July Scrapbook Pages

Where did the rest of summer go? I can’t believe the first 2 kids started school this morning. Usually I’m ready for them to go back to school, but not this year.

  credits: by Michelle Godin at The-LilyPad.com: Oh My Stars, Red White Blue Alpha, Star-Spangled & Splattered, Keep Calm and Splatter On, Sew Artsy: Just the Stitches; Bent Frames by Kristy Schmidt; Messy Date Stamps by Michelle Coleman
font: Ticket Capitals Impressed

  credits: by Michelle Godin at The-LilyPad.com: Oh My Stars, Red White Blue Alpha, Star-Spangled & Splattered, Keep Calm and Splatter On, Sew Artsy: Just the Stitches; Bent Frames by Kristy Schmidt; Messy Date Stamps by Michelle Coleman
font: Ticket Capitals Impressed

  journaling: I’ve been watching Doctor Who since middle school in the 1980s, and an avid follower ever since. I don’t always have access to the newest episodes, but I keep up as I can. There’s always something unusual, sometimes creepy, and typically funny. There’s no one quite like The Doctor. Of the 12 Doctors, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, David Tennant and Matt Smith have been my favorites, but I’ve enjoyed them all through the years.
credits: by Tangie Baxter at scrapbookgraphics.com: Love the Doctor; Fun with Paper Pieces No. 1 by Fizzy Pop (retired); font: custom font by Darcy Baldwin

For the speed scrap July 20 at TLP. I did this page in an hour. OK, after I spent about 30 minutes picking through the folders trying to figure out what to use to scrap with ;) I usually spend lots of time fussing with stuff, moving it around, trying different elements, obsessing over journaling, etc.  credits: TLP Summer Stories, Amy Martin- A Bit More Mess 2, Darcy Baldwin- Stick It Dates; font: AJF Tweedle Dee, CK Journaling Condensed

So I totally screwed up these cute pictures of Sarah when I took them because I forgot to check what mode my camera was in before snapping away. Manual indoor settings for fluorescent lights do not work well in bright outdoor sun. Lightroom to the rescue! I started playing with some presets I usually hardly look at, and I found one that highlights the greens. Combined with the B&W settings it looks amazing, I think! Sarah wanted help getting into the tree and hanging upside down because she wanted to be a sloth for a few minutes. What a crazy kid! credits: at The-LilyPad.com: Michelle Godin- Teeny Tiny Alphas, Amber Clegg- Date It, from May 2012 BYOC collection: Jenn Barrette- Naturally Organic Papers and Elements, Captivated Visions- Everyone Has A Story Papers and Elements
font: CK Journaling Condensed

 
journaling: Not much tops free cold drinks from Starbucks on a hot summer day, except running into a good friend unexpectedly at the same time.
credits: at The-LilyPad.com: Fresh by Sahlin Studios and One Little Bird, July '12 template freebie by Amy Martin; font: Old Newspaper Types

I have had sets of pictures for years of the girls embellishing the driveway, sidewalk, front porch, back porch… practically any pavement they could find around our house… with the wonderful summer concoction called sidewalk chalk. I never could find the right supplies to scrap them with though. I wanted concrete and I wanted chalk drawings- just like in the photos. I finally bribed my good friend and awesome digi-designer, Kim Jensen, into making me just what I wanted by sending her high-res photos of the various types of concrete and pavements around our house, our sticks of chalk and even a few of my photos for inspiration. It worked! She made me the perfect things to finally scrap these pictures with- thanks, Kim!! You can find Concretely Grounded and Chalk Artist in her shop at The-LilyPad.

  credits: by Kim Jensen at The-LilyPad.com: Concretely Grounded, Chalk Artist; Paperworn Art Styles by Tangie Baxter at scrapbookgraphics; photo frames by Yin Designs; font: custom font by Darcy Baldwin

