Tuesday, November 26, 2013

We Gather Together

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, I can't help but reflect on last year's yummy dinner with all of the trimmings. I always love cooking for this very special feast! Although my family is somewhat small, our love for each other is quite tremendous.

It was such a thrill preparing for our lunch. Once the table was full of the people I love the most, my day was complete!! Trying to get to my seat and beat the camera timer, well..that is another story. That's me peeking from the back of the table. I barely got in the shot.

For this layout, I used the Persimmon line from Basic Grey. I love the vibrant colors! You can use this line for a number of different photos and color schemes. The blues and oranges so lovely together.

I fussy cut the diamonds in the corner and added some enamel dots from My Mind's Eye for added texture.

From my house to yours, wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for stopping by!
Debra

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Remembering Cathy

One of the reasons I scrapbook is to capture memories before they are gone. I find the process of putting your photos and memories on a page and tucking them away in a scrapbook to be one of the most rewarding and therapeutic exercises.

Such is the case for this layout. On January 27th of this year, I lost my very best friend, Cathy, to cancer. Her diagnosis and passing occurred within 3 weeks of each other. I miss her friendship and loyalty every day. She was one of the few people who loved me unconditionally and accepted me "as is".

Our scrappy group rents a house several times a year for the sole purpose of scrapbooking and spending time together. We had our first girl's weekend this year following Cathy's passing. While the void of her presence was so vast, we spent time remembering this special lady throughout the weekend. Although she has left us, we couldn't help but feel she was there with us in spirit.

For this layout, I used the Into The Woods collection from Lawn Fawn. The colors were so bright and cheery. The private journaling was added later.

For the banner, I used my Imaginisce hot rocks to add accents to the banner.


Lastly, the cloud wood chips by Freckled Fawn were the finishing touch I needed to give the layout the element of sadness that was felt without making it too dreary.


Thanks for stopping by!
Debra

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Birthday Girl

Every year around Thanksgiving, my family celebrates my Mama's birthday. Since it falls on November 23rd, we typically plan to celebrate it on Thanksgiving Day because my sister and her family live out of town. Last year was no exception.

The only difference this year was my sister made her to-die-for cupcakes instead of purchasing a store made cake. They are so delicious!! We had a wonderful day together as a family, enjoying a tasty turkey dinner and topping it off with a celebration to honor the best Mama in the whole wide world!

For this layout, I used the Basic Grey line, Clippings. It worked well with the muted colors in the photo. I also used just a hint of the newer Persimmon line as part of the layers.
 
The title was made using Thickers and Basic Grey's alphabet sheets.

And finally, a little twine ties everything together nicely.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Debra
 
 
 

Monday, October 14, 2013

Imaginisce October Sketch Challenge

Imaginisce has a sketch challenge every month. Last month I participated in the challenge (for the first time ever) and had so much fun that I'm hooked! I couldn't resist giving it a go again this month.

Here's my interpretation of the sketch using an older Imaginisce fall line called Apple Cider collection coupled with a stamp from their newest line called Bushel of Fall. I just love how older lines will coordinate beautifully with the newer ones.  

This layout was created using pictures from a trip my family took to Lancaster, PA. We were fortunate enough to stay in a home that was right in the center of the Amish community. As a matter of fact, the home we rented belonged to an Mennonite pastor. The property was right beside a pumpkin patch edged with a weathered white fence too! We had a front row seat on the cool, crisp Fall days to take in the sights and sounds of this beautiful destination.

Here's the October sketch:


And here's the finished layout:


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Debra



Friday, October 11, 2013

Surf's Up

Since my last post, things have been crazy! Work has demanded a lot of my time, but the best thing that happened is I got to go to West Virginia for a scrappy girl's weekend. It was so much fun and the scenery was to die for. As much as I love Spring with the beauty and new beginnings it brings, I must say that Fall is my favorite season. The lovely oranges, reds and browns are so beautiful against the blue sky. And not being a hot weather lover, the changing leaves also signal that the dog days of Summer are coming to an end.

