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.