Friday, August 30, 2013

Happy Mail

Hello!
Don't you just loooove snail mail!? I've been penpalling since I was a kid and I love to send and recieve letters. Lately my letter writing has had to stand back since I have been using every free minute for scrapbooking but my penfriends are my best friends and we stay in contact on Facebook between letters.
 
Most of my penpals are either really old aquantances or scrapbookers. Some of my penpals are old acquaintances from when I was a teenager and some I have found via penpal sites in recent years after I started scrapbooking and was in search of friends with intrerests similar to me. But then there is one special lady. We have been writing letters to eachother like forever and shared ups and downs through many different stages in our lives. Her name is Stephanie and she lives in Canada.
 
For a couple of hectic years in our 20's we didn't have time for letterwriting but when we got back together we realized that we both had become shopping crazy photographers/scrapbookers! It was so fun! It's like when twins get separated at birth and meet as adults and realize they have the same educations and hobbies. At the time we were both teachers as well.
 
The other day I got such a wonderful package in the mail with a 22-page letter! Can you belive it! 22 printed pages! They were tiny pages but anyway! It was like taking a coffee with your best friend at a nice café with your heels kicked off and your face tired from laughing and smiling and even crying a bit. I don't have friends like that in real life so I treassure my penpals even more, they are my sisters.
 
She had recently been to a fantastic sale and with her letter she sent me some wonderful goodies that I will love using in my scrapbooking! Look what I got! You can't get your hands on flairs over here in the shops, they become too expensive to sell with the taxes and everything. These will be perfect!
 
 
Then I got this 6''x6'' paper pad from Amy Tangerine! I don't have any of those papers before and I (as you well know by now) love 6''x6'' papers!
 
 
 Now I'm longing to sit down and write back to Stephanie, share my recent stories and comment on hers. There will be lots of scrapbooking thought included!
 
I hope you will have a lovely weekend! See you on Monday! Hugs!
//Åsa
 

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Home made rubber stamp!

Good morning!
First of all I'd like to thank you all for sharing my worries yesterday when our cat had gone missing. The update goes like this: in the afternoon when we were in the garden we heard him, meowing his usual greetings from the gardens next to ours. He came over and we were sooo happy!  He ate, we played, we cuddled, he ran around the house chasing a toy with Freja and we spent time together in the garden. Then he left. Yes. He left again! If I'd known he would leave again I would never had let him out, ofcourse. But he did. And now he's missing again. This time I'm not in grief like I was yesterday, now I'm more heartbroken. It isn't a nice feeling either but atleast he is alive. I think someone let him in and fed him despite the fact that he has a collar with our telephone number. If he comes home this afternoon I won't let him out... he belongs on my bed at night. Period.
 
Enough about that. It gives me headache.
 
A couple of day ago I sat at work browsing for craft supplies at Etsy and I came across so many nice home made stamps. I watched a couple of You Tube videos about stamp carving and I wanted to try it. I had seen somewhere that you could use an eraser for your first attempts. I grabbed an eraser and my scalpel and draw a free hand image of a geotag and started carving. In a minute I had my first stamp and when I tried it I had to laugh out loud. In my eagerness to make my first stamp I hadn't seen that the eraser had an embossed  logo on the side I was using, but it showed really well when I stamped. I made a smaller on the back and that stamped without any embossing :). I noticed it was hard to make a smoth line with the tool I used, the edge of my stamp became a bit rough but I must say I enjoyed it and I really want to try again. But I think I'll need to buy a couple of new erasers first, hubby made a comment about cutting up "the only good eraser in the house" so I guess there aren't any left now, LOL!
 
 
I'm longing to go home and hopefully I'll have energy for some scrapbooking this evening. I have lots of creativity wanting to get out.
I hope you will have a nice day! Hugs!
//Åsa
 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

More hexagons

Today I'm so worried about our little cat. He didn't come in last night and not this morning... I was out looking for him last time at midnight and then at 4.30 this morning I walked around the neighborhood without finding him... I won't be able to concentrate today. I want him so much to be a part of our family for many years to come!
Before worries started to eat away my brain I made two layouts after kids had gone to sleep.
The first one has one of those backgrounds I painted during my summer vacation. The hexagons are leftovers from a MME paper and the card with the fairy is from Kaiser Craft.

