Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking

Improv Scrapbooking: How to Use the Principles of Improvisational Comedy to Become a Better More Authentic and Prolific Scrapbooker; Plus: SNL Mini Book & Being PRESENT in your Scrapbooking Process and Scrapbooking Videos!

Improv Scrapbooking:

I took an intro to Improvisational Comedy class last summer with Toby Martini and while taking the six week class, I had a spark of creativity that went beyond the class, learning the principles of improvisational comedy didn't necessarily make me funny, but it gave me a new way to think about my creative process and applying these principles to my process of scrapbooking has been a revolution for me.  I am more prolific than ever, in October I made 40 layouts in 7 days and last month I made 60 layouts.  Making a million scrapbook layouts is not the goal. Being more present and authentic in my creative process and product is.  Telling better stories is the goal.  Spending less time on stuff that doesn't matter  is the goal.  Spending more time on what makes my heart and soul sing is the goal.  I'm there and I want to share.

In Improvisational Comedy, one of the first principles you learn is to be present.  To listen to what your scene partner is saying and to respond to that, not to be thinking about what you are going to say next, but to be listening and then just opening your mouth and saying whatever pops into your head.  Improv Business Consultant Marcia McGilley of Limelight Presentations says  "I've also been a stage actor in plays, infomercials and 'improv' comedy shows. Improv is short for 'improvisational.' That's a fancy word which means thinking on your feet. No scripts or lines to memorize, you just say whatever pops into your head in a given situation. Improv was great training for real-life situations in business and consulting. I know how valuable it is as one of your communication skills." 

This principle of being present, listening and saying whatever pops into your head can be applied to the process of scrapbooking.  Think of what that little voice in your head is saying or what is on your mind or heart right now.  What has you worried or excited  or experiencing any heightened emotion right now.  Listen.  It is there.  Scrapbook about that.  Don't pre-plan it.  Don't write it down in a list of things to scrapbook later.  Just scrapbook it right now with what you have available to you right now.  Even if that means it won't be as awesome as you think it would be / could be with better photos, better embellishments, or better more thought out writing.  Chuck all that planning out the window.  Remember the Nike ads?  Just do it. Right Now.  You have 15 minutes to spill your guts on the page.  Don't edit.  Be real.  Say it (write it down) before you think much about it.  Don't worry about grammar.  Don't worry about anything that you think it should be, just go with what it is, what is in you that wants to get out.  Listen.   Listen and then Go! 

Here is an example of what I mean by Listening to What Your Heart is Telling You, Being Present, and Being Improv about how you respond to that in a scrapbooking kind of way:  (Hey - ppssst - blog reader - You can skip over this part or skim it - as I am a bit "improv" in my description - in other words, I am long winded - I'll highlight some important stuff).    Today is Valentine's Day, I intended to make a scrapbook page about Valentine's Day or at least the theme of love.  I started the page yesterday in anticipation of today being Valentine's Day - check yesterday's posts for the videos in which I made that and other projects.  But, this morning  when I woke up, I was thinking about Saturday Night Live and about the Grammy's Music Award Show, about Whitney Houston's death and about how Paul McCartney did the last number at the Grammy's; about how music and certain songs can instantly take us to a time and place and bring back memories; and about how the show Saturday Night Live also does that for me.  When I see or think about an SNL sketch, I am also reminded of the time in my life when I first saw it.  For example, the Coneheads and Gilda Radner bring me back to the 70s when I used to spend Saturday Nights at my Grandma's house watching the Barbara Mandrell Show, Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and then if I was still awake and Grandma would let us, we'd watch some Saturday Night Live, I don't remember it too specifically, but I knew it was cool.  In the 80s I can remember my friends in AP Calculus Class (my most hated class), imitating Dana Carvey as the Church Lady - "Now isn't THAT special?"  In college I used to spend the weekends with friends who were married with very young kids and we loved Kevin Nealon "I'll Pump (clap) You Up" and Mike Meyers in Wayne's World  - I'm pretty sure Dana Carvey was in both of those sketches too (without googling it  I think I'm getting his name right).  When I first met my husband and we were dating, we'd often watch SNL after dates and that one night in August 1997 or 1998(?) when we turned to NBC at approximately 11:43  (so we knew SNL had started and we were on the right channel) and we were horrified that they were trying to do a sketch about Princess Diana being in a car accident and then slowly realizing it wasn't SNL, it was real.  And now, my kids and I love Andy Samberg and his SNL shorts like Lazer Cats and Space Olympics.  The show has been a constant in my life.  It is like an old friend who knew me way back when.  I am reminded of the different people I watched the show with depending on the sketch and when it aired.  There are Deep Thoughts, like the ones Jack Handy used to do (miss those):  1. How powerful it was when Paul Simon sang The Boxer with the FDNY behind him right after 9/11 - I still get a little teary just thinking about how deep the emotion was at that moment; 2. How tender Chris Farley was when he did the awkward interview of Paul McCartney and he asked about whether it was true when McCartney sang "The love you take is equal to the love you make" and how Paul McCartney closed last weekend's Grammy Awards with that line and how the Beatles and Rolling Stones and U2 and Madonna have been musical constants  and all have been on SNL (well at least members of the Beatles have been on the show).  Music and this long running show of Saturday Night Live have been a constant in my life as I was born in the 70s and that show started in 1975 when my parents got divorced and that show has been the backdrop to my Saturday nights for as long as I can remember.  If I never scrapbooked about something as random as seemingly random as Saturday Night Live, my story would be incomplete; but more importantly, if today, when I took time to scrapbook, if I didn't scrapbook about Saturday Night Live because it was on my heart and mind, whatever else I did would have been forced and not as real, it would not make an impression on me; whereas if I scrapbook what I am passionate about right now, chances are in 20 years when I look back at that page, I'll be taken back to today and that page will be a better memory trigger for me of time and place, like when you hear an old song, than if I hadn't been present and listened and then scrapbooked using these improv principles.  Improv will make the memories more authentic and real.  There will be more of me in what I create.  I think this goes beyond scrapbooking; improvisational comedy principles can be applied to any creative process.

