Choo-choo

Sigh, my son is 15 now, and a head taller than I am, and driving every chance he can now... but he was such an adorable 4 year old!

 I stamped a train track, then stamped the train cars and fussy cut them out and pop dotted them onto the track, putting the title on the cars.  The smoke was made with a flower stamp, inked once.

I started this layout about 2 years ago, and originally intended on a 2 page layout, but tonight the pictures fell on the page just so...and I decided it was good enough!

Our Scotland Journey

The prompt today was to tell about your journey, how you get some where or how you do something.  This really fit in with what I had intended to do this month, creating a digital album which I would then have printed to present to my 2 sisters who went to Scotland with me in the spring and for my friend who lives there.  So, I downloaded the trial version of PhotoShop Elements and then searched the web for  a template that would work with what I wanted to do, and then decided to create one from scratch. Then I had to search for tutorials on how to start a blank page, how to add things to it, how to do the masking and clipping, etc.  It took me over 24 hours for this first digi layout, but I think I'll be able to do it much quicker next time around.  Especially since I created a couple of templates along the way that I like, but wasn't able to use due to the maps I wanted to use.  Speaking of maps, that's what took a LOT of the time, creating the maps on google and then doing a print screen, pasting it in paint and then cropping out a bunch of stuff.  The digital kit I used is designed by Megan Turnidge, and is available on thedailydigi.com

My sisters really wanted to see exactly where we went and where we stopped along the way.  The text on the outside, beginning at the bottom left corner and wrapping all the way around lists our main stops.  Not all of these stops are on the week long map in the middle of the page because there were too many for the software; so I broke it down into the main 5 days of driving.  The last day we didn't drive anywhere, we just rode the bus into Edinburgh and spent the day there.

There's so much of Scotland I didn't get to see, I'm thinking I need to go back and spend another week.

If you would like to make a map like this with little markers for where you stopped, go to google maps and create the map, then click on 'print screen'.  Open the software paint which is on most computers in the accessories folder on the start menu, click on the paste icon and then crop the unwanted items and save the .jpeg

Sisters

So the challenge on the 3rd was to use a color palate from http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.com/.  So I pulled out my mini album of photos to scrap, and debated between 3 different items.  I finally settled on this picture.  A couple of Thanksgivings ago, we went to Donna's house and decided that since all 4 of us were there that we should take a group photo shot by her pool. And it just so happens that the color palate went so well with Basic Grey's Indian Summer, BONUS!

Since there was only one photo to go on the page, I decided that a wow factor was needed.  Yes, the papers would be good, but I wanted something else.  I bought a stitching template from Oriental Trading a few years ago with a tree on it.  Last year I came up with the brilliant plan to use some variegated thread to make this a fall tree, I cut a piece of cardstock and stitched the tree, and it was so pretty!  But then I tried to add it to a page.  Because I stitched it on plain white cardstock, the eyes were drawn to that and the photos took second stage, totally not cool.  I wound up mounting it on a card and mailing it to a friend who would appreciate the hours spent on one card.  I've been trying to figure out how to put this tree on a layout as I had originally planned without the tree taking center stage.  I think I've figured it out.  I didn't mount it on anything, just stitched directly onto the page.  Now I think it might blend into the page a little too much maybe...

or maybe if I had done the brown a darker brown... now, that's something I can easily change with a marker. :)

Memorabilia

Today's LOAD challenge is to use memorabilia on a page.  I reached into my memorabilia drawer and there were tickets from Biltmore, a piece of pink cast from where Mishal broke her arm 6 years ago, tickets to the aquarium, Harry Potter, hotel key card, tickets to Daytona speedway, and bracelets from several events.  The items that I knew I had pictures for were the Nickelodeon hotel and the Daytona speedway.  I found the pictures and decided that the one to scrap today was the Nickelodeon hotel.  I pulled some stickers that I bought JUST for this page, then I had to decide on the paper... decisions decisions decisions.  But when I came across the snorkel collection, I knew it was the perfect paper.

My Theme Song

Today's the first day of another month of doing a scrapbook layout every day.  I have decided to go with the prompts again this time because I didn't enjoy the last LOAD as much as the first one I did because I wasn't doing what everyone else was doing, I was just creating my Scotland album.  And while that was wonderful, and I love that I got it done so quickly, I lost the feeling of being in the middle with my fellow LOADsters.