These hexagons are made from the American Craft's "Family Ties" 6''x6'' collection pad. The title says: "Beautiful Summer Sweden"


I can't stop thinking about the kitten.  Feeling really sad, I hope we'll see him again, alive.
Hugs.

//Åsa

Monday, August 26, 2013

Really pleased!

Happy new week!
Today I'm sharing two layout that I made on Saturday nap time. They have the font in common but will be weeks apart in my album so that won't be a problem. I'm really pleased with how they both turned out.
 
The first one is has elements from Studio Calico's papers Snippets "Me oh my" and Sundrifter "Beautiful". The title is an old raw chipboard alpha from Maya Road which I dotted with my Uniball Signo pen and the smaller words and alphaas come from Simple Stories.
 
 
On this layout everything, except for the title, is from Simple Stories' "I heart summer"-collection. 
 
 
Yesterday I planned a whole bunch of layouts using my new 6''x6'' paper pads. Now I only need more time...
 
Take care and enjoy the sunshine!
// Åsa

Friday, August 23, 2013

Friday, Friday!

Hi there!
Today I'm showing you my first cuts into the my new paper pad The Pier from Crate Paper. This is one of the prettiest papers I've ever seen and I only used a 1-inch strip of the already tiny 6''x6''-paper because I really want to get a lot of milage out of it, but it really gives SO much back, already in this small amount! The colors! The pattern! The shadows! Love it!
 


The photos are from our summer vacation to see mum in June. We visited the beautiful town Söderköping by the Göta canal and had waffles with icecream and coffee on the dock.
 
Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Hugs!
// Åsa
 
 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Haul #6 and new layout!

Good morning!

A while ago I found a really nice deal at a shop called Scrapbooking 4 you. They had small packs of Becky Higgins PL-cards in several different collections and at the time I ordered they had a store wide, 20% off, sale.
 
This was my last purchase (really, I promise) before I put the loooong freeze on my scrapbooking account.
 
All 3''x4'' packs (25 cards in each) cost 15 SEK (2.18 US$) and the larger 4''x6''cards (10 cards, from collection This Life) cost 10 SEK (1.45 US$). All in all, with the 20% off and with shipping added I paid 169 SEK (24.58 US$). I think I did a great purchase and got a lot of different cards for that price.
 
These are the collections I got: This Life, WOW, Today, Sweet, Snapshots, Noted, Love, Hello World, Hello, Happy day, For Real and Awesome


 


The pile was really nice to flip through and I found lots of nice patterns and sentiments that I will use really soon in my scrapbooking! I love the fact that they are double sided! Perhaps I'll even go PL-style and do a grid layout if I ever remember to order smaller photos.
 
 
I even got so inspired I made a layout right away! These cards are from collections Today and Love. The journaling is about hubby and the kids picking me up from work during summer.   
 
 
The photos are from the vestibule outside the reception at the Municipality Office of Sundsvall where I work. The large creature is a dragon, the symbol for our city. For many years now companies and organizations have adopted those huge fiberglass cuties and given them designs and artwork representing their own businesses. These dragons are then placed all around town during summer, kids can play with them and there is even a voting contest every year for our favorite dragon. Every summer there are a couple of new ones joining the pack. Some dragons retire from public life and move in with their benefactors, like this one at my work place. If you want to see more of our dragons you can visit these sites: 
 
The Sundsvall Newspaper reporting on the new dragons for 2013
A selection of the dragons for sale in miniature format
The winner of 2013's best dragon in show
 
I hope you will have a lovely day! Take care!
//Åsa

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Haul #5

Hello!
How have you been? I've gotten my 30% off sale package now and I got everything I ordered! Happy! Lots of lovely papers, cardstock and some extra goodies that will be sooo fun to work with! The majority of the patterened papers are cards and other cut outs and I will love to use them with our summer photos!
 


