The Constant Scrapper

If I'm not scrapbooking I'm thinking about scrapbooking!

My scrapbook layouts

Derbycon 2015: DT layout for Stuck?! Sketches

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This scrapbook page is based on the January 15, 2016, Stuck?! Sketches sketch and uses papers from the BasicGrey Second City collection.

Today Stuck?! Sketches launches our second challenge of 2016. Grab the sketch and play along for some great prizes from Creative Embellishments and Scrapmatts.

Stuck Sketches January 15 2016

Last September my husband, Matt, attended a security conference in Louisville, Kentucky. He has been studying information security pretty intensely for a few years, and he had heard frequently that if you could go to only one con all year it should be Derbycon. It seems he drank the kool-aid because he came back and declared it the one con to rule them all.

The photos are 1) one of the many presentations, 2) crowds milling about at the convention center (with Matt’s friend, Griff, coming up the escalator), 3) part of the crowd at the Dwight Yoakam concert, and 4) a street in downtown Louisville.

Product/technique notes

I used products from BasicGrey’s Second City 6×6 paper pad, chipboard stickers, and alphas.

My favorite 15 layouts of 2015

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The Constant Scrapper Best of 2015

We have all seen our share of end-of-year reviews for the past few weeks—the celebrities we’ve lost, the big news stories, the best books/films/you-name-it. To be honest, I avoid most of them because, well, there are just too darn many (and they start to repeat each other). But I am drawn to the best-of lists because I like the idea of celebrating the outliers in a category.

So I decided to go through all my blog posts for 2015 and pick out my favorite 15 projects. It was fun to briefly review my crafty output for the year and the memories on which they focused. And it was a bit of a challenge to narrow down my favorites. Should I choose based on how I felt about the result? How much I enjoyed the process? My attachment to the subject? Important decisions had to be made.

In the end, it was a blend of those, as most decisions are. I can tell you that all of these pages made me happy to look at and proud to take credit for. And that’s The Constant Scrapper Best of 2015 report. Now it’s time to make new stuff!

New millennium: DT layout for Stuck?! Sketches

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This scrapbook page is based on the January 1, 2016, Stuck?! Sketches sketch and uses papers from the Echo Park Wintertime collection.

Today Stuck?! Sketches launches our first challenge of 2016! Grab the sketch and play along for some great prizes from Wycinanka and ScrapMuch.

Stuck?! Sketches January 1, 2016 sketch

My photos are from the night of December 31, 1999. Matt and I started our celebration at Mom and Dad’s house for drinks, snacks and photos with party hats. After that we went to the New Year’s Eve wedding of our friend and the COO of our company, Lisa, and her fiancé, Bruce.

It is nearly unfathomable to me that this was already 16 years ago. How can that be?

Well, I wish you all a very happy new year, full of all good things. Let’s make the most of every day because it certainly passes quickly.

Product/technique notes

I used patterned papers from the Echo Park Wintertime collection. The silver alphas are American Crafts’ Thickers.

Season’s greetings

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This one-photo scrapbook page uses patterned paper from Crate Paper's Bundled Up collection.

At the start of the Christmas season in 1977, we got it into our heads to paint a holiday scene on our house’s big front window. Mom and Dad helped us get all set up with tempera paints and brushes, and we all brainstormed what the image should be. Once we settled on a snow couple, Phil and I set to work painting together. What a great project for an almost-10- and 11-year-old!

I think it took a couple days to finish because we were painting on all the little panes of glass, but once it was completed we were all thrilled with the results.

We enjoyed this project so much that we painted a different scene each year after that, mostly recreating images from Christmas cards we had received. After our first year, Dad added to our curb appeal by setting up spotlights in the front yard to shine on our artwork.

It was a special Daquila-family Christmas tradition, and I treasure the memory of how excited I felt each year to create the new design.

Product/technique notes

I followed the Scrap Much December sketch below and used papers from the Crate Paper Bundle Up collection. The three bling snowflakes are by The Paper Studio.
Scrap Much December 11 2015

Santa Baby hurry down the chimney tonight

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This is a one-page scrapbook layout using a 1970s photo from Christmas Eve.

We loved to bake cookies and pick out the best ones for Santa. Here we are putting out our treats for the big guy on Christmas Eve 1975.

I wish you all a most wonderful Christmas, full of love and cheer and gratitude for all the good things this holiday means!

Product/technique notes

I used papers from The Paper Studio and Heidi Swapp’s Christmas to create this page. The Santa on the chimney image is from the Silhouette store. And I followed the PageMaps sketch below.

PageMaps November sketch