 Here are 3.5 videos that you can find on YouTube about the process of applying improvisational comedy principles to scrapbooking and my actual process:

1. Watch as I use improvisational comedy principles in my scrapbooking creative process:

 

I use the principles of improvisational comedy for my video making too - I just press record and talk, there is no preparation and I say what is on my heart and mind, I am in the present moment, not thinking about the next thing I'm going to say - this is improv - it isn't always funny or interesting - but it is real and the more real you are, the better it is in an improv way.

1.5 Here's my improv fix for the 20 minute video that wouldn't upload to YouTube - This is The Middle (which is also a great show by the way)  - I tried to get it to a point where there isn't too much overlap - but it is not perfect - it is improv!  And just ask Seth Godin about how he feels about shipping when it is not completely perfect - I'm pretty sure he'd say ship it. So here's the fix:

 

2. Here is part 2: (Darn it! There is a gap between #1 and #2 so I'm going to upload a 1.5 to bridge the gap).

 

3. SNL Mini Book Cover & Applying the Improv Concept of Using What You Have and Getting It Done Now:

 

If you are interested in learning more about applying the concepts from improvisational comedy to scrapbooking or to any other part of your creative process, please leave a comment and/or email me.  I am working on some projects that will expand on this concept and I need some guinea pigs. 

Meantime, if you wish to support my blog through the Amazon Affiliate Program, you can check out these books and Paul McCartney's new album, Kisses on the Bottom (which sounds like an improv concept of "taking it the wrong way") that dropped today:

Sing it Paul:  "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make. " 

I think you you can substitute the word love for memory keeping or the creative process; in other words, what you get out of your scrapbooking or memory keeping hobby is what you put in to it - so put good stuff in OK? 

Scrapbooking Embellishment Sneeze & How to Make Valentine's Day Embellishments and Banners

I saw a message thread on the Two Peas site the other day about embellishment sneeze.  While most of my scrapbooking does not involve a lot of embellishments, I do enjoy going overboard with scrapbooking embellishments from time to time.  IT.  IS.  FUN.  Here's a video about how I use punches and die cuts to facilitate scrapbook embellishment sneezing:

 

For more on scrapbooking embellishments and techniques, check out these books:

How I Organized the 60 New Scrapbook Layouts I Made In The Last Month.

Wanted to share how I organize my recently made scrapbook layouts and Charlie offered to help me make a video:

I've had a burst of creativity and I made 60 scrapbook layouts in January.  What do I do with all those layouts?  I put them in my Stacy Julian Style Library of Memories System, check out the video:

P.S. Charlie filmed this video on the iPad2.

