Karen's Corner of the Web

It's "Faux", not "Fake"

2012-01-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

Had a lot of fun at Xmas visiting with my niece, Danielle. We went to a darling shop that had French antiques and quite a lot of things that "looked" like French antiques. We bought a few items and then we decided to make some of our own not so vintage antiques as personal Xmas presents. I bought more materials than we could use in one day, because I did not want her to be bored hanging out with me, though we did accomplish a lot in one day. I was over-prepared since her cousin, my son, Chris, had her spend a few days at his house. I called them fake antiques and Danielle strongly advised me to put the right emphasis on the exclusive nature of our original products by using the term in french - "FAUX". Spin is everything, of course. So, more projects for a future date either for me. Perhaps she may visit again soon?
Here are a few photos of our faux antiques - our beverage coasters, our boxed felted soaps, and our altered boxed matches. We did altered candles, too. Not quite as successful.

I did my twelve photos, but...

2012-01-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

I ended up completing a class assignment for SJ's class "Twelve" at BPC. Needed to take photos of numbers 1-12. After I did that, too tired to take more. However, these numbers are an interesting way of looking at life at the present.

Twelve Photos

2012-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Today is the twelfth of January. lots of folk are taking twelve photos today. Well, my goal is twelve photos that I want to feature for the day. I'll need to take about twenty times that number to get enough that are acceptable. Hmm, maybe I should say twelve photos at least and a few I think are good enough to post, LOL!
I took two photos early this morning with my iPad when I woke up. Not so great pictures; but at least a start. I'm even surprised that I'm getting to this blog post today. I'm pretty regular at posting on Facebook but not so much here. FB does not require "writing". Blogs do require writing. Yes, I am not so sure about the writing and the intimidation factor keeps me back. The paradox is the more I write, the likelihood I'll improve. I should make it a resolution - write more. I did make some resolutions already. I plan to exercise at least 3 days a week and will eat mindfully. I also plan to do at least 12 scrapbook pages a month. I know, pretty simple goals. Yet, really would be terrific if I can stick with them.
Time to save this post and get back later with the photos.
In the event I do not get my photo goal accomplished I'll add some photos of my first 5 LO's of 2012 as proof that I am working on my goals. I'll also put up a not-so-flattering picture of me that will serve as a reminder of where I'm starting on my healthier journey for the year. The advantage of this photo is that sticking to my goals or not, any subsequent picture is likely to look better!
If I meet the photo goals I'll post those later today or this week.

January 1, 2012

2012-01-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

I was pretty good, though not perfect, at 2 posts a month last year. Maybe I'll find time for more posting this year. Started off the year with some scrapbook and healthy living inspiration at Big Picture Classes.
No definite plans for the year but will be getting a bathroom remodeled, maybe take a few trips - especially to see the youngest grandkids.
Picked a One Little Word for the year - Present.
Like everyone else made plans for a healthier year and pledged to renew and strengthen friendships.
So tomorrow, need to work on past year's finances, finally get the info together for an updated trust and work more on photos and scrapbooking, just 'cause. Think I'll start it all off with the Rose Bowl Parade. Loved the trip that Cal and I took to see that and the game a couple of years ago.
My Uncle Ted turned 65 today. I guess we baby boomers are finally getting elderly. That and the Mayan calendar ending this year ought to give me pause. However, I'm taking that word PRESENT to heart and not really getting emotionally involved with questions of age and mortality. No, today is the start of a New Year and a chance for new beginnings.

At the CA International Marathon

2011-12-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, sore, tired and slightly hung over we still made the annual tradition of viewing the marathon. A little later than we ought to have got there but we were around to encourage those running the 3:45 to 5 hour paces. Gosh! I can hardly walk a block. Have to admire those folks who are at mile 20 when we see them. Well done, marathoners.

The Crocker Ball 2011

2011-12-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely evening celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Crocker Ball last evening. Chris and Laurel attended with Cal and I. Everything was beautiful and well done with only a couple of exceptions. The meat served with dinner a little tough, though getting beef tenders done perfectly for hundreds likely near to impossible. Likewise the coffee. Tasty but not consistently hot. The menu was delicious with those minor exceptions. The mini chocolate caramel creme brulees were exquisite! All the courses were a feast for the eyes as well.
The music was good for dancing but way too loud. I mean, dangerously so. I do not mind loud music but the level was near criminal. My ears are still ringing and Cal experienced a lot of ear pain last night because of the noise. Really, the decibel level should have been checked. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful evening. I'm rather sore today but have to say it was worth it.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

I guess about one post a day is all I can generate. Oh, well. I'm not any less grateful even if I did not meet my self determined goal of at least one post a day this week.
Today, I'm grateful for the love of friends and family.
We may be having a quiet Thanksgiving with just Cal and me and Joe; but, our hearts are full of those dear to us even if our house isn't.
We are going to have the traditional turkey dinner and a lot of football will be on the TV (like most household in America). We did watch a few minutes here and there of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (In this house, the Rose Bowl Parade is the one parade we watch from start to end. In fact, the parade and game we saw in person a couple of years back is still a topic of conversation in our house. It was so fun to be there!)
As we celebrate today, we send our love to our many family members and friends, with wishes for a joyous holiday season.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Day 2 of Thankfulness

2011-11-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

OK, post up a little late but it's here.
The brief essay today on my Thanfulness list is the comics.
My day is not complete without a little bit of humor.
I read every single comic in the paper and like those that make me think as well as laugh, like "Doonesbury". Cal only reads a few select ones like Bizarro and Rubes.While "Pickles" is one I often chuckle over with Cal, mainly because of the funny truths about the relationship of an older couple, it is not the first one I look to at this time of year. No, that honor goes to "Mutts" by Patrick McDonnell. His entries on what you are thankful for are endearingly drawn and tug at my heart. Today the sentiment is 'family'.
Now, I know many of you just head over to the MSN homepage in the am. Others still get the newspaper; but, rush to the front page or the sports news. I do skim the entire paper even to read my horoscope (no, I'm not a silly ninny who believes in any sort of magical ideas - it's just part of my humor for the , like the occasional "Dear Abby", too). Comics though are my 'go to' first off. Cal is often the one who picks up the paper from the front step and always sets the comics aside for me. When the newspaper first started printing funnies in color every day and not just Sunday, I was overjoyed.
Stacy Julian, co-owner and co-founder of Big Picture Classes, talks about colors making her happy. Me, too! Nothing like a bright and silly moment.
Yes, I am truly thankful for the funny, silly, wise and thoughtful moments that come when I read the comic strips each morning.

Thankful Thoughts

2011-11-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Here in the USA it is Thanksgiving week. Folk are planning huge dinners, forming shopping strategies and figuring out ways to juggle the in-laws and the outlaws. Many are collecting their thoughts about being thankful. I thought maybe this week I could write daily blog posts on that subject. Actually, I decided to focus my thankful thoughts, at least for the first part of the week on the media.
I was writing a reply on Paperclipping Round Table, http://www.paperclipping.com/category/roundtable/, one of my on-line haunts, that inspired this set of potential essays.
I really am thankful for my on-line communities. So many good friends, not all close; but, all meaningful. I think the early stages of retirement from an intensely time consuming job like I had could be very lonely. I simply have not felt that and think my on-line friendships are part of the reason why. A number of the on-line friends have become in-person friends, too and the on-line connection has helped some other friendships remain viable through time. Even family seem closer. We may not be invited to everything that happens in our grown children's and grandchildren's lives but we do see the pictures on Facebook. Oh, sometimes we can feel left out of some things; but' we'd feel those emotions even without FB. At least, we know what we missed!
For some individuals the electronic environment has been isolating and destructive. Hours of on-line poker for money could clearly be detrimental, I could not even imagine what that must be like. However, when one has a physical limitation the internet can be a godsend.
Just a short post without dwelling on the subject overly much. Just want to be thankful for on-line communities in specific and the internet in general.
Life is good. I don't think it will be too difficult to find other things to write about for the rest of the week. Tommorow's subject will have to do with the newspaper.

Flashes of Spark3 and Utah

2011-11-19T22:51:00.000-08:00

Have not been home much

2011-11-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

No, that trip to see the relatives was not my last. Shortly after that I made several trips to Spark3, CKU reunion, An Osler Institute OBGYN review course in Dallas, and a crop for Susan Komen sponsored by Charity Wings in French Valley, CA.
I'm glad to be home!!!!
I did have fun, though travel and my neck problem are not particularly compatible.
It's been a lot and now that I am home the holidays, a bathroom remodel and Joe's poor health are challenges. I'm just taking a deep breath and trying to look at it all one day at a time.
I'll attempt to dig up photos and post some pictures of my fun and activities before next week. Just wanted to get this up-to-date.
I'm getting a new blog design and excited about that!

Visiting the Family

2011-10-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Had a nice visit with Jeanne, Ron and Vikki in Seattle. Then, in Canada with Mom (Stella) and Betty and Lawrence. Note hockey game on the TV. Yes, visiting the Solars in Canada, LOL!
Happy to be home. Did have a wonderful time. Mom is 85, now! Hope she liked a visit from Karen as a present, LOL. Northwest WA and the Okanogan are lovely in early October. Yes, a good trip.

One of My last Boot Camp Posts

2011-10-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

Connective Journaling discussed 'Aha" moments. Where we could think on something someone said and perhaps connect it to another photo or event. I did have moment like that today. I have at times wondered if my husband really understood my career. I'm happy he knows what makes me'tick'.

Grids

2011-10-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, another LO. I've had this paper and a thought for years. The paper made me think of our trip to Australia and the blue Mountains. All I could do was fit these squares on the bottom of the page to keep the essence of the page and then nothing worked for me. This sat around forever. Well, it sat around until I took the Grid class at Ella Publishing Boot Camp. I then had an 'Aha' moment. I could use a lot of little pictures from Australia in two separate grids and the point of the quote and my page design would remain intact.
With joy this page is done. Makes the entire Boot Camp well worth it!

Ella Challenge and WITL/Double Take

2011-10-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here is an ad

Here is a scrapbook DPLO

At Ella Boot Camp one challenge was to use inspiration. These WITL photos were sitting around and I saw this ad and the page was born. Glad to have those photos scrapped!
I have been looking critically at this LO and realize I have trapped white space and my internal space needs more even borders. I'm going to work on it more and if and when I get it done, I'll post the revision.

Stamping with Ella's Boot Camp

2011-10-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

This was fun to do! I used stamps for all but the black cardstock letters and thin black strip. and Tim Holtz film ribbon embellishments. I used my Slice to cut out the letters. My craft knife removed the white portions of the film strip stamp and then I trimmed out the photos I glued behind this feature.

Used my fave color scheme with ColorBox chalk inks in Dark Peony, French Blue and Butterscotch.

I like how it all turned out. Wonder why I do not use my stamps and Slice more? I like the 8.5 x 11 page size, too. Mostly, I'm a 12 x 12 scrapper but love to change it up a bit.

Grapes, Coffee, Lazy Day

2011-09-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Grapes, yes! It is grape season in California and Cal brought some home from the market yesterday. They've been in the fridge - cold, crisp, delicious. Love them. I've always liked grapes. I need to scrap a page about being on the wooden swing in my Grandmere's back yard and plucking those tangy Concord grapes off the vine that grew up over the swing. Great memory. i have wonderful memories of both grandparent's houses. I figure those type of memories are common for folk but mine of course are specific to my grandparents. Concord grapes, raspberries and strawberries, high bush cranberries for jelly and of course my grandpere's homemade bread. Baba made perogies and holuppchi and I remember picking beans and cucumbers and all her jars of canned food near the coal bins in the cellar.

Today is National coffee day and I do love good coffee. I've had my Kreuig coffee maker break down but the company is very good about replacements. The taste of my fresh brewed Columbian is delicious. I have devoted a few scrap pages to this love of mine in the past so no more for now.

