And Then I Got Sick . . . .

Was all set to post more photos of the retreat accomplishments - and then I got sick. For about 2+ weeks.  Ugh.  Jarad could tell when I started feeling better.  It was a Saturday night and we had an event to attend, but I just couldn't muster the strength to go out.  But I did manage this -

Yep, I scrapped in bed. Two layouts. I was tired of laying in bed. I had watching videos about scrapbooking and read magazines about scrapbooking and I just couldn't take it any more!  I was determined to get the last of the Jan kit wiped out.

This one was inspired by a layout in the most recent Stampin' Up catalog.  I needed some mojo so I just took it from something I had just seen.  I added the circle border from the scraps I had left over from the kit.  Still needs journaling.  

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.  

See what happens when I get four days away. . .

Here is the first in a series of a few posts to review the awesome results of a weekend away at Rocking R Retreats in Temple, TX.  Our lovely host Diane does an amazing job of planning the weekend and we Angelia, Pam and I have happy hour each day - it looks like this:

Just seeing this lovely spread makes me want to go back right now!  

To recap - the last post had a few layouts that were done at the retreat and this one includes the rest that I have taken photographs of so far. There are more that I need to snap a photo or two of - I have them in a big stack that I am working through before I file them away in their appropriate albums - I think I counted 38 pages in all. I was all over the board this retreat - current, 80's, 90's, etc. it was fun to be working with color photos as the last three years have been retreats focusing on the vintage books.

First up - how long have I have that Creative Imagination paper? Too long!  I have hoarded it forever and man does it finally look good with a picture on it! 

The other photos were less fun but I wanted to keep them so I hid them under a flap. It was great to finally find a home for those older Amy Tan embellishments too - love it when the colors come together.  

This one was created with the help of a sketch on the Cocoa Daisy site.  This picture of Elsie and Wyatt was taken by my hubby and has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

Here's the sketch:

Next up was a page that I had worked on but just needed finishing.  Clearly, I need more fried eggs on sandwiches in my life.

  

This page was a bit of a rush as it was for the Winter "Lift Me Up" Challenge in the forums at Cocoa Daisy.  It was so fun to be on a "team" and to be sent a layout to lift (with a deadline).  You can see the reveal of the whole process here.  Such a great game.  Like telephone for scrapbooking.  

Ok - off to get some more done and photograph another batch. Have a great Hump Day!

Enough with the 2 Pagers? NEVER!

So apparently, I have been on a kick of doing two page spreads cause they just keep happening.

I busted out the Girl Scout photo box since I was apparently getting bored with the 90's. This is a spread of my fellow Green Starlette Drill Team Directors. We had so much fun together. Hard to believe I volunteered for 7 years doing that way before I had kiddos. These photos are from camp and a make-up relay race we did at an overnight event - goodness - the pictures and the title say it all.

More Scout stuff - found these pics of me, Misty and Stacy bridging to Cadette Girl Scouts - yes, I was a scout from 2 - 12 grade, then started volunteering and then became troop leader to my own little Girl Scout. What can I say, I bleed green! I used the ribbon and the buttons that came in the kit - a goal of mine for this month as I have noticed I don't do a good job of using these items. Circle was cut with my Creative Memories circle template - I still love those.  

To my first week of resident camp and how my love of Scout camp began. Love that my grandmother went with us to drop me off and that, clearly, she is wearing hose and sandals. Too much! This is all made with the Cocoa Daisy kit - thought the feathers worked well for camp.

Off to another decade when I was volunteering after becoming an adult Girl Scout. Our council put on a wider opportunity for older girls and I got roped in to helping. We did a booth on England including, food and a translation of English to British - classic stuff.

 

Ok - have you had enough?  Here are a few one pagers. More pieces from the kit for this month plus left overs from other pages. This one of me and my mom deserved it's own space.

And from last month's kit - I finally journaled about that night that my hubby and I started dating.

And finally - I got to go do some stamping - with two girl friends and Elsie.  We made the kids valentines - and man, does it feel good to have them done and it isn't even February yet.

Guess this says it all . . .

I Believe in Telling the Story

I believe in telling the stories. And so these pages have sat on my desk - un-photographed - for weeks and weeks until I had time to tell the stories.  And now here they are - a deluge of pages. Almost everything was made with my Cocoa Daisy kits (July and August mostly I think and then one from the December kit).  Confession - I have two left to do.  But the stories are really long!  Gotta get back to it!

Here they are - in no particular order:

Big dance recital for Elsie - glad she loves to dance like me!

This one is hard for me - no written story here.  My best friend Jill. Now she's gone, but at least I have this. And, you know what? If I weren't a scrapbooker, I probably wouldn't have taken these photos on my trip. Or if I did, they would just be on my phone or in my IG feed. I love looking at our last photo together.  The paper is perfect - bold and fabulous - just like her.  Man, I miss her.  

