Goody Bags n Tags

The Ugly Truth
I'm the kind of mom that when asked to bring something for the bake sale or classroom makes a pan of brownies. Now mind you, I have a recipe for brownies from scratch that will make you see Jesus, but before I found that, it was just the good ole box kind. Functional - asked to make something - I did. Unlike the superMOMS who bring in a cake made to look like the Mona Lisa. Take my Christmas gift one year to the day care teachers: homemade pepper jelly with a stick on bow. The stick on bow was my wrapping. That lovely jar stood on the counter with the bags that were so colorful and covered with curlied ribbon and the most beautiful designer paper with something inside that would probably merit such a delicious gift bag. What can I say?
Redemption
My friend and I get to do the snacks for the JV cheerleaders today. We are not one to take this job lightly. She calls them goody bags. So, being the scrapbooking goddess I am, I made some basic tags and then found some cute little cheerleaders to go with it. A little coordinating curly ribbon, and we have some fun treat bags that the other mothers will now have to outdo. My friend, Lynn, said that we probably overdid it (for once in my life...she has no idea), but the truth is, we know we will do it exactly the same way again next time. Perhaps I can add individual photos next time...

The Cheerleading Scrapbook

I am having a time today getting this stinkin' blog to work. I don't know if it is me or the blog.

I have made my dd a scrapbook for each year she has been a cheerleader. It is alot of fun for both of us. One thing I have learned is to let her take pictures, too. You get her perspective as well as mine. She does enjoy sharing these books with her friends, which is nice for me, too! Her friends like to see what new pages I have created. I think it is like a yearbook, they are looking for themselves!

I used an 8x8 format for last year because I like the challenge of the smaller page. I found that paper was my main embellishment with a few accents here and there. I do prefer to use other colors than the school colors just because you will die of boredom if you don't.

I do have a folder full of cheerleading stuff: paper and rubons and embellishments and die cuts. If I see something I like, I buy it for future use! You will see on one of my lo's I used a transparency of my own design. When in doubt, make it yourself!

I was in a sb store in WI not too long ago that had a whole wall of all the local schools. I'm talking albums, stickers, die cuts of mascots, coordinating everything. It made me so wish my sb store would do that. It really is hard to find things in the right colors. Not that I can't make her book without it, but it would be fun to have some of those things available.

The Pocket Page and More

The Pocket Page
There is so much you can do with the pocket page. This particular page is a knock-off of a layered idea I have seen before. I just keep finding memorabilia that I want to save from this once in a lifetime trip. This way, I have room for those little things I thought I put in my memorabilia storage bag I was using, but apparently didn't! I mean where else am I going to put the purple wrist bands that we wore at the pool so we could get towels? Or the coaster from the bar or the empty coffee bag from the coffee we bought?
I really like the white stamp pad as you can probably tell. The stamps are CS and from their Surf's Up kit. They are unmounted. The letters are some foam stamps I got on sale at hobby lobby. It is one of my favorite fonts. I just wiped my chipboard letter with ink and then took some white ink and dabbed it on. Yes, my ink pad got dirty, and I had to clean it. Bad idea, cool look. This is not an amazing page, but a practical one, and sometimes you need practical.
Don't be afraid of old stuff in your stash.
My second lo had me reverting to my chalking days with some die cuts from Deluxe Cuts that I have had forever. I got out my chalks and went to town on these blah die cuts. If you know me, my motto is "it doesn't matter what color an embellishment is, you can always change it if it doesn't match". I gussied them up a bit to bring out the colors on the leis my dh and I are wearing. This page is a little distorted because it was in my album, but you get the idea. I inked my paper water glass coaster from our hotel room with the same ink that I used on the "M" on the previous lo. I just really like that effect. I used some shells as the flower center. Flower is more memorabilia from Hawaii. And I had one last stinkin' sticker which just so happened to match the colors in this lo so I used it.
Don't you just love that postcard? I think postcards are fabulous to us in scrapbooking when you travel. Some of my other lo's have postcards in them, too.
Now I thought I was done with this album, but I found a group photo of all the attendees and my dh's company newsletter came with the same photo in it. So I actually have two more pages to whip out, but then I will really be done my Hawaii album.
Not every page has to be a masterpiece.
This album is complete. It is a great feeling. Yes, I could have used more embellishments, more paper, more paint, more ink, more stamps, more special effects, but I would still have those 15o some odd photos lying around waiting to be scrapbooked. I am not one to COUNT and feel accomplished by the quantity as some folks do (CM you know who you are), but I do have a goal oriented personality and having this album hanging over my head is not FUN. This way, I have the memories to enjoy already and the delight in knowing it is complete. Satisfaction, dahlings! It's a great feeling! So quit worrying that your pages won't all be ART to hang in the LOUVRE in PARIS. It doesn't matter. The important thing is, you have something to show people and yourself about your trip.