Extreme Makeover: Scrapbook Edition | Michigan, August 2009

This is the difference 6 months makes when it comes to digital scrapbooking experience. Below is the very first speed scrap page I ever completed, when I'd JUST started digital scrapbooking. I look at it now, and what I see is a page made using many of the techniques I used when I was paper scrapping. Some of my proportions are off, and I just don't love it anymore. For your entertainment:

Recently, I've been trying to actually finish the scrapbook pages for this particular trip, and decided the page about Grand Haven needed a different spin. I decided to drop the photo of the sign on the pier, and included an important photo that didn't make it into the first draft. I kept some of the same papers and elements, but switched things around a bit. This page was also a speed-scrap page:

Journaling:
This vacation just keeps getting better....
The next stop on my trip was Grand Haven, where my friend Joanna lives with her husband Rob, who is in the Coast Guard, and their two boys, Josiah and Tommy. Somehow, I managed to miss getting a photo with them, although we enjoyed two days catching up! (Aarrgh!!!)
It was an extraordinarily windy day, and we walked out to the beach to see the high surf. Later we had Pronto Pups on the boardwalk - a Grand Haven favorite - and went to an ice cream social at the Coast Guard Station, where Rob showed me a couple of the boats. After the kids went to bed, we went back downtown to see the musical fountain, which unfortunately we missed. We drove out by the lake again, and found it was now remarkably calm compared to earlier, and we walked out on the pier, enjoying the beautiful summer night.
Another highlight of my visit in Grand Haven was having lunch with my friend Heather at the Kirby House. Heather and I worked together at Baker and were even roommates for a year. We at some seriously tasty food, and I also got to meet her new son, Bear.

Another reason I wanted to makeover this layout is because it is going next to another page I'd completed somewhere along the line. To make the two pages more complementary, I used a different layout that included circles, I used some of the same papers, elements & alpha, and the journaling is opposite of the left page, creating some symmetry.

That last page is one I haven't posted here on the blog before, either. That page tells a really funny story, and I start giggling every time I think about it.

Journaling:
For lots of reasons, I know we’ll always be friends.
Beth & I met in our first year of college, and the rest is history! These photos are the proof of more great memories. After a fun day together, we sat side by side with our laptops to check our e-mail. And that’s when the fun really started.
Beth’s husband Jeff was across the room, and the poor guy just couldn’t figure out what on earth was so darn FUNNY ...because we just couldn’t stop laughing. We eventually let him in on the secret: we’d been sending each other instant messages. What a fun memory!!
I already can’t wait until next time.

These pages remind me of the reason I first started scrapbooking, which is to preserve memories of fun times with people I care about. I live far away from these friends, and it's wonderful to have photos to be reminded of the times we've been fortunate to be together.