Real Life Scraps

Taking a little break…

2010-01-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

The Real Life Girls are currently on a creative/maternity leave. Please feel free to browse our archives for ideas and inspiration while we are away.

You can always find us on our personal sites here and here.

Thanks so much!

And Our Winner is…

2009-07-01T08:09:00.004-05:00

Submitted by: Julie

Congratulations Julie!!

How often does Random.org pick the number 1!! Well it did this morning…

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2009-07-01 12:51:02 UTC

Julie, please email us – Brianna or Jamie – with your address and we will mail out your goodies.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a layout for the Boy oh Boy challenge. We loved looking at all your creations, we know others were inspired too.

Don’t forget to check back on Friday and see what your challenge is for July!

Only a few more days!!

2009-06-27T13:32:00.001-05:00

That’s all you have to get in your submissions for the Boy oh Boy challenge this month! I don’t know about you, but June has flown by for us! Summer is in full swing and we are busy, busy, busy! We hope that you will have some time to sit down this weekend and scrapbook a boy layout. Then be sure to leave a comment with a link to your work. Remember you have until midnight on Tuesday, June 30th!

Here is a little peek at the prize in store for this month!

A few things that should help you create some more fun boy layouts!

Need some inspiration? Head on over to the gallery to see the boy pages your fellow scrappers have submitted!

Warning: Enabler Alert!

2009-06-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

Since our challenge this month is all about the boys, we wanted to share a few fun scrapbooking products that are out right now. I don’t know about you, but for these Real Life Girls it is a lot easier for us to buy girly products than it is the more masculine stuff - especially since we both had baby girls last year and we can finally justify putting pink on our pages now. But don’t worry, there are plenty of cute items out there that will make you want to spend your entire scrapbooking budget on the guys in your life. So without further ado, here are a few of the favorites that caught our eye…

Warning: There is a lot of pleasant eye candy coming up!!

Paper Posies - June Kit

Bo Bunny - U Bug Me!
This is a popular one. There have been several of these papers show up in our gallery this month.

Bo Bunny - Grease Monkey

Creative Memories – Make Believe and Construction Zone
The best part about these kits is that they are available as paper or digital.

Here is a little inspiration for you with a layout that Jamie made from this digi kit…

Ok, now back to drooling over all these fun products…

Scrap Within Reach - Industrial Park and Elliot

Making Memories – Just Chillin Boy and We R Memory Keeper – MVP

Little Yellow Bicycle – Boy Baby Safari

Don’t forget that with each paper collection there are a lot of cute embellishments that coordinate with each line. Be sure to stop by your local scrapbook store and pick up some of these cute new collections and get working on our Boy oh Boy! challenge this month. We cannot wait to see all your fun layouts!

Oh and if don’t have a good LSS close by, here are a few of our favorite places to shop online…

Happy Weekend!

Challenge #5 – Boy oh Boy!

2009-06-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it is the 1st Friday of the month and you know what that means… Time for a New Challenge! This month it is all about the boys – whether it be your sweetheart, dad, grandpa, or perhaps even your favorite furry guy. We want to see your layouts and scrappy projects showcasing all those boys in your life.

Take a peek at a few of the “all boy” layouts that we created for this month’s challenge…

Brianna

Jamie

Just a few details about the challenge: Feel free to submit any type of scrappy project or layout (paper, digital, or hybrid) of any size. It is all a personal preference and we want you to feel the most creative with what you are used too. You have until the last day of the month – June 30th- to submit your projects/layouts for this month’s challenge. Be sure to leave us a comment on this post with a link to your work. If you do not have a blog or online photo gallery, you can take a picture and email it to us – Brianna or Jamie – by the deadline. We will be posting all of your projects over in our gallery so please be sure to keep checking back in to see each other’s work. Feel free to submit more than once this month. If you get inspired and want to create layouts for all the boys in your life, then by all means keep those projects coming. We will announce the winner on July 1st and of course there will be some fun scrappy prize involved!

And the Winner is…

2009-06-01T18:19:00.001-05:00

Submitted by: Telah

Congratulations Telah!!

Thanks to everyone who submitted layouts for the Oh Baby challenge. We really loved looking at all those cute baby pages.

Be sure to check back on Friday to find out what your challenge is for June.

Need Some Inspiration?

2009-05-29T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, it’s Brianna again! Do you know you only have 2 more days to get your baby pages in? I have loved looking at all the baby layouts in the gallery and it has caused me to look back through Tyler’s first year album. I love to sit down and share these pages with him now that he is older. Here are a few of my favorites!

I hope I have been able to spark an idea for you to complete a baby layout for the challenge this month! Remember you have till midnight on May 31st!

Real Life Weekend Project- The First Few Days

2009-05-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, Brianna here! Since we are talking babies this month I wanted to share an 8x8 mini album I made for my son, Tyler, about his first days with us. I think that this is be a project that you may be able to create in a weekend (or maybe this long Memorial weekend).

