Sunday, August 24, 2008

your 1st trophy


One more page from the great August Scrapdango kit! I had withheld this one when I posted my other pages, because I did a sketch for this page to be my sketch challenge for this weekend's online crop on the forum. You can see it here, and there's still lots of time if you want to participate in the crop! Pages for the challenges are not due until midnight NEXT Sunday, August 31!
Journaling:
The last day of your 1st t-ball season – you could not be more proud of the trophy coach Greg gave you! 6.28.08

we be howlin'


Pics from on a great ride at Idlewild - Tyler just discovered it this year, so now both of the boys will go on it with me! (My husband doesn't like any of the rides that require spinning around, LOL!)
Journaling:
It looks like The Howler at Idlewild is going to be a new favorite ride! August ‘08

{not quite} a walk in the park


The August kit from Scrapperie is so bright and fun and works great for lots of different photos/topics! This is my for a scraplift challenge, lifting this page by Beth Price. I loved her heavy tearing/distressing of the paper and her paint treatment (which she did way better than me, LOL!).

Journaling:
The whole school earned a field trip day to South Park, and I got my first experience as a chaperone! Your first grade class was certainly a handful but we all had a great time! 5/08

Sunday, August 17, 2008

face full of joy



Here is my first page from the Scrapperie's August kit! This was also for a "Team Spirit" Scrap-a-lympics challenge on the forum. Since I am on Team White, I had to use white as my main color, and could choose one other accent color, along with using black.

Journaling:
This is one of my favorite pictures of you! The look of complete joy & delight on your face makes me so happy!

salamander hunter



One more from the Scrapperie's July kit. I love how versatile this kit is! You can do so much with it - boy pages, girl pages, whatever!

Journaling:
Journaling:Name: Ryan
Age: 7
Notes: The best part of the cub scout overnight camping trip turned out to be hunting for salamanders in the creek!
Date: April 5, 2008

some cards from Scrapperie's July kit

Sandi's kits at Scrapperie are filled with such great combinations of papers! I really enjoyed putting together a few cards out of the July "Estate Sale" kit.

This was hubby's birthday card this year:


And this was for my stepmom. I gave my exacto knife a workout... LOL! The bird/flowers are hand-cut from the Webster's Pages paper, as is the little butterfly at the top.


A simple little general purpose card from the kit! I used green glimmer mist on the background cardstock, and also on the "hi" letters, after painting them a light green.



And here's a fun little card with some scraps from my table. I punched a hole in the edge of the scalloped circle and threaded the ribbon through it, and a hole in the punched border.

those magical eyes


I hardly ever use bling or glitter, but they worked so well with this page I just had to! I did this page for our Scraplift Chain at Allyscraps - I lifted Trish Harwick's page we're tongue rolling. This is also my page for the August 15 sketch challenge, so be sure to check it out for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the store!

Journaling:
Tyler, it's obvious that those eyes of yours hold magical powers! They make my heart melt with just one look!

A couple of close-ups: I stamped on the KP chipboard, then covered with some diamond glaze to add dimension and a bit of sheen.


Had to add a photo to try to capture the sparkle of those pretty glitter thickers:

history right before our eyes


I love this Scenic Route Liberty collection, and it was perfect for my pictures of our recent visit to the US Air Force Museum with my dad! This is part of my Allyscraps work this month.

Journaling:
During our visit in Ohio where we met up with Pa-pa, we took the opportunity to visit the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton. What a great experience!

There were so many planes – from the earliest Wright Brothers’ experiments, right up to modern day marvels and even a space shuttle.

You were able to walk inside a few of the planes, and even each took a turn sitting in the cockpit of an F-4.

What a special treat it was to visit the museum with Grandpa, who not only spent several years of his career in an office that overlooked the museum location, but actually had a hand in negotiating the government contracts for some of the planes that we saw!

I am so grateful to be able to share a piece of the history of our great country with you both at such an awesome museum!


