A Gift of Memories

Around the World In Forty Days

Are you ready for some fun?!!  My scrap buddy and former Journaling Junkie teammate, Beverly, is getting ready to celebrate her 40th birthday ... in 40 days!   In honor of the big event she's decided to begin the celebrating a bit early ... counting down the days, with the help of her friends around the world! 

For forty days her blog, Crafty Moments, will feature a link that will take you to that days' comeptition, challenge, or good old fashioned RAK (random act of kindness that usually involves free stuff).  We'll be stopping by the UK, Australia, Tasmania, and even make a brief visit here in Arizona, USA, on my birthday, July 29th!  And, I'm inviting you to play along!

The fun starts today on Beverly's blog and today's winner will receive 40 chipboard die cuts ready to paint, ink, and alter to your hearts content!  All you need to do is post a comment telling her what she needs to do to make her Forties Fabulous!  And, if you're not today's winner, don't dispair!  Just check her blog tomorrow for the next 'link' in our trip around the world as we count down to her big day!

I'll be posting a list on the left with links to some of the places we'll be visiting. Just make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in the upright and locked position!  It's going to be a wild ride!!

R.I.P.

It's a sad morning.  I received an email message informing me that the Journaling Junkie website will be discontinued effective immediately.  Evidently life is getting in the way of Stella's desire to moderate the blog. She's unable to dedicate the time necessary to keep the challenges going, so she's calling it quits.  Darn it.

Being on the Journaling Junkie design team has been a priviledge and a joy.  Seven months ago when the website was started, I had already begun to challenge myself to be more honest with the journaling on my scrapbook pages.  My favorite scrapbook pages are the ones that tell the story ... more than just "We had fun." or "She looked so cute.". And, the Journaling Junkie challenges helped me improve my journaling, and for that I'll be forever grateful.

So, today I'll leave you with the page I submitted for the first Journaling Junkie challenge.  The challenge was to write  'A Letter To the Past' by Allison Bright Meyer.  She instructed us to find a photo of ourselves when we were young ... really young.  And, write a letter to the person in the photo.  I don't have many pictures of myself as a child but I stumbled across this one.  I was in the 7th grade and we lived in Vista, California. I remember vividly standing in the kitchen nook of our house on North Drive when this picture was taken. I was amazed at the things that came to mind as I was writing my 'letter' to myself.

The journaling reads: 

I'm older than you. I have years more experience than you. I wish I could offer you sage advice, wisdom and encouragement about your future. But, it seems that time hasn't changed my need to lecture you, pressure you, criticize you. I want to tell you DON'T! Don't lose control when your daughter tells you a lie. Don't be too busy to call your son. Don't have that life altering conversation with your sister. Don't let your Dad get away with it. Don't expect too much from your mom. Don't let them send your husband home from the hospital. Don't start smoking. Don't let Breckin help you cook breakfast. Don't, don't, don't. But, I look at you and I know you wouldn't listen. Because you will always do what you think is the right thing ... at the right time. And, gain experience.

I want to thank Stella for this wonderful opportunity.  This adventure has been very rewarding and I've enjoyed it immensely and I'll miss seeing the creations of the other gals on the team. 

The pages that I create that have the stories with them are my favorite ones.  I know they'll be the one's that I cherish in the future ... a record of my memories ... preserved to be shared. And, I know the pages with the stories will be the favorites of the little girls, too ... as they grow older .. about the days when they were too small to remember.  I challenge you to preserve your stories.  And, if you're ever in a rut and in the need for a challenge, stop by the Journaling Junkie website and browse through the archives.  You'll be glad you did.  I know I am.

 

Storyteller

Just ask my family. I've got stories to tell. A lot of stories. And, for me that's what scrapbooking as all about. But, unfortunately I wasn't much of a camera person for the first three quarters of my life, so I don't always have pictures of the story that I want to tell.