In order to make this album go more smoothly, make sure to have all your pictures printed and papers picked out before you start. I decided to go with the pictures we had from Tyler in the hospital. I had so many pictures since he was our first baby, the first grandchild on both sides, and we have a photographer in the family! I pared it down to just my favorites and ended up with 32 pictures. Then I stayed with a green/brown color scheme. I ended up using about 6 different patterned papers and 3 different colors of cardstock. Most of the papers I used came from My Mind’s Eye and We R Memory Keepers and I don’t think they are available anymore. I kept embellishments simple and printed out my journaling so it would be easier to read.

The first few pages I highlighted Mike and I becoming new parents.

Then for the next couple pages I showed pictures of the Grandparents that were there when we had Tyler.

And the new Aunts.

This next page is one of my favorites! I put in the picture of our doctor, and then added letter to Tyler with the story of his birth. It is one of those things that I want to remember, and I think the kids will enjoy reading one day.

Then I added another page of visitors he had in the hospital.

And a couple pictures from just before we left to take him home and his hospital bracelet.

I really love this book and look at it all the time. I hope it will be something that Tyler will treasure in the future. I am planning on making one for my daughter, Kalen, soon!

I hope you have enjoyed this project. If you decide to make your own, please leave a comment below or email us – Brianna or Jamie – to show us your album. Or if there is another way you have showcased the photos from your child’s first days, we would love to see it.

Just a Reminder

2009-05-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Are you loving the Oh Baby challenge this month? I don’t know about you, but seeing all your layouts over in the gallery has inspired me to print baby pictures and pull out the pastel papers!

Remember you have until Sunday, May 30th to submit your layouts. And if you get on a roll with those baby pages feel free to submit them all for the contest!

I know you all want to see what the winner will get this month, so here’s a peak!

Lots of fun goodies to keep you scrapping baby pages!

Have a great weekend and be sure to check in with us next Friday for another Real Life Weekend Project!

For Mom…

2009-05-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone! This is Jamie and in honor of Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I wanted to share a really simple album that I have created to showcase Mother’s Day each year.

Ever since becoming a mom, we have tried to snap a photo right before we head out the door to church each year. Please keep in mind that “tried” is the key word here. :) As I look back on the photos taken with my babies each year, I can definitely say that these are not the best photos of us together but just the fact that they are taken on Mother’s Day morning each year make them so special to me.

Here’s a peek at my Mother’s Day album…

Cover Page

And then I simply make a page (or two) each year to showcase a photo from Mother’s Day morning.

I wonder what this year’s picture will hold with 3 little ones walking around? Wish me luck!!

And here is a little peek at the actual album…

This is a small 7x7 album from Creative Memories. I got it back in 2005 when I was expecting my 1st child. He was born the day after Mother’s Day so I had to wait a whole year to use it.

As you can see, this is a very simple and easy mini album project. I encourage you all to dig through your stash of Mother’s Day photos with your babies or perhaps even dig out some old ones of you and your mom for a gift idea for next year.

Wishing all you moms out there a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend,

We have a winner!

2009-05-04T05:00:00.000-05:00

Wow! You Guys Rock! Thanks for all the great support of our new online community over the weekend. We are thrilled that so many of you signed up and please know that we have some fun stuff coming up so stay tuned.

Here is the winner of our National Scrapbooking Day drawing…

I celebrated National Scrapbook Day at the scrapbooking store in Gatlinburg.
It was huge and amazing! I thought about you guys.

Congratulations Desiree!

It sounds like you had a wonderful NSD weekend. We will get your new scrapping goodies to you ASAP!

See you all on Friday!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

2009-05-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

We hope you are having a great day celebrating this wonderful hobby. We had lunch together this afternoon followed by a quick trip to our local scrapbook store. It was fun shopping together and we did find a few pieces of patterned paper that we just had to have. You all know how that goes, right?

Brianna and Jamie ~ NSD 2009.

Ready for a funny today?

Ok, so remember that cute “brand new” baby layout that Jamie made for our challenge this month? Well I guess having 3 babies in less than 3 years has finally caught up with her because she put a photo of the wrong baby on there. Here is the layout again with the correct baby on it.

Now does that give you all a good scrappy laugh today and show you just how “real” the 2 of us are?

Now for the real reason you all showed up today. Are you ready for the big news we talked about yesterday? Click here to find out!

Be sure to check back Monday morning to see who wins these fun goodies!

Happy Weekend!

May Day! May Day!

2009-05-01T05:01:00.000-05:00

Happy May Everyone! Today is the 1st Friday of the month and we have a lot to talk about today so we are just going to jump right in…

First off, we want to say thank you to everyone who submitted a layout for our Goin’ Green challenge last month. You all sent in some great stuff and we loved taking a peek at all that “green” scrappy goodness in April. It was too hard to pick a winner so we are thankful to let the random number thingy do all the hard work for us. So without further ado, our winner for last month is….

