Sophia layout

This layout uses the last of my papers from the retired paper pack "Sophia" from a few years ago. *Sniff!* I loved, loved, loved this paper pack! The colors were so bright, so girly and so vibrant! They worked with every picture I take of my rambunctious little girl!

I'm sad I used the last of it but I'm so glad I had some to use for these photos. My daughter got to meet her preschool teachers during the winter open house and she enjoyed playing with all the toys and puzzles in her classroom. Because the room doesn't have a window, they have it painted a very vibrant green and paired with her bright pink outfit (her choice by the way!) I knew these papers would have a punch! :)

CTMH Sophia scrapbooking layout by Stephanie Huber at LavendersageDesigns.blogspot.com

The right page is snapshots of the kiddos on my son's birthday. He's not much of a "make a fuss over me" kinda guy but he's learning to take photos like a champ (it's faster to cooperate, he says!). And of course, if mister has his photo taken, missy wants one too!

CMTH Charlotte layout

During my weekend crop a few weeks ago, I realized that a lot of my scrapbook pages tend to repeat. My albums are all done chronologically and (I feel) are the same from year to year. We're creatures of habit, we do the same things, at the same time, over and over again.

Which is great for teaching my kids traditions and habits but it makes a boring scrapbook. And who wants a boring scrapbook??

So I started to document my everyday life moments. I take pictures constantly - for Facebook & Instagram - my every day life is being recorded but (until now) I didn't  print those pictures.

This layout features a seemingly random assortment of photos but these are adorable, every day moments of the people that fill my days.

CTMH Charlotte scrapbook & Picture My Life layout by Stephanie Huber at LavendersageDesigns.blogspot.com

I used the new Charlotte papers to make these layouts super cute! The stickers and accessories that come with the Workshop Your Way (or can be purchased seperately) are adorable! The colors are a nice neutral with just a pop of color that seem to match all my photos.

See you next week with more photos of my scrapbook pages!

Bowling with Babycakes

February is a big holiday month for us. My neice has her birthday right after Valentine's Day! :)

This was a big year for her because she had her first "friends" party!  And since cousins are the bestest of friends, my littles were invited too. 

For this layout, I used Babycakes (retired) and Gray Wool (retired) cardstock as page bases. This was an easy layout with a B&T cut in half, two zip strips across the tops and 2 border Stickease across the bottom. The journal card was cut with Art Philosophy and inked in Desert Sand. 

CTMH Babycakes scrapbooking page by Stephanie Huber at LavendersageDesigns.blogpost.com

Actually, now that I'm typing this post up, I think I reworked this layout on my Team Crop this past weekend ... Hmm, I'll have to snap a photo of that one and post a before and after photo.

Did you ever rework a layout page after you finished with it? How did it turn out??

February Shenanigans

Continuing my walk through of my 2015 album, this is the layout I made showing our big cousin's weekend with my sister's kids.

I am blessed that my sister and I were able to have our children so close in age. They are the best of friends!! When I go away for my weekend crops, I'm lucky that I can drop my kids off at my sister's house until my hubby comes home on Saturday and since they love it too, I'm guilt free for some Mommy-only time! :)

CTMH scrapbooking layout using Chantilly (retired) paper pack and "Live Laugh Love" stamp set.

I had only small scraps from my Chantilly paper pack (retired) but I love how simple this layout turned out to be. I used negative space in the layout to provide "mats" for the photos on the left and since the base layer was White Daisy, I was able to journal directly on the page. A little stamping from the "Live Laugh Love" stamp set and done! I was hoping to be done with this paper pack but I have a few tiny scraps I can use to make some cards. A good problem to have I guess! :)

I'll continue my walk through next week, there are still lots of pages to share! I'm going to spend the weekend with my Close to My Heart team at a weekend retreat so I'll have even more to share! ;)

Happy crafting!
Stephanie

February Joyful Stars Blog Hop

Welcome to the February edition of the Joyful Stars Blog Hop!

If you've come from Crystal's blog then you're on the right track. If you're starting here, just follow the links at each blog to "hop" along. If you get lost, visit Joyce's blog for a complete list.

 I was at a weekend crop in January (and another one this weekend - yea!!) and I'm currently sharing my work from the weekend. I shared my first layouts in the album on Monday. I'm skipping ahead a little bit to share with you the layout I used from the Charlotte Workshop Your Way.

