A Gift of Memories

It's That Time of Month

It's that time of month.  I've finished up my projects for the SO April newsletter and have started cleaning up the WAR ZONE that develops when I'm creating my little masterpieces.  There's so much love and attention that goes in to each and every page or project and I just can't bear to tuck them away in a page protector right away.  So, they get displayed in my scraproom where I can see the results of my hard work ... at least until the next kit arrives.

But, that means that I have to take down last month's work to make room for the new.  This page is one that's held a place of honor on my display wall for several months now. It was made for the November, 07 newsletter and I've loved it so much I just wasn't ready to put it away. Sometimes 'it works'. You know? The pictures, the papers, the details, the scale, the texture, the whole thing just WORKS.  And, this one worked for me.

I've always been inspired by the incredible Tia Bennett and when I saw a project she did a while back using the protective plastic packaging from some unknown product ... well, I thought it was a brilliant idea and wanted to give it a try! So I cropped my photos, gently encouraged them into the plastic shell from the K&Co Wild Saffron Die Cut Tags and started to build my page.

So, I'll get back to work ... cleaning, orgainzing, and getting everything put in it's protective place ... ready for the next onslaught. But, I'll leave you with a few pics from this one that I'm finally putting to rest.  Enjoy!

 

I'm Teaching Again!

One of the highlights of this past year was taking Becky Fleck's Page Maps class at CHA in February.  I could go on and on about how much I admire her talent and skills ... not to mention that she's such a genuine, down-to-earth kinda' gal who is uber creative and my current scrapbook hero.  You can't imagine my delight last May when Becky responded to an email I sent to her.  I had used her Tag Maps for inspiration when I created a purse calendar/brag book project and I sent her a thank you and a couple of pictures of my finished project.  She loved it and asked if she could feature it in her June newsletter.  Are you kidding me?  Heck yeah!  I'd be HONORED!!  You can see that issue of her newsletter here.

Well, I've taken some of the techniques I learned from Becky along with a sketch from her new book and developed a new class that I'll be teaching at I-Scrap AZ in Scottsdale next month.  The concept is to feature the versatility of sketches by using one sketch to create three different 12 x 12 scrapbook pages.  I must admit that the pages are cute as heck, but fairly simple ... I just don't have a handle yet on what kind of scrappers our new I-Scrap AZ customers are. But, I'm so darned excited to be teaching again and I'm already looking forward to next month!

 

Obsessed

When I saw the Graphic 45 booth at CHA in February I thought it was just luscious!  The black backdrop and warm, golden lighting was an eye-catching and dramatic background for the creamy, vintage looking papers. Their product was unique and really stood out from all the other booths in the area.  So when the gals on Scrapbook Obsessions announced that the papers in their April kit were from Graphic 45 I was too excited for words.

My April SO kit arrived last week and I was only able to start working on them this weekend. The quality of the papers is just luscious and all the other goodies that JR and Chantele have included in this kit are typically cool and unique. But, actually working with this kit is proving to be more challenging that I had expected.   It just screams 'shabby chic' scrapping and I thought I'd be right in my element. But, I'm finding that my current photos of the family and the little girls don't seem to compliment the grown up, vintage feel of the papers ... so I'm thumbing through some old photos to find the right subject matter. I'm not too thrilled about this.  It seems like I've been scrapping a lot of death lately.  It started with my page remembering Craig for a Journaling Junkie assignment.  Then, the shadow box with my photo of Ma and remembering her.  Then, Craig's oldest brother, Dick, passed away a couple of weeks ago.  And, our new tradition of releasing balloons on Craig's birthday is coming up in a few days ... well, it just seems like I've been doing too much 'living in the past' lately.