Here's a two page layout that uses October Afternoon's Midway collection as well as an older line of My Mind's Eye called Good Day Sunshine. In addition, I used some Basic Grey brads and of course my go to product for titles, Thickers.


I love that the two lines went so well together. Another neat find was the MME collection had some punch out elements. I took advantage of the car and added enamel dots for the wheels.


I cut out the sun and added some Studio Calico clouds for a bit of dimension. The surfboards were also fussy cut and used as another embellishment cluster. The waves were punched out of Core'dinations paper and lightly sanded to give it the look of white caps.



Thanks so much for stopping by!
Debra

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Mixing Postcards and Photos

I don't know about you, but I am a postcard collector. When I visit a new place, I can't resist the urge to grab a card or two pertaining to the tourist spot. In this layout, I used a photo I took coupled with a postcard I found that shed some light on what daily life at Alcatraz was like.

I used a variety of products in this layout (Studio Calico, Thickers, Basic Grey and Jillibean Soup to name a few), which is the advantage of using black and white photos. Anything will go with it. In this case, I used a darker color pallet. Since this was about the prison, I resisted embellishing it and kept it rather plain.



Thanks for stopping by!
Debra

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Photo Op

Today I'm sharing another layout from my San Francisco trip. Before we boarded the boat to take us to Alcatraz, we had our picture taken. I wasn't prepared for how cold it would be...this is California for goodness sake! Needless to say, I didn't pack enough warm clothes so I was forced to wear my "airplane hoodie". Not the most glamorous but it was the warmest thing I had packed.

I used My Minds Eye (with the exception of the green square, which was Bo Bunny Dotted Swiss) to create the entire layout. I love how all of their lines go together and are interchangeable. I must say that I use the enamel dot the most of any embellishment I own. It gives dimension without bulking up your page.


Thanks for stopping by!!
Debra

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Saying goodbye is never easy

Here's a layout from our last night in San Francisco. Our sightseeing was a whirlwind and we ended up riding a trolley so we could take in as much as we could on our last night. This picture was snapped as the trolley traveled up and down the very hilly roads. I did my best to focus while trying to hold on for dear life!

What a great trip and wonderful memories!

I really enjoyed creating the banner. It was rather easy but added such a nice touch to the layout. I love to add dimension, but sometimes the elements can get quite bulky. This is a great way to maintain a rather flat page.

Thanks for stopping by,
Debra

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Rock

I recently traveled to San Francisco for work and was fortunate enough to spend a few extra days touring. Since this was my very first visit, there was quite a lot to see. I took quite a few "touristy" excursions and really enjoyed it.

A bucket list item was to visit Alcatraz. I've seen it in many movies and have always found it to be very interesting. As the boat made its way to the dock, I tried to imagine how the inmates felt when they arrived knowing that freedom was just across the bay. It must have been tough looking at the shoreline of San Francisco while locked away behind bars on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Here's a layout I created to remember my visit:


Thanks for stopping by!
Debra

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Imaginisce Challenge

I'm entering my very first sketch challenge. Ever. What better way to get back in the saddle of scrapbooking! If you've never used a sketch before, I encourage you to give it a go.

I used the Good Dog line from Imaginisce to create this layout for my fur baby, Larson. In addition, I used the i-Rock tool for the very first time to add the hearts. I couldn't get over how easy it was to use!! I can already see this becoming one of my favorite tools.

Here's my layout:

 
 
Thanks for looking!
Debra

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Back and ready to plod on

After taking a very long hiatus, I'm back.

I tried my hand at mixed media and drawing. I loved working with both of these artistic elements, but found that because of work and social commitments, it was just too much to try and take on.

I have been working on my scrapbooking and the more recent trend, Project Life. I toggle between the two, but love getting to work with my pictures again and create pages that will hold my memories for many years to come.

I will be sharing pages from my recently completed book from a trip I took to San Francisco in the days ahead. It was so much fun to create over the span of a year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Debra xo