Birthday Boy #13 - Seriously Mixed

While looking through printed photos for a photo or two to scrap today, I found this picture from 2007.  It's a perfect photo.  It makes me smile.  It captures the pure joy of the moment!  We had just sang happy birthday and Phillip had just blown out the candles!  

I have been watching scrapbook process videos for inspiration.  It's interesting to watch this girl do mixed media on her scrapbook pages.  I thought I'd give it a whirl.  

I dug out two older Studio Calico scrapbook kits - Sonnet (11/16) and Young at Heart (08/16).  I knew I wanted to try some mixed media on the background, so once I had everything laid out, off it came!  On went the gesso and the Mr. Huey.  It really changed the feel of the page from CAS to (gasp!) messy.  LOL.  This is a little out of my box and not my usual scrapbooking style, which makes me unsure if I like this page or not.  There are certainly parts I love and parts that make me sigh.  But, it is what it is and hey!  You don't grow inside your box.  

May we all express such joy as Mom shows in this picture!  And yeah, love that kiddo!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

Supplies:

 - Paper & Accessories:  SC Sonnet SB Kit; SC Young at Heart SB Kit

 - Additional items:  gesso; Mr. Huey Double Yellow, Hot Diggity, Navy & Watercooler

January - WOTY001 Quote Art

Do you choose a word to focus on each year?  This year I chose RISE.  This year I am also hosting the brand spanking new challenge on SCS called WOTY - Word Of The Year.  Each month, a challenge is posted, challenging you to do something crafty with your word.

January's challenge was to find a quote with your word and create "quote art".  

Creating the project - I die cut the letters from some old steel rule dies - nothing like today's thin single letters. LOL. That took a while. I knew I wanted something like lettering on brick walls. I had to decide how to make the brick wall - and how to provide the faux texture. Stamped SU! Weathered BG in gray on watercolor paper, sponged two opposite corners, distressed the edges and sponged again. Everything was attached with gloss gel medium. This was probably an 8 hour project - including all the planning.

Supply list - I'm fairly certain I used my entire craft room.  LOL.  Maybe not.  But it sure was fun.

Stamps: SU! Weathered BG

Paper: Watercolor paper; SU! Yo Yo Yellow, Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo, Midnight Blue, Classic Gray, Soft Suede

Paper Size: 24 x 36

Ink: SC Power Suit

Accessories: acrylic paint (Neutral Gray), distress tool, sponge, gloss gel medium, SU! Serif Essentials; SU! Bigz Alphabet Simple Letters

Techniques: distressing, die cutting

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

Project Life - Week 1 2018

Happy New Year!  With the new year comes new papercrafting challenges.  I am flattered to be hosting not one, but TWO, brand spanking NEW challenges over on Splitcoaststampers!  Both are geared towards pocket page style scrapping, but like any challenge, can be applied to any papercrafting project.

Up first is the pocket page challenge, a bi-monthly challenge posted every first and third Wednesday.  

PKP001 challenges you to document the ordinary with a series of suggested prompts - odometer / price of gas, a selfie + this is me or any other host of CURRENTLY's (right now, TV shows, routine, weather, etc).  For WEEK 1 2018, I chose the odometer / price of gasoline and a host of CURRENTLY's.  My CURRENTLY's - rather than document the regular routine - document what's CURRENTLY out of the ordinary - the weather.  It's a bit extreme for us.   There has been nothing ordinary about Week 1 of 2018.  It's been all up in the air.

Title card features white on white - which provides great texture, but did not show up well when photographed.  Journaling cards are from a retired Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Mini Kit, sold on HSN a few years ago.  Markers, pens and washi tape complete the spread!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

Mixed Media Fun - I'm NOT cold!

One of my favorite things to do is to have morning coffee on the porch sitting in the swing while talking with my husband.  While the morning sun can get to be a bit much once it pops over the tree line each morning, it sure is nice.  I try to extend the "swing season" as long as I can.  "Swing season" currently encompasses "daylight savings time".  So, yeah, as I write this, my swing has just begun hibernation and my outdoor living area is prepped for late fall / early winter.  

