Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking: Using up random embellishments

May 7, 2013 By Kayla Aimee

scrapbook embellishments, making memories slice
I’ve been on a mission to simplify for the last few months and that includes paring down my immense hoard of scrapbook supplies. I tend to hold on to supplies I love which is really a terrible plan because after awhile they start to look a bit dated and I pass them over for things that are a bit more fresh. So my goal for this layout was to just use up a lot of little supplies while making it feel really girly.

I cut the different sized hearts out using my Making Memories Slice. I would have loved to have stitched them on but I am terrible with the sewing machine and did not have the patience to hand stitch. And by “patience” I mean there is no way my two year old would have sat still long enough for me to stitch those on. She’s in constant motion, that one.

To make the glitter dots I just used a hot glue gun to make tiny dots and then sprinkled silver glass glitter over them. The very next day I went to Michaels and discovered that they make GLITTER GLUE STICKS which would have been really nice to know like, yesterday. Also, I don’t know if you know this but I am very good at putting letter stickers on layouts in a straight line. Or not. Thanks for nothing, astigmatism.

scrapbook embellishments, making memories
This page isn’t for an album, it’s going in a 12×12 scrapbook frame in my mother’s house so that’s why I went a little bit crazy with the dimensional elements, since it won’t be lying flat. Isn’t my niece the cutest? TFL!

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Project Life: Scarlette’s N I C U Scrapbook

April 30, 2013 By Kayla Aimee

NICU scrapbook
I took a little scrapbooking hiatus while I tried to get some other things in order around here. Like my house. Unfortunately, I’m a terrible housekeeper so I gave up on that and just started scrapbooking again. True story, morning glory. I decided not to do a weekly Project Life this year but instead use the kit to put together a scrapbook filled with all of the things I kept from Scarlette’s NICU stay.

A big box in our office was filled with the cute signs that the nurses made to decorate her room and sweet cards from all of y’all and pages of handwritten hematocrit counts and hospital admission bracelets. I haven’t opened it since we came home.

During the almost six months that we spent in the hospital the nurses/doctors/social workers/chaplains spent a lot of time talking to me about processing my emotions and working through my experience and taking care of myself. And I spent a lot of time telling them to stop wasting time talking to me about how I was doing and to take care of my baby. I honestly did not mean to be hateful, my fear for her was just so great that it overwhelmed everything else and I functioned best in information; what are her bili levels, how was that blood gas, did she have any residuals?

It was the same when we came home; put down a feeding tube, take her blood pressure, draw up her medication. My currency was control and I clung to it to stay centered. I so often tell her story that I sometimes forget it is mine too. That this miracle was born out of trauma.

These are the things I haven’t shared, how sometimes I have nightmares that just relive the most horrific of moments like day 29 or sometimes a glowing pregnant girl will name her number of weeks and behind my eyes flashes a memory of my own baby at the same gestation outside of my womb, gray and gasping.

These are the memories I put in the box with tiny diapers and miniature blood pressure cuffs and closed the lid on until one day when I was healed enough to hold them in my hands and turn them into something beautiful.

I wound tiny apnea monitor leads into the shape of the heartbeats they recorded, smoothed out papers wrinkled by tears, re-read cards from friends as I slipped them into slots and started on what might not be my most artistic scrapbook but will be, I think, my favorite. This was hard and this was healing.

(From top left: the first time I was allowed to hold Scarlette a month after she was born, her handprint from the day of her birth, the last sonogram where we found out she was a girl, the badge the got us in and out of the NICU at CHOA, the last photo taken of me pregnant at 23 weeks, my hospital admission bracelet and a monitor lead, Scarlette’s isolette card, another monitor lead & flower from a card made by a friend, birth weight, a card from a sweet friend)

19 Comments Filed Under: Project Life: NICU Scrapbook Tagged With: NICU Scrapbook, Scarlette's Story

Crafternoon In KA’s Kitchen | Scrapbooking Storage In Small Spaces

September 10, 2012 By Kayla Aimee

(That is some fantastic alliteration, y’all.)

