Accountability Wednesday

Not much to say this week.  There won't be an Accountability Wednesday post next week, because I will be on my way back from Miami, where I don't plan on being very accountable.  I am disappointed because the last time I was in Miami I was at my goal weight and felt very confident on the beach, and this time I won't wear a bikini.  That's not going to keep me from having a good time and a well deserved week away with my husband.

Weight: 141.8 (-0.6)
Activity: 58839 steps, 8 floors, 24.17 miles

It's Astronomical

Happy Memorial Day, readers!  I hope you are having a great long weekend.  I love how right now it seems that many of the scrapbooking lines, regardless of company, have similar color schemes.  It makes it really easy to mix and match lines.  For this layout I used some old (Echo Park For the Record and Life is Good) with newer (My Minds Eye Stella and Rose), and they just came together nicely.

I realize this layout doesn't have any journaling.  I put all of my notes on an insert in a divided protector that goes next to the page.  There were lots more photos than this that I wanted to include.

Astronomical Clock

Supplies: Crate Paper Portrait (Something Blue); Martha Stewart punch; Echo Park For the Record (Apron Strings, Newsprint, Element stickers), Life is Good (The Neighborhood); October Afternoon 5 and Dime (Wax Bottles); My Minds Eye Stella and Rose Gertie Friends Forever Layered Chipboard, Gertie Delightful decorative brads, Miss Caroline Dilly Dally title; Tim Holtz Distress Ink,  mini paper clips; Studio AE for Technique Tuesday (The Observant Traveler); Elle's Studio Handmade Layers card; 7 gypsies 97% complete; K & Co Handmade adhesive gems; Studio Calico stickers (State Fair); Basic Grey Label stickers ; Sassafrass alpha (Krafty); Pink Paislee foam letters (Cushy lemon)

A Scraplifted Layout

A few weeks ago Shimelle hosted an online crop on her blog.  I wasn't able to participate at the time, but a few of the challenges spoke to me.  One of which was to scrapbook a specific layout here.  I liked it and thought it would be great for these photos from last summer.

Since I've recently jumped on the Washi Tape bandwagon (with both feet AND my wallet!)  I'm trying to use it a bit more.  Here I covered some chipboard letters with the tape, and I love the way it looks.  

Hot Suff

Supplies:  The Girls' Paperie On Holiday (Pennants, Travel Ticking, Display letters chipboard alphabet, Elsie Mixed Brads); Echo Park Dots and Stripes Metropolitan (Navy Small Dot); Washi Tape from Freckled Fawn; Recollections fabric flowers; American Crafts bits (PeachyKeen, Love); Elle's Studio Red Pennants, Collected Cutouts, polka dot journaling card; Marcy Penner journailing cards; My Minds Eye Miss Caroline Dilly Dally diecut; Tim Holtz stamp, adornments; Versa Magic (Night Sky); Glitz Stickles; October Afternoon stickers (Farm Fresh); Pink Paislee canvas borders (Old School); K & Co Handmade adhesive gems; Martha Stewart Eyelet seals; Sassafrass Cherry Sweet Treat stickers

Accountability Wednesday

Wednesday again already? Well, this week is not pretty, but at least this time I know why. I spent a weekend with my friends Margarita and Cupcakes. It was a great party, but like with every great party, there's a hangover.

Weight 142.4 (+0.8)
Activity: 61693 steps, 25.82 miles, 4 floors

Using My Scraps

For my travel albums, I want to create some continuity across so many layouts, so I pull papers and embellishments that I can use throughout the album.  This leaves me with lots of scraps, but I like to use as many as I can, both for the continuity and because I need to use some things up!  The sketch I used for this layout was great for using up some of those scraps.


