I also have a 3-year-old.
So how, you may ask, do I get any scrapping done? I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I get up early in the morning while everyone is still asleep or stay up late after everyone goes to bed. Ahhhhh, my heavenly quiet time. Sometimes Anna watches cartoons and sometimes she does her “computer work” on Playhouse Disney. But the thing that Anna loves to do the most is “create art.” She loves to color and draw and use her Disney Princess stickers and cut and ink and glue… Anna loves to scrap!
She has her “studio” which consists of her own table, chairs and safety scissors. Her space is right next to my “studio” which is a well-organized and overstuffed corner in our garage, but it is my/our scrappy sanctuary. Anna has been scrapping with me for over six months now and has her own, very distinct style!
To start a layout, Anna will ask me for a piece of paper, either a solid color (usually pink) or a patterned paper that she likes. She understands that the pretty paper, stickers, flowers, and bling that are front and center on my desk are usually for an upcoming assignment, so she won’t touch anything without asking. Anna will sit and wait and when I toss a scrap of patterned paper or ribbon, she will grab it and add it to her layout. Her favorite technique is tearing and cutting patterned paper and gluing the pieces in a random design on her layouts. She can take one piece of paper and sit for hours cutting and cutting and cutting until she has a pile of confetti in front of her. She also loves to ink her paper and she loves to paint! Anytime I pull out paint for a project, Anna very quietly grabs her paintbrushes, her layout, a piece of newspaper and her step stool. She then stands at the kitchen counter with those excited eyes and anticipatory smile waiting for me to give her some paint to play with. She is so darn cute!!!
Anna’s favorite adhesive: glue stick or mini glue dots. Her favorite embellishments: flowers, buttons, ribbon or any kind of bling. Her favorite color: pink. Her favorite person to scrap for: Daddy (Daddy has a wall in his office that has been dedicated to hanging all of Anna’s layouts and cards. She loves to give him a new project and watch him hang it in the “gallery.”)
To prepare for this layout of her best friend, Catalina, I pulled out a piece of patterned paper and cut a photo mat. Anna picked all of the other supplies that she wanted to use and she got to work. I love watching Anna while she is scrapping!
She is very deliberate in her design and when she gets serious, her little tongue starts popping out. I must admit, while watching Anna and taking pictures for this article, it was very difficult for me to sit there and not help her with her project. After all, she is getting published for the first time at age 3 and I wanted to make sure her layout looked great! I suggested the placement for a few pieces of her torn paper and she started yelling at me, “That is wrong, Mommy! That is not where the paper goes!” So I sat back, giggling to myself, that my cute little bug had a vision for her layout and knew exactly what she wanted to do.
Anna doesn’t scrap because she is trying to preserve family history or tell a story. She rarely uses any pictures and she doesn’t journal. Anna scraps for the most pure and basic of reasons…she loves to create. She loves to share her art with others and she beams with pride when we go crazy over her work, almost as much as I beam with love and pride every time I watch her play. Scrapping, and being creative with my sweet Anna, could there be anything better?
Supply List:
• Buttons: Rusty Pickle
• Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
• Flora Doodles: Magic Prince (Petaloo)
• Patterned Paper: Pop Star (Rusty Pickle) and Organic Collection (Bo Bunny)
• Stickers: rhinestone (Darice)
Tracey lives in Escondido, California with her husband and three children. Although she has been scrapping for about ten years, she admits that she has only been seriously scrapping since she became a SAHM (stay-at-home mother) almost four years ago. Tracey spends a good portion of her time volunteering at her teenagers’ high school with activities such as team fundraising and being team Mom for several sports/groups, serving on the Athletic Boosters Committee, being the Volunteer Host Family Coordinator for the Australian Exchange Program and Chair of the Grad Nite Committee. Add to that taking care of the family, carpooling and her scrapping and she is one busy mom! Tracey is proud to be a member of the design teams for Rusty Pickle, Ever After Scrapbooks in Carlsbad, CA, and Crop Addict. You can visit Tracey at her blog called, “Wooooo Hooooo…”
To find the products mentioned in this article and shown in this layout, check with your local scrapbook retailer. Browse our Premier Retail Stores for coupons to a store near you.