Still in my jammies. Cal is off golfing. Slept in and having a slow start to my day. Love late summer, early fall, not a fan of winter but spring comes early here and maybe I can take a trip down to South America for Carnivale!

I wrote a reply to the recent PRT episode http://www.paperclipping.com/prt085-the-many-faces-of-neutral/ about neutrals. (If you came here from there I guess you can stop reading now, LOL!)

Funny how I opened my Martha Stewart Living for September to page 150 randomly to page 150 and there is a decorating article on painting the edges of doors a bright accent color. "A vivid pink or citrus stripe is also easily tempered by a neutral base color such as gray, or a deep shade such as indigo." So, it is a trend to use a base of something low key with more vibrant in home decor and fashion as well as scrapbook pages. You'll note that Martha did not refer to navy (deep indigo) as a neutral. I agree with May (Flaum) - a staple, a classic, not a neutral. Love the color combos that went with this magazine article a magenta (hot lips by Benjamin Moore) paired with a medium warm gray (cement gray, MS); Mimosa by MS paired with Navy (Hudson Bay by Benjamin Moore) and a luscious gold called Melon from MS paired with a light cool gray (Elephant's breath by Farrow-Ball). All great inspiration for pages.

Kayleigh Wiles often uses a gray base to her scrapbook pages. (Beautiful!)

I think that stores are getting more tuned into what their individual market really is, basically what sells in their store. After all, the economy is bad and the LSS that are surviving are the ones who have figured out what works in their market. My LSS (local scrap book store) has a large altered arts section and they do have a card section but still carry a huge amount of traditional scrap products (very up-to-date merchandise) in beautifully arranged displays. Product moves at Green Tangerines, you cannot count on some things being re-ordered. They know their customers like the latest and greatest.

As to white, it looks fresh and modern without the sticker sneeze. It's popular among fans of Karen Grunberg, who almost doesn't use anything but white card stock as her base.

I think scrapbooking follows color and fashion trends. Indigo and denim blues and black are emerging as basics.There is a trend to realism in color, a lot of talk of authenticity and soft romantic realism. Tree and grass green, rustic red and earthy oranges, earth colored neutrals like sediment grey, camel, and khaki. Yellows tend to be gold or mimosa. It will be interesting to see how these trends get interpreted in scrapbook products. Honest is a word I've seen a lot in fashion and design. Interesting! (at least to me). I think there is always a place for themed patterned papers. I just think as scrappers get more into the art of their hobby they are not always used quite like in the past. Those papers do help reinforce themes. Sugartree makes a huge line of just themed papers. They are available at a lot of places on-line (just not at the store that the Sugartree site links to, interestingly enough).

Of course, one has to find the style one is comfortable with. Like Christine (Urias), I'm rather into patterned paper and more patterned paper. And texture, texture is important to me. We are influenced by trends, though. After all, trends determine the products available to us. Maybe why I like Canvas Corp products. The trend is the authentic neutrals like the canvas and chalkboard. Of course, those have the texture I love.

I did like Nancy's (Nally) comment about using anything and Christine's about making things your own. Of course, with stamps and mediums we can transform so much. I think the recent pairing of companies like the Color Connection with Prima, Tattered Angels and Pink Paislee speak to manufacturers recognizing our interest in making our products more useful for any project.

I laughed about the discussion about the Eiffel tower. Now, I HAVE been to Paris so I adore the abundance of this theme that helps me scrap in a "thematic" manner, LOL!

As always, adore the picks. Some like the Heat Tool and the Mistables that I use already and the digi papers and buttons that I will surely buy!

Thanks for PRT, always a fun spot to my week!

So, off to take photos after I get presentable and check up on Joe. Funny ("peculiar, not Ha Ha" -yes, I loved Enid Blyton when I was a child), I was at Pilates and my trainer, Robyn, noted how the tension in my neck increased dramatically as I spoke of my frustrations with him. Oops, I'm trying to NOT have my neuropathy progress. Oh, well, being a Mom is hard!

Crafting, and resolving not to complain (too much) or be cheerless

2011-09-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been the kind of week that makes me say "Wait a minute, am I not on disability retirement?" Too busy, which is why I am resolving not to complain too much. As you know, too much activity usually worsens my pain and in this case I'm getting so good at protecting my left side that I have oodles more pain on the left. OK, that's all I'll say about it. For someone like me who used to feel the whole world needed to suffer along with me, that's pretty good, LOL! I'll get the cheerlessnes out of the way, too. Joe just cannot recognize how he is hampering his recovery. Today I served him with an eviction notice. He has to decide to get well or it's the street for him. I've been an enabler too long. He needs to take his meds and not take other stuff. It's hard for me to be so tough. It's necessary though or he will not get better. He has either taken his meds and used what he shouldn't or not taken meds and not used substances. I just hope he'll choose a healthy option next. I'm trying not to let his problems get me down.
As for crafting, well I did The Mother LOAD class with Lain Ehmann. It was challenging and I can say that I'm glad it's over. I learned a lot though.
I'm excited about the Double take class at BPC. You can find out about it here: http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/doubletake.php
It's a much more reasonably paced class with lots of great material. Two very cool and fun teachers who get involved. I met May when I took a class with her back when, and we are friends. I still love to take her classes, maybe more since I know her and recognize how hard she works to provide a great experience for her students. Nic is half a world away but seems to share a similar teaching philosophy. Two page LO's are an area where I need to learn more. I'm excited about the class!
Lately, I've been posting a lot of my LO's so I'll do that again and add them at the end of this post.

There are a few more that need a little more work before I feel they are blog worthy. Done but not perfected, LOL!

Hanging in with the Heavy LOAD

2011-09-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

Lay Out A Day is a challenging concept as well as class. Imagine, these need to get done and posted daily. Not that I have not gone back and tweaked a few. However, coming up with an idea, color scheme, papers and a title fresh daily is something I have accomplished to date. Only 26 LO's required. Nonetheless, a lot.
I've had fun with these. Hope I can hang in for 10 more days.

Yes, those last three are digi pages. Pretty basic. Still, I'm happy with them and justifies my large format printer. (Well, it was on sale and I got a discount on top of that, LOL!)
I did block out some personal journaling, if you were wondering.
My family and my life are the main subjects of my scrapbook pages. I do scrap a little about travel and not much at all about current events. However, that could change. I see my style as still evolving. have not yet determined what my style is. I'm discovering some preferences as the result of scrapbooking more.

7 days into LOAD

2011-09-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'm taking Lain Ehmann's LOAD class at Big Picture Classes and seven days have passed and I'm keeping up! Wow! Today was a retro challenge and while I used some very old supplies it was hard to scrap like it was 12 years ago. Fun,too, though. It's good to get the stories done even if some LO's are a stretch. Here's my current line up.

You'll notice I even did a digi scrapbook page one day, this last photo. Fun to do but my photography would have to improve a lot to really get into that that. I feel I can get away with bad photos on "lumpy" pages but not so much on the digi ones.
Imagine my surprise when my Big Idea class photos were chosen for the Big Picture Classes blog! I would have done a more careful job had I known my scrapbook would be featured, LOL! You can check out the article at http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/blog/. It's the September 5th post.
Planning ahead to some art/scrapbooking and medical meetings in the coming months. At Christmas Danielle will take her winter break with us. Looking forward to a busy fall and early winter season.
My knee is healing, surgery went well. Getting back into exercise. Maybe I can say goodbye to a few inches.

Mama Mia! Toss a Pizza

2011-08-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had homemade pizza. Cal put on quite the show tossing the dough. I almost forgot the pepperoni so it ended on top of the tomatoes. Note the egg in the center. That was to remember Betty's pizzeria in Milan where it was a feature of the pizza. Tonight's pizza included tomato paste, mozarella, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, green peppers, pepperoni and an egg. I think it may have needed a little more spice but have to say that it was good and not greasy with a very nice crust.
A cooking experiment for us. Cal likes to be creative in the kitchen while my creativity is behind the camera or on paper or the web.

Sometimes Life is Overwhelming

2011-08-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

I used to think I scrapbooked to relax. Now, I know I need to be relaxed to do it. It's been a hard week. I had surgery which should have been tough but has actually been OK. I instantly knew that my knee was fixed. Now my right knee is back to being my bad one. I have some post op discomfort but I would not call it pain. No big deal. I'm being cautious and trying not to overdo because I don't want to screw anything up. It's good. I think I was pretty stressed before the surgery. To make things worse I needed to take my son to the ER in the early am of the day before my surgery. He's in the hospital and I see a little improvement. The hard part is wondering how he'll do once he is released. Maybe Monday? Tough. I'd really like to know. Oh, well. It is the weekend. I know I'll hear Monday, maybe someone will speak to me tomorrow.
My Mom is better after her pulmonary embolus. Tough lady! She is anxious to leave her assisted living and move to a spot in Victoria. I cannot blame her. As pretty as the Okanogan is, it is isolated. The flowers I send her never seem to arrive. It's hell to get there by plane. It's a pretty long drive and thee are the mountains to deal with. At least there is more family in Victoria and it's way easier for me to get there.
I don't feel like photography or scrapbooking. I've been writing a bit and thinking of making stuff. A shout out to May Flaum who always gets those creative play gears churning in my brain!
I was happy to see Joe got to do some arts and crafts today and did some nice creative collage of happier places and times. I hope we can help him get well soon.
So, dear blog readers, no great creativity here this week. Life goes on and have some crop times planned ahead. These escapes always get the juices flowing. It will happen.
Hope everyone is having a pleasant summer!

Weekend in San Francisco

2011-08-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Lyn and Rod were here on vacation from Australia. Cal and I had a great night out with them at Beach Blanket Babylon and then Pantarei restaurant.
The huge head dresses the performers wear are always a treat in this fast paced show. Fabulous talent, very funny!
The drive from Sacramento to San Francisco was not great fun. That trip is getting worse. Too bad there were not good train connections for when we wanted to go. That would have made it a better trip.
The time in the city was splendid though and the drive back not too bad.
This has been our year for musical theater! Season almost over for the Music Circus here in Sacramento. This past Sunday evening was a very good production of Annie Get Your Gun. Our favorite show, so far this year, has been Anything Goes. Vicki Lewis was splendid as Reno.
Getting my knee arthroscopy later this week so may not be doing much blogging for a few days. I'm looking forward to being able to walk faster than a snail and further than 2 aisles of a grocery store!

Yes, more classes, more pages

2011-08-11T19:25:00.001-07:00

I'm taking a writing class, too. I'm sorta keeping up with assignments but my first drafts are coming out too personal and painful for the blog. I need to look at these again and see what I really was trying to say in my essays. I don't feel down. A little stressed, yes. Scrapbooking is a good hobby to decrease my stress.

Journal entries on scrapbook pages

2011-08-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

You'd think that a blogger would generally have scrapbook pages with a lot of stories on them. Nope, not me. However the classes I'm taking at BPC: http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/ are all about writing this week. Write Now! with Amy and The Mother LOAD with Lain are two of my current classes. Elizabeth's Design Challenges helped inspire the following layout. I owe Alison Davis' class for the page LO design though it just barely has anything to do with her sketch. It's what Alson calls an 'extreme' interpretation. Scraplifters usually say "making it my own".

Journal block reads:

I was puzzling over a scrapbook challenge class at BPC taught by Elizabeth Dillow. One challenge was to use symbols on a page to tell our story. I thought of the Adinkra symbols I was introduced to in Ghana. So, I went to my computer and began to review my photos of Ghana. While doing that, I saw this other symbol – the skull and crossbones over a door. This photo said ”Tell this story.” Adinkra symbols are for another day, another page.

There were actually a lot of stories that were very meaningful from my visit to Ghana. The stories about the slave trade were the most heart wrenching. Ghana’s history includes the nations that were the early explorers of the seas coming for the gold. Later, powerful countries came to use Ghana as a base for the slave trade.

