Photo Shoot

I am so proud of these photos. Yes, I had help (see journaling), but still, I snapped the shutter. And I love the kit from Scrap Artist, too. I almost didn't get the kit either. It was a freebie on National Scrapbook Day, which was the day before we left on our trip to New York. You had to "order" the kit (put it in your shopping cart), but there was no charge for it. Then you were sent an email confirmation with a download link. But we left town the next day, and I overlooked the email confirmation. So by the time I read it, the download link had expired. Luckily when I inquired about it, they reset the link. It took a couple of emails, because I didn't remember exactly how I'd gotten the kit in the first place. At first I thought it was just for registering on the site. But once I gave them my order number it all fell into place. I'm so glad, because the kit was perfect for this layout!

Journaling reads: "We went to the OSU Botanical Gardens with Kitty Story on a photo shoot, and she helped me get these gorgeous flower shots. She gave us a lot of great tips, including taking photos at eye level, being aware of backgrounds, and filling the frame with the subject. She also taught us some things about our camera we didn't know, including that we could zoom in on our LCD screen."

Credits: Summer Whimsey kit from ScrapArtist.com, Sketch from Scrapmommies.com, Fonts: Artistamp Medium and Cheryl.

Treasure

This is another layout I did where I was able to combine several challenges - I always love to do that! But mainly I am learning to collage photos together and blend them. I really love the technique. I haven't done much yet, but I intend to do more. The quote here is "Happiness is your own treasure because it lies within you."

Credits - Lilacs for Lilach kit by Sue Jones.

Trying to Catch Up!

I did this layout for a scraplift challenge on the Scrapmommies website. It is based on this layout. It is also for the ABC challenge - being the letter "O" this time. I always try to combine challenges whenever I can.

We had our son's fiancee's family over for fishing on Memorial Day and that's when I took these pictures. Her family includes her parents and her sister, sister's husband and 2 boys.

Credits: All papers from Bold and Chalky by Traci Reed of Scrapmommies; doodle arrow by Gina Cabrera; brushes from Digital Distressing Kit of Scrap Artist. Font is Arial.

I have several more layouts to post, but probably won't get them posted tonight.

Bundle of Joy

I've completed a lot of layouts the last couple of weeks, due in large part to challenges on Scrapmommies. This one was to use the lullaby for inspiration:

"Baby mine, don't you cry.
Baby mine, dry your eyes.
Rest your head close to my heart.
Never to part, baby of mine."

One of my online friends just had a baby, and she posted this picture of herself with her baby, and I knew instantly that I had to use it for this challenge (since my "baby" is 24 years old and is not ready to make me a grandma anytime soon!).

Kit is Baby Girl Story by Jen Reed. Photo corners by Valeri Brumfield.

Crown

This was just a lot of fun to do. It was a scraplift challenge on the Scrapmommies website, and so different from anything I've ever done before!

The journaling around the outside reads: "Jessica had to have this crazy foam lady liberty crown, so of course I had to take a picture of her on the ferry back, since she looked so cute."

Credits: Background papers - Shabby Princess; Happiness swirl - Sweet Shoppe Designs; colored flowers - Jen Reed; outline flower - Digital Design Essentials; swirl and squiggle brush - Suzanne C. Walker.

Grimaldi's

Journaling reads: "Dianna told us that Grimaldi’s had the best pizza in New York. The only problem was that she isn’t very good with directions. All she said was that it was on the first street under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side. The cab driver wanted an address, which we didn’t have. At first we weren’t even sure he was going to agree to take us to Brooklyn, but after some discussion he did take us across the bridge. But then he started driving around aimlessly, getting farther and farther away from the bridge. Glen started giving directions to get us closer to the bridge. Once we saw the bridge, we insisted that he just let us out. We started walking, when I saw a man walking a dog. I asked him if he’d ever heard of a place called Grimaldi’s, and he said it was in the next block with the green awning. While it was pretty good pizza, Glen and I thought it couldn’t compare to our own Hideaway."

The word art reads: "Life brings simple pleasures to us every day. It is up to us to make them wonderful memories." by Cathy Allen

Kit - A Day to Remember - Sweet Shoppe Designs Team

Statue of Liberty

We spent a few days in New York City last week. We took our son and his fiancee with us. We had a great time! I have been scrapbooking some of the photos this past week. The journaling reads: "We took the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands on Monday, May 8, which really made us all think a lot about immigration." Kit and alpha by Robyn Gough.