To see each side up close, click here for the left page and here for the right page.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

it's time to share my MMM 2008 entry

Well, the deadline for the Memory Makers Masters 2009 contest has come and gone, and I did not get an entry sent in this year. I had intended to, but life just got in the way. And I'm ok with that - maybe I'll start earlier, next year.

I have never posted my pages from the MMM 2008 contest, keeping them under wraps just in case I got one picked up for publication. Not looking likely at this point, LOL, so I figured it was time to share them! I look at these now and can really see how my scrapbooking style has grown and evolved over the past year; yet, these are still some of my favorite pages. I put a lot into them.

And so, without further ado....

your gentle spirit

This was one of my first tries at using a hybrid technique - adding part of the titled directly to the focal point photo. I was never completely happy with the overall page design of this one, but the pictures of Tyler "babying" his little stuffed Tigger are so cute and I really liked the simplicity in the journaling.

Journaling:“What ‘cha doing with Tigger, honey?”
“Dis isn’t Tigger, dis is a baby.”
“Oh, is that your baby?”
“Yeah. He’s tirwed. I’m wapping him in his blanket.”
“What are you doing with the bowling pin?”
“Dat’s not a bowling pin, dat’s his bottle.”
“Oh, I see. Are you feeding him his bottle?”
“Yeah. Den he’s gonna take his nap. Cute little baby.”

Tyler 2.26.07

the rollover

I figured it would be good to include an "about me" page, and since I had recently celebrated my 40th birthday, it seemed like a good topic choice. The journaling is hidden under the flap.

Journaling:
The Rollover. It was inevitable, I suppose. (Or at least, better than the alternative.) Am I supposed to feel different? I am no longer a thirty-something. When I fill out those forms that include a checkbox for “age range”, I’ll probably be bumped into the next highest category. I saw my first couple of gray hairs this past year. Well, at first it was just a couple, and then they seemed to bring friends to play. The “laugh lines” on my face are not all that funny to me.

But then I look at where I really am right now, and know that this is truly the best time of my life. I have two wonderful sons who are growing up much too quickly but make me so proud to be called “Mommy”. I have a husband who loves me and our children and God. I have been blessed with the opportunity to do something I love – teach. I get to scrap, my #1 love outside of my family and my faith.

So I refuse to get down about my age, and instead will delight in each day and cherish every precious moment that God has given me. The forties are not looking so bad, after all.


this is steel city

I took these great pictures of Pittsburgh when we went out to a family dinner on Mount Washington, and them merged them together to form the panoramic photo. I incorporated metallic-themed embellishments.

Journaling:
Pittsburgh. Steel City. Da Burgh. No matter how you say it, it means this town, this unique place that has a character and charm, a city with a personality unlike anyplace else.

So here I am, having been born and raised in Ohio. A buckeye by birth, transplanted here fourteen years ago and now with firmly planted roots. My husband is a native Pittsburgher. My children are native Pittsburghers. And I appear to be here to stay.

You won’t hear me talking about going “dahntahn”. I will say “you” instead of “yinz”. And someone slap me if I start ending my sentences with “an’at”. Still, the city has rubbed off on me, and even though I have my share of complaints, I have to admit that – all in all – it’s a pretty great place to live. And now, this is my city. This is my home.

(In bookplate at lower left: Mt. Washingon Overlook 9-9-06)


built-in best friend

This is one of my all-time favorite pages. I love the simpliciy of the design, love how the circular journaling block with the quote turned out, and the picture is positively perfect - a happy accident when I was taking some test shots with a new camera lens.

Journaling:
OK. So it isn’t always like this. The two of you have your share of brotherly bickering. But then, when you don’t know I’m there, I overhear… “I love you Ryan.” “I love you too, Tyler.” These are the moments I cherish. You are both so blessed to have each other.

Quote on circle embellishment reads: Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. Marc Brown

a mom of 2 boys


And here it is, the original layout for the assigned theme, "I wish". For those of you who may not know how the MMM contest works, you have to send in color photocopies of four pages, and one original page based on the assigned "theme". That original page will never be returned, unless the magazine decides to publish it. This was my original page, so I will never have this back. It is always sad to send off a page that you have put so much heart and soul into, knowing that you may never see it again, but I try to just look at it as the "entry fee".