Many of the early Europeans built beautiful castle-like fortresses. It’s strange the emotions one has when you see these buildings. They exist in a setting of sea, sand, palm trees, colorful houses and fishing boats. This sharply contrasts with the towering walls, barred and grated windows and doors, and prison cells. Some of these places have, even in the not so distant past, been used as prisons for political prisoners. In slave trade days, dozens of human beings were crammed together in the cells before being loaded in chains into ships. You hear stories of the atrocities committed against these people and tears well up.

The terror these hundreds of thousands of enslaved individuals must have felt as they passed through this “door of no return” at Elmina Castle (now a museum) is beyond my imagining. Going through this door meant they’d never see their homes or their family again and would spend what remained of their lives in miserable subjugation.

A New Month - a new blog post

2011-08-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm an off again on again blogger, though I am determined to blog at least twice a month. Sometimes, I even post a few days in a row.
Right now, I am doing a lot of scrapbooking. It's my escape.
(Family stress, health matters including a surgery date to "fix" my knee this month are reasons for the need to escape.)
Did two DPLO's this weekend

Lots of fun! I'm still finishing up other projects from the Color Connections class at Green Tangerines. Friend Gina and I attended and sat at same table. Loads of fun!

Hmmm, yes, lots yet to finish and three LO's for the BPC challenge class to finish. Oh, well. A little bit here and there and it's done.

Wrestled with Quicken and finally got it working properly. Sigh! I'm bad enough at doing the bills without struggling with my computer program. Was on the phone with Wells Fargo for a while before he finally said -it's a software problem. Found my answer in Quicken support. Thank goodness! Still, some checks going out late.

Participated in Ali Edward's Week In The Life class at Big Picture Classes. This meant lots of picture taking, though the number diminished by the end of the week.

It wasn't a too crazy week, thank goodness. Now, I have photos, some ephemera and may never get these into an album. Maybe? Fun to participate though.

Naturally, a busy weekend means a painful start to a new week. It was worth it though. Had fun!

Ate at the Melting Pot restaurant with good friends Joann and Bill before the Music Circus production of Anything Goes. The fondue was good though Cal's comment was that it was the most cooking he'd ever witnessed by me in all 22 years of marriage. Probably too true, LOL! Enjoyed the show a lot. Thanks for coming with us J&B. Have had fun going to the shows with different friends and family members each week. Good summer series!

Midway Through WITL

2011-07-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've tried these sorts of projects before and "failed" to complete most. So far it's the middle of the week and while I'm taking less photos, I'm still at it. How to put this together has me a bit stumped. I'm a paper/hybrid scrapper so the digital templates do not win me over completely. I'm not a good enough photographer to be really stunned by my images either. Blogging, FB and twitter are my journal forums. I've thought of including my posts, along with my photos. The same format might not work from day to day considering my variable amount of photos. Oh, I hope to think of something. I've far too many 'half-baked' efforts around. Time to finish one.
I hope folks are checking the Charity Wings blog. Looks like some of the videos of the live streaming event are up. You can find links through the following site. Also, opportunities to volunteer. http://campaigns.ratepoint.com/campaigns/0ee620be429b0453b063613daf11a77f
I hope the e-bay auction items link gets posted soon. Wonderful sponsors of the charity! Remember, you can just go to the site and donate. It feels good to give.
Here are a few of my WITL photos.

Monday

My Layouts re: Paperclipping Roundtable #77

2011-07-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my layouts about my relationship with my husband. The topic of discussion to this weeks Paperclipping Roundtable.

Here's a link to the actual podcast.

http://www.paperclipping.com/prt077-masters-of-the-long-arm-extension/#disqus_thread

This LO is about how I find Cal in the evenings reading his book.

Here's one that just expresses emotion "It's so good"

Just emotion again "Lucky to have you"

This is my cloth Paris album documenting some of our favorite activities - people watching, sight seeing, sitting in a cafe, visiting a garden shop, walking on the bridges, visiting the Louvre.

This was just a trip of over a week to visit family in Washington state and British Columbia. I've just included a couple of interior pages. Most documentation is in notes at the end. The book just shows the family and places we visited with a couple of cute stories in the final journaling.

A play on my name Poirier which means Pear tree and the "pair' of us

Another trip which documents our time together in Australia (OZ) and my aversion to animals while he has no problem

This was about Paris but the end of the journaling talks about us and love

This was the Kinsey Wilson project she used to document her child and friends and that I used to document my best friend and partner of 20 years.

Maybe a Busy Blog Week

2011-07-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

OK, just signed up for Ali Edwards Week In the Life class at BP. So, not only do I need to finish up my blog posts about CHA, I will plan to document some of my WITL material here. Who know? Maybe blog posts will be my digital scrapbook?
Nice that I started with a productive Monday morning. Gosh, beds are made, laundry done, appointments organized. I hope to do some overdue stuff after I finish the unpacking but am rather sore and weak after my trip. I got help with my luggage but needed to deal with it a bit twice, not much. Funny how just a little effort can trigger so many symptoms. I'm being careful though and it looks to be a good week in spite of this.
It's a lovely day and the pool looks inviting. So, that's my afternoon plan.
Must finish up a productive morning first!

Oooh! La! La! The Ribbon Ring creates

2011-07-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

The Ribbon Ring is a handy organizer for ribbon http://www.ribbonring.com/

Look what that ribbon has become!

Simply delicious fun!
I believe one of these delightful cakes will get some additional embellishment and be available for the Charity Wings auction.

Pink Paislee - It's lovely

2011-07-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, I love the Nantucket and Mist-ables but all these lines are delightful. These embellishments are just so pretty. http://www.pinkpaislee.com/home.php

Simply Wonderful Graphic 45

2011-07-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

Graphic 45 http://www.g45papers.com/products/ has three wonderful lines and I love them all. The company is so gracious and welcoming, too. They encouraged me to take all the photos I wanted. So, to show you possibilities with An ABC Primer, Christmas Emporium and The Magic of OZ, I'll just let their booth displays speak for themselves.

Drooling Around the Prima Booth

2011-07-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Photos of CHA will be posted later this weekend.

Yes, Drooling Around the Prima Booth was not chosen as a title by Izzy for the last Paperclipping Roundtable broadcast; so, I’m using it here. I saw lots of folk taking unauthorized photos and i-pad videos around the Prima booth. However, I asked politely, as I always do, and was denied permission to take photos. While I saw oodles of items to drool over, including their Ruby Violet line, no photos to show you of Prima. The little white acrylic and white metal embellishments that can be colored if you wish were delightful. Intricate dtails, elegant designs. Of course, the entire booth was full of new stuff and it was a large booth. They had an entire small booth just for the new Ruby Violet line. Pretty bright yellow, blues and pinks in that line with a fresh whimsical look to the designs. Check out the Charity Wings videos (should be on i-tunes soon) or Prima’s web site http://www.primamarketinginc.com/ and http://prima.typepad.com/prima/2011/07/ruby-violet-is-here.htmlfor more details and photos.

My favorite paper line of the show is crate paper’s ‘Random’. http://crate.typepad.com/cratepaper/2011/07/my-entry-2.html The teal, plum pink, mustard yellow just drew me in and there was a middle east/eastern feel to this collection. Since I was all about teal this show, I loved Lily Bee’s Head Over Heels which is a teal, orange and plum pink double sided paper line. Lily Bee has two other lines I found that are very flexible designs despite one having the name Jingle. Great for the holidays but not restrictive. Memorandum is another. http://www.lilybeedesign.com/paper/4.html I also loved the monochromatic teal of Little Yellow Bicycle’s winter theme line ‘Winter Twig’. http://www.mylyb.com/winter_twig They have an 11.75 x 5.75 paper pad in addition to the 12 x 12 in this line with a nice assortment of tags and embellishments.

Not all my favorites were the bolder colors and tiny prints. Pink Paislee’s ‘Nantucket’, a soft pastel beach theme line, was so much prettier in person than on line. Very useable and versatile for more than summer layouts. http://www.pinkpaislee.com/home.php?cat=79 The Mistables line had the document prints I love and was another winner for me. http://www.pinkpaislee.com/home.php?cat=78

SEI always has some simply gorgeous classic lines and this show did not disappoint. I love Silver Valley. Not just silver but cream, browns, grays and muted winter red used in this seasonal collection. Their White Elegance was perfect for both weddings, winter, and other classic ideas. http://www.shopsei.com/main.cfm?heading=1&categoryoid=12&productoid=430 The Holiday Cheer line at SEI was bright and bold and more Xmas specific - definitely fun.

On Paperclipping Roundtable, we discussed how the major names in scrapbook paper manufacturers (those that advertise heavily to consumers) do not necessarily market themed papers. Sugar Tree http://www.sugartreescrapbook.com/ has a huge variety of realistic photo textures, objects and scenes to suit every theme specific taste. Buffalo, noodles, strawberries, corks, cityscapes, peanuts in shells, sports and family word themes are but a sprinkling of what they had to offer. I'm not sure who carries their products. The link currently on their site went to a company no longer on the web.

Now, how could I a lover of bright color and patterned paper like me fall in love with Canvas Corp? http://canvascorp.com/home/ Their lovely booth just drew me in. I could really find a love for kraft after visiting them. They do have patterned paper lines, too. The burlap, kraft and canvas looks, though, were beautifully presented and look fun to use. ‘Chalkstock’ is still my product pick.http://canvascorp.com/home/?p=2140 I like this paper that works like a real chalk board and I love that there are tags and shapes available in this product. Claudine Hellmuth’s black gesso http://www.rangerink.com/products/prod_medium_CHstudiogesso-black.htm would be my next pick for chalkboard effect and American Crafts chalkboard papers a third. Claudine’s paint is a good dark gesso base and great for mixed media work. The AC paper is shiny with a very textured finish. It works well with the paint pens I tried and does have some decorative borders that are a plus. I could not find the paper on the AC site but did locate it here. http://www.stopandscrap.com/american-crafts-nightfall.aspx

Everything Glitz is gorgeous.http://www.glitzitnow.com/glitz-meet.php I love using their lines and the ones at the show do not disappoint. The three lines at CHA were Vintage Blue, Beautiful Dreamer and Dance in Sunshine. They were very happy to let me take photos.

Other than paper lines the CHA event showed that stickers remain an eternal element of card and scrapbook design. There were several lines of bling, ribbons, cards, jewelry and stamps at the show so we’ll have plenty available to choose from if the shops and distributers are buying.

Tombow has a Stamp Runner adhesive that I like. Not a lot (40 ft) of runner length but the ability to quickly add a stamp of adhesive was a real plus. Not that it is so difficult to pull off a dot of adhesive but the ease of this applicator and the versatility were a real plus. Being able to try it really sold me on this. http://www.tombowusa.com/CraftDetail.aspx?sku=62162 I also like how easy it was to remove the backing of their new foam squares. This is a fairly new product so the longevity is not clear yet. I have had bad experiences with foam adhesive in the past so I’ll need to keep my eye on this one that comes in tiny and regular size squares. http://www.tombowusa.com/CraftDetail.aspx?sku=52129

Scrapbook Adhesives remains a favorite and their personalize able dispenser is a plus. Their new fine adhesive in their EZ Runner goes on nice and thin which is ideal in a lot of applications and seems to have a good hold. It should be great for vellum for it goes on opaque and turns clear over time. http://www.scrapbook-adhesives.com/products

Scrapbands has a great variety of elastic strapping covers to which you can add your personality. These straps can be used to hold those big bulky albums together or to identify the spine of the album. http://www.scrapbands.com/default.asp

I loved Alvin’s Stow & Go storage. http://www.alvinco.com/shopping/family_sale_0_familyid_11808_cat_956 The metal rack holds 6 plastic cases (the handled translucent storage boxes ideal for up to 12 x 12 product or works in progress). I really like this. It takes little more room than I currently use with a stack of plastic cases. Unlike my stack the whole column of cases will not topple when I grab the bottom one.

This is a long blog post and I want to get it posted. I started it yesterday, got homesick and caught a late plane out of O’Hare to get home to California. My great guy picked me up at the airport late, well past his bedtime. Love that guy.