My creative space is incredibly large. In my head. As far as actual physical space to create stuff in? I don’t have much. Mostly because what used to be my scrapbooking room is now what we call “The Nursery.” The things we give up for our kids, am I right or am I right? Hint: I am right. So since my baby needed a place for things like her crib and her clothes and all four hundred and seven of her pacifiers (they multiply. They seriously multiply.) I packed up all of my scrapbooking supplies and shlepped them down to the basement, where they sat untouched for months while I changed diapers.

A few weeks ago I persuaded my husband to haul my favorite piece of furniture out of our basement and into our kitchen. We had just enough space in the corner for this vintage Hoosier Kitchen that I picked up at an antique store early in our marriage. I am completely in love with this piece. My husband sort of hates it but that might be because I keep making him carry it up and down two flights of stairs. He’s a very patient man. Here is what it looks like tucked away in my kitchen:

The fantastic thing about this is that it sort of looks like it belongs in the kitchen. And it’s great extra space for placing serving platters, etc. on when we are hosting guests.

But then if my guests feel like getting their craft on, I can open the doors and be like “BAM! GLITTER AND LETTER STICKERS, Y’ALL!” What? You have the urge to make a shadowbox using rhinestones and felt flowers? “BOOM! RIGHT BEHIND THIS DOOR! AND ALSO THIS DOOR!”

It’s like one of those seeing eye puzzles where you think you’re seeing one thing but really there is a whole ‘nother picture inside the picture. The baskets hold large embellishments while the small embellishments reside in a little white box with dividers. I keep the stuff I need for my weekly Project Life pages in the blue box and a stamp binder separates my stamp collection. (Bonus points if you spotted the milk bottle of prima flowers circa 2004. I told you I’m a hoarder.)

The bottom cabinet is very large so it houses my paper trimmer, which conveniently fits in the space where I assume a shelf used to sit. This is just more confirmation that Hoosier Kitchen? You were meant for me. And I was meant for you. (Also, I am a big fan of Jewel.) I also have a few Making Memories boxes that house my paper collection separated by color. It’s great to have such a big space to fit all of those in without needing separate shelving. Plus, if I am ever involved in an epic game of hide and seek, I will totally win.

The drawers hold essentials like tape and glue dots and my favorite stamps that I like to have easy access to. I use really fancy supplies, like those hard to find Elmer’s Glue Sticks.

They also store my Scraponizers, which are pretty much my favorite scrapbook organizing supply ever. I also have a large cutting mat that I put on top of the table to protect it while I work. The table top is metal and pulls out so it gives me a good amount of working space when I need it. Which is often because I am not what you would call a “non-messy” crafter.

Here is where I need your help. My husband hates the “primitive” look and so I promised him I would spruce this piece up. My plan is to introduce it to a coat of new paint and some shiny new library handles. I can’t decide, however, if I should paint it a nice glossy white or a bright, glossy red. What color would you paint it? I can’t decide. I am torn, just like Natalie Imbruglia. I am listening to my 90′s compilation mix on Spotify while writing this post, in case that wasn’t totally apparent. Glycerine.

If it helps, I totally plan on chalkboard painting the inner part of the top doors. White paint a la pottery barn or glossy red paint a la this dresser I saw in a magazine the other day and want to marry? What should I do?

*P.S. I originally wrote this post because 2Peas had a call for guest bloggers talking about their creative space. But then I read it and thought to myself “Self, the people at 2Peas might think you are a whack-a-do if you send this to them” and so I just posted it here instead. Probably the people at 2Peas are heaving a huge sigh of relief that they just dodged that bullet, because no one wants to send a rejection letter to a whack-a-do.

** I wish I had your good luck charm, and you had a do-whacka-do

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47 Comments Filed Under: Scrapbooking, Uncategorized Tagged With: crafty storage, organizing

Project Life 2012 | Week Thirty Three + An Echo Park Giveaway!

August 31, 2012 By Kayla Aimee

Today I’m participating in the Everyday Electric Blog Hop, which means there is a fun giveaway at the end of this post. It also means that I was sent the Everyday Electic Collection Kit from Echo Park and asked if I’d like to create with it. Is my name Inigo Montoya? Actually no, it isn’t but I’m really dropping the Princess Bride references lately due to the fact that MY HUSBAND STILL HAS NOT SEEN IT.