I really wanted the pictures to reflect the day-to-day life of being a mom to two young boys. I think this is the only pages I've ever done where the picture of my subjects intentionally doesn't include their heads, LOL! I figured that would be looked at as either very avant-garde, or really stupid! But, showing their dirty and somewhat skinned-up knees conveyed exactly what I was going for.

Journaling:
I used to wish that someday I would have a daughter. That was before God blessed us with our two boys.

I don’t shop for pink frilly dresses, or barrettes and hair bows, or dolls and dollhouses. I spend summer evenings at little league games instead of dance recitals. I can’t tell you the difference between a Pinkie Pie My Little Pony and a Strawberry Shortcake Honey Pie Pony.

But, I do know the difference between Imaginext’s Whip The Parasaurolophus and Ripper the Spinosaurus. I can tell you that Thomas the Tank Engine is blue, Percy is green and James is red. I’ve become an expert in patching up skinned and bruised knees, building elaborate train tracks and, naturally, all imaginable jokes related to bodily functions and gaseous emissions.

I no longer long for that daughter that I was once so sure I would someday have. Instead, I treasure the time I have wrestling and chasing and climbing and digging and catching worms and ants and spiders (yes, even spiders). Little did I know when my childhood fantasies went unfulfilled, that I would find unexpected fulfillment where I had never thought to look. For now, I have found that I am completely happy, completely satisfied, completely… complete, simply being a mom of 2 boys.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

amazing view


I thought the pretty blues/greens and pop of red in these papers from Scrapperie's July kit went great with these pictures of the awesome view from a parking lot near Laurel Caverns (here in southwestern PA). The title lettering and chipboard embellies are added from my stash. I added a bit of paint to the edges of the sheer letters to make them stand out better... love the effect!

Journaling:
What a breathtaking view from atop the Laurel Mountain! We stopped to enjoy it for a bit before heading into Laurel Caverns for the tour.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

my angel in the outfield


Well, this is my last Scrapdango kit as a design team member there. While I'm excited about some new opportunities, I will definitely miss it. It has been a great experience to work with Carrie and her fabulous kits, and the August kit featuring My Little Yellow Bicycle's "Zach's Life" line may just be my favorite kit yet! It was perfect for showing off these pics of Tyler, mostly goofing off in the outfield of his t-ball game! This is my favorite 2-pager that I've done in a long time. You can also check out my sketch for this page in the Scrapdango sketch gallery!

Journaling:
I guess when you’re four years old, and it’s your first season of t-ball, and you’re playing right field, there are a lot of things that seem more interesting than paying attention to the game.

Like your glove. Or your hat. Or the inside of your hat. Or how many different ways you can think of to wear you hat.

And of course… dirt. Dirt is always more interesting than just about anything taking place anywhere around you!

But when it counted, you put all of those other things aside, scooped up the ball, and after a bit of contemplation, threw it in the general direction of first base. Good job, Tyler! You just might be destined for the major leagues, yet!

there's 1 in every crowd

I loved the Scrapdango August kit for these pictures of our friend, Peter, having a meltdown at a cookout at our house! LOL! I used PSE to add a fun effect to the large photo, turning it all b&w except for a circle to highlight Peter's grumpy face!

Journaling:
Poor Peter! All of the kids had a great time playing together when the Frachioni family came over to our house for a cookout. But, by the end of the evening, Peter seemed to have had just about enough of the fun!

this boy is five today

I love these fun pics I got of Tyler on his birthday! The Zach's Life numbers paper was perfect, along with a pair of the chipboard brackets in the Scrapdango kit, to highlight his age!

Journaling:
"Tyler, can you show me how old you are today?" You were so cute, proudly holding up your hand and then carefully counting to confirm that there were, indeed, five fingers diplayed!
Happy Birthday, Baby!
7-3-08