Promise photos and more details in another post.
Here are some photos of products from CHA.
Glitz

Laurel's Card Party

2011-07-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well, a card MAKING party. Had to fly out of Chicago last night to make this (and avoid that hot humid weather and because I was homesick). So nice to see her and family and friends. Nice refreshments, too. Still working on links for my CHA blog post and have started editing my photos from Chicago. So many computer updates slowing me down. Oh, well. Happy to be home with the family though I had a FABULOUS time with my friends. That friend time seemed short as always.

Plan a real blog update soon

2011-07-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a tiring past few days at CHA. I was going to write about the experience tonight but just do not have the energy. Lots of good stuff at the show.
Had a lot of fun doing the Paperclipping Roundtable this week. Plan to post some of my relationship LO's in a blog post once I get home. There are some in my past blog posts but I know how people do not like having to search.
Thanks for your patience dear readers.
Tonight I need to sleep.
See you soon.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

Early fireworks tonight at the golf club across the street. Watched from the front lawn and took photos.

Check out Pinky's Give Away

2011-07-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Just visited Pinky's blog http://www.blueyecicle.blogspot.com/ and found she has a great chance at a prize on her blog.
A Cricut Country Life cartridge and a Clear Scraps Butterfly album.
Check it out!

It Really Works! Fun over frustration.

2011-07-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

I took a class at Big Picture Classes called Finding Your Way taught by Karen Grunberg. She talked a lot about no right or wrong way to scrapbook, just find what works for you. The reality of that really hit home for me last night. I know I like product, in particular patterned paper, as my inspiration. It's not the place where most folk start; but, it works for me.
I think one's best work comes from knowing your strength and going with it. It will make one's scrapbooking hobby more satisfying, too. Could anyone imagine Ali Edwards starting with anything other than words and story? Katie Nelson, Katie, The Scrapbook Lady, and many digital scrappers are who comes to mind when I think of color inspired scrapbooking. I think of Carol Wingert when I think of technique inspired scrapbooking; in her case, vintage. Noell Hyman is inspired by story, emotion and design. Allison Davis likes structured linear photo placement as a starting point. Not that these individuals are incapable of using many approaches, they just know what works for them as a usual starting point.
The other night I struggled with a 2 page LO for hours. I was trying to use photos of an event with some friends. It was so difficult. I ended up with an OK spread but it was difficult. I then made 2 more layouts starting with paper I liked. I found some embellishments, photos and a story to go with my designs and they were completed quickly. I'll add photos of the layouts to the end of this article to illustrate what I made.
The point is simply to recognize what will get you going. I've heard so many folk insist on the photos first and heard a lot of swearing accompanying that. It's an expectation that does not work for everyone to use the photos first. After all, you could put photos in an album or in a frame. You could write stories in a journal or in hand illustrated manuscripts. The reason you chose to scrapbook the photo or the story is because it is your hobby and you should find it fun. I could use my patterned paper and ephemera and make a collage (something I've started to play at, by the way) rather than a scrapbook page. Scrapbooking, though, is a hobby that makes me happy. Finding ways to build a page with the papers and product I love is what makes me happy and helps my pages come together quickly. Lord knows, I like most folk have plenty of photos and oodles of stories I could tell. Scrapbooking is just one way to preserve those. Maybe it's the knowledge that there is a strong likelihood that my scrapbooks may be tossed away when I'm gone that pulls me into just having a heck of a lot of fun. (One may be fortunate enough to have kids, or even kids-in-law, who care to preserve ones work but today's garage sales belie that notion for many.)
I'm glad I really found out what I had suspected that helps me get a page done to my satisfaction. Try different approaches to starting your pages. You may discover you can do it differently than you've been taught and have more fun.

Having fun doing art and made a little change

2011-06-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Another collage art piece for Claudine's class. I combined a vignette with a grid in this one. I had actually not studied the grid final lesson when I first collected things for this collage. I think I'll still do a final grid assignment. The good part of the class is learning stuff. The bad part is learning stuff, too. Now I think more when I make art. Still go with what feels right but then I analyse. Yes, I get more fussy doing that but overall think it's more satisfying.

Learned about bad tangencies and decided that was what was irritating me about the buttons that I otherwise loved on this page. I added more and I think it solved the problem.

Process of a LO - It's my party

2011-06-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

It's my blog and I'll do what I want to...
OK, there is supposed to be an evolution in blogging where we go from showing off our layouts, photos and family pics to discussing more of the processes behind the layouts and photos and discussing thoughts on the family activities.
Sometimes though, unless one is doing this as apart of professional activities, there just isn't time. To me, that is why folk love twitter and FB or why sometimes not a lot of discussion happens on a blog. How can we fit it in? I have long appreciated all kinds of blogs. Lately, I am in the mood to discuss my process. Sometimes, I'll have other topics in mind and on lazy sharing days it will just be photos. No apologies.
This LO started as a kit from a crop goody bag from Green Tangerines in Rocklin (small illustration to right above my DPLO). A nice LO and I could have scrap-lifted it and that would have been good. I decided to try my hand at using it; but, adding my style to it - not that I did not use bits of learning I've gleaned from classes. (yes, an intentional double negative!)
First off, I love horizon lines and asymmetry in my compositions. I learned that from a class I took with Claudine Hellmuth at Big Picture Classes on-line. I probably should have tried copying this original exactly as I rarely put photos below that line. I'm not comfortable with it; but, it would have been a good stretch.
Allison Davis likes to use low horizon lines on her pages and puts her photos above them but she tends to use horizontal and vertical lines to dictate her placement. I decided on an approach that Noell Hyman uses a lot - a crescendo/decrescendo effect. Now, Allison Davis uses different shapes behind her photos on two page cardstock LO's. Since I use "Dot", the nickname my kids have for their daughter, in some LO's, like this one, I thought a big circle would look good. It also works with the quote I found to use for my journaling on the page. The orange paper from the kit from MME has a subtle dot. I found a strip of dotted blue paper in my stash and thinking of Alison Davis again decided to augment my background with it. It also works with the theme of the page.
The white flowers seemed too stark with the cream Thickers and the cream in the die cut so I delved into my assortment of glazes and sprays from Lumenaire and Tattered Angels and colored the tips of the petals. I added small turquoise half pearls to the centers to continue the color scheme.
The LO is asymmetrical but balanced with more background accents and flowers and the journalling on one side to balance the weight of the photos on the opposite side. The photos are also grouped by mood. The ones on the left side, as the LO faces you, are her playful loving self, the others in the photo are Mom, Dad and boyfriend. On the right are photos of her fun but more responsible side, her HS graduation and as an employee at In N Out Burger. I have a lot of photos of her as a ballerina but did not feel those were important to this LO.
I used the asterisk as a hyphen to pick up the spokes in the wheel- like circles in the horizon strip paper. I love the dotted fringe from the kit; but, since I'm a nut about texture, I added the light teal ribbon to my horizon line. It's not circular but has a rhythm like punctuation. Of course, needing texture, I explored my stash and added some chipboard shapes that had dot-like shiny turquoise accents. I, also, added 'dots' of buttons.
I had a photo with colors that did not work with my page. Like the kit photos, I chose to make it neutral. A high contrast sepia seemed to work better than black in this case.
I also chose to add some inking. It may have been 'better' to have a clean LO but I like the way inking contains my pages and accents the journal strips.
I like the page and feels it is all my style despite the fact that it came from a kit and I used the influence of all those teachers. I took another class at BPC from Karen Grunberg called Finding Your Way. I hope she'd agree that I did accomplish that with this DPLO (double page layout for the non-scrappers in the crowd).

On a Roll

2011-06-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have written a blog post which is waiting for me to take a photo before I publish it; and, here I am writing another. I've already done a few other posts earlier this week. Mindboggling! I'm amazed at how much one can get done even in little bits and pieces. I've been enjoying my latest edition of Scrapbooks, etc. It's always been my intention to sit down and scraplift an issue. I think I learn best by doing and it seems like such a good way to try the latest trends and use up some of my overwhelming stash.
I've been collecting sketches for a while. While I can use them, I've discovered that I prefer to scraplift a page from a photo or to just create an original one. I never scraplift exactly - that would be a lot more work than I am interested in; not to mention, very expensive and time consuming to research and purchase the exact products. Whew! Exhausted just thinking about that. However, scraplifting with substitutions is a fun endeavor.
What has been really fun is using up an SEI kit and trying to limit any other items to just what I have on my table right now. I've had to stash-dive for a few items but overall have been quite successful. It's been a blast. Remember a couple of posts back, the LO of my Mom, when I started using up the remains of the kit? Well, here are two more scraplifts taken from the magazine using up more of the kit. I still have stuff for cards, too!

A touch of contrast

2011-06-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

I recently responded to a challenge on the BPC website for a monochromatic challenge and came up with version one of this LO. Definitely monochromatic but rather dull. The second version is still a monochromatic LO at heart but just the little bit of contrast and dimension really have improved it.

Having fun - inspiration

2011-06-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I decided to sit down at the computer and do some long overdue editting of my friend's wedding photos to make them a CD. I was tired after a spell at that, after a rest I decided to get out my project stash to work on. I found a half finished SEI minibook/display piece and set to work finishing it and using some of those wedding photos. After that was done, another break, and then I picked up my latest copy of Scrapbooks, Etc. One of the first articles was Inbox where readers share their projects. SB, etc suggested scraplifting pages from the magazine and submitting what we do. I thought "Hmm, doing that might be a good challenge to get some pages done and use up my stash quickly." As I continued through the magazine I looked at a article title Made in Minutes with a LO titled time with dad. There was a scraplift alternative on the page and I got to thinking about the Inbox article. As I sat thinking, I looked over at my table. There were papers and patterns that seemed familiar. I looked at them and at the photo in the article. Grid pattern, small scale checked plaid, number strip (echo park, left from a project the other day), stripes that lay diagonal on the table and thus begged to be cut on a bias strip, dotted ribbon, my embroidery floss. "Fate", I said. I only had to run to my scrap room for a couple of items. I have a jar of Jenni Bowlin buttons that I've been thinking needed to be used. I remembered a strip of dotted ribbon in my brown ribbon stash. I also had run out of the sticker half pearls that came with the SEI kit but checked my bling stash and found some orange ones. I did retrieve my EK success rick-rack punch, too. I was set. The subject was easy, too. It may have just been Father's Day but thoughts turned to Mom. The number strip made me remember her days as a kindergarten teacher. The LO was born. It took little time to complete so definitely was made in minutes and the decision making which usually takes a lot of the time was dictated by what I had available. No purchases necessary! I'm pretty darn happy with this simple LO, too. I, also, accomplished a part of my scraplifting goal.Fun!

Have been busy creating. The Back to School was a kit

2011-06-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun with these. I'm in Claudine Hellmuth's collage class on-line at Big Picture Classes. Learning a lot!
I know the Back To School was a kit designed with a grade school student in mind. I didn't see any reason not to put in my class experience. I must admit that I'm glad I'm done. That walk across campus was brutal! Learned a lot there, too. Hope to take another class at a future time if I can.
Lots of stuff to do today. Have not done much photography recently. Maybe it's time? We'll see what the rest of this week brings in inspiration. I think I'm going to explore die cuts and dry embossing, too.

Last weekend with Joe and Cathy at Danielle's

2011-06-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Recent Stuff I've been playing with

2011-06-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

Have been playing at art. A composition for collage class on-line with Claudine Hellmuth, a couple of original scrap pages, some classes from a Color Connections workshop.

Just a sampling.

Need to take a photo of the class painting project I just got framed. Turned out great!

Back to Blogging

2011-06-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

I think I finally have figured out what I was having problems with here on my blog. Needed to use Google Chrome and set things up right.

Now I'm inspired to get some photos and stories up.

Took a while to get back dear readers; and , a busy day ahead but I think I can get back to this on the weekend.

How nice to finally figure things out!

NSD in Elk Grove

2011-05-24T16:58:00.001-07:00

Hot Cross Buns!

