Please join me...

Where have I been?

Well the short answer to this question is EVERYWHERE---doing ministry work, preschool work, launching two home businesses and keeping house!!! 

The long answer to this question goes something like this...
I had every intention of setting this blog up as a community blog.  I never wanted to be the sole author.  I wanted a couple of contributors to keep it going on a near daily basis.  I thought it would be a great place to share scrapbooking ideas, kitchen recipes, and kid things.  So my question is, will you join me in this endeavor?

You do NOT have to be a writer.  Just a mom.  Even if you don't scrap, just share other things about motherhood.  

Unfortunately if I can't find some friends to help out, I don't think I can keep it going on my own and that breaks my heart.  Seriously.  Don't break my heart...

Are you in?

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

New Adventure

Ever had a friend start a home business that they are SO excited about?  It becomes all they talk about.  They just simply can't wait to throw a party at your house.  How can you possibly say no?!?

I have had friends like that.  Thank God for Caller ID.  I knew when they were calling and I could avoid them and their party throwing schemes.  Seriously.

I swore I would never become one of those people.  Ever.

So I am happy to announce that I am the latest consultant of Close to My Heart Scrapbooking.  Want to throw a party?

Kidding! :)

The new consultant part is true.  But, I will not be throwing parties, unless you are dying to have one.  But, I will be placing orders.  Mostly for myself.  I love their products and their ideas.  I don't have a lot of time to get to the craft store anymore, so I thought this was a fun alternative.  I also love to entertain, so I thought it would be fun to have a few crops and workshops at my house.   For my first event, I am going to share a little TLC with you....

Treats, a Layout, and a Card.

If you leave in the Houston Area, I hope you will join me on Sunday, September 12th at 3 pm for a little fun.  If you don't leave near me, I will be sure and share the layout and card on this blog.

And if you would like to check out Close To My Heart, go here.  Let me know if you want to order something.  I plan on putting in an order on September 15th.  And because it is my very first order, I want to give my first customers 10% off!

I promise not to bombard you with my new business adventure.  No parties unless you want one.

Jenn
~Mama Scrapper

Dinner & A Dare

Let's start with Dinner:

Bacon Roasted Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons butter
1 (4 pound) whole chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 carrots, cut in chunks
paprika to taste
8 slices bacon
2 cups beef broth
 

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
 

2. Rub butter over the entire chicken. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Place the carrots inside the cavity, and tie the legs together. Place the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan. Lay bacon strips across the top of the chicken, and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with paprika. Pour the beef broth into the roasting pan - do not pour over the bacon.
 

3. Roast for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, the reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Baste with some of the broth. Continue to roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F when taken in the thickest part of the thigh. Baste every 15 minutes with the broth.
 

4. Remove the bacon and discard toothpicks. Roast the chicken for 15 more minutes to brown the skin. Transfer to a serving platter, and remove the ties. You may eat the bacon, but it is best to discard the carrots.

I got this recipe from the All Recipes App on my iPhone and my whole family loved it! It was much easier than I thought.  If you are looking for a healthier version, just don't eat the bacon!

Now for the Dare...
One of the things I am doing in my family is trying to eat healthier.  I have stopped buying the cheapest milk and meat and spend time looking for organic options.  My newly adopted motto is spend more on food now and save money on medical bills later.  Along with this new challenge of mine comes trying new things.  I decided to forego the regular fruit choices of bananas, apples, and strawberries and instead purchased some Plumcots.

 What is a Plumcot?  Well it is a cross between a Plum and an Apricot:

I had never heard of them nor tried them.  I just nonchalantly placed them on my family's lunch plates and let them dig in.  And boy did they.  My daughter ate 3 in 24 hours.  She loved them and so did I.  So, I dare you to try something new.  Share it with your family.  Don't make a big deal about it, just let is show up next to some familiar foods.  It may just become a favorite-it did for us!  Let us know what you try!

Jenn
Mama Scrapper

Explanation...you ask?

Where have I been?

I wish I could tell you that I have locked myself in a room and I have completely caught up with all my scrapping.

Not so.

I wish I could tell you that I have been cooking up a storm to find easy, yummy delicious recipes to share on here.

Not so.

I wish I could tell you that my husband whisked me off to some remote island for the last three weeks and there was no internet connection.

Not so.