 
  
 
 
Now I just need time for scrapbooking, preferably day time. Have you heard where I can buy that?
 
Lots of hugs!
//Åsa
 

Monday, August 19, 2013

Perhaps the best

Good morning!
One evening when I had decided to be super creative I couldn't come up with anything that I wanted to do so instead of just falling asleep on the couch I took out my Cuttlebug, my hexagon dies and a pile of paper pads and I made hexagons and sorted them by collection in zip-lock bags. It was a no-brain exercise and I didn't really know if I'd use them anytime soon or what. But during the weekend I did! Here is the first finished layout and I must say I think it may be the best one I've ever made! 
 
I started with the hexagons from Studios Calico's Classic Calico 2 paper pad. I realized that using three different patterns was perfect with hexagons because then you could do a pretty easy repetetive pattern. Before I glued them down I chalked the edges.

The photo I choose is a mobile phone camera selfie from work. I remembered that I had seen some telephones in one of the paper pads I just bought and I went through them all in search of that pattern. I found the telephones in Carta Bella's collection Hello Again and made hexagons from one of those papers and added them along the edges of the Studio Calico hexagon pattern.

Some of the telephones were still undamaged around the hexagon cuts so I cut them out with scissors. I used my new arrow tape from October Afternoon and decided to pick up on that pink and orange and found some stickers from the new alpha sets that I uesd to spell out my titel.

For the clusters I used my new viewmast reel die, some stickers, wood veneers and some left over papers from the die-cutting.
 
 
In the white gaps that were left I wrote phrases that I say plenty times every  day at work. I'm very pleased with the result and for once I think I managed to build the clusters in a way that looks at least a little up to date.
 
I hope you will have a lovely week! Take care!
// Åsa
 
 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Haul #4

Good morning!
A package a day keeps boredom away!  Hubby was a sweetheart and got my package for me after dinner yesterday! It was a pretty small package from Pysseltagen but I paid a rather hefty price because of one item - actually the item which was the reason I ordered from this shop. Pysseltagen is a shop I keep coming back to. They have a special selection of goodies that I can't find elsewhere, especially tools and organization stuff. 
 
Lets begin with the main item, I couldn't help myself! I just needed to own this darling! Magnolia had a tny version of this one but I decided I wanted the large one, eventhough it was expensive. The risk is that I will need the small one as well...
 
 
I ordered these sticky notes from Teresa Collins, I'll love to use them for layering. The paper pens from Viva Decor was on sale so I for less than half the original price so I bought the colors "sand" and "graphite".
 
 
At the paper department I found three sheets that I will cut apart. Two of them are from Teresa Collins Memorabilia collection and will match the yellow/aqua sticky notes above. The third paper is from 7 Dots Studio. 
 
 
I bought more bottles of the kind I use for my home made crylic paint splashes, I want to make new splashes in white and black since the lids of the jars they were in decided  to get permanently stuck, and then I mean r-e-a-l-l-y stuck. I also bought 50 white envelopes for the Christmas cards. You need to be prepared for the holiday season!
 
 
I have two more packages coming in, one with that 30% sale order (still don't know how much of it I'll actually get) and one with PL cards. I have no plans to start Project Life but I like the cards for layering in my scrapbooking and I found a shop that sells Becky Higgins' collections in small packs (10-25 cards per package) and when they had a 20% sale during my shopping spree I couldn't resist and ordered from a couple of different Becky Higgins' collections.
 
Take care and see you soon!
// Åsa
 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Haul #3

Hello!
Now I'm ready for several weeks of uninterupted scrapbooking extravaganza! Sadly I have no such vacation coming up anytime soon so I'm feeling quite frustrated when I'm gently patting my lovely new supplies - but tonight I might get a couple of hours for some organizing and if I'm lucky even some scrapping!
 
