LOAD challenge continues

I haven't posted that many of my LayOut A Day (LOAD) challenge pages. Some of them (to my own mind) weren't all that super. But part of Lain's philosophy seems to be: 30 minutes. Get 'er done. Don't overthink things. So, for some of this challenge that's exactly what I've done.

The two photos in this layout were taken at different times. The photo on the left was taken in the fall, when we first started feeding the squirrels at work. The squirrels were VERY skittish around people then and the closest we could get to them was through the front window. So, that's how that photo was taken. The one on the right was taken today in the tree in the front yard at our office. The little guy (or girl--couldn't really tell from the photo) was sitting up there happily munching away on a peanut.

Supplies: background papers from: Back2School Free Pea kit by S. Freeman (from 2Peas in a bucket); font: Garamond.

This is a memory that I want to keep. It's been fun interacting with the wild LIFE at work: the squirrels, cardinals, blue jays. I saw a red-bellied woodpecker in the same tree today. While at times I just hate being in Florida, I have to say I love nature and her beauty here.

Thanks for looking.

Weekend Sketch Challenge #32

I love Beate's weekend challenges. This will only be the second challenge for which I've made something. Sigh. And this one almost didn't get done. The weekend went too fast. And when I first started working with this design, I was going in another direction (with Christmas papers and stamps). That card is still a work in progress. I just can't seem to figure out what I want to do with that card. So I put it aside and started anew.

It's fun to read other people's blogs. How often do other crafters say, "I just love....." and you fill in the blank.


Well I love Basic Grey papers. And probably my favorite is Blush, from 2007. I just love these papers. So, when I decided to start over on Sketch #32, I went back to my favorite papers and came up with this.....

I'm sorry that the photo isn't crisper. I used
my point and shoot instead of the DSLR. I
could reshoot it.....

Materials used: designer paper: Basic Grey Blush; white cardstock: Georgia Pacific; Stamps: Studio G (Mike's $1 stamp bin); markers: Marvy Uchida; distress inks: black soot, antique linen; corner rounder.

Thanks for looking.

Photographic disappointments

I think that we've all had those weekends where you planned to do ALL sorts of stuff; get lots of errands done, make lots of cards for challenges, scrapbook lots of pages. Then Sunday night comes and you realize you accomplished about half (if you're lucky) of what you'd hoped to accomplish.

Such is my predicament this evening. I've only gotten 1 of the cards for challenges completed, that I'd hoped to make this weekend.

At Yahoogroups there is a monthly challenge in the Rangerinklink group. This month's challenge for the New Year was to try something new. So, I decided finally to play with the Perfect Pearls medium that Ranger markets. Since I'd never played with (or seen this product used), I thought I'd just do something simple.

I inked up the Inkadinkadoo harlequin stamp with the perfect medium that comes with the Perfect Pearls set and used the copper powder. I'd seen in a magazine or technique book that you could "edge" your card with the perfect medium and brush on the powder as well. (I've used gold leaf and silver leaf pens to edge before.) I'm thinking that I need to work with the Perfect Medium edging technique some more!!!

I then mounted my black harlequin cardstock to plain black cardstock to copper metallic cardstock. I die cut (Quickutz) the two hearts and the l-o-v-e letters. The die cuts were mounted with cut-up mini pop-dots.

I'm NOT at all pleased with the photo. Can you say TOO MUCH FLASH? (Said in her best Mr. Rogers' voice) But I shall continue to try to learn: 1.) how to play with Perfect Medium/Pearls and 2.) how to play with the new Canon camera. Momma said: practice makes perfect?

Thanks for looking.

Life Challenges

I'm glad that when I set my goals for this new year, that I set the goal to post to the blog at least once a week. Since it's now been about 9 days, I'm feeling the need to post today.

Last week Ali Edwards posted the idea to photograph your word for 2008 in different places. She provided examples of how she and some friends photographed the word ART (spelled out with different wooden letters) in different locations on one weekend.

