Scrapbookin' Navy Moms

I have way to much stuff, I love scrapbooking. I have a cricut, and just bought a silhouette, I am hoping to start my sons navy album. My husband just finished my scrapbook room.

One of the best things (and so simple) I did was to organize my 12 x12 paper...  I bought a set of the wire squares that clip together to make squares for storage...  made two cubes and then added the other squares by zip tying them into place as shelves!  One shelf for white, one for reds, one for yellow, one for blues, one for greeens... Now all my paper is easy to spot and stacked on the corner of my scraping desk.   

That sounds like a great idea Susan. Target sells this storage thing that a friend of mine has that has the 12x12 totes with the hinged lid like they have at Michaels and those slide in like drawers to hold her paper and I think it holds like 5 or 6 of them. It's pretty cool and it's on wheels too. She even brings it with her to our crops lol.

Batmansmom, that is a great deal. I got the same one with a 50% off coupln but still paid $20 so you got a great deal :-)

Diana- I have looking at a silhouette, my birthday is next week and I am thinking that is what I want but I don't know much about them. Have you used yours yet and how does it differ from the cricut?

I would love to see pics of your scrapbook rooms if anyone would like to share :-) I am so excited to get started on mine. I can hardly wait.

Lala: I had ordered a navy guy in blue cameo's and you made it for me on your cricut and I loved it. I purchased "united we stand" cricut cartridge but don't see it on it. What is the name of the cartridge you used?

I make those with the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge and use the little soldier. Some of the others take me several different cartridges and some of them I had to make and design some of the parts myself :-) 

Joann's has a Navy packet with 12x12 papers and embellishments.  It's only on line though.  Michael's and AC Moore have Navy photo albums.  There is a 50% off coupon at AC Moore this week and you can use it in either store.

I found that Michaels has the Navy scrapbook with the emblem, but also Hobby Lobby has another navy scrapbook that is in the form of the dress blues uniform top. ALSO there is another one out there with the digital blues shirt. My brother sent me that one for my son and I also got the other one for my husband for when he was in.....love them both :)

I like putting my scrapbooks in a bookshelf so the scrapbooks with the Navy medal or uniform on them would stick out too much. they are better for scrapbooks you leave on the coffee table or laying on a shelf flat. I used a navy blue 12 x 12 scrapbook for son's and husband's scrapbooks.

Hi, All!  Is anyone here on Pinterest? I've noticed a lot of scrapping ideas on there but haven't seen any Navy ideas. I think we should post some!!

Birdiejr......That's a great idea!  I am on pinterest and am in the process of making a patriotic wreath i saw on there.  I'm adding my own NAVY touches.

I just joined Pinterest a couple days ago so I haven't done much with it yet but I plan to :-)

Hi Ladies - I finally printed some pics of my sailors scrapbook.  Went to Michaels and bought the Navy - Leather bound scrapbook. Have his MEPs, PIR, reporting to his first station (Ship- USS New York LPD21) and his deployment.  Actually awaiting his return from the Med with all his pics.  To date he has visited Florence, Pompeii and Rome.  Gonna be an awesome big of memories for him.

That is awesome momoftwosons. What an amazing journey he is having :-)

OK, so I'm new here, was sad for a while cause my son just got verbal orders to Japan... BUT now I'm finding a NavyScrappin!!!  Yahooooooo, I'm OK now.  Hoping to make some great friends here.  Vi

Welcome to this group CreativeVi, this group a=is not nearly as active as I would like it to be lol. I love scrapbooking :-) You will see my scrapbook in a box above and I even posted directions for it so check it out. We have a new facebook group for Navy Families. It has some going through bootcamp now and several of us who have Sailors already. It is becoming a good mixture of people and everyone is just starting to get to know each other. Anyone who would like to join it just let me know. here is the link I wanted to invite all of you to join a new facebook group for navy families and friends. https://www.facebook.com/groups/327167160695549/

I agree we need to be more chatty here!  I check daily and am guilty of not posting~  My son just returned from deployment and I spent his first couple of days home pestering him to get me a set of his pictures!  He has a lot of pictures from his port stops!  HURRAH!  Of course not many with him in them but his buddy says those pics are on his camera... so now I wait for the buddy to make some copies...  those silly boys!!

you could always scrap postcards if he sends some to you. my husband would collect postcards, stamps and money from each of his ports. adding these things really makes his scrapbook pages more interesting. it also helps to remember dates and places later down the road. it is fun to look at his pictures of coming home from the ship's point of view and mine from the pier's point of view. we never thought to have someone else take a picture of us together when he got home. 

That is a great idea Quiltlady. I will share this info with my daughter whome we expect to be deployed soon. 

I also printed pictures from the RTC facebook page about bootcamp and made pages for my son's scrapbook. Things like Captain's cup, getting their haircut, PT, uniform fittings. He is not in any of the pictures but it will give a sence of what bootcamp was like when he was there. I also added a newspaper clipping about the huge snowfall they got from our paper during his time there. Sometimes you have to be creative when you are not there taking pictures.

