Long, long time

It's been a long, long time since I last posted and most of that is due to the start of school and the other part of it is just life getting in the way I guess. So, this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a Croptopia Getaways event in Newport, RI and had an amazing time scrapping and getting caught up. Just to get away and relax was enjoyable and getting lots accomplished in my scrapping world was the icing on the cake.

I was able to finish my Aruba album from this summer's trip and then moved on to create my first December Daily Album....ideas from Ali Edwards. I am thrilled with the way my foundation pages turned out. While I didn't follow Ali's plan exactly, I certainly used her models and previous years to help guide me in some clear direction. I will post pictures just as soon as I take them. I promise. Until then, have a wonderful day.

Kristen

howdy

So, here we are a day late on those layouts that I said I would post. I spent much of the night organizing my scrapping mess and then trying to put away and figure out how I was going to use some of my newest supplies. My mom called and said that she was going though boxes in her basement and came across a bunch of craft stuff and she wanted to see if I wanted any of it. I dug through the boxes and boxes and returned home with lots of fun ribbon, some scraps of fabric and some other little dodads.
For now:



from my trip to the Dominican Republic last summer



and this was a crab that we saw on our walk on the beach- something about it made me want to turn it into a page!

Happy Monday- looking forward to a yummy dinner with a friend- food, fun and friends: nothing beats it!

summer lovin...

Yay! I love summer! I love visiting with friends, having time off from school and just relaxing! So, I was down in Madison visiting with one of my bestest friends from childhood. She has a beautiful baby girl who just turned one and I made a ABC book for her too and a chipboard name book as well. So, since I was in Madison, I figured that this morning I would take a little trip to another scrapbooking store in Westbrook. So, I journeyed to...Paper Craft Clubhouse and bought some more neat treats! I would link to the website, but the site is under construction because I believe it is under new ownership. Anyway... I am loving all of the fun summer treats I bought: fabulous peachy pink thickers, hero arts flowers, more bo bunny papers, a few great trinkets from jillibean soup, and a very cool journal tablet from little yellow bicycle! so fun! I should get my butt upstairs and get back to scrapping, but I am feeling tired and in need of a rest. I'll be back tomorrow to share some more treats that I create! Have a great Saturday night!

scrap happy

So, I have been in total scrap heaven.... well, maybe not exactly, but close. Wednesday was a bit of a dreary rainy day here in CT, so I took advantage and went on a little road trip to some nearby scrapbooking stores that I had never visited before. First I went to New England Scrap Co. and then headed to Stamp and Scrap Nest Spent a bit of money at both of them and got some really great new Bo Bunny papers as well as other great stuff! I also signed up for a Copic marker class at Stamp and Scrap nest for $35 and that includes 6 markers! How could I say no? I am excited for that because I have not really experimented with copics but am fascinated by the end result.

When I got home from my scrap shopping, I received my kit of the month from Little Red Scrapbook and was so excited to see all of the bright colored treats inside with more Bo Bunny paper and beautiful flowers and buttons. Fun stuff. So, I have been busy playing with the new treats and enjoying every minute. Oh, and it made it easier to do this because my husband was away on business for 3 days, so I just scrapped to my heart's content.

Here are some layouts:






Love my twin sisters-- aren't they just the cutest? They are about to turn 30 this year!








See...it's scrap happiness!

swollen...

ah yes....I finally went ahead and had the gum surgery I was putting off for the last 6 months. It was not even quite as bad as I had anticipated, which is always a good thing. The biggest issue has been swelling and the food that I am eating. I have had italian ice and soft serve ice cream at least once over the last 3 days! I have had jello, and yogurt too. I should probably have documented this through some scrap project, but I just couldn't bear to take pictures of me with this swollen cheek- and I can't smile and that just stinks. So, I have spent some time scrapping- some old projects which has been kind of neat. I am usually one to scrap a large project or event. Since I don't have children (yet) I usually do weddings, vacations, and then gifts for people that consist of bulky items...but I decided to look back at some of my favorite pics and make some pages that I will hopefully organize in some sort of album if I figure there is some rhyme and reason to it! As soon as I can get some pictures of my layouts, I will post them here.

Happy Fourth of July

While part of me misses attending the annual 4th of July parade in East Long Meadow, Massachusetts with my aunt, I must say I had an enjoyable 4th this year. Slept in a bit, walked with my hubby and then went to Bill's Seafood down on the water- yum! Came back, took a nap, signed up for
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and will eat some yummy leftover picnic food and head to my parent's house for fireworks. Family, good food and relaxation! Who can complain? I will make an effort to think about doing some scrapping tomorrow- this heat wave could be killer!

