I'm back and I'm done

well i might journal a bit more here and there

but essentially I'm done with the Wedding Album

can i hear a Hallelujah?

Hallelujah!

Here are the last of the pages with photos

And here are the pages with a lot of memorabilia - shower invitations and cards, Pre-Cana stuff, wedding banns from the church bulletin, items from the reception venue; a swatch of faric from the bridesmaids dresses; receipt for my dress; receipt for my husbands ring; our receipts from our blood tests - you know that kinda thing. Yes, I'm a pack rat but for all pack rats everywhere - there's no better place to store your treasures than a scrapbook!

The only thing remaining is like i said a little journaling and actually purchasing a scrapbook to fill with all these pages. I saw a really pretty one the other day at AC Moore (it was a K&Company album. They make such pretty albums - especially for an extra special occasion like a Wedding album).

What else have i been up to? Well other than what you see on Small Smackerels - let's see. Yesterday i did a lot of cleaning in my room here. I also found a stack of my daughters artwork from elementary school. I know i put photos of some of them in her elementary school album but just to be on the safe side I took photos of all of them (it was a small stack - only the absolute musts I had to keep for her) and then put the originals in a page protector to add to that album. I'll get the pics printed and add that as well when i have a second.

While i was cleaning up in here I kept finding odds and ends - things that need to go on pages. Mostly memorabilia. My name should be Suzy the-pack-rat Scrapbooker okay. I threw those in my RTG file. Tomorrows project will be to get that RTG file back in order so I can actually work from it again - its trashed folks! In the interest of actually getting the cleaning up done around here, I couldnt get too fussy with how i put stuff into that file.

After that's done, I think I'm going to stick with my plan to work on my kids baby albums. I won't be as crazy as i was about getting them done as I was the wedding album. Afterall - the wedding album was pretty limited in its scope. A baby album for each kid will take a lot of time. Because I know it's just not "baby". It's really their lives up until they reach school.

And, as I'm sure all you parents know - that's some premium photo takin time.

It's gonna take a while but thats ok. I know I'm going to enjoy looking at those pictures again.

Not much done but i'm still

plugging away at my wedding album

i took a few pics yesterday of the additions i completed over the past week. Just too many other things to do to make more progress. But that's what Suzy is all about - working in the scrapbooking when she can!

I've been using these silver photo corners by 3L. They're self-adhesive and really handy. Because the pictures are one of a kind I really didn't want to permanently attach them to the pages so photo corners were the way to go. I realized the other day I'm almost out! For these pages I used some clear photo corners and I think it worked out nicely. However I'm going to need to track some more silver ones down to finish the album I think. (I'm going to have to look through the rest of the pictures to see what else might require the more formal looking silver ones.)

I used all Purple Onion Designs rubber stamps. The Great Circus alpha as well as the Zothique alphabet.

with a little bit of flourish and discontinued things

excuse the lousy photos.

i guess i could spend a lot of time getting these primo shots but then i'd be spending way too much time bloggin and not scrappin

so fuggetaboudit

I finished those 3 pages up yesterday after visiting my friend June. I mentioned i would be borrowing her Quickutz flourishes. You can see them (with a little bejewelment by me) in the second photo. In real life it looks pretty fun. And I'm the only one I have to please so I'm happy! In this first photo on your left i found that i had a piece of cardstock I wished I had for the entire album. It's this Making Memories patterned cardstock - which is imprinted with a lovely flourish! It's from the same group of patterend cardstock Making Memories put out a few years ago. I only wish I had been able to find this flourishy version to make the entire album. I had bought the striped paper which i used on a number of previous pages I've posted here. It's real classic stuff that i thought they might not discontinue.

And I was wrong. Well at least I believe I'm wrong. I looked all over online to see if anyone still had this particular cardtock but to no avail. And this brings up the "discontinued things" topic. Seeing as its CHA time (the craft & hobby industry trade show is going on right now)it seems like a good time for the discussion.

