Latest Life Art (Scrapbook) Pages

Last year I set the goal for myself to stay updated on scrapbooking the events that occured during that year and not to worry about how far behind I was on the other years (I still need to put pages together for Spencer's 1st Birthday. Yes, I am that far behind:). My primary focus of scrapbooking is to record Spencer's childhood events. My latest page is of a trip that we took to Bauman Farms in Oct. 2007.

This is my list of things to finish for the year:

• Pumpkin Carving
• Gingerbread Haunted House Decorating/Cupcake Decorating
• Trick or Treating
• Gilbert House Children's Museum Trip
• Trip to Santa
• Holiday Trip to the Ponies
• Zoo Lights at Oregon Zoo
• Trip to Horton
• Christmas at Grandma Sandy's
• Christmas at Grandma Patti's
• Christmas at Grandma Carol's
• Christmas Morning
• Snow Time/Visit to see Grandma Betty & Auntie Rita & Uncle Jim & Uncle Trav

I have learned a lot about tapping into my own style and experimenting with different techniques. One book that I recently read was an inspiring book on recording the special moments in life called, "Life Artist: Scrapbooking Life's Journey" by Ali Edwards. I love that she uses the term "life art" for scrapbooking. It seems to lift scrapbooking to a heightened level of art. Being a graphic designer, I have always considered it an exercise in page layout.

Here is a list of books that I have found useful in putting together creative-driven scrapbook pages:

• "Life Artist: Scrapbooking Life's Journey"
• "The Book Book: Bringing Book Arts to Scrapbooking"
• "Designing with Color"
• "Designing with Greetings"
• "The Look Book: Developing Your Own Personal Style..."
• "Designing with Details: How the Little Things Make All the Difference in Your Pages"
• "Free Style: Breaking Out of Your Box"

Holiday 2007 Projects

This holiday season I crunched a few fun projects into the busy schedule.

Wreath: I wanted to put together something cheery and sparkling for the front porch for the holiday season. I enjoyed working with less traditional/more funky colors. It was also fun to play with placing the different sizes of ornaments on the wreath.

Holiday Cards: I enjoy coming up with a new design challenge each year. This year I tasked myself with creating a snowglobe effect using transparent envelopes with glitter inside. I originally illustrated the vintage reindeer for a series of lottery tickets this past summer, but when the powers-that-be decided to go in a different direction and scrap the adorable creations, I decided that I would incorporate them into my holiday card design for 2007. I had fun adding dimention to the reindeer by applying foam tape to have them stand out. I also enjoyed adding gem embelishments and scalloping the edges of the cards.

(This shows the series of four designs)

(This shows the front of the card in an envelope)

(This shows the mailing side of the envelope)

Personalized Votives: I needed to put together a small, yet creative gift for the ladies in my bunco group. I put the finished creations in plastic bags, tied them with ribbon and put tags on them.

Gift Certificate Holders: These were made for gift certificates for my nieces and nephews as Christmas gifts.