Tag Archive for: scrapbooking

Add Hidden Pictures to your Scrapbook Pages

Add Hidden Pictures to your Scrapbook Pages is what we have for you today. I don’t know about you but I always take way too many pictures.  I would rather have too many pictures than not enough. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem except that means I usually get way too many pictures I can’t part with!

Today, I am going to show you how to give yourself a way to add hidden pictures to your scrapbook pages so that you can keep them all!

This is a scrapbook page I made for my son Austin’s bath. One important tip here is that you can make any picture mat a pocket. Just apply adhesive to only three sides and you have it! Be sure to write notes in your hand writing for your loved ones.

This is how we are going to be able to add more pictures to your scrapbook. You can even use the front side for pictures and the back side for journaling.. It gives you a bunch of room!

I love how this easy tip allows you to add some fantastic pictures or notes that you may not normally be able to !

We are going to start with our paper and base paper.

First, score your paper on one side. You will need to decide how much you want to do this depending on how large your base paper is. Repeat for all of the papers you are using.

Fold your scored paper. Repeat for all of the scored paper.

Add adhesive on the back of the folded edge.

Place your adhesive on the edge of the paper.

Fold back where the score line is and ensure crease is strong.

Take your second piece of paper and line up to the edge of the last one as shown above. Fold back and ensure crease is strong.

Repeat the placement of the papers. This is how you create the waterfall effect for the papers. What do you think?

Another way you can do the waterfall effect with the papers is vertically. It works either way! You can even do it at an angle across the page!

This is just a close up of Austin tasting snow and being in snow for the first time. I just love the expression on his face. He is so darned cute! I am super blessed to have two amazing sons and an awesome husband.

For our giveaway this week, you can win a store credit so you can pick out your favorite item in our store!

The winner for our last blog post giveaway is Hannah L.

Please be sure that you  send me a message letting me know which post you won on and your contact info and I can get your prizes out to you!

Winners, please send me an message HERE and I will get your prize out to you!

For all of our giveaways including this one, in order for you to qualify for an entry to win, you would need to be a follower on YouTube, subscribe to our mailing list/blog posts (found on our blog page) and you may also comment on this blog post for an additional entry to win! When you subscribe, you will receive an e-mail on Mondays with our latest blog post. BE SURE TO READ IT to check to see if you are a winner EVERY WEEK. If you do not contact me within two weeks of the announcement of winning, you will forfeit your prize. NO EXCEPTIONS. Thank you for your understanding.

NOTE: If you are subscribed with two different names and I am unable to match you with your subscription to the blog and the YouTube Channel, you will be ineligible to win as I can’t decipher if you are a matching subscriber to both. Thank you for your understanding.

We hope you will subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Blog/Newsletter updates and check out our website!

As always, we appreciate your visit and we hope you enjoyed going on A Creative Journey with Melissa. Have a wonderful holiday!

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Mental Health Awareness & National Scrapbooking Month – A Creative and Personal Journey

Mental Health Awareness & National Scrapbooking Month – A Creative and Personal Journey is what we have for you today. I decided to combine the two to create a beautiful layout of my son thus bringing National Scrapbooking Month and Mental Health Awareness together.

I suffer from depression….

as do others in our family. My son suffers from severe depression. He is one of the bravest, strongest and most amazing men I know. I am taking this time to share his story, with his permission, in hopes that even if it helps or educates just one person, it was worth it.

My son Christian is one of the most intelligent people I know and truthfully has been since he was 3 1/2 and reading at second grade level.

No, I am not kidding.

Amazing, right? In 4th grade he was officially diagnosed with ADHD (I also was and have the same) and we were both placed on medication. Christian was NEVER or EVER WILL BE a cookie cutter kid.

Honestly, I wouldn’t want him to be.

He is creative, authentic, sweet, caring, compassionate, loving, intelligent, funny, silly down to earth, sensitive and he suffers from severe depression. Sometimes, it hits him like a brick for no rhyme or reason, sometimes things can trigger his depression. The great news, he has a great team of doctors, family and real friends that truly love and care about him. They care about his well being, support him and most of all try to lift him up. These are important factors.

It is important who the company is that you keep.

