Some Thoughts

 So I have been thinking about my approach on scrapbooking, and some tweaking that I want to do in the coming new year. I have gotten into the system of printing out all my photos on a monthly basis, then picking and choosing what I want to scrap. Then by the time that month rolls around for the next year, I either scrap the pictures, or send the pictures out to grandparents/great-grandparents in care packages. Which, all in all it is been an ok system for me. But, I don't really feel like I am telling a cohesive story like I really want to!

#1 I am not great at journaling, #2 By the time I get to some of my pictures I have forgotten some of the details anyways...

New approach- A project life type scrapbooking, weekly maybe, with layouts dispersed throughout. I think this will help with taking the pressure off of having that nagging feeling "I need to scrap all the pictures to stay caught up." 

Well see...May be more up front planning, but I think it will pay off in the long run.

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We will be eating turkey and spending lots of family time together. It is a great time to reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. I'll be back next week with some craftiness!

Food-tastic

I can't tell you the last time that I had been back to Texas...it was a long time coming! We stayed in Austin and then went to the exciting Baylor/OU game. Food was one of my focuses for the weekend. I wanted Tex Mex and anything fried, with a little bit of BBQ. Mission accomplished, just not in one meal;) Favorite dish title goes to the  Elvis Presley Memorial Combo at Chuy's.

 

Round 2: Christmas Cards

Here is another set of Christmas cards ready to be mailed in December! I made all the basics of the card first, then have been adding extra bling and sparkle a little bit at a time. The majority of the cards are A2 size, with about 5 or so being bigger because of larger die cuts I wanted to use. All the holiday images makes me want to sip on some hot cocoa! 

Food Trucking

A few weeks back Phoenix had their first food truck festival. The lines were a bit long, but it was so neat to see some really creative foods being served. I missed out on trying the pie truck, but there is always next time!

Christmas Cards!

After 5 years of attempting to make all my Christmas cards...it finally happened! It just took me starting before Halloween to get it completed:)  Some things that helped me push through this:

1. Gather all your holiday papers and embellishments so you aren't searching for items when in card making mode.

2. Find a design that works for you, and do 3 or 4 the same way to keep the flow going. I would do a couple just with snowflakes, and do variations with paper or embellishments.

3. Feeling creatively blocked? Check the internet or magazines for Christmas inspiration.

OK, here is round 1!

Layouts- Digital and Paper

I printed out some of these digital layouts at Costco this past week. I thought the quality was great, but it looks like there are some cheaper options online if I order them. It is sometimes fun to mix things up!

Here is a good old fashioned layout, these were pictures from going a monster truck show earlier this year. 
About this time of year, I start to feel like I want to have my pictures somewhat "caught up." Whatever that means! I do start to sort through the ones I know that wont be scrapbooked anytime soon, and place them in 12x12 page protectors that have pockets to hold 9 4x6 photos.
Fall and Christmas cards coming soon...