Hi there. Do you ever have a moment and know that you will turn it into a memory to savor? If you are a memory keeper/scrapbooker like I am, then maybe you know what I am talking about. If not, well, I'm about to share with you why I do what I do, and why I keep doing it. In fact, this is the topic of today's article on the Get It Scrapped blog.

My son has special needs.  For the first time in his life, he and I took an unassisted walk together.   It was a spontaneous moment, and one that I am so happy to have captured. (thank you trusty cell phone). There was no wheelchair or walker, just he and I holding hands walking.   It's something other people do everyday, but it was a momentous occasion for us. 

I continue to scrapbook because I like to see the progress my son has made throughout his life. From year to year I can see not only how he has developed, but  also how his interests have changed, or in many cases, stayed the same. I am not an epic storyteller, but a few sentences with photos remind me of where he was, how far he has come, and sometimes my feelings get written in there too. 

Having a child with special needs means extra care and time for him. That also means I need extra time and care for myself. Scrapbooking allows me that time to replenish and rejuvenate myself. It's a huge stress reducer for me.

I took a simple approach to this page. I had seen a LO created by one of my favorite designers. I lifted and adapted it to suit my needs. There is hardly anything on it, but what is there, has meaning and purpose.  The paper and embellishments lend themselves to warm feelings. The photo and words stand out, which is the intention. 

As always, thanks for taking a look at my creative view today.  Come back again soon, I've got lots to share.

Supplies: Patterned paper, die cuts, stickers-Pink Paislee, pen and adhesive-EK Success, design inspired by Lisa Dickinson for Elle's Studio

If You Build It

Good morning. This is round two today. A new sketch is up on the Stuck?! Sketches blog and it'a  great one!

If you play along you have a chance to win some prizes offered by these generous sponsors.

1 piece of chipboard of winners choice

$25 gift certificate

 I'm all about layering right now. It's something I'm trying to master so this sketch really appealed to me. I flipped the sketch because my photo is facing left. I used several papers to create my layers. I omitted the circular elements in favor of some generic embellishments.  No flowers for this page, but the gears played nicely into the building theme. 

School projects can be boring and mundane. It's been neat to see how they've changed since I was in school. I had never heard of the "Toothpick Tower" project. Apparently, it needed to be but to hold 100lbs, which it did. I want tell you how many sticks of hot glue or toothpicks he went through, but it was fun to watch him build it.

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. Stop by again soon, I've always got more to share.

Supplies: PP, Stickers-Simple Stories, Alphas-Authentique, Freckled Fawn, enamel dots-MME, mat-heidi Swapp

My Happy Place

Hi there! I have a page to share for today's Picture This reveal. The challenge elements are:

1 PHOTO + GREEN + FLOWER CLUSTER + BUTTERFLY

I went for a very pink and feminine page, and I had a lot of fun creating it. This photo has been sitting in my pile for a while. These elements seemed to be the right ones to put this page together.  I used several patterned papers to matte the photo. Then I cut the flowers and a few of the leaves on the Silhouette. Using them to frame the photo diagonally, draws focus to them as well as the photo. I liked being able to plant the butterfly right into the flower cluster.

Tulips. I love them. Being able to see them growing and blooming in their natural environment is breathtaking. Cliche? Maybe. But true.  I sat down in the middle of a field and admired their beauty. Beside the beach, I can't imagine anywhere else I can call my happy place. 

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. I always have more to share, so come back again soon. Sadly, this will be the last reveal for Picture This  The blog will close at the end of the month. 

Supplies: PP-Imaginesce, Fancy Pants, CS-Bazzill, Die cuts-Silhouette, Freckled Fawn, Fancy Pants, Twine-Doodlebug Design, enamel dots-Freckled Fawn, ink-Prima, Stamp-Paper Salon, mist-Heidi Swapp

It's a Brown Bear...

Well hello! It's been a while since I've had time to play. I mean play just for me, just for fun. I guess it's that time of year. Anyway, I took some inspiration from a couple of my favorite places, Scrap Our Stash and Paper Issues Sketchy Saturday.

I adapted the sketch to two larger photos instead of the smaller 3. I left the rest pretty much the same. All of the elements chosen make up the DIE CUTS requirements. Die cuts, ink, enable dots, chevron, UmWow Studio (arrows), Triangles, Stars, Simple Stories

My son goes through phases, only we call it the toy of the moment. We never know what it's going to be or how long it's going to last. Let's just day the Brown Bear phase lasted so long, I could recite the book by heart.  It still makes frequent appearances.

I'm so glad you stopped by my creative view today. Come back again soon, I have a lot going on this week.

Supplies: CS-Pulp Paper, PP, die cuts, stickers, stars-Fancy Pants, alphas-Simple Stories, Bella Blvd, Fancy Pants, enamel dots-Basic Grey, Freckled Fawn, wood chips-Umm Wow Studios, mist-Tattered Angels

Walkabout

Well, a fine Tuesday morning to you. I know we all wish we could scrap faster. Today's Get It Scrapped article, gives some tips on speeding up scrapbooking with Product Shortcuts. 

I find using product from the same collection really helps speed up my scrapbooking process. All of the colors, patterns and embellishments have been designed to work together. With that part of the decision making process done for me, I just select the pieces that best support my story and my page comes together quickly. For this page I used a summer collection. The colors and motif were exactly what I was looking for to help tell my story.