I think the Concretely Grounded papers will show up in lots of different pages eventually. One of my favorites is this one with the tire tread marks along the edge. It was perfect for recording the afternoon Bryce spent at the driving range he did at the end of his week of driving school this summer.    journaling: Part of the driving school that Bryce attended this summer was going to their driving range on a Sunday afternoon. He learned how to get out a skid, practiced his general driving and parking skills, and learned a bit of the art of driving a manual transmission. He did well at them all.
credits: at The-LilyPad.com: by Kim Jensen- Concretely Grounded, Rubdown {Eclectic}, Chalk Alpha - Black, Date It! Plastic Beads, Lauren Grier- Stripe Experiment, Kate Hadfield- Pole Position, TDC Collab- You Make Me Smile (template by Amy Martin); transparent glass style found on web
font: Rockwell Extra Bold, Segoe Print

I’m very excited to have a guest CT spot with Crystal Livesay during the month of August. I was able to get started during the last week of July, and I jumped right in :)

journaling: Brenna was surprised one July afternoon when I brought home a pair of new tennis shoes for her. Of course they weren’t just any shoes, they were purple and metallic pink Converse. I thought they might be a size too big, but when I find the shoes someone asks for on clearance they just have to come home. It turned out that they were the perfect size too. Brenna loves them!
credits: Studio Mix 27 - Sublime Spirit and Sublime Spirit Extras by The Studio Girls at scrapbookgraphics.com; See The World Templates by Crystal Livesay at DesignHouseDigital; font: Ticket Capitals Impressed, custom font by Darcy Baldwin

 

The new addition to our family last weekend. Journaling: We've been looking at cars off and on for several years since our Corolla and Sienna were starting to get up in miles and years. Finally with Bryce getting his driver's permit this summer it was time to seriously consider replacing or adding to the vehicle fleet. After deciding to focus on a replacement more for the passenger vehicle than the van, we settled on the Toyota RAV4. We purchased a 2010 ‘new to us’ Silver RAV. I love the way it drives as it's very similar to my beloved Sienna. It’s not as roomy as we are used to in the passenger area, but has more cargo space. I hope it helps ease the gas bill too.
credits: Notable Quotables Collab by Design House Digital designers; Hands Across the Gulf Templates by Crystal Livesay at Design House Digitals
font: FO Giggles, custom font by Darcy Baldwin

July 4th 2010 Festivities

All day Sarah had been asking when we were going to see the fireworks. We planned to go up to the Air Force Academy to enjoy the symphony and fireworks show, but as the time to leave got closer severe thunderstorm warnings dominated the news shows. The bad weather warnings didn’t stop the neighbors all around us from celebrating with displays of their own. We finally found some information that the fireworks show was still supposed to go on as planned, so we got in the van and drove north to the AFA. It had obviously rained hard before we got there, but we could hear the AFA band playing and people were patiently waiting for the fireworks still. We were able to enjoy about 20 minutes of music in front of the band shell, and then they began the fireworks display 15 minutes early because another storm cell was headed our way. The light rain didn’t dampen anyone’s patriotic spirit as the colorful explosions lit up the sky along with bolts of lightning. Once the show was done we walked back to our van as quickly as we could because the rain was increasing to a downpour. It was definitely a memorable July 4th celebration.

 
credits: Happy USA Album and Kit by Shabby Miss Jenn; font: LD Old Glory

 
Journaling: It was probably the most interesting fireworks show we had ever seen- mostly because we were standing in the rain and watching God contribute to the display with thunder and lightning that silhouetted the mountain skyline behind the Air Force Academy  athletic fields.
credits: Happy USA Album and Kit by Shabby Miss Jenn; fonts: Snowshoe

what we’ve been up to the last couple of weeks

I’ve been meaning to get my blog updated for the last couple of weeks and just haven’t gotten to it. We’ve been mostly doing the ‘usual’ stuff for this summer- transporting girls back and forth to dance classes, trying to keep up with the grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up. The kids run around the block to all of their different friends’ houses when we are at home. I took them to see the Hannah Montana movie at the second-run theater on Tuesday last week. Sarah is not my favorite company at movies. Once she was done eating her popcorn she was ready to go, and that was about the time the previews ended and the movie finally started. For the next two hours I had to keep telling her to sit down and be quiet and no, she couldn’t go to the bathroom (she uses it as something to do when she is bored). Maybe if we had chosen to see ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ instead she would be have been better entertained. If the kids aren’t outside with their friends they are wanting to be on one of the computers or the Wii. Sarah has discovered the lure of the Wii and wants to play too now. She is improving at bowling, getting spares every once in a while., but most other games are still too hard for her though she doesn’t seem to care. I have to remind the older kids that it doesn’t matter how badly she does and to just let her try to do it by herself. Bryce has a really hard time with that as he can’t stand watching other people mess up LOL Mark is out hiking up and down Barr trail several times a week.

