TIPsy Tuesday - Rouched ribbon

 Here's an easy way to gather up ribbon on a card using the mat pack.

Punch two holes at each spot for gathering the ribbon.

Then sew over the ribbon twice with matching embroidery floss or twine. It is fine to pierce the edge of the ribbon just to anchor it in place.  Put extra ribbon in between each hole for the 'rouching' as you go along.

The Stampin' Up! catalog inspired me to use this stamp from the Baroque Motifs set.  The Stamp-a-mah-jig aided in lining things up.   Each image is embossed using Bordering Blue Craft Ink and clear embossing powder.  The top image is embossed in copper on transparency film.  I cut it out and attached with a brad and a little chipboard as a spacer.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Baroque Motifs, Hugs and Wishes by Stampi' Up!
Cardstock:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze
Ribbon:  Hobby Lobby
Brads:  Paper Shapers

true R&R

I love this photo our friend Howard snapped of us on the first day of our California trip last September.  This is the title page to many pages from the trip which was true rest and relaxation.

The page is my entry in August's Scrapbook Stamping class at Two Peas.  The lesson is on emboss resist so I did the title stamped in white and inked over it with various dye inks.  I've finally found out why my previous efforts at emboss resist were less than perfect.  I was apparently using the wrong paper.  At least I think that was the problem.  This time I used some glossy photo paper and it worked great.  Always before my embossed image would pick up color that just would not wipe off. That didn't happen this time. It went so well, I did several cards this weekend that I'll post later on.

For the embellishments, I used several stickers from the Marrakesh collection  - an old collection from Basic Grey.  I had used some of these papers in the first few pages of this vacation.  The flower is part of one I'd made and never used so it was just lying around my worktable.  I knew there was a good reason not to clean up.  :-)

Thanks for visiting today!  If you haven't checked out Nichol's class at Two Peas, she will have a new installment on September 1st. Scrapbook-stamping-with-nichol-magouirk. She has the most clever ways to incorporate stamping into your pages.


Ingredients:  Cardstock:  Certainly Celery by SU!
DSP:  Greenhouse Gala by SU!; ledger is from Fancy Pants; other papers are from Marrakesh by Basic Grey
Stickers:  Basic Grey
Canvas Tag and lace:  Making Memories
Brads:  Antique by Stampin' Up!
Stamps:  Autumn Leaves

Ribbon Retail Therapy

On our way home from a doctor's appointment on Thursday, we stopped at Stamper's Alley in Mooresville, NC.  They are one of my favorite places to shop for ribbon.  Here are some of the pretties I picked up.  With all the lovely choices, I was happiest to find that tiny black and white gingham.  I had a roll of it from Stampin' Up! that I'd just used up. It really is just the right touch for so many cards.

There are a lot of nice textures here, too so I look forward to putting them to use.

Do you have any crafty plans this weekend?  I hope you are not in the path of Hurricane Irene.  She has made her first landfall a little weaker than expected but this is still a huge storm.  We are getting a little breeze today and we are an 8 hour drive from the Outer Banks.

I've got so many projects started; I'm not sure what to work on.  One night this week, I put all my travel pages from a couple of trips into one album and really figured out what I need to finish - two, I think, for California and one for this year's Hilton Head so those will probably be next.  I have the photos printed.

For the Explore class, I worked on prepping some photos for a project for my Mother.  I'd like to add a few more photos to my upload before having them printed so that is another weekend possibility.

And yesterday, I knocked some interlocking wire shelves that hold all my cardstock off their base so I'd better do something about those too.

For now, I'd better go feed my husband.  He's an amazingly patient man but he does get hungry.

Hope you are dry and safe.

Stitched Background Bookmark

This summer, I've taken light summer reading very seriously.  Heavy stuff has not been on my reading list at all.  I couldn't even take John Grisham's The Confession and I normally love his books.

No this summer, I've needed pleasant distractions with just enough conflict not to make them syrupy.  Here are a few of the books I've enjoyed:

Nancy Thayer's Heat Wave - Just finished this new book.  I just discovered Thayer earlier this year and while I don't think this is her best effort, it is very enjoyable.  Summer House and Beachcombers were better. Many of her books are set on Nantucket and are just the ticket for summer reading.