I did that as well Quiltlady and I did searches online and looked through photos on this site for PIC of RTC that you are not allowed to take when you are there. I got some great pics and I was lucky enough to get a pic from Captains cup with my daughter in it and got pics of her singing with the choir a couple weeks before her own PIR. 

Hey Rose...  I also use shutterfly...  has been great to use the share pages they allow for other family members to log in and see his photos...  and the photos that I take at ballet, band, plays, soccer, basketball, camping, birthdays, etc of my nieces and nephews...  seems my family is so used to my picture taking now they don't worry about bringing cameras!

OK Ladies - you are motivating me to get to work! I started a scrapbook for my son, and am stuck at Boot Camp! Lots of letters, but no photos. The RTC fb page is a great idea...I printed some of his PIR photos from there, but didn't think of the day to day ones just for interest on those pages :) I'm only about a year behind....typical!

If your son is assigned to a unit...  do a search on Navy.mil photos for their ship or squadron...  they have great pics there...

Hi

We've been having storms all day and it's just got me so lazy.  It's been dark as night and all I've wanted to do is sleep.  I have forced myself to do some house chores so I don't feel guilty later to sit at my scrap table and work on some things later.

I'm hoping to hear from my sailor later today too.  He's finishing up today at school and I want to know how he did on his tests.  Maybe he'll tell me he's coming home for some leave... that would be so nice.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hi.  Vi

My biggest problem is a lack of space. I don't have a room so I get it all out and barely get started and then have to put it away. I am finally getting a room in August when my step-daughter goes away to college. It is kind of bitter sweet. I will miss her but I am super excited about getting a craft room :-)

Lala - I know what you mean.  When my daughter left home I was upset.  On the other hand I now have a fantastic craftroom.  The only problem now is I have so much space that I keep shopping and buying more stuff.  Next week there is a scrapbooking expo in my state.  I know I will really have trouble controlling myself.

Best part of traveling is checking out new scrapbooking stores along the way. We are heading to Brandon, MO. Hoping to find more Navy stuff for my husband and son's scrapbooks.

Well now I feel better.  After my son left, I took his room, LOL.  I love having a place of my own.  I've decorated it cute.  There a window to the backyard that's all woods, flowers and serene.  My parrot loves sitting in the window.  He's is for a shock when he comes home, LOL

If anyone in this group lives within driving distance to New Port Richey FL (surrounding areas include Holiday, St Petersburg, Clearwater etc I will be there on vacation and I am going to have a get-together for all of my navy Mom friends who would like to join us on Wednesday afternoon/evening. I will have goodies/food and we can all sit around (or in if you prefer) the pool and just have a fun time getting to know each other and talking about our recruits and Sailors. If anyone is in that area and would like to join us please send me an email and let me know. My hubby will be away on a fishing trip and we were gonna do it Monday because he wants to be there but that is our 1st wedding anniversary <3 So, I would love to have you join me and others and you will get to meet my Sailor as well :-) The date is Wednesday June 27th. If you would like to meet but that afternoon or evening isn't good for you let me know and we will set up a another time while I am there :-) I am so excited to meet some of my navy Mom friends!!! My email is uniquememorymakers@yahoo.com

Good Morning all, When my son left for boot camp last week I started looking through the Navy for Moms sight and  was so excited to find a group that loves to scrapbook. My son was honored to be part of the Cardinal Company and my mind has been racing with ideas for scrapbooking this experience. I saw that several of you have made your childs room into a craft room, this made me giggle as my husband and I have been having an arguement over how soon is to soon to transform my sons room into a craft room for me. Looking forward to to getting to know everyone better.

We move my daughter into college this weekend. Next week all the furniture comes out and my stuff goes in lol. I am going to put a smaller Day Bed in there for when she comes home to visit :-) I have been working from my kitchen table for FAR FAR too long. I have been collecting stuff for my craft room from yard sales and thrift stores for at least two years and I have enough stuff in storage to fill a room 5 times the size I am getting lol. I keep saying the room is too small and my hubby says well we could always make it a man cave and then I say NO, it is much bigger than the kitchen table lol. But I think I will have to have my own yard sale to get rid of all the extra "stuff". I am so excited I have been drawing pictures of how I want to set it up.  But, I must say I am definitely going to miss my daughter.

A craftroom/scrapbooking room is a requirement of life.  My husband always called it my "Therapy room" and he was right.  We may miss our children as they move out but we adapt and learn to adjust to having our own space.  If you  don't have enough room go upwards.  Michaels sells stackable craft cubes.  When I run out of room I just add another layer!

Guess I know what I will be doing this weekend.

I thought I was the only one out there that had trouble changing the room :)  It took me 4 months to decide to change my sons room into my scrapbook room....I was so distraught when he left for bootcamp, so I ended up keeping half of his stuff in the room and the other half of the room is MINE :) Little by little I have been getting more stuff and his stuff is moving more to the closet Lol

Hello everyone!!  I am a scrapbooking mom and now a mom of a Navy Sailor!!  I am so excited to get started on the scrapbook for him and have already moved my small work space to the family room of our basement, lol!!  we are now emptynesters and the family room was his bedroom the last 6 months before he left for BC.  He loved the privacy and said it helped him to get a mind set that eventually he will be on his own and be responsible for himself (it was like having an apartment) lol!! but now the space is no longer used and I have a larger work space and have also expanded storage and added new supplies--LOVIN IT!!!  and yes, it is my therapy room.  thank you for letting me share!!

