Ahh, the good old days

So here is another project that I worked on for the Scrapbooks Plus design team call. I'm not sure if it is because the pictures were printed in Sepia or what but when Aubrey saw this layout she sighed and said "Ahh, the good old days." This particular Good Old Day happened 3 months ago.



All I could think that morning on the way to the bus stop was

"There she goes... Again."

I was prepared for the sadness I felt on the first day of Kindergarten, I guess I just thought it would get easier to let her go.



My journaling: the lyrics to a song by Sixpence None The Richer.

A card made out of leftover?

A friend of mine told me that after she finishes a page she likes to use what she has left on her scrapbooking table to make a card or two. Since everything is already out and coordinates it makes card making quick and easy. Well that is exactly what I did with this card. I my design team kit from Scrapbooks Plus and when I was finished with my pages I made this card.




I saw this little saying in the Uppercase Living catalog and it is exactly how I feel about Rob. We have been together half our lives and I can't imagine my life without him. He has been my best friend since highschool and well... I loved him yesterday, love him still, always have and always will.






In less than 15 minutes I had this great card pulled together to give him for Valentines Day. Now if I could just get my Christmas Cards in the mail:)

Merry Holiday

The weather cooperated today; the rain stopped, the wind died down, the snow flakes fell and I was able to get some shots of my front porch.



I hung these door buckets and ornaments {Southern Living at Home} from red velvet ribbon. It was fairly quick and easy putting them up and I am so excited about the end result. It is the perfect way to decorate my little front porch.

Only {25} Days 'til Christmas!

I am so excited about this next "altered item" that will be hanging in my home this month and counting down the days until Christmas.

{note the reflection in the glass, that's my tree all lit up! I think Karen Russell would be proud of my composition here}

You know how sometimes you just REALLY like certain papers. I mean really, really like them to the point that you don't even want to use them. Well, that is what happened to me with the FRUITCAKE line by Basic Grey. I like to use the really yummy papers {like the Fruitcake line} in home dec projects since they are displayed rather than hidden in the pages of a scrapbook. That line also worked really well because the papers are all double sided which gives each card a finished look rather than having an unfinished backing.



The Details of the Project~
Here is what products I used and how I made the countdown calendar. The words, numbers and oval outline are all from a rub-on kit I ordered from Stampin' Up last season. I bought the picture frame from Target and applied the outline and the words to the glass. I found a little clothes pin in my stash and painted it black then attatched it to the glass with glue dots. The background paper is Making Memories FA LA LA line. I used the Basic Grey Fruitcake line to make all of the different numbered cards. The numbers were from the Stampin' Up kit.

Decorator + Photographer

I don't know what I enjoyed more, decorating my home for Christmas or photographing the results!


I picked this Santa and Tree up about a month ago and it was exactly what I needed to go on this table. I wanted the Christmas Tree to be a little taller than Santa so I decided to look for a decorative box that I could set the tree on. I found this perfect little box at Target. It has gifts all around it so it looks like presents under the tree. (I have also used this trick to make 2 different lamps the same height by placing books under one lamp to make it taller.)



As much as I love the actual display in my home I AM BLOWN AWAY BY THE PHOTO OF IT! I love the narrow depth of field showing a blurred set of stockings hanging from the mantel and the way our real Christmas tree is creating back lighting for the little tree.



I am really happy the warm tones in this photograph of the Santa Train. I really nailed the white balance!



I love the blurred Santa in the upper right hand corner of this photo, again using shallow Depth of Field to tell the story.

It was a rainy, yucky day today so I didn't get photos of the outside of our house. As soon as the weather cooperates I'll post some photographs of the outdoor decor. I am thrilled with what I pulled together for my front porch and that is saying a lot because, as rob pointed out to me today, I am usually my toughest critic so if I'm thrilled it must be good!

Christmas Time

So, it is that time of year again! After a long break the holiday season is exactly what I need to get back into designing. I love this card holder that I made for my Christmas cards.




I heat embossed each of these embellishments using clear ink and clear embossing powder. Before I embossed them I did use a taupe color ink just around the edges to give a worn look. This really turned these plain punch outs into beautiful embellishments.