It's cold now.  Like 32 degrees cold.  But just three weeks ago, it was 50 degrees in the morning.  And that was a tad chilly.  It's all relative.  Come January, 32 degrees is no longer gonna be "cold".  

So, here I am, sitting on the porch, waiting on my husband.  

 

What you cannot see is the blanket I've used to wrap my legs.  LOL.  My husband, walking up the sidewalk, got a chuckle.  I'm not cold, I said.  And really, I wasn't - under the housecoat and blanket. 

The background on which the page is built is a mixed media piece featuring a technique called "Drunken Acrylic Reveal".  It uses layers of watered down acrylic paint with drops of alcohol to reveal previous layers.  The effect can be quite dramatic, depending on the colors chosen and the order in which they are applied.  My results were subtle and not at all what I was expecting.  I attribute some of that to the brand of acrylic paints I chose to use - as these just don't mix well water water and the lighter colors tend to be transparent rather than opaque when layered over darker colors.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

PL Week 44 (2017)

Another week is in the book!  This happens to be the week of Halloween.  In addition to that, other neat stuff also happened that week.  

A bird's eye view of the week.  Not a single 4 x 6 photo, as I continue to use square photos in place of 4 x 6 landscape orientation photos on my spreads.  I take the majority of my photos with my phone, which means they are mostly in portrait orientation.  However, careful composition of  shots (and this takes practice), oftentimes will yield good square and sometimes even landscape orientation photos from a portrait orientation.

A close up of the left side.  A mix of seasonal and the everyday.  Not many words this week, as the photos and short captions tell the stories.

A close up of the right side.  This is the stuff of everyday life.  Only one story is included, as the photos and short captions continue to tell the story of the week.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!  

Christmas Card Parade - 2

The week before Halloween, I made Christmas cards.  Yep.  This didn't start with Christmas cards in mind.  It started because I wanted to "get messy" and play with mixed media.  I started with a cool twist on the shaving cream technique and wound up with four cards.  Here is the second card.

Hanging ornaments with a scattering of sequins!  I love the subtle pattern on the red layer and the subtle swirls of red throughout the green background.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

Christmas Card Parade

The week before Halloween, I made Christmas cards.  Yep.  And as I type this post, I have a PL spread laid out for the week of Halloween.  For some reason, I was so glad to put away the Halloween decorations.  **gasp**  So, while I finish up this PL spread, how about I share some Christmas cards?  

This didn't start with Christmas cards in mind.  It started because I wanted to "get messy" and play with mixed media.  So, off to the mixed media drawer I go.  

Has it been that long?  My gel medium was jelly.  My crackle paste was rock hard.  And the lid on the matte medium would not budge.  The matte medium was salvageable - Dale was able to open the jar!  But not without a colorful phrase!    

Looking for mixed media inspiration, I decide to visit some class materials I had on mixed media projects and learned about a new way to do the shaving cream technique.  I chose a series of green (of course) reinkers (little bottles of liquid ink), grabbed a can of shaving cream (not much in the can and I could have used a shave - but hey - it's crafty time!) and got to work.

Out came several neat unique backgrounds that I made into four unique Christmas cards.  Here is the first one.

Not my original idea, but I thought this was really cute.  An elf.  A headless, arm-less, leg-less elf - but forget that part.  It's still cute!  I was pleased to be able to use so many neat items from my stash!  The doily (there's gold under that collar), the corduroy brads (um, hello!) and the POW glitter paper (the butter of glitter paper).  Plus a sheet of striped designer paper from a past December Daily mini kit.  I don't consider the black cardstock stash, but a staple - gotta have it.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

PL Week 43 (2017)

So, daylight savings time "ended" Sunday.  What did I do with my extra hour?  Sleep?  Yeah, boy.  My eyes popped open at what is now 3 AM.  So, I got up, made coffee and worked on Project Life Week 43 (2017).  Check it out.

Just looking at the bird's eye view for a moment, note the mix of photo sizes and the use of black & white photos.  