When I went home from work yesterday I went by the DHL service point and fetched my package. I think it is kind of creepy that the guy there has memorized my full name and that he knew just how long my package had been there waiting for me, without looking at his computer...
 
Anyway, the package was from CiLi in Papers which is one of my favorite web shops here in Sweden. They seem to have just my type of supplies and now they had a really good collection of wood veneers that I neeeeded sooo badly! When I saw the package and the content I felt I had greatly over paid. I even made a rough estimate if the total cost was correct and it was. But I guess these products will last a very long time so I'll not complain.
 
Here is what I got!
 
The Carta Bella paper pad Beach Boardwalk will fit perfectly with summer and boy themed layouts, even birthday cards. The colors are really happy and  bright. The floss is the only thing with this order that really disappointed me. The quality is sooo poor! I have had the twine from Doodlebug before and had hoped for that kind of quality but this was nothing like it. The washi is from October Afternoon and has all kinds of arrows. The blue pens are roller ball glue pens from Zig and I love them for diecut letters and other small stuff.
 
 
From time to time I swear to never ever again buy letter stickers but then I heard these were worth the money and I thought it would be fun to have different colors of small alphas. The small packages all have 8 sheets in different colors.
 
 
I bought a total of nine packages of wood veneers of these different kinds. All are new to me except for the arrows & hearts which I have been using alot lately. I think the cats are fun especially since we just bought our own little kitty Kosmos :)

 
 
I have more orders coming in and I hope they will arrive really soon. I want to have everything at hand before I start working on my summer photos from our vacation. I'm also looking forward to starting that other project for my cousin's son, but I haven't recieved the photo files yet. Perhaps I'll make a couple of starting points just to channel my creativity in some sort of direction.
 
Take care and see you soon!
// Åsa
 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Haul #2

Goodies!
I couldn't fetch that new package at the post office on my way home yesterday but when I got home I had another package waiting on my desk! It was from a UK webshop called Crafty Charlie. I haven't ordered from them before, mainly because I didn't know they existed. I have been looking for UK-based webshops for some time but never found any with a good selection of new supplies. So when I found Crafty Charlie I ordered within the hour! The prices were a bit higher than I'm used to in Sweden but the selection was great and I found supplies that haven't even found their ways to the Swedish web shops yet. I think the lower price for shipping and the lack of taxes and additional custom fees made it a good deal compared to ordering from the States, but I will need to do some counting to see if that actually is true for future purchases.
 
Here is my haul from Crafty Charlie!
 
First I got this camera die from Die-namics! I love it! I was about to buy it when I saw it the first time back in spring but when I finally got about to order it was alredy sold out. It will be so fun to have cameras in any color I want! I will also use the tiny mobile phone!
 
 
I ordered the Hey Day collection on 6''x6'' and cork arrows from Studio Calico.
 
 
Here are three more 6''x6'' paper pads that I have had on my wishlishlist since the moment I first saw them. Can't wait to play with these papers and colors! It is Down by the Shore by Fancy Pants, Hello Again from Carta Bella and Kneehighs from Basic Grey. 
 
 
From Simple Stories collection I {heart} summer I bought the sticker sheet and a 6''x4'' card pad.
 
 
And I saved the best for last! This must be the prettiest collection ever made!! I bought the chipboard stickers and the 6''x6'' paper pad. I think I have bought a couple of the 12''x12'' papers in an order from a different shop and I hope I'll get them soon. I'm especially looking forward to the 3''x4'' cards.
 
 
I had no energy for scrapbooking last night since previous night had had too little sleep but I feel very inspired by all my new stuff and I'm looking forward to next time I'll be able to sit down and scrap!
 
Have a nice day!
//Åsa
 

Monday, August 12, 2013

Raining away

Hello!
Going to work today was a bit like swimming! I forget how much it can pour this time of the year! Hopefully it will dry up until it is time to go home again!

After 510 phone calls answered in 7 hours I feel somewhat tired but I still enjoy every minute of my work! I was clearly made for talking and talking and talkning :) and scrapbooking! Happily I'm able to spend most of my brain on scrapbooking even when I'm working and I even more when the kids have gone to sleep in the evening.  
 