Way Cute

I finished this layout today for a sketch challenge at ClikChicDesigns, my new favorite digital scrapbook forum. I used a sketch that they had permission to post from Dailysketches.com, and Lucky Star Kit by Gina Cabrera.

Journaling reads: "We visited John and Cindy in January 2006 and they had a new dog. His name is Charlie and he’s a cockapoo. I went to Stamp Asylum while everyone else went to a hardware store, then we all went to Ikea and Home Depot (they were looking for new pulls for their kitchen cabinets).

We saw Thoroughly Modern Millie in the evening and had a really nice visit."

Circle Journal

I finished another set of pages for the digital circle journal I'm doing. The theme for this one is "I'm so proud of me." The kit is by Fiona Renwick of ClicChik Designs, the flowers are from Scrappers Guide, and the alpha is by Lauren Bavin. I used a sketch by Jen Caputo for the lefthand page. The tabs have my name on the right page and date on the left page. The journaling was not easy for me to write, since I don't usually write about myself in this way! It reads:

I consider myself a good wife, mother, and friend. But I am also good to me:

I keep physically fit by eating a healthy diet and by walking two miles a day most days.

I exercise creativity by sewing or digital scrapbooking or embroidering or stamping most days.

I sew with friends every week to stay involved socially. I am active in a local quilt guild and atc swap group. I am even the treasurer of my state quilters organization.

Vallecito Reservoir

I did this layout for a class on layout design. I used a kit called Strength by Tracy Ann Robinson, Kylie Clark, and Trish Jones, which is a fundraiser to help support the victims of Cyclone Larry, and is available here: http://clikchicdesigns.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=8&products_id=91. I also used an inking effect by Atomic Cupcake, and a sketch from Layout Blueprints.

Journaling reads: We spent one night in a cabin at Vallecito Reservoir. While the lake was pretty, we agreed that it was not an area that we would return to. After seeing many different areas, we both agreed that we liked the Almont area the best.

Fred

I always talk about my cat, because I'm a cat person, but we also have a dog. So I actually did a layout of him last month. Fred is a laborador retriever. You can see the gray in his muzzle in this picture - he his 13 years old, which is pretty old for a black lab.

Faithful Friend Kit by Marcee Dugger. Grungy Date Stamp by Meryl Bartho. Staple by Valeri Brumfeld.

Another Circle Journal

I wasn't going to do this to myself again, but I did. I joined another circle journal. This one is a little different though. It is a digital circle journal. And since I'm really hooked on digital stuff these days, I thought I would really enjoy this one. So far, I am - of course, I've only done one set of pages so far. I hope I'm not sorry before I'm done! A few of the themes are going to be really challenging for me, but we'll see how it goes. Here are my first pages - the theme was favorite nature photo with quote (which reads "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. by Aristotle). Kit is by Lauren Bavin.

The theme for my next set of pages is "I'm So Proud Of . . . ME!"

Overlay Class

These are a couple that I did last month for a class on overlays.

Way Behind on Posting

I've done a few layouts (not too many), but I haven't uploaded any of them. So I need to post some of them. We visited some friends last year that we just visited again this year, so I finally got a few of the photos scrapped so that I could take a 2 page layout with us to give to our friends. After giving them to our friends, I made a few more changes (the beauty of digital), so here are the new pages. Basically, I added the names of all the animals.

Thinking about Birthdays

Digital Scrapbook Place is celebrating its second birthday this week, so there are lots of challenges and contests going on. One of the challenges today is to write about our birthday. Mine was 3 months ago - I turned 51 on January 6th. We don't make a really big deal out of birthdays anymore - but it is kind of a special day. The person whose birthday it is gets to do pretty much whatever they want to on their birthday (within reason, of course). I don't even remember what I did this year - but I probably sewed (or maybe stamped). Then I think my mom took us out to a really nice Japanese restaurant for dinner (or it may have been the day after, because I might have had a quilt guild meeting on my birthday). All of our birthdays are right after Christmas (mine is first, then my son's is January 12th, and then my husband's is February 2nd), which makes it really hard to plan presents. I had already gotten my Canon Digital Rebel for Christmas, so I don't remember what I got for my birthday. It's really hard to write about 3 months later!

Last Cat Layout of My Friend's

I finished this one today. This makes all 4 of my friend's cats. I sure hope she likes them! I used papers and pawprints by Marcee Duggar, stitching by Lisa Carter, Chip Board Alpha by Lauren Bavin, Word Art by Tina Chambers, and a ribbon by Jenna Robertson.

