Resurrecting My Crafting

As usual, this blog has fallen by the wayside, similar to my crafting habits. I know how it happens: basically, real life gets prioritized, while any creativity gets shelved until I have more time or inclination.

While I haven't been blogging much - ha, at all! - it doesn't mean that I haven't done some crafting, memory keeping, or scrapbooking. I've managed to touch my Project Life album a few times, started an album for a trip to Disneyland, dabbled in a traveler's journal, created a mini album, and even made a few digital layouts. 

Working on my Project Life album back in April

Missing You layout by cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

Silly layout by cyranoscrap for Design by Heather T

Working on a layout at a crop in May

So, as you can see, there is evidence that I haven't fully stopped creating. ;)

One thing I've noticed is that when you don't create on a regular basis, it's very hard to get the mojo going. It takes me five times as long to create something, and I still feel like it's not quite right when I'm done. I miss those days when I finished a project and knew that it was just what I wanted.

I will attempt - again - to be more creative on a regular basis, whether it's scrapping, writing, photography, or even doodling - which I have yet to actually commit to doing. And, I'll even try to get more photos of my dabblings up here on the blog. 

We'll see how it all progresses! :D

You Are Extraordinary

Oscraps has their monthly Mini O's sale going on right now. Ninigoesdigi has a trio of packs that are on sale through tonight. They combine to make the kit Find the Extra in the Ordinary:

Elements:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

 The solid paper pack:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

The patterned paper pack:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

My page:

By cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

CREDITS
Find the Extra in the Ordinary elements, patterned papers, solid papers by ninigoesdigi

Template: Template 47 (ninigoesdigi)

Fonts: Skinny Marker (journaling), PW01Script (captions)

The papers in this kit are super fun, and I love the colors. These three packs mix and match with the rest of the February Mini O's at Oscraps. Grab them before the sale ends on Monday!

My Valentine

Still trying to get into the scrapping groove in-between all interruptions of daily life. I used one of the photos I took on Valentine's Day. While it was a quick snap right before I dropped the little guy off at school, it turned out well. I decided to feature it on my layout using Ume from ninigoesdigi. 

First, the kit:

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

And here's the page I created:

My Valentine by cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

CREDITS

Ume by ninigoesdigi

Template: Happy Thoughts (Design by Soco)

Fonts: Underwood Champion (date, journaling), Tropical Brush Script (title)

I love Nini's brushes in this kit, which was one reason why I had to use a white background. This kit also has some gorgeous patterned papers. I'm just glad they.are versatile!

It's All About "I"

A new year. Once again, I'm trying to get back into the scrapping swing since somewhere along the way last year, life got so darn busy that there were other things that took precedence. Call it life. 

I did a layout yesterday, when the Month of Challenges kicked off at The Lilypad. It turned out just fine, especially since I was trying to flex my scrapping fingers and get the creative juices flowing. Whenever I've taken a big break, I usually have to pull out a template to get me started. 

Today, however, I couldn't find a template that would work for me. The challenge was to scrap about a letter that was significant to me. Figuring out which of the 26 letters of the alphabet to use was the hard part. I selected the letter "i" for my focus. 

Why the letter "i"? Well, take a look at my page...

"I" by cyranoscrap

CREDITS
Paper: Limitless (Pink Reptile Designs)

Elements: Limitless, Dreams and Gratitude (Pink Reptile Designs)

Doodles: Limitless and Optimistic (Pink Reptile Designs)

Font: Traveling Typewriter

There were some other guidelines for the challenge, but they weren't as important as the subject itself. I used this page as a "resolution" to myself. Let's hope that I can try to keep the momentum going in 2017!

Shop Till You Drop

When I was in my 20s, I actually enjoyed shopping. It was fun to be out and about. As I've aged, however, shopping tends to be more of a chore, especially when it comes to clothes shopping. I loathe shopping for clothes for myself, which is why I normally just buy something, then take it home to try it on. 

