Commitment

Happy Friday everyone!

Today I am sharing another layout with older photos.  I learned a lot about commitment from my parents.  For starters, in a world where divorce is becoming second nature...I doubt my parents have ever even thought about it.  It could be because of their religious beliefs...but really, I think it's even more than that.  They make a commitment, and they keep it.  My dad was at the same job pretty much my whole life.  He is a very smart man, who does a job that not many people could do...he could have gotten a higher paying job at any time--but he made a commitment and was loyal to his company.

We don't see that much anymore.

I wanted to document this.

And I want to live a life much like my parents, where my kids can learn the value and importance of commitment.  The obvious place to start is in the family, and in my marriage.

I hope I get to the point in my life where I too can say I have been married 38 years.  :)   Or even 65 years, like my grandparents.

Please don't get me wrong--I am NOT judging people who divorce.  I actually understand that there are situations where it is necessary.  And it certainly can be easier.

But I think the actual concept of commitment is both romantic and noble.

Anyways...

Here's my layout that I wanted to share with you:

I used the beautiful Country Boutique collection from Fancy Pants Designs for my layout.  I love love love that girl in the dress.  I also love the clock and ticket die cuts.  The whole page came together really quickly.  I drew my hearts on the page, layered it all, and then came back and did my stitching wherever my hand drawn hearts were showing.  That way there is no wasted stitching hidden beneath the layers.

Here are some close up's of my layout:

Well thanks for stopping by the blog today!!!!

I hope you have a fantastic day and a wonderful weekend!  :)

This Hobby Is Meant To Be Fun!

Every now and then, you just gotta have fun...play...try a new technique.  That's what I did with the layout I am sharing today.

I tore my scrap papers and glued them on my page in four columns.  Then I added a bit of white paint over them.  This kinda dulled it, and when I went to add elements to make page later, it just made them pop even more.  :)

I did this layout for The ScrapCake's blog.  Flo and I both created layouts based on this sketch, created by myself:

To check out Flo's AWESOME layout, go here.

And here are close up's of my own layout:

I used the beautiful My Private Happiness collection from The ScrapCake for most of my layout, but there are bits and pieces from Summer At The Seaside thrown in there too.

Sooo...we'd love to see what you do with this sketch!  Leave a link here so I can check it out OR use papers from The ScrapCake and leave a link on this post here.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping in!!!!
Have a wonderful day!

Sweet and Not

Hi everyone!

Well Tuesday's are new challenges over at Skipping Stones Design and this week we have another inspiration challenge.  Here's the inspiration:

And this is the card I made:

I used the Cupcake Cutie stamp set for my card.

And I wanted to remind you (or point it out in case you missed it) that Skipping Stones Design is looking for new designers for their design team!  Applications are due THIS Friday, so if you are interested, make sure you get that application in!  Here's the information on that.



On a much different note...

I just wanted to shout out to the survivors of the infamous Aurora shootings.  That's pretty much my backyard...so it really hit close to home this time.  And my heart goes out to all of those that lost loved ones in this horrific event.

I was going to post something on Friday.  And then again on Saturday.  But frankly...I just didn't have the words.  The TV has been constantly reporting on it here.  And I admit, Friday, I watched along with the rest of the world...disgusted and shocked.   I do feel unsafe.  But I also think that was what the gunman probably wanted.

But I am loving all the stories of bravery and sacrifice that are arising from this event.  There was 1 guy who did a horrible thing.  And like 50 people who did extraordinary things.  Their first impulse was to do good...to help.

There's a lot more good in this world than evil.  And sometimes, we just need to remind ourselves of that.  So I urge you to remember this event in a way that honors those lost....in a way that shows how GREAT this world can be!

That's all.

I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thanks for stopping in!

Same Idea, Different Layout

Hi everyone!  So...I have a couple layouts to share with you today, both using a same design concept...we'll you'll see.  They both use the Plumeria collection from BasicGrey.

I started with a sheet of paper and using a craft knife I cut out a large burst template.  Very imperfect.  I sponged ink over the template to create a design on a different sheet of paper.  Here's my first layout, using the sponged design:

It's part elegance and part funky.  :)

Here are the close up's:

I'm digging the purple and orange.  :)

And then instead of throwing that paper template away, with ink and all, I added it to form my next layout:

Lot's of journaling on this one...and it's the real kind.

