Baby Memory Scrapbook

Here is something I thought I'd share. It is a great way to get started scrapbooking, a great baby shower gift, a great way to go back in time and try to get caught up! A baby memory scrapbook - amazing and I can just feel those wonderful memories of your little ones emerging within your heart - start one todaY!

Unusual SCRAPBOOK Embellishments from Around the House

Look around! Scrapbook embellishments and creations are often seen but not used! Find them! Use them! Embellishments for your scrapbook layouts and pages are a fun way to scrap and add alot of dimension to the layout. But you dont' have to spend alot of money for something unusual. Look in your junk drawer!

Just because it was not purchased in the scrapbook department, doesn't mean it can't end up on your scrapbook layout!! Pull out your imagination and see what one of a kind scrapping creations you can create to make your scrapbook layout and page spreads the most unique and talked about layouts in town - - - or at least in the generations to come! Just seeing what you used as in your scrapbooks and albums will create a new memory of you for those looking at your albums.

Look around the house! The craft room, sewing room, kitchen orthe work bench in the garage are all great places for finding things to use. We've all used the usual, ribbons, trims, buttons, snaps, and other "sewing" related items. Beads and jewlery makings and the like. Even clay!

BUT.......WAIT......DON'T STOP THERE!!!!

Here is a list of items I have recently heard of being used. I have not used all of them all, but some I have and it is pretty cool to create with these things.

But I would also like to hear from you guys about unusual things that you have used as emellishments in your scrapbook layouts. Especially the items that didn't cost anything, that are found around the house and such. Share your ideas as a comment here so we can all get that "Oh, cool! I never thought of that before" feeling that will throw us into scrapping mode immediately!!

Rings from soda cans (we used to call them "pop tops" as back in the old days, the ring used to pull all the way off. Now, they just fold up inside!) Anyway, these little gems make great embellishments. i have used them for a clasp on an envelope. Use them for an embellishment on a tag. As the "loop" part of a tie effect.

The square, plastic bread clips - the ones that keep the bread bag closed - these come in a variety of colors. Just add a sticker, add some glitter. Add a 3-D flower embellishment. Then you just clip it on the edge of something, or if you have a tag, clip it on to the hanging strings. Hang it from a ribbon

Party favors or cake decorations. Depending on the thickness of the item, often these items can be used in a scrapbook layout. At my daughter's baby shower, there were little ring kind of things on the cake, I used those in the layout. My DIL's baby shower there was plastic confetti decorations - little horses, bottles, pacifier, I grabbed a couple handfulls at clean up time, and added those to a shaker box in a layout. Also, they can just be glued on! I used the napkins and party hats - cut out the theme of the party and used them as die cuts.

Aluminum foil - heavy duty kind. Just crinkle it up as you want and rub ink over the crinkles to add dimension and color! Makes a great frame for a masculine scrapbook layout!

Old credit cards - yes OLD ones!! Ones that are no longer valid! Put them on a shopping theme layout. A great embellishment for a "money learning" theme for teenagers. How about an expired AAA card for a "first driving" theme or a "just got my drivers license" theme? These are all layouts that are common in scrapbooks so an expired card is a great embellishment

Washers, thin nuts, small chains, old keys, paper clips, and other "hardware" items are great embellishments! And you didn't have to go to the scrapbook store to get them!

Look around and see what you can find and then share with the rest of us! I am anxious to hear and learn some new ideas!

Halloween Paper Piecing Patterns and Stickers!

Kid Printables.com is a fantastic place to play around in! Everything is free and there are so many things to do and use...the sky is the limit!

Need some Halloween paper piecing patterns?

Print these out on cardstock and cut them out, add your own detailing and presto! Paper piecing!

Cat, Hat and Bat
Arched Cat
Witch
Ghost trick or treating
Witch's face
Monster faces
Haunted House

Need some stickers?

Print these out on cardstock, run them through a Xyron and presto! Stickers!

If you don't have a Xyron, just use your glue stick!

Or...Print them out on photo paper - this will give them the glossy finish on the front and add a little extra character!

