Untitled layout

Sometimes, I just don't feel the need to put a title on my layout, or I just can't come up with one.

Hannah Funny

A sweet and simple layout about something funny my girl said that I wanted to document. I have always heard people tell me to write the funny things my kids say down. I was so good about doing this. Every time, I would enter it into the Notes section on my iPhone. Well wouldn't you know, my iPhone broke and there are quite a number of "funnies" that are lost forever. Words cannot express how sad I am about this. I would pay hundreds of dollars to retrieve them, but they're gone. So don't do what I did. Email the notes to yourself or write them down with an actual pen and paper.

These Two

I love this layout of my oldest daughter and husband. It lists their similarities. It will be so fun to look back years from now and see if they still share the same qualities.

Birds of a Feather

Well I don't know what I was thinking when I took this photograph of my layout. I think aside from the glare on the layout's photo, you can get the idea of the whole thing. I am almost positive that I used one of Maggie Holmes' layouts as inspiration for this layout, but that was 4+ months ago so I can't be sure. And how about that masking tape flower. So fun and so easy. I am sure you can Google just that and find a tutorial.

Getting Bigger

Could this one be any simpler? A few layers of patterned paper, a matted photo, journaling block made with scraps of paper, and some layered circle punches. Oh and I guess there's some letter stickers on there too.

Improvement!!!

This picture is taken by me as I am coming up on the finish line. I don't know anyone in it. LOL

Yesterday I ran a half marathon. I ran one last year as well and I am pleased to say I performed substantilally better this year, shaving almost a full minute off of my pace. The thing I am most proud of t his time, is that somehow, I managed to run the entire 13.1 miles. In all of my training runs over 8 miles, I have had to walk at least some of it. So I think I owe this accomplishment to the great energy of all the people both running and cheering.


Here are my results:


Overall: 4694 out of 7269


For all of the women I placed: 2395 out of 4289


For all the females in my age group (F 30-34) I placed: 496 out of 844


Finish Time/Pace: 2:23:03 / Pace: 10:55


My Split Time at the 6.6 Mi mark: 1:14:20 Pace: 11:16 (meaning I somehow sped up in the 2nd half of the race)

tiny tots

This is a very simple layout ... again. Created back in September of my daughter

on her first day of Tiny Tots (preschool). If you can't tell, with many of these layouts I am posting, my focus was more the story and less about the art.

A glimpse of a good girl

I love this layout more for the story it captures than the actual scrapbooking product. It tells of my then 4 year old daughter dealing with us thinking she had lied and trying to uncover the story.

The actual layout is a piece of patterned paper as the background, topped with half of a large square scallop piece, then topped with the photo mat/journaling piece. Some letter stickers and a few other accents complete the page. Can you tell simple is my style?

You at 1

My apologies for the terrible pictures of these layouts. I took them some months ago and had no idea they were that poor. Hopefully you can get the idea of the layout just the same.

My girl @ 1 1/2 years

I am sure that I love this layout more because of the photo than the actual artsy part of the layout. But that's OK.

Once upon a time

This layout could not have been simpler. The paper is by Graphic 45 and all the detail you see is one piece of paper. I then matted a photo, cut out a piece of cardstock for journaling, and a circle for the date. I also added some Stickles to the fairies' wings but you can't tell in this picture.

Christmas Cuties

This is another layout I completed last September. So don't go thinking I am all awesome and got some of this most recent Christmas' pictures scrapped. Check back with me in September 2012 and see how I am coming along on those.

I love this layout! And it is really simple if you break it down. I took an antique frame shaped die cut piece and used it as a mask. Then I sprayed gold mist over it. I matted the photo. Used some random Making Memories gold and pearl frame for the journaling, and then red Thickers for a title. Oh and I guess there's a crystal swirl piece in there as well.

@ 3

Here's a layout I found while sorting pictures that I never posted. This is one I quickly whipped up back in September because I wanted to make sure I got some of my 3 year old's typical day or likes down. I don't normally use this many photos on a layout but I like the outcome.

Let's see if we can't get some scrappiness up here.

Way back in September 2011 I attended a scrapbook weekend retreat. I love these. I get more scrapbooking done in 2.5 days than I do in a whole year.

Here is one layout I made.


Prior to going down there, I decided I was going to attempt to make a masking tape flower. I used this tutorial as my jumping off point. It's not hard at all.



There will be more layouts to come soon. I just need to weed through all the files.

Note To Self

January 3, 2012

Dear Krista,

This is your post-Christmas 2011 self writing to you with a few words of advice/wisdom for you to take into account this Christmas season.