I take a lot of portrait photos, but this is my go-to style for pocket pages.  While there are some 4 x 6 portrait pocket page configurations, I like to use vertical 3 x 4 cards.  And I really do like using this style pocket page - did I mention that already?  I do try to sprinkle in a different pocket page configuration here and there.  The variety of styles & sizes adds interest to the book and to the individual layouts.  Here I mix 4 x 6, 4 x 4 and 3 x 4 photos.

Black & white photos can be striking!  So, not only are there a mix of photo sizes, there are four black & white photos clustered in a group, surrounded by color!  Why, with all the color, would you use a black & white photo in a project life spread?  Cohesiveness.  Less busy - the crafty "mess" appears much less busy in black & white; I chose to surround that photo with the golden yellow, the same color of the ceramic cat's ball of yarn!  Less than perfect photo - while the color thermostat photo would be OK, it looked much better in black & white, especially with the shadow to the left.  Tell a story - two of these photos were used for a 7 day black & white Facebook photo challenge, with no captions; a good photo, by itself, can tell or spark a story.

Achieving cohesiveness in a multi-photo layout is sometimes a challenge.  Note the repeating elements - stamping with the same stamp set, typing, hearts, washi tape, date stamp.  Sounds like a lot, but in the overall scheme of available options in my craft studio, it's really not.  LOL.  Pick and then repeat.   

Here, I decided to stamp right on the photo, using Memento Tuxedo Black.  And it worked well.  

So, this year's PL album is coming together with the Jade Edition and that roll of washi tape that is almost gone!  It has been sprinkled through out my 2017 book.  

Some supply notes:  All journaling cards are from Becky Higgins Jade Edition.  Stamp set is PTI Wet Paint II.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day.

Canon Selphy VS Epson PictureMate

Happy Birthday to me!  Dale gifted me a new photo printer, an Epson PM400.  I finally found time to set it up one day last week.  I even had a helper.

I really do like this little printer!  I loved my Selphy, too.  I loved it so much I wore it out.  I wasn't sad to see it go.  The print quality was good and it printed fast.  However, Canon Selphy CP900 was not compatible with Windows 10 and did not print true 4 x 6 photos.  I could print wirelessly from my celllphone though and that made me happy!  The lack of true 4 x 6 photos had begun to bug me a little, but I trimmed the photos down to mat them on 4 x 6 white cardstock, creating photos that looked like they printed with a border!  Canon Selphy was a giant step forward for me in printing photos at home - it was quick, easy to use and no issues with wet ink.  It was a very nice printer for the price.  That printer was a birthday present form Dale, way back in October 2013.  He paid $77 for the printer.  So, I had four years of use.  It was a good four years.  

I began to have issues with the Selphy, so I asked for a new printer for my birthday.  This one would be an investment, as it is over twice the price of the Selphy, coming in at $200.  But it comes highly recommended, prints true 4 x 6, prints fast, no dry time, wireless...a little bigger footprint, but still compact.  Selphy required more footprint to print that it did to sit - so it's about equal in footprint overall.  The current home for the PM400 is a nook that's really not useful for anything else - a good place for a top feed printer.

So, how does it compare?

The photos on the left were printed with the Selphy.  The photos on the right were printed with the PictureMate.  PictureMate prints a truer, richer color photo - note the rich skin tone, the true color of the stainless fridge.  Note the vivid orange of the pumpkin and the clear, not muddy, gray / brown of the background.

A side by side comparison shows the differences, but Canon Selphy was a step forward for its time.  The PM has a higher price tag than the Selphy.  I enjoyed my Selphy.  Ready to enjoy more of my PM.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a moo'valous day!

National Farm Day 2017

So, yesterday was National Farm Day 2017.  How about a page featuring one of my favorite farmers?  

I created this page (flipping over page)...hmmm...I didn't sign and date this one.  I pulled this out because I had a friend with a question - what colors go with yellow and white other than black?  Anything, I said.  Green, for sure!   What about teal? she asked.  Yep, I said remembering this page.

These photos were taken back in May 2009, when I was 40.  Wow.  Oh, wait.  I was 39, gonna TURN 40 in five months time.  But I digress.  When I still raised my cattle.  We had moved 2 bulls to Dad's.  One was named SAW - Stow A Way - which I gave to him.  Pretty sure the other was Chief - which I let him borrow.  