Submitted by: Jenn

Congratulations Jenn!
Please email us – Brianna or Jamie – with your address and we will mail out your goodies.

Did you realize that tomorrow – Saturday, May 2nd – is National Scrapbooking Day? Yep, it is a day where we get to celebrate this great hobby and passion for telling our own stories. There are lots of fun things going on online this weekend and I am sure at your local scrapbook store too.

We have a little fun news of our own so please be sure to hop back over here tomorrow to find out what we have up our sleeve?

Today also brings our new monthly challenge. All those details are in the post right below this one so be sure to check that out too. We hope that you will find this month’s topic inspiring.

Whew, that should be it for now. Don’t forget to put some flowers on someone’s porch today for May Day. It will not only brighten their day but we can guarantee you will have an extra spring in your step too.

See you tomorrow for NSD!

Challenge #4 – Oh Baby!

2009-05-01T05:00:00.002-05:00

Well it is a new month and that means time for a new Real Life Scraps challenge. You all know that Mother’s Day is coming up and what is one thing that is pretty common with being a mom? You got it – BABIES. You all either have one, want one, or you were one at some point so that is the theme of our challenge to you this month. We want you to create a scrappy project or layout based on your “favorite” baby. It can be your fur baby, grand baby, or perhaps even your sweetie as a baby. We do not even care if they don’t belong to you but we definitely want you to share some of that baby love with us this month.

Here is a look at some of the baby layouts that we created for the challenge…

Brianna

I am so excited for this month!! It has already challenged me to get some baby pictures printed and scrapped of my little girl - Kalen!!

Jamie

This month is going to be so much fun. Not only am I inspired to get some of those baby layouts done but I am having so much fun going back through all the photos of my 3 little ones.

Just a few details about the challenge: Feel free to submit any type of scrappy project or layout (paper, digital, or hybrid) of any size. It is all a personal preference and we want you to feel the most creative with what you are used too. You have until the last day of the month – May 31st - to submit your work. Be sure to leave us a comment on this post with a link to your work. If you do not have a blog or online photo gallery, you can take a picture and email it to us – Brianna or Jamie – by the deadline. We will be posting all of your projects over in our gallery so please be sure to keep checking back in to see each other’s work. Oh and yes, we would love for you to submit more than once this month. If you get inspired and want to create layouts for all the sweet babies in your life, then by all means keep those projects coming. We will pick a winner on June 1st and of course there will be some fun scrappy prize involved!

Thanks for continuing to visit our site and participate in our challenges each month. We are having so much fun and we appreciate you all.

Earth Day Inspiration

2009-04-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! As you all know this week we had Earth Day. This has inspired our Goin’ Green challenge for this month and it also inspired us to do some other earth friendly layouts.

Jamie

With all the recent talk about our earth and environment, it has inspired me to make a couple of layouts about our switch last year to cloth diapers.

Brianna

I was inspired to use some earth friendly products and packaging that came with felt shapes. I would have normally just thrown this away when I opened the product, but I thought I may be able to copy the design.

I traced and then cut out the design on my layout below. I also “went green” by using patterned paper from Jillibean Soup, which is all made from 100% recycled stock.

We originally had this idea to use some non-scrapbooking related supplies on our layouts. We wanted to show you all that you do not have to have “fancy scrapping supplies” in order to create layouts. Then we saw this great post over on The Scrap Review that shows lots of inspiration from Ali Edwards using junk mail. You all know that there is no way to compete with Ali’s genius-ness (is that even a word?) so we just decided to link you all over there to check out this post to take a look some of the other neat stuff that the Scrap Review staff created.

In honor of Earth Week, we also wanted to share a few links of other scrapbooking companies that make an effort to keep our earth clean and friendly so here goes…

Jillibean Soup- Kraft Collection
Die Cuts With A View- Green Line
K & Company- Lotus Collection & Remake Collection
Piggy Tales
Tinkering Ink – Becoming Green Line

What are some ways that you are trying to stay “Green” with your scrapbooking?
Leave us a comment below and share some of your earth friendly products and ideas with us!

Oh and do not forget to enter the Goin’ Green challenge this month, you have until Thursday (April 30th) to get your submissions in!!

The Word Is Out!

2009-04-17T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! We hope you are having a great week. Thanks so much to everyone who helped us “get the word out” with our recent contest. We truly appreciate all the kind words (and blinkies) that you all posted and sent out. With all that said the time has come to announce the winner of our contest so here goes…

Karen

Thanks so much! You won by posting a blinke on your blog.
Please email us – Brianna or Jamie – with your address and we will mail out your goodies.

