Father's Day Layout...

Father's Day 2012

My guys and their Dad are quite a pair.  I beg for photos and Mother's Day and Father's Day are two of the days they indulge me and my camera. They were horsing around as I was trying to get a picture.  They were acting silly and I loved seeing it.  No matter how old they seem to get - they are still act like boys together. 

This layout was done with MME papers. I love the colors for my men. I tried to grab the humor of the boys card...Chase wrote a sentimental note and Walker crossed Chase's name out and wrote his own. We all got a good laugh. 

I had to add a little sparkle...because a little glitter makes everything better. Layouts with my guys are my favorites! 

I am what I am...

This is a photo of me with my SIL Janita.  Jan was well chosen by Randy's brother, Monte, to be my sister.  I have very few photos of just me and I really thought that this layout needed to show a relationship because in truth - it is all about the many relationships that define who I am.

Will I ever be comfortable pouring out who I am into a layout?  I don't know, but it is a goal to get a little of me on this years pages so my boys will be able to pass one who I was beyond telling their stories.

This layout was started in Memory Mixers and finished in PSE9 - I have to make the most of what few digi supplies I have. :)  I love that I can use and reuse the same piece of paper - it is a paper hoarders dream (and yes- I have a hard time using the last sheet of anything.  I think when I print it - I will add some embellishments so it will be more of a hybrid page.  I love texture.

Take time to tell your story, too. You matter to your loved ones.

I remember...

So this is a little outside of my favorite colors but it was a "vintage" photo form around 1968 and the colors seemed right.  This layout is digitial but the silhouetted children are my favorite element and could easily be pulled form your Cricut "A Child's Year".

Quick shout out to that cartridge...you look at the back of the box and think "What would I need that for?" but it is full of gems that are just the right choice for an assortment of pages from vintage photos to 4th of July celebrations. It is more than a "kids" cartridge and if you do have kids - it works for those "child-like moments" in your older children's lives because it is just a little more sophisticated.

The muted colors are not my "go to" colors - but I think they worked for the feeling I was going for here. It is one of the few pictures I have from my childhood so it is a treasure.  It is even better because my little sister, who died in 1995, is in it.  I look at us and see that our Walker is definitely from our gene pool. My little brother was no yet on the scene, but Walker is a Mini-Matt in so many ways.

This page was a result of a prompt by Lain Ehmann's "Your Story Matters 2012" prompt "I remember". It was fun to think about the things that have come and gone in my lifetime or are at risk of disappearing due to new and improved methods or technology. Old television shows are woven into our memories. The ways we communicate are ever-changing.

What to post today?

Ahh...sweet treats at Beaches and Cream with the family at  WDW Yacht and Beach Club resort. This "No Way Jose" Chocolate Peanut Butter decadence keeps us coming back for more. The 50's style diner hosts markets "the Kitchen Sink" which is every ice cream and topping for about $28. We always talk of getting one for the entire family to share (It would feed all 12 of us!) but our favorites always win out.  

This layout is part of my digital adventures. I love the ease of photo sizing in digital and my buttons are flat so they don't damage anything.  I don't like having to think about the edges that might not print and making sure all of my journaling is not in "the bleed".  


Any scrappy adventure is a good one.  Back to photo editing. 
Valerie

Fairy Godmothers Rock!

I love being a "Fairy Godmother"!  That is what my nieces called me when they were little.   I have loved trying to add a little magic to their lives.  My LOAD prompt was "cartoon inspired" and my mind went to Disney movies.  Then I had to find a photo to go with it.

This photo of me with my Smith Sisters seemed to rock the prompt. I made me think of Flora, Fauna and Meriwether.  We are bit beyond getting to claim the princess title...but who can refuse the joy of getting to be a Fairy Godmother?  Own it!  Embrace it!  Savor it!  Every season in life has it's gifts and adventures.

The layout is such a simple layout - but the quote and photo said it all - so I felt it was done.  Hope you enjoy making the magic in your world today. 