(There is no side by side this week because this is one page front and back. Because the papers are double sided, I just used one 3×4 paper and embellished both sides of it. )

My clear heart fell and it’s possible that this is week thirty four but remember how I’m way too ~~laid-back~~ lazy to re-take photos when I notice something out of place after I upload it to my blog? Yeah, that’s happening right now. Plus, I might need to update my calendar. And also, I’m totally not an instagrammer so much as a latergrammer. I’ll scroll through photos on my phone and be like “SO CUTE! INSTAGRAM!” even though I took them the week before. This is my deepest, darkest confession. Just kidding. It’s just my deepest confession.

The mad hatter photo is from Scarlette’s current obsession, her Alice In Wonderland book. And my friend Raechel recommended this online styling company called Stitch Fix where you fill out a style profile and they send you a box of clothing. I tried it out this past week and thought their packaging was too cute to not include.

Here are two very important Project Life tips for you: A) if you are going to include cookie packaging, be sure to wipe off ALL of the crumbs so that Lucy Dog doesn’t attack you while trying to take Project Life pictures and B) if you have a favorite date stamp, never let your toddler play with it lest you find July 28, 2012 stamped on the wall but never actually see said stamp again. Learn from me, grasshoppers.

Also, my favorite tweet last week was “Dang it feels good to be a gangsta.” Why is anyone even friends with me? I don’t know.

My friend Allison Kreft designed the Everyday Eclectic collection for Echo Park so I was excited to join this blog hop in support of her and also because they are generously giving away an Echo Park Paper Everyday Eclectic collection kit (which is what I used to make the pages above) to one of my readers! And! All of the other blog hop participants are giving away a collection as well, so if you visit each of the designers below to see what they’ve done with the new collection and leave them a comment, you’ll be entered to win a bunch (y’all too, international friends!)

Blog Hop List:
Echo Park Blog
Allison Kreft
Ali Edwards
Amy Tan
Dina Wakley
Kayla Aimee <- YOU ARE HERE!
Kelly Purkey
Kerry Lynn Yeary

Project Life In Progress: You can click here to see all of my Project Life pages so far

Giveaway Rules:
ONE winner will be selected from each blog to receive an Echo Park Paper Everyday Eclectic collection kit. To qualify for the giveaway, post a comment by midnight EST, Sunday, September 5th. Be sure to leave a comment on each blog and check back there to see if you’ve won. Each blog will announce its own winner. Please leave comments for this blog’s giveaway in the comments section below! (open to U.S. AND international residents)

(some affiliate/referral links included, and since the FTC makes me state the TOTALLY OBVIOUS: the Everyday Eclectic collection was sent to me c/o Echo Park to create these pages with. Thanks Allison & Echo Park!)

232 Comments Filed Under: Project Life, Scrapbooking

Project Life 2012 | Week Thirty Two

August 23, 2012 By Kayla Aimee

Last week Scarlette and I were invited to speak at Macy’s representing our local March Of Dimes chapter. We were there to promote the Shop For A Cause Event. Anytime I am given the opportunity to share Scarlette’s story I am so overwhelmed with gratitude that ours has such a happy ending.

Turns out, Scarlette is a big fan of public speaking. Or herself. Or maybe both. She spent the entire time I was speaking clapping excitedly or throwing her arms to the side and exclaiming “ta-da!”

Once a week we go couponing for groceries at Target and I treat Scarlette and myself to some pumpkin bread at the in-store Starbucks. Scarlette has taken to “roar”ing like a dinosaur at random customers that walk past her to the cream and sugar station.

Basically, my child is incredibly charming.

Also, I have no idea why we taught her that dinosaurs roar and not like, lions or something. Did dinosaurs even roar? I mean, maybe they chirped. Or meow-ed.

Project Life In Progress: You can see all of my past project life pages here + I’m linking up with Jess over at The Mom Creative! I used the Meant To Be digital kit from Paislee Press again for this page because I want to marry it.

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