We also want to remind everyone about our Goin’ Green challenge this month. Have you checked out the gallery lately? We have lots of new scrappers sending in those fun “green” layouts. Remember you all have until Thursday, April 30th to submit your entry. Oh and are you wondering what the winner will receive this month?

Why a kit full of GREEN goodies of course!

See you next Friday!

Real Life Tip – Getting the most out of your paper

2009-04-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

Since we are “Goin’ Green” this month, we want to share some quick tips on how you can make your patterned paper go further and save some money while your at it!

Happy Friday Everyone! This is Brianna. I have been inspired by all the cute designs out there and have started cutting out the shapes or borders to make my own embellishments. A piece of patterned paper is a lot cheaper than a pack of embellishments.

Take a look at this patterned paper from SEI.

When I saw this great paper line, I knew I was going to cut out all those beautiful flowers! I used them as embellishments in a vacation book I recently made. Other that that I did not need much else on my pages and I used more of the paper out of the pack than I would have if I bought different embellishments.
Here are a couple of the layouts.

When cutting out flowers for this next page I only used half of the patterned paper, I plan on using the other half on a different layout! Just one more way to make that piece of paper go further and save some money!

I want to show you one more layout where I cut out some borders and a flower.

I have been using my Coluzzle on a self healing mat to do the cutting. It has a blade that swivels and is so easy to use. If I need to get a little more intricate, I use my Cutter Bee scissors. So next time you see a cute piece of patterned paper - think embellishments and try to make your paper go further!

Don’t forget to join in our Goin’ Green challenge this month.

Oh and did you know that it is Garden Week?
Look at this cute layout that Jamie made for a little extra inspiration this week.

Challenge #3 – Goin’ Green

2009-04-03T05:00:00.000-05:00

It is the first Friday in April and that means it’s time for a new challenge here on Real Life Scraps! This month we were inspired by Earth Day on April 22nd. We are all looking for ways we can preserve the earth and become more “green.” Whether it is switching to high efficiency appliances, planting a garden, or recycling more. Well, we want to challenge you to “Go Green” with your scrapbooking too! All you need to do is make green the main color in your project this month.

Here is a look what we came up with…

Brianna

Jamie

Just a few details about the challenge: Feel free to submit any type of layout (paper, digital, or hybrid) or any size. It is all a personal preference and we want you to feel the most creative with what you are used too. You have until the last day of the month – April 30th - to submit your work. Just leave us a comment on this post with a link to your work. If you do not have a blog or online photo gallery, feel free to take a picture and email it to us – Brianna or Jamie – by the deadline. We will be posting all of your projects over in our gallery each month. Oh and yes, feel free to submit more than once this month. If you get inspired and want to keep creating with green, then by all means keep those projects coming. We will pick a winner on May 1st and of course there will be some fun scrappy prize involved!

We are looking forward to seeing all of your green projects! Keep checking back each Friday for more inspiration and a look at the prize! Also, don’t forget to help us get the word out about Real Life Scraps!

Get The Word Out…

2009-04-01T05:00:00.006-05:00

Real Life Scraps has been up for a couple months now, and we want you to help us get the word out about our site! So we are going to have a little contest – starting today and ending on the 15th of this month. There are several ways you can enter to win. Here is what we want you to do:

1.Put our Real Life Scraps blinkie on the sidebar of your blog – or blogs for some of you. :)

Here is the code you will need to put us on your blog...

2. Create a blog post about the Real Life Scraps website – talk about our new challenge this month (revealed on Friday) or just talk about how much you love us. :)

3. Post a message about Real Life Scraps on one of your favorite scrappy message boards (where allowed).

4. Send out a mass email to all your scrappin’ buddies telling them all about the Real Life Scraps website.
(Make sure you forward a copy to one of us - Brianna or Jamie.)

Which ever option you choose, please make sure you leave a link to our site – www.RealLife-Scraps.com.

When you do any of these, just leave us a comment below (or email us) with a link to where you posted it and you will be entered into a drawing for a scrappy prize!! You will get one entry for each thing you do. So say you have a blog and you type up a blog post, put our blinkie over on your side bar, and send an email out to your friends. That would be 3 entries. How about someone that visits 2 message boards. You got it 2 entries. You can enter as many times as you would like. Sound good?

So you want to see the prize??

Remember, we will leave this contest open until midnight April 15th – Tax Day!

We are having a great time over here and we are so thankful that so many of you keep coming back for our challenges, tips, and ideas. Thanks for helping us get the word out about our little site. We appreciate all of you!

And the winner is…

2009-04-01T05:00:00.002-05:00

Submitted by: Desiree

Congratulations Desiree!!

Thanks to everyone who used up their stashes this month and played along. We had so much fun watching your projects roll in.

Be sure to come back Friday for April’s challenge.

Real Life Weekend Project – Get Rid of that Stack!

