Friendsies

My friends are pretty cool.

They endure my hysterical exclamations over my latest scrapbook and cardmaking endeavors, coo adoringly over my kids, and lend me their ears and tissues over noshes and vino.

Who could ask for anything more?

 

While gazing with a smile at the above photo I've printed out, it struck me: The brightness of the photo corresponds with how old the featured friendship is. Wow, I didn't intend that when I created the collage in PicGrid, which means I literally don't even have to try to create awesome, artistic compilations. Well, I won't go giving myself all that credit just yet, but it did strike me as pretty cool.

Thanks for being my online friend, dear reader!

#bestfriendsday 

A Tree With Windblown Trimmings

Day 8 of our Journal Your Christmas prompted remembering invites us to explore our Christmas tree trimming memories.


PNW screenprinting in action at the
 Nordstrom Holiday Party

I think back and see the twinkling of the personalized ornaments made to commemorate each Christmas that my brothers and cousins and I received each year from our aunt and uncle.
 I smell the fresh pine of our live tree inside, mingling with the cast iron tea pot of potpourri, the smoke of logs burning in our woodstove beneath, and the sweet, spicy, and oh-so- special cinnamon candle in a tin, brought out this time of year and lit exclusively by my mom.
 Almost forgot- the music! The well known and loved sounds of the season! No decorating party would be complete without them... because, It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... deck the halls with boughs of holly... and soon enough, we'd be rockin' around the Christmas tree!
Out of concern for our children's exposure to toxicities, I am usually the one to take care of hanging the decorations now, and our tree is usually outside to keep busy hands from exploring those hanging baubles, so I am content with capturing my daughter's gaze of adoration through the window.


With eyes shining with wonder,
she gazed in delight~
No tree that I'll trim
will shine nearly so bright.

No soundtrack for this moment; instead, I hear the memorable voice of my German step-dad singing proudly O Christmas Tree in his native tongue...
and, I smell the faint scent of our animal pens and think of Mary's first moments with her new baby ♡

As Pastor Dan Whitmarsh commented Monday morning to our MOPS group; having a baby-in a barn- probably a little messy. Even if it was God's son!
A windblown tree may need to be up-righted more often, it may look a bit soggy, but it's twinkling lights shine even brighter against the black backdrop of night. Without worry of small hands touching, it invites observation, reflection, and dreams of what may still come this holiday season.
Hoping your tree is just as inviting,
(but if it's not, maybe a Welcome to Christmas ornament is in need) ~Anna

December Scrapbooking Plans

I love and adore the concept of a December Daily album. As you may have read in previous posts, I'll be following along with Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class again this year. It's always interesting to see what the prompt of the day will be, as well as my family's reactive conversations.

For instance, I don't think I realized just how much my mother-in-law enjoyed shopping for Christmas ornaments, or that my older daughter had picked up on  (and insists that we carry on) many of the traditions we shared from our youth with last years journaling prompts. These small smile-abouts have only been tempered by knowing that, despite my best intentions and pre-plans for success, I'm still staring at empty pages in last year's album for this month. I still have stories that are not included in those album sleeves, too. I guess there is no wrong time of the year to continue recording, and I have put chronological scrapbooking way out of mind, but the way I do scrap is by putting my pages into a "current" album. And without that album at least purchased, that's a little harder for this crafter to do!
This year I decided to put some of my pre-holiday shopping into a plan of action that will be fun to use. Starting with a few scrapbooking kits I picked up on discount from EmbellishKits.com, I've now got plenty of product and pretty patterned paper to choose from once I get a few photos printed and make time to document our month's happenings.
A trip to Michael's on Black Friday brought home a gorgeous new addition to our memory hoarding library, which, coincidentally was just moved into a new location. This new album features gold roses outlined on a kraft background~ simple but stunning! What a joy it will be to place inside our memories of Christmas past and present, and now, housed within a few chosen sleeves of various sizes, are those gorgeous kit contents. Embellishments galore from Fancy Pants and Simple Stories, sparkley rhinestones, and perfectly coordinated twines and ribbons are included too!
You can see what I'm talking about, and maybe even get some ideas you can incorporate into your December scrapbooking process, in my latest video:

One bonus I did not mention in this video: with all I need within a grab-able place, I could actually take it with me while I travel about spending time with family. This album has the most potential to include hand written pieces from family of any that I've created to date. If even one sentence written in another's handwriting gets included, I will have a very merry memory indeed :-)
So, what are you doing (or not doing) to record the sights and sounds of the season so far? I'd love to hear about them~ leave a comment below or on the video and as always, thanks for stopping by to CraftWithAnna today!