Last year was a busy year for us. Within a few weeks of finishing a renovation on the new house we bought, we moved in and had two birthday parties and  two Easter celebrations (ignoring the 2 snowstorms that also occurred during that time...).

This page documents my daughter's birthday party. Having just moved in we were crammed around too small furniture and folding tables and chairs but that's the problem with going to a bigger house - you're furniture is now too small! ;) But it was such a blessing to be able to celebrate with our family in ONE room!

CTMH Scrapbook layout using Charlotte paper pack by Stephanie Huber

Using the embellishments that came with the kit made this layout super simple to do! PML cards cut from the workshop make it easy to add journaling and this layout came together in about 10 minutes!

Now you're off to Debi's blog to see her lovely creation!

(I'll be posting the rest of my layouts so check back again before next month.)

:) Stephanie

It's Crop & Share Time Again!

The only redeeming factor of winter, in my humble opinion, is its when I get to go on weekend crops. Specifically two each year. My husband, who is an on-the-road truck driver and thus not home more often then he is home, is forced to be home and play Mr. Mom. Don't misread this, he does a great job as their father but when I'm gone ... I really don't know if I'll ever know the truth of what happens, what they eat, or wear, or play with. I try not to think about it and just lavish all my creative energies into getting as much scrapbooking done as inhumanly possible because let's face it, this is the only dedicated time to scrap I get. Sure I have a wonderful creating space at home. But there are no doors and I have to share it with the kids' play space. Great for sneaking in some "me" time during playdates but not conducive to getting lots done on a regular basis. If they see mommy, they want mommy's attention.

Sigh ....

But when I go away ... well, scrap happens! :)

Over the next few weeks, I will share with you some layouts I've done this past weekend. I still have another weekend coming up so I'll add them in too.

This past weekend is a wonderful time away at a local retreat center. The accommodations are lovely, the food is wonderful (I gained 4+ pounds this weekend!), and I never have to leave the building so I get to stay in super comfy clothes (read: workout clothes all weekend and no judging!!). I actually was all packed up when I realized I had not seen my sneakers in three days and had to go looking for them. Thankfully, the cleaning staff found them under the bed and returned them to the front desk for check out. My goal this weekend was to get from January through August of last year because that was as far as I had sorted my photos. And I actually accomplished it! I am so proud of myself! Even better, I love all the layouts I did! Usually there are a bunch I just throw together just because. Crafting all weekend can be draining and there are just hours where my brain refuses to work. This time however, I rarely had that feeling and was able to power through and get 70 pages done (about 35 two page layouts). Since about half of them need some sort of Cricut cut to finish them completely, I'll only share the completely finished ones now. I'll add the others in later.

First one up ...

CTMH Scrapbook layout using PML page and Frosted (retired) paper pack by Stephanie Huber

The first page of the album I'm using as a title page, but I still need to add the numbers so this is the first full layout and features all the snows from last winter (one snow looks like the next one, right?). I'm learning how to use my DSLR to take the photos I want to use on mys scrapbook pages so I'm liking my pages better. Maybe that's why I didn't have any problems designing, I liked all my photos! Designing with a mix of traditional pages and PML (Picture My Life) pages took some thinking ahead but I'm really happy with the results. I tend to be photo heavy and I want to document *everything*. PML pages and Flip Flaps are my most used accessories!

CTMH Scrapbook layout using PML page and Frosted (retired) paper pack by Stephanie Huber

 This is the next page in the album and I continued using the Frosted papers since the pictures were mostly blue. The Stickease from the paper pack made it easy to decorate. Add in some gems and a Cricut cut as a journaling card and done!

CTMH Scrapbook layout using Frosted (retired) paper pack by Stephanie Huber

This was a quick layout of my daughter. She is so expression-full and I had to document it! I used a scrap piece of Frosted to highlight the sleeping photo and a chipboard border from the Chantilly (retired) Complements pack. I absolutely love how our colors work together so you can mix and match from each paper pack! The letters are from the Fundamental Sticker Packs - these are a new addition to our product line and I was so thrilled with it when it was announced at Convention.

I'll be back Wednesday with a new layout for the Joyful Stars Blog Hop.

:)

Stephanie