Downsizing my scrapbook stash

And wow!

Decisions decisions.

Here is my scrappy space.

I love my scrappy space and everything is white

is mine all mine!

I have a lot to get rid of.

My awesome husband bought this brand new toolbox.

It's pretty cool actually and it'll allow to

scrap inside or outside.

As you can see from this post I have rearranged my

12x12 albums to give to the kids/grandkids.

I then decided that 8.5x11 would be more storable especially

doing it project life style with some 8.5x11 size

tossed in for variety.

Also, I'll be using traveler's notebooks for well 

whatever floats my boat. 

We'll see how that works. And they'll be

a lot more storable.

I also purchased a new paper trimmer - mine was 12x8 size

and that would be too cumbersome to store.

 I did take the trimmer out of the top drawer and added

some punches instead.

Carefully culling through I decided not to go with 

shapes like squares because I can use the

trimmer for that so I can bring more variety in 

things I'm not talented in, i.e., like birds, butterflies, my

favorite sunburst/fireworks things like that.

I also tossed in my circle scissor that'll give me a

variety sized circles and it takes up less space than 

several heavy punches.

And then there's my super satchel for paper, alphas, 

cut aparts, and all kinds of embellishments.

I also went through my assortment of PL cards and

tossed them in.

I went with recollections 8.5x11 cardstock and added

a lot of 12x12 papers that I purchased prior to the

whole RV living thing.

Pink Fresh, new Hip kit - that I changed from scrapbook kit

to project life. 

I had 3 die cutters; a big shot, QK revelution and squeeze.

I chose to bring the big shot since it does all the dies

it seemed to be the best choice and again I

have chosen dies that lend to things I'm not artistic

enough to pull off.

We haven't stopped long enough to really break it out.

Overnight stops aren't really enough time and I'm usually

too worn out to even think about it.

We will be back in NJ for about 4-6 weeks so I'll

be breaking things out to see if I packed well.

The plan is to take my IKEA Alex drawer and put it in the 

coach - that'll eliminate the super satchel and it'll add more storage.

Also it's perfect for my canon printer.

I also have a selphy but I'd really like the option of

being able to print 8.5x11 size photos so.... we'll see how

well that rides.

Whelp - on the third day - RV living

It started out innocently enough as things always do.

We got an early start and hit the road

and then.......

the dreaded dashboard lights awoke.

 It was the diesel particulate light.

It is basically a filter that needs to be cleaned.

Or it could be a sensor.

Or it could be a multitude of things we are

at this point clueless about.

In any case, when the dashboard light comes on and

it's the diesel particulate light

you have limited power to limp to a safe place.

 Tom limped it into a truck stop in Virginia - Cockerham's

Gulf Station in Hillsdale VA.

Called Coach.net and three hours later our coach

was getting hooked up to go back 81 miles

to a Cummins dealer to see what's what.

 Because of insurance stuff we were not allowed to stay

in the Cummins parking lot so we ended up at the Holiday Inn near the airport.

At 5 a.m. the hotel decided that everyone needed a wake up call

so there we were sitting outside due to a false fire alarm.

Thankfully false.

It was an interesting alarm.

It's loud, annoying and persistent.

However, getting bounced out of bed and trying to figure

things out - I, for one, can't do anything willy-nilly

first thing without a bathroom break.

Fire schmire. LOL.

Then I was NOT going outside in my underwear,

so throwing on clothes was necessary for everyone involved,

and they even had coffee made in the lobby.

This has never happened in a campground.

Returning upstairs we found it impossible to go back to sleep.

All that adreneline you know.

So Tom went to Cummins to see about the coach and

I'm just chillin' in the room.

Life is so not boring on the road.

The last 3 12x12 pages and a birthday card

We are headed out today for the east coast for the

grandkid tour carrying all those albums under our bed.

I made these pages prior to our decision to go full time

so these will be the last 12x12 pages which is kind of a bummer

because this is the second page of our Alaska trip.

Glacier Bay.

What a beautiful cruise that was - hanging out

or our balcony watching the glaciers go by.

Studio Calico

 Going a bit monochromatic on this page of Annie

and Owen first jump in the pool of the summer.

Pink Fresh.

 Seems to be the time of summer and Amelia

is also hanging out in the cold waters of NH.

I stuck my toe in once.

It's cold.

Studio Calico.

Did some paint white paint strips and some

packaging technique with mists.

 I'll still make cards and found this adorable minion

card on pinterest.

Love pinterest.

And who doesn't love a minion.

I just wish I thought of it myself LOL.

So because of the limited space in the RV I have

decided to roll with 8.5x11 and use project life type

with of course some full pages to save space

and I will also be doing a lot of Traveler's Notebooks

which is pretty apropos I think.

Times -they be-a-changing and it'll be a fun challenge.

Of course I'll still do the grandkids but

I may batch them for easier distribution at a later date.

Nothing set in stone.

Let the declutter begin - RV living

So being a scrapbooker my first thought was

where do my scrapbooks go...

Seriously.

