Scrap Challenge Day 6: Finish Mother's Day Card Layout

In Day 5 of our challenge to incorporate more of YOU into your own scrapbook, you had your children answer some questions about you as a mom. (Aren't the answers precious?!?)

Today, we're going to incorporate that into the second half of our Mother's Day Card layout we started on Day 3.

Here's what you'll need:

• Cardstock and scrap of patterned paper you set aside from Day 3.
• Corner rounder
• Trimmer
• Adhesive
• Questions from your children (mounted on color cardstock if you prefer)
• 2 or 3 photos of your children/you, if you prefer (otherwise, you can mount your kids' answers instead)
• Embellishments (flowers, ribbons, brads, tags, bling), if desired

Directions:

1. Using the large patterned piece leftover from the other half of the layout (@11"x9"), round all four corners with your corner rounder or scissors.
2. Take the questions your children answered in Day 5. If they are small enough, adhere them in an artful way on top of the patterned paper.
3. But, if they are too big (like mine), then find two or three photos of your kids and/or you, and arrange them on top of the patterned paper. If you use photos on top, simply make a pocket of the patterned paper by laying down a strip of adhesive on three sides, leaving the fourth open so that you can remove the best part of the layout--what your biggest fans have to say about you!
4. That's it! I embellished with flowers in the corner, some ribbon, a bit of that accent paper leftover from the first layout, and some bling (gotta have bling!!), and voila!!

You now have a 2-page layout, all pretty and color-coordinated...and best of all, it features YOU! :)

Tomorrow, we're going to work with those pictures and memorabilia from the "Day in the Life of Mom"...
Thanks for joining me, as I scrap...

Happily My Ever After,
Dylan

Are you just joining in? Here are the links to the previous Mother's Day challenges--you're not behind! We'll wait for you to catch up.

Day 5: Journaling about YOU from Your Kids

Day 4: Capturing a Day in the Life of Mom

Day 3: First Page of Mother's Day Card Layout

Day 2: Journaling Pros and Cons of Motherhood

Day 1: Mother's Day Challenge

Mom's Life Scrap Challenge: Day 5--Homework for your Kids

If you've followed all of my scrap challenges from Day 1, you've got one side of a two-page layout done, pictures taken for another two-page layout, and ephemera saved from your "Day in the Life of Mom" challenge on Day 4.

Yay, you!

So today, it's time to assign work to someone else for a change. Namely, your kids. Today, you're going to get your children to answer some easy questions about you. If they are old enough, have them write the answers themselves (no coaching--they should be from your kids). If you have little ones, you have license to make up their answers yourself! :)

This one came from my youngest daughter's preschool. (And for the record, I'm not 10, and I rarely make soup. But she was right. I do look the best with my hair done, and I'm always harping about cleaning up your own mess. Out of the mouth of babes, eh?)

Feel free to copy these questions, and ask your kids, or come up with four or five of your own. Here are some ideas:

• What are four words you would use to describe me?
• What's your favorite thing we do together?
• You're the best Mom because....?

That's it! Make sure you print your pictures from yesterday. We'll be making our second page to the Mother's Day card layout tomorrow, and this weekend, we'll be doing the "Day in the Life of Mom" double page layout.

Thanks for joining me as I scrap...

Happily My Ever After,

Dylan

Are you just joining in? Here are the links to the previous Mother's Day challenges--you're not behind! We'll wait for you to catch up.

Day 4: Capturing a Day in the Life of Mom

Day 3: First Page of Mother's Day Card Layout

Day 2: Journaling Pros and Cons of Motherhood

Day 1: Mother's Day Challenge

Scrap Challenge : YOU as a Mom...Day 1 Assignment

In my quest to document my family and our life together, our scrapbooks are filled with layouts I've done documenting major holidays, kid's activities, etc. but I notice that I rarely focus on the simple things. Like Mother's Day, and little details about living my life as a mother (and wife, friend, writer, chronic list maker, etc.) that are my every day.

This week I'm changing that. And you're welcome to join me.

For the next seven days, I'm going to help put a little of YOU into your scrapbook.

The assignments are easy (taking only 15 minutes/day), and by the end of the week, you'll have what you need for four scrapbook pages of YOU, with detailed instructions of how to duplicate these pages that focus more on content, less on scrap technique.

I promise you--and your family--will love to read these pages when you're done.