The flowers make this a dimensional page.  They were created with a scallop circle punch.  Snip and fold the scallops and pop on a smaller punched circle with a pop dot.  Title was created using Tidy Alpha, an older alpha set from Stampin Up that remains to this day one of my favorites.  The large circle is cut from sparkly designer paper - don't tell Dad I put photos of him on sparkly daisy designer paper.  LOL.  A cluster of photos with varying poses - three similar and one different - creates an impact.

Farming is a hard life.  But I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I grew up on a first generation working dairy farm.  So many stories and so many cool things to witness and experience.  But, truth is I didn't do much farming myself as I was growing up - I bottle fed calves and had to pull tobacco plants and had to strip tobacco tips.  The only good one was bottle feeding calves and I did enjoy the occasional ride on the tobacco setter!  LOL.  So, when I took an interest in raising cattle, Dad was quite excited.  He gave me four calves (two heifers and two bulls, a pair at a time) to start my adventure.  And from that point forward, until he closed the dairy, I purchased his first born calves to bottle feed and raise.  He milked Holstein and bred the heifers to a Black Angus bull for their first calf.  They made a great beef cattle herd that I bred to full stock Black Angus bulls.  I named them and raised them; eventually had a herd of eight cows plus steers and calves and a bull or two.  Now I have chickens.  And Dale has his cattle.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

DTGD17 - MSM's Minion Fun

Back in August, Splitcoaststampers held a Fan Club event called Dare To Get Dirty.  This is a annual event held for Fan Club members, with challenges thrown out by the current and past Dirty Dozen.  The Dirty Dozen is a rotating 12 member creative team for SCS.  The challenge details are secret - you have to be a Fan Club Member to know the detail - but we can share our projects.  

There are anywhere from 40 - 50 challenges over a 7 day period.  Queen status is obtained by completing every project by the deadline and uploading to the proper SCS gallery.  The deadline is just a few days after the event ends.   To make Queen status, a participant must complete one project for each challenge.  I call it the "iron man of papercrafting".  

So, each year I participate.  Each year, I make Queen status.  Not this year.  It was a "people over paper year".  And I'm totally OK with that.  

Ah, those cute Minions.  One night Phillip is playing around with photo filters on his iPhone and says, hey mom!  We also like to "talk to Siri" - this has resulted in tons of laughter.  But I digress.  This time it was photo filters.  

In creating this page, I mixed and matched products from my stash.  I really do like the look of navy as a neutral.  It's always fun to revisit old favorites - the Tasteful Trim die (the scallop strip), the Target washi tape (the hot pink striped strip), the silver sequins, the puffy pink hearts and the triangle punch.   And those navy letters!

It's not just the big things that make life grand, it's those random moments that warm the heart.  It's not just what the photo shows, but it's the story behind the photo and all the thoughts and feelings it creates in your heart.  Yes, this is a photo of me, taken by my son, with a fun filter - that's a great photo.  It's also a remind of those small random moments of happiness where we just share and laugh.  Those are the moments that warm the heart and make life grand. 

On another note, today marks the day Phillip starts a new journey in his life.  I wish him all the best as he embarks on a new adventure.  Love that kid! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day.

VSBN September 2017 - Thanks

As I wrap up the VSBN September 2017 project parade, how fitting that THANKS is the focus for the final challenge.  I seriously could not have planned this better.  LOL.  I totally had these in a different order and posted them in whatever order I felt inspired to on the particular weekend.  And THANKS just happened to fall to the end.  Not because I don't give THANKS, but because I say THANKS for having me as your hostess for VSBN September 2017.  I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing, chatting and looking at your pages.  The enthusiasm and encouragement from the participants was a great inspiration to me and I hope the challenges were a great inspiration to you.

When we think of giving thanks, we typically think of Thanksgiving.  However, we can (and should) give thanks year round.  I'm less intentional about this throughout the year than I am when I'm doing the project "30 Days of Thanks".  But the challenge is not a focus on being intentional (although you can).  Focus on those things you might take for granted - things you would miss if you didn't have them - things you enjoy doing with someone.  This could encompass a large variety of topics.  As you look through your photos, don't look at the event itself - consider how thankful you feel and choose your topic accordingly.  There is no right or wrong way to do this.

