Utah's Weather is Wonderful - It Snowed Already!

Sadly, it didn't snow where we are because we're too far south, but it did snow 40 miles north of us! The high today was in the 50s and by Wednesday, we'll be back to the upper 80s again. *sigh* I love Fall and Winter. In the morning, we have the house open. Almost every morning, I hear geese and ducks squawking their little hearts out as they are heading south for the winter. They sound so cool! Our night time owl is back. We hear him in one of our trees at night. I just love it!



I'm not going to bore you with tedious chat. I don't even know if you read anything I write or not. LOL. It's OK if you don't. I get it. I would love if you left comments though. Everyone loves to get "warm fuzzies," and each comment is a treasure to me.

Here are some layouts I recently did. You don't want to hear the story behind them, do you?


My Silly Boys


3 Goofy Boys

The layout below is absolutely beautiful in person. The camera just didn't pick up the lime green and black very well. This is a shot of DDIL who participated in a sidewalk chalk art community activity.

Freedom of Expression


Machine Washable Boy

Again, this LO is so beautiful in person. The colors just didn't come up well. I used copper metal alphas and then ran copper floral rub ons up the side. I have given thought to removing the flowers. I'm not sure I like it. We filled our garage three times when moving here from Las Vegas. Hint - before you move, do get rid of almost everything! LOL

Moving Day

One of the things that we, as a family, did all the time was take day trips. The apple didn't fall far from the tree (well, actually, it did. It fell from the tree and then rolled right out of the orchard). I wanted to make sure that this family activity was not forgotten as time passes. By scrapping a LO about our day trips, someone will remember. The red grid is half of a clear acrylic 12 x 12 sheet by Page Frame Designs. I liked that it added something different to the LO. Then, I used acrylic alphas to carry that through.

Our Day Trips


My Guy

I hope that this little girl is smart enough to stay within the boundaries of the National Park! It's hunting season and sweet babies like this are becoming targets.

Autumn

I'll be posting some cards that I've been working on as well. It takes me as long to make a card as it does a layout! Is that normal, or am I just too pokey?

Thank you so much for stopping by. I love having visitors. The company that runs the map at the bottom of the page clears the maps each year. I was so sad that they cleared mine! I loved watching the little red dots grow!

Blessings to you,

Chris XO

So Much To Do - So Little Time

When I was teaching, I was ten times busier than I am now. Why, then, now that I'm home all the time, is there not enough time to do all the things I want to get done? Is time just passing by in a faster manner? Am I so old that it just takes me longer? LOL I'm still extremely organized (until I go into my scrap room), but it just seems that I just don't get as much done.

Fall is here. The temps are below 100 and the leaves on the trees are beginning to show signs of yellowing. The trees in the mountains have already begun to show their Fall colors. Fall and Winter are my two favorite seasons. I long for snow. I love the cold temps. I love the colors and scents of Autumn. Woo Hoo! It's October!

I've been a bit busy scrapping. I have a lot to share. I'll try not to bore you with tons of details, LOL. When I do challenges, I always dig into my older stuff first. It gives me a chance to use up things I've thought were too pretty to use, LOL. Do you do that, too?

The first LO is one of my current favorites. I love the colors and the die cut paper.


He Loves Me

This LO was another opportunity to use some paper I've been hoarding. I am soooooo NOT a purple person! I took the plunge creating this LO.


Ladybugs are Angels with Freckles

Layout #3 was for a challenge to use five different kinds of PP. I thought it would be fun to get away from the usual strips or blocks. This was taken about 30 minutes from our home. The peaks in the far back are those of Zion National Park.


Kolob Plateau

Are you hungry? Well, this will drive you to the kitchen! This was also done for a challenge. This wonderful cake box opens up and is perfect for holding something special. I used an extremely dark brown Bazzill CS. I inked the bottom in a darker brown to resemble crust. Then, I used tiny pieces of paper to make the coconut. The bow is made from strips of patterned paper, too! You could make eight of these and have a whole cake to display!



Not for Human Consumption!

The following images are those of an album I made for my sweet husband. He can put the photos in that he wants. I loved this PP and just thought I could do something special with it. The base is made of brown Bazzill CS to which I added the binding after the LO was done.

For the cover, I did some stitching using floss, added felt flowers, some glitter on a chipboard arrow, flowers, buttons, sticker alphas, and an epoxy butterfly.