However, I've learned that I can use pictures from another place and time and still tie them in to the story. And, this page is a perfect example of that. The photo of my nephew Brandon was taken by my sister while they were on vacation to my parents house in Colorado. Not only did I love the photo, it was taken at Echo Lake . . . the place where we lost our beloved poodle, April, during a sudden Rocky Mountain summer storm. So, I can scrap a photo that I love and use it to tell my story.

You don't need to have old photos to tell old stories. You can even use a photo of something that happened yesterday and begin your journaling with something like, "This made me remember when ... " and continue to tell the story. Some people will even tell you to scrap pictures and tell unrelated stories on the same page! Well, I can't recommend that because I haven't given that a try, yet. But, ultimately will the reader really care? Will my granddaughters care that my picture doesn't relate to my story. I think not. And, after all ... that's who I'm scrapping these memories for.

So the next time you have a story to tell, don't keep it inside because you don't have a photo of the event. Find a picture of you, of the person whom the story is about, of the place where it happened, or even a spot on a map and scrap it!

Switched at Birth?

I'm I the only person who sees a strong resemblance between  Kevin Jonas and former Monkee, Michael Nesmith?

Politically Incorrect and Funny As Hell

My sister, Duana, sent this joke to me this morning.  It's old. I mean ... it's REALLY OLD.  And, it is so politically incorrect  by today's standards.  By sharing it with you I'll probably be guilty of offending nearly everyone on the planet, except maybe Joy.  But of all the jokes I've ever told ... and all the jokes I've ever heard ... this one HAS to be my favorite. 

 

Ed Zachary Disease
 
A woman was very distraught at the fact that she had not had a date or any sex in quite some time. She was afraid she might have something wrong with her, so she decided to seek the medical expertise of a sex therapist.
Her doctor recommended that she see the well known Chinese sex therapist Dr. Chang.

So she went to see him.

Upon entering the examination room Dr. Chang said 'OK take off all your crose.' The woman did as she was told.    

'Now get down and craw reery, reery fass to odderside of room.' Again the woman did as she was instructed.

Dr. Chang then said 'OK, now craw reery, reery fass back to me.'  So she did.

Dr.Chang shook his head slowly and said 'Your probrem vewy bad.  You haf Ed Zachary disease.  Worse case I ever see.   Dat why you not haf sex or dates.'  

Worried the woman asked anxiously 'Oh my God Dr.Chang what is Ed Zachary Disease?'

Dr. Chang sighed deeply and replied 'Ed Zachary Disease is when your face rook Ed Zachary rike your ass.'

 

bwwwaaahahahahaha! What a wonderful way to wake up in the morning!  Thanks, Duana, for reminding me how much I love this joke!  It's a great way to start the day!

I've been busy finishing up my July projects for the Scrapbook Obsessions newsletter. And, I spent yesterday at i-Scrap pulling product for some class prototypes.  There are so many creative ideas swirling around in my head and not nearly enough time to implement them all.  But, I do what I can, write down the ideas that I don't have time to get to, and pray that I never run out of ideas.

I'll leave you today with a clipboard that I altered.  In June, we've been playing Scrapbook Bingo over at SO!  We each received a Bingo card in our kit.  Each number corresponds with a mini challenge.  You create the challenge items needed to bingo up, across, diagonal, four corners, or blackout. What a blast!  I used the items in the June kit ... and combined a few of the challenges on this project.  My scrap buddy, Lynnise, said that she had seen altered clipboards before and always wondered what you were suposed to do with them.  With all the stuff on them you certainly couldn't use them as clipboards anymore, could you?  Well, no.  Unfortunately it's more of an artsy fartsy way of scrappin some photos for display.  This one is hanging on the wall in my scraproom ... I can't get over the resemblence between these photos of my Daddy when he was in his teens and my oldest nephew, Brandon.

Scrapbook Obesssions Bingo!

