June 16th - Scapping photos of a family reunion

Scrapping photos of family reunions can be quite hard. There are so many pictures but most are probably not strong enough to be the focus of an entire layout. 
After the Christening ceremony in June, we all gathered at a local restaurant. The best part of it was that it has it's own BIG playground. The kids were happy and the adults could have a nice conversation. Combined with great weather, wonderful food and beer it was a fabulous afternoon. 

By using this design, I managed to get 12 photos on one page. I broke up the border by using little 2x2 paper squares with decorative elements. The center photo is my DD showing off her "princess dress" she was allowed to wear for the special day.

I also tried to spread out the close up photos and made sure that the people looked in the right direction when placing the photo. 

 Just a quick photo from this morning of DS. He discovered that an empty box and a spoon stolen from the breakfast table make great toys!

Now we are off to celebrate my niece's 11th birthday! I am so glad that I have a good relationship with my siblings and their families. It makes life so much more enjoyable. 

Have a great weekend
All the best, 
Elisabeth

Cow Kisses

DH and I both grew up in the country. Our families grew fruit and vegetables in the garden, every evening one of us kids went to the nearby farmer to get some fresh milk. 

Our kids, however, are growing up in a big city. To compensate this, we go to Upper Austria, where I grew up, every summer. We teach them where the food comes from and to respect nature. 

One visit was to a farm where my ancestors lived a few hundred years ago. One of the cows got very curious and Sarah ended up with a cow kiss. It was so funny!

 I based this layout on the fabulous sketch from THE SAMPLER.  

Here are some close ups:

I made the title using the scrabble paper from Kaisercraft, just distressed it a bit to make it match. 

 

I used a lot of journaling so I hid it behind the photo. 

 

The farmer's wife had the most beautiful flower garden. I tried to recreate this with the cute Prima flowers Romance Novel. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!
All the best, 
Elisabeth

Notes - Swirlydoos Sketch Challenge

After two layouts with my big girl, it was time again for one with my little boy. Got to keep it equal! This is my entry to the Swirlydoos September Sketch challenge.

Journaling reads: The teeth are really bothering Michi. 4 are coming at the same time. He is biting everything and drooling like a St Bernard. 

The swirl is colored with copic markers.

Prima trinkets and cut outs as masculine embellishments

A small corner ornament to balance out the big swirl to the bottom left.

On Sunday, we went to a kite festival. DD had lots of fun! 

Thanks for stopping by!
All the best, 
Elisabeth

Guitar Lesson

DS is finally down for a nap. So I want to quickly share my latest layout. I am so thankful, I can still stay home with my baby. When DD was that age, I was long back at work. What a difference it is. I have 103 days left of maternity leave and I will enjoy it as much as possible. I love my work, it is very rewarding, challenging and interesting (I am a music/drama/French teacher at a really nice school) but it is also very exhausting and at the moment, I need all my energy for my incredibly active 8month old and my quite challenging 1st grader! 

 

Here is the sketch from Let's Capture These Sketches 

The journaling reads: We have tried all summer to get Sarah interested in an "orchestra-compatible" instrument. In vain. Either the guitar or the drum set. So she started her lessons with TT. The first three weeks, practicing went really well, I hope this will remain this way. 

I used the AMAZING September kit from Swirlydoos. All Prima Romance Novel and other beauties. So pretty!

Here are some close ups. 

I am getting much better at adding more journaling. I have realized that this is really what will matter to my kids one day.

The title and the ornate plate from Tim Holtz.

And the butterfly! I used a bare wooden butterfly from Kaisercraft, added some picket fence distress ink, liquid pearls and dusted it with the glitter from the June Kit. 

Next layout will be again about my boy. My little girl keeps track of how many pictures I scrap of her and him.... so funny. 

To keep the balance on this post as well, here is a short video from this morning. 

Thanks for stopping by!
All the best, 
Elisabeth

Self Portrait

Sometimes it can be hard to convince a 6 year old to go for a walk. I bribed her by letting her use my camera. In 40 minutes she took over 300 photos. One of it is this one -  a self portrait. 

The challenge over at  Frosted Designs is to use triangles. Wow, that was hard! I have never used triangles in my layouts. 

 I played around with the title.

The cute gate is from the online shop of my scrapper friend Conny HERE . It was originally white and I colored it with copic markers and stickles. 

All other items are from the Swirlydoos Kit club. 

And one photo of my sweet little boy who decided he needed to taste the bubble bath right when I take a picture.....

Thanks for stopping by!
All the best, 
Elisabeth

Oh Boy, we are so in trouble

Oh yes, we are. Our sweet little boy should be called Speedy Gonzales. He is so fast and everywhere. The other day, he sneaked into the music room and was so proud of himself! Being a scrapper, I FIRST took pictures, then removed him from the situation......

Here is a close up of the title. It was fun playing around with those tiny letters, I had those for quite some time from a previous Swirlydoos kit. 

I based the sketch on Sketchabilities Nr 75
The flower, with pin and the journaling

The rights side with the embellishments

 Here are the three small photos of him playing. I just LOVE his little chubby legs. 

Here the entire layout with the journaling pulled out.

Thanks for stopping by!
All the best, 
Elisabeth

Beautiful perfect day

Watching little kids growing up is so much fun. DS is intrigued by different textures. My DH plays the hat game with him: they stand in front of the mirror and try on all kinds of different hats: sun hats, bike hats, straw hats, wool hats.... The expression on his little face is just adorable. One day, he just could not get enough of it, so we took many hats and put them on the living room floor. He was in heaven. He played for about 20 minutes, a bit later even DD joined in. 

I based this layout on the inspiring sketch from ARTFUL DELIGHT.

I really liked the design of it! 

Just have a look at the Prima Romance Novel collection. Simply to die for! I love it that Krissy from Swirlydoos always has brand new papers and amazing embellishments in her kits.

I used the washi tape to decorate the envelope. 

I hid the journaling in the little envelope 

Otherwise, my life is not boring! DD has also started taking swimming lessons. Taking her to school, to guitar lesson, to swimming lesson, helping her with her English homework, guitar practicing and teaching her German every night sure keeps me busy. I have no clue how this will work when I have to go back work in January....... 

And our little one? Well, he is a dangerous one. Just 8 months old and he thinks he can walk. He had his first fall and he can reach everything - the knobs on the stove, DD's books (they are now moved up 2 more shelves) and even the harpsichords...... Despite all the baby proofing we have done, I am constantly chasing him. 

Thanks for stopping by!
All the best, 
Elisabeth

Cuties

Get Creative is hosting another sketch challenge. I loved this one. 

And here is the sketch

I hid the journaling behind the photo, securing it with a tiny magnet

I combined a whole bunch of Swirlydoos kits in this one. Little bits and pieces from different kits. Ever since I finally managed to organize my scrapbooking stuff, I can actually find the items I need. Took a long time!

Yesterday, I really wanted to go for a walk and DD was just not inclined to do so. I bribed her by allowing her to play around with my camera. She took 336 photos (thanks for digital!!!!) and some of them turned out really sweet. 

She was a very bossy photographer: "Mami, sit like a princess"

"Michi, look here"

A self portrait

some close ups

 and of course Belvedere

I think this is not bad for a 6 year old. 

Thanks for stopping by!
All the best, 
Elisabeth