Dude! (How many times will that be a blog title I use?)

Good Morning! How does this day find you? Yes, I really like to know these things. In my house we are taking turns with a head cold; right now my son is "IT." This means I get to play rousing games of Make the Three Year Old Blow His Nose; but they aren't as tricky anymore. Woohoo for that, huh?

I digress. I have another little story and a layout to share; based on Challenge 22 at Sketches In Thyme:



And here is my take:



As you may be able to tell, I had a lot of fun with this one. I was able to start it quickly so I could spend most of the week on the details. I inked the edges of the photos. I wasn't terribly concerned with staying in the lines; which is also why I went with sepia tones to play on my own messy tendencies.



I decided on the stamp shape AFTER I had glued down the photos and green paper. Rather than overlap onto the photos, I cut off the excess to create a double frame. Initially, I was only going to stamp the misted chipboard and leave it alone. Then I got the urge to highlight the feathers on the end and stitch my little heart out. It was an experiment...I'd do it differently if I tried it again.



The title threw me for a little while (like four days). I knew where it was "supposed" to go but it wasn't working for me...Then I got the urge to paint up some grunge stars, ink the edges and put the title on them. That made me happier.



The button tag was a matter of playing with a pool of glimmer mist left on wax paper AFTER I had finished misting the stamp frame. I added some red and just covered five Jenni Bowlin journal spots, two stickers and a few bracket chipboard shapes to be used later. Since I like the colors, I know they'll get used somehow in the upcoming season.

The subject is my nephew. A couple months ago, there were a number of teen and tween cousins at my Mother In Law's house; just spending some time hanging out. Often, she'll get up two twenty family members filter through in a day just because. My husband and I were also filtering through because the days are getting more rare when schedules mesh and our little boy gets to spend time with his older cousins. So, in the spirit of hanging out, I grabbed my camera and clicked like there was no tomorrow. This was especially true when zee nephew decided to jump hurdles over four bales of hay in the back yard. Half way through, I remembered I had a Sports setting on my camera and had even more fun than he.

One of my constant thoughts was, "Dude!"

Dude, I cannot jump four bales of hay! I don't even know that I can jump one. This is very cool.

Dude, he's got good form! I wonder if he'll try out for track someday.

Dude, he's having fun!!!!

The fact that he was having fun warmed me the most. He has fun often in life, but I firmly believe he could be having more. He's a great kid and I consider it an honor and privilege to have watched him grow from an infant into the beginnings of a young man. He's so smart and so strong and I want him to know that he has every capacity to take on the world and win it all, because, well...

Dude.

So, I think highly of my nephew. He is one of the people for whom I am thankful to know on this rock. In the spirit of preparing for Thanksgiving, I wanted to capture this special moment all about him.

Just Quick!

Morning! I just wanted to create a quick post for purely selfish means. I was just reading the latest post at Practical Scrappers -- how to get creative in rigging alphabet stickers to create something you need.

At the end of the post, they shared a really cool site, Anagram Solver, that will give you REAL words, after you supply them with a list of specific letters (like the ones you always have extra of in a sheet of alpha stickers) -- up to 12 letters. I tried it and really liked it. Aside from the crafty benefits, it's got to somehow help in a game of Scrabble, right?

So, yeah, that's it. Go play! Someone needs to have the fun today. I'm going to be alternating between cleaning the house and sneezing my fool head off today.

Patch

Good Wednesday Morning! How does this middle day find you? To be honest, I'm not even sure how it finds me. I'm pre-writing on a Tuesday night, while my husband takes his turn at putting our son to bed. Tuesday night, I'm sniffly and sneezy... and a little content to have finally watched Toy Story 3 with my son. The boy is a fan. I get a chance to relive my childhood conviction that the toys really do come to life as soon as we leave the room. I'd always try to sneak up on the dolls I had lined on my made bed to see what kind of bouncy dances they'd try because I was downstairs. *sigh* I never saw a single jig.

Anyway, this is approximately what my son looks like while watching the movies:


It's from last June, and I'll get back to my real point; a scrappy page of our annual trip to Montrose Apple Orchard. Each year, I start asking my husband, around August, if it's time to go to the orchard. Each year, he tells me I have to wait until the weekend before Halloween. This year, he tried to make me wait until October 30th! Time got away from him moreso than from me. After an adequate amount of irritation and point-making, we went on the 23rd. Woohoo! We also went a few hours before a decent rainstorm would have ruined the day. Double Woohoo! Throw in an added bummer for good measure, though. We never stay as long as I'd like so I always feel like there's a bigger reason to come back next year.