Today I had to figure out what the theme song of my life is.  I've chosen "One Day At a Time" by Marijohn Wilkin.  It's a song I've heard all my life and have remembered it often when life takes those twists it inevitably does and I began to obsess about the future.

I have a few OCD tendencies, and have come to realize that is perfectly fine; nothing wrong with that.  Knowing that has helped me deal with some things that seem overwhelming and impossible at the time.  I like to plan and organize and know when something is going to happen and how and what I can do to get the outcome I visualize.  But there are times that life takes a twist and my plans are a mangled mess and it upsets me.  But then I remember, I can only see a little window of the present; only God knows what was, what is, and what is to come.  So I have to daily trust in Him and take a deep breath and make it through the day.  That's all I have to worry about, making it through just ONE day.  In Matthew 6:34 it says, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."  Trusting in God has allowed me to enjoy the present things that are going on; knowing that I don't have to obsess about if something will happen the way it should; or about disasters that will  happen.  I've been accused of wearing rose colored glasses, and I'm ok with that.  I like concentrating on the good things that God has blessed me with.

Fall decorations

I have been having fun decorating.  I tackled a few projects that I have been procrastinating about.  Whenever I finish doing one of those, it's surprising to me that it was so easy and quick to do, and I enjoy it a lot. Today I decided to do something with my mail box.  Actually, I made the decision a couple of weeks ago when I picked up a can of Cinnamon colored Rustoleum spray paint.  But then it rained for a few days, and you know how the excuses pile up.  Then today when I got off work, I took an SOS pad and scrubbed the mailbox.  It was a beautiful day and it dried very quickly.  

I sprayed a light coat of paint, and was afraid at first that it was going to be a TN Orange.  While it finished drying, I went inside and pulled out the roll of Silhouette Vinyl that has been living in the drawer for over a year still with the wrapping intact.  Definitely past time to use it! A few designs from the Silhouette online store, and using the Black Rose font for the name and address, and voila!

 

Last week I pulled a project I had started last year out of the closet and completed it.  I had seen a similar one on Pinterest, and had bought the wreath and tulle and had almost finished it, but by the time I gave up on it last year, it was time for the Christmas wreath.  This year, it only took about 30 minutes to finish it, and it is so cute!

I've always thought that the fall yard decorations other people had were adorable (except for those scary Halloween displays), and wanted to have one of my own.  This year I was able to do one of my own.  I convinced myself that I can use the hay for the garden next year, so I wouldn't be spending all that money on something just decorative for a couple of months.  I debated about where to put it, and finally decided to put it next to the telephone pole behind the mailbox.I got the hay at Home Depot for $4.75 a bale, mums at Walmart for less than $3, the pumpkins at the Dollar tree, and the scarecrows were at JoAnn's for $7 each. I don't know if I'll be able to use them again next year or not.

Finally, about 10 years ago I bought a few autumn buildings at Walmart when they were on clearance.  I think they were between 70% and 90% off.  They have not seen the light of day for a few years, but I really enjoy it and decided to pull it out early enough to enjoy it a few months this year!  I pulled the lights through the entertainment center and used some green wrapping paper for the ground.  

Fall Anticipation

Of all the seasons, Fall is my favorite.  The colors are so rich, and the air so crisp, The holidays are around the corner, and my creativity runs wild.  It's like mojo season :)  I guess it's from years of making Christmas presents, and having to start in the fall.

I made a half dozen of these cards in celebration.  I stamped "Thinking of you" on the outside because it could then be used for anything... Thinking of you...on your birthday, in your time of sorrow, as you heal, or just because :)

I stamped "Lovely As A Tree" by Stampin' Up with brown Stazon.  Then I used my Tim Holtz Distress markers to quickly cover the sky and grass, then I sprayed it with water to get rid of any stripes created by the markers.  Then I applied the flower soft glue and sprinkled with the Autumn flower soft.

I've decided to try to make most of my cards 4x6 because that's one of the sizes of envelopes on my coluzzle template.  Then on the inside, I take a 3x5 index card and used photo corners to attach it; that way the person receiving the card can easily reuse it.

Then a miracle happened, I addressed a few envelopes, wrote a few notes, and actually put them in the mailbox!

This card also satisfies the requirements for Jaydee's challenge over at The Paper Players.