Welcome to my blog! If you're following the hop, you should have come from Pam
(If not don't worry the last one links back to the first one in a big circle so even if you start here you can still see us all).
I am Katrina, also known as kskreations on Flickr which is short for my little crafty business Katrina's Kreations. I am a mostly SAHM of one, my DS Ryan, who was just reading this & thought I nicknamed him after his Nintendo ;). I feel like I've been scrapping my whole life. I did some scrappy things with magazine pictures & cutouts of certain hearthrobs when I was a young teenager (can you remember NKOTB?). In 1994 I did a whole album from a vacation I took-in an old "magnetic" album with only photos and ephemera I collected on the trip (I haven't talked myself into taking it apart, but maybe I'll just scan the pages so when it falls apart, I'll have the scans). I started doing what we think of as scrapbooking when I did an album for my parents 30th Anniversary in 2001. I was totally hooked despite my first major scrap related injury (it involved a craft knife & let's just say my thumbprint is very identifiable to this day), but didn't do much more until after Ryan was born in 2002. I've never stopped since!
If you've never tried LOAD I highly recommend it! (Just click the blinkie on the top left or go to http://www.layoutaday.com/212pp ) My first LOAD was October of 2010. I was so inspired that I joined ScrapHappy before it was over & I haven't missed one since. In fact last year I did the MotherLOAD marathon in September & then an informal ScrapHappy LOAD in October (That's 56 layouts total).
LOAD is so inspiring Lain has worked so hard to give us a great prompt each day...and then she doesn't even mind if you ignore it, as long you post a layout each day. Many of my very favorite layouts were made during a LOAD. They are not always the most beautiful or complex, but the tell important stories. Here are some examples:
Layouts about my childhood & my Mom are fun to make (& share) and meaningful too.
Both of the above layouts are about my husband. since my son was an infant when he died in April of 2003, it is my job to enrich his memory. The only way he will know his father is through those who remember him. It's not something I scrap about constantly but I do at least one every LOAD-it's like Therapy for me.
Layouts that preserve my observations and my son's memories will be even more appreciated as he grows. And maybe his future children will enjoy learning about their Dad as a child.
Here is the wrapup page from last February:
Here is an excerpt from a previous blog post about LOAD (pictures were added for your enjoyment this time):
My Scraproom is my favorite place in my house, except that it usually looks like a paper truck exploded, so I am going to work on cleaning it up & organizing before LOAD starts too. (Jan 2012-I always say that & I always work to get it somewhat organized, but by the end of LOAD-an even bigger paper truck is dumped in there-along with plenty of glitter & mostly/partly used sticker (mostly alphabets) sheets. The really embarrassing thing is i have 3 good sized trash containers in there & I use them... So where does all this stuff come from?)
The white 12" file drawers have some old page kits (remember ScrapJammies?) and any "themed" papers that wouldn't be used for anything other than that theme (I mean if you want to use paper with "Orthodontist" and pictures of teeth all over it to showcase your niece's wedding...that's up to you. Really I mean it, if anyone wants the orthodontist paper let me know...I'll be happy to mail it within the US). So now I'm thinking Why do I have some of this stuff? Maybe I'll use it someday? Maybe there really was a rogue Craft Store truck in here...Hmmm.
If you are standing in the middle of the room & turn around you see the above left picture (BTW these are "photomerges from Adobe Photoshop Elements cool right). The counter is my work area. I love having all my prettiest & most used supplies within easy reach. & I think it's pretty too. (I mean except for the mess of course). I recently took out the little kid's table & phone stand & put a big 5x6" table there with a big person chair. So If someone else wants to scrap with me, I actually have room for that! Yay! (Now whether or not the table is full of stuff so there's no room to work... I'm working on that...really!)
So I know that was crazy long but i hope you enjoyed it and as a reward for bearing with all my ramblings...I'm going to share some of my wonderfulstuff stash! Leave me a comment & I'll randomly pick someone to share with...It's great stuff really, I promise I won't share anything I wouldn't use myself!
If you are interested in some of the places where I get ideas for my LOs (besides from ScrapHappy) check out this earlier blog post: journaling & inspiration made easy.
Your next stop is: Cate.
Now just in case anyone gets lost along the way here is the whole lineup:
Enjoy the rest of the hop and enjoy LOAD. I look forward to seeing all your wonderful pages. As well as hearing all the wonderful comments. You are all so encouraging I just love it. Thank you so much! While I'm at it, Thank you Margie for organizing the hop. And of course, THANK YOU Lain for the inspiring prompts & for putting us all together in this wonderful community!!!
(If not don't worry the last one links back to the first one in a big circle so even if you start here you can still see us all).