2011-04-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to modern technology, even folks with my health problems can bake bread. I'd never be able to knead the dough but with a bread machine - Voila! Note: Fiskars kitchen shears make a better cross than a knife does.

I hate store bought hot cross buns which taste heavily of nutmeg and candied citron and artificial lemon topping. These are made with mace which is a bit more delicate in flavor and these have no citron! Dried apricots and currants (our new machine has a cycle where the fruit can be kneaded in near the end, too!) and the frosting has some lemon zest and natural vanilla. Very yummy!

So Happy Easter folks and thank you tradition for inspiring this baking and modern technology for allowing this to be possible for me.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns!

Hot cross buns!
One ha' penny, two ha' penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha' penny,
Two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns!^[

A Whiff of Spring

2011-04-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

I love to photograph the garden in spring. I love this photo with the honey bee and mason bee doing their jobs. Of course, with a name like Pear Tree these blossoms are always appropriate.
Here are a few more garden pics.

Today is a must pay bills and do some art work day. Still getting those ATC's done and then there is class homework! I got a great kit from Club Scrap and am anxious to do a few LO's, too. Hope it's a great spring day for everyone!

ATC's

2011-04-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

OK folks, I missed a post last month. I think that means more blogging this month.

This is a drawing I've done for an ATC request on the Fiskateers board. I always tell myself that creating several small pieces of art is really more than I should undertake. Then, I get the yearning for the challenge. This is going to be simpler than what I've attempted in the past.
I'm going to print this image out and color it and attach to a piece of cardstock. I may add some techniques, glitter and jewels but an original drawing is, I hope, sufficiently "arty". After all, a lot folk use rubber stamp images or use phtos. Anything "art" goes on an ATC. I always like to see what folk create.Obviously, the theme is Mermaids!
Often, I do interactive ATC's flip books, shaker boxes, etc. This, so far, is pretty conventional. Not to say I did not challenge myself, I did. Maybe I need to have the beach horizon line appear higher, not sure. I was trying for her sitting at the edge of an island. Oh, well, it may have to do. I have some art homework and some scrapbook projects to complete. Do not ask me if the house is picked up. You know it is not!
I tried to go "junquing" today but was not inspired by what was in the shops I visited. Maybe I'll try again later in the week. My problem knee and my neck problem really put the brakes on much shopping!
As I noted on FB - meniscus tears in my left knee with a 2 month wait for surgery.
Looks like some great light outdoors right now. I can certanly move well enough to grab a few photos of the flowering fruit trees so I'll post this for now. Yes, I'll try to be a better blogger this month.

A Stab at Art!

2011-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have posted these on Facebook and have decided they probably deserve a blog post. I have kept to my two blogs a month pledge. However, two blog posts in a short span of time is not what I was aiming for, really. One of the things that has kept me busy is my attempts at art. Clearly, I am just a beginner. I do like how some of this has turned out and have discovered a few mediums I want to explore more. It's just slow going. The first collage photo shows my photo and my first pencil and pen sketches and a charcoal based on the first pencil sketch.
I then redid the pencil sketch and kept the ink and went on to ink wash, Conte crayon, watercolor, oil pastel, oil pastel with Gamsol and finally a representative abstract using paper and washi tape on an acrylic background. Since I like texture, I'm not sure the last piece is complete. At any rate, I'm pleased with how things have gone. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to complete enough projects to get any good but then that would not be an attitude that fits with my word for the year "Positive". So, just a beginning with hopes for the future evolution and perfection of my work.
Another thing that has kept me busy is the house I bought as a rental. Not that I'm doing anything except make decisions. Decisions can be tiring. It certainly needed a lot of work. I'm glad I got it at a price point that all the work was doable. Wish that had been true for the home I live in. This house is in need of so much too. Although, a lot safer and more livable from the get go. Yes, I'm taking before and after photos of the rental. Have to get over there today to check on the progress. It'll be a few months before I get those pics posted. Remodels take a lot of time. Getting all the folk co-ordinated is a challenge!
Having a lazy morning but must get myself going.

A little P.S. of the hints of spring in our backyard!

A Bit of Humor at CHA

2011-02-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

I love the delicate feminine feel of Webster's Pages, even the line I'm featuring in this post. However, do you get the feeling, like I do that maybe the folk at WP were subtly laughing at the "trends" of scrapbook design with trendsetters. Normally, I'd expect an edgy look to something named trendsetters. This line, though, has every kitchy theme you could imagine except for gingham. Then again, maybe missed that one. On the paper you'll see butterflies, dress forms, birdcages, antique phones (well, "old" phones, things I've used in my lifetime are not quite "antique", no comments here kids, LOL!), word art, cameos, vintage taxis, 50's fashion, and asian influence. They did scatter in some birds.
Yes, pretty much the major trends as one walked the floor at CHA.
So, a better name might have been trend sneeze. Hardly trendsetter. Don't get me wrong. You'll find this line fun and pretty and has colors and patterns that are definitely popular and trendy and you'll love to use these papers and embellishments.
Just don't expect something "trend-SETTING'.

Beaded Clothing, A Trend at Winter CHA

2011-02-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

One of the things I noticed at CHA this year was fashion as a prominent theme. While last CHA seemed to feature Home Decor, Winter CHA 2011 featured fashion in so many ways. Lots of garments, dress forms, and decotative pins.

Two items that intrigued me were the Beads in A Bottle from Plaid and the Pearl Pen from Viva Decor.
The bottom 3 photos are of the Viva products and the top photos are from Plaid featuring their designer Patti. (I'll find her card and update this post when I do. Is it just me, or does everyone come home from a trip and feel overwhelmed and scattered?)
Beaded clothing remains a popular trend. Such a fun way to really make your shoes, bags, garments your own with easy to use dimensional elements. The beads work well on scrapbook pages as you can see from the Pearl Pen embellishments on the Tattered Angels mini book in my previous post.

It's February!

2011-02-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

Fun at Green Tangerines yesterday! Of course, it took too long; but, everything I do is slow. Isn't this the cutest minibook? Cory from Tattered Angels was there teaching this. Loved all her ideas. Fun making this and she encouraged our own interpretations so everyone's book differed a little. Loved the E line bling from Prima. Best technique I learned was using watercolor pencils then spaying or glamming. Love the results! Glossy accents works well over those pencils, too.
Diamond Dust and Viva Decor Pearl Pens are some products I now love. Cory had some great tips on using glue, too. I looked back over mini albums I'd made in the past and agree that there are real limits to things like foam adhesive. Glue Dots really have superior qualities.
OK, I've a minor fortune tied up in Tattered Angel's products and loved the inspiration today to maybe actually use and experiment with my stash!
I loved CHA and have posted my photos to FB. I need some time to digest the experience but will likely do a post on the trip sometime soon.

Busy

2011-01-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Had a fun weekend at Green Tangerines. Scrap & Spa - the best way to crop. Had a mani/pedi and a massage at Avalon as part of the scheduled activities. Add a nap in my car on Saturday and we are talking about true balance!
Got a few things done. Took lots but did not have an agenda which is the best plan of all.
Familiar faces, new folk, nice relaxed atmosphere. Very nice. I won a prize, too. My prize is a Teresa Collins mini book kit. Yummy!
Planning a trip to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show). Not sure yet how I'll handle all the walking. May need to rent one of those "Hoveround" type chairs while there. That would be interesting, not sure about my driving one of those, LOL!
Taking an art class. That is a challenge. Rendering is part of the course and my least favorite part of art. I'm convinced I'm going to learn a lot. One class should not be too much for me. The walking around campus is my least favorite part of all. Campuses are certainly designed for the young and able.
It's a foggy day today. If it clears I'll take some photos of recent work.

2011-01-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

A Return to Esther's Cupcakes located at Fulton and Fair Oaks Blvd, Sacramento, CA

I sent my son in to purchase an assortment of cupcakes from Esther's Cupcakes the other day.

He chose Creme Brulee, Carmel Macchiato, Tiramisu, Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry. I regret that I cannot find the receipt. Likely, Joe kept that and the change. Oh, well.

Joe came out of the store with a cold beverage so it appears these are now available.

I note pluses and minuses from my past review. I hope the cupcakes are cheaper because they are definitely smaller. They clearly are not as attractively decorated. (Check prior post from April 2010.) However, the batter is denser and more cake-like and has a very good flavor. The toppings are flavorful and not unattractive.

However, there is little to distinguish these cupcakes from other good cupcakes. I think a skilled baker could easily achieve an equally good decorated cupcake at home. Some of the cupcakes we tried as you can see in the photos had a cracked surface. My junior high Home Ec text advises that a cracked surface could be caused by any of the following: too much flour, not enough liquid, over mixing the flour in the batter or too hot an oven. Perhaps too much beating as the Tiramisu seemed to have a slightly coarse texture. Seems like a little attention and this could be easily remedied.

Pleasant, flavorful cupcakes that are worth a purchase if reasonably priced. Would I drive across town just to buy these? Probably not.

It's 1-11-11 and the first blog of the year for me!

2011-01-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, starting off with flowers. Amazing to not just have the pretty pink flowers on my window sill but new flowers in the garden. Yes, January's early camellias and snowdrops really make you aware that a New Year has begun.
Last year I selected the word "Courage" as my word for the year. It was tough to keep a brave outlook. I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this year's word. It's "Positive". Very hard for me. I'll try.
Those flowers are a very bright spot in my life.
I've got some other accomplishments under my belt, too. I have owned the financial program Quicken for years and have fumbled my way through it as it really had too many capabilities for me. Lets face it, my financial life, like the rest of my life was a disaster! I'm actually learning to use it. It may take forever to sort out my past history but I think I've got it organized enough that going forward I should be able to use it properly. There's a positive.
I'm also just beginning to understand manual settings in photography. I do not know why something like that has been difficult for me but I see possibilities. It would be helpful to be able to wear my camera strap around my neck and use my left arm more and move better but I'm going to explore what I can do. Look for the Positive! Photos are a quick way to art. Oh, I know that photography can be consuming and a job but it can be fun to just take a few good pictures, too.
I will really try to post at least two blog entries a month for 2011. Who knows - sometimes it might be daily. Especially, if I take a lot of good pictures.

Christmas is coming to Sacramento

2010-12-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Cal and I visited Sutter's Fort and the Historic Governor's Mansion and felt a little Christmas cheer.

A Walk In Sacramento

2010-11-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

Nothing like blog traffic to encourage one to update the blog. Unfortunately, I lost my original post, which I often do when I write it directly in blogger. At least, in MSWord you cannot close without being reminded to SAVE! The blocks of text getting rearranged is less of a hazard, too!

It was fun to see my interview with Stacy Julian posted at Big Picture Classes today. The site is celebrating its 5th anniversary. Go visit, if you’ve not been there already. http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/blog/

Yesterday Cal and I took a walk around Ancil Hoffman golf course. It was a lovely warm fall day.

We saw lots of wildlife; thankfully, no mountain lions nor rattlesnakes. Plenty of less dangerous creatures were there. The turkeys were everywhere. Grateful, no doubt, that they will not be gracing any tables in a couple of weeks. Those holidays do seem like they are right on top of us, don’t they?

The sights were wonderful from the birds and animals to a little bit of fall color. Dozens of yellow jackets and hundreds of ladybugs darted into our path.

Delightful sounds greeted us along the way. The rapid rushing of the river, the rustle of racing fallen leaves, the clink of golf clubs hitting balls, the clunk of golf balls hitting trees, the chatter of squirrels, the gobble of turkeys and the honk of geese were just a few.

The smells were interesting, too. A fall flowering bush with a heavy sweet sickly smell, burgers cooking at the clubhouse and the sharp tangy scent of the wild dill that hung along the walkway begging for a caress.

I am a slow walker but Cal looked down on the golf course and critiqued the swings he observed while he waited for me to catch up.

We ended our walk luxuriating in a good cup of java at Boulevard Coffee.

Here are a few glimpses of our walk.