I based the pages on the weekly sketch from Sketches in Thyme:

And my take on the sketch:



If you're a stickler for details you may/not notice that this one is much flatter than pages I've created in the past. It certainly feels flat to me. I think the stuffy nose is throwing me off, but more than that, I've noticed my son's annual album is getting a bit thicker than I'd like so I'm trying to slim the pages up a bit. Perhaps an upcoming page about my niece in her Halloween costume will balance it all out. I'll get to use thick flowers and bling and actually do something girly! Woohoo again!

For now, I will love my flat page and the fun memories it holds. I wonder if my glittered up jack-o-lanterns ever dried.

Carve With Care

Good November Afternoon! Can it really be November already? Add me to the list of people wondering where in the world October went! I lived it, but it certainly wasn't long enough for me.

Ah, well....

On the upshot, I have some proof of life. We had a blast on the weekends this past month. A couple times, I was even able to score an afternoon away from home; like to my Mother-In-Law's home. Often, I refer to her as Gramma Camm'ra (I'll have to go back and look for the blog post explaining that. It was among my earliest posts, I believe). She got a little too excited to buy pumpkins this year and had a ton of carving to do. Since she buys one for each grandchild (and my lil one is still a little too young to handle sharp objects) I went over to carve one for him.

For the life of me, I don't know WHY I chose to carve a spider on his pumpkin... Okay, it's because he was Spider Man this year, but still! It's my third ever attempt at carving. A spider was not my best choice. But then again, it wasn't the only questionable "best-choice" situation of the The very beautiful and confident Gramma Cam'ra thought otherwise. Happily, she was right... sorta... for the most part. No one was harmed...except the plastic carving knife.



Ooops!

Well, it was such a fun experience for all of us I simply HAD to be scrapped, so I did. I used this sketch from Page Maps as inspiration:




The paper is DCWV, Amber Autumn, with a bit of last year's autumn line, too.


The title spot is a fussy cut of a pumpkin from the DCWV paper stack AND a couple leaves from another sheet in the stack. the Carve bingo card is the display/back packaging from a set of Jenni Bowlin bingo cards. The cards themselves are 5x7 and I like using the smaller previews, too.

The flowers and the blingy centers are Prima; as are the rhinestones framing the corner of the focal photo. It's one of my favorite photos of my MIL, for the expression on her face. But to prove that she is so very beautiful any other time...


I've got a load more of scrappy goodness to share with you. Hopefully, this healthy feeling will hold strong long enough to get them all posted.

Sweet Sixteen

Good Monday Evening! I hope your morning and afternoon were smoother than mine! Rather than bog you down with all that nonsense, how about a couple pretty pages and a little story?

Sound good?

The first page I wanted to share is related to my last post. It was a few days later, but I finally got out and found a good pair of jeans to fit my slightly slimmer body. I used a sketch from Practical Scrappers:



This is what I created:



One of my details was actually inspired by an old post at Practical Scrappers -- to use my stamps. Unfortunately, I never got around to sharing what I made *that* time, but I did enjoy it so much I did it again:



and closer...



The base paper is part of the DCWV Amber Autumn stack (that the rest of the page is made from. The flourishes were cut with a Cricut and the Cindy Loo cartridge. I then inked them with Distress Ink,Victorian Velvet; THEN stamped with Sassafras Lass stamps. The flowers in each corner are Prima; as are the blingy centers.



The dress form was cut using one of the Paris cartridges (I believe Summer In Paris)



That would be my new size. It's not tiny, but it works for me right now. I had wanted to add the word "Sweet" above the sixteen, but have been picky about font. Usually when that happens, it's months before it's added. The digits (both background AND the pretty layer) are from the Cindy Loo cartridge. They are cut from Grunge Paper (it's a love of mine). I inked the base layer with more Victorian Velvet ink; then inked the top layer with Black Soot. I wanted a richer look, so I covered *that* with Black Diamond Stickles. Then I was content.

I realize this is getting lengthy, so I'll save the other page for my next post. That's where the little story will be, too.

Thanks for looking!

Maybe Clocks aren't everything.

It's almost a crying shame. Almost, but since there's too much to be happy about right now, I'll save the tears for another day.

Today, I am officially (by my standards, anyhow) fifty pounds less than I was JUST before the year began. I am one or two pounds shy of being able to say, "Hello, 180's! Where have you been?" Obviously, they took an extended vacation... and so did I. The last time I was 189.x lbs, I had been given the nod by my doctor that I was in fact pregnant with my son over four years ago. I tried to maintain that in the first trimester, knowing that it wasn't necessary to "eat for two" just yet. Morning sickness helped a bit, but the power of carbs to soothe a queasy tummy was stronger than my will power, and then I was a happy carbo camper from then on!... And, since I'm not trying to talk about ALL the weight I gained, I'll get back on my mental track.