I have been working on my room for a couple weeks now and have it almost completely finished. I had to do as you suggested cathy :-) I went to Michaels, they were having a 40% off sale on all the cube and storage/shelves etc so I bought a bunch of stuff. I spent a whole night adding it to my room and of course putting it all together. I am watching for another sale to buy 3 more paper storage cubes. Last weekend I bought a rack to hold thread for sewing and by the time I took all the thread that I had out of shoe boxes it pretty much filled it up. I cannot tell you how many items I have multiples of because I would need something and couldn't spend a day digging it out of storage so I would buy another one. I think I could set up 3 or 4 craft room lol. It is so AWESOME having my own room and I am having a great time getting it all organized. Today I made a bulletin board. I will post some pics in a few days when I get it closer to being finished :-) 

Welcome Cynthia :-D

Now that fall is coming, it is time to start thinking about scrapbooking.  When my son was in BC, I scrapbooked 7 out of 8 weekends.  It really helped since I missed him so much.  With the summer, I haven't touched it. My friend and I are starting to plan to start again.  I did have the pictures from PIR and A school printed.  I think I need to go buy some more paper and some embellishments and I am ready to go.

Hello Lala and Doreen, I'm so glad to find ppl who share the love of scraping.  I have been working on cards and book markers, with a little bit of scrapbook pages.  It has helped me through the time my son has been in BC.  PIR is on friday and I will be able to take more pictures to start on his Navy scrap book.  I am so psyched on spending time in my new craft area, and chatting with all of you on here.

Cynthia,

Here is a couple things I did for my son's Navy album.  I scrapped each letter he sent me. I pinned each corner so I can still take them out and read them if I want.  The letters stop after BC because they can call you.  These might be the only letters I ever get from him.  I then summarized the highlights of the letters on the page.  Then I took alot of different pictures at PIR of the various flags and signs in the auditorium plus you need one of the various Great Lakes signs at the entrances.  These make good embellishments on your pages.  Also, I bought a lot of stickers at the NEX.  Navy mom, Navy dad, etc.  Some are actually bumper stickers.  I think these will make great additions to the pages when I start scrapping again.  You can't get these anywhere else but the NEX.  The small one on the base had a good selection.  Make sure your sailor brings you there.  I am from the Chicago area so if you have any questions about the Great Lakes area let me know.  My son is at A school there right now so we go up there every couple weeks to see him.  The Gurnee Mills mall has an Archiver's store if you don't have one of those near your house.  I got a couple things there.  Enjoy PIR, it is a great experience.

I printed out pictures off of the RTC facebook page and used them to illustate what goes on during boot camp. Pulling teeth, fitting for uniforms, captian's cup and any others I found. Really shows all the different things they do. I am always on the lookout for Navy scrapbook stuff. My husband was in for 23 years so sometimes I have to buy 2 of everything. My son is stationed in Dam Neck VA and the closest 

the closest scrapbook store to his base has no navy stuff. I couldn't believe it.

I just found and ordered a bunch of new Navy items from scrapbook.com.  They have quite a bit and they have free shipping every once in a while.  Happy scrapping!!!!

Great Idea for what goes goes on at bootcamp. My family gives me a hard time in that I feel the need to document all aspects of an event. 10 years from now my SR will be glad to see these reminders of this time in his life.

Thanks for the info on Scrapbook.com I will check out what they have to offer for Navy items.

Cheryl - thanks for suggesting scrapbook.com.  They have stuff I haven't seen at Joann's or Michaels. 

No trouble at all.  Glad to help a fellow Navy mom and scrapper. 

The cubes are on sale this week at Michaels  for 50% off.  My store has also added some new pieces to the collection.    I do so love adding to "My Room".  i had a plastic storage unit with drawers filled with my punches.  It was probably too heavy and collapsed so I was forced to buy more cubes.  Now everything in the room matches and I love it.  I labeled all the drawers and can find a punch easily.  It is so wonderful to do something for me.

This weekend Ranger Industries is having its annual warehouse sale.  Everything will be at least 50 - 75% off.  I am so excited. If anyone is in the NJ area it is in Tinton Falls.

No football game tonight and they are calling for a rainy weekend so I'm thinking this will be a great weekend for catching up on my scrapbooking. Hope to get lots done.

Hello Quiltlady, I am trying my first quilt for my brother who is retiring after 26 years active duty. He is a Sr. Chief MA and I want to make a small quilt for the wall and I have an idea of putting a badge in the center but also having his duty stations on the border. I am having trouble locating the patches or anything else that may have their names or insignias on them. Know of anywhere I could look for them???? I have looked online but not having much luck :(  Thank you for any help you can give me....Carmen