 

P.S. I saw this question on the YouTube comments (but I think there is something there preventing me from linking this post up), so I'm answering here:

YouTube Commenter:  "Great video! I've always wanted to take on LOM but I never got around to it! I really love how you organize your albums and would love a more in depth overview! Thanks in advance! :)"

The "official" Library of Memories album titles are "People We Love" "Places We Go" "Things We Do" and "All About Us".  An easy way to remember just think "nouns" which are people, places or things and then just remember to add in a "proper" noun for your own family.

My Library has been building for well over ten years and I have what I call "bump out" albums for specific things like Christmas, each of my children, and school.  Here is a list of the category names of albums that I have - what you should name your albums really depend upon how many layouts you have and then your specific categories - but the basic 4 official noun themed albums is a good place to start.  My List:

PEOPLE WE LOVE / bump out albums include Cousins; Friends; and Ancestry Albums

PLACES WE GO / bump out albums include Disney World, Home, 50 States, My College Travels Through Europe,                     

THINGS WE DO / bump out albums include School, Work, Celebrations, Holidays, Christmas, Valentines Day,

ALL ABOUT US  / bump out albums include one for each member of the family, family pets, favorite photos,

You can take Library of Memories / Photo Freedom with Stacy Julian at Big Picture Classes.  I think she is offering it every other year now - so when it is offered - sign up!  Then there is forever access.

Meantime, you can check out her books on amazon which explain the Library of Memories concepts in detail:

The Big Picture and PHOTO FREEDOM are the most relevant to the Library of Memories system, but the others are oldies but goodies - the products may be a bit dated but the theories about scrapbooking in a simple but meaningful and easy way are still there - still good stuff.

 

One Little Word: 2011 Year of Awesome in Review

Last year I did Ali Edwards' project "One Little Word" but didn't sign up for the class and didn't really incorporate my word into my life except that I did create a Book of Awesome Mini-Album and I did keep my word close to my heart and mind all year long.  I loved this word.  It was both sarcastic and sincere.  The year 2010 was a challenging year on many levels so it seemed like having an Awesome 2011 was in order and I must say that I think that the one little word helped.  At the end of 2011, I felt sad to let it go, but I'm not letting it go, I'm keeping the spirit of Awesome with me.   I never really defined the word, but looking back the meaning I gave it was: 

AWESOME:  The attitude of doing your best and making the best of things no matter what the situation and seeking out experiences and feelings of awesomeness. 

Supplies:  Cardstock, Pokemon Trading Card Box + QuicKutz Studio letter die cuts; 12 photos printed 4 to a 4x6 photo (so three photos), sewing machine stitching.

This year I am signed up for the Big Picture Classes One Little Word and I'm interested to see how doing a montly project will bond me to my word.

My 2011 word worked, even without any class, and we had an awesome year full of totally awesome experiences and attitude shifts and I got to notice it the entire time.  Not to be redundant, but it was AWESOME! 

Wrapping Up Christmas

Stacy Julian had a line on her blog about being OK with the Mess of Christmas because it is evidence of the day's abundance; I paraphrased her and added it over a photo and I keep repeating it to myself to be OK with all the stuff that needs to be cleaned up.

Along those lines, I have been listening to this song called "There's Hope" by India Arie - give it a listen while you are wrapping it up.  Trust me it will give you some hope to tackle job of cleaning up Christmas:

 

And its got a good upbeat for cleaning.  Seriously Awesome.  I'm trying to add a little of my One Little Word into each day, I'm going to plant something today in this pot I painted yesterday:

I planned to wrap up Christmas today and put all the decorations away, but there are 5 kids in my house! So I don't think that is going to happen. I did manage to clean up the kitchen and have told the kids that there are no more dishes today - we are paper plates from here on out. The boys are playing wii and nerf guns and can be heard from miles away despite that they are in my son's room with the door closed. The girls are eating ice cream cones and playing Barbies and peeking in on the boys since there is a set of french doors with blinds on my son's room that we keep permanently closed but that make for a good spying place for the girls on the boys. I am also working on wrapping up December Daily but that is going to be delayed a bit too since I don't like the girls and boys to play together unsupervised - so I'm on Mom Duty until things settle down a bit more. Here's what I did get done this morning:

More wrapping up of December Daily to come soon !

