Scribbles From My Scrap Studio – November 2017

November is the month of Thanksgiving here in the US, and one thing I am grateful for is having written this column this year.  It was fun to continue blogging after discontinuing my own blog, Snaps and Snippets.  Any of you remember that one? Such a catchy name! (wink)

I am also grateful that my plan for documenting the year with Project Life has worked out pretty well– not perfectly, mind you, but pretty darn well in a year that has been unusually busy for happy reasons.  Because I am fickle, many of my long-term projects do not pan out.  This one did.

Before my son’s wedding in September, I kept current on Project Life, rarely a month behind.  I stopped making monthly kits for regular scrapbooking, knowing my scrap time would be spotty.  After his wedding, I did not touch it until November. meaning I had a backlog of 14 weeks.  Luckily, the method I had used (described in this Scribbles column) worked for me.

Over two weekends, I worked on PL for a bit each afternoon.  In less than 12 hours, I finished 16 weeks. Now I concede that the wedding week had just one wedding photo referring to a separate album, but that large joyful undertaking should not be rushed.

In the future, I predict Project Life style scrapbooking will play a bigger role in my memory-keeping.  It is a bit concerning to ponder whether decorating little cards inserted into pockets could be enough paper play for me, when I have supplies enough to finish dozens of 12 x 12 traditional albums.  We will see what 2018 brings – like I said, I am fickle.

This month I have gathered up some of my pocket card embellishment ideas in a cornucopia of scrappy snaps and snippets. See what I did there. (wink) 

*  Not My Our Most Favorite Moment:  when I first saw multiples of this card in my core kit, I thought I would never use even one.  As it turns out, I used three, altering the pronoun on 2 from MY to OUR or HER.  Heck, life is messy, scrap it that way.



* Flowers need flutterbys:  I cannot resist adding birds, butterflies or even bugs to floral cards along with a stamped sentiment. Flowers, even by themselves,  are getting more use on my pocket pages than in my regular albums.



* Cards from memorabilia:  I sometimes cut down advertisements, handouts, or programs when the graphics are very eye-catching.  Here I downloaded a picture from the Internet to add because my snaps did not turn out.

*Flair:  I used a flair most often on the main weekly card – nearly 1/3 of the weeks.  Other choices ranked by popularity of use – buttons, puffy stickers, epoxy/acrylic shapes, chipboard buttons and tiny pictures (like those on summary sheets that come with printed pictures). I like the continuity of placing an element in the same spot every week.

*Transparencies:  I add them on top of filler cards more so than on photos.



*Chipboard:  It is sweet serendipity when chipboard by one company perfectly fits the grid on a card by another.  I love when the style of chipboard seems to fit with a particular pattern so well.



*Single banners: These are nice accents to a filler card as well as a photo – even one by itself makes a statement.  This is actually a planner magnet, so I was able to use it on both sides of the card.



*Black and white:  Graphics from the newspaper and sentiments rubbed onto photos are two good looks.



*Summary journal:  Putting the majority of my journaling on a single card each week was efficient and freed me to have that as the only non-photo slot during a week, if I wanted.



So there you have it.  I hope you gleaned an idea or two to use in your scrapbooks.

There will be no Scribbles column next month, as December always brings a change of pace here at the blog.  In fact, this is the last one, ever.  I have loved my experience with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, but I will not be continuing on the team in 2018.  My hope, if not an actual plan, is to spend less time playing with pretty paper, and more time out and about in my world.

I have enjoyed creating alongside this talented team of Clair, Jemma, Julene, Kelly, Leslie, Lesley, Lynnette, Margie, and Susan.  I so admire my scrappy colleague, who I also call my friend, Lisa.  She leads the team with unflappable commitment and enthusiasm.  That is why I am sure the Counterfeit Kit Challenge will continue to inspire us all with clever creative inspiration for using our abundant suppliy of papers and pretties.

Merci et au revoir,
Susanne