Yesterday I had time for two layouts with new photos. I need to appologize for the bad project photos, again.

 
 
Before I went to bed I pulled out some old white paper flowers and sprayed them with ink like crazy. I added some glitter and I hope they will look good with some of my new papers and photos.
 
 
Today I got a reminder on text message on my phone that I needed to come and fetch my package at the post office and I'm soooo happy about that. But at the same time I wonder why I didn't get a first notice!?! And I was starting to wonder where my new scrapbooking goodies were! Can't wait to open the box!
 
Take care and have a nice day!
// Åsa
 
 
 
 

Friday, August 9, 2013

Inspiration

Hej!
I can tell already I'll have lots of time for writing today, seems like folks got all their municipality business done earlier in the week. When I sat on the bus this morning I was moping about not  having any new projects to show you and I was thinking about dong some inspiration search for myself this day and share my finds with you guys here in the blog.

Paint & ink
Crackle paint and running ink 
Lovely aqua on grid

Banners & arrows
Banners in all directions
Stacking rainbow triangels
Triangles with stitching

Design
On a line with more lines
Many small photos in a vertical line, empty space
Chevron and ink over, yellow and black
Six cards
Envelope, cluster, spray
Squares
T-shaped with bits and pieces
Hexagons in all kinds of ways (perhaps use negatives from punching to draw hexagons?)
Great design!
Geometric pieces just perfect!

Layering
Layers, scraps and stamped background
Lovely layers
Wonderful colors

//Åsa

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Thoughts on shopping

Hello!
I've been thinking about scrapbooking and scrapbooking shopping over the last couple of days trying to figure out my feelings about both and how they work on my creativity. I think it is interesting to evaluate why and how these things work since I really like to understand myself and be as creative as possible.
 
For a couple of months I've been a member of a Facebook group called 50 projects where we have been challenging ourselves to scrap our stashes and not shop before we've made 50 layouts. I did two rounds of that challenge and it has been very very good on my creativity and 100 layouts in just a couple of months is more than anyone can wish for, isn't it. So, it's been very good for my productivity. But has it been good on my creativity? I'm not so sure.
 
About the same time as I started that first challenge round I also started this blog. Blogging has been super fun and I'm so greatful for all the sweet comments I get and all the wonderful blogs and bloggers that I have found as being a part of the daily bloggers and readers on Two Peas in a Bucket's forum.
 
When I had finished my first round of the challenge I made a small purchase, I bought a couple of decoration packs and some paper pens. No papers, no dies and no stamps. But now when I finished my second round I went crazy with the shopping! I think I have been wishing and planning so much that when I finally got to shop I thought I needed all of it. I will love every one of all those supplies and I don't regret any of the purchases. But I think that I have become way to focused on shopping by staying away from shopping, if you know what I mean.
 
But at the same time, when you have made 100 layouts your old supplies seem to become really old and you have been flipping through those boxes so many times you need something fresh to even get started with a new project.
 
It is hard.
 
I will try a shopping freeze now, without counting layouts, without hurrying and without making shopping lists. I will try and convince myself that there will always come more pretty supplies and I will focus on learning more design theory and making beautiful layouts instead of just producing to be able to shop.
 
This is a layout I made yesterday. It is from the kits I made the other day. I just love that hexagon paper and I went with the lovely color combination aqua, yellow & white. The kids are sitting in bags waiting for us to start packing for our trip to go see my mother in June. The title says "Ready to travel".
 
 

 I don't know if I've become any wiser but atleast I have a plan and a goal. I will stop focusing on products and I will become a better scrapbooker!
 
Take care and have a nice day!
// Åsa
 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Layout and haul #1

Good morning!
Today I'm sharing my first hauls! They are from Scrap & Hobby and Kristinas Scrapbooking and I ordered early from them because I bought albums and just added supplies so that I could get the free shipping. I bought three black postbound albums, 100 12''x12'' page protectors and cardstock (red, vanilla, kraft, yellow, aqua) and then I made some random finds that I thought I'd show you here!
 