The Vineyard by Barbara Delinsky - I loved this book.  It is about 10 years old and of course my copy came from the library.  At first the story seems centered around the female Vineyard owner and what she had to do to keep her family together during the Depression, the War years and beyond.  But it is really more about the young assistant she hires and her dyslexic daughter.  I learned a lot about dyslexia while enjoying the pleasant story.

The Guy Not Taken is  short story collection by Jennifer Weiner.  Normally I'm not a fan of short stories as I really like to get to know my characters more.  These are quite good and one is a prequel to a novel she wrote.

Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle by Ann Ross.  If you've never tried the Miss Julia books you must start at the beginning.  This one is the most recent and as the name implies, babies arrive along with a mystery for Miss Julia to solve and of course, the necessity of preserving her precious reputation and even more precious family.  Miss Julia is wonderful Southern character.  This is also set in the winter time if you prefer to read your books in the right seasonal setting.

Fannie Flagg's I Still Dream About You.  Another wonderful Southern writer, Fannie Flagg sets her latest novel in Birmingham.  It is timely, funny and inspiring despite its - ah - subject - and I'll just leave it at that.

What have you read this summer?

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  DSP:  365 Degrees from Pink Paislee, Stamp:  Stitched background stamp by Stampin' Up!
Markers:  Stampin' Up!
Ribbon:  Making Memories

On my soapbox...

Here I am on my soap box today or should I say my "daytime drama" box.

I posted a few months ago that I am a fan of General Hospital.  If you've ever watched General Hospital and stopped, now is definitely the time to return!!! GH has a new writer and he is bringing the program back to its roots.  The Quatermaine family is being rebuilt and given key storylines.  One huge issue for fans has been Jason's leaving his family behind after an accident and joining the mob.  Jason is having brain surgery and it is expected he will awaken with memories of both of his past lives.  This Friday and Monday are to be great episodes in this story.

If you don't watch the show, I know that last part sounds ridiculous.  But really, are daytime drama plots any more far fetched than primetime shows?  And what daytime dramas bring are continuous stories with characters we can get to know.  They educate as well as entertain.  Also their actors for the large part don't make the headlines with outlandish and often illegal behavior of some of the primetime and movie stars.  They work hard and provide good entertainment.

I make the plea for viewing General Hospital for two reasons.  1) If you like a good story, this is a great show.  The acting is exceptional.  There are no reruns.  You can watch via TV or on the Internet at ABC.com which keeps episodes available for one week at a time and YouTube has them on and on.

2) General Hospital and all soaps need viewers.  ABC has cancelled One Life to Live and All My Children and are replacing them with cheaper lifestyle shows.  The first will be a food show called "The Chew."  Honestly, is there anything appetizing about that name???  By next Fall when Katie Couric joins ABC for another daytime talk show (eye rolling), one show will have to go.  Will it be General Hospital or one of the two new lifestyle shows?  I think GH will be far superior to the others but we need a lot more viewers to keep a nearly 40 year old program on the air.

ABC has sold the rights to their two cancelled daytime dramas to broadcast them on-line.  I hope this is successful; however, the best chance for GH is to get viewers and prove to the network that viewers enjoy a good story far more than an out of touch lifestyle show and yet another gab fest.

Ok, off my soapbox.  I promise to be back with a crafty project soon.  Thanks for listening!

Warm Wishes

I'm tipless today but I do have a card to share.  I accompanied my husband on a pinball repair up in the mountains which didn't take very long.  We did some shopping, took a hike, and enjoyed a gorgeous day.  Apparently I missed the earthquake!  I don't know if it was felt this far away or not.  Anyway, hope you are having a lovely day!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Playful Petals and Stitched by Stampin' Up!
Vanilla Hodgepodge hardware by SU!
various markers and ranger inks for the background on watercolor paper.

