Shhh.....I've got a secret!

Promise not to tell?

The two pictures in this layout have to be my absolute favorite candid shots from my sister's wedding last month.  My cousin snapped the larger one while the grownups were having their pictures taken and the children were waiting for their turn.  The other is from the reception when my youngest daughter refused to dance with anyone but her big brother! I had purchased a bunch of 12 x 12 inch artist's canvasses a while ago that are perfect for this.  I made the page and then simply mounted it on the canvass.

Family: Always there for you...

Shadow Box

     For the past year, we at the Clark household have been preparing for the wedding of my sister.  It was a very busy time, with many joys along the way.  Now that the wedding is over (that went by fast), I have a seemingly endless pile of pictures in various stages of development.  There are the ones I took and printed, the ones I downloaded and haven't printed yet, and the ones that I have to order from the photographer- who, let's be honest, takes much better pictures than I do.  While I was sifting through the pile, I found this shot of my children and their cousins.  I was struck by how fast time has gone by:  weren't they babies only yesterday?  This little black shadow box has been sitting in my scrapbook space for almost a year-I never quite figured out what to do with it.  It was a quick project once I decided what paper to use-that's the part that always takes me the most time.  I really like the way it turned out, or, should I say, "not bad for my first try?"  Anyway, I hope to have many more wedding-related scrapbook projects in the next week-have to do something with all those pictures! 

Little Sparklers!

Here are the first two Independence Day Bears!  Patterns by LSHD and used with permission.

Sum-sum-summertime! Custom Scrapbooks available!

Whew!  Another school year done!  I haven't posted in a while-things get really crazy at the end of a school year.  But, all in all, it was a good year.  I have decided to focus my time on getting items ready for sale here on the blog.  I have several paper piecings for Fourth of July that I am working on now....pictures to come shortly.  I also can create one-of-a-kind scrapbook layouts or whole albums for any occasion.  I am working on a new page for this blog with all the information.  Stay tuned! 

Hinged Scrapbook Album

My latest creation is a hinged scrapbook album that I made for a friend's birthday.  Each page is made from an envelope and is attached to the one next to it via a die cut in the middle.  I used a pretty lace circle, but you could use almost anything.  They are only glued near the middle, so the photo and journaling mats will tuck in underneath the outsides of the circle.  Each envelope also makes a pocket that you can tuck another tag or photo, etc into.  I kept this one pretty simple as far as embellishments go-I tend to get carried away, anyway.  I love the paper line by DCWV.  Purples and greens go so nicely together.  I used Laura's technique from The Paper Trail.  It was very simple to make and I think my friend is going to like it a lot!

Growth Chart Mini

Anothe great idea from Laura from The Paper Trail was this growth chart mini album-not bad for my first attempt!  I do admit it was tricky getting it to lay straight....but I fixed it so it was really close!  What a great gift for a mom to be...different.  I have a million ideas on how to expand the theme to other things besides babies!  This one was for my sister's friend who is expecting a girl at the end of the month.

Projects in Progress

Well, it's almost official. Today I go back to the doctor for one more lung check before heading back to the classroom tomorrow.  I have to say that it has been nice being home with my little one-she's 4- but I do need to go back and see my other "kids" at school!  I find that my "stack the deck" albums are coming along nicely.  I finished the first one I had made-before I knew what I was doing-and started 2 more.  It's a really easy technique and the results are very professional looking.  I have one in progress for a recipe book, and another with a Disney Princess theme from our family vacation to WDW two years ago.  I will post pictures as soon as I get batteries-the camera finally died.