They didn't have a style of papers that attracted my attention at neither shop but at Kristina's I found these two. That KaiserCraft collection with the farries was really cute but I decided that it would be hard to use with the kind of photos that I take, but I bought the cards because I thought the sentiments were really sweet and then I also got some ferries. The paper with the cars is from Karen Foster. The assorted doilies were a bargain and I thought they were cute and easy to use.
 
 
The Prima Marketing stencils I bought at Scrap & Hobby and the alphabet stencil at Kristina's.
 
 
 
At Kristina's I bought the pink paper pens and the very tiny alphastickers and hubby bought the Uniball Signo pens for me at an art store called Zinkvit, they should last a while :) I've been very pleased with the paper pens from Viva Decor that I already have and they give just the right "enamel dot effect" that I was looking for.
 
 

At Scrap & Hobby I got this as a gift! That was sweet, I think! I love that viewmaster reel!
 
 
When I had reached my goal of 50 layouts I went trough my stash of fairly new papers and made 20 "kits" with coordinating scraps of paper and I added some of those fairy cards that I just cut apart. I think that I found a couple of kits that will be really successful for my photos so if I can use atleast a couple of them I'll be happy.
 
 
In the top right corner of the photo above you can see a pink spot, that's the kit I started with! It is a background paper that I've painted myself and some scraps that had the same colors. I think the green card from Kaiser Craft fitted perfectly with the quirky photos of my kids and their aunt. I added some green washi to give the green card a bit more legitimacy amongst all the pink papers. The card sentiment will do as my title. It was fun to work with this type of design, I think I normally do my designs more to the left of the page =) 
 
 

Unfortunately I didn't scrap anything yesterday evening eventhough I was in the mood all day long, but bedtime with my oldest took like forever and that kind of killed all the inspiration I had going. I wish for better luck this evening. Perhaps I have a scrapbook package waiting for me =) 
 
Take care!
//Åsa
 

Monday, August 5, 2013

I'm done!

Good morning!
It's ringing like crazy here at work, seems like people are starting to get back on track after vacations, yet another sign that summer is coming to an end weather we want it or not. We have had the warmest days of the summer this weekend and it sure feels like summer still!
 
I have taken lots of summer photos during the weekend, you know the kind with kids on the beach, kids in the pool, peppers ripening in many colors and raspberry cup cakes on the porch table. I love photographing and I even had my hubby take a couple of photos of me so that I can prove I've actually been there and done all that too :)
 
During the weekend I've managed to make 4 layouts! And you know what that means, don't you!?! I've reached my 50 layouts challenge goal!! Wohooo! Happy!
 
Today I'm showing layouts #48-50. They all have photos that passed the huge photo box cleanout last week and the first two are from 2010 and the third is from 3013.
 
Here I've cropped the photos heavily because they had so much wall, floor and furniture. The title is an expression we use in Sweden for dancing, something like "a turn around" and I think the chip board arrows were just perfect. I colored them with my brown fluid ink that I use for the paper edges. The flowers are glossy chipboard die cuts that I have got from a penfriend a while back.  
 
 
We are art & crafts people here at home, I love paper crafting and hubby is painting gaming miniatures. Our kids grow up with colorful projects going on everywhere and naturally they want to try for themselves. Here Freja is painting one of hubby's models, the paintbrush is as broad as the model but it gives good coverage :)  
 
 
This layout became so top heavy I had to do something about it.
 
 
I cut off a good piece of the background paper and the layering at the bottom and mounted the whole thing on a pice of white 12''x12'' paper. The result was so much better I had to show you so you can see the difference.
 
 
 
When my daughter saw this layout she said "Mummy, I want to do like that with the papers sticking out from underneath the photo next time I make an album page" Yeah! Of course we can!
 
