Once You Start...You Can't Stop

Once you start you just can't stop. So I guess scrapbooking is just like eating Lays potato chips :-) I have done three layouts in less than a week. And I really like them :-) LOL All the items are from my personal stash, which I guess is considerable since I have the kit club business and I always order a little extra for myself :-) Daisy D's, American Crafts, 7 Gypsies and Heidi Swapp for all the pages.

This first layout is one of the first pics I think I have scrapped from our Europe trip last summer. I must admit that it is a bit unorthodox. No glorious monuments, no castles, no gardens. You get a pic of my back side. You must read the journaling to get the full effect. I swear this was an integral part of my trip :-) LOL

The journaling is: Never go on a walking tour of Europe with teenagers unless you are in good shape. Rob and I toured Tuscany looking for a pharmacy. With no walgreens in sight, we spotted the universal sign for medicine. None of the workers spoke English, so I had to point to my back and wiggle in pain. They smiled and gave me a sticky heat pad which saved my life.

This is also one of the first pics I have scrapped of this past Christmas when my whole family was together at my moms. We live in three different states hundreds of miles apart, so this was a special occasion. My mom asked for a whole album of the pics I took. I don't think she realizes that I am a moment and not an event scrapper :-) and I don't think she realizes how hard it is for me to scrap traditional holiday pics. But I did promise, so I may have to find a crafty way to do it. Maybe a mini album or something.

The journaling is: This photo makes me HAPPY. I love seeing Tiffany, Karrie, Mom and myself in the kitchen together. This Christmas was nice because we were all together. When you get older, move away and have families, it gets harder and harder to be together all at the same time. However, this year we made it possible. There is something very cathargic about surrounding yourself with FAMILY and good food. It is food for the SOUL and the body. I don’t remember what we really ate, and Rob and I had to get on the road shortly after, but I will always REMEMBER feeling LOVED, feeling at HOME, and feeling at PEACE in my mom’s kitchen with my sisters by my side. And last but not least, I did a layout about our house selling ordeal. I think I am still trying to process it all. For everyone that wanted to know how its going, well it is gone. Side note: I used a shaped journaling template for Elements users. Free from Jessica Spague on the CK site. I also used Ali Edwards font. Free on the CK site as well.

The journaling is: Last August, Rob and I got house fever. We came across a newly built home that was deeply discounted and had many of teh amenities we were looking for in our next home. We put our current home on the market and hoped it would sell before someone else came and made an immediate offer. Unfortunately, the home was sold three weeks later. With house fever stillin our veins, we decided to build new and pray that our currenthome would sell bythe time the new home was built. We spenmt weeks visiting new builders and looking at home models. We found what we thought was our dream home and signed a contract. It was hard to keep our home in show condition seven days a week, but we did our best. It wasn't enough. We had many lookers, but only one offer, which was too low. Three weeks before we were to close on our new home we released it back to the builder. Needless to say it was a hard and disappointing outcome. Rob says maybe it is a blessing, while part of me feels that we failed. Either way God's will be done and now I have to learn to love our current home again. SIDE NOTE: Our current home is only 4 years old, so don't feel too bad for me. We still have an empty bedroom, a guest bedroom and my craft room. But this other home had surround sound, 14x14 kid bedrooms, glass door cabinets in the kitchen, a mudroom, and other really nice touches :-) Oh well maybe in the future when the housing market gets better.

***I hope everyone has a CREATIVE and CRAFTY week***