Category Archives: Up the Street

Those golden moments.

Sometimes they pop up when you least expect them. Sometimes you just have to squeeze them in.

It’s a crazy busy life, isn’t it? I often get bogged down and it takes the joy right out of things. I need to remember to try and slow down and enjoy the moments, even if they are only small ones found here and there. I hope my ramblings remind you to do the same.

Here’s the story behind this layout…Last summer was especially busy and last August the summer was winding down. We’d only been able to get a couple days off and I decided to take the kids away for a couple days and hubby would commute. That day the packing and list of things to do had been particularly trying. I was exhausted by the time we hit the lake at 7 pm.

But it was a gorgeous night. Hubby wanted to take the boat out but it was the last thing I wanted to do. Didn’t he know I needed to unpack, make up beds, the boys needed to get to sleep, etc. etc. etc. Of course you know by the photos that I gave in.

I was so glad. It was one of those golden moments. A beautiful hour with my family enjoying God’s creative masterpiece written on the sky as the sun went down.

It’s a lesson I won’t soon forget.

Today’s layout uses one of the beautiful September Up the Street Scrapbooking Kits, Bliss. The papers are just perfect for my theme don’t you think? A few design details to note… the background is made up of strips of patterned paper sewn together. I like using piece of cardstock or an old piece of out-dated patterned paper to sew them to as a way to save money. The little glittered dots of paper are punched from the a scrap of the bottom paper and help draw your eye through the design.

Quick Tip: Use the packaging! The Lost and Found journaling die cut is actually the backing of the adhesive pearl flourish you see here. Waste not, want not and all that. 🙂

Oh, and do you know what? The very next day my eight year old broke his arm on a playground. It made it especially important that we had taken the time the night before to enjoy the lake.

Carpe Diem!

It’s always a treat to see your children smile. It makes you want to smile too. Last week I took a few photos of my daughter smiling. It was a beautiful big smile. She’d just gotten her braces off and we loved the results. A new beautiful white smile is definitely worthy of a scrapbook page, don’t you think?

Using a scrapbooking kit makes it easy. I was so excited with September’s stunning kits from Up the Street Scrapbooking. This layout uses the Bliss kit and it’s very aptly named. Gorgeous glittered papers. Sigh. Love it!

Now this layout uses just one main sheet of patterned paper but I managed to create a pocket in it for my photos by using one of the printed design elements. I carefully cut along the top and part of the side of the bracket box using a craft knife. To add a distressed feel, I brushed on some Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint. The sweet little Maya Road canvas tag is stamped to embellish it.

Keep smiling!

some days… life’s a party.

other days…not so much.

i’ve had a few of those days this past week. migraine. flooded basement…again. nothing quite like standing in ankle deep water in your craft room, is there?

thankfully, everything is drying out and my head is feeling better. mostly. sorry i’ve been mia for a few days to regroup.

so back to the party theme…

at 6, life is pretty much a party all the time but no time is better than your birthday. at 6, my baby is growing up way to quickly for my liking. he had a huge list of instructions on how his birthday was to proceed. he’s quite the boy.

this morning he crawled into bed for a snuggle. it’s rare now that i get one and i just held tight trying to freeze-frame the moment. it won’t be long until he’s too big for it. sigh.

today’s layout captures a few of his birthday party moments and uses the June “Lazy Days” Up the Street Scrapbooking kit. the fun stamps were even included. it may just b e my favorite kit yet!

enjoy your day!

Birthdays are those special milestones in life. A time for celebrating, a time for presents, a time for family. They are always a great  occasion to scrapbook, especially for children. They grow and learn so much each year. Journaling what is special, what they’ve accomplished and what they are thinking is a great way to document this.

This layout is another one I’ve created with June’s Up the Street Scrapbooking Kit. This particular kit is called “Lazy Days” and it’s bright summery look is so fun. This kit works for so many things but I especially love how perfect it is for boys. As I have four of them, boys that is, I’m always looking for great papers that aren’t florals but aren’t the same old blue and red color scheme.

Using a graphic style design is a great way to make a quick layout and also use up bits and pieces of special papers you have on hand.

Quick Tip: Take a fun birthday photograph by having the birthday boy or girl hold up fingers to show their age. Holding a cut out number also works great for this.

My favorite part of this layout is the journaling. The fabulous green journaling prompts is a rub-on included in the kit. You can cut it apart or use it all on one layout as I did. The black letter stickers I’ve filled in the details with is also part of the kit.

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer is all about the escape. Escaping the heat, escaping work and taking time to relax. It’s my favorite time of year. If you’re a kid, well, any time at all is good for a fun escape.

Last summer my two youngest boys and their partners in crime (their cousins), escaped a family reunion dinner on a hot day and found their way to a splash pad just outside. They were having a fabulous time running through it in their running shoes and good clothes. I had to smile as they were having the best time together but really, I wish they’d waited until AFTER the family reunion photos! This layout is a fun way to remember that day.

To say I was excited to play with the latest Up the Street Scrapbooking Kit would be an understatement. I was having so much fun I just couldn’t stop and ended up creating three layouts and a card all in one afternoon. Summer {Escape} is one of them and I’ll be sharing the other projects over then next week or so. The colors and prints in this kit are perfect for summer memories and summer card designs.

For this design, I’ve placed 4 3×3″ photos along the right side of the design and then placed all the fun accents and papers to the left of them. I’m totally addicted to white mists lately. My favorite so far is the Studio Calico Mr. Huey’s Calico White Mist. I picked mine up at Up the Street and I love how it mimics the splashes of water from the photos.

Stitching is a great way to add texture to die cut stickers and make them your own.

This summer we plan to escape to the lake as often as we can and hopefully, a short trip to Ottawa.

How do you plan to escape this summer?

Enjoy!