And now it's shopping time!! Actually I've already done all the shopping so now I'm waiting for it all to arrive. My first plan was to do yet another round on the 50 layouts challenge but when I summed up all my purchases I was feeling kind of guilty and I needed to be "punished" in some way so I've put a shop stop on myself until after Christmas. Yes. It is true. I'll allow myself to buy adhesive, albums and paper copies, that's all. But I'll be in no pain because I have been shopping a lot! I will show you all of it when it arrives - starting tomorrow!
 
Take care! Hugs!
// Åsa

Thursday, August 1, 2013

My photo stash strategy

Hello & Happy August!
Can you believe it is already August!?! In only one week the kids will be back to day care and we have raspberries in the garden, typically late summer happenings. It is raining like crazy and feels like autumn so I guess it is hard to convince myself it is beginning of summer any longer. Soon it will get darker and colder. I only wish the kids could have some warm summer days at home before the "grey normal" starts.
 
I've been having trouble finding my scrapbooking mojo the last couple of days. It is not a scrapbook block in any way, just a boring kind of tiredness at the end of the day that makes me want to sit in the sofa rather than by the scrap table.
 
During the weekend I went through my small photo box and took out all photos that wasn't interesting anylonger (I only left about 10 sets) and replaced them with the new paper copies I ordered using that coupon code that was to expire on July 24th. It was fun to sort the new photos and it gave alot of inspiration. But I had already decide to save them for when I start the next round of the Facebook challenge "50 layouts before shopping". At the same time I decided to "un-plan" all my planned layouts that I had in page protectors as small kits of papers and photos. I realized that if they hadn't inspired me uptil now I wasn't likely to use them any time soon. Instead I made 8 new kits with the photos I had saved from the last photo box and I immediately felt more inspiration.
 
This far I've made two layouts from those plans.
 
The photots of the layout today are grey and the colors aren't showing up properly and I blame the weather! It is so grey and boring it was impossible to get good light. It was this or a massive glare in the photos. I need to get a better photo set up for my projects.
 
This first layout is from earlier this summer. My son and I were home alone one day and we packed a picnic basket and had a snack in the play house in the garden. I've used grungeboard again, colored with fluid chalk. The foundation of the page is white with random aqua splashes.
 
 
These photos are so old now we can't even understand she actually looked like this in 2008 :) It was really hard for me to use this strawberry paper because I think it is so beautiful and I covered up almost all of it and I only got a tiny strip left over! I need to stop being this clingy to papers that are pretty! Now when it is done I think it fits perfectly with the photos so now I'm happy I used it. The foundation is a light pink cardstock.    
 
 
These are layouts #46-47 of the Facebook challenge round 2. Soon it's time for shopping again! Fun fun fun! I keep updating My Shopping List!
 
My photo stash system
 
In case you're wondering what I do with the photos I take out of my small photo box when I do these photo box cleanings that I described earlier - I'd like to tell you about my system.
 
As you already know I have a limited space for my scrapbooking and I challenge myself to stay in that space and not grow out of my boxes and cabinets. Therefore I don't order too many paper copies from every occasion, it is hard but I try to be good. The new photos I keep in a small photo box on my desk. It holds about three inches of photos and I use small cardstock dividers to sort them roughly. Most of the time I only care about these photos.
 
But then when I get that feeling that I have no interesting photos left to scrap, no paper copy orders coming in anytime soon and all I do is flip and flip and flip and nothing sparks my creativity, then I go to my big box!
 
I have a larger photo box in my stash where I store photos that didn't make the cut when I have been cleaning out my small box. At these times of photo dispair I go through the big box and I always seem to find a large bunch of photos that I'd love to work with and can't understand why I haven't already used them. Usually I get a big spark of creativity and everything feels new and fresh again!
 
So when I clean out photos that seem boring at the time, I know they will be perfect for another day's projects. So this is why I might seem to scrap only new photos and then suddenly there is a photo from way back in 2008, like today.
 
I hope, hope, hope that I'll be able to scrap some more this evening! If I do, I'll post tomorrow again! Have a nice day!
// Åsa