The next two pages are great for DH. He won't have to think too much about the photos. The chipboard alphas are from the new BG line, Ambrosia. On the second page, I used brown rub on alphas and stamped a swirl to which I added bronze metal flowers. I wanted to keep it masculine.


This set of pages uses more Sass Lass. I just loved to use those borders. I just couldn't cut them and toss them.


Enjoy the sunshine, but remember sunscreen! I put some of the alphas on pop dots just to give it some dimension. I also stamped the owl on white CS and then colored it to match the page.


This set of pages turned out so nicely. I loved the colors and the stamps I used.


I really tried to achieve a variety of styles and colors. I love the woven ribbon technique with my new punch! LOL


Last, but not least, are the pages in teal.


My husband loved his album. I loved making it! Think anyone would buy one similar to it? LOL I don't like to make things exactly the same.

OK, I've taken enough of your time. I am so glad that you stopped by to visit. Thank you!

Have a good one!

Chris

When All Else Fails, Scrap!

I'm worried; therefore, I scrap.

I worry about our economy. I worry that those who were supposed to oversee our nation's financial balance had blinders on while those who were instrumental in the downfall of financial institutions were smart enough to NOT leave a paper trail to their off shore accounts while those who provided them with those many, many millions are now without their investments.

I worry about our political future. We have the "Teflon Princess" running for VP. Her speeches are parroted at every speaking event. I hear her putting HER name first and her running mate's name second - a DEFINITE POLITICAL NO, NO! What would Freud say to that? LOL We have her running mate stating that he has a way to end the war. Why is he keeping it a secret? If he has a way to end the war, shouldn't he tell us NOW since we're spending billions daily. Why is he holding back? We have the other presidential candidate, whose wife is conspicuously absent, trying to appeal to the gentle side of humanity by speaking to the throngs in gentle ways. Our country doesn't respond to that type of dialogue. If you go back in our political past, you'll see that when being spoken to, our Presidents (with the exception of Jimmy Carter) were, pretty much, boisterous! Americans "hear" that type of commentary. I am clearly not stating my presidential preference, I'm solely making political observations.
I am worried.

Fall is on its way! The daily temps have fallen below 100°! The leaves at the higher elevations have begun their change from green to gold. I love, love, love Fall! The weather is perfect! We can turn off the A/C and open windows! I'm already planning to make some butternut squash! Yum!

Here are some new layouts I did to keep my feeble little mind active.

This sweet photo of DS is my most favorite of all we have of him. He was our "Special Cargo," as his overalls state. We waited so long for him to come to us. When we finally thought we wouldn't be able to have a child, we did! It was so worth the wait! I used a transparency for the space between the PP and flowers. I thought it was an interesting technique.


Daddy's Angel

The next photo is of DS and DDIL. I printed the photo on a transparency. It looks great in real life, but a bit blurry on the screen. I think it's because the transparency has pulled away from the PP a bit. I love this paper and wanted to use it for something other than a child's layout. Son and daughter-in-law were in Seattle when this shot was taken.


You are So Deer 2 Us

The last LO is of DS when he turned five. He had a group of friends over for a swimming play date. I love this robot PP and just had to make the LO bright and interesting. I had some scrap metal which was pliable enough to be embossed. So, I embossed the flowers! It kept the flowers looking less girly. I covered the chipboard arrow w/ matching patterned paper. I just love bright layouts! This one is going in every direction, LOL!


Friends

I was thinking about starting an Etsy store to sell albums like the acrylic wedding album I did (below) and maybe some cards or even a layout from time to time. What do you think about that idea? I just want to make things. I wouldn't do it for the money, I have so much "stuff" that I can't use it fast enough, LOL. Should I?

Thanks for stopping by! Glad you were here!

Chris

Frustrations!

Well, I'm back in bed again. My knee is in so much pain that I cannot find a position that doesn't hurt! So, I'm in bed with ice on the top and the bottom. I am frustrated more than ever! Since I started some machine physical therapy, above and beyond the pool therapy, both of my knees are not happy campers. That makes me a not-so-happy camper! I can't sit with my knee bent at the scrap table for more than 15 minutes. That's been my scrapping limit for almost two months now. I'm just not making any headway. The doctor doesn't want to replace the knees. I don't want that either, but I'm getting to the point where the pain is eroding my spirits, too. I would be so happy with bearable pain which would allow me to just be able to DO things. I had to vent. It made me feel a bit better - sort of.

