Tag Archives: memories

Aug 14

A Summer Mini Album

I discovered two really great mini-albums from two different sources. I couldn’t resist either, so I got both. They’re both DIY, and lots of fun for me to put together. But two? I decided to make one primarily about my summer, and this one I’m going to show is all about my daughter’s summer. This album kit came from Scrapbook Circle, and included all kinds of cute papers and alpha stickers from Studio Calico, Sassafras and Crate Paper, with journaling tags from Elle’s Studio. I finished my daughter’s album today (I’m more limited with photos of her since she’s spent so much of the summer away) and wanted to show it off:

The cover

Gosh, looking at this, I’d say my little girl had a pretty awesome summer! Good for her! I know that some day, looking back, she will come to cherish this. These are moments you never want to forget! I’m still working on my summer album (which is by Elise Blaha), and when it’s finished, I’ll post it here, but it’ll probably have to be a video, or something like that, because it’s huge!

Enjoy these last remaining summer days; they’re swiftly coming to a close!

May 17

Less is more.

I discovered Laura Kurtz yesterday. I was blown away by her style; minimalistic, yet packs a powerful punch. She and Ali Edwards (and I’m sure many others as well) epitomize what scrapbooking is to me: words+photos=great stories and memories. Not a ton of embellishments. Use things from your stash. Paint, punch, staple, sew. Go with your feelings, make a statement. Less is more. I really admire their simplicity and honesty; get down to the nitty-gritty, and highlight what’s important. I was also reminded of something else today: this is my story, not a competition to get into the latest magazine, or become famous. I have been reminded, once again, not to strive for perfection, not to expect fabulousness, just put the photos and words down on paper in such a way that I will remember the experience, the moment, the person at that time. I’m able to scrap much faster this way, too.

3 friends, scraplifted from Laura Kurtz

Super Becky

untitled

The journaling for the Super Becky layout says: (top)This child of mine loves to be         funny and she likes to be entertaining; give her a wig, some accessories and make-up, and her alter ego comes ’round to life. (bottom)She’s funny, silly, outrageous, whimsical, stylish, talented, goofy, ridiculous, crazy, outlandish, chatty, girlie…she’s Super Becky.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy scrapping!


May 8

Last minute layouts

Well, I did as much as I could. On Saturday, I was given 12 scrapbook challenges by the good people at Big Picture Classes and Creating Keepsakes, but I was only able to take on 7. Not bad for a slow scrapper! Here I will show you the last layouts I submitted:

Mountain Art and Garden

Old Bottles

Snapshot

I had so much fun scrapping this weekend. I have some wonderful memories, new inspiration, and just a teeny bit more confidence. Thank you, BPC and CK!!

Apr 9

March, documented

Here we are, pages 1, 2, and 3 of the month of March. I am a little behind because I’ve been so busy, but so far I am being good about doing my monthly retrospectives. I have a binder I keep these in, and I think I will appreciate going through it one day to see what our lives were like at this time, from month to month. It is not as elaborate as Becky Higgins’ Project Life, but that is so much more time-consuming than this. I would love to participate in that project, and perhaps I will next year, but I was not able to purchase the kit because they were sold out, and it really does take a committment to keep up with it. For now, I do like taking monthly photos and putting together a montage of that month to put into my binder. Simple and easy. If you are interested in doing something similar, there are some wonderful Photoshop templates you can get on either Designer Digitals (by Cathy Zielske), or Oscraps (by Biograffiti). Documenting your months today may make you really glad you did someday! Happy scrapping!

Apr 6

Going antiquing

Hubby went with me to the Tower District the other day, where we hung out at Fulton’s Folley, an antique mall I mentioned in an earlier blog post. A very nice lady was going to meet me there to give me some old airmail envelopes for me to use in future scrapbook journals. While we waited for her (we had an appointment earlier in the area), we browsed the antiques and goods in the booths, and I of course, took photos. It’s been such a long time since I have been in an antique shop; I forgot how much fun it can be. My mother used to have a booth in an antique dealership where she lives, but that’s been years ago. Wow, these older relics sure brought back memories! I can remember having old children’s books, a doll like the one in the blue dress, and I have seen countless photos with my mother or grandmother dressed in some of the styles I saw here. And I just love Fiesta Ware! So much fun, so much reminiscing. Hubby loved the books, and got a big kick out of the old cameras and records. Lots of good stuff to sort through, lots of little adventures to encounter, plenty of photos to bring home and scrap.