Marienplatz

Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking

Supplies: The Girls' Paperie On Holiday (Vintage map, diecuts); American Crafts cardstock; Scraps: Basic Grey, Core'dinations Graphic 45, Teresa Collins, Hambly, Crate Paper; My  Minds Eye Tres Jolie Oui Oui Brothers card; 7 gypsies 97% complete stickers; Chatterbox ABC sticker; Studio AE for Technique Tuesday (Today You, The Journey that Matters); Staz On ink (Jet Black); Prima jewels, flocked rubons (Reflections); Melody Ross for GCD Homegrown Chic Vintage Labels; Martha Stewart Cherish Labels; Etcetera by Provocraft stickers; Making Memories flowers (Noteworthy); Echo Park Element stickers; Recollections bling flourish

Old Town Square

We knew we would love Prague as soon as we set foot in the Old Town Square.  The word "charming" doesn't even begin to describe this town.  And there was street food!  Roasted ham and potatoes and sausage.  If you are looking for off the beaten track Europe, I can't recommend Prague highly enough.

I dug really deep into my stash for this layout.  I know I had those My Minds Eye papers when I was scrapbooking our first Europe trip in 2007!  Yep, if its been in the stash for 5 years, then its probably time to put it on a page!  I also used some of my new love: washi tape!  Oh yes, I've bought into this trend hook, line and sinker.  This particular tape is some that is sold at Target with the office supplies.


Old Town Square

Sketch:  Sketches for Scrapbooking 

Supplies:  American Crafts cardstock; Pink Paislee House of 3 Parisian Anthology (Beautiful Butterfly); My Minds Eye Tres Jolie (Mi Cherie Beauty Floral/ Creme), Bon Jour (Memories Floral Stripe/Turquoise); K and Co Smash Pad,  alpha stickers (Marcella by K), diecut (Juilianne Vintage); Creative Imaginations stickers (Marah Johnson Cowgirl ABC) ; 7 gypsies 97% complete stickers (Travel Voyage); Recollections glitter shapes; Tim Holtz Distress Stain, Distress Ink; Stickles; Target washi tape

Accountability Wednesday: Frustration Defined

frus·tra·tion

noun \(ˌ)frəs-ˈtrā-shən\: : 
1  the act of frustrating

2

a : the state or an instance of being frustratedb : a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs

3

: something that frustrates

Unofficial definition:  My attempts at weight loss.

This week I decided I wanted to up the number of steps I get in one day (see, I told you the Fitbit has been motivating), so I started walking during my lunch hour.  This more than doubled the amount of time I work out in a week.  Even though it was Mothers' Day weekend, I was very careful about what I ate, and according to my  Fitbit I had a more than 4000 calorie deficit by yesterday evening.  So I should've lost weight, right?  You would be wrong.  I weighed the exact same thing I did last week.  I'm still not giving up, but it is SO frustrating when you try your hardest, do everything right, and then the numbers don't do what they are supposed to do.


Weight: 141.6 (+/-0)
Activity: 26983 steps, 1 floor climbed, 11.08 miles 
 

One Sketch Two Ways

I hope you enjoyed the series the last few Mondays about how I scrap my big vacations.  Be sure to leave feedback in the comments if you have any questions I can address.

Again with the sketches!  I thought today I might show you how I took one sketch and interpreted it in two different ways.

Sketch:  Lisa Day 28 Days of Sketches


Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

This version is slightly more loyal to the original sketch than the next one is.  I did make quite a few changes though, including the larger photo in the center and the blocks of paper around the edge.  

My photos were very colorful, so I picked some Echo Park paper that picked up the yellow, fuschia, and greens in the costumes.

Glitter letters from Pink Paislee added to the whimsy of the layout.


Supplies: American Crafts Cardstock, Glitter Buttons; Recollections Glitter adhesive back cardstock (Purple); Echo Park Sweet Summertime (Sunny Spots, Flower Garden), Everybody Loves Christmas (Bright Stripes)

Pink Paislee Sweetness glitter sticker alpha; Martha Stewart punch; Divine Twine

Best Christmas Present Ever!

Can you see the similarities to the first layout?  I used photo strips along the sides as an interpretation of the grid pattern in the sketch.  (sorry this one's a little blurry).

The title is in a different location too.  Gosh, I feel like I'm playing that game where you find the differences in two pictures!

An embellishment cluster this time, but the journaling is in a similar location.

