i spy

sorry to leave you hanging

first, i must apologize for leaving you hanging with such a sad last post. after a few days of distinct sorrow, my head began to spin with ideas for a new beginning. (i firmly believe that when one door closes you may find another window to open.) then everything in my head ceased moving at all. oooh, the congestion. the mucus. green, thick, and unmoving. too much information? most certainly, but honestly, hardly anything compared to the completely inability to bend over for fear of head explosions...

and while i was sick, we got a new president. i lived vicariously through elizabeth for this one. i scanned for her in the crowds whist i watched a moment of history unfold. amazing. though much struck me that morning, nothing got me quite like the women wrapped in red coat, gloves, and headscarf who was in attendance with her two small children. the reporter was asking her if it was too cold for her children. she replied that when the election results were posted that she went and woke her two small children and told them that "martin luther king's dream came true today." she continued that she brought them both with her so that they would understand how important this day was to her, to them, and to our country. i'm not sure why her story touched me so. perhaps it is because i can't imagine waking my children in the middle of the night for anything not exceptional. completely extraordinary. it let me glimpse her happiness in real terms. an amazing day.

also while my head was stuck with snot (see how i am getting more and more gross about it - just as it became more and more gross to tolerate??!!) i went to bed one night dreaming of all the fun that was to be had at cha. i was thinking how fun it would be to be in cali. and how healing it would be to be with scrapping sisters who would understand the profundity of my sorrow. and then i awoke with a voice that said DO NOT GO. you know that one? the voice who you do not question. so travel plans were canceled. and last night i was blog hopping and saw this and was filled with green sorrow. (not the snotty kind, but the envious kind). i want to be there with my friends and be eating breakfast together before hitting the floor. i want to be there with all the pretty colors and textures taking my mind off the past and lighting the way ever so colorfully toward the future. cha is beyond description. think of your greatest girls' night out on a near lethal does of crank! oh, yeah, baby. it is lights camera action at every turn. just when you think it can't get any better, it does. and does and does. it is incredible. truly incredible. and i am missing it all. and so far no reports of flights gone down, debilitating storms, and there hasn't been any trouble at home. sigh. obedience brings blessings. obedience brings blessings. obedience brings blessings. right? please?

enough self pity. (did i mention how cold and snowy it is here?) truly enough. (did i mention that i have been looking forward to this for months?) okay, okay...

well, i am off to try to scrapbook for you today. i need to edit and photo, print it, and go scrap it right away. that will be a great help and distraction.

see you later! thank you for all your wellwishes. much appreciated!

there are no words

my world shook a bit yesterday. this makes me sad beyond measure. maybe tomorrow i'll be ready to talk about it...

a funny for day 10!

let's face it. for me, it is so much about the words. and the font. on the backside of this white cardstock hides attempt #1. it was written in teal, pink, and brown, in some humongous font. it looked good in my head, but translated very poorly on paper. oooh, no! i shrieked, and headed back to word perfect to try again. this is effort number two. so much better.
remember last week when i was trying to emulate this? well, you might remember i didn't quite get there, so i wanted to try again. looking at this variation (i think by emilie ahern) i loved the title in the middle of the journaling. and i loved that it wasn't an interruption, but a continuation of the journaling already in progress. then after the "title" it returns to regularly scheduled programing. loved it. so that is what i copied in this layout. still didn't mimic that design, but one day i will. just not today. so, enjoy the hot dog story. if the thought of eating a cold/raw hotdog makes you gag, you may want to skip the story... just know that lavender, my good child that day (teehee!) allowed me to cook hers. awesome. and well, poppy. just go on and read...

thanks for stopping! have fun journaling today!

standing tall and proud!

do you see it? more of that fabulous my minds eye paper? oh, and well, she went for the gusto folks! not only did she cut into two of here favorites but she also used up some of the journaling cards she so can't NOT buy! and the flowers are beloved american crafts' felties. they don't call them felties, of course, that's just a little something i nicknamed them...

by the way, do you remember that gigantic post a few weeks' back celebrating the photo album scrapbooking issue, well, this journaling cards came right out of the photo album. for those of you too lazy to look back (or whose computer can't take that many images! sorry!) nowadays in my photoalbums i am adding 4x6 journaling cards to tell a bit more about the photo. this also also me freedom to not have to remember everything and/or scrapbook everything right away. so when i wanted to scrapbook this page, i went to the file marked photo album journals, and with a quick resize, we were good to go. fancy schmancy! such a fantastic new system. i am in love!

have a great day! now go cut up some more of that fine paper you have been hoarding! teehee...

the one not picked

whenever i get an assignment, i try to do at least two options so the editors have a choice. they have so much more than just good design to consider. also important is the subject matter, the colors, the size, the photos. not that any one is more important, but just so that within each article there is a bit of diversity. for the may june issue i did two layouts, and they took a different one, so today let me bring you the extra. (notice, i did not call it a reject or something derogatory...positive speech is one of my ongoing goals...:o)) i hope you like it.

layout background...each year we try to shut down the pool--be the last patrons there on the last day it is open. these photos were taken on each of the last days. 9-01-07 and 09-02-08. check out the difference one year makes. (it helps that i unknowingly but delightfully, dressed her in the same suit each year!) my goodness! her dark hair gave way to light. she grew what looks like two feet! without gaining an ounce. (teehee!) last year she was learning to crawl. this year, she runs. last year she was a bit of a tease. this year she is a bit of a tease! last year she loved the water. this year she loved the water. so all in all, some changes, some steadies. i was so happy for this assignment. it was a wonderful excuse to put together a great then and now page. have I inspired you to do one? hope so!