About a month ago, I was doing a little retail therapy online, looking for a pair of shoes to replace my favorite leather Keds that had seen better days. I came across some Converse shoes that were a suitable replacement. I went ahead and ordered online. But, when they showed up, they were too small. Having never worn (or even tried on) a pair of Converse shoes, I had no idea what my size would be in that brand. I decided that I would go and seek out the same pair of shoes at Macy's so I could actually try them on. Lo and behold, they actually had this particular style in stock! Even better, it was on sale and they had a size to fit me! I was so excited, I went ahead and purchased them and was on my way in less than 15 minutes - most of that spent waiting in line to be rung up.

So, when ninigoesdigi's Shop Till You Drop collab with Designed by Soco came out, I knew exactly what purchase I was going to document - my new Converse shoes!

Check out the Shop Till You Drop collection:

Shop Till Your Drop Kit by ninigoesdigi & Designed by Soco

Shop Till Your Drop Journal Cards by ninigoesdigi & Designed by Soco

Shop Till Your Drop alpha by ninigoesdigi

Shop Till Your Drop templates by Designed by Soco

Shop Till Your Drop washi by ninigoesdigi

Aside from loving the colors, the elements and washi tape are just plain fun! And that's how it felt to put the following layout together using one of the included templates from Soco:

By cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

I know lots of women who go ga-ga over shoes, but these are more my speed. They will definitely be a part of my everyday wardrobe!

In the meantime, grab the Shop Till You Drop packs (click on the previews for each to go directly to the pack) for 20% off through the weekend. Or, save a bundle by picking up the collection. (And then you can do a little more retail therapy!)

Harmony

After a bit of a hiatus, Blue Flower Art has a new release this week - Harmony.

Courtesy of Blue Flower Art

The gorgeous plum accents of Harmony called to me. Luckily, I found a recent photo that just happened to have the same shade. And, this photo also captured a brief moment in time between me and my son.

By cyranoscrap for Blue Flower Art

CREDITS

All supplies from Blue Flower Art, unless otherwise indicated

Kit: Harmony

Template: Art Therapy Text Strips 2

Fonts: PW01Script (journaling); Underwood Champion (text strips)

Add a little Harmony to your life while it's 20% off through Sunday!

Life Is...

I love capturing the big events in life - milestones, holidays, celebrations, and the like. But I especially love when I capture the small things - the everyday things that go on in life. When ninigoesdigi came out with her new release Life Is, I wanted to capture something simple in my everyday life.

First, take a look at Life Is...

Courtesy of ninigoesdigi

As you can see, Life Is provides plenty of potential to capture some great life moments. But, it also works for the small things, like this...

By cyranoscrap for ninigoesdigi

CREDITS
Life Is kit by ninigoesdigi
Circled No. 3 template from Designed by Soco

Yes, blowing bubbles is not a major life event. But it's always quite wondrous to see how much fun my son has with them. He won't always be so enamored with bubbles when he gets older, but at least I have this moment. 

Life Is coordinates with the April Mini-Os at Oscraps, so you can mix and match as you please. Get all the April Mini-Os at a greatly reduced price through Sunday!

Butterfly Kisses, Happy Pack, and Scribblies

Happy Spring! And a good way to jump into a spring-like day (today's local high temperature is going to be 74 degrees) is to give you a glimpse into the newest releases from Heather T.!

Today, Heather has a new release called Happy Pack! Filled with the springy shades of peach, yellow, and green, this cute pack vibrates with joy. (In fact, when I saw the word art with "this is my happy dance," I immediately thought of Snoopy dancing - haha!)

Happy Pack by Heather T.

Next up are two CU (commercial use, but also okay for PU-personal use) packs: Scribblies 4 and Scribblies 5. If you're one of those scrappers that needs a little personal touch with splatters or messiness (especially if you art journal), these two packs are perfect!

Scribblies 4 by Heather T.

Scribblies 5 by Heather T.

And finally, Heather teamed up with Tiramisu Designs to bring you another spring-like collaboration that is free with any $10 purchase this month: Butterfly Kisses. The gorgeous butterflies alone get my heart fluttering - wow!