Supplies:  Bazzill cardstock; Echo Park Dots and Stripes (Navy Large Dot); Crate Paper Peppermint Collection (Embellish); American Crafts Thickers; Lily Bee letter stickers; Jolee's Boutique felt snowflakes; Martha Stewart doilies; Love, Elsie soft charms (Noel); Elle's Studio (2); Tim Holtz tiny attacher

They don't always have to be complicated

A lot of my layouts are time consuming, with lots of layers and embellishment clusters.  Even if I start from a sketch, a layout can easily take me an hour and a half to complete.  If I start without a sketch, it can take much, much longer! But not all of my layouts are that labor-intensive.  On this one, I used a couple of 8x10 photo collages and some very colorful paper, so I didn't want too much else to compete with all of that,  but it still comes together in a nice, cohesive layout.

National Aquarium

Supplies:  American Crafts Cardstock; Pink Paislee Hometown Summer (Summer Fun); Basic Grey Indie Bloom (Abandon, El Camino, Senora); Cosmo Cricket stickers, Ready Set Chip (Salt Air); EK Success punches

Accountability Wednesday

Nothing really new or profound to say this week.  Just gotta keep on trying, keep on working, and keep the goal in mind.

Weight: 141.6 (-2.2 lbs)
19622 steps taken, 2 floors climbed, 8.06 miles traveled

Scrapping a Large Event, or How to Deal with an 8 inch stack of pictures -- Part III

You can find Part I and Part II.

So you culled down the stack, made some collages, picked out some sketches and printed ALL.  THOSE. PHOTOS.  You are taking your time and enjoying scrapbooking them.  But after a while the Chef Mickey character breakfast starts to look like Fantasmic, and you found that sticker from Mt. St. Helen long after you scrapped that page.  Here's how I organize my photos to keep all the places and faces from getting confused.

In the words of The Offspring, You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated.  Once I download my photos from my 73 SD cards (I am completely paranoid about losing all of my vacation photos in one fell swoop, so I have an SD card for each day) and convert them from RAW files to jpeg, I set up a file storage tree that starts with the location, then folders for particular places and events, including a general folder for those shots that don't fit anywhere else.  You could do separate days (Day 1, Day 2, etc.) if that's the way you like to set up your scrapbook, but its important to file those photos away while you still remember what they are of.  I speak with the voice of experience!  When I go to scrapbook a page, I open the file with the corresponding photos, so I can find all of the photos for that place/event/thing, so I don't miss any.

Even if I'll be putting some of the photos in divided page protectors, all the photos from that place will be together.  I can also decide to tell some individual stories from photos in the "general" photos if I choose at that point.

To keep from losing any memorabilia or photos, I've stored everything in the 3-ring American Crafts album and divided page protectors that will become the album for my trip.  

That's one thick album!

Then as I scrapbook, I can look at the digital version of the photos I want in the folder on my computer, find the prints in the divided page protectors, and pull them to use.

I'm adding my completed layouts to the back, so eventually all I'll have to do is reorganize by location and take out any empty page protectors.  

Do you have any special ways you organize your large projects?  Please share!

Riding the Rails

Given all the methods of travel out there, Mark and I prefer train travel.  Generally, its fast, quiet, and efficient.  In some cases, like our trip from Prague to Budapest, the food is even really good.  We had some of the best goulash on that train that we had the entire trip.

PRG -- > BUD

Supplies:  Tim Holtz Kraft Resist, Distress Ink, mini paperclips, Distress Stain; The Girls Paperie On Holiday (Diecut Envelopes); Lily Bee Catching Fall (Flannel Sheets); K and Co Smash Pad; 7 gypsies 97% complete (Travel Voyage); My Minds Eye stickers; Elle's Studio Lil' Snippets (This Week); American Crafts Thickers (Subway Accents), Remarks Roosevelt

Accountability Wednesday

Well, another week is in the books, and another trip out of town.  I feel good that, although I gained, I didn't gain back ALL of what I had lost.  I'm really happy with the Fitbit, and I think its a great motivator.  Mark aims to get in all his steps and flights of stairs every day!