B-5 Create a layout using some of the oldest product you've got.
(Magic Mesh, Jolee's Stickers, metal rimmed vellum circle tag)

G-50 Create a project using at least one stamped image.
(This clipboard was inked with red ink, stamped with my favorite crackle stamp, and heat
embossed for that glossy finish.)

G-54 Use more than 1 tag on a layout.
(Metal rimmed metal tag tied to ribbon and two jewelry tags adhere with 7gypsies red paper clip)

O-64 Create an altered item.
(I started with a plain, ugly clipboard)

O-67 Scrap a heritage photo.
(These three photos are of my dad when he was seventeen in the Merchant Marines)

 

 

 

Have a great Friday!

The Longest Day

Today is my FAVORITE day of the year.  It's the Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year ... the earliest sunrise ... and latest sunset.  To me, there's nothing better than seeing the sun set after 8:00 pm.  If there's a downside it's that in Phoenix yesterday the daytime high temperature was 114 degrees.  ugh.

It's another busy day today.  RheAnna (5) has her dance team try outs this morning.  I'm heading over to RaKell's to help do RheAnna's hair and make up for the big event. I'm just so proud of this little girl.  And, I'm confident she'll be the star of the team. She 'lit up the stage' during her two dances at The Recital last week. And, it was a treat to watch!

So, before I get going I thought I'd leave you with another of the projects made for the SO newsletter last month.  I love this one .... it's one of the few pictures that I have of Justin with his dad . . . that's not on a golf course, that is.  hehehehe  This was a very proud day for Craig . . . Justin's graduation from UNLV!  And, I really love how the page turned out! 

On a Clear Day ... Make Some Cards!!

I'm not a card maker. I'm a scrap-booker who loves the pictures, the stories ... preserving the memories.  But, I have to admit that I've been having a blast teaching the C-3 Card class at i-Scrap AZ for the past couple of months.  The members of the C-3 club are seasoned and experienced card makers and I LOVE the challenge of coming up with new ideas that will entertain and delight them!

The theme for our June class was using transparencies in card making.  And, oh my goodness ... did these cards turn out so cute!!  I wanted to feature a different transparency technique with each card ... there were a total of 5 cards ... and of course, I included a cute little transparency 'bag' to put the finished cards in.

The first card was a simple one.  The 7 x 10 transparency rectangle was folded in half.  Using a square brass template, I dry embossed a border around a piece of lime green Bazzill card stock.  Four 'inchies' were punched from random patterns of these Basic Grey Sultry papers and adhered to card. Then, we covered a chipboard bookplate with paper and layered it on top of the small squares.  A strip of sheer, brown ribbon wrapped around the bottom and a ribbon knot was added using a glue dot.  On the inside of the card, we attached a square of card stock for a place to write a greeting.  When finished, this pretty card featured paper elements 'floating' on the transparent base.

Using the same Basic Grey Sultry papers, our second card featured a 'transparency window. Using a craft knife, a rectangle was cut from the middle of a 5 x 7 piece of paper. This was adhered to a folded transparency card.  Then, using a Heidi Swapp corner stamp and some black Staz On ink, we stamped directly onto the transparent window.  A pink rectangle with a window was cut and adhered to the inside front cover, leaving a small pink reveal on the front.  We embellished the card with a ribbon strip of paper, a Bazzill flower and a Basic Grey Glazed Brad.  To finish this card, we cut a window in another piece of patterned paper and adhered it to the inside back.  This card shows how you can have the transparent effect go through front and back.

This card was so pretty ... but, labor intensive for our class.  First of all, I had the gals stamp the flowers on a sheet of transparency using Staz On ink. Then, we turned the transparency over and spread a generous amount of clear, liquid glue over the image.  We added a few drops of alcohol ink into the glue and even sprayed the concoction with a spritz of Glimmer Mist. Then, we sprinkled a light dusting of ultra-fine glitter on top.  Finally, we crumpled up a sheet of white tissue paper, uncrumpled it but left the wrinkles in, and pressed the tissue into the glue/ink mixture.  It was a messy process and took a while to dry, but when it was done, we cut the image into a rectangle, matted it with pink and brown cardstock, and voila! ... we had created our very own custom card embellishment! 