2009-03-27T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone! This is Jamie. Since we are working on spring cleaning and using up our stash of supplies this month, I wanted to motivate and encourage you all to get rid of those stacks of unfinished layouts and projects that are lying around your scrap space. You know we all have them – layouts that we started at crops but said “I’ll do the journaling on that one when I get home” or perhaps like me you start a layout in your craft space but need to look up the date on your computer but just never get around to it. I took a little time one afternoon to “tackle” this one stack on my desk that just always seems to lurk around. I had really forgotten what all was hiding under there and after a short bit of time I was rather astonished at what all I was able to complete – 8 layouts and 1 home project.

Here is a “real life” example of what I am talking about…

This is the side view of my work area in my Scrap Closet or perhaps a better name for this side area would be “the black hole”. That is where miscellaneous photos and undone layouts end lying around for weeks or months.

This 1st thing I tackled was some layouts that I didn’t quite complete over at Brianna’s house a few months – gasp - ago when we cropped together. All I really needed on this one was to write out my thoughts, look up the date on the computer, make the cute tag you see on the 2nd layout and it was done.

Next up is another 2 page spread with the same needs – journaling + looking up the photo date.

This next one required a bit more work. I had the general sketch laid out but nothing on the right page was adhered down. So after I got done with the adhesive, I simply added my journaling and some rub ons for captions.

All this next one needed was a little journaling in the rub on box – are you sensing a theme here?

Whew! After digging through all those layouts in my stack, the next thing I came across was an 8x10 photo of my little girl. Ok, no more procrastinating on this one and I got right to work.

This is a home decor project in our nursery. See how that 3rd layout is of my tummy?

Well, I finally took down that pregnancy picture and hung my precious #3 baby up on the wall.

Then I simply took that 12x12 photo of my tummy and made it into a cute full page layout for Emma Lee’s baby album. Remember the key here for your weekend project is no more procrastinating.

Well that’s about it! See how simple all that was and that stack on my desk is looking much better now. I am so proud to put those 8 layouts in our albums + the nursery is looking better already with an updated photo on the wall.

So that’s your Real Life Scrappy Project for this weekend – to find a stack of unfinished layouts or photos that you have stashed away or perhaps even update some frames that you have around your home, spend a couple hours this weekend, and knock all those pesky little projects that you have been putting off.

As always be sure to share your progress on your blog/online gallery or email us – Brianna or Jamie – we would love to see what all you get done this weekend!

Are You Using That Stash?

2009-03-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!

This is just a reminder to start spring cleaning and use up that stash of scrap goodies that you have had lying around for a while. You have until the last day of this month (Tuesday, March 31st) to submit your work.

No idea what I am talking about? Click here for all the details for this month’s challenge.

Here is a sneak peek at some fun organizational goodies that the winner will receive this month.

These are great for organizing your tools and that cute tag punch is perfect for making labels for your containers.

Have a great weekend and be sure to check back next Friday for a fun Real Life Weekend Project.

Real Life Tip - Organization

2009-03-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

So while you are doing a little spring cleaning with your scrapbook supplies this month, we thought you may get the bug to do some organizing too. There are a lot of good organizational tips out there on the web but we wanted to share just a few of our favorite ones with you today.

Brianna

This is how I organize my ribbon. I use clothes pins that I bought from Hobby Lobby and wrap the ribbon around them and secure it with a paper clip. Then I have them sorted by color in jars I keep above my desk. That way they are out so I can see all the pretty colors and I use them more. Jennifer McGuire organizes her ribbon this way too.

Sitting at the edge of my desk I have what I call my journal basket. I have put all my journal spots and date stamps in this basket so when I’m ready to journal on my layout I just dig through here to find the perfect spot and then I’m not looking through all my other supplies. Aby Garvey has a journal basket too!

Jamie

One of my favorite organization “methods” is the jump ring/baggie system. When you enter my Scrap Closet, you will notice a simple white shower curtain rod above my work area. I have ribbon on 1 end for gift wrapping and the other end are jump rings where I store some of my most used embellishments.

As you can tell, I love Heidi Swapp.She is one of my favorite designers and I especially love how her packaging fits perfectly on my jump ring system. For my other flowers and embellishments, I simply use clear baggies and a hole punch.

Another one of my favorite organization “tools” are these Desktop Organizers from Making Memories. I have several of these that I use for different categories. The ones that you see above are used for my journaling box (just like what Brianna mentioned above), the middle one is full of my larger Heidi stuff (I told you I liked her.), and the last one is full of all things related to baby. These are really sturdy organizers and they hold a lot of paper and embellishments.

This is a glimpse inside my “seasonal” organizer. I usually have 2 of these going at all times. Currently one is filled with my Easter/Spring supplies and my 2nd one is filled with Valentine’s Day goodies.
Guess I need to clean that one out and get it ready for something else, right?

