Day 165: Daddy Daughter Dance Scrapbook Page

For this photo of my daughter and husband, I wanted to focus on the pretty rosy pink color of her dress.  I found this really neat glittered scalloped heart from Martha Stewart to put behind their photo.  I layered that on top of a piece of pink vellum from Hot Off the Press, and put that over a pale yellow floral paper by Anna Griffin.  I used a "cherish" tag from the Bohemia Collection by My Mind's Eye and a "memories" tag from the Wild Asparagus collection by My Mind's Eye. I dotted the "i" in the words "cherish" and "memories" with pearls from Jolee's.  I used pink silk flowers from Prima as accents.  I put one at the top left of the page and used three at the bottom right of the page to add more visual weight. The crystal centers I used in the flowers as well as the bird embellishment are by Webster's Pages. I think this turned out to be a sweet page of my husband and my daughter and will bring good memories to mind for them when they see it.

Day 126: Family Photo Series

Tonight I selected some background papers to use for a series of family portraits we had done in 2010.  These are for my son's scrapbook, so I focused on the papers making him stand out.  I ended up choosing four coordinating prints from Stampin' Up!  Tomorrow I will begin work on making it all come together, choosing borders, letters, embellishments, etc.

Day 48: A is for Attitude!!

A couple of years ago, we had some family portraits taken, but my daughter was not a happy participant.  She had quite the attitude, so I titled the photo where her attitude was at its worst, "A is for Attitude".  Since her mood that day was like a black cloud over us all, I heat-embossed a large chipboard A with black embossing powder. Then I used black and white letters to spell out the rest of the title down the left side of the page.  I put the 8 x 10 photo on the right side of the page and put a caption underneath the photo that described her attitude during the photography session. It is not one of my favorite photos of her, but it is a true representation of what she was like in the preteen years. Hopefully, she will be okay with me including it in her scrapbook ...someday.

Day 47: Boo to You! Halloween Post Card Albums

When I was going through the kids' albums yesterday, I found their Halloween post card albums and saw that they also needed to be brought up to date.  A few years ago, I had purchased a couple of books of reproduction Halloween post cards and made mini scrapbooks out of them. I punched a hole in a corner of each postcard and they are all held together with a binder ring. Since the post cards are about 4 x 6 inches in size, I glue that size photo on the back side of the post card. With the postcard design on one side and the Halloween photo on the other, there isn't much room for embellishing, but there is often blank space in the photo where I can add a little something fun. These are just quick and easy albums to help us recall the kids' Halloween costumes from year to year.

Day 39: American Girl ® Magazine Cover Photo Shoot

Tonight I started selecting papers and embellishments to coordinate with a photo of my daughter taken with American Girl ® her  doll. I chose two papers from Stampin' Up!, some buttons, a cute "made in the USA girl" tag, and had started browsing my collection of ribbons and lace, when I realized I am just tired out.  It was a long day, so I am going to bed.  I will play with all of this again tomorrow.

Day 1: UFO Finished: Super Hero Paper Bag Album

I spent a lot of 2011 wishing I took more time to work in my scrapbook and stamp room. However, I did nothing to ensure that I did that. This year, I have decided to challenge myself to work on a scrapbook or stamp project every day of 2012!! We all have those UFOs (unfinished objects) that we keep meaning to get done. And there are all sorts of techniques that we would all like to try. To that end, I will be working and blogging each and every day this year! I have been working on a super hero paper bag album for my son since August or September of 2011. I worked on it here and there, but never really set about finishing it. My goal for today was to get that UFO finished! And I did. A great way to start off the new year!

Album Cover

Spider Man Pages

Power Ranger Pages

Back Cover

Storage Box

Welcome To Kim's Keepsakes!!

Welcome to Kim's Keepsakes!!

The first real "keepsakes" I created were some keepsake boxes I made when my children were born. I saved the wrapping paper and gift bags from their baby showers and then cut out images I liked and decoupaged them onto paper mache boxes. The keepsake boxes were the perfect place to store the ultrasound videos, cards, baby hat from the hospital, etc. I made a few more as gifts for some friends and relatives.

I began creating scrapbook pages in 2001. My sister and my mother walked and talked me through making the first few pages, and then I just went wild. I began taking classes, and spending lots of money at local scrapbook stores. I also learned a lot by reading magazines and looking at pre-made scrapbooks on ebay. I got some good ideas and inspiration for my scrapbook pages. One thing I discovered on ebay was the paper bag scrapbook album. It is one of my favorite types of scrapbook albums to make. It is relatively cheap because you just use paper bags, and one sheet of 12'x12" paper gives you 4 scrapbook pages!

I began making hand-stamped cards in 2005 after a lady at church mailed me a card and I discovered she was a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I had seen ads for SU in the scrapbook magazines I was reading, and was looking for a demonstrator. How lucky for me that she lives right up the street! I have learned a lot about stamping from the Stampin' Up group Carolyn teaches, as well as from reading Vamp Stamp News. VSN is a neat magazine that focuses on a different technique each month. Check out their website at http://www.vampstampnews.comI have also dabbled a little with altered art. I like to make collages on notebook covers using up leftovers from my scrapbooking and stamping projects. I also like to alter clipboards and decorate them for use as photo frames.

I entered the Making Memories Magazine Masters Competition for 2009 this summer, but was not selected. I don't think I journal enough on my scrapbook pages. It was still fun to try.

I was selected to join a rubber stamp design team on July 16, 2008. Repeat Impressions of Freeport, Maine, put out a call for designers to their customers. I mailed them a CD of my card designs, and they selected me to be on their team. I am having lots of fun making cards using their stamps. Check out their website and see my gallery at http://www.repeatimpressions.com. If you purchase anything from them, please let them know Kim from Design Team sent you.

I received so many compliments about my scrapbook pages, my cards, and my keepsake boxes, and heard so many people say, "You should sell that", I decided to venture out into the small business world. I am teaching some classes for my town's park district. I have some items in a local shop, so if you ever get to Washington, Illinois, please stop by Holiday Presence on the historic square and see what I have to offer. Won't be coming to Illinois any time soon? I also sell some things in my etsy store on the internet. Visit my shop at http://www.kimskeepsakes.etsy.com and tell me what you think.

If you haven't been there yet, etsy is a site where everything is handmade. If you are a crafter, there are also materials available for sale on etsy. It is a neat site. I shop there a lot, myself. I like to support artists who are using their vision and talent to create something unique and one of a kind, instead of buying one of thousands of the same thing that has been mass-produced. Jewelry is what I mainly purchase from etsy, but that's another blog entirely!!