Working with the kits from SO has been soooo much fun for the past year.  But, it requires a different kind of scrapping.  Usually my process of creating a scrapbook page starts with  photos and the story that I'm going to tell. I'll use my pictures as my guide for selecting papers, embellishments, and theme for my page and proceed from there.  But, when I'm scrapping with the kits I'm starting with the papers and then have to find photos that coordinate, or else convert them to black and white so there's no color conflicts.  I'm always pleased with the results but it does require me to approach my projects from a 'different point of view'. I'm well on my way to completing my pages for the newsletter and I thought I'd leave you a 'sneak peek'.  I'll post a link when the newsletter is available ... until then, this will have to do.

This month's fare at SO offered a mini kit, too.  It included some brightly colored, funky papers from the Cosmo Cricket 'Get Happy' line. The colors and papers were just sooo fun looking so I jumped into that project with BOTH FEET and it was the first one I finished!  Here's a peek of that one, too!

Yellow Eggs.

Easter doesn't conjure up a lot of memories from my past.  In fact, I don't really remember Easter being a very important holiday during the course of my childhood.  My strongest memory of Easter is of dyeing the first Easter egg each year.

Yellow.  There was something hopeful, cheerful, and pristine about that first hard boiled egg that was gently lowered into the coffee cup filled with hot yellow water .... pungent with the scent of vinegar.  Then the torture of waiting for the transformation ... occasionally lifting my future treasure from it's vinegary bath to see if that perfect state of bliss had been achieved.  Until, finally, it was ready ... a perfectly smooth golden orb that made me happy. 

There would be other eggs that followed ... green, pink, blue ... some with designs as a result of random doodles from a white waxy crayon.  I never understood who thought that a child would be able to understand the concept of drawing on a white egg with a white waxy stick. Some eggs would receive tattoo's of a sort .... little Easter images that transferred like magic when they were placed 'just so' on the egg and moistened with a wet dish cloth. But, after an hour or so of dyeing and decorating none of my creations brought the same satisfaction as that first yellow egg.

My favorite thing about Easter these days is the Jesus movies on TV.  I'm a sucker for Jesus movies and I've seen them all ... over and over. It seems they are shown less frequently now, but back in the day the blitz of Jesus movies usually started a couple of weeks leading up to Easter. Craig would laugh and roll his eyes when I would discover that some religious epic was about to start. With a leap of joy I'd ungraciously excuse myself and retreat to our bedroom to immerse myself in the captivating images of Romans, palm trees, and the story of a man who always seemed to be alone even when he was surrounded by his friends and enemies.  I could recite most of the scripts by heart and ALWAYS cried in the end ... angry at the betrayal, incensed that 'his friends' didn't try to help him, and never quite feeling like the loss I felt was worth the promised reward.  aaaahhhhh, I LOVE Jesus movies.

This year Easter will be spent in my scraproom.  I've got a ton of work to get done before the end of the month and the calendar doesn't seem to be cooperating with me.  The memories of last year's Easter Sunday will have to sustain me through the holiday.  The kids brought the little girls over for a surprise Easter egg hunt in the back yard. And, after some raucous games of hide n' seek we settled down for a delicious Easter dinner with all the traditional holiday food you'll find at the Bate house.    

This year I'll have to be content knowing that I'm sharing my family with The Others ... those other grandma's and grandpa's and sisters and such.  I can't have ALL the holidays, now can I?

But, I did want to share a silly scrapbook page I made a while back for a calendar I made for RaKell.  The picture is of Breckin and RheAnna visiting the Easter Bunny at the mall.  RheAnna was 'experienced' in these things and wasn't afraid of the huge, white, furry creature ... Breckin wasn't at all convinced this was a safe or pleasant thing to do ... binky in her mouth to keep her from screaming.

 

What a difference a couple of years makes. RaKell invited me to join her and the girls for their annual Easter Bunny visit this week. Wow.  When you see the comparisons it's amazing how much growing has taken place ... but the Easter Bunny hasn't changed one bit!  hehehehe

Here's hoping that you have a wonderful Easter weekend.  Enjoy your families, your traditions, and the joy of this most holy season.  Together lets remember the true spirit of Easter ... not my treasured Hollywood version ... but the precious gift given to us in the true Greatest Story Ever Told. And, here's my wish for you this year for that perfect yellow egg.

