Smashbook Pre-School Memories

a Cut at Home Design Team Project

If you have Grandkids then I'm sure this post is going to resonate with you.  When I first started playing around with my photos, back in 2003 or so I did so with Graphic programs like Paint Shop Pro and later moving up to Photoshop.  I did hundreds of digital layouts of my family, including the Grandkids of course.  Some were printed and framed many were turned into table top books for them. I even dedicated an entire blog to just digital pages - Reflections of NW Lady.

Once I started with paper and ink in 2009 the digital slowly got left behind along with my pages. Now that's a really sad thing to admit.  I take a LOT of photos and a great majority are photos of people, family, friends some strangers who just happened to pop up in a scenic one.  

I bought a Smashbook from K and Co eons ago but it's sat, very forlornly, in my crafty space.  I'd pick it up and glance through the pages and then put it to rest again.  But something was brewing in my mind, do you have that happen?  An idea or project that just seems to blossom slowing in the grey matter?

Recently Cut at Home sent me a sampling of Marianne dies.  I was already familiar with her and her array of dies but was delighted to have more to play with.  If you aren't acquainted with her please do check her out at Cut at Home.  In among the ones I got was this darling typewriter.  That little seed that had been growing in my mind finally came to fruition with this first Smashbook page.

Brynnie is the youngest of my five Grandkids.  When I was home visiting this summer Brynnie had her Graduation from Pre-School.  I was there when this little one made her entrance into our world, such a miracle.  She knows Grandma and PaPa through Facetime and Skype so even though we're 1100 miles apart we're very close, for that I'm grateful.  I printed her out on my Canon IP8720  (thank you My Craft Chanel - I won it from them!!!) and then fussy cut this photo of her completely out of the background to make my own personalized embellishment.  If you are someone who adds photos to your projects and haven't done it please do.  It gives a whole new life to your photos and they seem to pop off the page without the background distractions.  I ran a black pen around the outside edges to eliminate any white showing and also around the printed saying on the page.

I've always loved writing so I'd already decided that all my pages would have some sort of tuck in or flap for personalized journaling of what this day meant to me and who's in it.

Come join me on the video, we'll walk through the products I used and I'll show the step-step process as well.  Be sure and check out the Cut at Home store not only for the Marianne dies but for a host of other scrappy goodness to fill your crafty spaces.

Supplies from the Cut at Home Store: 

COL-1358: Marianne Designs Collectables, Eline's Typewriter  

LR-0154: Marianne Designs Creatable Die Labels  

Spellbinders Decorative Accent Dies 

4501015: Graphic 45 A Time to Celebrate 12x12" pad 

SCT-001: Spellbinders Celebra'tions Line Thread 

TIM43270: Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Ground Espresso 

ACT1212: Angel Craft Tape 1/2:  

ACT1414: Angel Craft Tape 1/4"