I understand why manufacturers have to discontinue things. I really do. If something is not selling it makes perfect sense to discontinue it. When a company wants to put out a new line it may be the most fiscally responsible thing for them to do, right? You can't have all your money behind old product when you want to be selling hip, new and cool. Problem is these companies barely put out the products and then they're dumping them in time for the next industry trade show. I know everyone wants NEW COOL STUFF. However, it kills me when they discontinue great classic things - like this flourish paper. Maybe it doesn't sell well anymore. I can see that. However I could also argue that they don't promote it anymore and they also are caught up in the frenzy of scrapbookers who need - crave - gotta have something new.

It's gonna drive them all out of business. This jumping on the bandwagon. I've seen it countless times in the years I've been scrapbooking. Someone - some company - becomes the new hot thing. And then every manufacturer copies it so they can get in on the action. Its understandable but - here comes this Suzy's long time opinion - not smart.

Not everyone wants doodles. Not everyone wants shabby. Not everyone wants vintage. (i think i've just named the last three big fads). I know the company is rare that does not jump on the bandwagon. But i swear I applaud them.

I have been known to want desperately some hot new item. It's been a while but I recall the feeling. I also remember thinking now that (for example) Making Memories is making these foam stamps - now everyone and their brother is making foam stamps (or metal, or flowers.... i could go on). If you didnt' like all that stuff you were pretty much screwed. The stores were filled with one company's vision. Just made by every single company (and a few new ones) that was around. You couldnt find anything different. And they keep doing it - over and over again. I think hoping to become the next HUGE thing - like Making Memories was for several years. (btw I still love Making Memories).

I think we're past that now kids. Now more scrapbook mania. I wish all these companies would figure out what they do best and make that and stop copying one another. Offer us some variety. ok.. little rant over!

Didjamissme?

well i'm back.

i got to thinkin last night as i was uploading pictures that this is moving along very nicely. i know i was complaining a wee bit about being bored. But i took a look at the old album, and how much i've pulled out of there and how much i have left to go and i feel a little renewed. I'm making terrific progress!

I've also been thinking about my next big project - beginning my kid's baby albums. Actually anything before they began school really. And, if you are a parent - you know what that means - a ba-zillion photos.

It's almost a little scarey.

The mind boggles.

I should take a picture of the boxes and boxes of photos i have.

However i'm not going to dwell on it.

I really am looking forward to it.

I have put it off for so long.

Way back when i began scrapbooking I thought how do i even begin. I had a few friends who advised me to just jump in and start working on my kid's school albums.

And it worked out ok.

It was a place to start.

School stuff gets a little monotonous. Course you can get on a rolll - so much of it is the same that you can repeat certain motifs and layouts and it really works out nicely.

But you do get bogged down in looking at the same stuff all the time.

I'm thinking to prevent that monotony with the kid albums i may just skip around.

Revise my Suzy schedule a bit to reflect the narrowed topic.

Or i may just set it aside and work on another topic which could get a little boring - Holiday layouts.

I'll have to do more thinking on it. I want to be productive but i wanna enjoy it.

In the meantime here are a few more pages I made. I have three more pages on my table in a semi-ready state. I know how the pictures will be laid out. Tomorrow i'm visiting my sweet friend June who is letting me use her Quickutz flourish dies. I think those flourishes will be the perfect touch on these three pages!

More Wedding and fighting the boredom

it's been a few days - sorry about that. i wish i could say i've gotten lots more layouts done but it wasn't to be. I did manage to finally finish this one - been on my drawing table for days.

As i was working on this i was thinking i've gotten a bunch of these done but ya know i'm a little bored. It's a project i've been dying to work on but ... at the same time you can get worn out working on page after page of the same topic/theme.

It's almost the same as birthday or Christmas layouts although with birthdays - well you can change up the papers and embellishments right? And then the photos look different year to year too. The Christmas pages - same thing really - i have quite a collection of different kinds of papers etc - i don't think i'll get too bored.

Yeah i think in this instance - with a whole book of wedding - its the theme. And trying to get it done and over with. I imagine if I was working on a Disney album I might feel the same way. Generally with a themed album you try to use the same papers and embellishments throughout to create continuity. With that wonderful continuity - you get boredom.

I could put aside this wedding album. Work it the same way i work the rest of my Suzy schedule but I think I'd like to stick it out and work on it some more. I hope you'll all be patient with me while i work it!

