Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Start of the "Political Olympics"

Well, we're into day three of the Democratic side of the "Political Olympics!" I have to say, as I've gotten older, I've gotten more interested - that is a statement on age, huh? It's interesting to see the events of the "Political Olympics, such as the following: The Choosing of the Running Mate, Defining the Candidate, Who Am I and What Do I Say I'll Stand For, Assessment of the Prospective First Lady (and how she dresses *sigh*), Who is the Most Believable, How to Dispel Rumors, The Pundits' Analyses, and The Acceptance Speech. Who will walk away with the gold, or should I say the red or the blue? How does all of this tie in with scrapbooking? Well, sadly, as I looked at Michelle Obama's dress tonight, I thought about how the four flowers along the front of her dress would make great scrapping embellies! Did I just say that? *blush* Seriously though, I pray that whomever wins will have the guidance of the Lord and the wisdom to hear His whispers.

My friend loved her wedding album! I was so worried that it wouldn't be as nice to her as it was to me. I felt so relieved! I have done a couple of layouts to share. Here they are:

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You Quack Me Up!


I used liquid embroidery around the circle and in the center of the brown loops on the left and right. I just wanted the LO to be tender.

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FETCH!


I love this photo! DS was so cute with that little toy in his mouth. I remember that the stripes were orange and turquoise and that he crawled with it many, many times, LOL. I think he learned it from our dog, but don't tell DS! LOL I used Core-dinations Cardstock with a yellow core. I got to use up some old papers, too!

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Sandbox Baby


This was the last of this line of PP. It was a fun line but, I thought it was going to be impossible at first. Alas, persistence prevailed! I did a little painting along the top and bottom. My little feline, Precious, gave me a little help as she swished her tail along the wet paint spots. Fortunately, they were still damp and I could quickly wipe away the smears. She was just trying to help, right?

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In the Swim


I am so on this orange, lime, and turquoise color combination. I keep pulling PPs with those colors somewhere in the design. I guess it's my last summer hurrah! I found this photo of DS and DH in our pool. The turtle had the orange, and the pool water had the blue. Tah Dah - Perfect! It is impossible to see in the photo, but I've used aqua, orange, and lime green Stickles to make the flowers sparkle. You just can't see the glitter. The felt circle is a much prettier color than it shows int he photo. For some reason, outside - the colors bleached out too much. Inside, the colors were dulled. I tried to get a good shot, though.

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You are a Part of Me


I absolutely hate this photo of me!!! I had forgotten that it was class picture day. I had my hair up in a twist, the dress makes me look HUGE, my makeup was all wrong, yet, the most important thing - what makes the photo right is - Our DS looks adorable and the sentiment of the photo with his sweet face in the background makes it just right. 50 years from now, when I'm gone, DS will have this memory of the two of us. Isn't that what really matters?

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by. I love that you visit. It really makes my day! I don't have DS around to bore with the LOs I do to record events of our family. He gets to see them when he visits the blog. So, to each of you who remember to visit, from my heart, THANK YOU!

Have a good one,

Chris

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Thunderstorms are nice!

We've had wonderful thunder and lightning storms the past couple of evenings. No rain, though. Thunder here is so different than it was in Las Vegas. Here, it continues to rumble as the sound waves bounce off all the canyon walls. It just makes the sound roll for a long time.

Yesterday was DS's birthday. I was so sad because he spent it alone. DDIL is teaching this weekend in Los Angeles. It was DS's first birthday all alone. I did manage to send him a huge bunch of cookies from The Cookie Zoo in Las Vegas. I think I sent him seven dozen cookies, a dozen brownie bites, and a dozen cinnamon thingies. He was happy, but it just wasn't the same for me.

I finished my very first acrylic album! I made this wedding album for a friend. I hope she likes it! Here it is, page by page.

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Front Cover


The album has a woven ribbon cover. If you look closely on the left, you will see an emblem w/ the letter "C." I found this store at Etsy. www.ThymesSquare.etsy.com - the owner, Michele, does absolutely beautiful work. The alpha is perfectly made and quite stiff. I thought it just made the album more personal!

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Page 1 has gorgeous embossed PP in grey and white. Aren't the wedding bands lovely? The paper is shiny. I have a nice little
label for a date.

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For page 2, I left the frame open at the top so that a photo may be slipped in from behind. I also added white rub ons and clear rhinestones at the low points of the scalloped edge.

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For page 3, I traced the shape of the frame. I added more rhinestones in the low points to match those on the other side. The PP is also shiny and in black, grey, cream, and silver.

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Page 6 is a clear page. I have heat embossed the upper right using bridal embossing powder. It looks nasty in the photo, but IRL, it looks really nice.

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Page 7 is another difficult page to see. I've used Hambly on the back side.

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Page 8 also has heat embossing along the bottom. The heat embossing gives such an interesting texture, too.

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This page has another Hambly which shows on both the front and the back. To draw attention away from the edge, I chose to use a line of Stickles along the edge of both sides.

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This is what the woven cover looks like. It's the back cover. Notice the little heart eyelets I used to secure the ribbon ties.

I was so nervous making this. I was so worried I'd mess it up! I am thrilled with how my first album turned out! What do you think? Did I do it well? LOL

Have a good one,

Chris