgraziano/catalog-index?event=productdetails&eventId=701&productGroupId=&categoryId=118&categoryIdParm=%7C118%7Cprod701%7C&pageTitle=Starry+Night+Album+Kit&relatedItem=N&qtyOrdered=&productId=&itemSku=&act=to see the true colors...they are just spectacular! I like the patterns and how they are subtle, but add a ton on texture and depth. I used the pink sparingly just to make the layout pop. The stickers saying "Warms the Heart" is from CM's Vintage Jumbo GL Titles Stickers.

Can't wait to try these papers for cards now!

Two Color Combo

Here is a quick card that I made up for my friend, Nerissa's, birthday (of course, I've missed her special day by a week - have to work on my timeliness!) This layout can be used in any color-combo, just pick two you like and go for it!

Supplies are easy (by Stampin Up! unless otherwise noted): Three for You punch box, Wild Wasabi cardstock and classic ink, Purely Pomogrante Ink, Purely Pomogrante double-stitched ribbon, adhesives you like...I used Mini Glue Dots, Sticky Tape, and Creative Memories Tape Runner.

A Stamp-a-mi-jig is handy to line everything up and using the punched out flowers on the card front adds unexpected dimension. Hope to whip up a few more (I made 2 of these) once Juliana takes a nap (maybe) this afternoon. I'd like to have some on hand for times of RAK (random acts of kindness).

Keeping it Simple

Sometimes I think that more is better. Recently I realized I'd be seeing a student (and friend) that just retired, I had to make up a card - fast! Since I pride myself on quality, immediately, I began pulling out everything to make one card. It was important to me that it be meaningful, but did I need all of my supplies, inks and papers to convey that? Not at all....

Once the dust settled, I pulled out a few Amuse supplies (I've just recently discovered this comany) and a Stampin Up! set. I had a completed, lovely card in under a few minutes - no kidding! Auntie Em loved it, and I loved watching her open it with delight.

Remember, less really is MORE!

How did I do this card? Using the SU Springtime Stems set, I stamped the pre-decorated Amuse card with SU Pale Plum background circles, then overstamped the circles with SU Perfect Plum flowers. I did the same on a scrap of Whisper White cardstock, and then punched it out using a Creative Memories mini circle maker. I stuck this circle to an Amuse creative candy clear sticker and then applied glitter to the back. Using a Pop-up glue dot, I adhered the sticker to the card front. Stamp the sentiment with Perfect Plum and it's done! This card also made an beautiful wedding card, too. Just change the sentiment.