Family Time

I've received a few invitations to some upcoming Craft-the-weekend away retreats this fall. My fearless artist daughter Rainier has even been invited to accompany me to one that's set in a amongst the hiking trails of the Cascade Mountain range. Interestingly enough, the other takes place in the foothills of the Olympics. The people I've met while attending these events are all really sweet and it's an awesome feeling to be in a room with like minded, artistically inclined women. Sharing the stories that go along with the projects we work on is all part of the fun, and then there are all the snack options too.
 While I'm looking forward to accepting and planning for what I'm bringing along, there is this strange compulsion...to scrapbook as much as I can BEFORE I go! Now, why is that? This is not a new sensation, folks. I mean, if you read 2-5 posts on this blog, you soon realize that the need to create is serious in this artist. And that memory keeping and telling tales to go along with the thousands of photos I take each year comes naturally high up on my list of desired projects.
Year after year, my DF and I travel to the Creating Keepsakes Convention for 2-3 days of papercrafts immersion. And more years than not, I bring a long about 20 premade kits complete with photos, sticker sheets, cardstock, patterned paper and other embellishments like brads, twine or bling. Do I use any of those kits? Sometimes! But more often than not, I end up using the items acquired in the vendor faire or during classes I learn and assist in. If you haven't seen one of my movies before, I've got one that includes a lot of the tips I've learned over the years about packing for a "crop!" Just search for CraftWithAnna on YouTube.

 This layout features pictures taken while chatting
long distance with the East Coast grandparents

Perhaps it is this knowledge that leads to the compulsion I mentioned before. For some reason I now want to eliminate every unused kit in my collection so that I can a. create more kits for these coming events- I gotta use that stash! b., I have to use the stash! lol including photos that I haven't seen for years because they are hidden amongst the plastic bags full of goodies that I also have forgotten I own. c. because the memories fade as quickly as ... hmmm, I know I was going somewhere with that one. :-D

Now, sometimes the pages I end up making don't turn out to be what I would consider award winning presentations. This page I created is really just a bunch of off cuts or scrap pieces I've cut from the other layout I had already made from this homemade scrapbooking kit. The pictures aren't great; they are unedited, feature poor lighting, high contrast of shadowing, and are even blurry. But you know what? They are now in an album. They can be seen again! They tell a tale! And best of all, they have the perspective of appreciation for moments we won't get back included in the journaling.
Another point to this post- I said this layout isn't great... but why isn't it? When I texted this image to a scrappy friend of mine, she thought it looked like it was quilted... what a splendid interpretation. Patchwork becomes patchwork! With a little stitching, either with my pen, or (gasp!) the sewing machine, that look will really come to life.
Oh who am I kidding; this page is already in it's protective cover, and I'm digging through my stash for my next goodie bag of old memories. Hoping you are partaking in a labor of love on this Labor Day weekend- thanks for taking a moment to muse with me!

Flashback: Got Washi?

This probably isn't the first post with this title found on CraftWithAnna.com, but it's still a phrase I quote to myself once a day (at least). I do hereby declare for all legal purposes possible that this is officially one of my catchphrases!
Washi tape, or decorative paper/masking tape, comes in  huge variety of different printed patterns and widths. It takes about ten minutes to adhere permanently paper, making it very versatile. It also sticks well to things like refrigerators and tee shirts!
Since debuting on the paper crafting market, I've managed to collect enough rolls that I use it as an extension of nearly every tool in my kit... it also means I've had to upgrade my storage container a few times!
Need to hold something in place on my desk or within a layout or on a card front? Want a small amount of pattern in just the right place with the least amount of effort? Just feel like running your hands through a box of it like it's treasure, maniacally shouting, "My Precious!" ?
Boom- Washi is there for you!
I hope this Friday's Flashback has you reaching for a roll of your favorite tape this weekend, and if you're looking to fill up your YouTube queue with lots of National Scrapbooking Day vid's, be sure you're subscribed to my CraftWithAnna channel.
I've got two new tutorial movies for you this weekend, the first can be found HERE and previews the May 2015 Card Kit from Shelby Dredge of EmbellishOnline.com. I love the way she puts exactly what I love about her class events; the current paper collections, large packs of embellishments, coordinating quality cardstocks etc. together and sends them out each month through EmbellishKits.com.