Here are a a few other organizational tips and links we thought you might enjoy:

And just in case you did not have scrap envy already, be sure to check out Connie’s Scrappin’ Shed for some more fun organization ideas.

What are some of your favorite organizing tips? Share them in the comments section or leave us a link!

Challenge #2 – Use Your Stash

2009-03-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday! March is here and that means it is time for our next monthly challenge here on Real Life Scraps. This month we want you to do a little “spring cleaning” in your scrapbook supplies so you can make room for all those new Winter CHA releases that are hitting the stores now.

Here’s a look at our projects this month where we used up our stash…

Brianna

For this layout, Brianna used some patterned papers that she has had since her move from Michigan (that was also 2 years ago). She also used a word transparency from 2006 that “was one of those products that I loved so much that I did not want to touch”. Don’t we all do that?

And here are some fun cards that she created using using stickers that she would probably never use on a layout.

It is so fun to see how many cards she made from just 1 sticker sheet.

Jamie

For my 2 layout below, I dug into my Christmas “stash” to use up some supplies and stamps that I have had forever.

This particular layout is not about Christmas at all but it was nice to use those products in a non-traditional way.

This is a great example of using stuff that is not really my style now but I hate to waste them. I found this picture of Caleb Davis during his 1st Christmas in my stash of photos that I take out of frames and do not know what to do with. Oh, you do that too? So I just grabbed a pack of Jolee’s Dimensional Stickers that I “had to have” years ago and paired it with some letter stickers that I have had for a while. Like I said this is not exactly my style or taste now but paired with an “older” picture, I think it fits my layouts from that time period perfectly.

And just a few detail shots…

Just a few details about the challenge: Feel free to submit any type of layout (paper, digital, or hybrid) or any size. It is all a personal preference and we want you to feel the most creative with what you are used too. You have until the last day of the month (March 31st) to submit your work. Just leave us a comment on this post with a link to your work. If you do not have a blog or online photo gallery, feel free to take a picture and email it to us – Brianna or Jamie – by the deadline. We will be posting all of your work over in our gallery each month. Oh and yes, feel free to submit more than once this month. If you get on a roll with using up your stash, then by all means keep those projects coming. We will pick a winner on April 1st and of course there will be some fun scrappy prize involved!

We are looking forward to seeing what you have in your stash!

And the winner is…

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Shannon!!

Congratulations! You were randomly picked from all the “simple” entries this month! We will be sure to get your goodies to you ASAP.

Thank you all for joining us for our very first challenge! We had so much fun seeing all the layouts as they were coming in and we were inspired by all your work. Be sure to check back in on Friday to see what your challenge is for March!

A Simple Reminder

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You have one more day to get your “Simple” layouts in! You can leave us a comment on the Simple Challenge post, or send an email to Brianna or Jamie. Remember you have until midnight (central time) tomorrow - February 28th! So get out your photos and patterned paper and get scrappin! We have already received many layouts, and we love seeing your work!

Have you checked out the gallery lately? Be sure to hop over there and check it out. And while your there leave some praise for your fellow scrappers!

We will see you on March 1st when we announce the lucky winner!

Who will win?

2009-02-20T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday! We hope you have had a great week. Thanks to everyone who has played along so far this month for our 1st challenge. It has been a lot of fun watching all of your submissions roll in this month. Don’t forget that you have until the last day of the month – February 28th – to submit your entry.

Here is a little taste of what this month’s winner can expect…

Have a great weekend and we will be back next Friday!!

Be My Valentine

2009-02-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

Love is in the air and Valentine’s Day is approaching fast. Before you run out to the store to buy your loved one a card, why don’t you consider hand making one this year. Take a look at the cards that Jamie and I made. These cards didn’t take any time at all to make and it will probably take you less time than it will to go out and purchase one(and it will cost less too if you use Jamie’s tip and use your scraps).

Jamie

Here are the cards that I made for my 3 little valentines this year.

Brianna

Here are the cards I made for my husband and kids this Valentine’s Day.

So get out your trimmer and adhesive and get started on those cards. A handmade card will go a long way and will show your Valentine just how much you care!

Real Life Weekend Project- Flip Flap Book

2009-02-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone! This is Jamie and I wanted to post a “real life” project that you all can make – possibly over the weekend – and it will not take up too much of your precious scrappy time. This flip flap book is a simple and very cute 6x6 mini album project that you can start and finish in very little time. I made several of these (and taught classes) using a Christmas theme over the holidays. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, this project would also make a perfect gift for that special someone.

Here is a list of the supplies you will need:

Here’s a sample of the cardstock and photos that I used.

2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock – in my example it is the red.
1 sheet of 12x12 cardstock in a contrasting color – again, in my example this is the black.
A couple sheets of patterned paper and some coordinating embellishments to go along with your theme.