The cards slip right into the pocket!



Now that I am finished with this project I am ready to Deck The Halls!

Final Critique

This is the photograph I submitted for my final assignment in the Photographer's Workshop. When I read this critique I got goose bumps and started to tear up a little. I made Karen Russell gasp!!! She is a total rock star in scraptography and I made her gasp! It is so exciting to realize a dream. I have wanted to be a photographer, meaning I have wanted to be able to take great manual photos for about 10 years now. Well, here it is. I did it. I realized my dream. Of coarse I will keep learning more and more by studying other photographers and just by practicing myself. But still, I did it. Yeah ME!





This is what Karen Russel had to say in her critique of my final assignment:

Megan, I actually gasped just a little bit when I saw this second shot (and I'm sitting in a coffee shop surrounded by people so that was a little embarrassing)!

This shot is exactly what I want this class to be about - this is storytelling at it's best.

The fact that the composition is wonderful (the merger doesn't bother me at all) and your settings are wonderful is just icing on the cake!

I'm so glad this is the shot that you posted for your final shot and am so glad that things are really coming together here for you - congrats! (posted by Karen on 09/10/2009)

Summer Days

I look at the photograph and I can't believe how far I have come with my photography this summer. I am wrapping up the Photographer's Workshop in the next few days. I am so glad I took this class. What a blessing to be able to capture such a perfect little moment on a summer day!

Back from the Beach

Life is good

Ok so you haven't heard from me in a while. I have been very busy with the Karen Russell photography class I am taking. It was well worth the year I waited to finally get into this class. It totally rocks! I am learning sooo much... very inspired by this chic.


On another topic, I have a problem {problems can be very inspiring}. I don't always get to scrapbook every little moment I want to remember. So I came up with this idea for a "Scrap Box". It is a little recipe box that I embellished {of course} using my Kraft Girl Kit from May. I love that kit!






The idea is that I can pull out a card, write about the moment I want to remember, add a little photo or embellishment and file it away under one of the categories.




The great thing is that my family can be involved in the memory keeping. Look at what Aubrey wrote about her brother.



She asked what I was making and when I told her about it she said she wanted to make a card about Cullen. The other day they were eating lunch outside and a spider joined them. Aubrey and Cullen were both scared but Cullen took it upon himself to protect his sister and get rid of the spider. Aubrey wanted to make a card about how brave Cullen is. So we looked through my extra photos for a little picture of Cullen. We attatched it to the corner of the card and she wrote:
"Cullen you are brav. You help me when I am afraid. You are a good brother.
Love, Aubreyia" (she is going through that name phase... I did it too when I was her age. I wanted to be Maggie. Rob went through this phase too. I believe he made his parents call him Jake for a while.)

Anyhow, hope that idea inspires you.

I run...

This is a picture of me running the Marine Corp Marathon~Historic Half in Fredericksburg, VA this past May. The race was awesome. I want to run it every year. My husband and I ran it together and we made a great team. He was really pushing me for the first 6 miles. But when we hit those hills at the last 3 miles {which made this race a real Marine Corp event} it was me that kept us going. We finished in 2 hrs 6 minutes. Next year maybe we will go for a time under 2 hrs. It was a blast and it was great doing it together.

I love the song "I Run" by LA. It has me asking myself "Why do I run?"

I Run..
for health
for happiness
for clarity
what else am I going to do at 5:00am on a Sunday, sleep?
because it is cheaper than therapy

I can't explain it. Running just somehow makes my day better and gives me something to look forward to tomorrow. I hope I am still running this race when I'm 70.




Well, Gotta run!

May I have your Attention Please

Here is my latest creation with a rather patriotic color scheme!

{May I Have Your Attention Please!}

I have to say that I LOVE this title. I was designing the page to be about her LoothTooth and was going to call it just that Looth Tooth. Then somehow this brilliant little title just popped into my head and I love it.