First and foremost, get your shopping done now!!! Prioritize this and have it done no later than December 10th! Do it online and don’t worry about sales that might be better in the future. Hopefully you have even been shopping throughout the year and have some purchases made.

You have to buy for:

(all of our family)
Toys for Tots
Military Servicemen

You have to bake/craft for:

(all of our friends)

Secondly, do NOT spoil the girls! You bought way too much last year for them. So much so that they didn’t really appreciate anything. Except the Squinkies. If those are still cool, get them a package of those. I know you have this vision in your head of a tree exploding with presents underneath it on Christmas morning, but that doesn’t have to actually happen for the girls to have a memorable Christmas. If you still want the look, wrap up empty boxes in Christmas paper. Or better yet, put fun love notes for everyone in boxes and wrap them up – still fun to open, no money expended, and you get more presents under the tree.

Do you have the Christmas card photo taken already? If not, plan it now. If you do, upload it to Costco and order 100. You don’t need more than 100. You had too many extras last year.

Next, decide on a church service you are going to now and don’t change course for anything. If someone else schedules something that conflicts with the time you have picked, so be it. You’ll either be late, need to leave early, or won’t be able to attend. Note: St. Paul had a Christmas Eve Children’s mass at 4:00 last year that the girls might enjoy.

Another thing … get your wrapping done ASAP! Forbid yourself to be wrapping anything on Christmas Eve like you did last year. Remember? You were up until 2:30 in the morning.

Also, do not forget about Santa’s milk and cookies. None of this popping cookies in the oven at midnight again.

Last year things were so crazed you didn’t get to read the girls Twas the Night Before Christmas like you have wanted to each year. Plan that into the evening. Perhaps read it at Papa Moose’s to all the little ones.

Buy the girls one cute Christmas t-shirt each.

Do NOT overpack the month of December. Remember you already will have Diego and the Triplet’s birthday parties not to mention possible Alexander’s as well. Say no. Don’t feel like you have to do everything. I think you should keep it to two planned things only. Taking the girls to walk around the Chino neighborhood of lights one night. And having the friends over for a Christmas craft another night. If all of your shopping and wrapping is done, you can do more.

If you have not already formulated a plan, purchased items, and begun to work on extra Christmas crafts for the house, forget about them. Don’t add to your stress.

Get to bed early.

Make Joel watch Love Actually with you.

Sit down with the girls and watch Elf, or Santa Claus, or Polar Express.

Do NOT forget to take a picture of the girls in their Christmas dresses like you did last year! You still need to put them back in their dresses and take one for this past Christmas.

If you can accomplish all of these things, I think you will enjoy the Christmas season much more. Remember, it’s not about how perfectly all the decorations are put up or the visual image people see. It’s about the memories and the bonds created with your family during this special time we celebrate the birth of Christ!

With love and hope for you,

Krista

Merry Christmas ... Happy New Year ... and perhaps I should just say Happy Valentine's Day too!

Phew ... I AM SPENT!!!!


Just the thought of organizing some stuff to put on this blog exhausts me. So I apologize to any of you who pop in here from time to time only to get frustrated that I still have not added anything new.


I wish I could say I was up to a whole bunch of crafty goodness this past holiday season, but I didn't even have the time for that. :

It is clear that I need to rework my life. I feel a huge hole having not crafted a real personal or selfish project lately. It's been a LONG time. Yet there's nothing that is propelling me to go do something. I could make the time if I really wanted to. I am not sure what it is. Hopefully I'll get the mojo back soon. I'll make that one of my New Years Resolutions.

I have two main resolutions this year. In the past I have had so many and I don't even remember what they are so naturally they don't get accomplished.

1. play with my kids


2. get to know my husband better and nuture, foster, cherish our friendship

I wonder about the thoughts any of you are having upon reading those. :) Basically it boils down to me not knowing how to play with my kids. My daughters have amazing imaginations that I marvel at. I cannot remember EVER playing the way they do. Turning suitcases into airplane food carts, creating a whole world of adventure under a sheet, etc. If I ever had an inner child, she has been MIA for a long time. I want her back. The other resolution is fueled by the realization that this past year, for the most part, my best friend (husband) and I are like two ships passing in the night. We go through all the normal routines of life with kids, but I don't think we've gotten closer. If anything we've grown apart -- I thank texting and email for this. It's hit me hard and I am over it! I want us to get to KNOW each other better, spend quality time TOGETHER, TALK about our days together, etc. It shouldn't be too hard, but will require some special attention to change our bad habits.

So that's it. Hopefully I will be back before Valentine's Day!