Photo Cubes

I have had these photo cubes from Making Memories for quite some time. FINALLY decided I needed to do something with them. And the perfect events came up. First, my cousin is getting married. She just got engaged. So I made her this little photo cube with pictures of her and her fiance.
Since I wanted to be able to use more than just 4 photos, I used folded paper to create two additional places for photos on each side. I am really happy with how it came out. I just love the paper (which I have also had for some time now)....Cosmo Cricket Everafter Collection.

This next cube I made for my husband. It is his birthday on the 1st. He already has it at work with him. It was rather difficult finding four pictures of my boys to use for this. They are all so uncooperative! The paper is from 3 Bugs in a Rug...Snips and Snails. To finish it off I adhered metal tabs to each photo. The words on them worked out perfectly with the photos.

Thanks for looking...

Simple Stories

When I first heard about this...I thought, nope, not me. I don't digital scrapbook and I don't like just slapping photos in a album. I like...need to scrap them. But then I took a closer look...hmm...

So I have decided to do the following. Each of my children will have a baby book. Joey's thankfully is done. Jake and Josh's books are a work in progress. Then I have a book where I have scrapped those photos that came out so well that they literally spoke to me and said, "scrap me!!!".

Continuing at this rate...I will never get all the pictures from other events and such scrapped.

Then came Simple Stories by MemoryWorks. I love this idea. The idea of getting a WHOLE year documented. The first kit in the Simple Stories series is aptly called Life Documented. To quote, this series "allows you to create, capture, document and share a years worth of memories like never before. Life Documented encompasses classic basics with bold, beautifully designed elements featuring a refreshing, inspiring color palette of deep reds, browns, taupes, with vibrant greens, oranges and blues, mingled with milky creams and white. With shabby-chic, aged-office, vintage-distress appeal, this functional - yet oh-so-stylish - kit is the perfect solution for sharing your life's most important moments in a simple, yet meaningful way. It's not just a kit. It's YOUR story....simplified.

Really??? Because I could use some simplification.

I just placed the order today. I am itching, itching to get it. I can not wait to get started. The kit comes with everything. You just add photos. But there is also space and opportunity to scrap...it is just not as involved as a single layout.

I took a look at the album that guest designer Brenda Hurd did over at http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple-stories/. I am inspired to do this...and excited to have an entire album to show someone at the end of the year. An album filled with my family's highlighted moments. And I love that I can put 10-12 photos per month in this album depending on the configuraton of the page protector I use. All of which get housed in a Leather 12X12 3 ring album by WeR Memory Keepers. The albums that I am already using!! These have become my absolute favorite albums.

With this system I will be able to finally accomplish that which I thought was impossible...a completed album for the entire year and an album for those really special photos that deserve to be showcased.

I will be sure to share the pages I do for January...

btw...Don't forget...there is still time to leave a comment on my blog candy post for a chance to win!!!

Beth Crocker's amazing work

Beth Crocker is having her first contest on her blog The Way I See It. She is an amazing artist. Please go check out her site. To enter her contest all you have to do is this:

Rules: Become a follower of her my blog (if you are not already) & post there that you are.(One comment per person about becoming a follower.)

For multiple entries: Promote her blog on other sources & return there to comment that you posted elsewhere & tell where. Post comments on her other blog posts about those blogs. Each time you do any of these you get another entry, but you must come back to the original post to tell her what & where you did these things.

You can win:
A print of your choice & size on your choice paper. Details to be worked out with the winner.

You will want to enter this!! Especially after you see her work on her blog and here:
http://www.elizabethcrocker.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethcrocker/

Good Luck...but I hope I win!!!