Show & Tell Time: Project Life & Twelve in 2012 Class

I made a couple u-stream videos about my Project Life Albums and my pre-class assignment for the BPC class 12:

PROJECT LIFE - HOME MADE ALBUM VS. BECKY HIGGINS KIT:

 

After making this video, I actually had my husband sign me up for the Amazon Affiliate Program,  I want to share what I love on this blog and if Amazon could reward me for that - great - but I will only recommend things I really love, sound good?  Good.

This is what I use and recommend for Project Life:

1. The Core Kit - the journaling cards are more than worth the price - I was reluctant to get them but I think they are awesome and I think that in 2012 will be successful at keeping up with Project Life because of these journaling cards.  I bought the Amber Core Kit, but I have been seriously tempted to get the Turquoise Core Kit; and I am excited about the Clementine Core Kit which should be available soon.  I think that if you love this system and can afford it, getting more than one kit would be fun since the cards could be used in other projects; however, if you are trying to be a bit more frugal like me, then I'd recommend just picking one - there will still be more than enough to use in this project and have some left over for other projects.

2. The Page Protectors - sure you could do Project Life without them, but the journaling cards and the page protectors make the whole system lightyears easier than trying to make them on your own - trust me I tried last year and I can now say that the Project Life system really works, even though I'm only a recent convert - I am really in love with how easy it is.  I bought the Page Protectors in Style A - the 60 pack and I also bought the multi Page Protector pack in 60; I'm tempted to buy another 60 of Style A since they often go out of stock and they are in stock right now.  I think that if you wanted the bare minimum, I'd recommend getting the 60 pack of Style A or the smaller pack if you just wanted to try them out to be sure you liked them before committing to 60 of them - although I love them and 60 pages will take you though the entire 2012 year, so I recommend the 60 pack.

If you want other page protector configurations, I have also bought these and like them very much - although for Project Life, I recommend starting with Design A and then branching out to these other types of page protectors - and I am including the standard 12x12 C-Lines that I've been buying for years and I think are the most economical:

3. A 3 ringed 12x12 scrapbook album - I have several different types and these are the ones I like and use:

One item from each of the above 1-3 should be sufficient to get you off to a successful start in 2012 with Project Life.  When I ordered my items they took less than a week to arrive, but I ordered before Christmas season so I don't know if the holidays effect shipping time.  I am seriously considering ordering another pack of the page protectors style A since the multi-pack page protectors are currently out of stock and the 60 set of style A is seriously useful.

PRE-CLASS ASSIGNMENT DIVIDER BIN FOR THE 12 CLASS BY STACY JULIAN AT BIG PICTURE CLASSES:

 

I bought a bin at the craft store for my pre-class assignment for Stacy Julian's 12 class at BPC, I couldn't find the exact one on Amazon but this locker style bin is very similar to the one I have and very cute - especially the little locker label thing:

 

Twelve in 2012

I am so excited to have signed up for Stacy Julian's Twelve Class at Big Picture Classes.  I can't wait for class to start!  Yes, I'm that nerd in the front row with two number 2 freshly sharpened pencils laid out neatly in front of me and my notebook opened and ready to take very detailed notes.  I love learning and I am always inspired by what Stacy Julian has to share. 

The pre-class project is to repurpose an open bin that you already have, I used a "Stacy Julian Green" metal locker style bin that I picked up at Joann's Crafts a few years ago.  It is about 10 inches deep, 10 inches front to back open at the top and 1o inches across at the top and about 7 inches at the bottom so I had to cut the divider sheets for the unique shape of the bin.  As per class instructions, I made 12 divider sheets with cardboard bases and colorful patterned paper and binder clips; I added the envelopes from Ditto.  I also sewing machine stiched the paper down to make the patterned paper stick down better; I am actually in the process of finishing the stitching on all of them.  The black and white checkerboard at the top is duct tape!

See you in class!

P.S. Stephanie - here's a link to the envelopes I used - they are Ditto by Hampton Arts, colorful binder clips from Office Depot, and the awesome patterened duct tape!

Did you see there is Hello Kitty Duck Tape??? And the Black Damask and Houndtooth look awesome too and the Candy Cane??!!  I love that they are making fashion colored duct tape, it is a happy, happy thing.

Ella Boot Camp: Custom Backgrounds {Stamping}

I'm a bit behind on the Ella Publishing Boot Camp because I came down with the flu this week, but I'm on the mend now and catching up on the challenges.  I made this layout by stamping the circles in the horizontal border strip in the bottom third - and then I punched patterned paper to fill in the circles. 

