kelly lynn creations

work in process

Tonight I started my December Daily album, which I'm hoping to finalize by Thanksgiving. The basic concept is to create an album to document the first 25 days of December. Ali came up with the idea a few years ago. I have been browsing examples on Flickr for some inspiration. I just love this page with the star. I used a chipboard star from my stash to cut a star in the middle of one of my pages and then I adhered another pattern behind it with Santa and rudolph peeking through. Super cute!

I'm still debating how to cover the album. I really wanted to use an old recipe book with index cards for my pages, but I wasn't able to find one. I ended up getting an 8x8 Winnie the Pooh photo album at Goodwill for $1.99. I just need to decide if I'm going to paint it or cover it with scrapbook paper.

I'm planning on posting my album on Flickr once I have it completed. I have some pages from last year's album if you are interested in browsing...

finally, some scrapbooking

I haven't spent a lot of time scrapbooking over the past few months. I'm hoping to seriously change this in the near future. I did manage to create a little mini-book of the kid at the beach. Here is the cover:

 

I used extra chipboard pages to create the front and back covers and the inner pages are just plain Bazzill cardstock in a brown tone. I did a lot of distressing of the edges for the cover and the title beach 2009. The green frame was actually a light blue frame that didn't match, so I inked it in green to tie into the polka dot paper. I like how it all finally came together. Oh, scrapbooking - how I've missed you!

digital scrapbook project

Over the holidays, I bought a small recipe book from one of our favorite restaurants. After looking at the recipes more carefully, I realized that it had been created using digital scrapbooking. It seemed like such an easy project and I was eager to try it out myself.

I started by purchasing the Fall Orchard kit to use to create the actual recipes. I then used Photoshop Elements along with the kit to create my layouts for the cards. Once they were completed, I uploaded the jpg files and printed each recipe as a 4x6 photo. Here is a sample of a recipe card.

 

I love the end product, but ended up spending a lot more time then I had expected on the entire project. This is only my second digital project and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it...

dec daily pics

I finally uploaded some pictures of my December daily album.

 

It was a great project to use up my holiday supplies. I created the album using a 5 ring acrylic album and I ended up using only one of the acrylic pages. I then just used various  patterned papers and punched holes to fit the pages into the album. The pages are all of varying sizes, so it really looks layered when you open it up and I ended up really liking that aspect of the album.

Technically, I still have the final few days up to Christmas to complete. I would definitely do this project again, I loved how it was all layered together. It was great to have it put together ahead of December so all I had to do was document what we did and print my photos.

craft night

We had a very successful craft night tonight at Collage. There were nearly a dozen gals crafting away.  They have a standard group of about 4 gals that come every Firday night and then we had a group of friends and friends of friends. It was so fun seeing what everyone was working on. We had quite a variety: felting projects, garland making, holiday cards, invitations and other paper crafts. I loved it! I'm hoping we can make it a monthly event. I need something on my calendar to get me working on my projects on a regular basis.

I spent most of my time on our holiday cards, which I never got around to over Thanksgiving . I had a concept in mind and then ended up doing something a little different once I found a stamp I couldn't live without. I'm hoping I can finish them up over the weekend. Now I just need to get hubby to write his annual letter and pick a family photo...

I did a little shopping for some extra embellishments for my Dec daily album too. It is really coming together. I'll have to print this week's photos so I can finalize the first week. Tomorrow we are off to have breakfast with Santa and then we are going to pick out a tree. I love finding our Christmas tree. Every year I look for the one that 'speaks' to me. I need to get some rest!

december daily

I did it! I was able to put together a December daily album over the weekend. Last year I was very intrigued by the idea, but I never got around to it. Last week, I had actually taken it off of my project list since I had no idea how I would find the time to complete it.

Somehow, I found a window of time when we got back from our Thanksgiving holiday to put it all together. I already had all of my holiday supplies in a pile, so that was easy to assemble. The only new item I needed was an album to put it in, which I had bought weeks before when I was planning on getting the project completed.