Stories

2010-11-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

What was happening on the day you were married? Note photos above from Chris and Laurel's wedding 10/10/10. What was happening in the world the day I got married? This is today’s Jessica Sprague prompt at Stories in Hand.com. Stories in Hand is the title of Jessica Sprague's soon-to-be-released book with lots of story prompts and inspiration.

Hmmm, good prompt; though, I’ve been married 3 times. OK, that’s another story. I will think about writing both of these stories. I’m considering purchasing this book. I do write on my blog but must confess that the internet seems to get all my stories and not just on my blog. Often my stories end up in comments on other people’s blogs. My scrapbook pages have very little journaling, personal diaries have been started and abandoned after 3 pages so often it is ridiculous. I’ve considered audio journals but have never attempted this. I do have an i-phone so that would probably be easy to do. I've started an art journal but just barely. Maybe the internet is the best way to capture my "voice".

I attended Scrapbook Expo in Sacramento this past weekend. This means my left arm is sore and very weak today but I did nothing; so, it’s OK that the arm is “useless”, my summation of its wonky moments. I learned a few things and met some delightful folks. The folk are the best part! Next time I will bring better seating stuff like a special seat pillow.

Yes, have been busy. We went to Cal’s 50th college reunion in Lexington, KY a couple of weeks ago. You know we had a good time when we tell you that it was great because we both got terribly ill at the end of the trip. He saw a couple of old friends from his tennis team. Lots of good memories for him and for other folk. A woman came up to Cal and told him she used to sit next to him in physics class; he told me he probably did but joked that he could barely remember if he took physics much less his classmates. The organization and events were well planned. Bus transportation worked very well. No stress. Note the great skinny tie that Cal resurrected. It came from his grandfather Lewis' haberdashery. The leaves were starting to turn when we were in Lexington. The racing at Keeneland was great fun. I wore a lovely hat and had it and another shipped to me. However, Cal and I checked on the internet and noted a sorry tale about the woman I bought the hats from. I’ll report if I ever get them, I have some reason to believe she may not follow through. Pretty hats, though. It would be nice to have them.

Have spent some time on the California coast lately. First was Chris and Laurel’s lovely wedding. Most recently it was some time at the Ritz in Half Moon Bay. A treat was spending some of Halloween with the littlest grandkids in Capitola. Halloween is a big event there with a parade in old town and trick or treating in town. A little beach time is always nice. I'll need to get those photos on this computer to share. The best part of the coast is that the trip is brief. I hate travelling now, though destinations – another story! But CA has the great destinations without too much of a trip. The best!

Just a Layout

2010-10-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

Not much for writing tonight but wanted to post a photo of a layout I did recently using some Webster's pages paper, embellishments and trim I won at a May Flaum BPC class.
Added some Bazzill flowers and had fun doing this!

Yes, scrapbooking when I should be...

2010-10-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

Taking a class and using the experience to finally get some travel pictures scrapped. Have much to do around the house but hobbies vs housework and bills. Now, really, what is going to win?
Actually I spent time this afternoon writing a comment for the Paperclipping Roundtable episode "I Fought Sorting by Color" that you can read here http://www.paperclipping.com/2010/10/13/i-fought-sorting-by-color-prt041/#disqus_thread
I really like the discussions almost as much as the podcasts themselves!
I do have an excuse for my indolent life today though. My jaw is sore - new wire in my braces. Uncomfortable - Nice looking teeth.
Not that I've done a lot with scrapbooking, lately, a few pages. Mostly, wasting time on the web and listening to classes. I'm a well educated scrapbooker! I'm also enjoying the pictures Chris and Laurel are sending on Facebook. Looks like a fun honeymoon! Since they are visiting alot of the spots Cal and I went to last year it's been great to revisit through their eyes.
Must get some of the photos I took of the wedding edited and printed. reminds me that I need to do that for my friend Bennye, too.
Well, must get some stuff done at home. Plans for some short but fun, domestic trips in the not too distant future. Will tell you more later dear readers.

Tags are IT!

2010-10-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Have enrolled in Nic Howard's class at BigPictureClasses. While this pre-class assignment took me a while to get done, I'm pretty happy with the results. Got to play around with my Tattered Angels stuff - Glimmer mist, chalk, glaze and glam. Then there was ink - Tim Holtz's Distress, Quick Quotes chalk and Staz ON! Copic colored metal, lots of techniques like rolled edges, fussy cutting, hand made roses. I'm looking forward to this class.
I've found a lot of fun classes lately that allow me to explore messy cool stuff!
Oh, I think paper and glue and pre-made embellishments are fun too. The more tactile stuff is the more fun it is for me. The mess clean up is the hard part!
Other than scrapbooking I've been looking forward to Chris and Laurel's wedding. The groom's parents do get lucky re: that; and, he has a couple of sets of those, so spreads out the minimal demands, LOL!
Have also been shopping for a second house. Real estate is a crazy business! I mean, I've bought a few houses in the past and while those were a bit anxiety provoking the experience was OK. Now, no anxiety. After all, I already have a nice home. However, with short sales and creative listing prices and other real estate ploys it all seems more of a game than a real experience. Very entertaining. Who knows if I'll get a house despite all my offers. It's supposed to be a buyers market but it sure doesn't feel that way. Very Alice in Wonderland!!!
Nothing creative planned this weekend. Well, maybe some good photographs. Looking forward to some family time the next couple of days!

My LSS Re-opened. Yeah!! And I visited the other LSS in town.

2010-09-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, Green Tangerines has opened. I'm very excited about that. What made me even more excited was this picture taken at the crop there this weekend. I've not lost a lot of weight but what I have lost is apparent! Always like it when my pictures look better. My left arm and shoulder have that obvious droop from my neck problem. I need to work on posture to make that less apparent.
Scrapbooking this weekend was fun! My friend Ana, poor girl, smashed and bruised her finger in her car door; otherwise, all went well.
I got a lot done even though I did take time to check out the store and made ample time for eating and chatting. I made sure to change up my activities.
Green Tangerines has opened in the same spot as before. This is good and bad. Good because it is easy to find. Bad because it is more of a drive than I'd like from the house. In some ways, taking Amtrak to Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley seems easier! Maybe it's the glass of wine on the train and not needing to drive that helps the most there!
I digress (my usual style dear blog readers, my apologies). Green Tangerines have kept the displays that have that contemporary luxurious look with the height about 5 feet tall and light wood finish. Aisles are clearly marked and wide enough to move around easily. Designer lines are near the front of the store. Many lines are already in and stocked. Basic Grey, Bo Bunny, My Mind's Eye, Creative Imaginations, etc.
Flowers, bling and specialty papers are up fron also. On the left of the store (as you enter) are seasonal lines in front and behind that the beginnings of a very extensive altered art collection. Behind those are the classrooms, as in the past.
On the right are albums both post bound and ring bound - a wonderful assortment and so colorful - just like a candy store. Kits and magazines as well as their die cut machine are up front too.
Behind that on the right is a section with stamp pads, ribbon and card supplies.
At the rear are the cardstocks by type and color, Thickers of all sorts, and more ribbon.
In the center are tools and more themed lines such as travel, wedding, children, and various activities.
Washrooms, kitchen area and staff/storage mark the back.
Not all product lines are in yet and I'm eagerly awaiting a number of these items; though, the merchandise already in is the hot stuff from the latest CHA.
The advantage of a store re-opening is the ability to start fresh (goes with their motto "Where scrapbooking is made fresh") while knowing their customers well. Having that experience should be a significant factor in their success. We also hope for an improving economy - but do not get me started on politics. Living in a broken state like California one longs for honesty and a reality check; and, national politics - oh boy! We need some real plain speaking and fresh NEW ideas there!
Let me get back to the fun stuff of scrapbooking and Green Tangerines. I know that folk have been unhappy with customer service at GT in the past. This weekend the staff were spead a little thin with the crop going on but everyone seemed cheerful and ready to help.
Nice to have a LSS again.
Now, today I needed to take Joe to school. Beverly's Unique Scrapbook Store is just a few miles south of City College so I thought I'd drop in. It's a similar distance from my home than GT and smaller. I've not had the occasion to visit before. It's very similar to a lot of scrapbook stores I have visited across the country. Quite well stocked. New lines of Basic Grey and an assortment of other new merchandise and a considerable amount of older and familiar products and tools. So, if you cannot find a certain embellishment or older product you might wish to try this store. Some stamp and card supplies but the emphasis is clearly scrapbooking. Aisles are narrow but the store is bright and cheerful and there is a large scrapbooking area in the back with large tables and hard chairs. Not very busy while I was there but it appears there is regular traffic. One can get very personalized help. Classes and discounts for class attendees are available. While it is not as direct a drive as GT for me, I'm glad i visited and discovered what this store in the south part of town has to offer.

September is National Sewing Month

2010-09-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

"Sew", I had to get going on my Carol Wingert Creatologie French Marketplace Album. The cover looks like a tote bag and required a lot of hand and machine work. It's very cute though (maybe, I should have said "sew" cute, LOL!).
There's a lot of work in this. I may not finish it for a while but it really is beautifully designed. Carol's kits are very expensive but not for what you get. I like them because of her enormous creativitity and the fact that I can learn a lot from putting the album together. I'm sure all my mistakes will make it uniquely mine, too!!
Actually, the cover went together very well and her instructions made it very step by step.
I have been scrapping more pages for May Flaum's Use Your Stash class. I like May's classes because they really give me a kick start in creating. May is just fun, too! Had a lot of fun last weekend with May and Jen and several other Fiskateer friends. Me new folk too. I've not been very creative since back at home. I pushed myself too much. Still did do a little since. Had fun with the page I'm including here. This Club Scrap kit is not my favorite - very hard to use but I like how this LO went together.

Enuff said, I'm behind on a lot of tidying up (Ugh!) and must get to it!

Taking May Flaum's Use Your Stash Class at BPS

2010-09-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at the message board at the class and started checking out my classmates blogs. They are awesome. Great photography, dedicated frequent entries, interesting projects. Alas, poor blog readers, I fear you do not get such wonders from me, LOL! You may see more projects this month. May, as always, is a very inspirational teacher and does get folk to be more productive. I'm a slow scrapper but I did get the LO that I've photographed for this post done. Now, it was to have been a PRE-class LO. I prefer to think of it as a DONE LAYOUT, LOL!

It is hard to think of summer winding to a close. We have had a very pleasant summer here in Sacramento. Not too many very hot (100F or more) days this season.
Love the work that was done on my pool. Water is so clear and it's nice to have warm water to play in.
The back yard is one of the nicest things about our property. Maybe next summer we will entertain more since it is perfect for parties.
Well, back to cleaning the house and making plans for the fall.

What About Stamps? Charity?

2010-09-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know. You are going to tell me that you are SURE that Kaiser Craft has stamp sets for all their collections AND you did not see them on my posts. That's because I already had set them aside. They are fantastic! Here's a look. I finally got a photo taken.

Yes, getting things organized somewhat around this place and may have some time and some enegy to create stuff. I know it's going to take a while to make my adjustments to retirement and physical limitations. Nonetheless, it is hard. I'm getting there. I really am making some progress on the stuff I just threw in a pile for the past 5 years. I can understand how folk may become hoarders. They are overwhelmed and depressed and then anxiety sets in because they know there's important stuff there but they are still too overwhelmed to do anything about it. I'm glad I never got to that point. Though there is a lot here and some days I do feel too overwhelmed.
I'm not worrying too much about all the scrap stuff. There are so many folk who need more of an intervention than I, LOL!!! I am purging some and thinking of the Social Services Life Books volunteer social workers for my donations. Noell Hyman has info on this worthy cause at her Paperclipping website. http://www.paperclipping.com/2010/04/30/insd-lifebooks-donation-drive-weigh-in/#comments
Also info on contacting social services about how you can help is here http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/foster-care.htm

Did I tell you I love Kaiser Craft?