Christian struggled with numerous issues as anyone in high school does. Specifically, where does he fit in. He decided it was easier for him to create a persona who everyone thought he should be than to be OK with who he is. He didn’t think anything he was or would pretend to be would ever be good enough so this didn’t help either.

Insecurities in high school.

Pretty common but they don’t effect everyone the same way. This is when the depression became more and more apparent. Instead of dealing with his feelings, he chose to stuff them which turned to even worse depression. He then chose to use substances to ease the pain he was feeling. This didn’t help, it just exacerbated the problem and prolonged a solution.

There were a few incidents that happened that really opened our eyes to how large of a problem it was.

Sadly, the new normal kept changing and by the time we realized how bad it had gotten, it was obvious that there had to be action taken.  Little did I know it saved his life. Somehow, someway, Jon and I were strong enough to make the hard decisions and do what we thought was best.  As parents, you never know but Christian himself has said that it saved his life and he is grateful.

HE WAS NOT AT THE TIME.

He went through rehab and IOP (Intensive Outpatient Therapy) as well as going to see his doctors regularly. Between that, talking to peers in the same situation, opening up and working on him and how to process his emotions in a healthy way, he continues to be a beautiful work in progress. Just like the rest of us. He also LOVES comedy. The more inappropriate, the better. Yep… APPLE doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it?

Christian suffers from severe depression. Period.

This is part of who he is and that is OK. It is part of who I am too. Still OK. Christian now uses the tools from his therapy and is more vocal about what he is feeling.

Although it may be difficult for me as a Mom or anyone for that matter, to hear that your child is having intrusive thoughts.

It is the HEARING of these comments come out of his mouth versus when my husband had to pull a belt off of his neck that is BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TO MY EARS as you can imagine. Mental illness and mental disorders are no joke.

They are not to be taken lightly.

It does help to get therapy and a good medical team to help you with a great treatment plan. If you think something is wrong with you, a loved one or you have concerns, ask questions. SEEK HELP. Offer support, give a hug, lend an ear, You never know how much that could mean to someone. It could change their life forever or even save it entirely.

Below is a picture and post that Christian shared on Instagram in 2017. I shared it on my IG page a few times as well but in case you don’t have Instagram, I copied it here.

acreativejourneywithmelissa

Depression and anxiety are all very personal mental disorders . Everyone says: “If you need anything, don’t hesitate, I’ll be there for you. ” What they don’t understand is one in that situation probably won’t ask. Below is a look into my son Christian’s story. It’s about as raw and vulnerable as it gets. If you feel compelled, share your story in the comments. Feel free to repost this. Keep this going and reach out. As Christian has said, even if it helps just one person, it’s worth it. ❤ Shared from my son Christian’s Instagram post with his and my husbands blessing, of course. David would have been 54 in November.  He and Jon Mueller were only 18 months apart. He passed away December 24, 1984. Suicide effects everyone. Even people you haven’t met yet. ❤

#ACJwM #suicideprevention#youAREworthit #depressionisreal#talktosomeone #gethelp  

In Christian’s words…..

❤ This right here is my uncle’s band jacket from high school. it smells like moth balls like crazy but I don’t care. wearing it now just kinda makes me think about things. like, what if I had gone out how he did? what if I had succeeded when I tried to? I had always thought that it wouldn’t matter back in the day. like everyone would be relieved and not distraught, like it’d be a weight lifted off everyone’s shoulders and not more weight added on. but looking at all the pain and heartbreak it caused my family, and even the sadness it causes me, realizing I’ll never get to meet the man my father had so many great times with growing up, I now realize that I’m seeing it from the other side and that everything I thought before was absolute horseshit.

when you’re stuck down in that hole for so long, you can’t see anything but the carvings you made on the walls. all you listen to is the thoughts in your head telling you you’re not worth shit, you’re a burden to everyone, you won’t be missed when you’re gone.

I realize now that it’s all bullshit, every last bit of it is complete and utter bullshit. you are loved, and you do matter, more than you realize. and you will be missed, by everyone, even those who aren’t even alive yet. ❤

NOW, are you ready to get creative and celebrate Mental Health Awareness and National Scrapbooking Month? Let’s do this!