I am Katrina, also known as kskreations on Flickr which is short for my little crafty business Katrina's Kreations. I am a mostly SAHM of one, my DS Ryan, who was just reading this & thought I nicknamed him after his Nintendo ;). I feel like I've been scrapping my whole life. I did some scrappy things with magazine pictures & cutouts of certain hearthrobs when I was a young teenager (can you remember NKOTB?). In 1994 I did a whole album from a vacation I took-in an old "magnetic" album with only photos and ephemera I collected on the trip (I haven't talked myself into taking it apart, but maybe I'll just scan the pages so when it falls apart, I'll have the scans). I started doing what we think of as scrapbooking when I did an album for my parents 30th Anniversary in 2001. I was totally hooked despite my first major scrap related injury (it involved a craft knife & let's just say my thumbprint is very identifiable to this day), but didn't do much more until after Ryan was born in 2002. I've never stopped since!
If you've never tried LOAD I highly recommend it! (Just click the blinkie on the top left or go to http://www.layoutaday.com/212pp ) My first LOAD was October of 2010. I was so inspired that I joined ScrapHappy before it was over & I haven't missed one since. In fact last year I did the MotherLOAD marathon in September & then an informal ScrapHappy LOAD in October (That's 56 layouts total).
LOAD is so inspiring Lain has worked so hard to give us a great prompt each day...and then she doesn't even mind if you ignore it, as long you post a layout each day. Many of my very favorite layouts were made during a LOAD. They are not always the most beautiful or complex, but the tell important stories. Here are some examples:
Layouts about my childhood & my Mom are fun to make (& share) and meaningful too.
Both of the above layouts are about my husband. since my son was an infant when he died in April of 2003, it is my job to enrich his memory. The only way he will know his father is through those who remember him. It's not something I scrap about constantly but I do at least one every LOAD-it's like Therapy for me.
Here is the wrapup page from last February:
 |
| Layouts like this one are like a pat on the back as well as motivation to do it again. |
Here is an excerpt from a previous blog post about LOAD (pictures were added for your enjoyment this time):
Now I don't usually do a whole lot of prep. I have a gazillion photos in boxes in my studio or in my PSE Organizer (Or both sometimes) so I often just let the prompt inspire which page I do that day, but I wouldn't be able to do that if my photos weren't organized. I haven't taken LOM, (but I do have the book Photo Freedom) so most of my photos are still stored chronologically.
I have a big 12x12 album that all my LOAD LO's go in, then eventually I will move them to the individual albums they belong in. I have several that are as follows: Ryan's Baby Album (separate from the baby book but you knew that already right), Then 2 more Ryan Albums (one is full), which have pages from various ages. An Album about my husband & my memories of him. I have an all about me album which has a surprisingly large number of pages. I have a travel album, a disney album, and a misc for those pages that don't fit anywhere else, & a couple albums with no particular theme from when I first started scrapbooking.
My Scraproom is my favorite place in my house, except that it usually looks like a paper truck exploded, so I am going to work on cleaning it up & organizing before LOAD starts too. (Jan 2012-I always say that & I always work to get it somewhat organized, but by the end of LOAD-an even bigger paper truck is dumped in there-along with plenty of glitter & mostly/partly used sticker (mostly alphabets) sheets. The really embarrassing thing is i have 3 good sized trash containers in there & I use them... So where does all this stuff come from?) My supplies are mostly sorted by color. I do have a whole bunch of binders with themed embellies, stickers etc. ( The top row of binders is about 1/2 clear stamps) \I always make it my goal to use my stash & not buy anything new for LOAD. It doesn't always happen, but I certainly have enough in my stash to keep me busy for a couple of years...even if LOAD was every month.
(Back to 2012:)
| I can hear you asking...(OK maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway LOL) Yes that is a clear shoe holder full of rubber stamps (actually it's 2) on the back of the door (I have another on the other side, but it's not nearly as full) & beside it is my huge rack of paper, from floor to ceiling- solids on one side & patterns on the other. |
 | ||||
| . |
If you are standing in the middle of the room & turn around you see the above left picture (BTW these are "photomerges from Adobe Photoshop Elements cool right). The counter is my work area. I love having all my prettiest & most used supplies within easy reach. & I think it's pretty too. (I mean except for the mess of course). I recently took out the little kid's table & phone stand & put a big 5x6" table there with a big person chair. So If someone else wants to scrap with me, I actually have room for that! Yay! (Now whether or not the table is full of stuff so there's no room to work... I'm working on that...really!)
So I know that was crazy long but i hope you enjoyed it and as a reward for bearing with all my ramblings...I'm going to share some of my wonderful
If you are interested in some of the places where I get ideas for my LOs (besides from ScrapHappy) check out this earlier blog post: journaling & inspiration made easy.
Your next stop is: Cate.