2010-09-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

While at the CHA Consumer Supershow I got very involved in the silent auction. I managed to win Kaiser Craft's entire new line. I guess you now know that I love this company. Not exclusively though. But, they are definitely in my top ten faves. These collections may put them at the top of the list though. Aren't the papers and embellies wonderful? If I can only get this place cleared of clutter so I can work on creating something. I wish I was up to doing it all 'cause these lines are calling my name!

Hippy Girl

Secret Bird Society

Up, Up and Away

Lush

Fun, Friends, Fiskateers at Scrapbook Territory Berkeley 8/28/2010

2010-08-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

It was a lot of fun getting together with old and new friends at Daniela Costa's class and crop at Scrapbook Territory yesterday. Scrapbook Territory is full of wonderful scrapbook, card and paper crafting supplies. It's a little crowded, especially for a crop but when everyone is such fun - who cares much?

Grateful, though, that the Crate &Barrel outlet store was nearby so I could buy a cushion to put on the hard chairs. Getting up, moving around, exercise only go so far. It seems like some stadium cushions are a minor expense to increase customer satisfaction. I'm hopeful that Green Tangerines plans to continue their concept of comfort seating when they re-open.

I'm listening to Paperclipping Roundtable as I write this. It seems to be influencing my wandering writing style. Actually, it's probably my style which is the reason I love that show that seems to wander all over at times.

OK, back to yesterday. It really sums up as fun. Lots of Fiskateers at the event and lead Fiskateer and my friend, Angela Daniels came by and added to the fun. She demonstrated the anywhere punch. I had been sure I'd not really want this tool but I'm considering it. If you make a lot of cards you'd probably like this. Those windows are pretty neat once you get the hang of using the tool. I'd like some kind of thing for leverage, though. Punch needs too much pressure.

I think most of the nonFiskateers attending were ready to beome part of this very fun group by evening's end.

Daniela had some charming little projects for us to make - a little birdhouse ornament and a banner.

She has a fun, colorful style and personality.

My pals Jackie and Diane as always are so fun to "hang with", as my son would say. Loved meeting my friends from the internet, old friends like Jennifer and my new friends. I really must admit that I miss all the social life from work. My scrapbooking outings are not so much about what I accomplish or what I learn or even what I buy (though my family might challenge that latter statement) it really is about the social stuff. Eat, chat, laugh, eat, chat, laugh, scrapbook, did I say eat, chat, laugh?, shop, shop a little more, chat, laugh! LOL!!

Yes, a wonderful day!

Visiting Mom

2010-08-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

It is beautiful here in the Okanagon! I'm enjoying a visit with my mother. Travelling is not my most fun experience but I do love it when I get somewhere. A few good views of mountain lakes and some fun chats with my Mom when she is at her best are the best ways to soothe aches.

Some Xmas collections from CHA

2010-08-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

This year I think I'm obligated to scrap Xmas. Such a wonderful array of Xmas lines. Here are a few I love from My Mind's Eye, Donna Salazar and Kaiser Craft,

Don't these look like fun? I love them and those i featured earlier. Yes, Xmas=scrap time this year!

Sassafras

2010-08-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a little tour of Sassafras. Love those enamel jewel pins. Vintage 50's. As always delightful colors and patterns. Enjoy!

Yipee! Found it and more

2010-08-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did get a quick photo at Bo-Bunny. I never made it back for more but I did get one. Love the Halloween Whoo-ligans. Very cute!

So may photos to sort through and so much I missed. There was one item mentioned by a number of regular scrapbookers (non-industry folk) that I interviewed. They liked this magnetic scrapbook that attaches to your fridge, wall, etc. where magnets help hold the pages open. The idea of displaying current photos and work without someone having to page through the books on their own really appealed to them. Since I scrap just for me it was interesting; but, not for me (though I do very willingly share my albums). Some folk create for their families and felt this would be ideal for them. The pages they really wanted to share would be up and open and did not need to go into an expensive frame and get changed out with effort.

I'm glad to be home. I did have fun but as this photo at the SR booth shows I was ver tired. My left side is definitely drooping in this photo. Nonetheless, I had fun and enjoyed my little part in raising money for charity!

Fiska Fun Partee CHA Supershow Rosemont, IL 2010

2010-08-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ms. Jackie, dear friend, it was as wild as you suspected. Yes, I was the "rapper" and Merlene and Becky lost control & dyed their hair orange, There was noise. Rebecca did start the punching - though it was of the border "punch" sort. Cheryl did instigate a little pinching and rolling (of polymer clay) and Tami had us poking (a needle), Surprisingly, it was Angela who did try and institute order with a drill. It was all you would expect and more of a Fiskateer partee. Some new friends look to join the "gang", too. There was even a possible theme song, though I believe the tune goes "Three COINS in a fountain not three LEADS...".

Oh, well. Out there on the wild western frontier, I'm sure there'll be some law and order in the Scrapbook Territory, before that Fiskateer gang rides again. Be seeing you all at the round up!

Oh, no, how did I miss that

2010-07-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

I am going through my photos as I prepare these blog posts and big slap to the forehead! I did not have my camera when I went through Bo-Bunny at CHA. I neglected to get back there to take pictures. At least, I have not located any so far.
I love that company and they have some good stuff! Visit their blog, please, and check it out scrapbookers. Really wonderful product!
OK, CHA is big; so, I'm not beating myself up. I certainly was trying to have fun, not work.Lots of lovely items there that will not make it to this blog. I'm trying to post some of my faves; though, clearly not all.
I was so happy to see the folk from My Green Tangerines at the show. Now, they did some serious buying to get the store re-opened and will carry lots of my favorites. I've got goosebumps just thinking of the retail therapy that is going to provide! Fellow fans of GT you'll be as pleased as I am!
Consumer show tomorrow which should be interesting following CHA. (I suspect GT may have bought up all the floor product of the new releases so not sure how much new product will be there.) Some product that came out just before CHA might be showing up.
I'm looking forward to the Fiskar's class and to the Scrapbook Royalty crop. I know those will be fun!

Wyland Foundation Benefit - Fun with Friends

2010-07-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Last night attended a function to benefit the Wyland Foundation. Great items at the silent auction. Good food and drink, too. Always nice to be with friends. Pushed my pal Lisa to pay a few more bucks to beat my bid to win Donna Salazar's picture & necklace. Sorry, Lisa! It was for a good cause!
I did win some items. Not the Wyland picture. I think I might have bid a lot if it was the sea turtle not the whales. (Not that I have anything against whales. Never would want to offend something that much bigger than I!)
I am enjoying myself. Have kept my activity level manageable so I can have a good time without a lot of pain.

My tour of Webster's Pages at CHA

2010-07-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a peek at another popular line here at CHA. Webster's Pages were mentioned by virtually everyone when I asked about their favorites here at the show. The papers are great and they had some delightful flat-backed nonadhesive designer buttons "spaklers" that looked like little clusters of bubbles that I adored. Their little whimsies were fantastic and the floral bouquet vintage inspired embellishment pack was a personal fave. The "bloomers" dimensional flowered ribbon comes in a wonderful color selection, too.

Hope you fellow scrapbookers are enjoying these glimpses of the show!

Today a tour of all that is new at Bazzill at CHA

2010-07-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hi! Well, folks, I'm just going to take you on a visual tour of what is happening that is new at Bazzill. Lots of color co-ordination with your photos and with patterned paper lines. Home decor is a show theme is there is one and you'll see that here. Love the delicate die cut border strips and the beautiful rich colors of the fall leaves. I'll end the blog piece with photos of their competitor Core'dinations Core Amour that seems very popular from the traffic around the display.

Aren't these Bazzill products wonderful.

Now the Core'dinations.

Another Day at CHA

2010-07-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well, the day could have started out better. Was out with friends last night and so wanted to get up not early this am and take a quick shower and rush over to show. Alas, no hot water. Sooo, waited for engineer. ordered room service, finally got hot water and then told I'd be transfered to a new room here at the Rosemont Hyatt. So, by the time all that happened it was noon.
Once there ran into a few friends. Enjoyed meeting Jenni from Fiskateers.
Saw a lot of good stuff but am only going to share The Girls Paperie with you now since I'm tired and want to rest.
The Halloween stuff was just too cute. Don't you love the goodie bags?!!!

Promise more photos to come!

Some glimpses from CHA

2010-07-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

OK, today I will TRY to take more pictures. Yesterday, I spent more of my browsing time just taking stuff in than taking photos and what you, dear blog readers want is pictures! I loved most everything I saw but need to sift through what I think might be truly stuff I can use. Some of my new fave stuff I did not photograph. One is the offerings from Core-dinations. Some lovely stuff in simple grey's (black and white) that are truly going to be fun to scrap with! I'll try to get pics today.
I did love the SEI and Glitz Designs booths and saw yummy stuff in both. SEI has the most adorable Xmas paper where the tops of some pine trees are slightly bent to the right with a red cardinal on top. So very adorable!
Graphic 45 had a most visually appealing booth and some wonderful product. I loved the Alice Halloween products though I might only have limited use for them but I'm thinking cause they are wonderful. The Xmas stuff is a real delight. Well, enough. I did not set out to do a critical review here - just some glimpses of new stuff.

Here's a little Graphic 45 Xmas.

I love these new ink products.

Claudine has some wonderful new sponge stamps to use with paint with detail clear stamps to stamp an overlay image. I saw how the rocker block works wonderfully with large clear stamp images like hers to get an even print. I cannot recall who makes those at the moment but I'm getting some. I already have Claudine's paints, which I love and I think those house and flower parts stamps of hers are on my list, too!

Some lovely pages displayed at the Glitz Designs booth. Yes, much deliciousness on my must get list!

A glimpse of Graphic 45

I must get my day going and today Ill try and be more of a reporter, though do not count on it. Sometimes I just need to soak it all in. I also have not the energy or strength to explore every nook and cranny. I know Scrapbook Update has all the new product sneak peaks up and some good hard hitting news from Nancy Nally so I'd head there for the latest scoops. I will upload more pics from yesterday later and will try to get some more good looks today.

Blog Neglect and Camp Scrap Update Motivation

2010-07-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

I've posted these to facebook or to my classes or the Fiskateer website but not to here until now. I've been having a blast at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Yes, I love BPS and thus the layout inspired by Stacy Julian's burger color scheme challenge at Camp Scrap that features my feelings about BPS and photos of Stacy, too.

The other layouts were from the Camp Scrap class and also Nic Howard's class. I like more textural and colorful LO's right now. It's fun exploring new things.

Most of the photos are ones I took for the Picture Summer class at BPS. I enjoy the work of my classmates. In general, feel a little out of my league there; but, I am learning a lot . That's the important thing. Yes, sunflowers are an appealing part of summer for me! Went to the State fair yesterday. Even though it was not over 100 three hours, even with rest and the obligatory lemonade and corn dog break, it was tiring. Still, love the fair! It was a somewhat posed photo as that lemonade is nearly empty. (Had to wait for Cal to finish his corndog!) While not over 100, it was hot enough to warrant a "large" lemonade!

Enjoyed talking to the artists at the fair. Loved the bicycle exhibit. Think my stepson Bob and his family would LOVE that one!

Of course, while I liked it all, the historical artsy bits were MY faves!

Cal, naturally, loved the farm and the veggies!

Now, I feel better bringing the blog up-to-date. Thanks for taking a look.

Fun with Photos

2010-07-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Taking pictures for my BPS class. It's fun to get challenges and see what I can do with them.
Here are a few of my recent images

I've been taking a lot. I think I'll do some mini books with both my Picture Spring and Picture Summer photos. it will be fun to see how not only the seasons change;but, to see if my style and technique change, too.

Visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame

2010-07-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

This post is inspired by one of my BPS classmates, April. Also, my Fiskateer friend Marianne. Both are serious NASCAR fans. They have not yet visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I, though not a real NASCAR fan, have. The HOF is great! Must be even more special if you are a fan.

