Gutters – Scrap Booking

Here in Michigan, if one does not clean one’s gutters, not only will all the water get trapped, you will have interesting things grow in them and wick up under your shingles if you are not careful. Why is my mind on gutters (better than being in them I suppose)….because there, in the gutters, stagnant water gets putrid, slimy and stinky. I know first hand that cleaning gutters is a gross job and, I am grateful for my husband and the fact that he does all the “fun” chores around the house. Okay, back on topic. As I watched my husband cleaning this afternoon, I thought about what a great analogy it was.

I have noticed that Scrapbookers, like cardmakers and even altered artists, get set in their ways and daresay, comfortable with certain color schemes, lay-outs, and styles. A weird thing occurs….their work starts looking the same over and over again and they end up in a rut- stagnant and rotting just like the stuff stuck there in the gutters. Their creative muse hasn’t been forced to move outside that comfort zone and has withered on the vine as they say. Scrapbooking isn’t about taking the easy route or even being comfortable, it is about telling the story, examining the facts in an honest way, stretching your creativity and discovering your voice in the process. After discussing this with a friend of mine this afternoon, she sent me a link to a wonderful new blog called Gutter Girlz. I thought, how appropriate considering today’s thoughts. Their very first prompt is all about being a woman and using nylons…..the first thing that came to my mind was pictures of Women during WWII painting their legs and having friends make sure the painted on seam was just right (My Grandma was one of those gals and it is her story that I thought of)- rations and tough times did not make those folks stagnant, it spurred them to be creative and use what was on hand…. I encourage you to do the same. Incidentally, here is a fascinating article about nylons (and where I got the picture below from) to help you get that muse of yours going!

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Nathalie incorporated paper weaving with pink and polka dot pattern papers on her pretty Family layout. There’s also lots of clusters of pumpkins and Fall leaves, sweet sentiments with more layers of patterns behind. Take a closer look at the Simple Stories blog.

Thanksgiving will soon be here in the states and that means gathering together with family and friends and enjoying good food and great company. Even if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving this is still a wonderful time to spend doing Autumn activities, cooking, baking and eating together, heading out and enjoying the cooler weather with family members. To capture all those wonderful memories today we’ll look at some inspiring scrapbook layouts that celebrate how grateful we are for our families.

Below each photo you’ll find a link, click it for more details like products used, process videos and tips.

Inessa used pretty chipboard flowers and die cut leaves backed with pattern papers to surround her sweet family photo. There’s also more dimension from puffy stickers, a tag tied with twine and gems. Notice how the photo and title are offset, it adds extra interest. Learn more at the Paige Taylor Evans blog.

Becki added color, pattern and texture to her Thanksgiving layout by stitching down strips of pattern paper for her background. She also added the title on a vertical along the edge and included some room for journaling and a few scatterings of embellishments. Take a closer look at the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog.

This beautiful layout from Noreen has a wreath of leaves punched from pattern and vellum papers around the family photo. There’s also a list of things she’s thankful for, wooden title and a Fall word pattern background. Find more details on the Creative Memories blog.

Kirei created a wonderful, colorful background with distress edged strips of pattern papers. Across the center horizontally she created a border made of Autumn elements in colors that match each strip for a bold design for a family dinner. Learn more at the Bella Blvd. blog.

This beautiful botanical page from Rona has plaid and botanical pattern papers with torn brick paper that was created with stenciling and gold paste for the background. There’s also loads of flowers and leaves with several cute dimensional buttons. Find a link to her process video on the Pretty Little Studio blog.

This groovy family page has a retro feel with funky die cut flowers with button centers, woodgrain and floral pattern papers in teal, brown and orange. There’s also touching family themed sentiments with the photo tilted for some extra interest. I spotted this idea on the sweet scrapbook girl Instagram page.

This darling Father and Son layout has die cut and dry embossed leaves, die cut circles and zig-zag background. The photos have frames with tabs along with hand written journaling and die cut title. Find step by step directions on the Cardstock Warehouse blog.

This yummy baking themed layout uses digital scrapbooking with fun pattern papers along with large clusters of flowers, leaves and baking elements. Going digital gives the look of dimension without all the bulk. I came across this page by Evelyn on the PickleBerryPop gallery.

This beautiful design from Sue has amazing texture and dimension from a paper doily, gauze, burlap heart and other fun details like typed journaling and rubber stamping. There’s also touches of gold with paint splatter and foiled titled. Take a closer look at the Cocoa Vanilla blog.

I’m in love with the pink and orange color combo on this fabulous Fall family layout from Stephanie! She added a diamond of plaid paper over her graphic background paper along with a large cluster of pumpkins and several sentiments scattered around. I came across her idea on the Fancy Pants Designs Instagram page.

This tall Traveler’s Notebook style double page spread by Ronnie has lots of room for journaling with flower edged lined paper and 5 stacked photo with floral clusters on the other side. These designs can be used digitally or printed for traditional style scrapbooking. Learn more at Traci Reed Designs.

I hope this Autumn you’ll be able to get together with your family and enjoy have some quality time and make some lastly memories!

-Heather

Looking for paper crafting supplies? Check out Craft Stash

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