Truth is...
I haven't scrapped since last month.  My family has eaten out more in the last few weeks than I would like to admit and my husband did whisk me off....not to a remote island but to the beach in our teeny tiny RV.  But hey, a vacation is a vacation, right?

But, despair no longer...I am back.

Check in tomorrow for Dinner and a Dare!

And it's not too late to try out the La Ti Da Challenge.  I'll give you til the end of the month to come up with something.  If I can get some entries, I may just go out and buy a prize!

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

La Ti Da Challenge

Has your scrapbooking come to a screeching halt?   Is it due to a lack of creativity or a lack of time?  If the former is the reason then it is time for a challenge!

Challenge #1:

Let a song lyric inspire a layout. 

You can incorporate the lyric into the title, the journaling, or however else you want.   Email me a picture of your layout be next Saturday at mamathescrapper@gmail.com. 

I can't wait to see what you come up with. so go get your scrap on!

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

And the winner is.......

I put all of my followers in the drawing since I am not all of your friends on Facebook.   I wrote your name on a little slip of paper, folded them twice, grouped them together and asked my hubby to pick one.

He picked:

STACI




Congratulations.  Email me at mamathescrapper@gmail.com with your address and I will have your goodies in the mail tomorrow!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Scrap Challenge!

Thanks for playing!
~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

BLOG Giveaway

In my absence, I have been a scrappin' fool!  I have had my husband's wonderful family (the committee) here and we have had so much fun scrapping.  But, I haven't forgotten about you...

In fact, I have been shopping for you!  I picked up an awesome sun cutout and some great summer stickers for your summer layouts.  I know you have some great summer photos and could put these awesome embellishments to use:

What do you have to do?  Two things!  Become a follower (if you aren't already one) and link this post to your blog and/or Facebook.  That's it!  I will randomly pick a winner (out of a fancy hat!) on Wednesday, August 4th at 12 pm CST!

Happy Scrappy!
~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

The Committee

Scrapbooking can be a solitary or group hobby.  I prefer to scrap with company because you can bounce ideas off each other, scrap lift (politely steal others ideas) and just chit chat as you put pictures on paper.  Since I have had my sweet baby twins, I have not gotten the opportunity to scrap much at all. 
My husband is blessed to have two wonderful women in his life that just happen to be his mother and his aunt.  They don't see each other all that often, so when they both mentioned they wanted to come love on my children, I planned their vacations together.

Besides all the wonderful help they have given me with my children, you want to know the best part?  They're scrappers!!!

Yesterday we got Daddy to babysit and we headed out to Archiver's for a much needed creative outlet.  We weren't in the store more than five minutes when we spotted a gem:

Fancy Pants Glitter Cuts transparency overlays and embellishments.  The committee (me, Granny, and Aunt Wanda) started planning and plotting and came up with an idea:

Cut the S off of Brothers to fit my family and make the first layout of my three kids.   After spending a lot more money than any of us planned on (isn't that always the story?), we headed home and waited until all the kids went to bed so we could SCRAP!!!

After a committee meeting discussing the layout and trying many different patterns together, we came up with this:

I had never had a committee meeting concerning a layout, but is was a lot of fun.  The whole time we were planning I kept thinking it was so neat that my husband's family was helping me with my scrapbooking.  As I added the final touches on the layout, Aunt Wanda suggested I add something on the back about the committee creating this layout.  What a fantastic idea!  I added the following:

I kept thinking long after we are all gone, my children will be looking back at these layouts and I am so glad I got all of there signatures!  I will leave you with a few pictures of the committee:

Usually committee meetings are just another commitment you wish you would have said no to.  Not this time!  I hope you get to have a committee meeting soon with other scrappers!

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

What we are working on...

I ask some of the moms who frequent this blog to share what they are working on this week.  Here are their projects:

Carrie is catching up on Holidays and Baby pages:

Nadine has been working on a scrapbook for another mom.  She helps make scrapbooks for moms who find themselves in crisis pregnancies.  All they have to do is take the picture and put it on the page.  For more info on this check out www.cypresscalling.com

Becca, our digital scrapbooker, has a wonderful picture that she is trying to think of a title for. 

Maybe we could help her?

One of the things I have been working on is recipes.  I am involved in a recipe swap and we are getting ready to swap again in a few weeks.  The theme this time is Back to School Dinners. 

So what are you working on? Email me a picture at momsthatscrap@gmail.com and I will include it on the next "What we're working on post"

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

How did you get started?