TODAY'S ASSIGNMENT:

Take a picture of what you received today--whether it was gifts, a homemade card, breakfast in bed, or maybe it was the gift of time alone or with your kids, mother, husband, etc. Whatever it was that made your day memorable, take a picture. Mine is above.

And hang onto any Mother's Day cards you received. We're using those later!!

Tune in tomorrow for your next easy (and fun!) assignment...

Thanks for joining me as I scrap...
Happily My Ever After,
Dylan

Scrapbooking Your Kid's Artwork with Crayons

OK, I know I'll never be caught up on my scrapbooking. While I try and resign my Type-A personality to that fact, I still can't help but feel overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I have plans to scrapbook, vs. the time I have to do it in.

The ratio is incredibly lopsided.

But one of my goals was to create a layout each week capturing our life. This week's contribution: a layout for those cute Crayola pictures drawn by your little one (and who doesn't have a million of those!), or a layout as I've done showing your child creating crayon art.

The 'flower' in the corner is made from broken crayons. Here's the detail picture:

Below are the basic supplies and directions, if you'd like to duplicate it. It took me about an hour total. Of course, that's not consecutive time--that's total time the whole week, between Mommy interruptions, writing, and so on. I created the page for my 12x12 book, but you could easily adjust for 8.5x11.



Supplies:

• 1-- Dark Green Cardstock (12x12) for the background
• 1--Kelly Green Cardstock (12x12) for the Crayola stripes
• 1--Goldenrod Yellow Cardstock (12x12)
• Red Cardstock (use up some scraps!)
• Red ink to ink edges of journaling strips, if desired
• 11 broken crayons
• Chunky glass glitter (optional)
• Button/Brad or Embellishment for center of Crayon ring
• 4 photos, or scanned artwork cut to grid pattern
• Font: I used 'Porky's' font, as it looked the most like the Crayola box. I found the font for free here.

Directions:

1. Trim the goldenrod yellow cardstock on a diagonal to almost half. Mine is about 10.5" from corner to corner. Adhere this to the bottom left of your Dark Green cardstock background.
2. Cut the Kelly Green cardstock on a diagonal 1" wide by about 14.5" long. I turned the paper in my trimmer to cut the 12x12 sheet from corner to corner to get the longer 1" strip. Adhere this strip to the edge of your goldenrod carstock so it forms the border between the goldenrod and the dark green background. Trim off edges, if necessary.
3. Trim two more skinny strips from the Kelly Green diagonal, again with your paper turned to cut the 12x12 from corner to corner. Mine are about 1/8th inch wide and about 12.5" long. Adhere these two strips so that 1/8th inch of the goldenrod shows between the strips. You're mimicking the green stripes on the box of Crayola crayons (grab your kid's box for reference).
4. Pick out a group of 3-4 pictures or scanned artwork, and arrange them so that the right sides line up about 1/4" from the right edge of the dark green background. Trim so they make a pleasing pattern.
5. Cut a large arrow shape from the red cardstock. Position it to point at your favorite picture, and adhere.
6. Using the Porky's font, type out your title. I used a combination of capital and lower case letters in "BiG", and then used a smaller Porky's font to type my sub-heading "girl crayons". I used the highlight feature in Word to put a white highlight around the letters. Print out your title, and fussy cut around the words.
7. Using Porky's font in smaller, red letters, type out your journaling. Be sure to hit enter a few times between lines so that you can cut out your journaling and adhere in strips across the goldenrod portion of the page. I like mine off-kilter, and I ink the edges with red ink to give it some dimension on the page.
8. For the crayon 'flower', find a bunch of broken crayons, roughly the same size. I used some that still had the paper, and some that didn't. Using Zots, stick the crayons in a petal shape, leaving about a 1" circle in the center.
9. Using dimensional glue, apply glue to the center of your crayon flower. Sprinkle chunky glass glitter onto the glue (I used Silver Glass Glitter from Stampin' Up) and allow a day to dry.
10. Using a 3-D glue dot, adhere a button, or round embellishment in the center of your glitter circle.

Voila! You've captured your child's crayon art, preserving his/her Happily Ever After memories for years to come.

Feel free to scraplift!
Dylan

P.S. Want more "Scrappily" Ever After ideas for your scrapbook? Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS feed above for one layout a week to help you get your scrap on! Or share this post on Facebook or Twitter by using the buttons below.