Happy hunting!

Mar 10

“Oh, afternoon delights!”

Today at my home, we had  after-school and after-work treats! My daughter wanted a snack during a break from homework, and made something that brought back fond childhood memories: bread and butter with cinnamon sugar. I hadn’t remembered that since I-don’t-know-when, and I was delighted she wanted such an easy, simple treat (versus the usual pizza, or McDonalds, or some gourmet dish).

It made me so glad I saved the left-over sugar from a recipe I used way back when. My mom used to give this treat to my brothers and I after school; we really had no money, and my mom was always dead tired from raising us while working part-time and going to school herself full-time. We just thought it was great. How can anyone not love bread and butter? And a little sugar makes it even sweeter!

My treat had far fewer calories. Two packages in the mail!! Oh, how I love coming home to packages, and to find two, is double the delight. One was my monthly subscription from Studio Calico, which is always exciting and fun; lots of goodies for scrapbooking (if you scrapbook, I highly recommend looking into this). The other is from  Cocoa Daisy, and it contains the kit I will use for my On The Road project. I can’t wait to start this, and I will be documenting the process.

The kit from Cocoa Daisy

Any one who scrapbooks and is taking this self-paced class I invite to contact me; I would love to share the process with you, and see how you are going to make your book! This I am really going to enjoy; Ali Edwards designs the most beautiful albums, in my humble opinion. My hope is that my husband and I will be able to take a special trip in the future, and I’ll be able to use this journal to document it. We have been dreaming of a trip to New York for years, but just going to the coast for a weekend would be great, too. Please let me know if anyone out there is doing this class! Have a great evening.

Feb 11

Let the photo speak…

I have a confession to make: I was at a total loss today about what to post. Is life that boring and uneventful? No, I’m just brain-fried from work today. So, I came up with this little idea of going to my photo folder, randomly picking a photo, and talking about the story behind it. This is what we have:

This is my little girl and her daddy. This photo was taken on the last day they saw each other, before my ex had to hop on a plane and go back home. These two hadn’t seen each other except once when  my daughter, Noelle, was 5, and before that, she was 2, and has no memory of it. She’s now 11, and is getting to know her father, relatively speaking, for the first time. Unfortunately, he doesn’t live close by, and she gets quite sad because she has missed so much, and doesn’t want to miss any more. But at least she now has him in her life.

Long story short, mistakes were made, and Noelle’s father and I should never have gotten married or remained together when I found out that I was pregnant. We thought we were doing the right thing, however wrong we were. He was so unhappy, he moved out one day while I was at work, and I came home to a half-empty home, and a half-empty heart. It took at least two years for the tears to finally stop, and to get my life back into a forward-moving direction. I still have regrets (and most likely always will) about not appreciating my baby as much as I could have during that time. I was not in the present moment like I should have been; I was not the mother my girl deserved. But Noelle was too young to remember having her father around, and fast-forward ten years, out of the blue, she began asking questions about him. What is he like? Where does he live? Who is his family? And, the touchy one: What happened between you two? No, I do not tell her all of the truth. I tell her what she needs to know; that Mommy and Daddy just weren’t happy together and Daddy needed to go someplace else where he could find that happiness on his own. All other inquiries, I suggested one day, she should ask him about, if she’s interested. Luckily, she was and she did. I was always hoping that they would eventually find a way back to each other and renew that sacred relationship between father and daughter. I’m a believer that a child needs both parents equally, even if they cannot live together. And when we did contact him, I discovered something magical that gives me a wonderful feeling: all that water has passed under the bridge (and the bridge didn’t burn). There has been a tremendous amount of forgiveness and healing that has taken place between Noelle’s father and I; no regrets, no bitterness, no animosity, no unhealed scars. We speak to each other just like two people who happen to be in love with the same little girl and want nothing but the best for her. Complete cooperation, understanding, and respect between us, and we are so lucky to be able to be on the same page there. I feel so happy for Noelle to be able to have her daddy in her life; the one man who calls her his princess, the one man who loves her as much as I do…and I am so happy that there are no bad feelings to hide in the process. None. ZERO. I have been blessed, I know it, and I am so very thankful. That is just another reason why I love photos; they preserve the memories and keep the significance of life fresh and alive.