Do you have old photos boxed up because you don't know what to do with them? You know, photos with all that clutter in the background. Come on now...I know you do! We all do!

I've been wanting to scrap some of these photos for so long! Well, this tag album by All My Memories was the PERFECT way to do it in a SNAP!! I just trimmed all my photos to 2" or so, added some fun lettering using the Doodlebug rub-ons and some numeric stamps, tied on some ribbon and adhered several different embellishments. Voila! A sweet Easter album!

I love the way All My Memories has their Herbanella line all inked up. What could be better? Although this layout is not 12x12 it was so easy to put together. I only needed one photo, two embellishment stickers also by All My Memories and a few phrase stickers by Bo Bunny Press. I added Doodlebug rub-ons to the ribbon and bubble stickers. My hidden journaling is on the pull-out Easter tag which just reads how we dress in our pretty clothes for Easter morning church service.

View All My Memories Herbanella

Fancy Pants Designs by Mary H.

Fancy Pants Designs features paper which looks as though you painstakingly used acrylic paint on each piece of paper. The papers in the Ice Cream Parlor line are unique in that they are bright, but not too bright. When I saw them I knew that they'd be perfect for the two years worth of Easter picture that I had yet to scrapbook. The patterns are bold and fun to work with.

I put the Easter 2004 layout together first. One of my favorite techniques is using a different background for both pages in a two page layout. I love using product lines with coordinating prints for this technique. For Easter 2004, I used Ice Cream Parlor - Wide Stripe for the left side and Ice Cream Parlor - Stripes for the right side. I cut out around the diamonds on a strip of the Ice Cream Parlor - Diamond paper and used it as a border on the left page. I was really pleased at how realistic the "acrylic paint stamping" looks. For my title, I chose one of the stickers from the Sewn Pieces sticker module. I really like the cardstock stickers and these look true-to-life with their stitching and inking on the edges. I used some alphabet stickers from my stash and had a title in seconds. The photo corners from Sewn Pieces really emphasized which photo was my focal point.

For colorful eggs, I used the Orange paper for my background and used stickers from the Ice Cream Parlor - Embellishments for my title. The cardstock stickers on the Embellishments are also very realistic looking. It really looks like I've added buttons and ribbon to my layout with none of the bulk!

The majority of the pieces are blank so that they can be customized as I did on the "eggs" and "18 APR 03" tags, which I stamped using Staz-On ink. Scraps left over from the Stripes papers and some of the Dots papers added a bit of fun to my plain background. I added a few of the cardstock stickers to complete the page.

I still had scraps left over, so I used them to make the "Happy Spring" card, which I'll send to a secret sis. For this card, I used scraps of the Dots paper and the Diamonds paper and cut strips of them. I cut the ends diagonally. I stamped my title on a scrap of the Orange paper and then added a flower and brad from my stash. This card took me less than five minutes and yet it looks as though I used acrylic paint to stamp the patterns.

The Fancy Pants Designs papers and stickers were fun and easy to use. The Ice Cream Parlor line would be perfect for Spring layouts, layouts of a little girl's birthday, and so much more!

I'm all for using products that make it look like I expended a huge amount of effort when I really haven't, and the new papers and stickers from Fancy Pants Design definitely fit that bill. Each page looks like it has been stamped with acrylic paints and inked around the edges!

In this really simple Colorful layout, I used different patterns for the background and the photo mat. When you trim the pages from the edges you'll end up with some edges that look inked and others that aren't. I added some Walnut distress ink for consistency around all the edges. For fun, I also inked up the title sticker.

I used papers from the same line with this photo of my two kids on the Love layout. All of the embellishments are straight from the coordinating Embellisments sticker sheet. It really doesn't get any easier than this!

Although the theme of this month's Newsletter is Spring, nothing makes me crave Spring more than taking photos in a basketball gymnasium. I used the Locker Room line on the two somewhat useable photos I produced during my son's entire season. The colors are perfect for boy layouts year-round!

These new Carolee's Creations papers are so inspiring, I was on a mission to use up every single piece of scrap paper! Using only three sheets of cardstock, three sheets of patterned papers, two blank cards, one Deluxe Cuts Tag Alongs, and miscellaneous embellishments from my stash, I created all these projects!

Cleverly cutting the papers where they do not show in the front allowed me to stretch my supplies -- and helped me fit more pages in my albums! Although the backs of the layouts do not look pretty at all...I got a one-page and a two-page layout and two cards DONE! With everything already coordinated, it was easy to put these all together.

Jordan's Tree by Emelyn

I love the worn look on the new Carolee's papers. Although this specific line of papers and stickers are a Family Theme, the colors look perfect for Spring pages! Using the orange patterned paper as a background sheet, I did not have to add any cardstock! I then added two other papers to tie the layout together. As finishing accents, I used the Family cardstock stickers, added some brads, ribbon and a flower. I cleverly cut out a big piece of the orange background paper that was not seen in the front so I could create more projects!

View Carolee's Creations

Wish Card and Family Mini Album by Emelyn

These two projects are a coordinating gift set for a friend. I used scraps from the layout above to create the card and the cover of the album. I also used Chatterbox Bazzill for cardstock base.

For accents on the card, I used Me and My Big Ideas Soft Spoken labels, a sticker greeting, ribbon, flowers, and brads.

The matching mini accordian album has coordinating ribbons, flowers, and brad. I also used a Making Memories charmed plaque as a finishing touch.

View Carolee's Creations

Monterey Aquarium Mini Album by Emelyn

I still had pieces left over from my 3 sheets of patterned paper so I decided to create a mini album for our day at the aquarium. I LOVE this 4x4 mini album by Narratives! The size is perfect for creating a quick and simple album. I used the Family sticker sheet, Narratives tag, Karen Foster clip, chipboard word, ribbons and brads as my embellishments.

These pictures have been sitting around for a while and I was so glad to finally scrap them. By putting them into an mini album and using coordinating products, it only took a couple of hours to put this together and now Jordan can enjoy seeing these pictures in an album, not just in a box!