Kaitlin Sheaffer

The little things...



Hi everyone! Emily here! Today I have a quick layout to share with you. I have been going through my photos recently and was noticing how too often I  find myself taking photos that are at "just the right moment."  You know...one where my daughter's hair isn't in her eyes, where there aren't toys on the floor, where there's not food all over my son's shirt. These are the photos I tend put in layouts, on my blog, and post on Facebook.  But the thing about these photos is that they while they look good, they aren't really...well, real.  Let's face it...life is not perfect, so why are people (myself included!) so afraid to share reality with the world?

I took a ton of "real" shots last weekend.  They definitely fall into the realm of "keeping it real."  I wanted to feature them on a single layout as a snapshot of a single weekend.  I am not, by nature, a multi-photo scrapper, so this was quite a challenge for me, but I liked how it all turned out! I used my Selphy printer to print four photos per 4x6 sheet and then arranged them into a mismatched grid pattern. Finally, I embellished with some my Ormolu Fact or Fiction favorites!

 

So this week...I challenge you to take some "real" photos. Don't worry about the details...just capture life as it is.  I would love for you to link up some of your photos or any layouts you create with them!  Have a great Monday!

InLinkz.com

Project Life Time Saver

Like many scrapbookers, I decided to jump on the Project Life bandwagon this year.  I wondered if I was crazy...I have a full time job, two kids under the age of three, and a husband who is rarely home before nine at night.  When in the world was I going to get this done?!  Well, I'm happy to report that as of today I am right on track and keeping up with Project Life.  I am lucky to have the support of four very good friends who have also taken on the project this year. We are constantly emailing each other with encouragement, questions, suggestions, etc.  The other night, a few of us with younger children were lamenting the whole "there is no time!!" issue that seems to be a common theme among us. We talked about possibly making some journaling cards to have all ready to just grab and go when you have a spare moment. I loved this idea!!  

I don't actually have a current Becky Higgins Project Life kit, which features some awesome premade cards and journalers, but I do have a set from a few years ago, when I was a big old failure using her Project 365 kit. These journaling cards are a tad bit smaller than the current kit, but I'm okay with it.  The designs, however, are not really my style...so I grabbed a bunch of them and dazzled them all up em-style! I am so happy with the results, and I'm excited to have them ready to use whenever I may need them!  Here is a look at some of them.  (*Please note these cards use some now retired Ormolu product, as well as some great products which are currently available in the shop.)

How are you approaching Project Life? Are you "caught up"?  Do you have any great time saving tips? I'd love to hear them!  Have a great day!

InLinkz.com

A daily reminder...

Happy Sunday everyone!  When I sat down to work on my project for this post, I had originally planned on creating a layout featuring my goals for the new year, as many are doing (or have done already!).    However, the more I thought about it, the more I decided that a layout listing my goals would really get me nowhere. Let's face it, after I finished it, what would I do with it?  Stick in in an album never to be seen again?  Or, in my case, stick it in my giant pile of layouts, never to be seen again? ;)  (Hmmm...maybe I should have added "put layouts in albums" as one of my goals!!)  I decided to scrap (ha!) the layout idea and instead made a very simple wall hanging that lists my goals and reminds me to think about them every day.  I hung it right smack dab in the middle of my inspiration board that sits over my scrap table. This way when I scrap my 15 minutes every day (one of the goals on my list!) I will be sure to notice it. :) 

Merry Christmas!

A little early, but the Creative Team and I are taking a break for the Holidays to spend time with our family and friends. We want to head out on our break with a thank you to our readers and for all of the support we have received throughout the year. So, in the spirit of Christmas, each of us made a card... our version of sending cards to our readers.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and safe travels. We will be back in the new year! 

Christa Paustenbaugh

Emily Spahn

Marti Cobb

Stephanie Wheeler

Melanie Louette

 

Pam Brown

Amanda Probst

Kaitlin Sheaffer

The holidays minus...the holidays?

Hi everyone!  I'm here with a quick and easy challenge for you!  Ormolu has some really amazing Christmas products that I'm sure you have been using left and right while creating this December! But today I'm going to show a Christmas layout using some of my favorite non-Christmas products!  It's amazing how versicle everything is...these elements from the Line and Letter collection go along great with the rest of my Christmas themed product!