Weight: 143.8 (+1.4 lbs)

Activity: 21741 steps, 9 floors, 8.93 miles

Scrapping a Large Event, or How to Deal with an 8 inch stack of pictures -- Part II

So we left off culling and editing our 800,000 vacation photos.  Now on to the fun part -- printing and scrapping!  Click here for Part I.

Step 4.  Find some sketches, Make some collages and Print

I've found that pre-planning my pages using sketches really helps me from getting overwhelmed with a large project.  It's like putting together a game-plan.  You can find lots and lots of sketches all over the internet, but my favorite two page sketches come from Sketches for Scrapbookers books.  For those pages, I size and crop photos to fit what the sketch calls for.



I still print a good many of my photos as 4x6, but I learned the hard way that with that many layouts, you may end up with a ginourmous, 70 lb scrapbook.  Or two, like from our 2007 trip to Europe.  So I fit more photos on a layout by using photo collages.  Some of my favorites are from Kerri Bradford. You don't have to be a Photoshop genius to use them, and Kerri has some great tutorials.  The great thing about getting more than one photo on a print is that you can wait for a really good print sale and maybe afford to vacation again after you've printed them all!

Step 5.  Scrap a few, Keep the rest, and Get the story told

After 2 rounds of having massive scrapbooks with over 1000 photos in each, I'm trying a new way to reduce book size and incorporate all the fun memorabilia I like to bring home with me.  I scrap a layout, whether its one or two pages, and only maybe use a few of the photos I took for that place/thing/event.  Then I used divided page protectors behind the layout to include the rest, adapting the idea of Project Life to include snippets, smaller photos, ephemera, and journaling, using papers and embellishments that coordinate with the layout.  This also gives me extra room for journaling, and I think helps me tell a more complete picture of the story.






































I can't take all the credit for incorporating divided page protectors into a regular album. I have seen Shimelle Laine, Melissa Stinson, and Noel Hyman do this, just to name a few.  But I intend on these pages take more of a Project Life type turn in this album, rather than just matching additional pages.  We shall see how that goes.

Step 6. Take your time and Have fun
Since I've blogged a little about our trip, and made some notes for friends and family to read on our Shutterfly Share site, I don't feel in a hurry to scrap things before I forget them.  And by using the divided page protectors, I don't feel pressure to put every photo on a layout.  Since our fall trip, I've only scrapped a handful of layouts, but I'm able to feel more relaxed and creative about it, and I'm having fun with the process.

So that just about does it, but come back next Monday for the final installment, and I'll share a little on how I keep all those photos organized until they get scrapped.

More Practice with Sketches

It's pretty obvious if you've followed my blog for any amount of time that I love sketches.  I'm just finishing up a class with Lisa Day over at Big Picture Classes called 28 Days of Sketches.  It's been fun, although I'm really just starting to put some of those sketches to work.

The Good Stuff

Sketch: Lisa Day 28 Days of Sketches

Supplies: American Crafts cardstock, Thickers;  Sassafrass Indie Girls (Pocahontas and me); Authentique letter stickers; K & Co Smash tape; The Girls Paperie diecuts (On Holiday); Cosmo Cricket stickers, lovely bits butterflies and doilies die cuts (Social Club); October Afternoon word stickers; Crate Paper border stickers; Echo Park stickers; My Minds Eye Lush brads; Elle's Studio vintage label; Martha Stewart twine; Ditto Glimmer Mist; Tim Holtz mini paper clips

Accountability Wednesday: Adding in the Tech

Last Friday, the UPS man brought a little box with a present for Mark and I.

This nifty little gadget is the  Fitbit Wireless Activity/Sleep Tracker.  It tracks our sleep efficiency, activity level, steps take and flights climbed, and most importantly for me, calories burned.  Having a science background, I'm all over having more data and charts and graphs to help me on my weight loss journey.  But its becoming a great motivator for both of us.  We're committed to incorporating more meatless meals and we've been active all but one day since we clipped them on Friday night, and that sure can't hurt.

Weight: 140.8 lbs (-3.6)
Activity: 27689 steps taken, 11 flights climbed, 11.34 miles traveled