{Journaling}

We have had a very busy week which included a trip to the Emergency Room when Cullen split his chin open and a trip to Urgent Care when it opened up again after it had been glued at the ER. Aubrey was a wonderful big sister during the whole ordeal, reassuring Cullen and keeping him company. I guess Aubrey was feeling a little left out of the attention Cullen was getting. One morning at breakfast Aubrey’s tooth was bothering her. I looked at it and wiggled it and it was very loose. I said “How exciting! You are going to lose this tooth really soon… maybe even today!” To which Aubrey responded “Yeah and Cullen’s chin is almost healed. Now we stop talking about his chin and just talk about me and worry about my looth tooth.”
She says what she means and means what she says. Aubrey, I love that about you!

I love this little recipe card and I really wanted to incorporate it in my layout. I had to think outside of the box to get it to work with my layout but I finally came up with Aubrey's Recipe for Attention...and it worked!

I thought about using a photo corner here but instead I used these neutral flowers with colored brads to anchor the corner. Maybe it is all of the flowers outside but I'm really loving flowers these days.

It is funny, tonight just as I was finishing this layout Aubrey came into my studio trying to get attention with a fake limp. I showed her this layout and told her I knew she just wanted my attention. I asked her to read what this little frame said and she did... and smiled one of those smiles where she was trying not to smile. I pointed out that I wasn't scrapbooking about Cullen's many trips to the ER and Dr's lately. She got the point.


BTW... are you diggin' the tunes?

She's Simply Organized... well almost

I haven't been scrapbooking much these days.
Lately I've been more inspired to pursue my other passion...
{ORGANIZING}

I haven't quite finished getting the house together... but I'm close!

I got back to playing this morning. Its funny that I just called it playing because whenever I'm scrapbooking I tell my kids I'm working;)

So this is what I came up with this morning


{journaling}

Parenting the two of you has been quite the adventure so far. You really keep me on my toes. I would definitely agree with the masses that being a Parent is a difficult job. I would also agree that it is the best job I will ever have. So you guys complain about dinner, wake me up too early on the weekends and MAKE MESSES! You also hold hands on the way to the bus stop and always hug each other goodbye. You get along like two peas in a pod and for that I am truly THANKFUL.

I can't believe I took these pictures myself... in manual... no wonder people keep asking if I'm a photogragher;)

I have to say that my photography class is paying off. I can't wait to see what I can do after the Karen Russell class this Summer.

Simply Digi

I did it! I finally went {digi}... well, just a little. I'm taking Jessica Sprague's Up and Running with Photo Shop class and I just made my first Digital scrapbook page. I'm not going to become a Digi scrapper now... I like to play with paper too much. I am looking forward to making some hybrid layouts though.

here it is~

and the teacher is...

I have been working on the School Days albums for Aubrey. I love this page of Aubrey checking the mail for her teacher assignment. I love the little file tab I placed in the corner and the way the photos are arranged to look like a file folder. I love the faded lined notebook paper look of the background paper and I love the doodling. Most of all I loved the journaling... it makes me smile.

{Journaling}

"No matter where you live or in which decade you grow up some things are the same for all of us. Checking the mail for teacher assignments in the last few weeks of summer vacation is one of those things. Watching you brought back so many memories of my childhood, the same memories you are making now. In many ways your childhood is so different from mine. Not only did I not have the Internet but there were only 5 channels on TV & no remote. It makes me happy that we have this part of our childhoods in common:)"

Happy Easter

{It was a happy Easter at our home this morning}

I can't believe Easter is here already. I have a little confession to make. Easter pages really challenge me. I don't know if it is all of the pastel colors or what but I just have the hardest time with Easter pages. I have never designed an Easter page that I really like.

Here is an example of what I have come up with in the past

I love that picture of Aubrey wearing that hat with the dress I designed for her. I should have taken a picture of the ribbon detail. I did lattice work with the ribbon {just like the top of my cherry pie} it was really cute. And the floppy hat was just the icing on the cake. I have to say Cullen's argyle sweater vest and matching argyle socks were just too precious.

I love the memories this page brings back...I just don't like the design very much.

I took this one photo this morning of the kids that inspired me. Instead of taking a photo of them from the floor I climbed up on a stool and got this shot looking down on them with the goodies from their baskets all over the floor. I think it might just turn into a layout I like. I'll keep you posted.