Butterfly Kisses by Heather T. and Tiramisu Designs

As you can see, Heather was definitely inspired by spring! Happy Pack, Scribblies 4 and Scribblies 5 are all 20% off through this Sunday. And don't forget - if you spend $10, you'll also receive the collab Butterfly Kisses!

Have a super weekend!

Photo a Day for February - COMPLETED!

Celebrating National Tortilla Chip
Day on Feb. 24

Amazing to believe, but I finally did it. One photo a day for a month - I finally completed a WHOLE month! 

Okay, so maybe it helped that February was a short month. And I'll even admit there was a day or two where I almost forgot to take a photo until it was already close to bedtime. But I went ahead and got my photo in. 

Whew. What an accomplishment. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been trying to get a photo a day for at least the last couple of years, if not more. I always missed a day somewhere, even if I took way more photos than the days in the month. 

I'm not sure why it was such a big deal to me to get a photo a day. I've read where other people will just substitute a pic from another day of that week to make up for the missed day. But I can't do that. No matter what, I knew that I had failed to capture a photo for each day. Darn that perfectionist streak in me. 

So, I will continue to strive to take a photo a day for another month. I don't know if 'll accomplish it, but it's worth a try. I'm trying to come up with tricks to remind myself to capture a daily photo. Aside from scheduling it on my calendar or setting an alarm on my phone, I'm not sure how to accomplish it. Even if I don't get one every day, I'll still have record of this one month. And I'm okay with that. :D

Oops!

One of the things about scrapbooking is whether or not to include those not-so-great moments in life. You know the ones - the toddler throwing a tantrum, getting into fights with your significant other, the house is a mess and company is coming...the bad days. There are even worse days, of course, like when you end up getting injured or having an accident. Yep - THOSE days.

On Friday, Heather T. released the Oops Collection - a set of five packs dedicated to all those "oops" moments.

Oops: Elements - courtesy of Heather T.

Oops: Flair - courtesy of Heather T.

Oops: Word Bits - courtesy of Heather T.

Oops: Papers 1 - courtesy of Heather T.

Oops: Papers 2 - courtesy of Heather T.

And, if you purchase all the above packs, you get this Add-On pack for free!

Oops Add-On (Free with Purchase) - courtesy of Heather T.

This collection is perfect for you if you have kids. As you all know, there are LOTS of oops moments when kids are around, lol!

Strangely enough, however, that isn't what I used the collection for. I did try to find photos of "oops" moments, but for some reason, they must be archived on another hard drive. But, I did find a moment that was pretty significant:

Ugh by cyranoscrap for Heather T.

Yes, the aftermath of a fender bender. Whenever a car accident happens, even minor ones, it just puts a damper on the day. And on this particular day, my fender bender occurred on the way to a job interview. Needless to say, I was a little stressed that day. 

Anyway, the Oops collection is perfect for a moment like this or others. This collection is part of the February Mini-O's at Oscraps, so you can mix and match with other packs! The Mini O's sale runs through the end of Monday, February 29th - yes, Leap Day - so be sure to pick them up while you can! (Just click on the packs above to reach the Mini-O's.)

Pictures in My Planner

The other day, I mentioned in my artful planner post that I was going to try inserting photos into my planner. I took a little time and tried the simple way - based on Project Life. I decided to use pocket pages/inserts, like those used in the Snap binders from Simple Stories, after reading a suggestion about punching additional holes on the pocket pages to include them in my Carpe Diem planner from Simple Stories.