This month's pack of 8 cards would be perfect for any graduate or to show your appreciation for a more masculine individual in your life. I've found myself reflecting on all the fatherly lessons I've gleaned over the years from the men in my life... how to set up a Washingtonian themed camp, how to get the best deal in the flea market, how now matter the age, a man in love can act like the kid in his heart <3. Lot's of good stuff both in the kit and in the process!
Then tomorrow you can take a peek at what Shelby puts in her scrapbook layout kits- ever wondered at a layout with awe at how it just looks so darn awesome? That's pretty much what I think with every layout she's helped me create :-) I can't for tomorrow's National Scrapbooking Day festivities, and sharing the gorgeous layouts from the May kit. If you're not already a subscriber to this YouTube channel, I have new videos coming out about three times a month, and there is a link to the right on this blog, just look for the purple circle icons.
Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to your comments!

You're So Silly!

That's what I feel like saying to myself when I get down creating two scrapbook pages in less than a couple of hours; "Anna, Why don't you scrap from pre-made kits more often? Anna, Why don't you create kits that include paper and embellishments that can work for more than one layout? Why don't you make it completely color coordinated- or include something from every color! You're so silly to work as hard as you do at finding things that 'go' together, when all these random bits and pieces 'go' just fine (and look just as good)! Why don't you take more candid photos of the kids being goofy?"

Oh, on the last one, I don't take more photos because that really would be silly! I already take about 35 a day, and I do want my kids to recognize my face, not just the camera lens and the blinking red light :-)

Aren't these pages fun? I love the expression here on Sunday's upside down face. Now, what do you think, place the photo so her face is right side, or use it from the angle it was taken? Leave me a comment below on your opinion.

One of the first songs my daughter learned at story time is "Brown Bear..." and even though my title is long, I'm glad to use up all those little letter stickers.  It's worth all the lining up and hoping they'll stick just to be able to capture the lines of a song that we sing a few times a week at this age.

This last week, Shimelle revisited the childhood memory revisiting topic. I love how a tiny prompt can invoke so much of what scrapbooking for me is all about, those all important memories. When it came time for my journaling, I chose to tell the story of how much I loved going to this same zoo and aquarium when I was in grade school instead of just the usual, we had a great time and it was sunny, type of sharing I tend to feel comfortable with.

And the 25 year plus memory recall didn't end there.  Later in the week, I recalled how much I enjoyed getting my hair washed in the kitchen sink by my grandmother when I was little. I was trying to get my daughter to let me do the same for her, but she thought that was so weird (already, at three, I'm Weird?) I was telling my mom, you just don't realize how much you will enjoy telling your children about those small moments in your childhood when you are still the child. I'm so glad my craft allows me to really focus on passing down those stories of my generation to my two girls!

DieCutCrazy Valentine Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Die Cut Crazy Magazine Valentine Blog Hop. I and the other designers have made some wonderful Valentine projects to inspire your own  crafting with your die cuts. If you just joined our hop, be sure and go back to the Die Cut Crazy Magazine Blog to learn how you can enter to win a prize from Die Cut Crazy Magazine when following the hop from designer to designer.  

 I have two projects to share with you, first, a scrapbooking process video using a square punch to dress up a background:

This is a two page layout- the half you can't see is where I used my punch (of course)!

 Next, I'm sharing with you a Memorial Scrapbook page! 

What A Guy 12x12 Scrapbook Layout

Now, scrapping about a departed friend may not be the typical way to lovey dovey up your albums, but I was inspired around 6:00 in the morning on Thursday to create this for my best friend and her daughter, who I know continue to love and think of this amazing guy all the time. I hit facebook and pulled off some pictures from his sister's album, and then I found some really nice comments and rememberances that seemed to sum up some of my own memories about him.

You can see that I also used a few heart punches and die cut letters as well.

Here's a fun tip: when you're pulling your die cut letters off a big sheet, pull Towards yourself. That way if the paper tears (as it always seems to do) the tears will be on the back of the letter instead of across the front.

Another fun tip: go around the outside of your letters with a coordinating marker. In this case I used a black marker around the edge of the black letters. It's a very subtle way to get rid of those chits left behind without using your scissors :-)

I wanted to show you how I went about printing on my 3x4 die-cuts by Me & My Big Ideas. First, I added the photos and phrases to a word processing document. Once printed, all I had to do was adhere my die cuts over those printed areas with some repositionable glue. I used Herma dots. Put the printed-on paper back in your machine with the die cuts stuck down, push print again, and Voila! Custom die cuts!

Sometimes I get a bit lazy when it comes to technology, so in some places I just punched out the space I desired and glued down the cut journaling strips or pictures with my trusty square punch you saw me using in the video.

My last little tip today is also a bit of a lazy admission: I love the look of sewed paper, but I don't want to get my machine out. So what do I do? Well sometimes I use some rub-ons, but usually I can draw some very nice dash lines and I get a terrific effect! You can see below here how I just set my Tim Holz ruler down on the page, and with a red Creative Memories pen, I drew dash lines. I usually turn or angle the ruler a couple times to make it look like I ran it through the "machine" a couple times. Most times, people looking at an embellishment like this won't be able to tell its not actually thread!