I'm finding myself increasingly intrigued with this idea. I bought my letters last Saturday and took them with hubby and me when we went to the Everglades this last weekend. But I chickened out on photographing them AT the Everglades. I'm not sure hubby would have been "game" for that. And I wonder how the black vultures (see photo) walking down the path would have reacted to wooden letters?!?

So I did get this photo in the chair at the hotel room. And with this photo I reveal to the world (LOL) that the word I chose was: Life.

I liked some of the dictionary definitions for this word. For example: The state of being animate. (Sometimes as a teenager I was even animate before noon!!)

I liked the idea of modifying this word; MY life, NIGHT life (waking up at 3 AM and not being able to get back to sleep), WILD life (the creatures that live in the pond out back). So for 2008 I shall consider how my creativity interacts with MY LIFE. And we shall see what inspiration I can draw from these letters. They're presently plain, but I hope to fix that by the weekend.

Thanks for looking.

Another card challenge

I've frequented the PageMaps website for more than a year, long before I started haunting the blogs on line. When I saw that the first 2008 challenge at Caardvarks was a page map card drawn specially for them, I knew that I had to give this one a try.

The scan isn't too great, because the strip of cardstock on the left is a silver metallic cardstock. But hopefully you get the idea.

Materials used: white cardstock: Georgia Pacific; black and silver metallic: source unknown; Ranger Distress Ink embossing ink; Ranger silver embossing powder; stamps: Hero Arts (Take Time...), Inkadinkadoo (clock); Krylon silver leafing pen; black thread: Coats & Clark.

2008 goals, continued

Among the goals that I set for myself for 2008 was trying some of the online card-making challenges. Since I started blog-lurking last year, I've really been quite inspired and challenged by Beate's blog, Fresh & Fun.

This weekend's sketch challenge looked like one that I could try out for the first time. So, for Weekend Sketch Challenge #30 I made this card.

Supplies used: cardstock: Bazzill; paper: Basic Grey; ink: Ranger Fired Brick Distress Ink; stamp: Hero Arts; corner punch: EK Success; heart die cut: Sizzix.

Special thanks to Amy E. for instructions on how to post links in the blog. The blogging community is so great -- ideas, tutorials, just general support.

Thanks for looking.

January birthdays

January has two birthdays for which I try to make cards. My mom's birthday is January 2 and since it's so close to Christmas, it's been my habit the last few years to make her birthday card before Christmas and send both presents/cards together. I have to confess that the birthday present has become a no-brainer.



Beginning about 10 years ago I started purchasing for Mom a Barnes & Noble gift card in the amount of her age. I think I started around $72; let me tell ya, a few of the clerks over the years have given me rather STRANGE looks. You want $78?!? This year's gift card was for $82. And as per usual elicited the expected LOOK with the comment, "That amount must have some significance."



January also is the month of my son's birthday. So this year I made both cards in December before Christmas. Since my mom's not a particularly frilly person (and my son's definitely NOT!!!), I made a rather plain, non-frilly card. I scraplifted (can I use this word for a card?) this card from CARDS magazine. I went looking for the issue to credit the original designer, but I'm having trouble putting my hands on it. (Probably means I didn't put it away after using it.) My card looks pretty similar to the one in the magazine, except I cut the letters and present with the Cricut.

Striped paper: American Crafts; Happy Birthday paper: Flair Designs; cardstock: Bazzill. Ink: Ranger Sepia (maybe?). Letters and number were cut using Printing Press; present was cut with Beyond Birthdays.

Again, thanks for looking.

LOAD continues

I've continued to do scrapbooking layouts each day this month, participating in the LOAD (layout a day) challenge at BigPictureScrapbooking. Since life can sometimes get a little, uh, hectic, I've started doing some digital layouts to keep up with the 1 per day thing.