Happy First Day of Summer!










  

Off on a mission trip...

Walker is off on his first week long mission trip.  He did a little inner city work in Pittsburgh last summer at church convention - but this week is the real deal  This photo was taken over the weekend and I really enjoyed journaling my thoughts of his adventure ahead,.  I simply could not love him any more than I do.  Isn't love amazing?  You can love all of your children equally and differently.  Walker makes me smile...but getting a smile out of him is hard work!

Sisters...Mom and Aunt Bonnie

This is a quick layout - I am still learning to use Photo Shop Elements 9 for Digi pages.  This is my second attempt.  My "supplies" are limited.  I did the Daily Digi because it is a TON of stuff for under $10 a month.  I can see where Digi Scrapping saves $ but I still need to touch, cut and play with paper and my beloved Cricut and Sizzix.

I really think that of all of my family - I resemble Aunt Bonnie (on the left) the most. She is a hoot.  She lives out loud and has a tender heart.  We always looked forward to her visits as children and feel blessed that we see her several times a year most years - although she lives several hours a way in what is truly "Southern Illinois" on the Puducah KY border in a tiny town called Vienna.  She sounds like she was born in the South - but she has always sounded that way...even though she is a Kankakee native.

My mother (Ina Mae) always enjoys what we fondly refer to as "the sisters".  A force of nature unto themselves! They are quite a bunch. With 7 girls and 3 boys...the guys had no voice in family meetings.  They still don't.  My uncles are good guys!

With the family being large...and tight on money...they learned to value the most important thing...FAMILY. They love each other...now don't think they don't fuss and snip at each other...but they are loyal and defend each other like mother lions. Sometimes I think of the old song... "God help the Mister that comes between me and my Sister!" and "God help the Sister who comes between me in my man!"

Hope you are savoring the Saturday.
Valerie

Same picture...new layout

I scrapped this photo I shot of my niece for her 8th grade graduation slideshow.  It really captures her and she is hard to catch!  She is so beautiful...and she is like a butterfly to photograph!  You have to be quick.  I love this one because you can really see into her soul.  I scrapped the same photo in LOAD with paper.  I am trying to build my Digi Skills and I could not resist recycling the photo.  That is the joy of Digi - use and reuse. My Earth friendly children would be pleased.

The supplies are from The Daily Digi...such a fun company and digi supplies are never gone.  I can use paper without losing it in my stash.  I am not giving up paper scrapping but this is kind of fun.

Have a blessed day.  Photograph your own "Free Spirit" and capture them in a layout.

Valerie

Eye of the Beholder

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that the eyes are the window to the soul.  I think both are true statements.  What the eye sees as beautiful is always through the lens of ones own experiences.  I remember watching Avatar and thinking how odd the creatures looked at first but they became so beautiful as the story unfolded.  Dad always said every crow thinks his chicks are the prettiest...and crows do not have beautiful babies when they hatch.

This LOAD challenge was a a 6X12 page.  That is a new size for me -but I do love how it came out.  My niece has "Lindgren eyes" and she is a beauty.  She was just a child when I took this photo one Halloween.  Now, she is 16 and driving.  Time flies.  A girlfriend thought this was a self portrait and it was my eye. That is a compliment I will savor.

Have a fantastic start to June.
Valerie

I Hope You Dance

This is a layout that is my favorite kind to create....it tells a story but then goes deeper.  My new, self titled style is "Photojournalist Scrapper".  I want a great picture (or in this case an unusual photo to spotlight) and a story that goes deeper into the heart of the layout.  I am a word girl and I love to soul search.  I need a quiet time to do that and my LOAD (LayOut A Day) experience with Lain Ehmann has been a recharge.

A "found picture" prompt inspired this "Grab and Go" layout. I literally found the picture in a scrap pile and grabbed a a fun design from "Everything Orange" - a LOAD friend- and away I went. My creative soul was satisfied until the next hunger pain strikes.

Happy Scrappyday!