Dahlias

Wow! Look at those dahlias

When I showed my husband this layout, he said, "We've got to start growing dahlias again."  We used to but got tired of digging them up every year.  We had so many other things to tend to.  Seeing these last year at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden in Fort Bragg, California made us want to plant some again.  But of course, we got busy this summer and didn't.  So a good thing about scrapbooking is it reminds you of all those good intentions!  :-)

Journaling:

Walking along the path beside greenery and mostly spent flowers from summer blooms, we were stunned and amazed to emerge in the dahlia garden with its blast of vivid colors.  We used to plant dahlias and vowed to again after seeing all the varieties from tiny, compact blooms, to spidery shapes and mop heads that needed support to keep upright.  The colors seemed even brighter on the foggy, chilly Sunday.  

The layout is based on this month's Stretch Your Sketch at Two Peas in a Bucket.  I had already printed a lot of photos from the trip so I just punched out circles of the flowers and added them to a grid I cut with the Cricut and SCAL software.

I also used the Cricut to cut a border using the Storybook Cartridge.  I added some punched flowers as accents with just a touch of Stickles.  The background is green paint as I didn't have any other green paper quite the color of the paper on top.

I had so many photos I did this other simple page to complete a double page spread:

I'm almost done with scrapbooking this vacation.  I've said that before but really - about 2 more pages...

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  DSP:  Green by  Echo Park ; yellow from October Afternoon Thrift Shop; Soft Suede and Greenhouse Gala by Stampin' Up!
Cardstock:  So Saffron by SU!
Brads:  Basic Grey
Twine:  Martha Stewart
Cricut Cartridge:  Storybook
Stickers:  Wow by Crate Paper Mia collection; kraft from Jillibean Soup

Red, White and Aqua

You must think I turned a few too many calendar pages at once.  Last month I was doing Christmas cards and this looks a lot like a Valentine.  It is a Valentine set but I think it could be a thank you or love card.  Don't worry, one step outside and I know it is still a very humid summer.

I chose this stamp to go with my polka dot background and the color scheme of Red, White and Aqua for another of Shimelle's challenges.  For the background, I stamped the polka dots with regular classic Real Red ink and then went over a few of them with Versamark and some Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  I used Ranger's Glossy Accents on a few more dots to give the background a little punch.

I told my friends at card class this week that I've got to go to the fabric store and stock up on some ric rack. I'm out of just about every color. This was the last of the red.

Tomorrow is the last day for most of these challenges and a chance at the prizes so check them out.  Shimelle Scrapbook Challenges
Hope you are having a great weekend!

Ingredients: Stamps: Polka Dot basics by PTI; Happy Heart Day by SU!
Cardstock:  Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Blush by Stampin' Up!

Early 90's - Two Challenges

Shimelle's challenges from last weekend's on-line crop are continuing through this weekend.  One that I thought would be a good exercise for me is the "half page" challenge.  You are to leave about half the page free of content.  I used my free area to showcase this beautiful paper from the Sweet Threads collection by Basic Grey.  Since I typically strain the edges of any page with as many photos, embellishments and pretty papers as I can squeeze on, I thought this would be tough. It wasn't really that hard, actually.  Though you can see that I did fill my row of journaling cards and photo to the edges and beyond.  :-)

The journaling cards are for another challenge from Scrapbooker's Anonymous.  I don't buy journaling cards and only have them when they come with a collection pack. This page really stretches my stash too as there is product here from seven manufacturers!

The photo is as the title implies nearly 20 years old!  I scanned it and printed on matte paper with a beige background to give it that old look and match my journaling cards.  It was obviously taken on a weekend as I had on no makeup that I can tell.  That awful plaid shirt came from a garage sale, I think.  My Mother bought it for me as she used to regularly contribute to my closet when I was just starting out from college.  I had a good job but was putting everything extra into saving for a house.  Looking at old photos can bring up all kinds of things like that.

It was a wonderful time in my life.  My now husband and I were just starting to get to know one another, spending every free minute together.  While I thought my job was demanding, and it was, it was a great experience for me.  I worked with a wonderful bunch of people and often socialized with them as well.  We had a small, happy home.

Would I want to turn back the clock?  If I could live it over again in the same time, I'd say yes.  If I was in my late 20's today, no, I don't think so.  It is going to be harder for many people in that age group to get and keep good jobs and get ahead. Another funny thing old photos make you think about.

What about you?  Would you want to start again today 20 years younger?

Anyway, thanks for visiting and reading my rambling.