I'm happy to report I actually have journaling completed for Day 1 and Day 2. We shall see how I'm able to keep up on that. I'm planning on adding photos each week, since I won't be printing them every day like Ali does. The only thing I have left to do is finish numbering all of the days of the month. I'm thinking I'll just go to 25 and I've already got 1 and 2 done, so not too many more to go...

Today we did our semi-annual purging of toys to Goodwill. When I asked the kiddo what we do at Christmas he responded "Get rid of our toys and get new ones. Some kid will be so happy to have that stuff!"  That kid cracks me up!

time to scrap

I was able to spend a few hours this afternoon at one of my favorite scrapbook stores. My husband has been requesting that I make an album for our son's Doctor. His Doctor didn't even know what a scrapbook was when she asked me what I did. I finally took the time to put one together and my son is so excited to give her the album when we see her next week. I hope she likes it!

It was fun to go back through the photos over the past two years and see how much our son has changed. I'm so glad I made sure we had a photo of our son with his Doctor at every visit. I will eventually make a more detailed album of our trips to keep for ourselves. Since we go every quarter, we have really done a lot of different things over the past few years. Early on we decided we would make these trips mini-vacations for our family. Now we are at the point where we all look forward to going.

I'm really trying to finish up all of my 'in progress' scrapbook projects so I can get started on some new ones! I'm planning on making Ali's December Daily album this year. Last year, I did an album for my AMNW segment and I really enjoyed it. This time around, I think it will be great to have the entire album done well in advance of December. 

I also need to fit in our annual holiday card that I typically make over Thanksgiving. Each year I say I'm going to simplify the card and each year my husband reminds me that the process doesn't look like it has been simplified! I came up with an idea for the card last week and it seems pretty simple so far...

making a difference

I have been teaching scrapbooking at the local hospital for over a year and a half now. My population has grown from the families of children in Pediatric Intensive Care and Pediatric Rehabilitation to now include the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Oncology.

I am continually amazed by all of the families that I meet every Wednesday night. For an hour, they let me into their life to help them document their family. Some families have babies recovering from open heart surgery. Some have teenagers going through chemotherapy. Others have babies that were born weighing less than three pounds. They are all amazing...

I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to teach something I love to people that are so appreciative. Every week they remind me how precious life is. I am always happy to hear that a family was finally able to go home, although I do miss seeing them. They often let me know how much they appreciate that I come to teach them how to scrapbook. What they don't realize is how much I appreciate being a part of their journey. They really are amazing in so many ways.

altered lunch box class: baby's first year

I was on AM Northwest this morning to promote my upcoming Altered Lunch Box class for Baby's First Year.  I'll be teaching the class on March 10th and April 30th at Collage. If you are interested in the class, you can register at DIY Lounge.  Keep in mind, the lunch box format could easily be adapted to a recipe box or a year in review of your favorite photos.

Here is the finished project:

Interior view of lunch box:

This would make a unique gift for an upcoming baby shower. The format is great, since it focuses on a manageable number of photos. An index card is created for 12 months of the baby's first year. On the front of each card is a section for the monthly photo. The back of the card is used for journaling highlights from that month. Additional cards capture baby's milestones; first tooth, rolling over, etc.

Monthly card (front and back):

Milestone cards:

I will be providing a lot of fun scrapbook products for attendees to use during class. In addition to providing detailed instructions for completing this project, I will also be including my favorite tips and tricks throughout the 2 hour class.

If you have a stack of photos from your baby's first year or you are looking for a unique gift, sign up for my class. All skill levels are encouraged to attend!

my next tv appearance

I am going to be on AM Northwest on Thursday, February 28th to promote my Altered Lunch Box class. I will be teaching the class on March 10th at 10:30 am and again on April 30th at 6:30 pm at Collage. I don't know what time they will do the live segment, but the hour long show starts at 9:00 am PST.

If you are interested in taking my class, you can register at DIY Lounge. The classes are $25 and there is a supply list so everyone can purchase papers that go with the theme of their choice. The lunch box example I made was for baby's first year. The lunch box would also make a great recipe holder, card file or collection of annual photos. If you have any questions about the class, send me an email.