Spring Break

I'm probably the only person who enjoyed the snow, cold temps, hail, rain etc. for Spring Break ... since I spent most of my week on the couch with a sinus infection ... blah! The highlight of my week was sewing with Michelle. What a cute dress we made for Calleigh. It was fun to sew again after a 12-year break ... other than to mend.
After starting another round of antibiotics I felt well enough Saturday for a Germer-Dehaze Game Day.
What fun it was to play board games, eat yummy snacks and pizza, and enjoy great laughs all afternoon/evening. It was a JOY to spend time with Matt & Cindy on her last day here. For those who don't know ... she was our special surprise guest last week. I had fun putting a digital layout together of several pictures we took of them : )
I'm back to work and feeling better ....

Credits
Template: Chris Greiser Template 2007-6
Font: CkAlis_Writing, Milk & Cereal
Paper: Lindsay Jane Design -Soft Grunge BG02,
Leslie Hasenkamp Designs -mis_creame_paper1

Easter JOY

Spring has been a tough one on our family this year. Seems like each family member has dealt with ailments ranging from pneumonia to sinus infections. It was nice to have the opportunity to get together to celebrate Easter.
After worshiping at Potter's Hands we enjoyed family time before dinner and even had a surprise out-of-town guest stop by .... maybe more on that later : ) We had fun trying out the new camera -- "Look out Colin and Calleigh -- Grandpa can now take more pictures per second than before and can even zoom in and take them without you ever knowing it!"
Today is the first day of Spring Break and it was fun to go through the pictures and try out a new template to capture the JOY in our celebration.


Credits:
Template: Zakirah SMspotlight1
Paper/Flowers/Egg: Easter Egg Hunt Kit-Devine Designs
Border: ALP Whispering Softly Elements
Fonts: CKAlishandwriting, Milk & Cereal, American Typewriter

Calleigh & Matt

Despite a sinus infection this week, I have been determined to put a digi layout together of Calleigh and Matt. I think I made at least 6 attempts with all of them going in the "trash." For some reason the templates I used didn't look right with the photos so I finally decided to wing it on my own and I was pleased with the results. It's simple, clean and conveys the fun they have together. Now that Calleigh is crawling all over the house she follows Uncle Matt around ... he always has something fun to do that makes her smile.
I am feeling so much better thanks to antibiotics -- I haven't had a sinus infection for over five years. I had forgotten how miserable they are!

Credits:
Paper and Heart: Kim Hill Feb 2008 Sampler
Frame:1875 Photo Frame by Coralee Evans
Font: CKAlis Writing, American Typewriter

Daylight Savings Time

I spent the afternoon working on a digi layout for Tim and Rae. They spent Fall of '07 in the Bay Area while Tim worked down there. They enjoyed the weekends exploring ... this particular weekend was at Half Moon Bay and picking out pumpkins. What a beautiful Fall day!
Hope you aren't too tired from the time change. I'm glad I had Friday off to rest up for it : )

Credits:
Font: American Typewriter, Handwriting-Dakota
Paper Strips: Autumn's Kiss-Anita Designs/Nana's Attic,
Kathy Brandt/kathysscraps Run Paper02,
KMyers Paper Dots,
Make It Scrappy Summerlove bgb04
Background Paper: Britt-ish Designs-lyrical paper
Wordart: Explore-Lindsay Jane Design,
Fall-Pam Lefors Desings Autumn Rhapsody Word Art
To-Do List-Tara Sroke Designs
Staples: LB Creations-Sophisticated Chocolate Paper 08
Template: Racketty Scrappety #44

Our Snow Angel

What a delight to find snow falling while opening gifts on Christmas morning. It's what you always envision Christmas to be. We couldn't resist taking Calleigh out to experience her first snowfall. She was decked out in a new outfit ... a gift from Uncle Tim and Aunt Rae ... and it seemed perfect for the occasion. Calleigh loved the snow ... gave it a taste ... and displayed a big smile of approval.
Note: My mind tells me I should be organizing cupboards, closets, drawers ... my heart wants to create and I was drawn in by these precious photos. Oh well, everything else can wait til Spring Break : ) For right now I am lovin' digital scrapbooking!
Credits:
Lindsay Jane Design Pretty Pink Paper
Trish Heffner, Templates-N-More T93
Jessica Dixon Wordart 44
Cafe Digi LJ Paper 3b
Lindsay Jane Design Iced Berry Snowflake
Font: Almagro and Krungthep

Digital Scrapbooking Sites

Many times I'm asked which blog sites I subscribe to for great digi/hybrid ideas and freebies. Here's a list of my favorites:

Ali Edwards
Rebecca Sower
Salt
Faith Sisters
Scrapmatters
Tracy's Scraps
Lindsay Jane Designs
Shandy Vogt Designs
Scrapping with IkeaGoddess
DigiFree
Digitreats
One Little Word
Templates~N~More
Melanie's Digital Creations
Di Hickman
Sketch me if you can!