Ingredients: Journaling Cards:  Road Show and Delight by Fancy Pants, Mia by Crate Paper
Brads:  Stampin' Up! Antique and Enchanting by KI Memories
Ribbons:  Trendsetter by Webster's Pages
DSP:  Sweet Threads by Basic Grey;  Mia Crate Paper

Easy Card Recipe

I wasn't feeling too hot Monday and I needed something really simple to make me feel accomplished but without any stress.  I worked up this very easy card.  It is inspired by the Grid Challenge at Shimelle.com.  I think you could CASE this easily with a lot of different stamps - especially those small stamps that are sometimes hard to use.

Recipe:

Tool:  1" circle punch
Paper:  4 Designer papers in small tone-on-tone patterns.
2 solid cardstocks
Twine
4 small stamps and 1 greeting stamp

Cut the DSP into 8 - 1 1/4" squares.  I used 2 squares of each color.
Stamp images in white cardstock and punch.
Stamp greeting
Arrange squares on a piece of solid cardstock - 5 1/2" wide by 2 5/8" high.
Add circles with foam squares
Assemble adding twine.

I did a few of these for my OWH box and they lifted my spirits.  Creative pursuits always do that.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Season of Friendship by Stampin' Up!
DSP:  Sweet Pea by SU!
Cardstock: Choc Chip and Baja Breeze
Twine:  Martha Stewart

Going to the Doctor

"Going to the Doctor" may be an odd title for photos of a lady looking at quilts in a museum.  When I take my aunt to doctor's appointments about 60 miles away 3 times a year, we make a day of it.  Usually she wants to shop as she doesn't get out that much, but sometimes we do something very different.  On this day, we went to a quilt exhibit.

Journaling reads:

“What would you like to do after we finish at the doctor?” I always ask Thelma before we make our trek to Charlotte. At least three times a year, I take my aunt to the orthopedist.  It started when she had a bad result from a knee replacement and I knew of a doctor, via one of my clients, who did replacements of replacements. Now I take her for her shoulders.  We usually stop somewhere on the way home for shopping or sightseeing.  Near Christmas in 2009, she didn’t have anything in particular she wanted to do, but I did.

The Mint Museum downtown had a quilt exhibit I wanted to see and I thought she would enjoy it, too.  Thankfully a kind stranger pulled her wheelchair up on the sidewalk and after that it was an easy afternoon viewing beautiful old quilts.  We were both amazed at the details and workmanship.  In the permanent exhibit, I spotted an Electrolux vacuum that looked just like the one Thelma has been using non-stop for decades so I had to get a photo of the treasures together.

Our drive back and forth is filled with conversation about what is going on within our lives, gossip and general discussion about how things used to be.  Every once in a while, I remember that when I was young, it was Thelma who used to take me places with her.  I’m glad I can return the favor.


___


My aunt is such an inspiration.  Her medical history is horrendous and she just keeps going.  Every time we go out, she says she really should be at home working and she means working - canning, gardening, cleaning.  She's slow but she doesn't let that wheelchair stop her.


I took her to the doctor again last week and we shopped at Wal-mart on the way home.  She gets in the electric wheelchair and away she goes!


Project Notes:


Taking a lesson from our Explore class, I cut up some photos I'd made of the quilts and used those for embellishments.

Most of the paper and embellishments were from Fancy Pant's Road Show collection.  I remember when I ordered this from PeachyCheap and couldn't wait for the post man to bring me the package.  However, while the papers and embellishments are beautiful, I've had an awful time making them fit my photos.  So after this layout, I'm splitting the collection up and putting the remaining paper in drawers by color, the ribbon in my jars and the buttons with all my other buttons.  I think it will get more use that way.

This layout is another of the "going retro" ones for Shimelle.com.  Her challenges are good through next weekend and there are lots of good ones to check out.

Thanks for visiting today!

Girls' Weekend 2002

"We're not much into shopping." or something to that effect was a surprising statement I heard from my friends when we first arrived in Gatlinburg for a girl's weekend in November of 2002.  It was a statement we constantly mocked the rest of the weekend.   We hadn't even gotten to a restaurant for lunch before I heard "I want to go in here" at a shop we passed and the shopping began. 

