Formation

Not a very complicated layout- but, I really wanted not to detract from the photo!
Always keep your eyes open for things that can be used as embellishment. The Boy Scouts of America strip at the bottom is actually from a Uniform shirt my son spilled paint on. I also saved the pockets, buttons and American Flag patch from the sleeve!

The arrows were plain chipboard that I covered with paper and then used a large nail file to sand around the edges. Taking time to do this simple step makes a world of difference!

When you have a ton of photographs surrounding a cetain theme (like I have for Scouts) look at all papers for patterns and colors that will work, don't just limit yourself to those designed for your exact theme. For example, the patterned papers used here are from the Basic Gray Mellow collection. Having papers like these will add a lot more interest to my son's finished album.

Hood Rats

Here's a tip for using leftover letters! To make the two different styles of lettering work for the title I made them work together by first adhering them to a piece of white cardstock and then cutting them out as a unit. I did this again with colored cardstock because I needed a little more punch- the result was a rather stylish title! I often wondered how people mixed and matched different letters so well.. I think this is the trick!

If you like the flowers they were fun and easy. I made them from pipe cleaners while waiting in the car to pick up my kids. I then punch a hole in the layout and stuck the "stems" through and split them like a brad... I think it turned out pretty cool!

Lake GoJumpInA

This Monochromatic layout features a paper line called Mr. Campy. It's by Cosmo Cricket and I swear they had me in mind when they designed it. These papers and the sticker were perfect for this layout which is about the tradition of the Camp Staff swimming across the lake (in full uniform) following their final formation of the summer. I made the title by printing onto cardstock and then giving it a light watercolor wash-then once it dried cutting out each letter. I like this layout because I think I told the story both in pictures and in words.

Life Is Like A Box of Chocolates

Fun, Silly layout! I used watercolor paper and watercolors to make the sun and the word meeting.. definately a technique worth trying and using again and again. The colors in person are so vibrant and have so much depth. You can't see it very well in the scan- but, in true Forest Gump style I added a white feather- (it's right next to the word "Meeting") Don't you just love the little bird? He's from October Afternoon... one of my new favorite lines!

Easy Digital

I am definately not a digital scrapper. I love the feel of the paper and like the feeling of creating with my hands. I also know that I would never, ever in a million years print out the digital pages that I make. But, I do think it's great to use a little bit of digital wizardry here and there. Take this layout for example- I made the little logo. It took seconds, was done with clipart and it filled a void when I wasn't able to find what I was looking for in the way of embellishment shopping. It didn't require any special expensive programs - it was all done on Microsoft Word. It's another thrifty tip as the cost was a piece of scrap cardstock and the tiniest bit of computer ink!

Organization

Are you in need of some motivation to get your scrapping supplies organized? I know that I sure am.....so I joined an Organizational Challenge on Rocky Mountain Hobbies.
The best thing about it is that it won't take a ton of time. Just a little a month. This month's challenge will be to organize your paper. She gave us a heads up so that we can gather all our paper into a box and be ready to begin when the challenge is actually issued. Next month we'll move onto something else. I love this idea- getting storage ideas from everyone and support and encouragement. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in doing.. why don't you join us? Go to the Rocky Mountain Hobbies Message Board, click on the Challenge section and then click on Orgazinational Challenge. Hope to see you there!

Sanding

Here's a cool tip that will really stretch your scrapping dollar! I made the pages below for a gift- so there are no photos- but, you can see the technique I used. I had chipboard letters in a great style-but, they were the wrong color. So I used double sided tape and stuck them to my table top, placed my patterned paper over them in the position I wanted the title and then lightly sanded with sandpaper until I got the desired effect.

Then out of a piece of cardstock I cut out the little fish and kept sanding and moving my paper along until I had him everywhere I wanted him to be. Pretty cool, huh? Better yet I still have my chipboard letters ready to use again and again. This technique works best on paper with a white core. In other words when you tear it- you see white along the torn edge as opposed to seeing the same color as the outside of the paper- however I have seen some cool techniques on solid color paper, sand and then go over top with chalk in a contrasting color for some pizzazz!