My story is this: After a reluctant start to a walk by the beach, my son took off on his own. I followed him as he explored. 

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. I hope you've enjoyed my product shortcut. Head over to Get It Scrapped blog to learn more product shortcuts from other team members.

Supplies: Patterned Paper, die cuts, chipboard, enamel dots and sticky brads-Simple Stories, Alpha-October Afternoon, pen and Adhesive-EK Success, page design inspired by Scrapbook Coach 14: Product play, layout 1.

Picture This Blog Hop

Welcome to the Lets Get Sketchy/Picture This “My One Word” Blog Hop. You should have come from Jesse‘s blog. If you have landed here by accident and want to play along then you can head back to the Let's Get Sketchy site to start at the beginning and to start collecting your challenge words. All of the directions are there, which will help you make sense of how this works. These words should be bold on each Design Team member’s blog.

The word I chose for my project is "SILLY" I have these photos of my children with my sister, their favorite Aunt. She loves to bring them fun gifts. These hats were a huge hit and had us all in fits of giggles for days.  I chose a simple design with bright animal print paper. The page is happy and light, perfect for the photos.

I'm the last stop on the Blog Hop today, so from here, head back to the Let's Get Sketchy bIog 

and follow the directions there.  Don’t forget, each team member has a word hidden someone on their page that forms a great quote so make sure you grab all the words for your chance at an extra prize! 

My word(s) is ART IS.

Remember to play along in our hop challenge to win the wonderful prize from our sponsor, Creative Embellishments! If you get lost along the way, head on back over to Let’s Get Sketchy for the line up! 

Here is the first half of the lineup in case you get lost!

Day 1 Line up:

Let’s Get Sketchy-http://letsgetsketchy.blogspot.com/

Buffy-http://cherishedmementos.blogspot.com/

Marci-http://ascrapfrommarci.blogspot.com/

Lynn G.-http://memoriesonthepage.blogspot.com.au/

Melissa-http://yesterday2day4ever.blogspot.co.nz/

Nidhi-http://sayitwithcraft.blogspot.sg/

Brenda-http://brendalcaldow.blogspot.com.au/

Carolyn-http://ramblingsofawinnipegmommy.blogspot.ca/

Sue-http://patriciasue.blogspot.co.nz./

Laetitia-http://triniti59760.blogspot.fr/

Elisa-http://2crazycrafters.blogspot.com.au/

Sarah-http://scrappinmylittleroyals.blogspot.com/

Cassie-http://allsmilesandsunshine.blogspot.com/

Jesse-http://princesseaby.canalblog.com/

Devra-http://mycreativeview.blogspot.com (YOU ARE HERE)

You fill find the 2nd half of the list tomorrow by starting once again at Let’s Get Sketchy !

Supplies: CS-Paper Accent, P, stickers-Belle Blvd, enamel dots-MME, alpha-Thickers

Love, Love, Love

Good morning. Poof! It's December! Wow! Where did the year go? No, I'm not going to get reflective right now. I'm here to share today's reveal at Stuck?! Sketches. Here is the first sketch of the month. 

Here is what I did with it. I stayed pretty true to the sketch this time. I like the clean lines, and this design worked well with the photos and papers I chose. I  did use larger photos, so I adjusted the paper sizes a little to fit them better.

My son is so funny. Whenever we go visit family he always chooses someone randomly who becomes his "person of choice" for the day. He gets as close to them as he can, and yes that can include sitting on laps. Well, one day it was his Aunt, another day his Grammy. He certainly knows how to get attention! 

I hope to see you playing along with us this month at Stuck?! Sketches. We have some wonderful sponsors offering great prizes. 

A $20 GC 

A $25 GC

Thanks for stopping by my creative view today. I've always got lots to share,m so come back again soon.

Supplies: CS- Bazzill, PP, washi enamel dots & stickers-Doodlebug Design, wood piece & acrylic-Freckled Fawn, mist-Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp

My First Tree

Hey there! Welcome to December and out first challenge for the month at Picture This.   Here are the challenge details:

3 PHOTOS +FRAME + CHRISTMAS COLORS + CHRISTMAS TREE

Ok then. This was hard for me. Mostly because I didn't grow up celebrating Christmas. So, Christmas Tree photos are not in abundance in my photo library. I actually had permission for this assignment to use any tree, but while I was digging through photos, I found these gems.  This was our first Christmas together, my first time picking out a tree, and first time decorating it. I really did laugh when told I had to water the tree. What? I said? It's already dead!

Since the photos were the hard part, the rest was easy after that. I grabbed a few red and green paper scraps and the ONE Christmas themed sticker sheet I had. (It's a good thing I saved it from that warehouse box I got last year). So I went all out on the Christmasy colors and theme for this page. It was fun because it's not my norm. I really like that the kraft paper gives it an even more traditional feel. The cork frames play into that as well.

Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today. I've go more to share, so stop by again soon.

Supplies: CS-Bazzill, PP & Stickers-Basic Grey, Wood pieces-Studio Calico, mist- Heidi Swapp, frames-Freckled Fawn, Alphas-Basic Grey, October Afternoon