My parents used to own a condo in Gatlinburg and I occasionally took a group up for a long weekend.  I loved sharing my favorite restaurants - Calhoun's, the Applewood in Pigeon Forge and Sweethearts old fashioned ice cream parlor.  No one ever believes me that you have to be at the Pancake Pantry no later than 7:00 a.m. or you will wait in a long line.  The photo of the ladies in front of the line was after we had eatten.  All those other people were still waiting.

Journaling reads:  

I love showing people all my favorite spots in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. My Siecor friends joined me for a long girls’ weekend.  Upon arrival, we gathered in the living room of my parent’s condo and I told them about things to do.  I asked when they wanted to go to Pigeon Forge to shop.  They looked at each other and finally someone bravely said, “I’m not that much of a shopper.”  Everyone chimed in their agreement.  They didn’t plan to buy much.  We then drove to Calhoun’s for lunch and didn’t even get to the restaurant before some shops had snagged their attention.  By the end of the trip, it took a long time to get everything we bought stuffed into our vehicles!  We joked about how we weren’t really shoppers the entire trip.

But that isn’t all we did.  We took the trolley tour of the holiday lights and we…

We had a lot of fun and I just couldn't cull out any more photos so the layout with 14 photos has little room for embellishment.  It does meet the "before 2011" challenge at Shimelle.com.  I'm also working through a collection from Fancy Pants this weekend.

Be sure to visit Shimelle.  She is hosting a scrapbooking weekend with lots of prizes. Many of the challenges go on for a few days so you can work on them all week.

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  Fancy Pants Roadshow

Sketch Challenge Cards

Both of these are based on this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  The Christmas card is going in my OWH box.  I'm still working my way through last year's designer paper.

The back-to-school card will be one of our stamp class cards this month.  I was looking to use alphabet stamps and I finally worked out a way.

(The apple is cut on the Cricut and I used a little Versamarker to add shading.)

If I were only doing one card, I'd probably just stamp one letter at a time - though it would likely be more work than it was worth.  :-) But doing several cards or in a class, there is a way to set them up and make it go very quickly.  

My finished size was 2" x 4" so I marked that off on grid paper 3 times.  Then I laid out my letters on each of the grids with one letter per row staggering them so the colors would come out with a nice mix.  Then I took an acrylic block and pressed it onto one group of letters.  I repeated with additional blocks and sets of letters.  Each block was then used to stamp the letters in a different color. 

Please excuse my overly inked blocks.  It is a good thing we have class every once in awhile, it makes me clean them up :-)  This is just another way to use a smaller set of alphas.  It isn't something I would do often but I thought it was cute for this back to school look.

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  Christmas card uses A Cute Christmas stamp set and coordinating paper from Stampin' Up!
The Back-to-School card uses Cosmo Cricket DSP, a Paper Studio alpha set, Making Memories ribbon and a Cricut cut apple.
All ink and cardstock are Stampin' Up!

Alphabet Stamps

Do you have alphabet stamps?  If so, for what projects do you use them?  I'm really curious what everyone does because I am challenged to find uses for mine.

For a long time I resisted the urge to buy large alphabet stamps.  They were kind of expensive and I didn't think I would use them much.  When I first took up stamping, I typically printed my scrapbook titles for my pages.  Eventually I discovered Thickers and bought a Cricut as well.  But somewhere along the way a couple of sets of alpha stamps found their way into my collection. I still have the hardest time using them.  (Should have gone with my first instinct.) 

I have a card class coming up soon and I thought we might use this set of alpha stamps since we haven't done that before.  I did these two cards. I don't think either is going to work.  I'm not that crazy about the baby card and that is a pretty specific use card.  The other one is to be a back-to-school card. While I really like it, there is a lot of stamping.  So we may do this or I may try to work out something else.  I like for everyone to learn new things and also to have fun.  It is easy for me to create cards that just take too long to make in a group setting with everyone sharing supplies.  It is hard to chat when you are pushing to get something done.

For this second card, I stamped the twill tape as well and then just punch a couple of leaves to go with the fall theme.  For the background, I lined up all the alphas on a large clear block and used markers to color them.  Then I went over the stamped image with a canvas background stamp and distressed the edges.  Yeah, a lot of inks!