I used to think that you had to have kids to be a scrapbooker.  I knew a couple moms that did scrapbook and I would longingly look over their layouts and remind myself that someday I could join them.  Then one night at a Hobby Night held by my church, my friend asked me to help her with a title.  I had always been one of those crafty people, so I happily obliged.  In the ten little minutes it took me create the title, a transformation took place:

I became a scrapbooker.

I realized that I did not have to have children to create awesome layouts all I needed were pictures and I had a few thousand of those already.  I had been to Germany, Scotland, Aruba and many, many states in our great country.  I had layouts calling my name, I just couldn't hear them.

I think maybe a few days passed and I was at my local craft store.  I had NO IDEA what I was doing so I bought white card stock and stickers.  My pages were beyond hideous, but they were mine and I loved them.

I will never redo them.

I like to see how far I've come and trust me, it's far!

So, how did you get started?  Should we be so brave as to share one of our first layouts?

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

Quarter Cards

If you are like me you have a love/hate relationship with Target!  Love it because it has everything you could possibly want and/or need, but hate it because it is very hard on your pocketbook.  And if you are like me you can easily rack up some pretty serious totals in just the Dollar Spot.  But, I just had to share the latest find:

I just love when they stick scrapbooking stuff in those evil little bins!  For $1, I was able to create four cute, but simple cards:

And still have a few little goodies leftover:

So, I figure that is less than 25 cents a card and they came with envelopes!  Hey, when you can create a card for nearly half the price of a stamp, how can you go wrong?

~Jenn
Mama Scapper

Bucket Loads of Fun

I am one of those people that is constantly organizing.  Before you start to hate me, realize that I am absolutely horrible at staying organized.  If I could have just three days to myself (wishful thinking, I know) I'd have the entire house organized right on down to the junk drawer!

But since I only have three minutes to myself at a time, I have started small.

Problem #1:
We have too many toys and they are everywhere (which is quite common in a two story house, right?)

Solution #1:
Buckets!  My daughter and the babies each have their own bucket (cloth bins purchased from Wal-mart) that fits nicely under my side tables in my living room.  That way they can play downstairs without dragging toys everywhere.  The rest of the toys are nicely organized in our game room closet upstairs.  My daughter does have a few babies and their things in her room that she plays with during quiet time.

Problem #2:  (which arose from Solution #1!):
My oldest daughter never plays with the toys in her bucket.  Since she is either too lazy (which being my daughter is quite possible) or too attached to my hip she never goes and gets any of her other toys from her room or the toy closet upstairs.

Solution #2:
Each Sunday we will refill the buckets with new/different toys.  I plan on saving a few things to add into each basket every once in awhile to keep this fun and new.  I think this will help with the boredom of the bucket.  I let my daughter fill her own bucket and encouraged her to put a few books and puzzles in her bucket so we could have them downstairs.  We also put in one of our projects we have been working on (an alphabet book) and her latest Highlights magazine.   She enjoyed this task a great deal and it will allow me to see what she wants to play with and what should just be donated to Goodwill.
Out of this new task came a new idea...a mommy bucket!  I made myself a bucket and put things that I would like to get to during the week.  I tried to fit the laundry in there, but the bucket was too small.   Ha ha! So, I just filled it with little odds and ends that need to be put away (mostly papers) and a few projects that have to be done.  I also included a little notepad of things I need to do this week, but don't have anything to put in the basket yet to represent these things.  I did not put any household chores in there.  I did put some catalogs and magazines that came in the mail.  I figure if I don't get to them this week, then in the trash they go!

Here are our buckets:

After the buckets were filled, I put the children's under the table and then thought about where to put mine.  I don't like counter clutter, but I did want it to be where I would see it often throughout the week.  So, I sat it in my office chair in my scrap room.  That way before I sit down, I have to move that bucket. 

I sure hope this works! For awhile anyway!

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

Bedtime Routine

My husband once told me that the military believes strongly in bedtime routines.  I quickly giggled to myself and imagined a bunch of soldiers wearing their pajamas getting a bedtime story read by their captain.  He explained that when soldiers had to execute all night missions it was very important for them to get their sleep during the day.  If they followed the same routine during the day that they did at night, they were able to fall asleep easily as if it were a normal night of sleep.  I had already instilled a pretty strong bedtime routine here in my house, but that just made me even more of a proponent of a solid bedtime routine.