Some of the wedding pages

I'm still working on these. I wish i could scrapbook all day but thats not the way this Suzy's life goes. (especially when everyone

is still on vacation and are around every day. I keep reminding myself Monday is just around the corner)

I will admit to going a little crazy with embellishments which is something i don't ever do. I used my Martha hydrangea punch to create vellum flowers and a bunch of MME Bohemia clear gems (then i ran out. yeah i had to buy some more gems. i ended up with some Jewelry & Craft brand ones from Michaels). As I said i'm not normally one to put lots of shtuff on my pages but in this case - well i said what the heck. My wedding dress was very classic - princess-like really. But what made it really gorgeous was all these clear sequins sewn into the lace on top. I still remember my Aunt saying to me she thought i was wearing a diamonds around my wrist. It wasn't diamonds - it was my dress. It was very understated I assure you - i'm just not a sparkly kinda girl but that dress - i still remember finding it and saying now THAT'S my dress.

Oh i should also remind you these pictures were proofs we bought - not the best photos that were put into the final photographers album. But i still love these pictures.

I don't plan to spend this much time on the rest of the pages but who knows. Once you get started sometimes these projects take on a life of their own. And i know something else - i like the pages and i don't care if anyone but me and my family do! ha! (believe me this is brave Suzy talk but i'm thrilled that I can honestly say it doesnt matter to me what anyone else thinks)

ok i need to get moving. I've already got a few more pages setup to glue down. I'm gonna do that while i still have a little free time left to myself.

oh the suspense of it all

especially when i figure i'm talkin to myself most of the time here. (wink)

ok the last picture i posted was of this album

I bought this album in 1984 - shortly after I was married. We had a stack of photographers proofs, candid photos friends and family had given us, and various and sundry memorabilia i had collected - all wedding related. (actually there are a few relationshippy items too) I needed a place to put them so they would be safe.

Safe is the operative word in that sentence. When we moved here 10 years ago i had put all the photos together in i think 2 large boxes - this album and a few other albums included. I think that was the last time i looked at any of them. At the time they seemed fine. A few months ago i hauled out the unpacked box and pulled this album out and was a little concerned. There were obvious signs of deterioration - not to my photos - yet - but to the pages of the album. Since the album is over 20 years old I know now it is a very unsafe place for those pics etc to be. The pages have this glue on it - under the plastic protective peel up pages - i guess they really didn't mean "magnetic" its really just plain old sticky. Anyway that glue is turning brown. And fortunately for me my photos etc are not stuck to it. (I know how bad these kinds of albums really are: my mom had one and the photos and news clippings are stuck so bad to the pages you'd have to destroy the items to get them out of there. Bad. Really bad. When I made her an album a few years back i had some of those items colored copied to include in my album - as well as save them at that stage of deterioration.)

Here's a picture of the inside of my album. If you click on the photo you'll be able to see the browning at the edges of the pages.

So - finally it was time to get this project off my tadoo list. I don't want anything to happen to these pictures etc. They're old and there are no negatives. Yes, I have the photographers album (which is gorgeous and has the best photos of the day) but it doesn't have all these pictures and memorabilia.

I will post some of the pages i've made thus far. I'm not going totally Suzy and just getting it done - but i'm not going off the deepend either with papers and embellishments either. Sort of a happy medium.

Now i've come to the portion of our program kids where i'm gonna do my first little rant. I know its most unbecoming of Suzy to rant but allow me a small amount of latitude.

Preservation is important. Saving old photos is really important. And ensuring that original photos (where there is no negative available) are safe is a worthy use of your time. I think its very important to consider the products you're using. Most of the stuff out there for sale is pretty safe. But i've noticed a trend in scrapbooking where people are using anything and everything on their pages. Recently in particular i saw some people reusing packaging from different products to make things. Recycling is a wonderful thing - but not on your pages that have irreplaceable photos - ok kids? If you wanna make art do it with a copy of your irreplaceable photo - not the original.

Ok- that wasn't so bad now was it. Suzy doesn't like controversy so she tries staying away from all those boards and blogs that get nasty. It just isn't worth my time to be honest - i like to use what precious time i do have on my scrapbooking (and other small smackerels )

For now - i'm off to do some un-Suzy things and then get back to work on this album.