I - Thanks.  The challenge is to scrap someone / something for which you are thankful.  Alternatively, you may scrap Thanksgiving photos.  Provide some movement around your page and some focus to your photo by journaling around your photo!  Don't fret about getting the journaling perfect - write it out on scrap paper, fake it out around the photo and fill in blank spaces with arrows and doodling.  You can do this!

My first sample is a large selfie of me & my mom at Lincoln Days (2016), a local festival celebrated in my and Abraham Lincoln's hometown!  While my page focuses on fun times and the journaling states facts, I read those facts and feel immensely grateful for the opportunity to spend this time with Mom.  It's something we look forward to and has become a tradition - although we didn't make the festival together this year.  It's also one of those instances where the journaling puts photos in my mind.  

My second sample features a smaller photo with a large title and a quote.  Journaling surrounds the photo on two sides - with the large title to the top and the smaller quote to the right.  This lady came into my life when Dale & I first started as Cub Scout leaders.   And she has styled, cut and colored my hair ever since.  She's good - I just sit down and she works her magic.  She took this photo one day after she had worked her magic and we were waiting on the toe nail paint to dry!  

There are so many things in my life for which I am grateful.  Today is my 48th birthday.  I am so thankful for a husband that I love bunches and that loves me so and celebrates with me all the big and little things.  I am thankful for a son that I love bunches and gives me gray hair that my friend has to color.  LOL.   Kids.  But I sure do love him.  

When you feel grumpy, think of something for which you are thankful.  It might take a little bit, because you are grumpy, right?  But even the smallest thing, will let in that ray of sunshine and warm your heart.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day.

VSBN September 2017 - Dress Up

We all dress up in the fall - whether it's for Halloween or nice clothes for the family holiday get together.  Or maybe just because.  My family & I do all three.

H - Dress Up.  The challenge is to scrap "dressing up" photos.  They can be a Halloween costume or wearing your "Sunday Best".  The subject of the photo must be YOU.  In addition, "dress up" the page with sparkle - glitter, sequins, foil or metallics (gold / silver / bronze). 

Way back in 2005, when Phillip was in Cub Scouts, Dale & I were Cub Scout leaders.   This is a photo from the first annual Halloween Bash - a costumed party, complete with a hay ride, a haunted house, games, food and camping.  This photo was taken by a parent, from a distance, which is why it is a little dark.   It is the only picture I have of me in this costume.  This was a "store-bought" costume with my own modifications to suit.   

The background paper is custom made.  The bottom panel features a painted background with painted stars using a custom made stencil.   The top is plain red cardstock with brushed gold cardstock stripes.  The stickers are old - from Creative Imaginations.  Boy, they made awesome stickers - this is the same company that made the John Deere stickers I love so well and have so few left.  

I was pleased to have a chance to play with the Wonder Woman stickers.  Now that I think of it, I do have another photo of me in this costume, but it is not full length.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a moo'valous day.

VSBN September 2017 - Labor Day

What does Labor Day mean to you?  How do you celebrate Labor Day?  For some, it's summer's last hooray.  When I was growing up, we went to the lake for swimming and a picnic.  In my early 20's, it was the last of the summer boating season on the lake.  Today, it's the day my husband says I can get out the Halloween decorations!  I don't actually decorate on Labor Day, but that holiday marks the starting point of when I CAN decorate for Halloween.  I usually do it the following weekend.  With that in mind...

G - Labor Day.  The challenge is to scrap what Labor Day means to you.  I could be how you celebrate Labor Day.  Cookout, swimming, decorating, reading, napping, working - whatever you do to celebrate Labor Day.  And put away your whites, you cannot use white on your layout.

And not a stitch of white.  OK.  The labels have white letters.   

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day.