First I took a couple of the inserts from Crafty Button Design's Planner: Melange Inserts Pack 1 and resized them to fit a 3x4 journal card space. I had to add a little "background" to fill the 3x4 space since the inserts, when resized, have some extra space when it is centered. I accidentally forgot to add in a little bit of background when I did the "Favorites" journal card, so I ended up trimming it smaller than 3x4 when I cut the card out. Oops. I unfortunately repeated the same oopsie with my photos, so I'll be mounting those on some cardstock to fill up the pocket space. Sigh. Anyway, here's how the pocket page turned out:

Pocket planner page by cyranoscrap

CREDITS
3x4 Pocket Page from Simple Stories
Planner: Melange Inserts Pack 01 from Crafty Button Design
Fonts: Pea BMad, Loxley Caps (initials)

And here's how the finished pocket page looks in my planner:

Planner pages by cyranoscrap

As I mentioned, this was very simple, and I love that I can include photos from the week with my every day schedule. In a way, I'm setting this up so that it's a scrapbook that I can keep - my version of Project Life. Once a month (or two) is over, I'll take the planner pages, pocket pages, etc. and move them into an album/binder to I can keep as a scrapbook. This is my plan in trying to simplify things and incorporate scrapbooking into my every day life. Crossing my fingers that it works!

Now, next up is to try to include some photos on the actual planner pages. This may take me a little longer, but I'll share when I figure something out.

The Artful Planner

Earlier this week, I divulged my passion about planners. Today, I'm going to share my attempt to infuse a little scrapbooking creativity into my planner. Let me say that I'm still in the "beta-phase." I haven't quite figured out how I want to do this, but I found it extremely fun and satisfying in the attempt!

Planner: Melange is a new collection just for planners from Crafty Button Design. After seeing Amber's planner designs, I had to make some time to try it out and see if I could actually use "artsy" in my daily planner. Here's a look at her new collection:

Courtesy of Crafty Button Design

Courtesy of Crafty Button Design

First off, I decided to bring in some digital elements and "write" in certain items, like birthdays and holidays, but I also included some notes that I would normally write on my usual planner pages. What's great about Amber's new planner pages is that you're able to personalize the pages to suit your style: fonts, decorative elements, etc. Everything on the pages shown below was added in via Photoshop. And a plus for doing it digitally - no extra bulk!

(FYI, the planner is an A5 size. I'm using the Carpe Diem Planner from Simple Stories.)

February Monthly Calendar using Planner Melange by cyranoscrap

CREDITS
All supplies (except fonts) by Crafty Button Design, unless otherwise noted

Planner: Melange Monthly Calendar Pack 01
Creative Mind Mini Kit – quote
Love Story – heart
Cotton Candy – flowers, girl, label stamp
Gypsy at Heart – violin, ric rac
Cheers Mini Kit – lantern
SHE Mini Art Journal Kit – artsy girl
Colorful Chaos – stamp
Viva La Vida – Frieda drawing
Validation – Word art
Fonts: Loxley Caps (calendar dates), Shelter Me, Miserably Lose, Facile Sans

Granted, these two pages aren't the most intricate, but I'm quite pleased with the results. 

Next up to try: including photos in my planner! My foray into a more artful planner is slow progress, but I'm definitely enjoying it!

Capturing 365 Days

A few years ago, I was all over the Project Life craze. A simplified way to capture my memories? Yes please! So I committed to it several times and actually completed a full year - one year out of at least five years. I still love Project Life and try to do some semblance of it, but haven't gotten close to finishing a full year. And yes, I am trying Project Life yet again for 2016. 

Pics for Project Life by cyranoscrap

In the process, I was also trying to take at least one picture a day to help me put my weekly Project Life spreads together. Unfortunately, I failed almost every month to get at least one photo a day. 

Why is that? Maybe I feel that I don't have a worthy enough picture-perfect moment? Or do I just simply forget? Granted, Project Life has made me realize that no moment is unworthy of a photo. Plus, I am well aware that every photo I take is not going to be perfect. (I have more than enough imperfect photos stored on my hard drives!). I also know about all sorts of sites that have photo prompts to help you capture a photo a day or challenge your photography skills. I'm perplexed as to why I still can't seem to take just ONE photo a day.

I'm still trying to be a daily photo taker, but it frustrates me when I miss a day. When I was sifting through the photos I took in January, I thought I had actually taken photos all 31 days, then I realized I had no photos for January 18. Aaaarrrghh! I use three devices to capture photos: my smartphone, a pocket point-and-shoot, and a DSLR. I almost always have the smartphone and P&S with me, so I shouldn't have any excuses for not getting a photo, other than the batteries dying. 

