Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Can you guess what starts with S?

I made this for my scrapping desk ... well okay I paint and papered it!

Geez, with that title I almost think I should have written about Suess, as in Dr. Suess … who’s books I had memorized at a very young age … who’s “Grinch” is an annual must see, and who has authored some of my favourite quotes … but I’m not …

A layout of Honey ... in the garden ...

I’m writing about Scrapbooking of course … gosh I love love love scrapbooking … it is such a fun hobby/craft that involves the people I love, the family history … going way way way back … the family present, friends, and pretty papers to boot! And who doesn’t love pretty paper!

Honey details ... I cut out the little puppies from the paper and covered them with glossy accents to make them all shiny!

I have been scrapping for 5 years now … it all started accidentally when my daughter lost a good friend at the age of 13 … my daughter was having a difficult time … and I had remembered seeing a “scrapbook store” so one day I wandered in with my daughter … we had no idea what we were doing, but we found some pretty papers and stickers and stuff we didn’t quite understand as well as an album and we put together a Memory book of her friend … so that was it for about 2 years … I had no desire to go back or start scrapbooking, I wasn’t that enamored with it … and hey, we had been dealing with grief while doing it so …. yeah … I didn’t feel a need to do it again.

I don't always use a lot of patterned paper ... sometimes simplicity works best for me

About 2 years after that my Mom showed me some massive family tree charts that she and my Aunt and relatives from England and Australia had put together … something in my brain clicked and I started thinking about putting the charts on pretty paper … My mom also mentioned that she had driven by a different scrapbooking store so I took a little drive, walked into the little store and OMG haven’t looked back. That store had such pretty pretty stuff … and beautiful classes, such amazing papers …

and I sometimes scrap the same subject twice ... only from different perspectives ... just because

My other crafts … with the exception of soap making (another S) have fallen by the wayside … unfinished quilts languish in my bedroom closet … half done cross stitch projects lay in a drawer waiting for attention … in fact they call to me when I open up the drawer and take some of the beautiful cotton threads to add to a scrapbook page … It’s just all about scrapbooking now …

It's not every day my daughter climbs up trees ... ropes courses ... sometimes, but trees, that's a rarity ... I used older paper and products on this layout.

I could go on and on about this topic … but I think it’s safe to leave it here … just know that is a hobby/craft that lets me feel like and artist and a storyteller and a historian … and it lets me be me.

Silly daughter in a frog hat ... I just love her goofy side

This post has been brought to you by the letter S and Jenny Matlock’s incredibly fabulous Alphabe-Thursday meme … go visit her blog links to some interesting and amusing S posts! This week I am also linking to The Inspired Scrapper, who posted and animal challenge this week.

I love this new IOD paper for Creative Imaginations ... so cute!!! i cut out the little lady bug, coated it with glossy accents and stuck it in the handmade flowers. More handmade flowers are shown in yesterdays post.


Peace, Love & Paper … Jo

39 comments:

Sue C said...

Thanks for sharing how you got into scrapbooking. I truly believe art is therapy :)

Karen said...

Love the one with the wings on the shoes. Beautiful work.

Short and Sweet said...

Your scrapbook pages are amazing. Your work is delightful and imaginative. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

great post and such amazing work you have done. i cannot take up scrapbooking, as much as i appreciate it...i would buy way too many supplies!

Maggie said...

Jo,
I love your LO's, they are all amazing. I started scrapping about 2 years ago, I wanted to make a Memory Book for my "baby" sister who was celebrating her 40th birthday. I really understand how it can take over your life! Playing with pretty papers is a great way to spend time.
~Maggie~

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

This was the prettiest post, Jo!

Do you ever create scrapbooks or scrapbook pages for hire? Your work is so lovely and I think my mom would be blown away to have pretty pages to fill.

Please let me know.....

Unknown said...

I love how each page is so unique and special. What a talent!

Izzy said...

Lovely post and great layouts!

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

Your scrapbooking is very pretty, amazing, and creative! It's such a beautiful art, and yours are gorgeous!

laterg8r said...

your lo's are outstanding - love that little ladybug :D

amariaf2000 said...

I wish I could get into scrapbooking! I won't allow myself to because I already have too much stuff happening as it is! I love your little cabinet ~ your scrapbooking pieces are so beautiful!!!! Thanks for sharing!

~angela @ peonypatch
www.mccalled.com/peonypatch

GardenOfDaisies said...

Your pages are all beautiful! I have puttered around with scrapbooking a little bit, but would like to take an actual class one of these days to learn more.

jeff campbell said...

So crafty...I like it! Especially how you got started on this SBing journey...Great post...Namaste

Tracy said...

I love the idea of scrapbooking and do dabble but not very good

Brenda said...

You always share such nice layouts!

H said...

I haven't made a scrapbook since I was a kid. It's not a big thing over here. (Not to my knowledge anyway). I do remember having to make one for O-level French, which was really hard because I had never been to France and struggled to find anything to stick into it!
Yours look great though :)

Viki said...