(please know this is so much better in my house. the pinks don't scan so well and this is that cool acrylic paper (sheer delights) from ki memories.)

until tomorrow!

i actually used it!

this paper is one of my all time favorites. this tres jolie line from my minds eye made me so happy that i have done very little with it. too pretty to cut up. do you have paper like that? i am pretty good at using the pretty stuff, but every now and again i get all handtied (or whatever the appropriate scrapbooking equivalent of tongue tied should be) and just can't bring myself to use it. in trying to overcome, i cut a little snippet and added it to this paper. this is a second version for lavender's book. the first version is with simple awaiting online publication. until it comes out, i shan't spill the original beans, so today you get to see a teensy bit variation on the theme.

thanks for stopping by today. it is always so fun to have you! before you go, a curiosity - if you have the same photo with the same journaling for two kids' books, do you scrap them the same, or do you vary a bit, or do you start each from scratch? inquiring minds want to know....

have a loverly day!
(and yes, i know there is really not an r in lovely... it is my british accent coming through. or shall i say, my fake british internal speak accent--cuckoo bird that i am!!!)
toodloo!

princess paper...

first, i must admit that i am a sucker for a well named product. it can make you see things in a whole new light. or the same light, but much more vibrant. absolutely must profess my love for this well named line: fairest of them all.

i used it for poppy's birthday decor (if i was on the ball i would have a photo handy to post, but well...) and i have a mini album in mind for all those princess pictures that i love and take all the time. but for now, it has made a terrific backdrop for this fun page. poppy loves to wash the floor. she has even been known to cry when i don't let her. (go figure... please know i try to never deny such behavior, but my evil stepmother side must be tamed so she is not scrubbing at 10 pm!) if you look closely you can see the ? after the cinderella in the title. it is a white sticker. mostly because sei doesn't put question marks on their alphabet sheets. but i am so not complaining as said sheets sell for under $2 which is magnificent. magnificent enough to forego the punctuation frustration!

thanks for stopping by! i may not be here tomorrow - ballet and such. have a great couple of days! i hope your weather is happier that the cold wet drizzle here! not complaining, just hoping your weather is brighter!

and school begins

nigel is back to school today and my littles were quite certain that i was kidding and that he was downstairs playing lego. no, really he is gone. i'm sad too. my nigel is quite a little man. i finally got him to stand still and snap his photo. so very excited to do a whole bunch of "i love you nigel" pages. for a bit of warmup, i found this fun photo of him sliding down the driveway a couple of weeks ago after our first real snow. he got this slide for a birthday present four years ago and man, it doesn't get much use, but when the snow falls, it gets a grand workout. we love how slippery it is. fun for the whole family. (richard tends to use it as a snowboard - i'm too clumsy for such wild antics!! teehee!)

thanks for stopping by. perhaps today you could be inspired to scrapbook that person who doesn't show up much anymore in your pages... and for another day, we simply must discuss why it is so much easier to scrapbook the littles...

day #3

so here is my page. as you can see, i didn't get to use the quote (didn't get to - hahaha - the forces denied me!) using the idea, i got to this page. i love it even though it didn't end where it began. many of my pages do that, though. evolve. or devolve as the case may be.

this is the kids yesterday. perched atop my brand new saddle stools which might be the christmas gold. (don't tell nigel - he would die to think the stools were more important than the wii...)
i have a better photo in terms of composition, but i thought this one told a better story!

thanks for your patience! i hope you, too, were inspired by the quote!
have a great weekend!

day #2

I was supposed to be doing something else, but being that i am easily distracted, i started clicketyclicking and soon i found myself at jessica sprague's blog. i am toying with the idea of taking some classes, and have been to her work site several times, but this was my first to her home blog. there, in the header, i read this quote:
time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life. brian andreas.
man. just hit me. love that. this is my scrapbooking theme. love my ordinary life pages. love cathing them in photos. love remembering the moments in words. then love, years, months, weeks, or days later seeing them again and being reminded of how great those moments were. think i might just go scrap a page with this quote! be back soon...

happiest new year.

i must admit that usually i reserve new year's resolutions for september, the actual new year when you grow up in a house and family full of teachers. september is the time of new clothes, new books, new pencils, new weather, and of course, new goals.
this year, however, i am using january first for my time of renewal. new glasses are ordered, new hair tomorrow. and those are just outward manifestations of the newness springing forth from within. it is definitely going to be a great year.

as i have been searching for new purpose, i have been noticing where i feel most alive. and one of those places is, not surprisingly, at my scrapbook table. so here is a little bit of today's food for living. a picture from november. a story for our daily life. a bit of orange (my happiest color). a bit of metal. and a little flower. or two. a perfect layout.

i hope you enjoy your day and have a chance to renew or not, as you wish on this first day of 2009. man, where does the time go? happiest new day and new year!

ps - the inspiration for this layout can be found here. i loved the narrow little photo space. mine ended up much fatter, but that's okay. maybe tomorrow i will do a skinny version!