So here we are, February 4th, and I made sure I got my daily photo done. Only 25 more days to go. Here's hoping I can get one photo a day for the rest of this short month!

A Passion for Planners

One of the latest trends in scrapbooking is planners. Are you on the bandwagon?

At first, I tried really hard not to give in. But I've always been a paper person. I love paper of all kinds! There's just something about writing on a fresh sheet of paper...but I digress.

I discovered in late 2014 that planners were my only way to keep my life organized. I had used one for years, but somewhere along the last two or three years, I got out of the habit. During that time, I moved to keeping my calendar on my laptop. While it was efficient, I found it hard to keep track of things. With a regular paper planner, I was able to write things down, a process that was crucial for me to remember things. I also loved being able to check off an item when I completed a task on my To Do list. Keeping everything on an electronic device just wasn't as satisfying. So, I decided to go back to the "old-fashioned" (ha!) way of paper planners. 

Ever since I got myself re-trained into using one, I feel so much more organized. I'm able to keep my To Do lists (with tasks written in specific colors depending on topic), jot notes during phone calls, and have a visual reminder of the month. I use the typical day planner - very business-like, even boring. But it does the trick.

Then the "scrap" planner came along. Products were released to help capture memories in an actual planner. There were themes with color-coordinated inserts, stickers, paper...a scrapbooker's heaven! But I couldn't quite figure out how to mesh the traditional planner with the artsy scrapbook. I decided to create a planner I could use for scrapping. Ah...that was my downfall. I found the Color Crush Planners from Webster's Pages, The Happy Planner from Me and My Big Ideas, and most recently, the Carpe Diem Planners from Simple Stories. Plus, these planners come in such yummy colors! When it comes to using planners in my creative life, I have to have color. Of course, there are also the simple planners that look like mini binders, like the Life Documented Planner from Simple Stories. (And yes, I have one of those too.) There's also the cute Memory Planner from Heidi Swapp and the 6x8 Planner Pages from Becky Higgins.

Today, I have several planners: my traditional stand-by for work and life, a small one to keep track of my creative team deadlines, a simple one that captures my notes on what I did for the day, and finally, a planner that I'm trying to turn into a scrap-type planner.

My planner collection

Why so many planners, you ask? Because each planner is set up slightly differently. There's a certain format I like for work and life. For fun, i.e. scrap, purposes, I prefer something a little less structured. I'm sure you can tell which of the planners above are the "fun" ones. I like to infuse a little color when it comes to being creative. However, in my work/life calendar, I use colors to keep track of tasks - note the Flair pens in the photo. 

It may take me a little to try to bring all of these together into a single planner, but I haven't yet learned how to meld the different aspects of my life. I'm working on it. In fact, I'll have a post later this week about my attempt to infuse some creativity into my planner pages - and I'll be doing a hybrid, since most of my scrapping these days is digital. In the meantime, I'm just going to excuse myself to go plan my schedule. 

PC or Not PC: That is the Question

Every Monday, Pamela, the designer behind Peppermint Creative, shares an inspirational card that can be used for scrapbooking or for printing. These cards are part of a series called "Mint-spirational Monday." The sayings on the cards are usually uplifting, but sometimes Pamela sneaks in a humorous, tongue-in-cheek saying on these fun cards.

Yesterday's card was this:

Courtesy of Peppermint Creative

For me it's always nice to see these cards on a Monday, since Mondays can be a bit hard to get into, coming off a weekend. I look forward to seeing the weekly release.

Last month, Pamela created a card that I found humorous:

Courtesy of Peppermint Creative

However, someone took offense to the statement, specifically the part about "miserable cow." 

While I don't know Pamela personally, from reading her blog and being in one of her Facebook groups, I know that sentiment was not meant to be cruel to anyone. It was simply a saying that was meant to lift one's spirits a bit. It worked for me. I know I laughed out loud (literally) because the statement is true: good things will happen if YOU choose not to be miserable. 