Now just in case anyone gets lost along the way here is the whole lineup:
Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com
Kelli www.scrapbookgirl71.blogspot.com
Jennifer http://atthebluebarn.blogspot.com/
Monica http://scrapinspired.com
Kimberly www.kimberlykalil.com
Danielle http://acoffeeaddict.com
-> you are here: Katrina http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com
--> Next up: Cate www.lifebehindthepurpledoor.com
Heather heathersdragonsden.blogspot.com
Kristie http://kristiesloan.com
Enjoy the rest of the hop and enjoy LOAD. I look forward to seeing all your wonderful pages. As well as hearing all the wonderful comments. You are all so encouraging I just love it. Thank you so much! While I'm at it, Thank you Margie for organizing the hop. And of course, THANK YOU Lain for the inspiring prompts & for putting us all together in this wonderful community!!!
Hi Katrina...you sure do look like you have a lot of inspiration around you already. Glad that your here next month and will keep on the lookout for your pages. See you in 5 days!!
ReplyDeleteJanet
I love your organized mess. That's what mine is looking like, too. Can't wait to get scrapping!
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, you have a lot of scrappy supplies! It's like a scrapper's paradise. I love it. I look forward to seeing all the goodness you create come February!
ReplyDeleteSo great getting to know you better, Katrina! I think we started LOAD together at the same time and I've enjoyed following your pages! What a fun FULL scrap area! I think Organizing Scrap Supplies is a completely different hobby than Scrapbooking! ;-) See you there!
ReplyDeleteI laughed several times reading your post and looking at your pictures! My husband says I have enough to have my own store (he is soooo wrong!) so it's fun to see what other people's space looks like. I, too, made room for someone else to scrap at a counter with me, but that spot has now been taken by my Cricut and Big Shot to be in a more handy spot. I love your comment about it being pretty except for the mess -- you know they can't expect us to be creative AND neat, right? :) Fun reading!
ReplyDeleteMy friends say that about my room all the time. (That's it's like my own Hobby Lobby) Of course it isn't nearly that bad (right?) That's okay because I can shop in my own stash (not that it's ever stopped me from buying lol.
DeleteLove your sense of humour and your organized mess! It looks a lot like mine, except mine has now spread into the next room. Sigh. See you on Flickr!
ReplyDeleteI didn't show the next room...but it's spread in there too lol! At least I won't run out!
DeleteHi Katrina, Thanks for sharing your story with us and your wonderfully creative layouts and scraproom. My room is hardly ever neat and tidy and I'd like to think that is a sign of creativity! Thanks for the chance to win some of your stash!
ReplyDeleteKatrina - loved your post. Esp about an exploding paper truck. :) Looking forward to seeing you in the gallery next week! and I, for one, love seeing a craft space that is used! I feel inspired :) :)
ReplyDeleteI have a magnetic album about a trip in the 90's that I can't bear to take apart as well!! In fact, I just did a post about it a few days ago (http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog/2012/01/project-life-update-giveaway.html). What a coincidence!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great post. I enjoyed all of it. You made me realize what an important job we have as scrapbookers. I admire you for consciously keeping your husband's memory alive for your son. Good for you! What an amazing treasure. My father died when I was 20 and I wish I had more documentation of his life. I need to do more myself and try to unearth some of my own memories for my kids & myself.
I loved the pics of your scraproom. I need something like that to spread out in. For now, my family will have to put up with my stuff all over my desk, my table, the couch, the coffee table and our game table! Ha!
Katrina, this was a lovely blog to read, I had a lovely time playing in your scraproom, it's messy but organised compared to mine, but I know I will get there one day. The pages you have shared are lovely and very moving, thank you for showing me I can do my past perfect.
ReplyDeleteKatrina - thanks for sharing. Your layouts and your words about preserving memories were very moving to me and I loved seeing your scrapbooking room - wow, I could have a great time playing in there and you're exactly right, mine too looks like a semi came through it at any given time. With LOAD starting in a few days, I think I'll just leave it like it is and have a big clean up in March. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI used to use a shoe organizer for my ribbon, so I chuckled when I saw you are using one. They make great supply organizers! See you during LOAD!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your ideas. I love the page about hands -- it's so great to make those kind of connections. Loved your honesty about doing a page each LOAD for your son about his dad -- good therapy is a good way to think of it.
ReplyDeleteLoved to be entered for the goodies from your stash! lzmilazzo at hotmail dot com
See you in the gallery!
Thanks for sharing about LOAD. I'm just about convinced to dive in, I think I'm just trying to decide whether to go ahead and join Scrap Happy or just try doing LOAD and decide at the end of the month. If you're serious about the Orthodontist paper, I'd love to use it. DD got her braces in January and I'm taking a picture once a week to document the changes for a layout. I took lots of pictures of the process too, and can't wait to scrap those.
ReplyDeleteI was absolutely serious! I sent you an email. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteLove that you use the PSE photomerge! I love it :)
ReplyDeleteI'm late commenting on the hop (sorry!) but your post was great and full of such good advice and ideas. and your merged photos are really cool!
ReplyDelete