Since I did have weight to lose (eventually) I started losing it. Fifty pounds is none-too-shabby. Soon, I'll celebrate by going out and getting a new pair of jeans; one size smaller. I'll even declare that new size to the world, once I've bought them (because I've already prepped the scrap page for my weight loss album)! Yes, I did. It's beautiful, too; just like I feel right now.

Until I go shopping, I've let my mind wander. When was the last time I was *this size*?... It had to be while I was pregnant...Which is why I have NO clothes to slip into until I do go shopping. It's also why I'm perplexed because I was *this size* wearing a specific pair of happy khaki's in my first trimester, but I could swear they are one size smaller still. So, what in hey-diddle-diddle did my body DO while I was pregnant?! If I could weigh this much and fit into smaller clothes...

Did my hips expand? (I know they do that)

Was I more muscle then? (I practically lived at the gym before learning I was pregnant)

.... Both are possible, aren't they? Both are also messing me up! What I haven't said yet, is that I used to be a walking clock. One could set their watches AND historical time lines by my body's actions and sizes. I was always predictable and perfectly mapped out. Now.... Well, in ways life is good and I choose to seek joy and sanity in those ways. However, in ways life is also one magnificent mess and I don't know if I'll ever figure out which way I'm supposed to stand again... much like I can't figure out exactly what size I'm supposed to be, simply by reading a scale. Everything that I just flat out KNEW is being called to question and I can't stand and say that it's all perfectly correct.

So, now, a lot like the clock near the front door, I'm kinda broken and in need of a little help. I don't know exactly where I'll find that help, but I've got a few starters in mind. I've also got a memory of a time when I finally just threw my hands in the air and said, "I give. I don't know it all. Help me to learn more while I take it all one step at a time."

Maybe a few of those first steps should be the most simple... Like out the door and to the mall to find a properly fitting pair of jeans, huh?

Falling For You

Good Friday Afternoon! What a way to start a weekend; and a crazy busy one at that! There are multiple projects being tackled by teams of people, all in the name of Fall Fun and Preparation. Crazy as it gets today, at least we know it will be worth it when the freezing cold days hit and all we want to do is stay inside and snuggle by a fire... with a cup of cocoa, of course.

Speaking of Fall and warm fuzzies and all that preparation jazz, that's pretty much the point of my post today. I had mentioned earlier that I've spent a good amount of time raking leaves in the back yard. I could probably wait until the leaves are three inches deep, and heavy with rain, but why? So, I've been getting in my physical activity... and dragging my son along for a good time. He looks forced, doesn't he?



We absolutely caught a break with Indian Summer! It's a lot easier to go out and play if you're not getting blown around in the process. I loved the bajillion and four photos I took so much that I knew I'd have to put at least a million on paper. But how?! A million is a lot of photos, isn't it? Even in an exaggeration, that's a lot.

In my last post, I mentioned that every now and then, I come across a moment or a source of inspiration that just screams for me to get crafty. I had another one of those moments on Thursday, thanks to a new sketch at Sketches in Thyme



Here is my take:



I was first drawn in by the clean lines and fun pattern. Then... I started looking some more...and finally getting around to my first sips of coffee. The semi-circle at the top grabbed my attention the best. If you look just right, you might be able to see a giant thumb spot for pulling out extra photos from a giant pocket... So that's what I did:



I felt pretty clever. I also enjoyed incorporating the flourishes at the top. This is actually one of the two that I used to mask two previous pages (one being my last post!). It was cut with the Cricut and the Cindy Loo cartridge. Because it was used on two separate pages, it's also covered with two different shades of Glimmer Mist -- Coffee Shop and Red Velvet. I did tear it apart in a couple places to make it work; but I dig the whispy feeling.



The grunge alphas were originally destined for a good sanding and inking once the orange paint dried, but a couple hours later, I really liked them as they were.

The bottom was a sticking point for me. Evidently, I'm on a squirrel kick. Which makes sense, as this is one crazy looking squirrel. Hint: It's actually the leftover schtuff from a package of Tim Holtz Grunge elements. I noticed last year that, once I pulled specific flourishes out, I could recognize odd shapes of trees and squirrels and roosters... I think I even found a magic lamp! Once you paint it up, draw out a few key points and squint your eyes to the side, you can't miss it. But then how to make him pop a little? Evidently, you surround him with Prima flowers, right?



And that's what I have to offer the world today, for now, I must wake zee child so he may supervise those around him. Thanks for stopping by.