Top Ten & Additions....6 x 12 pages

Edit: The divided page protectors that I use are from We R Memory Keepers. The link does not show all of the page protectors options available though. I find mine at my local scrapbook store and Archiver's. If you can't find them, ask your local scrapbook store if they can order them for you. They are available online also, just use your search engine to look them up. I also use We R Memory Keeper's Leather albums. Ring type albums are all I use now, no more post albums for me.

I am so excited about Dawn's new set coming out this month at Papertrey Ink. Nichole is previewing this set too so be sure to check out her blog. It's a set that can be used for cards.......or SCRAPBOOKING! Yay! Although I haven't posted many of my scrapbook pages, I am very passionate about scrapbooking. The joy that I get from scrapbooking my family's memories just can't be described. I'll be carving out much more time for my scrapbooking so you'll be seeing more of my layouts on my blog.

On to Dawn's great new set. It's called Top Ten & Additions. It's a great set full of words and parenthesis (I love them!) that you can use to create lists, mixy matchy sentences, backgrounds, cards and more. Today I used the set to create a list of 10 things I love about my girls. I did two layouts, one for Josey and one for Jordan. You'll notice that the pages are little different sizes than a traditional scrapbook page. They measure 6" x 12" and are a really fun addition to the girls' albums. I'll talk more about those later.
First, let me talk about the photos and the embellishments. I printed a favorite photo in black and white of each of my girls, Jordan on the left and Jose on the right. I used the medium and large heart punches and Pine's Simple Valentine patterned paper to create a row of pretty hearts.

I stitched across the three large hearts with my sewing machine and white thread. This ties in with the stitched border I did around my 6" x 12" Kraft page. My 12 x 12 paper was from my local scrapbook store. I finished the embellishments with pink rhinestone sequins and a flower rhinestone accent. The top edge of my cream paper was edged with a Fiskars border punch with layers of pretty ribbon below.

Now for the really fun part...creating the 10 things list. Top Ten & Additions has a giant number 10 and parenthesis stamp so that you can use to create a great graphic look to pages and cards. Then you stamp the dotted lines and numbers. Then you just stamp whatever words you want all mixy matchy style. You can line the words up to the left or you can do what I've done and scatter them all over to create a more whimsical look. I mixed red and pink inks to tie in with the patterned paper colors.

Now, you'd probably never know if I didn't point it out, but I made some mistakes on my first layout. I totally smudged the word *sweet*. But it was on my main layout, what's a girl to do? You fix it, that's what! Don't sweat it and find a way to make it work. I simply stamped the word *sweet* onto a contrasting piece of paper and adhered it over my mistake with foam tape. Easy peasy, you can't even tell that I goofed. Don't worry about mistakes, there's always a fix!

One more addition to my pages was the *take note* circle embellishment. I used some scrap paper I had along with my Take Note set (the circle border, the pointing hand, take note) to create a fun focal point on my layouts. These were layered onto vintage paper doilies and then stitched with my sewing machine, messy stitch style (3 back and forth stitches). Paper clips were added to my pages as a finishing touch.

I hope you enjoyed my scrapbooking today. I'm over the top excited about doing more pages. Be sure to stop by Dawn's blog this week to see all the great creations she's been making with Top Ten & Additions.

Now about those 6 x 12 pages. They are part of a new approach I'm taking with my scrapbooking called *blended scrapbook pages*. The idea is to mix and match different page sizes within one album. You can see below how I added my 6 x 12 layouts to this year's Project Life album by Becky Higgins. These pages range from 6 x6, 8 x 8, 8.5 x 11, 12 x 12, 6 x 12 and 12 x 12 pages that have lots of various divisions with the page protector itself. (Check your local scrapbook store or on line stores for page protectors and albums, check Becky Higgins' website for the Project Life album kit). All of these pages are intermingled in one scrapbook. You just stick them in wherever you want. Pages that face each other do not have to match up with theme or color. I love this approach because there are no rules to follow. It's a good thing. I'll be talking about this blended scrapbooking method lots more as I add layouts to my blog.
Have a great day everyone!