Still Loving Digital Scrapping with Studio J

CTMH Studio J is so easy and fast while at the same time allowing creativity.  I have to admit that this time I copied from one of the fabulous layouts CTMH created and posted.........gasp!!!  They say copying is the finest form of flattery, which I heartily agree.  When I saw this layout, I knew right away it would be perfect for photo of our visit with my son and now wife to the beautiful parks in Spokane a few years ago.  I'm feeling like digi-scrapping, again, tonight.  :)

Recording Our Family's Traditions

I quickly finished a couple of layouts from two Thanksgivings ago using Studio J.  No, I'm not behind in my scrapping.  I have never scrapped in chronological order.  I scrap when the "mood" or "story" or "papers" or "colors" or WHATEVER fit the the photos at the time.  I love the ease of Studio Jo to capture these wonderful moments.  Can you believe it's fall already!!???!!!  Where did summer go?

Getting Ready To Do More!!!

I quickly finished up these digital projects because my NEW and exciting Close to My Heart papers, stamps, and inks have arrived!  Going digital with Studio J is still a fun and fast way to get a lot done!  Here are three more for our family heritage album and one of each of my sons:

If the slide show bothers you, just click on any image and it'll stop so you can look longer.  Hope you like!

Now, on to the exciting new stuff..............

Cruisin' Along the Paper Trail

This month the Paper Trail Blog Hop is featuring the Close to My Heart Cruisin' papers.  They are so bright and versatile.  If you landed here from Connie's blog, you have already seen some totally amazing artwork!  School just got out here in Washington and I'm about to start a summer project through July and all the thank-yous I did for year-end, I was left with little time to scrap.  Studio J is just fabulous for these moments!  Michael and I visited Victoria, B.C. in May and I really wanted to record the memories.  The Cruisin' paper was perfect for the photos as you can see below.  I'm really loving Studio J more and more.  It's easy to use, fast, portable, and affordable.  If you still need more ideas for Cruisin', just continue along to Karen's wonderful blog.

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More Heritage

I've worked on our family heritage for several years but the last 4-5 years, I've dedicated specific time to my research and documentation in the summer.  I started my research where I left off last summer and have traced/verified my maternal grandmother's side of the family to the Revolutionary War.  It was interesting to find a story in a small Virginia village archive about one of her great grandfather's move from Ireland to Virginia, being forced into military service for England, and switching sides to become a close aide to James Monroe.  After the war, Monroe granted his friend a substantial tract of land and a couple of slaves to raise and support his family of 12 children.  Isn't history interesting?

Along with all the research, I am also continuing my organization and documenting of the many, many boxes or photos, stories, and official documents that have been passed down to me from both several sides of our family.  It's quite a job.  Many photos and documents are fragile.  Handwriting is difficult to read.  Lots of information is fading so I feel like my work has some urgency.  Lots of things are so precious that I hope I can do justice as I assembly and creatively frame our family's legacy.  If anyone has any idea on how to preserve the Civil War personal journal and letters I found from my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, chime in!  I have a small leather bound, handwritten journal that this amazing man wrote in while serving time in Texas where he mentions Yellow Fever, people who were with him, his feelings about his command and responsibilities, how much he missed his family, and the running of the Underground Railroad through his house to help his friend the famous Sojourner Truth.  

Studio J is perfect for showing off the pictures I have once I find the stories behind them and get them scanned!  Here are heritage layouts I finished this week.  I decided not to use the same paper and themes for each layout.  It's a way of satisfying my creativity and having fun.  It IS fun to use different colors and patterns and play with all the little tools Studio J has!  

Close to My Heart has made Studio J so easy and affordable to use!  I used one of the digital layouts with directions CTMH posted on their website to learn some new techniques.  Then I created two of my own layouts using the techniques on my own.  What an easy way to learn and what amazing layouts I have!  

Playing Digital, Again!

One of the great things about scrapping digitally, is being able to record memories and be creative just about anytime, anywhere.  Like most of my friends, I have a huge picture backload, and like most of my friends, there just never seems enough time in the day to get into my studio.  Even when I do get in the studio, I've been so busy with my job, I have trouble getting my "mojo" moving in the direction of creativity that is pleasing to my eye.  Studio J has really helped that way.  Where there are lots of programs out there, I love Studio J's patterns and scrapbook sketches.  I love the ease and versatility of Stickease that I can resize and move around anywhere.  I love that I can make a paper pattern any color to suite the mood I want.  I love the fonts.  And I love that it's easy.  I also love that it's affordable between having a membership and the discount for being a consultant, layouts are each less than $6 are wonderfully full color 12X12 pages that include a protector to just slip in my book.  The quality can't be beat.  When I show friends, they think I've created a traditional layout because the pages and embellishments look so real, the colors so beautiful, they look 3D!  I love that I also get a jpg file copy and can get any extra copies I want later at Costco.  It's almost a steal!!!!

I created three layout this week!  That has to be a record for me.  All of them are Studio J and all of them are different.  I still have my studio, I still scrap and make cards and paper projects, but making these three layouts was fun and efficient.  Six pages, three layouts, done:

Our Little Katie Turned 5!

I can't believe our little Katie turned 5!  It just doesn't seem that long ago that I got up at 4:00 AM to drive down to Puyallup and to support Loren as he welcomed his precious little bundle.  I also can't believe how easy it is to put together a Studio J layout!!!  This is my first try at digital scrapping and I was just amazed how easy and fun it is!  Now I'm busy loading tons of photos on my new computer so I can scrap anywhere anytime.  I'm going to be a bigger fan of Studio J than I ever imagined!