Based on the fact that Pamela created the card and posted it on her blog, offering it as a free download to anyone who wanted it, I don't think she had to feel any need to apologize to anyone about the statement. It IS her blog and website after all.

The whole "political correctness" sometimes goes a bit too far, in my opinion. In the realm of things, this was one little statement that some might agree with, some might laugh at, or some might just ignore. Personally, if you don't like the offering or take offense, just move along to something else that's more your taste. There are TONS of things on the Internet that I don't necessarily agree with or like to see, but seriously, if I don't like it, I just move on unless it's something that truly needs to be addressed. 

I'm not going to get onto my soapbox or start a whole political debate about right and wrong. However, it's high time that we stop taking EVERY thing so seriously. Laughter can be an incredible healer at times, especially if you're feeling a little down. Mint-spirational Monday is simply that - a little inspiration to infuse into what could be a hard start to your week. 

Thanks, Miss Mint, for bringing a little levity to my week and for these freebies to add to my memory books!

Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

Yesterday, January 31, was Inspire Your Heart With Art Day. Essentially, it's a day to appreciate art and how it affects you. I took it as a day to create art. With that in mind, I did a little bit of creating, warming up by finishing two regular digiscrap layouts, then creating an art journaling page - something I haven't dabbled in for quite awhile. 

Valeria of Little Butterfly Wings holds a monthly template challenge. I hadn't thought about participating until I saw a page from a fellow digiscrapper using January's template. I decided that since I had failed to complete many of the challenges from The Lilypad's Month of Challenges 4 this year, I could at least do the monthly template challenge, especially since I own lots of kits from Little Butterfly Wings. :D

Visiting Santa by cyranoscrap

CREDITS:

All supplies from Little Butterfly Wings unless otherwise noted

Papers: Santa Claus is Coming, My Own Little World

Elements: Santa Claus is Coming

Template: January 2016 Template Challenge

Fonts: Reba (title), My Underwood (date and journaling)

My biggest challenge on this layout was trying to do all the journaling. I haven't written a lot of journaling on my layouts in forever. On this layout, I now have the back story on the little guy's first visit with Santa.

Next up, I finished a layout that I had started on Saturday. This was a two-page template from The Daily Digi as part of their Gratitude Journal, a memory-keeping project. Luckily, I have been keeping track of my daily life in a planner (The Happy Planner from Me & My Big Ideas), so being able to create this spread wasn't too bad. I did change the dates a little to be more in line with how I keep track of the weeks. I'm still not used to the Monday-Sunday layout (that's how the planner is laid out), so I may change this again (the template runs from Friday-Thursday and I'm used to Sunday-Saturday). Good thing it's digital! :D

Project Life 2016 (journal-style): Week 3 by cyranoscrap

CREDITS:

Papers: Get Messy (The Daily Digi - The Digi Files #85)

Elements: Every Day of the Week and XOXO (Pink Reptile Designs); The Little Things, Sweet November, and Scrap Time Mini (Little Butterfly Wings)

Template: Gratitude Journal – Week 3 (The Daily Digi)

Fonts: Facile Sans (week); Pea BMad (journaling)

Finally, after realizing Sunday, January 31st was Inspire Your Heart with Art Day, I was compelled to make an art journaling page. Art journaling doesn't come easy to me, but there are lots of great digiscrapping "tools" available for me to make the process easier. 

What's wonderful about art journaling is being able to just do whatever you want, without any particular rules. I love being able to have spattered and messy backgrounds, elements that can be scattered... For this particular creation, I had no desire to have any frames, and I wanted to try out a mask over a not-so-great quality photo.

Together We Make A Family by cyranoscrap

CREDITS:

All supplies from Crafty Button Designs

Papers: Home

Elements: Home, Love Story, Maskin Momma V6, Colorful Chaos, Cotton Candy, Full Circle

I'm glad that I had "practiced" a little by doing other pages before I created the art journaling page. It's really hard to just put an art journaling page together when you don't scrap on a regular basis, lol. 

Anyway, I'm proud of myself for at least getting a few pages done. It's been a long time coming!