Documenting my life.  Here it is - the "packed" nature of my life.

Them - my two kiddos. Every now and then I capture a cool moment of them getting along.

The whole trip to St. Louis to see Jill in IG photos from start to finish. Love.  

The map really helps to tell the story.  I used that tiny washi tape that came in the kit.

This makes me laugh so much.  The kids posing with the old truck as we are cleaning it out to sell.

And a family tradition preserved. The Birthday Song - as I learned it at Girl Scout Camp - Peach Creek to be exact.  Oh how I wished for a summer birthday when I was a camper. But now, I share it with my kids each year on their birthdays. I hope they never forget mommy and her silly song.

So now they are all done - stories told and memories recorded.  Because it isn't just about pretty paper and cool products - it's about the stories they prompt us to tell, to keep, to share.

December kit - I'll miss you!

It is time to say goodbye to the December Cocoa Daisy kit. I used so much of this kit - I am pretty happy.  Still struggling with using stamps - need to work on that. I am planning to use all of the leftover bits and pieces for my PL 2015 week one. The stickers are so pretty but feel more like card embellishments to me - so maybe I need to make a card or two. Still no ideas on the bakers twine or the houses. I have big plans for the little suirrel and nuts in the embellishments - just need to find a picture of my childhood dog in the pet box - that is gonna be a fun page. 

There is one more two page layout started on the table that will use up the last piece of patterned paper (that heart world map by Amy Tangerine not shown here). So I put things mostly away and opened up the January kit that arrived earlier this week. I am trying to leave out a few things so I will use them up as I go.  

I was getting a tad restless on the 90's photos, so I got down the Girl Scout photo box - man, is that box heavy. I guess that happens when you have done Girl Scouts for over 30 years. I found a little set of six photos that I have laid out on a two page spread (mentioned above). Gotta finished that up and I will be on to playing with January. Can't wait for Friday night - me and wine and the new kit! 

Peaks and Valleys Scrapbooking - Random Projects Complete

I am such a peaks and valleys scrapbooker. I guess if you take the duties of mom, life, wife, work, volunteer and all of those "jobs" and stack them together they tend to create a crazy roller coaster of a schedule. Sometimes I don't have the time to scrap.  Other times, I have to sit down and create or I will go a bit mad (and that is bad for everyone).   And so the blog ebbs and flows and so does the creative time.  I have been on a bit of a kit recently - for one, I have been feeling better which means I have more energy and have been more focused.  And two, I had a nice break from work with two weeks off for Christmas - heaven.  I am also looking forward to a scrap retreat in February which always pushes me to get going, clean up and map out some plans.

And so I have been doing just that.

1.    I completed 6 pages in Wyatt's baby album. Yes, he is 6. Why did it take me song long to finish them, I think his behavior has been a factor (why work on a book about someone with whom you are struggling - two stubborn mules do not a lovely pony make). But I got a wild hair and I finished them in racehorse fashion this past Sunday. I even surprised myself. It was just little bits and things that needed doing - mostly journaling - but it is done and off my table and will NOT travel untouched to another Scrapbook Retreat. Small victories! Here is the cover page that I finished simply with his name. I came across the chipboard W while cleaning and the bug hit and it was done in minutes. The procrastinator in me was furious. Ha ha – take that!

2.     And then another project sparkled in my eyes – the 2015 Project Life title page. Have I finished 2014?  No, but the inspiration struck and the entire family was home and so I asked them to put on shoes go outside and take a photo and this was the result:

I’m super happy with the results. It’s silly, but I am convinced that I am more successful when I have a title page done before I start. 

And now off to open up my new Cocoa Daisy kit that was on the counter when I got home. It is painful when it arrives and I can’t open it up and oh and ah over the paper and embellishments right away. Restraint! 

Excuse me - but I don't watercolor

So maybe it is my extreme dislike of mixing creme and white based patterned paper that drove me to this, but I water colored something for a layout.  Don't get the wrong idea - I have watercolor crayons - and I use them - for stamping - on cards - not layouts.  I really loved these embellishments but I also really abhorred the idea of using the creme based patterned paper with them and since it was Jan 11 and my new Cocoa Daisy kit was not here and, and, well, its done.  Here's the process.

I started with this - white based diecuts which I was determined to "soften" a bit.  So I pulled out my Stampin' Up water color crayons and the blender and went to work to find a grey that would work.

Here's how they turned out:

And here is how they look on the layout. As you might guess I am at the end of my kit, just bits and pieces left to throw together.  And apparently, I needed to use as many fonts as possible. I think it gives it a quirky feel - which works for the layout.







































Ok, now the count down begins for the January kit to arrive. Just look how pretty it is . . .

Here begins the slippery slope - what's next you ask? Too late I bought gesso three weeks ago - somebody stop me.