This is so big now. What I want to know is what the heck do you do with all the scrapbooks you make? Do you have tons and tons of scrapbooks all over ;-).

Tina said...

What beautiful pages you've made. I had a friend who sold Creative Memories, so for a while there I scrapbooked, bought tools, paper, stencils, stickers...and then I had another child and haven't done much since. Lent my tools to the teenagers who clean my house, and went digital. I so admire those of you have a passion for this. What family treasures you're creating! And thanks so much for stopping by at Life is Good.

Cheryl said...

I bought a scrapbook and never put anything in it so this seems like a miracle to me!

Jenny said...

Jo! I love your layouts. They are so clean and evocative!

I don't do a lot of embellishments on my pages either.

What a blessing that you thought of that as grief therapy for your daughter.

How hard it is to go through things in life. We made a scrapbook when one of our friends lost her son. Although it took her several months to open it she said it is one of her most cherished posessions now.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful link with us as we travel through Alphabet-Thursday's Letter "S"!

A+

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

Scrapbooking as therapy is a wonderful way to go! Love this post!!!

Mary said...

Beautiful pages~ I love how the fact thay you feel it allows you to be an artist, historian and storyteller :-)

VKT said...

Wow....you are really good at scrapbooking. Right now my hobby is mainly teaching...lol. I love what you have done and may try to experiment this summer a little and see if I can get the hang of it. Thanks for sharing.


I have a lot of unfinished cross-stitch projects myself....lol

Unknown said...

Just loaded up on supplies at a scrapbooking convention--I DO love pretty papers! And embellishments...

Loved your handmade flowers on the lady bug page. Very nice!

Pondside said...

What treasures you make with your scrap booking! I love the story of how and why you started - thanks for sharing that. I always love the 'back story'.

My name is Riet said...

What a lovely S post. I have never scrapbooked but I know what you mean with different hobbies waiting to be started again.

Sarah said...

Jo, your scrapbook supply chest is as beautiful as the pages you create in your scrapbooks. I've done scrapbooks for years, but have to admit that it's been too long since I actively worked on one. You are giving me inspiration! ~ Sarah

lissa said...

I've never got into scrapbooking but it is quite a creative outlet

perhaps one of these days, I'll try it

thanks for your visit to my alphabe-thursday

RACHELLE said...

you are sooo cute! what talent you posess! i am in awe!

thanks for taking time to commetn on my blog gypsy lemonade.

so i gotta know...did you fold at least one piece of laundry??? :)

shell

gypsylemonade.blogspot.com

nono said...

Thanks for stopping by. You have a lovely blog.

Terra said...

my washer is spinnig out, my clothes are hanging on the rack and I can't scrapbook, don't have the genes for it! I am jealous of what you do

Kathy said...

Oh my GOSH!!! I ADORE your beautiful drawers you made for your desk Jo! Totally gorgeous! Love the wings on Hayley's shoes too! And...I totally relate to your love of scrapbooking. I have cross stitching, quilting and a dozen other crafts tucked away in drawers too. My true passion is scrapbooking and I've been addicted for 12 years now and can't imagine every getting tired of it.

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

Oh my goodness! Your Scrapping Skills are evident! How wonderful your scrap books must be to look at! I would love to scrapbook, but first that would mean organizing our gazillion photos that I still have in rubbermaid containers! OY vey!

I love all your details!

Blessings & Aloha!
(oh...soap maker too? I have always, always wanted to make soap...in fact I have had a book on how to and even some of the things to try...) thank you for stopping by! I wish you lived near by...I would love to learn about how you make your soaps...and it would be fun to see your scrap books :o)

Christy said...

What an wonderful hobby/outlet. I am so impressed with your pages. These are true treasures.

Amanda Lee said...

Your work is so amazing-- it's hard to believe you've only been at it for five years! I always enjoy my visits to your blog, your posts are so full of eye candy.

Jacque said...

Good Morning Jo,

You are a fantastic scrapbooker!! You sure put alot of detail into your work! I would love to have that talent, and patience! WOW...

What a great "S" post. Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse for a visit. We love having company!

Hope you have a great Memorial Day!

mrs. c said...

I have 5 scrapbooks on the shelf in my living room. I love to do them but have abandoned them for taking photos, blogging and creating books on-line. I love all the stickers, stamps, paper and all the other materials but it can be so expensive and takes so much time....I like how fast I can put them on the computer and then play with them and maje them into a book. Thanks for sharing your lovely pages!

Unknown said...

scrapbooking is a wonderful thing...I always imagine the kids and grandkids after I am gone poring thru the pages....My grandma and my great grandfather were scrapbookers and I treasure their books.....you are the keeper of memories....what a great thing...

Colette S said...

That is very interesting how you got into scrapbooking. I love seeing how it's done and have always wanted to but I'm a mixture of lazy and not having the $ for the pretty paper etc.

You are very good!