Decorating with Digi Layouts

This is post number 201 ... when I first started blogging I never imagined I would have that many things to write about.

Since I've been dabbling in digital scrapbooking / hybrid scrapbooking I decided to decorate my desk area at work with some of my layouts. I have found that framing my 12 x 12 layouts in record album frames works best. Many times Michael's has them on sale for $4 each. Since they are slightly larger than my layout, I've purchased black paper from the art section and used it as a background. I have them printed at Costco for $2.99 each and I can change them out frequently as projects are completed. They are good conversation starters and many have expressed interest in the hobby. It also helps to have "darling" subjects (grandchildren) to scrap about : )

Digital scrapbooking can be time consuming ... downloading, hard drive storage and organization ... but so far everything I've used has been free and less "equipment" and "accessories" are required to complete a page. I still love the craft of scrapbooking ... there are so many fun "toys" out there. The CK Scrapbooking Convention is now in town and this will be the first year I will be unable to go : ( I will miss seeing all the new products!
Last night I worked on organizing my downloads -- I have 8 GB of great elements, papers, templates, alphabets and word art ... just waiting to become layouts. One thing I will need to add to my layouts is credit to the designers ... especially if I post them. Check this article for a great organization tip in adding this to your digital layouts.

17,000 Days Ago

Over 17,000 days ago this picture was taken by my friend, Janet's mom. We are sitting in front of the flagpole at Kennedy Grade School where we attended school in NE Portland. It was 1961 and we were almost ready to start third grade. I believe it was about this time that Janet moved to Alaska. Perhaps this was taken before saying "goodbye" ... but I can't seem to remember.
Janet's mom gave this print to Kennedy McMenamins and it is hanging in the entryway near the main office. Even though they have transformed our old school ... the flagpole is still out front and much of the school's character has been restored. Such good memories ... nice remembering those who have been a part of my "history." Good to see this picture each time we visit McMenamins.
I was able to calculate the days by going to www.timeanddate.com using the duration calculator. It's amazing to consider 17,000 days ago ...

The Glass Castle

Resilience:
“to leap back” from the Latin word resilire
- the ability to recover quickly from illness, change, misfortune, setbacks
- recovering strength, spirit, good humor quickly
- to weather tribulation without cracking

Memoirs aren’t usually the first book I pull off the library shelves when looking for a good book to read. It seems I can hardly keep up with all my favorite fiction authors’ new releases. But at the recommendation of a grade school friend I put the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls on my Christmas wish list. From the very first page I was pulled into the story and found it hard to put down.
“Poverty to Park Avenue” -- The author shares the story of her life with her three siblings as her nomadic parents roamed America … doing the “skedaddle” when money, food or resources ran out. The family finally settled in Welch, West Virginia, a small mining town where the children, living in poverty, learned to take care of themselves.
At 17 she moved to New York and finished high school while working. She got a job at a local paper in Brooklyn and was encouraged by an editor to get a college education. She graduated with honors from Barnard College and went on to become a correspondent for MSNBC.
This book is being made into a film. Be sure you read it before you see it! Thanks, Matte for a great Christmas gift.