Almost Autumn

I am just popping by to say hello and share a quick & easy scrapbook page.  
 

Supplies: stamp & ink from Hero Arts, cardstock from Neenah Paper; stickers & enamel dots from October Afternoon; pen from Foray; journaling line template & corner punch from Creative Memories; twine, charm, & sequins from my stash, fabric tag upcycled from old clothing; household mini stapler.

I made this page to showcase a few late-summer photos from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  I love this time of year, when the rich, warm colors of autumn are beginning to appear, but the weather is still nice and warm.  It's the best of both worlds.

What I Did Last Summer

Hello!  It has been a while since my last post.  I'm still having trouble with wrist pain that comes and goes.  It has not forced me to stop crafting, but it has forced me to craft "smarter."  One thing that I continue to experiment with is a smaller, easy-to-handle album size for my scrapbooking.

Album by Mara Mi; page sleeves by Target.

This past summer my family took a vacation in the state of North Dakota, and I made a mini album to showcase our favorite photos from the trip.  I used a mini 3-ring binder with page sleeves that measure 5.5x8.5" (half the size of a standard 8.5x11" sheet of paper).  I photographed the album next to a tea spoon so that you could get an idea of the size.  It's a lightweight album that is easy to hold in the hand.

Most of my time in North Dakota was spent visiting relatives, but I did some sightseeing as well.  Here is a page commemorating my visit to "The World's Larget Bison" statue.
 

Cardstock by Bazzill; navy blue paper & mottled orange paper by Michael's; patterned paper by Doodlebug; floral stickers by Simple Stories; alphabet stickers by Lily Bee.

Most of the landscape I saw on vacation was very flat, since North Dakota is a Great Plains state.  That flat land makes the sky look so much bigger!
 

Cardstock by Bazzill; map paper by Echo Park; cloud paper & polaroid paper by Doodlebug; alphabet stickers by Lily Bee; pen by  Zig;

The rare occasions when a hill or a valley broke up that flat landscape definitely warranted a photo.
 

Background paper by Michael's; green patterned paper, tree sticker, & alphabet stickers from Simple Stories; plaid papers from Lawn Fawn; fussy-cut rainbow paper from Doodlebug; curve cutting template from Creative Memories; pen from Zig.

I loved working with this smaller page size, and I definitely plan to do it again sometime.  An added benefit was that the 3-ring format allowed me to add exactly the number of pages I needed.  I ended up using 11 page sleeves to house a total of 41 photos.  I hope you enjoyed this little peek at my North Dakota album!  The three pages that I've shown you here are some of my favorites.

Blogoversary

It's my five-year blogoversary!!!  Whether you have been with me for all five years or started reading my blog more recently, I want to say thank you. 

Outside of card: all paper from Basic Grey, stickers from Lily Bee, ink from Clearsnap, household mini stapler.

In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd share a design for a thank you card.  This design, which I call "interrupted grid," is great for using up scraps.

Inside of card: all paper from Basic Grey, ink from Clearsnap, household mini stapler.

Hope you find this card design useful.  I look forward to continuing to share many more crafting ideas with you in the future.  :)

Downsizing

Hello, world.  Did you miss me?  I missed you.  Here is what I look like, in case you have forgotten.  :)

~another library photo, of course~ :)

Due to my wrist problems, it has been a few months since I last blogged.  Over the last few months I have come to realize just how necessary wrists are for day-to-day living.  Wrist movement is involved in turning doorknobs, using scissors, grasping utensils, pressing buttons, etc.  Although, my wrists have gotten better over the last few months, I still feel a degree of pain when doing all of these things, and more.  Does this mean that I am ready to give up scrapbooking?

No, of course not.  :)  It just means that I am working on ways to make scrapbooking easier on my wrists.  After all, a hobby is no fun if it causes pain.  Right now my main strategy is to scrapbook on a smaller scale.  Those 12x12" albums are HEAVY, right?  So for this year's album I am trying a 5.5x8.5" spiral bound paper pad, which is much lighter and easier on the wrists.

Supplies: all paper & stickers from October Afternoon (they recently had a warehouse sale); pen from Zig.

Here is a sample page.  So far I have only scrapbooked January and February, and this is a page from February.  The photo on the left is a selfie from the Science Museum, and the photo on the right is from Valentine's Day.  Even though the paper pad is for mixed media, I have not felt like doing any mixed media work in it yet.  Maybe someday.  I'll keep you updated.  :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today to catch up with me.  Have a great day!

2015 Top Projects & News for 2016

Hello, everyone!  2015 has come to a close.  I hope that 2016 is treating you well!  I'd like to take this opportunity to look back at and share some of my favorite projects from this year.  Here, in no particular order, are my top ten. 

 1--"Yeti are Cool!" scrapbook page 

2--mosaic-look Valentine card

3--northwoods "Family Vacation" scrapbook page

4--"geek chic" robot tag

5--"Mississippi River" scrapbook page

6--birthday card with "stained glass" stamped butterflies

7--"Wild!" scrapbook page

8--dragonfly beaded necklace

9--clean & simple summer card

10--"A Cat from the Past" scrapbook page

Seeing that colorful bunch of projects brought a smile to my face.  In many ways, 2015 was a good year.

Unfortunately, I suffered a wrist injury in November of 2015, and it is still giving me trouble.  Due to the injury, my papercrafting productivity is way down.