LOAD #17

OK...this will be my last lo for the challenge! I just didn't have any time today to scrap - I did this one last night! These are some older pics of Michael, Samantha and Jonathan. I used my Sept Studio Calico kit for this one too - I've really gotten my monies worth out of this kit! That's good because from now on I am only getting SC kits and nothing else scrappy from anywhere else. The reason: I read an article about a family that went on a total spending freeze for a year. They basically bought nothing but groceries and things like shampoo and lightbulbs and batteries. Nothing else - no clothes, no Christmas gifts, nothing. One thing they did not give up were things like movies, going out to dinner periodically - stuff like that - and they saved about $500 a month doing this. So, I mentioned the article to Michael and he thought we could take on that challenge at least for a few months - just to see if we could do it. I did tell him that since he couldn't "survive" without cigarettes - I couldn't survive without getting at least one scrapbook kit a month - that equals way less than the money he spends on cigs!!!! I am committed to the Thickers that I signed up for through OSU (darn!! ;) ), but after that nothing else. Let me say that we have been doing this for two weeks now and at first it was very hard for me and Danielle - we like to shop on the weekends. But we've gotten kind of used to it and I saw Danielle reading some books that she's had forever that she just had to have and had never read! She also has been more artistic and crafting more. I am using just what I have to scrap with - my one monthly kit and all the bunches of stuff that are just sitting around. I am still taking lots of pics, but I am going to try and not print any out (except for my little portable printer - but that will make me be way more selective about which pics I want to scrap instead of having tons of pics just sitting around not being scrapped which is what I have now!). I have stacks and stacks of pictures that will take forever for me to scrap so I'm safe there! Anyway - sorry to be so longwinded - we are not spending money on "things" and I am cutting back on my scrappy spending. It's a good thing anyway - I buy so much that I'd say about 60% just sits around until I give some to Samantha - then the rest just sits there. We are cutting back on lots of things - not such a big Christmas this year is one. For the past few years we bought lots of things and spending lots of money for everyone, but I was so busy shopping and looking I haven't really enjoyed the holidays at all. I haven't baked anything, or decorated very much, or enjoyed Christmas shows or lights - and I used to do all of those when we had way less money. It's not really a money thing, it's a "gotta have" mentality that I want us to break out of. The kids seem to be on board with me - so far. I am only buying them one (large - a Web book computer each) present, but I am planning on making them some things this year. I have tons of ideas and I'm sure I can find many more online! So...TFL at my layout and if you made it to the end of this monologue - thanks for listening!! :)

LOAD #16

OK, maybe I can get 5 more layouts done between now and tomorrow - I doubt it, but maybe....! This is layout of dd and me at the San Antonio Retreat we went to this summer. I love that Samantha and I have such a passion for scrapping - it took her a while to get into it, but now that she's hooked she loves it as much as I do! She has always appreciated the work I have done, it's just nice to have someone scrap with me and that we have that to share! I used my September Studio Calico kit, plus the create fabric tag at the top was from an earlier SC kit - I can't remember which one though! TFL!

LOAD #15

This is a layout of my silly dog Rusty. He's a good and gentle dog and everyone that meets him loves him! I used my Sept Studio Calico for this - and some Thickers that I recently got at Hobby Lobby. I think I need to go and get me some more of those Thickers! I stitched around every one of the dogs. I'm not sure I will make the deadline for the LOAD challenge, but I'm trying! We have a busy weekend so I hope I can squeeze in some scrapping!! They may just be very simple layouts...LOL! TFL!

LOAD #14

This is layout of Jonathan, Danielle, my nieces Hannah and Sarah, and me climbing some huge rocks at Petit State Park in Morrillton, AR. It has tons of trails to walk - most are kind of tough - but this one was doable for all of us. I used my Sept Studio Calico kit for this - have I mentioned how much I love this kit?? Yeah - I think I have might have ;)! I used a roller stamp for the dotted border and Making Memories paint. I also used the paint on the chipboard title letters. I did a little sewing in some areas also. TFL!

LOAD Lucky #13

13 has always been a lucky number for me - I was born on the 13th ;) ! Here's my 13th layout - only 8 more to go - hope I can keep the mojo going! This is of me at my first 5k walk/run competition. I walked most of this race - I was by no means last - but it has been my goal to run a complete race. The last race I was in I did run most of it - just rather slowly. I wish I could just float the whole way to the end as graceful and lithe as a butterfly - hopefully I'll get to that point one day!! I used my Sept Studio Calico kit for this. The large butterfly is a rubon that went way wrong - most of it stuck to it's paper backing that was part of tha packaging. I just left it that way and attached it with the paper backing still on it. I painted the "fly" part of my title as the navy and white polka dots just didn't go with this! The small butterfly is a stamp from one of the add-on SC kits. The 4 is thickers from my stash - the small silver letters are from my stash too! I misted the middle of the cs, but most of it got covered. The journaling is from a Jenni Bowlin journal pad from the kit that I painted white to tone down the yellow on the page - then I cut it in half and punched the edges. TFL!

LOAD #12

This is my son Jonathan. The layout is for a challenge on BASB in which you do something mini. This is my take - I used a small picture and just used the bottom 1/3 of the page. I used the negative space from some chipboard frames in my Studio Calico kit for the misting and just some bits and pieces. It was so quick and easy! Not my usual style, but that style is really popular right now and I like the way it turned out!