Anyway, if you have an idea for alpha stamps, please leave me a comment.  I have 3 sets of large alphas like these and several sets of very small ones.  They are lonely and need to be put to good use.

Thanks!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Fun Alphabet by Inkadinkado; Cherry Hill by October Afternoon
DSP on Girl card:  Stampin' Up!; October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricut

Making decisions

The journaling starts off:

"Purchasing decisions rank right up there with water travel, puddle jumpers, and childcare as huge sources of anxiety."

I take forever to make purchasing deicisions.  Occasionally it is fun such as choosing scrapbook supplies. I devour the Stampin' Up! catalog in July and browse the new products at Two Peas adding and taking away from my bucket until I'm finally happy.

Most things though cause me some level of anxiety roughly proportional to the expense or the perceived impact.  For example, booking a plane ticket for our upcoming vacation wasn't that expensive (shocking!) but I spent a lot of time planning the itinerary so we could get in the things we wanted and made sure the only hotel I really wanted to stay at (that I could afford) was booked first.

And don't even get me started on shoe shopping!  It was always bad enough and then when I started having trouble with my feet years ago, it became agony to determine which shoes might work well for my feet.  The good news is that all totaled, I spend a lot less on shoes because I just avoid buying new ones altogether.

I made this page as sort of pep talk for decision making.

A few days ago one of our Explore class assignments was to list the things that were Perfect just the way they were.  My sewing machine came to mind.  Now I actually have 5 sewing machines! I do this for a living and the all have different purposes.  However, this machine is the best, absolute best I've ever had.  It is a home sewing machine and can't handle some fabric weights and it isn't as fast as my commercial machines but I don't care.  It sews marvelously!

The machine is a reminder that I can make great choices in what I buy.  Most things I purchase turn out fine in the end.  They are not all perfect, I don't love the dishwasher I chose - there was probably a better one for me for the money - but it does the job.

Soon I'll be making a couple of fairly large purchasing decisions - a lot more than a pair of shoes - and I need a reminder that I can do this.

Project Notes:
I did follow this weeks class and organize my scraps using 'mood' for selecting these for this page.  I'm continuing on the round embellishments we started at the beginning of class - minus the maps.

I also worked from the embellishments out, choosing the background paper last.  This is the third layout I've done that way and I'm really liking the process.

Artfuldelight has a giveaway on her blog as she is near to reaching 400 followers.  Visit at http://artfuldelight.blogspot.com/

Thanks for your visit!

Ingredients: DSP:  Cosmo Cricket Material Girl, Basic Grey Nook and Pantry; My Mind's Eye So Sophie ledger paper
Thickers:  American Crafts
Stickers:  October Afternoon mini market

Gone Batty

I thought we were going to go literally batty trying to figure out the best way to put up the bat house - or as my husband called it - the Bat Palace.  We have bats occupying our chimney that we want to evict.  We don't want them to leave the premises as they are the most marvelous mosquito control imaginable  I can walk out into my yard even in the evening wearing shorts and short sleeves and not get bit!  It is amazing.  OK, that may not sound like a big deal.  But really, most summer months I feel a prison of my house because the bugs just eat me up outdoors.  Not this year.  So we want the bats to move, not leave.  Thus the creation of a bat house.

The house is supposed to go up in July so they get used to it and then we evict the bats in the fall after their babies are ready to fly.  Building the house was remarkably quick and easy.  Putting it up was another matter.

After clearing the area around the tree my husband had selected and cutting off the lower branches, he set up the tallest A frame ladder we had and worked his way up.  He had already tied ropes around the bat house and affixed a pulley system so he could haul it up the tree, I would hold the rope and then he would put the screws in.  Sounds like a plan.  Well, the first ladder just wasn't high enough; for some reason he didn't cut the branches off flush with the trunk so the box wouldn't lay flat, and I am a weakling who wasn't very good at holding onto the box or the ladder for that matter.  There was one terrifying moment when I thought he was coming down - the hard way.

After lunch, we got a bigger ladder, longer screws and a better plan.  The Bat House was soon installed.  When I blogged about this the first time, I mentioned the poison ivy I found at the end of the process. I did end up with a little on my arm but very little, thank goodness.