If you have any suggestions / additions to this list, please let me know.

A New Look

I have been wanting to design a header for my blog since October. Determination finally paid off ... that and having the time to be creative.
I used another blogger's header as an example, opened Photoshop Elements and started creating -- using some of the 8 GB of free digi downloads. I watched a tutorial on uploading it to Blogger, upgraded my template, and within minutes I had the header I've wanted for so long. I think the results were worth the persistence and I've gained new skills in the process!

Design credits:
font: CK_alis_writing, Ali Edwards
font: American Typewriter
heart: Scrappy Pony Designs
journal page: Tracy Drane
typekeys: Janosch Designs
deco border: Jenna Desai
paper: petit moineaux

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.

Peach Tranquility

Aaaahhhh ... there's nothing more relaxing on a cold winter day than a cup of Peach Tranquility and a good book.
Since I am a tea lover one item I put on Christmas wish list was a Teavana Perfect Tea Maker. I used one at Nancy's on our last "beading" day and loved it. You only need to add loose tea, preheated water, steep for a few minutes and then set it atop your mug to drain = a perfect cup of tea.

A few weeks ago we stopped at Teavana, which means "a heaven of tea," and bought three different teas -- Peach Tranquility, Mrs. Earl Gray and Decaf English Breakfast. I have to admit ... the Peach Tranquility is already gone : ( Their catalog is filled with so many choices ... it will be hard to decide which one to try next.
Visit their website www.teavana.com and check out the variety of teas and products.
Thanks, Tim and Rae for the amazing Christmas gift.

Cinderella

As a preschooler, my parents gave me a Cinderella watch ... and 50 years later it's still ticking : ) This gave me the idea to collect Cinderella keepsakes over the years.

One night we put my watch on Calleigh's arm and let her model it. I don't know how impressed she was with the watch but she definitely liked the Cinderella figurine ...

Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

Okay ... I'm new to Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's cookies but I happened to be out at the new Tanasbourne store while holiday shopping and thought I would give them a try. I am totally sold on 'em ... delicious! If you're a fan of a dark sandwich wafer cookie joined with peppermint filling, you will love these!
Maybe after the high-calorie holidays I will give the regular ones a try. Mmmmmmm ....

It has been a while ...

Wow! It has been a while since I last posted ... nearly two months! Life has moved forward at such a rapid pace and with added stresses ... I've found it hard to keep up on those things which bring so much Joy on the Journey.
This Fall we finally made it out to IKEA (several times now) in anticipation of moving a few rooms around in our house. We moved the guest room downstairs and made the upstairs room into a playroom for Colin ... and Calleigh too. It looks like an IKEA showroom display. What fun we've had making a cozy place for the grandkids to play and spend the night at Grandma's & Grandpa's. To top it off ... the guest room is much more warm and inviting.
Now I need to invest in some toys and books for Calleigh. I'd better go back up in the attic and bring down more of my antique dolls and cradles : )

Bonus Beach Day

In September Mom and I spent the weekend at Lincoln City. We packed for rain and cooler temperatures but we were pleasantly surprised to find the weather improving the closer we got to the coast. It was one of those bonus September days at the beach ... blue skies and plenty of sunshine.
The weekend was filled with many firsts for me --
watching boats make their way from the sea to the Depoe Bay harbor, known as "shooting the hole."






I was thankful to be on land and not on one of the boats tossing around in the surf ... you could get seasick just being a spectator.

We spent the afternoon on the beach at Roads End where we discovered new beach activities --
watching the parasurfers was amazing and very entertaining Just as we were leaving to check into our motel an entire wedding party and guests walked down on the beach. What a gorgeous backdrop for a wedding plus a bonus of wonderful weather.

As we sat on our deck after dinner, we were blessed to see this splendid sunset ...






I think we need to do this more often : )

Shopper-in-Training

Seems like we always include a little stop at the outlet mall while we're at the beach ... all those Labor Day Weekend bargains calling us. I held Calleigh while swiping my debit card and she got so excited watching the transaction. Here she is holding her purchases. I think she likes shopping already : )

Brian Turns Thirty

Colin couldn't wait for Dad to open the gift he picked out for him. He even let it slip a few times ... there was so much anticipation!




The "Ants In The Pants" game turned out to be a big hit with all the guys. Great job, Colin!




"Happy Birthday to you" ............ look at all those candles : )

Bonding with Calleigh

What a fun weekend for Calleigh ... spending time with her uncles and Rae.
Look at the view from our front room window!!

Ready for Fun

Colin is ready for a fun day at the beach ...












"Do it again, Grandpa!!!" Colin loved jumping off the edge.

Hangin' Out at the Beach

Sandy toes : )


Shore is fun with Matt ...


Let's bury Dad on his birthday!


I can't remember a nicer day at the beach ... the colors all around us were intensified. It was warm, relaxing, and fun to just "play." So much to do and enJOY!