See you soon,
Kristen

summer sun

Spent Monday as a scrapping day and I loved every minute of it! What fun! Had four girlfriends over to join in my scraptivities and it was just such a great day. I was working on a present for a friend and then decided to scrap my honeymoon pics from four years ago. After getting the Cricut Cartridge Life's a Beach, I was totally inspired and couldn't wait to do something beach themed- the cartridge is simply awesome!! I'll post some pics of some of my layouts later today...just wanted to get down some of my thoughts now. So, as a result of the scrap day on Monday, I have been scrapping ever since. Any time I can sneak away upstairs and scrap, I am there. The negative is that I seem to be forgetting about the fourth of July family picnic I am having this weekend! Might need to get on with that! My scrap room is an absolute disaster, because when I am in creative mode, things get a little disorganized. My husband would argue that things are always disorganized, but he doesn't appreciate my system of organization.

I am looking forward to being out in the summer sun today- teaching some swim lessons and getting back into the swing of things. I am not thrilled that July is around the corner! How fast time flies!

Kindness, Love and Summer Sun....

Kristen

Here are some pics

So, I meant to attach these pictures the last post and must have gotten side-tracked. So here are the pics of the alphabet book I created for my friend.




How cute is this little one?



This is one of my favorites. Love the colors on this page.




Daddy's little girl...already working with the tools in the yard.







Check out the cute little bootie on this one :)



Mom's training her well, already doing the laundry.





And last, she loves her thumb!




While these are certainly not elaborate pages, they were a joy to create and loved giving my girlfriend this book to treasure forever. Happy Birthday to you and your little one!

The end is near...

Ahhh....the end is in sight and I am ever so grateful for another truly fabulous year of teaching. My students this year were wonderful and I can't help but wonder what next year will bring. My eighth grade students constantly make me laugh, always continue to amaze me and surprise me with their candidness and constant whining. Despite all of the good that this year brought in the classroom, I am very much looking forward to a summer full of relaxation, scrapbooking and hopefully getting into some serious shape.

I have a few 5K races planned and probably a sprint triathlon or two. But my real goal is to complete a olympic distance triathlon. My sister and I have been talking about it for years and really there should not be anything that holds us back. The sense of accomplishment after finishing always trumps the pain that you feel as you struggle through each leg of the race- so maybe by making this public, I will suddenly become more motivated to make it happen. I can only hope.

A childhood friend of mine has a beautiful baby girl who just turned one year old. I created a chipboard album with her daughter's name and then an ABC album for her daughter.

February Vacation

It is hard to believe it is already Thursday of my February vacation. Where does the time go? I have spent much of the week catching up with friends and hanging out and reading some good "girlie reads." In terms of the scrapbooking world, I have spent time organizing my scrap space...(pictures to follow once I am set with everything.) Earlier this week I was trying to come up with a method to organize my scraps of paper. I had an old portable file bin that I was going to throw out and instead I organized all of my scraps by color--- we'll see how this system works out for me. I purchased some new cubes and drawers on sale at Target and am making headway in terms of getting things really organized. Hopefully I will finish up this evening and then be able to start on another scrap project because I am beginning to have withdrawl! Happy Thursday all!

new beginnings

The new year is always a good time to have goals and wishes and hopes and dreams for all of the things the year will bring, and while I may be a little past the first of the year, this site and new venture has been in the works in my brain for a little while now. So...drumroll please....KLS Scrapbooking begins. Scrapbooking has been part of my life now for, oh geez, um....over ten years. And while I can't say that I am incredibly proud of my first few scrapbooks, I have grown into the process and have enjoyed every moment along the way. It is such an amazing outlet for creativity and it allows me to escape for a while and just take a trip down memory lane and CREATE!

So my idea is to begin a custom design scrapbook company. I have many friends who are fascinated with the concept of scrapbooking but have little to no desire or patience to complete the scrapbook themselves (this is where I come in). I will create scrapbooks for those of you out there who are like many of my friends with little to no motivation to go through the process. With your pictures, and your input on colors and designs, I will create a custom scrapbook for you to treasure forever. Whether it be a wedding album, birth of child, yearly photo albums, vacations, heritage books, etc., I will be happy to work with you.

My other hope is to share layout ideas and products that I run across to keep everyone up to date on the newest trends and oldies but goodies.

Here's to a successful 2010 full of keepsakes, love and smiles.