I put a lot of love and creativity in these pages that

I want people and myself to enjoy.

So....I do a lot of grandkidlet pages but until I

started separating the pages....

I didn't realize how many there were.

 Seriously.......

 These are my books remaining. 

Keep in mind that all those empty shelves were

completely filled.

 This is the separation of the grandkidlets.

Whew!!!

But shhhhh!!!

Don't tell the parents!

We are currently planning a trip in our new RV to

do the grandkidlet tour we try and do

every year.

And this year............

Won't they be surprised. 

LOL.

All the photos I scrapped of the grands.

I hope they keep them.

I hope they love them.

I hope they enjoy them.

But...........

 I didn't have the heart nor the fortitude to toss them

so I figured if I give them away -

to the parents

that they might keep them

and love them

and enjoy them.

If not, please don't tell me. 

I don't want to know.

What you don't see is that I have a few heritage 

photos and one framed picture of my

grandfather, whom I adored...

Well my Cousin Al has graciously accepted

to take all the original pictures of the family - like

back to the great greats (in my case) and

he'll be surprised with an album.

It's going to a good home.

I totally feel great about this decision, however, now there's

the decision of where my albums are going to go.

Probably storage as my kidlets are gypsies too.

More heavy decisions like this will be better made after this trip.

Procrastination is a wonderful thing.

LOL

Photo Collage and BIG Numbers

Love this little cluster and finally using a bunch of

things in my stash.

The transparencies are fun but tough to stick down.

I used my xyron machine and it seems to work.

 I really wanted to use the HUGE numbers.

So I did and love the result.

 The tassel is fun and finally worked in that pink and 

blue tag.

 After I got all the big stuff in I forgot about the journaling LOL

and the only place to put it was at the top

and bottom of the page.

Used a mix and match of alphas because

I didn't have all the letters.

Studio Calico.

Do you know how hard it is to find baby neutral items

Even in the scrapbook world.

Sigh.

So I plundered Echo Park baby both boy and girl

to find that neutral stuff.

Because the parents want to be surprised.

And what a great surprise it'll be.

Tucked under the books are the crocheted 

blanket I made and I found really cute leggings

and onsies in grey and white.

My other niece in charge of the shower

asked if I could help with the grandma badges

and banners she found on pinterest 

and of course I could

Would you believe I had all the supplies on hand?

Surprised me too (well except for the badges and flowers needed for

the grandma pins).

Love the soft yellow and grey.

They also requested books so I found two of my boys

favorite books.

I have had this acrylic heart - like forever

and really wanted to use it.

 I forgot how tough it is to do see through.

But I made it work.

 Goodnight Moon another favorite book

that I couldn't readily find but love it as an ending to 

the baby album.

All this was completed in less than a week.

Love it when a deadline comes through.

So on our way to the shower is when we met up with our friends

at a campground in northern Florida.

Where we discussed going full-time and found our new coach.

So it's all their fault LOL.

4th of July cards & a Birthday card

Sent all the grands a 4th of July card

made from kraft cardstock

and then being quite bold and daring

I freestyle painted the stripes using regular

craftsmart paint.

The stars are from a punch and popped up.

Assorted stamps for the sentiments. 

Then firecracker girl Annie has a birthday 2 days later

so I broke out my flamingo QK die cut

and added a fun party hat and a googly eyeball.

Love the splatters.

Got a couple more cards to go before

we hit the road for the summer grandkid tour

and the family fun for Labor Day at the shore.

We will be taking our show on the road...

(Sorry I've been MIA - big doin's)

Not that we have a show, mind you, 

however, 

lifestyle change coming up.

And its gonna be a doozie.

I can't wait.

But I'm gonna have to wait because.....

there are a lot of things that need to be done.

That change involves 

this....

 Our new beautiful Holiday Rambler 2009 38' coach.

 Living room and kitchen with a queen sized bed in the back

with a washer/dryer combo.

AND

a fireplace.

 We shared our pineapple from my garden and hung

out with our pals Paul and Sharon while we

picked their brain.

They have been full timers for 10 years so

They know a thing or too.

Of course I kept the top that I'll be giving away at some

point - no sense planting it in the yard at this point, 

and then there's artwork of Owen's that has been on the road

with us since 2013 that made the move official.

So...

We have a plan - sort of because as we all know plans can be changed.

THE PLAN

We will obviously be downsizing ALOT.

Then we will be selling our house and going on the road

full-time.

How exciting is that.

WELL...

It was not a sudden decision.

I have been mulling this over for some time because I had

issues.

Like I love my house, my stuff, my people, my crossfit, 

my friends, my scrapbooking, my people, my stuff and my town.

Raise your hand if you get emotionally attached to stuff too.

Because I do.

So...

In spite of all the above, there is really nothing to keep us

in North Port, at home, when we love to travel.

We don't get a lot of visitors, my own kidlets are gypsies

 and all the grands live in other states.

So.....

I have a lot of downsizing to do and won't

that be emotionally fun.

LOL.

But I really can't wait.