Redone Layout for Kelsey

I wasn't entirely satisfied with the earlier layout I did for Kelsey. Since I was doing the layout for a contest, I was required to use a specific kit. And while the kit had its strengths, it probably wasn't suitable for this photo of Kelsey. So, I redid it using a different kit. I like it much better. This kit is Southwest Flair by Marcee Duggar. I think my friend will like it better too, since she is quite a fan of southwest art (at least I hope so).

Another of my friend's cats

Here is yet another of my friend's cats; I really like how this layout turned out too. Just one more to do. I used a kit by Marcee Duggar, word art by Tina Chambers, and a sketch by sandersmr, all from Digital Scrapbook Place.

Another of my friend's cats

This is another of my friend's cats - she has four, and I promised her I would make a layout for each one of them. This is my second one - I like this one better than the first, because I like the kit I used better. Plus I love this sketch my Stacey Jewell Stahl. Word Art by Tina Chambers. Twist Tie by Meg Beverly. Autumn Embrace Page Kit by Michelle Shefveland. Heart by Cindy Wyckoff. Chipboard Effect by Atomic Cupcake.

New Contest

Now I'm in a new contest on Digital Scrapbook Place. This one is to find the "Digital Elite Team." The contest is 4 rounds, and they are elimination rounds. And the competition here is much stiffer than the New Kid. I KNOW I won't make it onto the team; I don't even know if I'll make it past round 1. But I'm happy with the layout I made for it. This is a photo I took on Christmas day when we visited my son's fiance's family. This is his future mother-in-law holding her new grandson.

The quote on the journaling strips reads: "A new grandchild . . . to hold in your arms for now, to hold in your heart forever." And along the bottom: "with Mimi 12/25/05"

Trendy Blue Background and Ribbon Set and Trendy Blue Embellishments by Angie Svoboda. I "cut" the letters for the title out of one of the background papers in the set. I also extracted the small flower in the title from the swirly stamp.

Contest Results

I placed 5th in Round 3 with my "Engagement" layout, and I also placed 5th overall for the whole contest. I am so excited about that - I was really surprised, since my round 2 entry didn't place in the top 10 at all. I think I won a couple of page kits and a mini album kit. I haven't done many mini albums, so that will be different.

NKOTB Round 3

Well, I didn't finish in the top 10 last week with my cat layout. I was a little disappointed at first, but then I realized that I have a layout that I'm really happy with, and the person I made it for is really happy with it, so it's ok. Here is the one I'm working on this week for round 3. I'm happy with this too, so if I don't finish in the top 10 next week, that will be ok too.

I've used Lauren Bavin's Tooth Fairy kit, Digital Date from Meryl Bartho, freebie word art by Tina Chambers (all from Digital Scrapbook Place), inked edges by Atomic Cupcake, and a sketch by Becky Fleck. The word art reads, "True Love only begins when nothing is looked for in return," by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Journaling reads: "Brian and Jessica told us in January, 2006, that they are getting married next summer. We are really pleased about their decision. We have seen how happy they are together, and we care for Jessica very much. They seem to be such a good match for each other. We wish them every happiness in their new life together."

New Kid on the Block - Round 2

I'm already on version 8 this week! But I think I'm finally done. I have until tomorrow night to upload, but I don't know what else I could do to it now. This is a photo of one of my friend's cats (she has 4). Eventually I will do a layout for each cat.

I used Valeri Brumfield's Elsie May Kit and Tina Chambers' Cat Word Art (both from Digital Scrapbook Place). I used a stitching brush provided in DSU 270 class and a pawprint brush in upper left corner. I also used a sketch from Scrap Maps. The word art says, "As a housepet, I'm overqualified."

NKOTB Results from Round 1

Out of 78 layouts entered into round 1, I came in 6th!! I am so excited about that. There were so many great layouts, and I learned so much already.

New Kid on the Block

I am participating in a contest at Digital Scrapbook Place for newbies to digital scrapbooking. Each week for 3 weeks we make a layout with a specific kit. We post the layout to a forum where we can get suggestions for improvement on it. We can keep reworking the layout until we're satisfied with it and then we post our final layout in the judging forum. This is the first week, and I'm learning tons! It is so great to get the feedback. This is version 5 of my layout; I think I might be done with it now, although I have until Saturday night to upload it to the judging forum, so if I think of any changes I want to make to it, I still have time.

I used the Welcome Kit by Lauren Bavin of DSP, a grunge brush from Tomas M. Ledin at Adobe Studio Exchange, Inked Edges from Atomic Cupcake, and a sketch by Meryl Bartho of DSP.