So now for the layout of this little adventure...It's 7 photos for July's 4x6 Photo Love class.  Shimelle shows how to create an accordion photo holder in her video here - Class .

I stamped the bats on gray cardstock and cut them out for embellishment.

The font for Batty is Snap ITC.  I think this was part of Windows 7.  Isn't it the perfect font?  the T's sort of look like bats.  I used SCAL software and my Cricut to make the letters.

So that is the record of our latest at home adventure.  When I mentioned that I hoped the bats liked their new house, Lenny's response was "They'd better."

Ingredients:  DSP:  background from Creative memories, light blue from Fancy Pants, all other paper is Marrakesh from Basic Grey
Thickers:  Blackberry by American Crafts
Stamps:  Birds Galore and a seasonal set by Inkadinkado
Ink:  Black pigment ink from Colorbox

Spritzed Pastels

I played with my distress inks and some pastels this morning.  For this card:

The background is two different background stamps.  I didn't fully ink either one.  I was going for a collage type effect.

For the small rectangle, I applied pastels to watercolor paper.  Then I spritzed with water and let air dry.  The water blended the colors just slightly for a richer look than the pastels alone.

After drying, I stamped with a leaf stamp and then did another leaf stamp embossed in copper.  The ends of the ribbon are left a little frayed to go with the distressed look of the card.

It wasn't a difficult card but I did get out tons of ink colors.  Speaking of color, that is our focus this week for the Explore class.   I'm sure Shimelle will have lots of fun projects for us.

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Canvas background by Stampin' Up!; leaf background by Hero Arts; Leaves by Stampendous

Ink:  various Ranger distress inks and River Rock by Stampin' Up!

Brad: Vintage by Stampin' Up!

Lace:  Making Memories

My Part

In taking photos last week of where we sit, stand and lie down, I noticed I don't have that many standing spots.  One though where I do much of my standing time is by my kitchen island.  Naturally the kitchen brings up gobs of memories.

On Friday, I had another opportunity to take photos.  I was working in the kitchen for several hours baking and also preparing our lunch.  With my husband's family living half a country away, I have few opportunities for traditions.  There has become one that that travels - cookies.  Dillon and his mother, Jaime, love my chocolate chip cookies.  (It's that famous $250 cookie recipe, shh!  don't tell them.)  So the last few summers we have spent time together and I've made cookies for all of us.  When Lenny has traveled out to see them for holidays, I've made cookies to send.  It is a little thing I can do to be part of the family gathering without making such a long trip several times a year.

My journaling for this page also reflects how I enjoy cooking lunch for my husband each day. It has gotten to where I really don't want to go out very much around here. We have mostly chain restaurants and those you have to drive 20 miles to get to.  We leave our dining out for our trips where we can usually get a good guide book recommendation for something local and unique.  Anyway, it may not be that sophisticated, but I consider fixing a nutritious meal part of "my part" of our relationship.  I enjoy it, Lenny likes my cooking, I can be creative, or not and we save money and mostly eat healthier.  This is one of those every day things I wanted to put in my scrapbook.

Using a photo on an embellishment was also part of our class.  I used an older photo I'd made of cookies on a plate.

Project Notes:
We were encouraged to leave the background page until last.  I started with my photos and their mats but then I naturally started pulling out papers for the background.  Nothing seemed to work so I went back to building the page from the middle out.

After I got all the elements together and as assembled as it could be, I went back to the background trying all those papers that didn't work the first time.  Still, no go.  Then I tried some solids and hit upon this certainly celery paper from Stampin' Up!  I'm so glad I did it this way; I would have never started there.

For embellishments, I made my first ever Yo Yo's and used glazed brads for centers.

So what every day thing or activity would you like to scrapbook?

Thanks for visiting today!

Ingredients:  DSP:  Farm Fresh and Thrift Shop 8x8 pads from October Afternoon; Head in the Clouds from My Mind's Eye
Cardstock:  Certainly Celery by Stampin' Up!
Brads: KI Memories
Ribbon:  Dear Lizzy by American Crafts
Stickers: October Afternoon
Rub -on's by Stampin' Up!