1st Year Layouts: October

I kept the layout for this month very simple. I did not even journal. I used stickers on the first page that say "Hay Ride" and stickers that say "Halloween" and "all dressed up" on the second page.

the october paper has greens, red, and oranges, so I accented the page with the green. I thought it was a nice contrast to the normal orange and black that a lot of people use on October pages. The only cricut cartridge used for this page was Storybook. I used it for the brackets around "11 Months Old."

1st Year Layouts: September

I found some great Halloween paper that had this plaid on the back for September. I used some coordinating Halloween paper for the trim around the September paper. I used Cursive 101 cartridge for "10 Months Old" and Walk In My Garden for the flowers. I stamped some orange flowers in the plaid to keep the flowers going.

I know, I know, I used flowers. I think they work and they are not girly. My oldest said he liked this layout. So, I guess they work without making my youngest son's pages too girly. For the corner flowers, I used the cuts from the cricut and placed them on circles that I edged with the same orange ink that I used to stamp the flowers in the plaid background. 

1st Year Layouts: August

For August, I used fall colors that matched the August paper.I had some great orange trim for the page, but had to make my own for the polka dot paper. I used ink and glitter to make the trim. I used the cricut Print 101 cartridge for the title.

1st Year Layouts: July

Here is the first page of my son's July layout. I used the month paper and decided to stay away from too much 4th of July themed embellishments. Instead, I used beige and burgundy with some blue dotted paper. I love my son in this picture and thought the color scheme worked well with his shirt.

The other side of the layout focused on a visitor we had in the month of July. My son happened to be wearing the same shirt when she came to visit, so it worked out well for the layout.  I used the cricut to cut the age of my son and the stars. I always journal by hand. I like the personal touch it gives my pages. 

Hot Chocolate Layout

I finally got to finish a page. YEAH! I did accomplish something during my break.

For this page, I found a plaid in my stash that matched my son's shirt, so I thought it would look nice.  Then, I decided to use the burgundy as an extra color. The beige matched perfect for the page color.  I used the cricut to cut the mug, "Mmmm," and the two snowflakes.

PLanning Layouts

So, now I have figured out what pages I want to work on next. Now, I am going to check out some paper and embellishments for them and set those aside. This way when I do get time to work on pages, I will have all the material ready to go. Then while the family is watching Spongebob, I will layout the pages with my sketches.

You would be surprised how much time it saves when you layout your pages before you begin scrapping. I use some sites to help with this process. scrapbooks etc. is a good place to get ideas and so is scrapbook.com.

Organizing Pictures

I never realized just how disorganized my pictures were until I tried to organize them. First, I put them in envelopes by what occasion. Then, I sort what pictures I want to use on my pages and which ones I want to put into regular photo albums. Then, I write down what pictures I have in a notebook. The order depends on what pages I want to work on first. Then, I write the sizes and whether they are vertical or horizontal. Later, (hours, days, weeks, or sometimes months later), I sit down with some layout sketches from magazines, friends, online sources, etc. and draw up how I am going to layout the pages using the pictures. Sometimes I choose the papers and embellishments then the layouts and sometimes I choose the layouts and then the papers and embellishments.
By doing this, I save myself a lot of headaches while scrapping. Usually I stick to the layout I have chosen, but sometimes I will change certain aspects of it. However, the stress of figuring out what to do is non-existent when I follow this format.
Hope this helps when you can't figure out what to do with your pictures and how to make the most of your scrapbooking time.

1st Year Layouts: June

I found this paper and left this layout til almost last. I wanted to do something creative and cute with the monkey edge. So, this is what I came up with.

Then, I wanted to create some journaling with out losing the design, so I put the journaling on strips and used foam stickers to attach it to my page. I think it turned out nicely.

1st Year Layouts: April

This is the month my baby sat up on his own. He did it in Pam & Roger's front yard while we were all out enjoying the spring sunshine. It was a glorious day.

1st Year Layouts: March

For March, I used only a small part of the March paper. Instead, I opted to use more patterned paper than I normally do. I decided the flower stickers matched well and would not take away from my little boy and his stuffed Tramp.

On the right page side, I added another flower sticker and some journaling. I also made sure that March was readable in both pages.

1st Year Layouts: February

Here I wanted to stay away from the traditional Valentine's paper. I found some burgundy weave paper and added hearts, but not too many.

1st Year Layouts: December

I found this beautiful snowflake paper in my stash. I used foam stickers to make the snowflakes stand up.

1st Year Layouts: At the Hospital

Here is the beginning of my son's 1st book. I decided doing all his wonderful pictures would be too much, so I did one double page spread for each month.

I found some great paper that had the name of the month in different colors throughout the page. I matched these pages and that is how I created the color combinations. 



This is his hospital stay. Just a few hours old.

Pictures of Layouts

Okay, so I don't have a $500 camera and our scanner is 8 1/2 x 14. Thus, I am having the most difficult time getting pictures of my layouts for this blog. It is a pain. I have tried several different lighting modes, used the close-up, and set the camera on a solid surface. Nothing seems to work.

My husband is coming to my rescue, something he can do wonderfully. So hopefully soon, I will be posting my layouts.

Til then, check out my other blog for Christmas morning fun at JoJo's Blog.

Boys Layouts

I will be posting my son's first year album on here tomorrow. Come back and check it out.