So give a try...and link up your holiday layouts without Christmas product here!  Have a great day!

 

Challenge | Thankful

Hi everyone!  Happy day-before-Thanksgiving! Today I wanted to share something a little different with you. It's not a layout. It's not a home decor project. I don't know exactly what it is.  I will be honest...my love of scrapbooking is often more about the process and the product than it is about the memory keeping. It sounds silly, but I really like paper and glue. It's like an art to me. I can't paint. I can't  I can't even draw a stick person to save my life.  I guess this is where I'm meant to be creative! So when I sat down with my plan to create this "project" about being thankful I didn't have a photo in mind. I didn't even have a specific story in mind. I just wanted to cut, and paste, and record.  So that's what I did. 

As you can see...no photos, no journaling (in the traditional sense)...just my "creativity" and my thoughts down on the page. It's a way for me to someday look back at some of the things I was thankful for at this time of the year. I had originally planned on using the 2-Day Hooray Number Button Embellishments for each item, but I soon realized that they would take up my entire page!  So instead I opted for a few here and there to add some dimension and color!  I love how it turned out and I plan to keep it displayed in my scraproom to enjoy.

So I challenge you to make something this week about being thankful.  It could be a layout, a project, or something in between. :)  Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends!

Color Challenge | What's Black and White and Red all over?!

Happy Friday everyone!  Who doesn't love a Friday?  So in honor of our love for Friday, I thought I'd share a "lovely" little color challenge with you! Use black, white, and red (and maybe some kraft thrown in there for good measure!) to create a project! I've been swooning over all the elements in the new Fact or Fiction line, and I used a number of them to make this simple card for someone special who has been having a bad week. :)  I can't wait to see what you come up with! Have a great weekend!

Challenge | Flair as a title...

Good Monday {Halloween!} Morning!  I am here today with a fun and easy challenge for you.  I love all the Ormolu Flair, but I am quite partial to the ones with words on them, such as in the Line and Letter collection.  I've used a couple of them here and there on layouts, but I decided to use them in one of the main elements of my layout: my title.  My entire title reads, "He, She, Us, We. That makes us a family." Corny, er....yeah a little.  But hey, it's Halloween and we can all use a little corn...candy or otherwise! ;)  But really...they are such a great little tool to use in titles, and I love how this turned out!

I challenge you to use your wordy flair in your title or your journaling!  Can't wait to see what you come up with! :)  Have a spooktacular day!

**Ormolu Products used:**
Line and Letter Button Embellishments
Negative Number Package Tags  (positive image used)
Blank Packaging Tags

Color Challenge | Fall Colors

Hi everyone! Emily here with a quick and easy color challenge for you!  If you live in the Midwest like I do you are most likely surrounded by the beauty of the fall leaves changing colors.  I sing a song with my students at school (I'm a music teacher) with the words "The leaves are falling down. Red, orange, yellow, brown..."  So today I challenge you to create something using those fall colors!  Here is a quick card I made using some fall colors!

Ormolu Products used:

Treehugger Button Embellishments
Treehugger Dots N Spots
2-Day Hooray Cut Sheet
Blank Packaging Tags (Kraft)

Color Challenge | Aqua, Red, Black, and Cream

Hi everyone! Emily here with a colorful challenge to brighten your Monday!  My favorite scrapbooking "technique" if you will, is creating layouts based around a color scheme with 3-4 colors. I love mixing up papers and product and using the color as my guide. For this layout I chose the color scheme of aqua, red, black, and cream.  Before I began, I gathered a selection of possible product to use:

As you can see...some of these papers and products made it into my final layout...others were left on the drawing room floor...or if you want to be real...in a pile on my scrapbooking table that I haven't put away yet! ;)

I used the "S" tag (either Saturday or Sunday) from the Negative Days of the Week Packaging Tags as the "s" in "us", and I cut out my own "u" from some matching patterned paper.

I managed to find some other fabulous (and matching!) Ormolu products to include in my layout:

So today I challenge YOU to use these four colors on a layout! I can't wait to see what you create!  Post your layout here by next Monday, October  10th, and I will draw a winner to receive a $5 Ormolu gift card! Happy Monday!

Ormolu Products used:
Negative Days of the Week Packaging Tags (white)
Line and Letter Button Embellishments
2-Day Hooray Dots 'n Spots