Supplies Needed for the Mental Health Awareness & National Scrapbooking Month – A Creative and Personal Journey Creation

A Creative Journey with Melissa Awareness Ribbon Set #1 Stamp Set

Acrylic Stamp Block

Black Ink

Journaling Pen

5 x 7 Picture

2 wallet sized pictures

Mat for Picture

Secondary Mat for picture

Adhesive

Dark Blue Ribbon

12″ x 12″ Decorative Scrapbook Paper

This is the paper I chose for this layout. I really love the texture and color palette for the Mental Health Awareness & National Scrapbooking Month – A Creative and Personal Journey Project.

Take out your ink, stamp block and paper to stamp on. Place the stamps on your stamping block.

Stamp your sentiments onto your paper for your Mental Health Awareness & National Scrapbooking Month Project.

Cut out your words. I purposely did not cut my words perfectly straight. I wanted to have them be a little bit imperfect.

Using your journaling pen, draw a rectangle around the stamped sentiment for your Mental Health Awareness & National Scrapbooking Month Project.

When I printed my pictures, I printed them on card stock not photo paper. I love the texture and how they blended better with the picture.

*Photos Courtesy of Giovanna Fernandez

Adhere your white paper to the back of your 5 x 7″ picture. Place adhesive on the back of the white matted paper and adhere it to the blue paper.

Take out your wallet photos. Place the two pictures on the right side of the photo. Be sure not to line them up. It’s part of the aesthetic of the creation.

Apply adhesive to the back of the ribbon.

Place the ribbon with the adhesive side down ensuring it is lined up.  Press the ribbon firmly down on your ribbon.

Apply adhesive to the back of the words.

Adhere the words along the ribbon strip. There is no particular order or shape that is cut.

WE FINISHED IT! How awesome is this?!

Now for this weeks giveaway! I am giving away a $15 store credit to our store to help you get creative!! It was so popular, we decided to do it again!

Be SURE you are a subscriber to our YouTube channel and to our Blog/E-mail list and make sure your names are matching so I can verify you are subscribed to both to enable you to be eligible to win! Winners announced next week so be sure and check back! Winners will be announced next week on our Mondays with Melissa blog post!

BE SURE TO check to see if you are a winner EVERY WEEK. If you do not contact me within two weeks, you forfeit your prize. Thank you for your understanding.

Now for last weeks giveaway! I am giving away a $15.00 store credit to our store!!

The winner is DAWN !!!

Winner, please send me your contact information via contact page on our website, which post you are a winner from and I will get your prize out to you! Thank you so much for being a YouTube follower and subscribing to our mailing list/blog posts!

Thank you for joining us for the Mental Health Awareness & National Scrapbooking Month – A Creative and Personal Journey Project. CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK TO SEE IF YOU ARE A WINNER!

Have a wonderful week and thank you for going on A Personal AND A Creative Journey with Melissa.

 

 

Project Life Pocket Page Scrapbooking

Project Life Pocket Page Scrapbooking is what we have for you today. If you are a long time scrapbooker, new to it or have put your creative juices on hold, I have something to get you back into the groove! Project Life Pocket Page Scrapbooking is an awesome way to document your life and also enable you to get your memories and pictures in albums.

I was inspired to start making scrapbook pages again!

I went to an AWESOME crop on Saturday that was hosted by our fantastically talented Creative Crew Member Leticia and her friend Esther.

*If you are in So Cal and are interested in attending, click on Leticia’s Facebook Page HERE become a fan and you will be notified when she has an event.

When I was getting ready, I needed to get some projects together to do. I realized it had been a while and I really needed to get back into the swing of things. The crop was SO much fun! Both Brandie and Rhoda joined me as well. Brandie was on our CC and Rhoda still is and it was a blast to spend some quality time with the girls!

With Project Life Pocket Page Scrapbooking, it can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it.

You can simply use a kit and put your page together with a specific theme or create your own pages using embellishments, 3-D items, memorabilia and whatever else you wish. There are other companies that offer similar things that can be used for Project Life Scrapbooking as well. The above pocket pages are made by We R Memory Keepers. They have a while line that allows you to document your life with Pocket Page Scrapbooking. They have numerous different page. Project Life also has different configurations and the page insert collections vary.

This is the cover of my Project Life Book. I really liked how it was not gender bias. I can often times only find albums that have more feminine colors. Normally masculine colors and designs aren’t available so I was thrilled to find this one as I think it covers both.