 
I don't often stamp on my pages so this was challenging for me even through it was very simple to accomplish.  Trying something new - or something you haven't done in a while - is a good thing.

 
The circles and the papers I used made me think of the seasons - and that there were more than four circles running all together made me think of the seasons in Florida and how my Floridian children don't really get the experience of the changing seasons like I did growing up in New England.

Journaling:  Growing up in New England, I felt very connected with the 4 seasons because it was always very obvious from the weather which season it was.  The quote by John Keats "The Human Seasons" which goes "Four seasons fill the measure of a year; there are four seasons in the mind of [humans]".  I do think the seasons mimic our lifespan and my kids are Floridians and all the seasons blend together.  I do my best to take them to other states to see and feel the seasons, but its hard to know withtout experience." 

I sort of ran out of space before I could write something better to end upon; but its ok, I'll maybe put this page near the beginning of a seasons scrapbook & then the rest of the layouts will finish this thought that even though they haven't gotten the seasons here in Florida, we have done many things to fill in this gap and the other layouts will exemplify that.

I also did a scraplift of Nichol Migouirk's boot camp layout:

 
I tried to do this with stamping - but the patterned papers I already had were close enough - somehow stamping always seems like too much effort for me when it is actually not all that time / effort intensive.  Do you stamp on your layouts? 

 

 

Ella Publishing Boot Camp - No Grammar (Charts) Journaling Drill & Forced Family Fun in Alligator Danger Zones

 

This is a very simple 8.5 x 11 landscape oriented scrapbook page but contains so much information thanks to the first of the exercises at Ella Publishing's Boot Camp - the challenge was to create a page using a chart of some sort.   I made this table in my word processor.  I trimmed some 4x6 photos that had lots of wasted space and came up with a page with very little white space, but I think still an easy to look at page.  I used some old patterened paper with a fun feel as the base and border of the page. 

Lately, I've been trying to make 8.5 x 11 pages instead of 12x12 pages when I can - those 12x12 scrapbooks are so big & I scrapbook at a rapid rate, so the smaller sized album is more space friendly.  On a related note, I've been reorganizing my scrapbooking albums; my Brother P-Touch is smoking! - I'll post photos of that project sometime soon.

The subject of the page was inspired by Angie Lucas's repeated reference to the personality trait of being stubborn - and this reminded me of how my family can be a bit stubborn in their preferences for family fun and how this past weekend I invoked my FFF rule - Forced Family Fun - and took the family for a geocaching adventure in an alligator infested lake - look at the chart & take some guesses about who was on board with this idea.  Thankfully, no one got eaten by an alligator and I did live to tell and get these photos:

 
And in case that top left hand picture with the sign about the alligators is too small - here it is again:

 

 

Ella Publishing Boot Camp!

I'm a last minute traveler and signer-upper-for-on-line-classes, I just registered for Ella Publishing's Boot Camp!  There's still time to join the fun at www.ellapublishing.com.  I have loved Angie Lucas & Wendy Smedley since sometime around 2004 when I discovered Simple Scrapbooks - they always produce quality scrapbooking inspiration so I know that its going to be awesome.  Come play with me at the Boot Camp!

In the meantime, here are a few layouts I created while I was an Ella Friend (2009-2010).

 

P.S. And YES! I did pay for the class, just in case you were wondering.

Perfect Just The Way You Are

 

I've been taking the FREE (yes free!) class at Big Picture Classes by Karen Grunberg called "Embrace Imperfection" and while listing to the Week 1 Slide Show audio, I made this page.  Lately, I have felt like I'm not the perfect Mom and that we aren't doing the best we can for my son who has ADHD.  We've had a couple of very challenging days recently and we just aren't sure what the perfect answer is.  I tend to freak out a bit when I don't have a good plan.  We are struggling our way through this.  But we are trying to convey to our son that we love him and we are doing what we think is best for him and that we're not perfect either - that we're just trying to figure out the best solution. 