I have three children and here is a picture of my little cuties:

As you can imagine, bedtime is a little crazy around here.  In fact, I have a love/hate relationship with it.  I love that it is the end of the day and I will get some much needed time to myself, but I hate that it is so much work!  For my eldest, Kiera, she has had the same bedtime routine since she was 6 months old.  Only one thing changed when the twins came along: Special Time!

So a typical night in our house looks like this:

5:30 Dinner for us
6:00 Dinner for Babies
6:30 All kids get a bath.
Babies first, then Kiera.  While she plays, I nurse the babies.
7:00 Babies Bedtime Routine
For now the babies bedtime routine is Food, Bath, Lotion, Nurse, Swaddle, Sleep.  It never changes.
7:15-7:45 Kiera's Special Time
Kiera chooses what she wants to do with Mommy or Daddy for this time.  Some of her choices have included Hide & Go Seek, Board Games, Science Experiments, Playing with Shaving Cream in a Pan, a Puzzle, Playing School, and once we even went and got ice cream in her pajamas!  This has been such a good addition to the bedtime routine because it is the only time Kiera gets all our attention.  Also, we get to see all she is learning on a day to day basis.
7:45-8:00 Kiera's Bedtime Routine
Read 2-3 books, Pray, Hugs & Kisses, Music On, and then we leave.  She prefers her lights on and door open and we oblige because every night she falls asleep and doesn't wake up when we turn off her light and shut her door.
Hugs & Kisses is my favorite part of the routine and probably hers too.  I sing this silly little song with her at a slow, medium and fast rhythm and her Daddy does jumping Hugs & Kisses where he helps her jump on the bed.  We don't do it the same way because we want her to have something special with each parent.  On occasion we both put her to bed and do both sets of Hugs & Kisses. It's a lot of fun.
I am a huge proponent of reading each night to your children.  Some of our favorite books right now are:

At about 6 months, I will add a book to the twins bedtime routine right after nursing.  I want them to be able to put themselves to sleep (not fall asleep nursing) and also enjoy the love of reading.

Sometimes when we come home late at night, we still do the bedtime routine.  Very rarely we will drop the bath or Kiera's special time, but the story, praying, and Hugs & Kisses is always done.

So, I am curious, what is your bedtime routine?  Do you stick with it?  Do you have any suggestions as to how I can incorporate special time with my twins when they are older?

Beach Layouts

As promised, here are my beach layouts.  Some are double layouts and others are just single layouts. I would love to see some of yours.  Just put in your comment that you want to be a contributor and I will be in touch! As mentioned yesterday, I love beach layouts!  I can't wait to do my most recent trip!  Don't forget only 3 more days to enter the Beach Title Contest.  All you have to do is give me a creative title and become a follower of this blog.  Leave your title in your comment.  If I choose yours for my layout, you will win a beach goody! 

~Jenn

Mama Scrapper

Beach Title Contest

Today my family and I are heading out to the beach for a couple of hours. One of the perks of being married to an airline pilot is their schedule. My husband has many weekdays off which make it possible to do things when others are at work. Although I love many things about the beach, my most favorite thing is the pictures. I love scrapping beach pictures. The lighting is beautiful and there are so many pages and embellishments that are just plain beachy.
I would love to see some of your favorite beach layouts. I'll post some of mine in my next post and then when I get this current trip scrapped, I'll be sure and show you those.
Until then, can you help me with some beach titles? If I use yours, I'll send you a beachy goody. All you have to do is submit a title and become a follower. I will announce the winner on Sunday evening. You have until 6 pm CST to play the title contest.

Jenn
Mama Scrapper

Feelings of overwhelmedness

I have been a scrapper for over 11 years, and always hear the same thing from scrapper wannabes (I mean that as a sincere term of endearment):

"I just don't know where to start.   There is so much to choose from.  So many stickers, so much paper, I get completely overwhelmed."

People.... all those stickers and all that paper is a scrapper's dream!  I could seriously spend hours perusing the aisles of a scrapbooking store.  But, I don't want to make you feel bad and turn away from the world's greatest hobby, so let me give you a few pointers to get started!

*Begin with the present
Start with the last trip your family took or the last special set of pictures you took.  Print those out and take them to the store with you.  It is much easier to work backwards in your family trips and milestones.  If you start with your child's birth and he/she is 15 now, you will never feel like you can catch up and you will quickly give up.  So start in the present and work backward.