For this layout I used a picture from our family vacation in Washington state in August, 2007. My daughter and her family live there. The little girl in the picture is my granddaughter, Lori. I must also confess that the photo is NOT mine. Kris took the photo with her Nikon D80. (No camera envy here. Okay, not too much camera envy.)

This layout has all digital elements. Since I'm still pretty new to this digital layout thing, I've been using free digital kits that can be found around the internet. The background paper is from the Shabby Princess Moody Blues collection. The flowers and ribbon are another Shabby Princess product: Express Yourself by Ronna Penner.

Thanks for looking.

Christmas Thank you cards

I thought I would post my thank you cards, since they've all (finally) gone out.

I mostly wanted to stay with Christmas-y colors, 'cause I wasn't quite ready to say "good-bye" to all the Christmas supplies.

And since I had some new Sizzix Texturz embossing plates (the Christmas ones) that I hadn't played with yet.... Above is version 1. The thanks is really too small for the journaling block, but I was torn between getting it done right versus getting it done NOW. So, I settled for NOW.

The second picture is version 2. Since I had run out of the Making Memories tree charms, I changed to the holly leaves with an American Crafts large brad. But, wait...... there's more.....

For my dear daughter-in-law, who is a much brighter personality, than old me, I wanted a brighter, fun-er card. (Okay, I know more fun is more proper, but fun-er is.......more fun.) When I make cards for Emilie, I try to use brighter, more up-beat patterns; helps to get me out of my middle-aged contentment.

Thanks for looking.

2008 Goals

Let's not use the word: resolution. I don't know if I am truly resolute in anything.

But I have goals. Don't we all? And tonight I'm going to share a couple here. I think there's power in the sharing of goals. We can gain the encouragement of those around us (if they're the supportive type). Additionally, I suspect that the physical act of writing/declaring intentions will make them more concrete than just mere wishes. They are now goals. So, enough philosophizing.

First I'm going to try to document more of my life with a 365 challenge. What is a 365 challenge? Taking a photo everyday. Ali Edwards had a post on this either on December 31st or January 1st. I think it's a fun idea. (Sorry, I can't link to her blog posting; still haven't figured out this linking thing.) And actually as I sit here, I'm realizing that it's a leap year, so it'll be 366!!

So tonight I want to share today's photo, which actually brings me to my next goal. But first the photo. (And I should credit the idea for this still life to Stacy Julian who has a scrapbook page in her Big Picture Scrapbooking book with a picture of her running shoes. Thanks, Stacy.)

I want to continue to improve my health and increase my stamina through exercise, specifically walking. Maybe someday running? Last year I found a group online called the Eowyn Challenge. Eowyn, as in King Theoden's niece, the Shieldmaiden of Rohan from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. At the Eowyn Challenge website you can track your real world miles walked against the virtual world in Middle Earth. You literally Walk to Rivendell; of course you can then continue on to other parts of Middle Earth as the spirit moves you.

Since I started tracking my miles walked last spring, I've walked more than 350 miles and am about 5 days out of Weathertop. (For you non-Tolkien fans, it's okay not to understand this!)

So there's two of my goals for 2008 declared for the world. 1.) document my life through photos (at least 1 per day). 2.) walk.

What are your goals? Have you formulated them? Have you declared them?

Happy 2008

It's been a quiet day here in Vero Beach. I decided to take part in the LOAD challenge that's going on over at BigPictureScrapbooking. (Sorry, I haven't figured out how to insert the link in my posts yet.) LOAD stands for LayOut A Day and the challenge is to make 31 layouts in the 31 days of January, 2008.


Lain Ehmann, who blogs at ScrapHappy, is providing the challenge to get crafters to "stretch yourself, learn a little, and play a lot". So I'm posting my first scrapbook page in a long time. Hopefully, the 1st of 31.

Supplies used: Cardstock: Bazzill, Georgia Pacific; ribbons: Michaels; buttons: Jesse James, Foofala.

Thanks for looking.