Thanks for stopping by the Die Cut Crazy Magazine Valentine's Blog Hop. I hope my projects inspire you to create your own lovey- dovey Valentine project.  Please leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

I'm hoping you will  give me some ideas about what product I should feature in every project this month!

Next up in the hop is  Allie. Go see the amazing project she has prepared for you to enjoy!

 If you just joined the hop, here is a list of designers so you don't miss any. Remember, if you leave a comment on each blog, you will be entered to win a six month subscription to Die Cut Crazy! Good luck :-)

Debbie http://www.scrapmequickdesigns.com/

 Anna http://craftwithanna.blogspot.com

 Allie http://mycardparty.com

 Nancy www.scrapperatheart.com

Melissa www.cardtreasures.wordpress.com

Carlyann  www.sweetncrafty.blogspot.com

Die Cut Crazy Magazine  http://diecutcrazymag.com/

Remembering Those Berry Good Times

It seems like just yesterday we were walking out the front door (sometimes as early as 7:45) in the morning to gather our fresh berries growing around the yard. Huckleberries, Wild Raspberries, Salmonberries, Slough berries, Blueberries,and of course, Blackberries!
We'd bring them inside and enjoy our pickings with yogurt, on our oatmeal, or just straight off the bush if we found an especially delectable selection!
Well those glory days are in the past, but we'll be able to relive the joys of straight-from-the-bush-consumption whenever we see this scrapbook page. And fall is definately here, and brings with it it's own joys; sweaters, the changing colors of the leaves, muddy shoes, and more, guiltless, time inside for scrappin'!
I hope you enjoy taking a quick trip back in time with me to scrap these adorable pictures of Rainier enjoying her freshly picked wild raspberries. This page came together really quickly, I was working off a sketch which featured three circles and ribbons too. I used Bella Blvd stickers and Echo Park papers, and Basic Grey die cuts, cupcake toppers, and paper backgrounds, too. It was such an easy page to create, I'm thinking of teaching a fall version next month up at Michael's. Let me know if you're interested in signing up!

Slidings more fun with Friends

Even though I have tons of both brads and buttons in my stash, I never think to use them because of my astonishing assortment of bling! I was determined to use many often overlooked products on this page, including paperclips, and whimsical animal stickers. Washi-tape, border stickers, and some pen outlining pulled the focus into the pictures of my girls playing with one of my great teacher friends, Miss Evans.
Isn't summer break from school just about the most looked-forward-to event of childhood? I can remember well all the grand road trips across country, visiting relatives and seeing our beautiful nation's landscapes from the van or motorhome window. My folks always stopped at several empty schoolyard playgrounds to let us kids stretch our legs. Now that I'm older, I realize it was probably to ensure a little nap time, too!

Anyway, Miss Evans always makes my girls -and me- feel so special and this day was no different.

She oohed and ahhed over Sunday, filled me in on the  latest school's-out happenings, and then went up and down the slides with Rainier for over an hour at her apartment's playground while I ate lunch. Sadly, we were only able to do this one time this summer. Now she's back to school, and we are scrapping all those gorgeous sunny days!

Hangin' With the Hombres at the Lakebay Marina Resort

My neighbors waving from the boathouse.



Motorcyclists from the Hombres, cleaning up the dishes.

Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting not just the manliest dishwashers ever, but also the super friendly owner of the recently refurbished Lake bay Marina Resort!

Owner Mark Scott took ownership of the dilapidated Marina last October, and has worked steadily improving the facility and grounds ever since. Anyone familiar with it's site has noticed a huge difference- shrubbery cleared, boards on the dock replaced, and a functioning kitchen are all great reasons to visit, either by boat or by foot.

Fuel, including clear gas with Soltron, and environmentally friendly alternative, can be purchased at the dock. Inside, yummies such as the hot fish and chips my neighbors were enjoying and cold beverages can be purchased for low prices. Paintings by renown local artist Tweed Meyer were available for purchase as well. I love this scene she painted which hangs on the outside of the boathouse.

You can bring your family, including the dog, and stay the whole weekend, exploring the surrounding areas by water. Either bring your boat and moor it for $1/foot, or bring your camping gear and stay on the shore for just $22/night. Kayaks and Stand Up Paddle Boards, or SUPBs as I was informed they are called :-), can be rented for $14/hour.