*Pick Paper
Look at the colors in the pictures and try and pick 2-4 patterned papers that compliment each other and work well with your pictures.  Remember, flowers and stripes compliment each other.  Most scrapbooking stores group complimenting sets together.  Also, stores that are specifically scrapbooking stores usually carry paper brands such as Bo Bunny that have themes.  This makes it very easy to pick coordinating paper and embellishments.   The bottom paper (sometimes referred to as wallpaper) that you will build off of can be patterned or solid.  It's your choice.

*Pick embellishments
This is my favorite part of scrapping.  You can use stickers, buttons, ribbon, gems, inkpads, stamps, markers, gel pens, twine, oh I could go on and on.  If this is your first scrapping experience, let me suggest finding one spool of ribbon that matches your paper and one set of Alphabet letters for your title.  As you grow as a scapper your supply will grow too.  Start small.  Not every layout needs fourteen embellishments.

*Get the basics
Two things.....you need adhesive (tape runners are my favorite), and a paper cutter.  There are a million tools out there, but these are the only two you really need.


Get started!

Put the kids to bed, turn up the music and as my best friend says, put picture to paper!  You can copy a layout from a magazine or a friend or you can create your own.  There are no rules!  One thing I will caution you about is using too many pictures.  1-3 for one page is good.  You don't have to include every picture you snapped at the recital to catch the feeling and create the memory!

If you have any questions, please let me know.  I have helped quite a few people get started with this amazing hobby and I want YOU to get started!

~Jenn
Mama Scrapper

Dinner & a Date

What's better than Dinner and a Date?  A date with your lonely adhesive that is!   So let some else make dinner tonight, so you can scrap!  Let PF Changs do the cooking.  Seriously.  Have you tried this?

If not, you must.  You can find these little treasures in your frozen food aisle.  A little steep at $7.99 a pack, but way cheaper than the restaurant and very worth your time.  I am not a fan of frozen food, but I will be buying this again!  Here it is all cooked up....

Serve over some white rice cooked in chicken broth and your family will think they have died and gone to heaven.  Now go show that adhesive some love!

Next week we will have a challenge.  Who's ready?

Jenn
Mama Scrapper

My 30 minute layout

I'll be honest... As I sat down to start my 30 minute layout I started having my doubts.  I set my timer on my I phone and became nervous.  I started frantically searching through a catalog for an idea and nothing jumped out.  I decided to just start cutting (my method of scrapbooking) and hoping the idea would come together.  I would say that worked:

I really liked this challenge because I didn't have time to doubt and move stuff around, know what I mean?  I just had time to cut, ink, and glue.  I spent the last 7 minutes doodling on the purple paper because it looked so plain.  I love to doodle!!!  For those wondering, here are the products I used:

BoBunny  A Gift of Love

Core'dinations paper

Uniball Signo broad pen in white

Lace (saved form many years ago)

Flowers (a variety pack from Hobby Lobby)

Spare Parts PRinted Brads

Colorbox Petal Point Aurora Ink

At the end of the layout, I looked around at all the scraps:

and then I knew what would come next...CARDS!!!

I can't wait to see what you create in 30 minutes.  Traditional layouts, digital layouts, or cards are welcome.  Come share.  You have three more days.  Email the layout to me by Sunday night!

~Jenn

Mama Scrapper

All you need is 30 minutes!

Dinner, dishes, baths, bedtime stories, hugs and kisses...whew just typing that is making me tired.  Once you have done all that who has time to scrap?  So, tonight we will feature:

Dinner and a Layout

Start your day by choosing one photo or a set of photos that will be grouped together.  Here's mine:

Hang it on your fridge as a motivator.  Go about your day thinking of how you will later be rewarded with some sweet time with your lonely adhesive and paper cutter.  I don't want you to get so tired making dinner that you can't scrap, so here is a recipe that start to finish is only 30 minutes and super delicious:

Quick Eggplant Parmesan

Rated: Submitted By: Jessie Photo By: AntoinettePeeps Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 15 Minutes Servings: 2

"This eggplant goes well with some steamed green beans and French or Italian bread. Although the recipe calls for seasoned bread crumbs, you can use regular bread crumbs if you wish. Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes according to your taste."