   

March Obsessions

It's been nearly a year since I got the phone call from Miss Priss.  Being on a design team had been a goal I had set for myself, so I was absolutely thrilled when she invited me to be a DT member for Scrapbook Obsessions and I've had a blast doing it.

SO is an online website that offers the most awesome monthly scrapbook kits filled with the latest and greatest products.  But ... it's more than that.  It's also a community of some amazing women ... most of them wacky and loveable ... who share more than their passion for scrapbooking.  I call them 'The Ladies' and they are funny, creative, supportive and SO is my online home away from home.

The March kit included a 12 x 12 sheet of Hambly Clearly Heavy Transparency , some brightly colored papers, and some black Stickles Glitter Glue (in addition to a bunch of other cool stuff) that I used to create this fun transparent album. And, now that the March newsletter has been posted I can share these pictures with you.

She Loves To Go

My dad would tell people her middle name was Go. And, I think it's true.  My mom LOVES to Go. 

It doesn't matter where.  It can be a three month driving trip to Alaska with her friend Marge ... living and sleeping in Marge's conversion van ... and stopping at every Wal-Mart and casino between Phoenix and the Canadian border.  Or, it can be a quick trip to the corner to get the mail. Either way, you can count on her to be the first one in the passenger seat.

She left this morning.  Her two week visit is over and she's on the road again.  Destination: Deming, New Mexico ... to her beloved RV camp and her friends and her games.  She arrived in my driveway 2 weeks ago in time to attend RheAnna's 5th birthday.  She lived on Airborne and massive doses of vitamin C while the rest of us coughed and hacked our way through the flu jungle we were entangled in, and she never had a sniffle. 

During her visit she completed two 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles, without looking at the pictures on the lid of the puzzle boxes. She listened to the unabridged audio version of T Is For Trespass from start to finish ... continuing her journey through Sue Grafton's alphabet. We saw three movies ... Vantage Point,   Penelope, and Juno.  We nearly froze to death during the Phoenix Coyote's NHL Hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens but still managed to down a couple of ice cold 'brews' during the process.

She bought the cutest pair of Crocs.

We picked up 8 of her blood pressure pills at Wal-Mart ... just enough to get her through the extra week she decided to extend her visit so she wouldn't miss seeing Brandon and Keana when they passed through town on their way to Colorado for a ski vacation. 

Miss Christy was sweet enough to let us sit on the black wooden bench in front of the wall of mirrors and watch Tori stretch, Plie (plee-yea), and Pas de chat (pah duh shah) through three weeks of ballet lessons. And, she didn't miss a trip to Little Gym to watch Breckin and RheAnna practice their forward rolls, handstands, and balance beam routines. She even babysat Leo while I was in Utah last weekend for a family funeral.   

We answered questions through a few re-runs of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and rested our eyes through a few re-runs of Horatio Caine and CSI Miami. We wandered through the flea market and even found a couple of treasures we couldn't live without. She quietly worked on a few crossword puzzles while I scrapbooked with RheAnna or napped with Breckin. We ate pasta, pizza, salad, hamburgers, chili, fried zucchini, Vienna Beef hot dogs, and guacamole ... but never in the same restaurant twice! And ... we downed our share of Bass Ale and O'Douls Amber. It was all I could do to keep up with her. Did I mention that she's 79?

This morning the house is quiet ... except for Leo's chasing his purple rubber ball up and down the hallway.  She's on the road. She'll stop in Globe and see if the slot machine wants to take back the money it generously gave her on her drive over.  She'll stop for gas in Safford.  She'll call me when she makes it to the dirt road turn off that leads back into the mountains and the Lost Valley Ranch she calls home. And, if she's lucky ... she'll be home in time to be able to join her girlfriends on their Sunday trek to town to play Bingo.  Her middle name is GO. 

Love you, Mom!