Last night we shared the company of many locals, visitors grabbing a bite after a day of boating, and as I mentioned before, the motorcycle group, the Hombres, who also happen to be sober riders. Their bikes and leather gear beckoned from across the shore, where they were all set up with tents and tables along the beach. The resort boasts raised campfire pits, and since the burn ban was lifted earlier this week, all the fires were blazing! I'll bet there was a lot of story swappin' going on over there!

What goes better with sitting around the campfire sharing stories than some live music! Every Saturday inside the boathouse local musicians keep the crown bobbin and in our case, dancing. Music starts around 6pm and ends around 8 or so, depending on how much rockin' and rollin' is going on.

Mark sat down with me and shared how overwhelmed he's been- by the support of the community especially. People have been downright ecstatic over the changes, and despite some of the challenges he's run into along the way in trying to fix things up, its all worth it to "breathe the life back into this place," as he so eloquently put it.

This statement really rang true for me; often times I drive the girls past the marina on our way in and out of town... last summer while driving by with my dad Ed, he commented that he used to camp out there amongst the tangle of overgrown bushes and tumbledown buildings. Hmmm, I thought, rustic! But when I showed him the difference driving by this year he was blown away, commenting that it was almost like going back in time to 1972 when he first camped along this shore.

You can find the Lakebay Marina Resort on facebook, sign up for their email list and be in the know about upcoming events and ongoing improvements. The marina is closed Monday and Tuesdays, and Fridays they are open from around 4-8, Saturdays from about noon to 8, depending on the crowd.

On the Up & Up

Wow, it seems like as soon as I noticed I was using the same pattern over and over again, I stumble across another inspiring design by my favorite artiste, Shimelle!

 

 I remember how much fun Rainie and I had this afternoon last year when we took the car to Les Shwaub (sp?). A task that really doesn't warrent the fondness I now have for these memories!

 I think part of the reason it was well remembered is that these photos are some of the first Instagram shots I took and I was playing with the filters with glee. The smile on her face was still somewhat rare at the time as she was only just beginning to learn "the pose."

This little metal clock finally found a home.


Then I used some FancyPants letter stickers, paper by WeRMemoryKeepers, and Authentique stickers on top of some brown and white grid paper tape.

Four Generations of Fun Guys

I'm so happy to have grabbed this photo out of a text my dad Ed sent me earlier this year- it is such a rare occasion to have my two brothers, Ed, and his dad all together in the same place at one time. It may have been that I was missing being there so much that inspired me to create this page filled with sentiment and phrase stickers!


You see, while I'm fortunate that my younger brother Jeremy lives relatively nearby, my older brother Eddy and his family live in HONG KONG! Yes, that is a ways away from the Evergreen state hehee. So is New Jersey, where my dad and PopPop live just blocks from each other.
Earlier this year my brothers both traveled to NJ with their wives and my nephew Dylan and someone there was thoughtful enough to snap this amazing photo of the four generations gathered together. I'm not sure how many takes it took to get this shot, but I smile every time I see it- they all look so happy and have big smiles on, my favorite kind of pose! Plus I think it's great that it was taken in my PopPop's wood paneled living room- that wood paneling brings back a lot of memories from visits I've taken over there to visit.
I couldn't help but think that my Nana, who passed early last year, would have been overjoyed to see these guys all together- but I just know she was there silently offering up YooHoos for everyone :-)

Hope you enjoyed this video!

If it ain't broke...



I love these Shimelle inspired challenges;

 she recently asked her site readers to look for pages to scraplift -from themselves!

In the last couple weeks I had an opportunity to review the last three years or so of scrapbook pages I've created and I noticed that in the last year I must have used this same pattern at least five times subconsciously. Each page is so different, and yet the band of patterned paper with photo seems to be a really effortless design for me. I know that each of these examples were really easy to create, so like they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it!

Even this page (above) that I made during the class I taught last Saturday follows this same idea of a band of information in the top middle of my page. I love the way it turned out,  I'll just have to be sure any future, similarly styled pages don't end up right next to each other :-)

 

Here are some of the similar pages I found in my albums:Easter 2012Easter 2012

 

June 2013 

June 2012
 

January 2013

In the last couple weeks I had an opportunity to review the last three years or so of scrapbook pages I've created and I noticed that in the last year I must have used this same pattern at least five times subconsciously. Each page is so different, and yet the band of patterned paper with photo seems to be a really effortless design for me. I know that each of these examples were really easy to create, so like they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it!

Even this page that I made at the class I taught last Saturday follows this same idea of a band of information in the top middle of my page. I love the way it turned out,  I'll just have to be sure any future, similarly styled pages don't end up right next to each other :-)

July 2013