Stickers

Make Your Recipe Bookfor FREE - Digital Scrapbooking

Back when WordPerfect was the "only" word processing tool out there, I typed up all my family recipes, including personal comments about the recipe or a story the recipe created. I just used colored typing paper cut in half and a regular font and then used Italic font for the story behind the recipe and put that at the bottom. Only other thing I did was make "chapter" dividers out of the cards the kids had given me over the years..which was really nice. I still love looking at those! And then I used the colored papers for the different chapters. That's it...done and has been used for years. Nice that at least all the recipes are in my book, but not very pretty, fun or amazing.

As a scrapbooker, I have been wanting to make a scrapbook recipe book of these same recipes. Why haven't I? LACK OF TIME!!! That major pain in the neck that we all get! Just not enough to go around!

HOWEVER... I have just been saved. I stumbled across this program and am working on my pages! I am new to Digital Scrapbooking, but this is quick, easy and amazing! Part of my problem is the unlimited options scrapbooking offers. I don't know how to "tone it down". Well, Smilebox has shown me how and I am a beliver!

Smilebox

This program is free to use and recipe books are not the only option. Digital scrapbooking is apparently the up and coming thing in this computer age, so maybe I can learn something new! Well, probably not. I LOVE my hand made pages and so do my kids and I love making and creating them so I think I'll just do my recipe book digitally and the scrapbook by hand. I taught my 7 year old grand daughter how to scrap and she has gotten a life-long membership!

So I start my recipe book and this is great too as I can make multiple copies - one for me, one for each of my grand daughters and one for my daughter - who doesn't cook or bake, but I'd like for her to have it anyway!

Give it a try and see what you think! Memories are in more than photos. You kids will love making Mom's best potatoe salad or "those cookies Mom used to bake" in years to come!

Need FREE Scrapbook embellishments?

Scrapbook For Box Tops is a site I started to help my grand daughter (now second grade) collect Box Tops 4 Education labels as her school fund raiser. We have had a GREAT response from so many fellow scrappers. We are glad to help you as you help us! I hope that we can keep it going!
You collect and send us BOX TOPS 4 EDUCATION labels from participating products (that you buy anyway!) and we swap for free scrapbook embellishments!

Check it out at Scrapbook For Box Tops and see what it's all about. FREE SCRAPBOOK supplies - can't get much better than that!

And remember with all the holiday baking and cooking and lots of kids lunch products you will be needing, make sure you save that Box Top label and swap them for free scrapbook supplies!

Get Some FREE Scrapbook Embellishments!

I' d just like to remind everyone about the program I am working with my 7 year old grand daughter on. Scrapbook For Box Tops. The fund raiser at her school is for the kids to collect Box Tops 4 Education labels from participating brand/products.

37 NEW BRANDS JUST JOINED BOX TOPS 4 EDUCATION!

Kimberly Clark has joined the Box Tops 4 Education family! Diapers and other baby related products from Huggies and also Kotex and Depend have joined! Gotta have this stuff anyway, so check for a coupon and then watch for the box tops!

(Also, watch these particular advertisers as they often have free samples of their items that you can request.)

Plus, I now have (on the web site) the option for you to print out coupons on your own printer for products you want to buy. Print them out, take them to the store and save money! THEN..... cut off the Box Tops 4 Education squares (pink/blue and white) and go "shopping" on Scrapbook For Box Tops and choose the items you'd like and email me your "order". Send us the box tops, and I will send you the items you choose and a few extras!

I have ALOT available, not all is shown on the site. Stickers, fibers, die cuts, stickers, brads, eyelets, stickers, punch art, paper piecing and more - all acid free, and speciality made for scrapbooks.

If you don't see a theme or item you are looking for, ask me! I have lots of stuff, just have not been able to keep up the flow of posting. YTD we have collected 628! We are still collecting during the summer so Kellie can take them in when she starts 2nd grade.

Hope you'll all continue to help us out and enjoy your FREE Scrapbook embellishments!

ABC Scrapbook Album - Not the Ordinary ABC's!

Whether you child is a toddler, pre-schooler, or kindergardener,an SBC album is a great educational tool (as well as alot of fun!) for them to have a book about the ABC's that they will enjoy and WANT to look at often, thereby helping them LEARN THE FUN WAY!!!