The transparency was folded lengthwise and we stamped some script on the top of the card using white Staz On.  To finish the card, a pre-printed sentiment strip was adhered along with a patterned paper strip along the bottom.  We used the Fiskars Treading Water border punch to create the decorative bottom edge and added a sheer ribbon bow to the embellishment.  This one was my favorite and turned out soooo cute!

The flower on the front of this transparent card was stamped using pink craft paint on the back, stamped on the front with a different flower stamp using white Staz On and then the flower was cut out.  We added a Basic Grey mini magnet as the flower center and hid the other side of the mini magnet behind the ribbon strip of paper that wraps around the front of the card.  The Happy Birthday sentiment was printed on to the transparency and we just swiped a bit of pink paint over the back of it to highlight the text.

The patterned paper on the inside of the card was folded in half, punched using the Treading Water punch, and adhered to the inside back of the card ... creating a double folded card.  To get to the greeting you have to open the transparency and you then have to lift up the patterned paper on the inside!  So fun!

We made another pretty card using a Heidi  Swapp mask and some spray glitter right on to the front of the transparency ... but the effect was so subtle that it didn't photograph well.  But, that spray glitter was awesome and I'll definitely be using it again on other projects!

Finally, I had the gals fold a piece of Hambly Heavy Duty transparency into this 'bag' shape, wrap a strip of paper from back to front and adhere a loop of American Crafts ribbon along the edge of the paper, creating a handle.  We finished by adding a paisley chipboard element and a dangler jewelry tag.  The cards fit inside the bag beautifully and the whole project made a cute little gift of cards!!

I owe so many of you a bucket load of thanks for visiting my humble blog and for taking the time to leave some comments and compliments!  I've got to thank my little sis, Duana, for playing along in my game of 'tag'.  No matter how well you think you know someone it's always nice to be surprised by them.  I didn't know you weren't much of a movie fan.  Lub U back!  It was such a treat to hear from N Ho ... my former BFF who now resides sea-side on Amelia Island and makes the cutest dang purses you've ever seen!  I've gotta thank Nancy Jones ... that's Nancy With a Jones ... for always being so enthusiastic, energetic, and fun!  Be sure to check out her blog here... for some awesome inspiration and some rockin' tunes!  Thanks, too, to my buddy and teammate, Jan ... who is one of the funniest people I know ... and although it's fun to have you post on my blog ... it's hard to top the fun we have via email!  Love you, girl! 

Here's a shout out to the gal who is living my dream ... Michelle!  Lookin' forward to seeing you at CHA, girlfriend... pizza AND cheesecake?  ... and we're signed up to take one of your classes at CKC Phoenix!!  WooHoo!!  My life has totally been enriched by the friends I have made via Scrapbook Obsessions.  You gals are my lifeline to any kind of 'social' life ... and the time we spend together on the boards means more to me than you'll ever be able to understand ... hugs to Jing Jing, Patti, Chantele, Tonia, Greta, Kay, and Heather!  Your support and your praise just make my day!!

Thank you to Shelley Shapiro and Jan Royalty .. friends of a late friend ... for saying hello. Big hugs to my beautiful daughter, RaKell and to Lisa, the best DIL a gal can have ... it's been too long since we've scrapped together .. we've GOT to make plans for that!  And, hugs and thanks to Stephanie, Christie, Amanda, Jen, and Beverley.  I know how busy life is and how precious the time you spend visiting is. 

Finally, hugs and thanks to my BFF, Joy ... who makes me laugh, helps me grow, understands that some days are tougher than others, and shares my passion for this wonderful hobby!  Can't wait till you're here in a few weeks girl ... I'm getting the scraproom READY!!