I have some LOs to share. I think I'm going to have to go back to scrapping using the bed tray. Bummer!


A Leafy Seadragon

This photo has been hiding on a disk. I finally found it after looking for it for months! This creature looks like seaweed, but has the characteristics of a sea horse. If you look closely, you can see a horse head shape on the left side. That's the critter's head! You can see the ribs in the center as well. It's legs have the "leaves." I wanted to match the PPs with the photo. I chose to place a piece of vellum over the Two Scoops PP to mute the design and not compete with the photo. Then, I tore the vellum away from the photo. I used grungeboard swirls that looked, to me, like a good match with the design on the paper.


Sweet Cheeks

This LO was fun to do. I remember that we went to Spring Mountain Ranch, outside Las Vegas, for a puppet show. DS was so happy to see Elmo and Cookie Monster! LOL The LO isn't crooked. I just took a bad photo. Everything is nice and straight. I added a strip of Prima black bling to the right side. I got to use up some of the rub ons I seem to hoard, LOL.


Cheeky Monkey

This LO has papers that I've been holding until just the right moment. I found this photo of DS taken when he was six and a T-ball "master" - NOT! He'd be digging in the dirt with a found popsicle stick as the ball would roll by just in front of him. Of course, he was oblivious to the fact that he was supposed to actually GET the ball!!! He was a team favorite after pulling stunts like that! *sigh* I also used some rub ons for the borders of a star and arrow. I have a drawer full of rub ons that I just forget to use! It's difficult to see, but I added touches of red, blue, and black glitter to the LO. The monkey in the star has also been glittered.

Thank you for stopping by. I love that you have taken time to stop and visit.

Have a good one,

Chris

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:


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.


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!


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?


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.


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

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.


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!



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.



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.



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.







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.



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



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





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.







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

Farewell to July!

I simply cannot believe that July is over! Where did the month go? It's funny, when we were children, time flew by unless we were bored. If we were bored, time just dragged. Now, even if we're not doing anything, time is still flying by! When I was teaching, I would always go back to school the first week of August to get my room ready. I'd spend about a week and a half or so getting my room all dressed up and then was able to stay home for the two weeks before the kids actually returned. That gave me the feeling of having a second vacation, LOL.

I'm still working with my knee issue. I've got a script to go for physical therapy to build the muscles to help hold the joint in place. I've not scrapped for over two weeks, I think! It hurts to keep the knee bent for any period of time. I've been in the recliner with the foot rest up and an ice pack always on the joint. I thought that today, I might try scrapping a little bit. We'll see how it goes. The last thing I want is knee replacement surgery! I don't like to take meds - especially the pain meds - because they just make me so loopy. So, I've been "biting the bullet."

I thought I'd share some recent layouts, though. I just fell in love with this Pink Paislee paper line. I bet you couldn't tell! I've been using them with photos of our DDIL. She is such a sweetheart and a good sport about my scrapping her. I think I even have more paper left from what I got, too! I think I overbought!

The first LO celebrated DDIL's position of Pub Quiz Master! She was asked to be the moderator providing the questions for the participating teams.


The Grand Poobah of Pub Quiz

Here, our sweetie models her new hair cut. Oh, how I wish I had her thick, thick hair! She is just so lovely in every way!


A New "Do"

OK, so I had to throw in one of DS! He will always be my baby. Have you ever read the book, "I'll Love You Forever?" If not, please do. It is a children's picture book that will touch your heart! Again, I used the Pink Paislee along with a strip from BG Archaic. I'm not comfortable with paint, but do use it sparingly. I'm afraid I'll wreck the LO somehow. LOL


You Are My Heart Forever

I just couldn't pass up this delightful tree! I love the color of the Bazzill cardstock. The butterflies are from when I was a child and caught them. I kept them in a little box all these years. While teaching, I ran them through the laminator, LOL. Now, they're part of this LO! How does one spell packrat?

Mother Nature's Wildflowers

Thank you for stopping by. I sure wish I knew who my visitors are. Please leave a comment so I get to know you. I do appreciate your visits. I'd love to have a name/face with where you are from. Be kind to this old bird!

Have a good one,

Chris