a smashing good time...

Internet, you've SERIOUSLY never heard about smashing?  You've GOT to be kidding me!  I'm totally addicted... come on over- I'll tell you all about it!

Ok... for a little history - back in HS I started scrapbooking and all through college Candace and I would scrapbook every Thursday night when our 'shows' were on.  CSI and Friends - I think were our main ones!  Anyway.. the last actual scrapbook I did was one of my relationship with Scott to have sitting out at our wedding reception.

So one day a little over a year ago I had a creative itch and decided to head to Hobby Lobby... always a great idea when I'm getting the itch.  {insert Scott rolling his eyes}  So I came across this book called 'Smash Book' and it caught my eye so I looked at it and all of the embellishments that were hanging right above the books.  I was instantly hooked!

Basically smash booking is a much less involved version of scrapbooking.  Those ticket stubs you save but aren't sure what to do with?  Those fortunes from your date nights at the local chinese restaurants that you want to keep... those thank you cards, birthday cards, or cards of encouragement that you want to keep but aren't sure where to store them so that you'll look at them again.... well this is the answer, internet.... just smash it!

So here are some pictures of the process:

I always have EVERYTHING spread out on my coffee table... I need to be able to see all of my options :)

All of the pages have different designs.. and each smash book has a different 'theme' if you will... and all of the pages are aimed towards that same theme.  So they have a book for weddings, babies, traveling, retro and several others.  

Here is a before and after of a spread I did for the student ministry we serve in.

This one is adorable - so just had to share it!  My brother was being super silly... and Melissa was righfully putting him in his place in the bottom left picture :)

They make these adorable sticky tabs where you can kind of create dividers... I have a visitor's page in my current smashbook.  So when my friends decide to look through them- I ask that they leave a little note {insert note-lover-nerdy grin}

They have these pockets where I store groups of cards.. like the picture in the top right (above) has all of my birthday cards from that year stored together.  

Wow... that top picture is full of super old pictures that I had laying around and decided to make this their home! 

I don't usually keep the theme of the book... I have kind of been doing a year at a time.  So all of those ticket stubs, fortunes, encouragement notes, bday cards, anniversary cards, etc that I had been storing in a box somewhere for the last few years... they all went into my 1st smashbook.  I'm on my 2nd one right now and it is events of the later part of 2012 through 2013!  

I did purchase a bigger smashbook because I am going to make it our 'travel' scrapbook.  We have so many pictures and maps and ticket stubs and menus from favorite places to smash so I decided to get a bigger one for that.  I haven't started that one yet... I'm going to have a week or so in March off work so I might just take that time to work on some of this stuff if I'm able!  

How do you organize your keepsakes?  

In college I also took some heavy cardboard boxes from Hobby Lobby and decoupaged them with tissue paper to add color and then clippings from magazines and pictures!  So I have one that has a bunch of keepsakes from HS and one for college and another one that has a ton of keepsakes from my relationship with Scott.  

Internet, yes.. I did make Scott one too... to keep the cards and stuff that I gave him... I know you were wondering.... don't worry his is MUCH manlier :)  seeeeeeee...

Something sweet about this box I made him is that he had this box sitting on the table with pictures and flowers for me when he proposed... he used the clipping on the top that says 'You'll never guess whats inside this box'... and hid the ring inside the box :)  So precious!

So... how do you organize your keepsakes?!