Kindergarten Photo Shoot

So my oldest daughter, my first born, starts Kindergarten in a week and a half. I gotta say, I've been pretty excited for her to start school, mostly because I won't have to pay for all day preschool for her anymore, but also because she is so flipping excited. I think she's asked when Kindergarten is going to start pretty much every day this summer. Mama? Am I going to Kindergarten tomorrow? No, sweetie. You are going in a few weeks. Wait, is that after tomorrow? Yes, honey. The day after tomorrow? No, in a few weeks. But is that after tomorrow? Yes. And on, and on, and on. I'd say she's fairly stoked.

So I capitalized on her excitement for all things Kindergarten when I talked her into being my subject for my first ever photo shoot this week for an online photography class I'm taking. And it worked. The conversation went something like, hey sweetie, do you want to take some pictures with mommy? No. They are special, Kindergarten pictures...Okay Mommy!

It was my first time shooting in all manual and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. Not perfect, but not super sucky, either. And it took all my willpower not to tweak the hell out of them with Lightroom, but that wouldn't be helpful when getting feedback from my virtual instructor and classmates, so I refrained from going all preset crazy.

































And, of course, where there are pics, there are layouts. And these pics definitely made for some nice layouts about Kindergarten and all the sappy journaling that comes out when I'm feeling all parent-like and sentimental.







And I must be trying to squeeze out every last bit of summer Scrapbooking time because I did make a few Serbia layouts today, too, which I'll be back to share tomorrow. TTFN!

My First Mini-Book. Evah.

I had so many instagrams from Serbia that I decided to make my very first ever mini-book with them. It took a few days, but it was fun. And now if I don't make a single Serbia layout I'm still good ;)

I used thin cardboard and cut it to 8x8 inches for the pages. I also used an October Afternoon mini-book for some pages and to embellish the cover.



























Thanks for looking, friends!

Scrappy Vaycay

So, as promised, here is my post on all the scrappy goodness I threw down while out of the country for 2.5 weeks. First, the supplies. I filled one large 2 gallon zip-lock bag with:

1. One Studio Calico Brooklyn Flea kit plus add-on patterned paper
2. 4 sets of extra packs of various Thickers
3. Small amounts of different colored twine
4. A handful of various Studio Calico wood veneers
5. 3 rolls of washi
6. 5-6 different extra sheets of patterned paper from Studio Calico's Elmwood Park kit
7. Photo Splits
8. Runner Adhesive
9. Super small Fiskars scissors
10. One black marker
11. A stack of about 20 photos that I chose and printed at home
12. A few doilies
13. A couple of small packs of random embellishments

And from all that I made 15 layouts. I probably pulled out my supplies to scrap 5 times over the course of our trip, usually when the girls were napping or playing with their cousins. It was awesome. I felt like I took just the right amount of supplies and it was a lot easier to create when I had fewer supplies from which to choose. Also, it pushed me to do different things with paper and scissors. Like hand cutting. Lots.

So here they are for your viewing pleasure.































So, tell me dear readers, do you take your scrapbook supplies on vacation, or is it just me? Please share, because I have a bet going with Husband that the world is full of crazies just like me ;)

Write. Click. Scrapbook September Sneak

Dude. Didn't I just post a sneak of my August WCS gallery layout?? Where is the summer going? Anywhoo, I'm back in the States and excited to share this sneak. This layout holds a special place in my heart, so I hope you'll check it out during the reveal on September 1st.



I'm also slowly unpacking after being away for 2.5 weeks, and can't wait to share my overseas layouts and scrappy supply list with you, so don't be a stranger, mmmkay?

Scrapbooking Overseas

So, I may or may not have snuck a nice big zip lock bag chock full of patterned paper, adhesive, photos and embellies in my suitcase while packing for Serbia. And that ziplock bag may or may not have contributed to the fact that said suitcase weighed over 50 pounds and caused me to frantically shove shoes and crap into the car seat bag to avoid paying extra at the United check in desk. And I may or may not have already made nearly a dozen layouts this trip in between swimming in the Danube, strolling along Knez Mihailova, drinking iced coffee, and dancing at Andy and Jana's wedding.







And a little instagram taste of our trip so far...































When we get back to the States, I'll post pics of my overseas layouts and post a list of supplies I may or may not have brought ;)

Write. Click. Scrapbook August Gallery Reveal

Dobar dan from Serbija! That's Hi from Serbia for all you non-Serbian speakers like me ;) the fam and I are here in Belgrade for a family vacation, but I had to stop in and post my layout for August's gallery at write. click. scrapbook



So excited to see my first gallery layout posted today along with all the other summer layout awesomeness from my teammates!

Cao for now! Be on the lookout for upcoming slike (photos) from our trip!