Now let’s get started…

The 1st step is to get started with the cutting. Take 1 sheet of your cardstock and cut to 6x12 inches. Take the remainder of the cardstock (in my case the red) and cut to 5 ¾x12. You should have 3 of these when you are done. Then take your contrasting color (again in my example the black) and cut 4 squares measuring 5½x5½.

This is what you should have cut with your 3 pieces of 12x12 cardstock. The red cardstock on the left is the 6x12 piece, which will end up being your cover.

Next step is scoring…

Take the 3 pieces that you cut to 5¾x12 and score 3 inches from each end – on both sides.

Next take your bigger cover piece and score at 2¾ inches and 3 inches from each end – on both sides.

Now comes the assembly…

1st section is the interior pages.

Attach the 3 pieces together using adhesive at the 3x5¾ section as shown above.
You will only need adhesive on 2 ends.

Now you get to assemble the cover.

Take the 4 square pieces and adhere to outside flaps of your cover.
The key here is to adhere on the outside of your scoring lines.

Next up you will adhere your cover (large square) to your middle interior pages. Attach the back of the middle interior page (middle square) to the middle (square) portion of your cover.
** Sorry! I forgot to take a picture of this step. **

The base of your album is now complete and the next step is having fun and using all your fun supplies.

Now let’s take a look at some actual albums…

Jamie

I decided to make my project into a mini album/card for my hubby Josh for Valentine’s Day. We usually do not get each other anything big for V-Day so I thought this was the perfect solution for his gift/card. I used a lot of coordinating products from the Making Memories Love Story collection that I had in my stash from last year. I also used these too cute and FREE coupons from Shabby Chic Crafts.

Here is the cover…

And a look at a few of the inside pages…

And don’t forget to embellish the back cover!

You really do get a lot of bang for your buck with this album. You will soon realize that there are so many little flips and flaps to decorate and you only used 3 sheets of 12x12 cardstock. It will amaze you. I promise!! I did not even show you all of my pages inside this book – yes there are that many!!

The key is to go ahead and pick out your stash of embellishments – a certain collection or kit – before you get started. This will save you lots of time in the decorating process. The rest will come together so quickly and you will have a blast putting your album together. I think it took me about 2 hours start to finish (including printing photos) to make this one.

Brianna

Brianna made a flip book to document her love story with her husband and she put some recent photos of their family in it. She used the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin’ kit, from Stampin’ Up! I just love the pink and browns that she used + their love story is going to be something that their babies treasure in the years to come.

So that’s it! We hope you have enjoyed this fun project. If you decide to tackle your own Flip Flap Book, please leave a comment below or email us – Brianna or Jamie – to show us your album. We would love to see it.

Challenge #1 – Something Simple

2009-02-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome back to Real Life Scraps! February is here and we – The Real Life Girls – are super excited that today kicks off our **first ever** monthly challenge. Like I said, we are very excited and hope that you will join us this month and play along. So here goes…

In honor of Simple Scrapbooks we wanted to make our 1st challenge a “simple” one. So this month we want you to use the word simple on a layout. Be creative and remember you can use any variation of the word.

Here’s a peek at our layouts for this challenge and a little funny to go along with it.

Brianna

Jamie

Notice anything about those titles? We just shared our final layouts with each other the other day and then realized that we had used the same title “Simply The Best” from the Tina Turner song. We laughed so hard and decided that we were still going to put them up here to share with you. As you can see, both of our layouts have completely different meanings but as it turns out, we have both been singing Tina for the past few weeks. Great minds think alike, right?

Just a few details about the challenge: Feel free to submit any type of layout (paper, digital, or hybrid) or any size. It is all a personal preference and we want you to feel the most creative with what you are used too. You have until the last day of the month (February 28th) to submit your work. Just leave us a comment on this post with a link to your work. If you do not have a blog or online photo gallery, feel free to take a picture and email it to us – Brianna or Jamie – by the deadline. We will be posting all of your work over in our gallery each month. Oh and yes, feel free to submit more than once this month. If you get on a roll with those “simple” layouts, keep them coming. We will pick a winner on March 1st and of course there will be some fun scrappy prize involved!

We are looking forward to seeing all your “Simple” layouts this month. Stay tuned for more inspiration and a peek at your prize in the weeks ahead.

Happy Scrapping!

Real Life Tip – Use Your Scraps

2009-01-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday Everyone! This is Jamie and I am back this week with another “real life” and might I add very simple tip this week.

It’s really quite easy. Every time that you work on a layout, mini album, etc…, take a few minutes when you are done to make a quick card or two.

Just think about it… You already have out your coordinating cardstock, pattern papers, and embellishments. Some of those are probably slips of paper from cuts that you made on the layout. All you have to do is take a few extra minutes before you put everything away and whip up a simple card. You will be using up your scraps and those extra embellishments and the best part is that you will have extra homemade cards on hand when you need them.

Here’s an example of what I am talking about:

This is a layout that I made for my baby girl’s album.