I really love how my Project Life album came with an album protector! This makes it so that the pages don’t get bound up in the three ring binder aspect of the album.

It is a harder plastic piece and it has a cool quote on it too. Be sure to keep it in front as it will help to avoid any pages being damaged or bent. I am not sure that all of them come with it but I bought this at Michaels and it did.

The first page I did was pretty simple to complete.

I used one 4 x 6″ card from a kit I had and it only took about a half hour, if that. What took the longest time in the whole creation of the page was the punching out of the pictures. I used the punch from We R Memory Keepers which punches out pictures to the perfect size for 3 x 2 pictures. You can choose to have rounded corners or squared punch. Depending on which project I am working on will depend on which one I use.

This is the left side of a two page spread for my youngest son Austin’s birthday.

I don’t really care for the quality of the photos but I have to document his birthday so of course, I kept them anyway. These pictures were taken with a disposable camera. When he turned 1 which was almost 16 years ago, they didn’t have cool filters, overlays and decor like they do now for your pictures. I bought this disposable camera that had the phrases on it specifically for his birthday. MY HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED, RIGHT?

For Austin’s first birthday, this is the right side of the two page spread.

This took a little longer with the cutting and I made an outline that makes the page look like a cake. My favorite picture is the bottom right where my oldest snuggles with my youngest. This is the EXACT reason why I have to get on the ball and start scrapbooking my pictures. I have plenty to keep me busy for a very long time.

This page is a little bit more detailed but still very simple to create.

I used 3-D pop dots for the top left and right pockets to give some dimension for the cards glued on top of the larger card. My choice for writing was lined cards. To add some interest, I chose to write the story straight across rather than have the first, second and third one read.  I thought it gave a nice flow to the page. I used my old fashioned label maker using yellow label tape I create two labels. Beach Walking for the left side bottom and with Daddy for the right side on the bottom. Although it isn’t extravagant in it’s creation, I do like how it is dressed up a little bit but still my style of CAS – Clean and simple.

There are a number of different kits you can get for various themes.

I really liked this one and thought it was pretty versatile although it is meant for a boy. The majority of the cards can be used for many different layouts. Kits typically come with 4 x 6″ cards and 3 x 2″ cards with two of each. You could share with friends or create two books like I need to for my kids.

This is what came in the kit.

There are numerous cards and I do not have them fanned out to show every single one. The picture to the right shows you what is all included in the kit.

Interested in purchasing more kits or learning more about Project Life Pocket Page Scrapbooking?

Go to Becky Higgins website HERE. Interested in checking out the various kits created by Stampin’ Up!? Interested in their awesome corner rounder punch for pocket page scrapbooking, go to my friend Brandie’s Stampin Up Website HERE. The Project Life corner rounder IS AVAILABLE! She can order it for you! It is product number # 135346 and its only $8.00!! They have other items also perfect for Project Life too!

This week for our Giveaway, we are giving away Project Life Pocket Page Scrapbooking Kit used in the video above.

To qualify to win, you must be BOTH:

A follower on YouTube, subscribe to our mailing list/blog posts and you may also comment on this blog post for an additional entry to win! If you do not contact me within two weeks of winning, you will unfortunately, forfeit your prize. Thank you for your understanding.

NOTE: Be sure you are not subscribed with two different names and I am unable to match you with your subscription to both the blog and the YouTube Channel, you will miss your chance to win a prize. If I can’t decipher if you are a matching subscriber, if your profile doesn’t show publicly who you subscribe to) and I can’t confirm you have subscribed to both, I won’t be able to enter you in for the prize. **DO NOT COMMENT WITH YOUR ENTIRE EMAIL ADDY. Only give me the first 6 NOT INCLUDING YOUR HOST. Just enough for me to match your name will work perfectly.  Your understanding is appreciated.

Now for last weeks WINNER!!

Last week for our Giveaway, we are giving away the  A Creative Journey with Melissa Stamp Set, Petals for You 

The WINNER IS SHARON GULLIKSON!!

Sharon, please send me your contact information via contact page on our website and I will get your prize out to you! Thank you so much for being a YouTube follower and subscribing to our mailing list/blog posts!

We hope you enjoyed our Project Life Pocket Page Scrapbooking product overview. Have a wonderful week and thank you for going on A Creative Journey with Melissa.