The journaling that ended up on the page was not the original journaling - it started like this "Last night was rough, the second hard day in a row during a week that should have been easy and fun.  Mac, I want you to know that Dad and I are not perfect, but we are doing our best And that we do what we do because we love you.  Know Always - we love you just the way you are.  We know that God picked us to be together because we belong together.  We all have challenges - your Dad and I have our own - And we want to do the best in helping you with yours.  We think you are perfect Just the Way You Are. Love Mom"

 

The journaling was too big for the space I had left for it so I cut and pasted (literally) my journaling and condensed it down a bit to fit.  I intentionally put the pictures crooked on the page (suggested in the class slide show) and then I stitched around the photos and didn't get that perfect either - I wish I could say that was intentional, but fact is I had some sewing machine issues but just went with it.  I used some American Crafts Thickers but didn't have an Letter "e" s left so I cut up O's and filled in the horizontal lines; I also didn't have a "T" but made one from the letters I did have left over.  After I had the journaling and the title down it didn't look like "enough" but I didn't want to busy the layout up with a lot of embellishments so instead I took a Copic Marker - and then a sharpie - and highlighted the letters with red marker.  Then I grabbed the fine tip sharpie and filled in the spaces in the letters in my journaling.  I took the picture of my layout on my son's Lego Desk - which you might remember used to be my Ikea Scrapbooking Desk - now it is completely covered with legos - but hey, that's why we put it in his room.

 

I'm finding the class "Embrace Imperfection" to be exactly what the doctor ordered for me lately, I tend to want to make everything perfect and sometimes get on a mission to get it done.  But raising children - especially one with ADHD - isn't something you just get done, it is an ongoing process that is full of imperfection - mostly on our part, but we are trying our best.  Last night we actually talked to him for the first time about what ADHD means - before that we had never even said "ADHD" in front of him and we just called his therapist "the talking doctor" - as in there wasn't a chance that she was ever going to give him a shot, we just to talk. 

With Mac turning nine - the last year of single digits, it makes me think of the next 9 years and I hope that we will continue to *try* to not be so hard on ourselves as parents (speaking mostly to myself there) and that we will do the best for him and that he will continue to be happy and feel loved. 

We love you Mackey Boy, always have, always will.

Gratitude Jar for Thanksgiving - Scrap-Along on Ustream Tonight at 10

 

Tonight  at 10 will be my first ever SCHEDULED ustream video (click here)!  I'll be making a Gratitude Jar for Thanksgiving - and you can make one along with me.  I'm inspired by the Gratitude Journal seen on the  Pursuit of Craftyness Blog.  Want to Scrap-Along?  Come and join me:

Ustream Show at 10 (US Eastern Time):  Tonight we'll be making a Gratitude Jar that you could bring to Thanksgiving Dinner. Supplies Needed: Basic Scrapbooking Tool Kit, Thanksgiving colored papers; scroll stamps (if you have them) & ink pad, ribbon, buttons, do-dads, tags, and some type of jar or can. I will be using a Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee Can and my project will be inspired by the Gratitude Journal seen here: http://pursuitofcraftyness.blogspot.com/2009/11/gratitude-journal.html. See you tonight!

Plus!  I'll announce the winner of the Ella Publishing "Journaling that Matters" Giveaway!

 

Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking Coming to Ustream Soon

 

Its About Time!  Its been since 2007 since I've made any scrapbooking videos - I've got several up on youtube .  The issue I had with youtube is that the videos are better if they are shorter.  I like the idea of ustream and an hour long.  I haven't decided on the time yet, but I do have lots of ideas for the show.  So, as soon as I can get Charlie to hook me up with a video set up in my scrapbooking room - I'll start rolling.

Meantime, this is the link to my ustream channel:  Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking On Ustream.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kiss-and-tell-scrapbooking

All that glitters with you know Glit-tah

I'm working on some pages for my Scrap Your Scraps Class at Scrapbooking in Paradise, this month's theme is Sparkly Stuff but I can't stop saying Glittahh in a north eastern kind of way.  And the pictures don't really translate all the sparkle well, this first one is on sprakly cardstock and that big green swirl is super shiny but the shine just isn't showing here.

 

Here's what to do with all those pictures of you kid making silly faces:

   

Sometimes the girl comes up with announcements that make me laugh all week:

The background paper on this is super sparkly but again its hard to tell from the photo:

 

Some see me at Scrapbooking in Paradise on Monday Night for all the Sparkly Fun! 

Scrap Your Scraps Class

We used this layout as a model for a page we made in my Scrap Your Scraps class last night:

 

With that as a model, I made this page base:

 

We did a lot of playing with the Fiskars border punches last night.  I goofed a little on the hot pink strip - but decided to use it anyway.  The border punch I used on the green paper is so cool because it also embosses.