Journaling reads: "I always take a lot of pictures of wildflowers when we travel. I especially love the wildflowers in Colorado. So the first morning we were there (July 25, 2005), I went with [DH] when he went fishing so that I could take pictures. Here are some of the pictures I took that morning.

"We had planned on taking our 4-wheel drive pickup this trip, but we drove as far as the Kansas border when the air conditioning quit working. So we turned around and got our car instead. It meant we were not able to do some of the drives we had planned on, but at least we were cool."

New Layout

I did this layout in response to a challenge on Digital Scrapbook Place to use the Item of the Week, which was this kit by Lauren Bavin called Daisy Dreams. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out - these are 2 of the many wildflower photos I took last summer in Colorado. The quote reads:

To see a world in a grain of sand,
and heaven in a wildflower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour.

By William Blake

Colorado

Another layout for my journaling class on Digital Scrapbook Place - this one is for the bullet point list style of journaling.

I used Cabin in the Woods Page Kit and Extras Kit by Lauren Bavin from Digital Scrapbook Place and a sketch from Creating Keepsakes.

I took extra time to justify my journaling in the journaling box - not something that Photoshop Elements will do automatically. But I thought it would be worth it for this layout. This is also the first digital 2-page layout I've done (I used to do 2-page paper layouts all the time).

Journaling reads: "We spend a week or two in Colorado just about every other summer, and we’ve been doing that for most of the 28+ years we’ve been married (starting with our honeymoon). What keeps us going back year after year?
-- Mountains
-- Wildflowers
-- Waterfalls
-- Scenic drives
-- Streams for fishing
-- A cabin for relaxing
-- Hiking"

The "Real" Santa

Background paper is from Christmas Textures kit by Karen Bowers, brushes are from Thomas M. Ledin, inking effect is from Atomic Cupcake.

Journaling reads: "Stillwater National Bank had a Christmas party for their employees and families when I worked there. They hired a man to play Santa Claus, and the parents brought a small gift for their children that Santa gave out. Brian was 4 years old when we went to the first Christmas party. The man who played Santa must have been really good at it, because Brian believed for several years that he was the REAL Santa Claus. All the others he saw were just men dressed up like Santa; this was the real one."

The bottom line states, "Photo taken December, 1985 - Page completed January, 2006" And yes, the photo really is that old - my son is 24 years old now!

How my parents met

These are photos of my parents very shortly after they were married.

I used the Raspberries and Cream kit by Kim Liddiard and a sketch from Scrap Maps.

Journaling reads: "My mother told me in January, 2006 how she met my dad: “We met in a bowling alley. I went with another guy [Dixie]. Mac’s brother [Bernie] was a friend of his [Dixie’s]. He [Bernie] told Mac that he better get dressed and get to the bowling alley because there was someone there he would want to meet.”

"She never dated Dixie again.

"Later she told me that at that time, my dad had had a habit of not getting dressed on Sundays, which was why Bernie had told him to get dressed and go to the bowling alley. She also said that she had been out with Dixie the night before and they had seen Bernie, which was how Bernie knew that she was going to be at the bowling alley that Sunday.

"They met in October, were engaged in November, and married in December, 1946. Even though they hadn’t known each other before they met in October, their families knew each other. In fact, she told me that my dad’s mother’s brother was her dad’s best friend."

One of my favorite photos of my son

Background papers, mat, the large "B", and the pocket with tags are all from the Boy oh Boy kit by Valeri Brumfield from Digital Scrapbook Place. I also used a sketch from Scrap Maps.

Journaling reads: "Dear Brian, This has always been one of my favorite pictures of you, but it almost didn’t happen. I took you to a store when you were 3 or 4 to have your picture taken, but you really didn’t want to be there. While we waited in line for our turn, you fussed and complained and made it very clear that you were unhappy with the whole idea. When it was finally our turn, you decided to get funny and started making faces at the photographer. You would stick your tongue out or cross your eyes or make some other funny face, then laugh about it. The photographer tried his best to get a good shot, but as soon as he would snap a shot, you would be making another face. I had no idea what I’d see when we went back to the store to pick out our photos. Most of them just caught you making your funny faces, but this one caught you at just the right moment. You can see the mischief in your eyes, but you can also see your sense of humor and love of life. And what a great smile! Love, Mom"

The pocket (from the kit) reads: "A boy is . . ." and the tags in the pocket read: "Truth with dirt on its face. Beauty with a cut on its finger. Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair, and the hope of the future with a frog in its pocket."