While I already had out my supplies, I took a few extra minutes to whip up these simple cards.

Here’s a look at everything together…

Do you recognize a lot of the cardstock and paper from the layout?

I used the rest of my 12x12 brown cardstock and scraps from the pink cardstock and polka dot paper. If you do not recognize that orange floral design, that is because it is the backside of the polka dot patterned paper. After that, all I did was add a few pearls (that I already had out) along with a few other embellishments that I had laying around and decided not to use on Emma Lee’s layout from above. The only extra thing that I got out was the little “thank you” die cut stamp on the 1st card. I told you this was easy, right?

Want another good reason to keep a few scraps around? Brianna is always really good about keeping her scraps in a basket and just look at the surprise that her hubby – Mike - made for her this past week. He got into her scraps and she found this when she woke up.

Oh and before I go, here are a few “detail” shots, I always love looking at the details on scrap projects so I thought you might enjoy them too.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Be sure to check back on Sunday, February 1st for our 1st Real Life monthly challenge, ok?

Real Life Tip – Got Photos?

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These next couple weeks we want to share some “simple” tips with you that we hope you will be able to incorporate into your scrapbooking. Then be on the lookout for our first challenge starting February 1st!

What do you do when you have an event with a lot of pictures? Do you make layouts for them all, or just pick your favorite pictures and scrapbook those? I recently found out about divided page protectors.

I have had these pictures of Tyler’s first birthday that I had not scrapbooked yet. Part of the reason that I didn’t was because I did not know what I was going to do with all these pictures, and I couldn’t leave any out (it was his first birthday). I had considered making a mini book with them, but I really wanted to include them in his First Year album. When I saw these page protectors I thought it would be a perfect way to keep it simple and get all those photos in without making 6 different layouts!

I did take a few of my favorite pictures and made 2 layouts to go beside the protectors and then I used coordinating papers to embellish a little bit.

And this is how it looks in Tyler’s album.

These are the page protectors that I used, Pebbles Inc. Share & Tell. I found them at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off.

And here are some others that I have seen online:

We R Memory Keepers

I Remember When

Creative Memories

Ali Edwards also has some great tips on how to use these divided page protectors too! Check that out here.

If you have used these before leave a comment with a link, I’d love to see your pages!

See you next Friday with another Real Life Tip!

Welcome

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Welcome to “Real Life Scraps”. We (Brianna and Jamie) are so excited about our new site and we are super excited that you have dropped by. We (The Real Life Girls) are just like you – real women who love to scrapbook - and we are excited to share our passion and ideas for this hobby with you. We created this site based on the recent news that Simple Scrapbooks magazine announced this past week. The 2 of us were both so upset to see our favorite publication and team of editors/designers come to an end. Although we are looking forward to watching the new changes and additions in Creating Keepsakes unfold, we both know deep down that this industry is just not going to be the same without those “Simple Gals”.

So that is why we created this site… Because we both believe in the ideas and message that originally started it all and we want to see those same ideas keep going. We are definitely not trying to compete or take away from what Simple Scrapbooks is all about. We are just 2 friends who are trying to keep the message alive. We really want this to be a fun place where you can be inspired, meet new scrappy friends, and maybe win some neat stuff too. So please be sure to check back next week for our 1st challenge. Oh and tell your friends about us so they can come back to play along too. Deal?

In the meantime, here is a little bit of information about us…

Brianna

Hi! I'm Brianna and I have been married to my wonderful husband, Mike, for 7 years now. I am very fortunate to be able to stay at home with our 2 children, Tyler (3) and Kalen (8 months).

I got into scrapbooking just after I got married, and I was introduced to it by my mother. I started the way I think a lot of us scrapbookers do, scrapbooking our wedding and our dogs. When we had children I got a little more serious about this hobby, or maybe I should say obsessed. Now I am committed to preserving these everyday moments for our family to look back on.

You can find me online at www.mikebritaylor.blogspot.com.

Brianna’s Family.

Jamie

Hi, My name is Jamie and I am married to Josh – the best guy in the world. We have 3 sweet babies – Caleb Davis (3), Nathan James (2), and Emma Lee (11 months). I am totally in love with our little family and we have been blessed beyond measure.

I was introduced to scrapbooking a little over 10 years ago when I was in college. I immediately fell in love with this hobby and now I simply cannot get enough of it. My favorite part is capturing the everyday details of our lives. When I am not busy with my full time job (wife/mom), I enjoy scrapping every minute that I can and designing scrap kits each month. I am really looking forward to the fun things to come here on Real Life Scraps and I hope you will join us for our 1st challenge in the weeks ahead.

Find me online: Family Website – www.JoshJamie.com and Scrap Blog – www.JamieScraps.com.

Jamie’s Family.

So that’s the scoop on us and now we want to “meet” you. Please leave a comment below and say “hi”.