VSBN September 2017 - Back to School

Back to school - nothing screams fall like back to school time.  School supplies.  New clothes.  This was my favorite time of the year.  Mom would take us to Roses for back to school clothes.  This was before the time of the Towne Mall, which was built around 1986, and all the clothing stores that now populate the city.  It's been quite a few years since I have shopped at Roses, but back then, they had quality clothing.  We would try on the new fall fashions and put them on layaway.  It was still a tad early (warm) to be wearing fall clothes when school actually started.  We purchased school supplies at TG&Y, which was our "Wal-mart" without the grocery section in those days.  Every year, I always got a new themed metal lunchbox, with a thermos, and a book bag.  Little House on the Prairie.  Wonder Woman.  SuperFriends.   Those are just a few that come to mind.

I'm no longer in school and my kiddo graduated from high school a few years back.  So, a twist is in order - let's not take this theme so literally.  

F - Back to School.  We learn something new every day.  The challenge is to scrap something educational or demonstrate / share something learned in a paper crafting class (a tip or a technique).  Alternatively, back to school photos could be scrapped.

My page focuses on the GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE.  Included on the page is a demonstration of how the moon eclipsed the sun from OUR point of view using punched circles.  While the sun / moon pairing actually moved in an upward diagonal across the sky, I chose to show this in a soft arrow that provides movement around the page.  This page will function as a title page for a series of pages (maybe four) about that day.  The idea for this page was developed during the many breaks that were taken during the viewing of the eclipse.  I wanted to remember how the moon crossed the sun at 1 and exited at 9.  I had this page done very quickly that evening - in under an hour.

We had a lot of fun with the solar eclipse glasses and the pinhole viewer.   I did not take any photos of the eclipse itself, instead, choosing to enjoy the experience.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

VSBN September 2017 - Food

Food.  It's all about the food.  It's been said that we spend longer today than they did years ago in restaurants having dinner.  Maybe it wasn't said nicely.  Maybe they were complaining about the long table wait and someone piped up and said yeah, we have to wait longer for our tables.   Why though?  Because we have to take photos of our FOOD!  How about instead of keeping a written food diary, we keep a photographic food album.  Now, that's an idea.  

E - Food.  The challenge is to scrap fall food photos and then "rate your food" by using stars on your layout.  Lots of options here - foodie photos, photos of a spread of food (like yesterday's Halloween luncheon photos or the birthday cookout spread) or a recipe page (long overdue for me to create one of these!).  

So, what do we have...ah, yes.  The hogs.  Last October, they went to the butcher.   

I kept the pig ears and pig tails off all the hogs.  We took three hogs - one was ours - I asked everyone else if they wanted their pig ears and pig tail - my boss looked at me like I had two heads, but said no, you can have them - so, no one wanted their pig ears or pig tail.  LOL.  So, I decided to make treats for Spike and Penny.  It went OK.  I just didn't expect to b.a.k.e.  t.h.e.m.  f.o.r.  s.o.  l.o.n.g.  Seriously.  I wrote it down somewhere, because I have more pig ears and a pig tail to bake, but it was longer than they said on the recipe.   A whole lot longer.  But it was worth it.  Penny - she loved stuff like that - like Penny with a beef bone - she kept on until it was gone - all night long.  Pretty sure she thought Lincoln and Garfield would steal it.  LOL.  Loved that little dog.  Spike enjoyed his as well.  Pretty sure he inhaled it in one sniff.  LOL.  It was challenging to find the happy medium in size, as Penny was an American Cocker Spaniel and Spike is a Yellow Lab.  

We've eaten all our our pork burgers and pork sausage patties.  (sigh)  We still have a couple roasts (found a keeper BBQ pork recipe), pork chops and sausage logs.  And another set of ears and a tail, somewhere.  Dale mentioned it the other day.  Might call our butcher and see if he has some more pig ears and pig tails for me - that's too much work to do just one set.  And two sets is the most I can do at one time.  I'll make it a new fall traditions to bake pig ears & pig tails around pumpkin picking time.  Speaking of which, I still need to go get pumpkins.  GASP!

We're getting a trio of hogs next year.  Until then, the Pork Producers will have to satisfy my cravings for pork burgers and pork sausage patties.  AND, I'm putting more pork into burgers and sausage patties.  It's a learning process - make a list of your cuts and as you eat up your meat - modify your list.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day.

