After getting married and completing our wedding album soon after, I moved to Japan, but I didn't bring my scrapbooking supplies with me. I figured that I could get back into scrapbooking upon moving back to the States. Unfortunately, it started to look like that would not happen. With no hobby to keep me going, I felt myself sinking lower and lower into a state of self-loathing. In other words, I really wanted to create something and I missed the scrapbooking dearly!
For Christmas of 2003, just as I was about to "celebrate" my second anniversary of living in Japan, Mom gave me some sets of scrapbooking paper and stickers. I looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she explained, "I think it would be a good idea for you to get back into scrapbooking. In fact, I think you should pack up your Creative Memories stuff, and take it back to Japan with you." It would have been impossible to take everything with me at that point, but I did pack it up. Three months later, when Mom and Dad came for a visit, they brought all my CM stuff with them.
Since then, I have completed two thick albums - one was a gift for my parents hightlighting their first trip to Japan, the other was our trip back to WI and Chicago in 2003. I am now working on our road trip from Christmas 2004. I hope to finish that in a couple weeks. These days, I am finally able to connect with other people in Japan who enjoy scrapping as much as I do. In October, I am planning to attend a big cropping event in Tokyo, so I will the chance to meet more women.
Christine suggested that I put some of my scrapbook pages on the blog, perhaps to show what my pages look like.
All of these are taken from the current album I am working on. For this album, I decided to use the computer to print some of my digital photos and to also do the journaling. I printed some of the titles for pages using the computer. Also, I wanted to use some of the newer techniques, not taught by Creative Memories. For some of these pages, I used ribbon, brads and vellum.
Take a look!
1. The Old Spaghetti Factory and Broadway Street (Nashville)
Materials used: light purple & dark purple mounting paper, music note paper punch, Journaling done on computer with green and yellow color fill, purple ribbon attached with brads.
2. Self-Guided Tour (Nashville)
Materials used: compass & brick mounting paper, green mounting paper, alphabet stickers for title, journaling and photo captions printed on vellum, captions attached with copper brads.
3. Memphis
Materials used: various shades of red mounting paper torn and put back together, blue mounting paper, 2 post cards and hotel business card, photo of Yusuke eating pizza was changed to black and white and enlarged on computer, journaling done on vellum.
4. Elvis Presley - A Life Undone
Materials used: black mounting paper, camera mounting paper torn and laid over black paper in a striped pattern, title done on vellum with yellow color filler.
5. Jackson Square (New Orleans)
Materials used: blue/green striped mounting paper, light green mounting paper, square punch, blue dog photo printed on computer, journaling done on vellum.
