Auntie knows best!

So, with that being said, let's take a look at a few pages from the scrapbook I've dedicated to my nieces.  I actually have three nieces, Paige (the oldest), Abbey (smelly middle child), and Lily (who wasn't born when I created this scrapbook).  I'll start with the cover page of the scrapbook because I always like to include a "summary" page, if you will, of what you're about to see.

Forgive the crappy quality of the photo, but who wouldn't want to continue looking at those little peanut faces for a few more pages?!  Again, like I mentioned in my previous post, I like to add a lot of photos to my pages at times and if you don't, that's okay, it'll just make for a longer, more detailed scrapbook.

These two pages were really simple to make and fairly inexpensive.  To make the words on the first page I used an alphabet stencil and two different patterns of paper, which was the most time-consuming part of the page.  It was all peel and stick from there with the stickers and the vellum quotes.  If you've never used vellum or are looking for new ways to use it, check out this short two minute video.  You'll see that creating and printing your own designs on vellum paper is much more inexpensive than buying it pre-made, and the best part?  You can customize it however you want, and it adds awesome character to your layouts.

The second Christmas layout took at most five minutes to create.  Start with one sheet of paper (doesn't matter which color) for the backdrop, and rip the second piece to your liking for a ragged, uneven effect.  Fashion a bow on the corner of your photo, add some alphabet stickers, and there you have a simple and quick scrapbook page.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons so these two pages were really fun for me to create.  Don't be afraid to alter your pictures like I did in the first one by ripping part of it off.  If you don't want to ruin your originals you can always make a copy to use instead.  Both pages were simple and easy to create and I used a lot of stencil work on the second page with the leaves.  Having a little patience can add that perfect touch to your layout.

These three pages are all of my niece, Paige Elizabeth.  I look back on these sweet and innocent days when I'm having a hard time dealing with her bratty, teenager problems.  On the last layout you see the Baby Facts and Ingredients list, which I use as often as I can find them.  Many of the local scrapbook stores that I used to go to have all closed for the most part, so I'm forced to pay the outrageous Michael's and JoAnn Fabrics prices for stickers.  Just one more reason to really tap into your creative side and create your own decals and decorations for your pages.  The new fad is digital scrapbooking and there are quite a few websites that have paper and designs made to print, below are a few:

http://www.mygrafico.com/

http://www.sherykdesigns.com/index.html (click "freebies")

http://www.scrapbooksetc.com/printables/

If you have a favorite store, website, or Pinterest board, please leave a comment! 







What's this blog about?

Hi there!  If you love scrapbooking, card making, and all things papercrafts then you are in the right place!  Or, if you just want a good laugh at some really terrible photos of me with a uni-brow, stick around.  My passion for scrapbooking started when I was in high school and had to create a scrapbook of whatever I wanted; so of course I chose the most interesting, awesome person to showcase, myself :) So began the semester-long process of badgering and annoying my mom to find embarrassing photos of me.

The first time I went shopping for scrapbooking paper, stickers, stamps, boarders, stencils, etc… I had no idea what I was looking for, and to this day I still don’t have anything in mind when I set out to design a page.  Steve Jobs explained this phenomenon best in my opinion:

“Creativity is just connecting things.  When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it; they just saw something.  It seemed obvious to them after a while.”

I think that’s what really drove my interest for creating beautiful scrapbook pages, the fact that there are no rules, no guidelines to follow, no instructions to go by, you just simply…create.  When I’m in the store I typically grab whatever speaks to me, anything I feel will compliment the theme I’m going for.  Subconsciously I know what I’m looking for but I never really know until I sit down and spontaneously create.  For example, my brand photo is a scrapbook page, and when I began setting up the layout with the materials I bought, I noticed a connection.  The background is a cloth material with a clock pattern, and the letters that spell out “Archive Junkie” are board stickers with a map overlay on each letter.  The ArchiveJunkie brand is about creating and decorating memories from different times in your life, wherever those memories take place.

Whatever your method may be for decorating your memories, always remember to have fun.  I used to get hung up on small details and creating the “perfect” page until I realized these are my memories, no one else’s.  As long as your scrapbook pages elicit some type of emotion for you when you look at them, then you are doing everything just right!  I hope this page will help inspire you, give you ideas, and make you laugh at times from my own stories and photos (because trust me, my ugly duckling stage was worse than yours).