VSBN September 2017 - Holidays

Happy October!  I'm working my way through the nine challenges presented for Virtual Scrapbook Night (VSBN) September 2017.  Today's focus is on HOLIDAYS.  How many holidays there are in your fall depends on when you start your fall and your personal fall season.  There are those traditional fall holidays - Halloween and Thanksgiving.  There's also Election Day (and yep, you can scrap election day!).  Or Veteran's Day.  What fall holidays do YOU celebrate?  

D - Holidays.  The challenge is to scrap a fall holiday.  Include more than one patterned paper on the page.  Moo've out of your comfort zone and mix and match patterned papers, don't just grab a paper pack.  

So much fun stuff on this page!  Much of these products are favorites and oldies from my stash.  The patterned paper is from two different SU! Halloween paper packs.  Pretty sure I bought every Halloween paper pack they put out during the time I was a SU! demonstrator.  I have no idea which two - I could probably figure it out - because all my Halloween paper is in one fat 12 x 12 envelope!  It's a little mixed up - but hey! - it all coordinates.  The title was created with SU! Tidy Alpha.  It's so fun & easy to create titles using this alpha stamp set - just stamp and trim.  DYMO label buddy - creates quick captions for photos, taking up very little space.  Tags - perfect for journaling.  And a doily.   A skull rub-on and scattered gold coins rub-ons complete the page.  Those rub-ons were old and, boy, did I have to rub to get them off the backing.  But, they're still good.  

The photos are favorite shots from our First Annual Halloween Luncheon held at work.  Of course, it's my first Halloween working there.  LOL.  I've always wanted to wear a costume to work on Halloween.  We had spooky food and wound up with two kinds of chili, among other yummy goodies.  It was a fun time.  I was the ONLY adult in costume.  And it was a HOT day!  It was so hot, I couldn't wear my leather pirate coat inside and had to roll up my sleeves.  Pretty sure parents took their kiddos trick or treating in shorts.  It was a unseasonably warm day.  

Already, planning is in progress for the Second Annual Halloween Luncheon.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

VSBN September 2017 - Birthdays

How appropriate, seeing today is my brother's 45th birthday.  I could not have planned this any better.  Happy birthday to my favorite brother!

We, as a family, celebrate several family members' birthdays in the fall months.  My own birthday is in October!   Plus my niece, my sister in law, my great nephew, my brother (today!), some of my cousins, some of my aunts and my husband all have fall birthdays.  Whew!

C - Birthdays.  The challenge was to scrap a series of photos taken at a birthday celebration, pocket page style.  

These photos were taken last year at the birthday cookout for the September birthdays.  But Timmy, my brother's grandson, was the guest of honor.    

Here's the left hand page.  Snapshots of the guests and some of the gifts.  A quilt for Timmy, made by his great granny.  It was during my inaugural trip to Hobby Lobby with Mom, that she bought some of the fabric that was used in this quilt.  There's Timmy opening the card I made for him during the 2016 "Dare to Get Dirty" over on SCS.  Every year I participate, I do make the birthday cards for our September birthdays.  Then there's the "cool boots".  Pretty sure those were "cool boots".  Living on a farm, I like rain boots / muck boots.  They are essential.  Pretty sure Granddad has rain boots, but I"m positive they aren't "cool boots", they are just plain ole muck boots.  

Here's the right hand page.  It features the food.  It's all about the food.  My brother decides to plop into my lap.  And that was a great photo op.   

What a fun day.  We do it every year.  It's become a tradition.  