LOAD #10 & #11

This layout is of my great grandfather - kind of a small capsule of what I know of his life. I know his life was so much richer and fuller, but these are just a few of the things that I know about him! This was for a challenge on Studio Calico in which we could use no patterned paper or premade embellishments and it had to focus only on the picture and the journaling. I found out after I made it that we were not supposed to use stamps either - which I think is really silly as the original rules said nothing of the kind and the person who made up the rules used stamps on her layout - she traced around them - but oh well. This is one of my most favorite layouts I've ever done. I used my vintage typewriter for the journaling, I stamped the frame and misted the kraft cardstock. I used some alphabet stamps for "good long" in the title on cardstock and cut them out. I made pencil marks on the side for journaling as I was going to actually handwrite it all, but I had so much to write I didn't think it would fit unless I typed it out - plus I think the typewriter looks more vintagey! This layout is of Michael and Danielle at a Girl Scout father-daughter sockhop! They were so cute! I made Danielle's skirt for her and Michael is wearing my old high school band sweater! I worked one of the stalls that night and I had roller skates on - but alas no pics of me! I used a scrapkit that I got while I was at the San Antonio retreat this summer. They had made it up with some premade pages for us to copy that I never did. I added the thickers for the title and that cool button for the flower middle that I've had forever! TFL!

LOAD #9

This layout has been done for a while, it's just been too rainy and overcast to get a good picture of it to upload! Finally caught a clear spot in the day! This is a layout of Mom, my nieces, Jonathan and Danielle taken on a bridge on a nature trail in Greer's Ferry, Arkansas. We camped there for one night, but got rained out! Thank goodness we had walked the trail the day before! I used my September Studio Calico kit for this layout! I've cranked out 5 layouts so far with this kit, and I have several ideas for more layouts!! I LOVE this kit!

LOAD #7 & #8

Still loving the new Sept. Studio Calico kit. I cranked these out pretty quickly and I have another in the works - I just need to figure out a title for the page!!

The first lo is of Samantha and her husband Nick . We were in a huge Halloween costume store looking for a silly wig for Danielle last year and we all were trying on the masks. That's kind of gross when you think about it - how many other people have put their dirty faces inside of those things...blech! Danielle wanted to be Joe Jonas for Halloween -and she was - we found the wig there that kind of looked like his hair after some cutting and brushing! Sam and Nick looked so cool with their masks on - but all we had was a lame pre-iphone to take the picture the pics kind of blurry. I thought the kraft cs with silver circles looked so perfect with this pic with black as an accent! I really love the way this looks! And, I just got those AC thickers Saturday from Hobby Lobby that I think look really cool on this!

The second lo is with some very busy pp that I normally wouldn't buy for myself, but came in my kit. It's just so busy that I thought it would make a great frame so I cut out the middle of the pp and put it on some vanilla bazzill. I then used my new EK success border punch on the red cs around the middle. I misted the title with the BG cb letters that came in the kit. I took that pic a couple of years ago when my dslr was brand new! I was so glad I had gotten my camera for Christmas - I had never taken such gorgeous pictures as this one turned out to be. My dh was amazed when he saw it! We were visiting my mom in Florida at her house in Pensacola and while we were out by the pool there were several butterflies flying around, but this one actually stayed still enough for to get the shot! TFL!!

LOAD #6

I worked on this layout this morning with my new Studio Calico kit, which I am really loving!! It's bold and fresh and so different from the past I've gotten from them! I even have an idea for my next layout! This is a layout of Danielle about 10 years ago, laying on the beach in Destin with her Bitty Baby and the cutest beach gear! I need to hurry up and load this as I worked on this instead of taking dd and her friend to the mall and they are really bugging me to take them!

LOAD #4 and #5

Here's my latest layout and I am also counting my telephone scraplift layout even though there will be no pic of it until it's reveal! This is of Danielle (my youngest daughter) and my nieces who visited us this summer. The girls always have such a good time when they are together! I am so glad they are not only cousins, but great friends as well!

First Post

I don't know if I am doing this right, but I am attempting to upload some layouts for my LOAD challenge on the OSU scrap site.

The first layout is of Samantha taken when she was a baby and we were stationed in England. I made it with a couple of older Studio Calico kits that I "revisited" when I was transfering them from the paper bags that they come in,into the new clear zippered crop bags that SC is selling! I love them because I can see all my older stuff!

The second layout is of Michael. He insists he doesn't really like Disney World - we just make him go. But he bought those Goofy pirate ears the morning we got there (we had Mickey Mouse pirate ears on!!) and he wore them all day!! All the characters had a blast when they saw him, but after Daniells posed with Mickey, he insisted that Michael come and take a picture alone with him!! You can tell by the pic that Michael was having fun!! I used Maya mist on some Mickey heads to mist the paper.

The third layout is some pics of Samantha at the coolest fabric store in Lawrence - it's just a feast for the eyes in there and it makes me want to quilt everytime I walk in. It's located on the famous Mass St. where there the coolest little stores are located. The bottom of the this store is also a costume shop with tons of cool costumes crammed into a tiny space! I made this for a challenge that used a funky, tattoo ad as a lift.