Ingredients:

1 egg 1 tablespoon water 1 small eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch thick slices 1 cup dried bread crumbs, seasoned

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.	In a small bowl beat the egg and water together. Place the bread crumbs in shallow dish. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture then in crumbs, being sure to coat thoroughly.
2.	Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add eggplant slices and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown and tender. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over eggplant during last minute of cooking to melt.
3.	While eggplant is cooking, combine spaghetti sauce and pepper flakes in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap and cook at high power for 2 minutes or until heated through.
4.	Top eggplant with sauce and Parmesan cheese and serve.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 7/8/2010

I made it last night and it was a huge hit with my entire family (even my 3 year old).  One thing I did do different is peel stripes down the eggplant so there is not so much peel (I don't care for the peel).  I also tossed my eggplant with 2 eggs, a little salt and the tablespoon of water in a gallon ziploc.  I let the eggplant soak the mixture up for about 5-10 minutes, so they weren't so bitter.  Also, I used Panko bread crumbs. They're the best!

Now get those kids bathed, read to and safely tucked into bed so you can scrap.

Now set the timer for 30 minutes and start scrapping.  Don't worry about the time.  Just get your creative juices flowing.  Take a picture of what you have accomplished at the end of 30 minutes.  Email it to me at momthescrapper@gmail.com by Sunday night.  You may just surprise your self.   If you need a little more time to finish, go for it!  I will post the pictures I get.

I'll be back tomorrow with my 30 minute layout!

Get Scrappin'

Jenn
Mama Scrapper

Not your Mama's Scrapbooking!

As a child I remember my mom and her scrapbooks and the books that she made for my sister and I. They were huge manila paged books that had photos, birthday cards, letters from my grandparents and others who have planted seeds in my life. With everything taped, glued, photo tabbed or just placed gently in between pages. My mom still has them today, under her bed and they are looked at maybe once every year or two.

So when my BFF Melanie C. invited me to a "Scrapbook Convention" in San Diego, about 7 years ago, I really didn't know what to expect. Those three days in San Diego transformed my life! I think I stayed up for most of the three days - taking classes and then going back to our hotel room and applying those skills I had learned through the day. This was nothing like the scrapbooks my mom had and being a new mom - I was so excited about the ways I could preserve my son's life in a fun and exciting way. Who wouldn't love to look at a scrapbook with depth, stories and adorable photos of my son. Melanie had created a monster and she knew it! That first year I had 3 large scrapbooks full of every little thing my son did...His first bath, his first pumpkin patch, hanging out, spitting up, standing, falling, crying, laughing...I was a woman on a mission -to try just about every gadget or scrapbooking paper, element or technique there was out there.

My first digital page

Digital Scrapping allows you to do things you wouldn't be able to do with Traditional.

But then came child number 2! How was I going to give my daughter the same thing, when I had less time, hardly any money and no room to spread out my scrap station! In my past life I had dabbled in Photoshop for a job that I had and remember my co-worker using Photoshop for laying out her scrapbook pages, so I thought this might be my solution. But what was I going to do for papers or elements. I wasn't that great at Photoshop and couldn't create my own, so I googled "Digital Scrapbooking" and boy was I surprised at what I found. There was this huge community of women who created and shared a lot of their work for free. Some used Photoshop, some used Creative Memories Digital Software and others used Elements. There were several ways to scrap digitally. After some research on my own I discovered that scrapping digitally was for me - at least for this part of my life. Yes I miss the paper in my hands and the photos out on a table in front of me, wondering what I am going to do. But with digital scrapping I was able to give my daughter the scrapbooks that I gave my son and was most importantly able to keep my wallet and sanity in check. :)

Here are a few websites to get you started:

Free Digital Papers/Templates/Elements:

Summertime Designs http://summertimedesigns.blogspot.com/
M Originals http://www.moriginalsblog.com/
Totally Templates http://ditterstemplates.blogspot.com/
Craft Crave- Daily Free Downloads http://digifree.craftcrave.com/

Happy Scrapping!
Becca

And we're off.....

Moms that scrap. There's gotta be a few hundred of us, right? If you are a mom and you like to scrap (stampers and cardmakers are welcome, too) please come and join me. I would like this blog to be a place for all moms to come and share scrapbooking ideas, child raising tips, recipes for dinners, recipes for great layouts or cards, etc. We will have contests and challenges and just plain ole giveaways! I would like for us to become an online community that stays together sharing ideas throughout the years. Of course, I will need help posting. In order to post you must give me a valid email address. I will email you and all you have to do is send me one picture of something you have created. After that I will add you as an administrator and you will be able to post. It's that simple. Come on, let's have some fun!