I made a scrapbook ABC album for my grand daughter and gave it to her when she was 2. Now, in 2st grade, she STILL picks out that book when she is at my house and totally enjoys looking through it, even tho she knows her ABC's. These layouts are not complicated, however you can make your ABC scrapbook as structured as you like. I used the "I Spy" collage theme.

But this isn't just a regular A is for apple, B is for boy ABC scrapbook album. I used ACTUAL things that she knows for the letters, not just the ordinary things. I also tried to incorporate a few things from her mother's life - D is for Dynamo which was the duck her mommy had when she was little. R is for Rainy Day, the rabbit we had when she was young and has now died. D is for Daddy, M is for Mommy and included a photo of each! These are memories that she will have for years, and can even hand down to HER children! Who knew the alphabet could have so many memories!

Q is for quarter and I glued a quarter on the page. N is of Nanny and I put a photo of me. M is for Mommy and Me and I put a photo of her and her mommy. U is for Uncle Michael and I put a photo of her uncle. Y is for yarn and I took a length of actual yarn and squiggled it up and glued it down! G is for goat and I used a photo of her mommy and uncle when they were little playing with a goat. Every letter a memory! What wonderful ideas can you come up with for your childs ABC album!

Educationally speaking: If you are making the scrapbook for a toddler or pre-schooler, it helps alot if they KNOW the picture they are looking at and can then relate the letter to the picture instead of learning the letter and trying to find something that relates to the letter.

In addition to some of the usual items or "normal" kind of items, I used items that meant something to her and only her. I used white cardstock for each page and those letters that have a color (p is pink, purple) i used that color to embellish - like strips across the page and then wrote "pink" or "purple" under the color. I also wrote the name next to each item in colored gel pens.

C is for California (she lives in California, die cut) cotton Candy (die cut and her and her favorite candy!) C is for Christmas (a photo of her mommy at christmas when she was 2) C is for Cinderella (stickers of Cinderella, although she now tells me that the pink dress is not Cinderella, it was Sleeping Beauty or whoever, I am bad at the names of all the princesses!) C is for coins (sticker of coins in this ATM card world)

D is for Daddy (photo of Daddy) D is for Dolphin (photo of dolphin when we took her to Sea World and she is now mezmerized wtih dolphins!) D is for Dynamo ( photo of her mommys pet)D is for Dragon fly (an unusual bug)

M is for Mommy and Me (photo of her and her mommy) M is for magician (die cut) M is for Mermaid (sticker) M is for money (stickers of dollar bills)

S is for sleeping bag (sticker, what she loves to sleep in when she spends the night at my house) S is for Strawberry Shortcake (sticker and she and her mom love this character) S is for Sylvester (sticker, she liked the cartoon cat) S is for saxaphone (die cut, she liked tooting horns!)
P is for Papa (photo of her Papa) P is for paw (die cut, from the Blue's Clue's days!) P is for Powerpuff Girls (stickers and she liked them back then!) P is for pumpkin (die cut, she loves carving pumpkins) P is for Panda (sticker, she loves animals)

So you get the idea. Create an album uniquely to your child and his/her likes, interests and family. They will enjoy them for years! Make memories in your ABC albums - education and memories - what a great combination!

What Scrapbook Supplies Do You Need?

Don't forget - Scrapbook for Box Tops means free scrapbook supplies! Take a look over at my blog I am doing with my 7 year old grand daughter to help her with her school fund raiser.

Need some free scrapbook embellishments? Come on over and take a look! Just save those little pink/blue/white Box Tops 4 Education labels from participating brands and go "shopping". I have lots on the site to see, but I have so much, i just can't get it all on, so tell me what you want, like, need, theme you prefer or category and I can pretty much accomodate any theme.

Stickers, die cuts, punch art, paper piecing, stickers, fibers, 3-D embellishments and more! I always give you a little more than you "order" so click on over to Scrapbook for Box Tops and take a look and start collecting for a free shopping spree for scrapbook items you can use!

Scrapbook For Box Tops