Pocket pages are a great way to scrap a ton of photos quickly.  Pocket page scrapping was made popular by Becky Higgins with Project Life, which typically features one photo a day presented in weekly two page spreads.  Other pocket page projects in which I participate include Ali Edwards inspired projects such as December Daily, Day in the Life and Week in the Life.  I don't scrap chronologically, I scrap what I feel like.  And this year, I began to mix pocket pages with traditional 12 x 12 pages in my scrapbooks - this is one of such pages.  This is one of the things about not scrapping chronologically, new ideas are incorporated into older books / photos, making the books more interesting.  Pocket pages come in a wide variety of configurations and are not limited to 12 x 12; they also come in a wide variety of sizes such as 6 x 8, 4 x 6 and 4 x 4.  So many to choose from.  My go-to 12 x 12 pocket page style is Style A, which is the style of the right hand page.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

VSBN September 2017 - Pumpkins

Pumpkins are the ultimate fall "thing".  It's not fall without pumpkins.  Everything is pumpkin.  Sometimes it's a bit too much.  Pumpkin spice in chocolate?  That's a crime.  Pumpkin spice creamer, on the other hand, is something I look forward to every year!  I buy it by the case!  Cause it keeps until late December, even into January!  I check the expiration dates.  And stockpile it in the shop fridge and the house fridge and the work fridge. 

Whether we eat, decorate or carve pumpkins, nothing screams fall like pumpkins.  Of course, there are the changing leaves, but we don't have one tree on our farm.  Truth.  I don't miss picking up limbs or raking leaves.  I had enough of that sort of thing growing up.  I get to enjoy the change of the leaves around the country side.  I digress.  Pumpkins make me smile.  

Now on to the challenge.

B - Pumpkins.  How about those beautiful shades of orange with pops of green?  What about those white Cinderella pumpkins?  Beautiful.  This challenge is to create a page featuring pumpkins or a page inspired by pumpkins.  It can be the item itself, a pumpkin recipe or the colors.  Moo've out of your comfort zone by going BIG with the photo or title or both!  

So many things I love about this page!  The memories of that visit, the colors, the title, those gold foam Thickers.  (sigh)

This could be a Halloween moon.  Another demonstration of how to go BIG and create a great statement page for display.   Look at all the gold!  I love those gold chipboard letters!  There were only 26.  LOL.  How many words can we make out of just 26 letters.  Pat, I need to buy a vowel pack.  (wink)  Plus the R, S, T, L and N.  I've learned to enjoy those products of which I have limited amounts, rather than purchase more, wish I had more or "save for that special project".  

Going BIG with the photo or title is one of my favorite ways to create a statement page.  These pages usually find a place to hang on the salon wall in my living room.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!

VSBN September 2017 - Festivals

Hello there!  It is my pleasure to serve as the hostess for SplitCoastStampers' September 2017 VSBN.  For 2017, VSBN (Virtual ScrapBooking Night) consists of a series of monthly challenges, rather than a series of quarterly virtual scrap nights.  The challenges for this month's VSBN revolves around the theme "It's FALL y'all!" The focus of each challenge will be on events that occur primarily during the fall months of August, September, October and November. But, that's too easy.  The challenges presented for September (hopefully) introduced participants to new ideas and maybe helped push the limits of their scrapping comfort zone. This is how we grow.  Yep, each challenge had a twist to moo've us out of our comfort zone.

There were nine challenges in all, posted three daily challenges on Labor Day weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and two daily challenges on each weekend thereafter (Friday and Saturday). The final weekend of the month will be "ketchup" time!  (And yep, I have one on which to "ketchup'.)

Ready for the first challenge?

A - Festivals.  Fall begins the festival season! In our rural corner of the country, there's one in every small town every single weekend. This doesn't include the local school fall festivals. 

The challenge is to scrap a series of photos taken at a fall festival event using a grid format. The grid does not have to consist only of square photos. You can change it up and use circles. Or you can mix it up and use both! Not all grids have to contain a photo. Substitute a journaling block or a cluster of embellishments or use one large cool embellishment.

Once I discovered grids, I found I like them.  My greatest challenges with a grid is getting the photos on evenly distributed and straight!  LOL.  

My first page features the fire trucks from last year's Rineyville Days parade with square photos. The middle grid contains the title work. 

My second page is not fall themed; however, I share it to give you an idea of how a grid of circles would appear on a layout.  I made this page several years ago, one day when we were snowed in!  

There were gorgeous pages submitted for this challenge.  I enjoyed looking at them all.   You can see them here:  Festivals Gallery on SCS.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a moo'valous day!