I  hope you're all enjoying these early summer days!  It's hotter than blazes here right now.  Monsoon hasn't started yet ... so it's the ever popular 'dry heat' ... and NOT the reason why we retired in  Arizona. But, like my sister says ... we're not shoveling it so I won't complain!  Prayers for those in the Mid-West who are fighting the brave fight against the rising waters ... and special prayers for Jess ... and her mother, who is struggling right now learning how to live without her beloved husband.

Hugs!

Tagged

OOOHHHHHH, isn't this just so fun?  I've been tagged!  My online scrap-sista, Nancy, tagged me on her blog http://nancywithajones.blogspot.com/!  If you get a chance, check out her awesome blog ... serious talent and a ton of great ideas ... not to mention some adorable pictures of her 'Bella Bug'.  Okay, girl .... here goes:

Four jobs I've held:

Creating stuff and teaching others how to do it.

The girl who answers the phones, greets the customers, schedules the installers, does the books, runs to get lunch, cleans the bathrooms, and does the things that nobody else will do.

Interior designer.

Wallpaper hanger.

Four movies I could watch over and over:

The Gladiator

Out of Africa

Cleopatra (the first 2 hours with Elizabeth Taylor and Rex Harrison ... until Ceasar dies ... then I'm done.  Not real fond of the 2nd half with Richard Burton)

The Abyss

I can't limit this one to four ... here's a couple more ...  :)

Meet Joe Black

Finding Neverland

Four places I have lived:

Scottsdale, Arizona

South Jordan, Utah

Littleton, Colorado

Vista, California 

Four TV shows I watch:

24

CSI

The Amazing Race

Most anything on A&E

Four things I do everyday:

Make my bed

Drink decaf Starbucks coffee with Vanilla Cinnamon Cream from a 20 oz. styrofoam cup

Email

Think about Craig

Four favorite foods:

Movie theatre popcorn with butter and salt ... preferrably eaten in the dark while sitting in a stadium movie theatre.

Strawberries ... with yogurt, in cereal, dipped in powdered sugar, whipped into a milk shake, fresh from the garden .... yum!

Ben and Jerry's Pistachio Ice Cream ... straight from the container with a white kitchen towel wrapped around it to keep my fingers from getting cold.

Houston's Baby Back Ribs ... there are lots of imitations but only one original. But, the service is so snooty I refuse to go there.

Four places I'd rather be:

Main Street, USA in Disneyland

Riding the Pirates of the Caribbean

Watching fireworks exploding above Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Shooting the evil Emperor Zurg with Buzz Lightyear

Four people I'm tagging:  Lynnise, Jing Jing, Billiam, Duana

It's In the Bag

First of all ... I know it's been a while since I've posted to my blog.  I was afraid of this when I started it.  What happens when life gets soooo busy and you don't have time to blog?   I told myself this was going to be for fun ... to share my ideas, and to let my friends and family know WAAAASSSSS UP wit' me.  Well, friends and family .... I'm busy as crap!!!  hehehehe

But, my little sis, Sherri, sent me this fabulous tip via video and I thought it was one of the most amazing things I've seen in a long time and I wanted to share it with you, too!  So ... if you've got a bag of Poore Brothers potato chips or some Doritos laying around ... give this a try!  It's awesome!

Speaking of Doritos ... my nephew, Jordan, the recent college graduate  who is uber smart and incredibly handsome, informed me of a fun thing the Doritos people are doing. Evidently they have introduced a new 'mystery' flavor of Doritos ... hint:  it's Mountain Dew!!  And, to accompany this new flavor they have an awesome puzzle game going on .... called The Quest!  If you love puzzles you'll love this game!  I just wish I had more time to play!  When you get there, log in.  Type in the mystery flavor ... Mountain Dew, for the game to begin.  Enjoy!

Finally, I'll leave you with a couple of pages recently featured in the Scrapbook Obsession June newsletter ... in honor of my son and my son-in-law!  Love you both!  Happy Father's Day, yesterday!  You both are wonderful fathers .... and great dancers!!! {{wink, wink}}

 

Picture Perfect