Here are the close up's:

One thing I am really appreciating as I go through some of these old photos...the dates on the back!  I need to make sure I do more of that on my own photos or layouts.

Well thanks for stopping in!!

Have a wonderful day!

5000 Miles and Old Pictures

I've clocked over 5000 miles of travel in a little over a month, with three separate trips.  Frankly, I'm exhausted.  I got home from California and I just crashed.  Of course, the nature of the trip itself (funeral, plus family stuff) takes a lot out of a person too.  I haven't really done much of anything since I got back...just catching up on rest and cleaning.  Oh and bought a new vehicle (well new to me).  That was nice.

But I do have some work to share with you.

While I was in California, our family was given a bunch of pictures.  Many of them were old photos of my dad as a kid, and even some older ones.  But there was also a pile of pictures they took when we were kids.  I saw several pics of me and my brother, and I really liked these photos and was inspired to use them pretty much right away.  :)

I pulled out an older collection from The ScrapCake for this layout, the collection is called Summer At The Seaside.  I used a bunch of my scraps too...love it when I can do that.

The photos were scanned and printed...I'm going to give the pile of original photos back to my dad.  I did do a little editing, but I'm not really terrific at that.

I loved the fun touch the umbrella tops turned flower-like embellishments added to the page.

Here are some close up's of my layout:

I'm really looking forward to digging more into all the photos we received.  But another thing I hope to remember are all the fun stories I heard...about my dad...about my grandmother....you know, the good stuff.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping in today!!!
Have a wonderful day!!

SSD Inspiration Challenge

Hi all!  Just popping in to share the latest challenge with you over at Skipping Stones Design.  Oh wait...it's new release day!   So we are hopping along today.  You should have come from Laurel's blog...if not, I hope you consider hopping with us.  Start at the SSD blog.  And today's release is a fantastic one, one of my favorite sets from Skipping Stones:

It's called Darling Damask!  I love it.

And our challenge this week is another inspiration challenge.
Here is the inspiration photo:

Here's the card I made for this challenge:

Pretty simple, but I really like how it turned out.  I was inspired by the colors, the ruffles, and the yellow flowers in the inspiration photo.  

The paper and the flowers are both from BasicGrey.  

I do hope you play along with us this week.  You do NOT have to have Skipping Stones stamps to play along...but you can win some by playing!  :)  

Now hop on to Cyndi's blog for more inspiration!  :)

Have a wonderful day!!!  

Konnichiwa!

Well technically I guess this greeting is used for just the afternoon, but it is widely just used as "hello" these days...especially for those of us here in the US who do not typically speak Japanese.

Anyways...

Today I wanted to share a couple layouts that I made with you.  Both of them use the fun Konnichiwa collection from BasicGrey.

First up:

I just had fun with this layout.

And the close up's...

And then the next layout:

I really like how this one turned out...love those beautiful papers.

And the close up's:

I really love this collection...I think it is beautiful and fun!

Well thanks so much for popping in today!  I hope you are having a fantastic day!

TCR + TSC :)

Hello friends!  The ScrapCake is sponsoring The Color Room this month, and the TSC designers are playing along too.  :)  Here's the latest color palette:

And here's my layout I created for it:

I actually used bits of several different collections from the ScrapCake, including The Bright Side of Life, Spring Awakening, One Moment in Time and My Private Happiness.  

I also used the chipboard people from Magistical Memories, the awesome well from Prima, and the chipboard saying from Fancy Pants Designs.

I winged a tree of stitching, and added a couple charms to the tree.  The one blessed charm was one someone else made when we had a charm exchange forever ago when I was designing for Rusty Pickle (miss those girls!).

And here are the close up's:

Those pink flowers in between the chipboard people are from Creative Charms.

Thanks for stopping in today!!  

Have a fantastic day!  

Leftovers

Hi everyone!  Hope you had a nice day yesterday.

Today I am sharing a layout that I made using the PB&J collection from BasicGrey.

I used lots of leftover strips on my layout.

Here are some close up's:

And thought I'd share a quick tip with you.  :)  

You can save leftover chipboard negatives and use them as a stencil.  I dabbed blue paint through the spots left (although I did get a little sloppy with mine).  

Just another idea...another way to use your leftovers.  

Well thank you so much for stopping in today!  

I hope you have a FANTASTIC day!!!