I will tell you a bit about our experience. Now, the weeks before we went to Charlotte, Cal started watching some NASCAR events on TV and I looked in. I memorized a few drivers names like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Jimmie Johnson just so I was a little in the “know”.

We did not attend the ceremonies the morning of opening day in an attempt to miss the crowds. Not sure how crowded it actually was that morning because when we arrived about two there was only a modest crowd which thinned down later in the afternoon. For us, it made the visit more enjoyable as we do not like crowds. We only saw 1 or 2 drivers and I cannot remember who – sorry fans!

The building in downtown Charlotte is gorgeous! Lots of glass in front. A square in front out to the street with a complex to the right with a restaurant that has suitable NASCAR themed décor. It’s a Buffalo Wild Wings chain. I imagine it’s good for folks to know there is predictable food. We had a good lunch there after our visit to the building. The building itself does have a café.

I used my I-phone for the photos you can see on the LO below. I wish I’d brought my Canon but in situations where I’m not sure of how easy it will be to rest I avoid the heavy stuff.

We walked right in to the HOF on arrival and saw lots of happy faces. We were directed to get our photo taken and have a commemorative pic of us against a raceway background of a stand full of cheering fans that we picked up at the end of our visit. Next, down to the theater level where we got our little card (looked like a credit card) registered in a machine that we typed in our i.d. We chose a NASCAR driver as our tour host. The fun part of this is that when you put your card in the slot at the interactive exhibits your host will discuss what you are seeing or what you can do at the site. Makes it personal in a funny computerized way.

We then went into the theater with a large curved screen where we saw an inspiring brief film on the origins of NASCAR. From there we went back up to the car exhibit area. I believe it is referred to as “Glory Road”. That is really cool! The cars are arranged by chronological age around the periphery of the museum. They sit on an angled track that increases acutely to mimic the tilt of the various raceways. As you reach the specific angle of a specific raceway there is a small exhibit with a brief history of the track, and a sample piece of the actual track surface. The cars chosen for this display are of historic significance. It’s fun to see the change in design over the years and see the advertising logos on the cars and some interior features.

As we made our way up the ramp we reached a floor where large white wooden rocking chairs are thoughtfully placed. I’m not sure of the significance of the chairs. I did see that the top 25 eligible owners have guaranteed starting positions each week where the 25th spot is known as the “rocking chair” so that may be the reference.

The second floor features a lot of interactive exhibits with video and touch screens. There are race simulators which are popular. One station is a video screen pit stop where you try to referee any errors. I tried this one, I’m NOT good at spotting problems. An important part of this floor is a round hall with that features Hall of Fame inductees. There was a continuous loop film about the featured first five running on a screen at the top of the rooms wall. Cars are set around the room to symbolize the inductees. At the time of our visit, those remained under wraps, since the HOF induction ceremony had not yet happened.

The third floor covers NASCAR's past. The historical exhibits are displayed here. I liked this part best. There are trophies, uniforms, race paraphernalia like timers, items like a box of cereal with a driver on it, and personal items that belonged to the historic figures of NASCAR or their families. One of my favorite parts of this was reading the letters, especially the ones that put the drivers on notice for their breaking the rules. Many exhibits detail how cars were checked for cheating and showed the various ways that cheating has been done. Very suitable that Junior Johnson’s homemade still features so perfectly in this environment.

When we returned to the first floor we visited the gift shop which had an impressive array of merchandise. I got a cute commemorative t-shirt. I’m sure fans would find just the right memento there.

Opening day had a lot of events to keep folk entertained. There were commemorative items, folks on stilts doing balloon tricks and some great bands. I enjoyed seeing Bomshel. Alas, the sound system did not work well for them. The crowd at that point was small so we got in close. However, we did not stay for the entire show, as the sound quality was lacking.

All in all, I, as a non-NASCAR fan was delighted with the museum and would encourage anyone, NASCAR fan or no, to visit when in Charlotte, NC.

Scrapbooking is fun! Time for photos.

2010-06-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Ms. Jackie found a fun day to take classes at Scrapbook Territory. Had a great time though the chairs were hard and it was a long day. The projects were colorful and lovely. I'm vary into colors right now, so perfect! I did manage to catch the train and enjoyed my trip to Berkeley. Besides less stress on my neck by avoiding driving, it was great to be able to get something to eat while travelling. Got another photo of my LO for the Paperclipping Festival without the long afternoon shadows on it.

I'm looking forward to my BPS photography class Picture Summer! It's nice to be challenged to take pictures. I have not taken many recently.

Tomorrow should be fun. We are planning a trip to the zoo to see the new baby Sumatran tiger. Hope to take some photos there. It's nice and shady and spots to rest so should be relaxing. It is supposed to be very HOT tomorrow. Summer is definitely here.

Am finally starting to learn to "relax". Leaving work, accepting life's changes, accepting limitations have all been major adjustments. I'm enjoying my hobbies, feeling less frustrated with the slow pace of things and focusing on the good things. Finally, a summer I can relish!

Paperclipping Festival Project

2010-06-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.paperclipping.com/2009/03/04/paperclipping-94-embellishment-crescendo/
"What is the hyperlink and what is the Festival Project?" you may ask.
Noell Hyman has ask those of us who are Paperclipping members to post a LO and discuss how the design principles from an episode of Paperclipping have helped us construct our page.
I used Noell's class on embellishment crescendo (Paperclipping 94) heavily in this LO. I often scraplift but never with the same products as the original LO. I'm not always sure how to cluster my embellishments that are never the same type or size as the original LO that I'm using as the sketch for my project.
I'm taking a BPS class by Nic Howard at Big Picture Scrapbooking where she encourages us to cluster our embellishments. She does mention some design principles but these are not the main focus of her classes. Noell's classes, on the other hand, stress the design principles and really helped me to see how some embellishments could work on the LO I chose.
As usual, I scraplifted. This is lifted from the Canadian Scrapbooker site.
I used Nic Howard's lessons in inking and rolling edges. Used Donna Salazar's Diztresser tool for the edges on the papers behind my handmade embellishment - made from a blueberry label found on the web. However, I found Noell's embellishment crescendo class most helpful. I used the green and blue ribbons as the point of my triangle which ended in the large embellishment cluster at the right just under the photo of me with that first blueberry in my mouth. Maybe not the prettiest photo; but, this is MY story! Cal, my husband, does special things for me and loves to grow things. Blueberries are a favorite food. The journalling reads "Cal planted this bush for me and made sure I picked and ate the 1st one." I wondered about the ambiguity of the word "one" at the end of the sentence but hoped my title "The Blueberry" made it clear!
I added a blue stickles swirl and one of the cork flowers to help lead one's eye to the right. The stickles were added to a swirl I drew in pencil and then colored white so the blue color would show up well on the green. Noell has a free class episode on using stickles here: http://www.paperclipping.com/2008/04/14/paperclipping-39-stickles-experiment/
The paper already had a floral cluster in that area that I used as a base for my large embellishment. This was not the only design principle I used from Noell. The LO at Canadian Scrapbooker did not discuss using ribbon under the photos. I used that element not only as a line for my embellishment crescendo, staggering in the blue ribbon a little to lead the eye. I also made sure the ribbon was there as a strong anchoring line. Anchoring lines and anchoring elements are taught in a few episodes of paperclipping.
Noell and other designers often teach about the rule of threes. I did use that principle in my LO, too.
I had fun doing this project and hope it will encourage a few scrapbookers to sign up for Noell's tutorials. They are worth the money. Noell also offers a lot of free products. Paperclipping Live on Tuesday evenings at 6pm MST, a blog, newsletter, and the Paperclipping Roundtable and The Digi Show - two free podcasts avaiable on i-tunes or at the Paperclipping website.
Thanks for checking out my blog!
P.S. - I wanted to get this up so the photo taken this evening. Will try to get a better photo of the LO without the shadows!
Papers, cameos, buttons, golden tag - My Little Black Dress kit club
Flowers - my stash, some Prima
Cork Flowers - Scarlet Lime June kit
Letters - Ameican Crafts from my stash
Ribbon - Down to Details monthly ribbon club (with thanks to Teresa Collins who gave this as a prize at Scrapbook Royalty)

New projects and thoughts...

2010-06-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

I've been working on an art journal class by Donna Salazar over at My Creative Classroom. Class is done. I'm not. Still have 4 pages and a cover to create. Slow nd steady does win the race.
My Scarlet Lime kit arrives as I considered a masculine page with flowers for my Nic Howard class at BPS. Works well for this grad LO.
I am sore and tired today after doing too much yesterday. I've got to get the pace of life a little better! Ha, ha! As if anyone could!
On top of everything I've now got braces. Thank goodness only on bottom teeth in the front. Lets me chew but still not comfortable. It will be so nice when the year has passed! I hate that extra time to thread the floss and fuss around the braces. That and the Obagi routine I've started are really eating into my day! Lots of steps! I'm sure I'll like the results. I have no problem with getting, or even looking older. I just want things to happen later. I also want to keep my teeth. They get more crowded as one ages and with braces they'll be easier to clean - eventually! So, should keep my own teeth all my life. Knock on wood - no bone diseases.
Superficial of me, I guess. My big challenges on this journey are diet and exercise. Diet so easily sabotaged by Cal's baking and exercise is becoming a routine though I must get it into more days.
Then again, I do like to create my little art projects and the dining room and crafts rooms remain a mess! I started this little essay out with a comment about having a less frenetic life, didn't I? I guess it is not to be. I know that the neck problem (cervical radiculopathy) does limit how fast I can get things done. Time on the computer does too. Unfortunately, this chair is one of the most comfortable for me in our house!
Enough diary musings! Good nite blog readers.

Donna Downey Inspired Artist 2010

2010-06-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

Inspired 2010 Slideshow from Paolo Liloc on Vimeo.

Scrapbooking and the non-techno Blueberry

2010-06-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

Had fun using some of the techniques learned in my scrapbook classes on the NZ page. Cal planted a blueberry plant for me and the very first berry has been properly enjoyed!

Nic Howard's Class at BPS/ Donna Salazar's Class at MCC

2010-06-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Big Picture Scrapbooking as I know I've mentioned many times in the past. Here are a couple of LO's I've done for a class with Nic Howard. I love how I've had to mix a lot of pattern and texture in this class. Getting messy with art is one of my favorite things!

I love Donna Salzar's artsy techniques and am taking her class at My Creative Classroom. I'm WAY behind on both of these classes but have learned a lot. Donna definitely has one get MESSY! It's fun!

Here's what I've done so far in that class.

Photo Essay of our trip to the Carolinas

2010-05-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

It was a great trip. Some of these photos are from the internet because I did not remember to take a photo myself or it was not a photo I could obtain. Like any good scrapbooker, I found substitutes for the things I wanted to remember but had neglected to photodocument myself. The following photos are not my own: Biltmore House, Folk Art Center, Broom, Mussels at Lulu's (delicious I must say!), Norah Jones, Porgy and Bess, (both absolutely wonderful performances!), Lowe's motor speedway pics, Sleepy Poet's Antiques and floor plan of the Concord Mills Mall.

The sites we saw included the Biltmore House and Gardens, the Folk Art Center of North Carolina featuring folk art of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Lulu's Restaurant - Charlotte,

opening of the Nascar Hall of Fame, Bombshel, the Carolina Raptor Center, the Latta Plantation, Norah Jones, Porgy and Bess, Donna Downey's Inspired Art, Cal visited and got to ride (in a van) around Lowe's Motor Speedway, the Columbia South Carolina Zoo, Sleepy Poets Antique Mall and the Concord Mills outlet shopping center mall. Whew! A lot for even 8 days. Plus that cross country flight. My arm was rather sore and useless after such a long trip, more than usual. Nonetheless, it was FUN!

Les Fleurs et Les Amis

2010-05-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I do love to take photos of flowers. The Biltmore was a perfect place to visit to get lots of floral portraits. While they do not allow photos inside they do sell some nice pictures of the intteriors and do take a picture of visitors inside so I have a lot for my scrapbook or albums!