I’ve spent a lot of time designing, and most of that work I can’t show off yet since it is either unfinished or part of team collabs that aren’t ready for release. Here’s the main thing I worked on. I’ve been wanting to make a kit to go with the blue background with the stars all over it- that is part of the WWII memorial wall behind the reflecting pool at the monument. I’m quite happy with how the paper that has the Declaration of Independence on it came out, made from a souvenir reproduction I picked up on our vacation last year.

http://www.scrapdish.com/store/product.php?productid=3842&cat=0&page=1

and I did a few layouts somewhere in all of that above!

journaling: Kristen hosted her July 4th potluck again this year. It’s something we all look forward to- getting together to celebrate the 4th, eat lots of good food and enjoy company with friends we might not have seen in a while.
credits: Boom! Mini Kit by Holly McCaig at 2peasinabucket.com; Layered Up In You Scallops by Lauren Grier at SweetShoppeDesigns; fonts: Dirty Ego, CK Becky

journaling:   The military bases in town invited the public to their July 4th celebrations this year as the city had decided there was not enough money in the budget to hold the traditional celebration in Memorial Park. The Air Force Academy was planning to hold their party on the 4th, but as the weather was predicted to be rainy that evening we chose to attend the one held at Fort Carson on July 3. The Colorado Springs Philharmonic played, fireworks were exploded and all of the usual festival entertainments were present- it was just a different location. To me it doesn’t really matter the exact date or location, but the spirit in which you celebrate the event.
credits: from scrapbookgraphics.com: Template by Jen Caputo from Impressions of Mother Earth; Nightfall (blue paper), Mystery (blue frame wrap), and Blaze by Flergs; Dark Papers by ON Designs; Newsworthy Alpha by Birgit Kerr; Messy Glitter Sprays (retired) by Micheline Martin; gold stars from Stars & Stripes by Melinda Staley at scrapdish.com; flag from Freedom Trinkets by Shabby Miss Jenn at shabbymissjenndesigns.com; fonts: Bookman Old Style

  credits: Day at the Zoo by Phuong at scrapboographics; Studio Play Day freebie template by Hillary Heidleberg at scrapbookgraphics; fonts: Cezanne, Typewriter

journaling: One of the kids’ favorite things to do when visiting Grandmama was to take Rusty for a walk around the block. It was a good way to wear him out and after three circuits of the block this afternoon he was ready for us to go home so he could take his afternoon nap!
credits: Poo-Chi by Jessica Bolton at funkyplaygrounddesigns.com; Stepping Stones Template by Melinda Staley at scrapdish.com (coming soon); Doggie Bag templates by Kristi Westling at InspirationLane.com; fonts: Arial Narrow

journaling: Things are just too quiet at Grandmama’s house now that you aren’t there, Rusty. We knew you for such a short time. I know there are good reasons for why it was best for you to go to a new home. I think it takes more strength to do what you know is right, even when you don’t like it much, than to just go on. Grandmama is keeping in touch with your new family and making sure that you are adapting well. Maybe we will even get to see you again, though you might not remember us. We will remember you though and cherish the memories of your excitement to see us whenever we came through the door.
credits: Poo-Chi by Jessica Bolton at funkyplaygrounddesigns.com
fonts: CK June Bug Louise

4th of July LO

credits: Americana by Dani Mogstad at SweetShoppeDesigns; LO template by Missy Strand for SSD Cookie Template challenge; fonts: TXT Abrasive and CK Becky

Technically this picture was taken today on the 5th of July, but we can pretend, right? ;)

Happy 4th of July!

oh my, time sure does slip by quickly these days. It's hard to believe that June is over already. We are looking towards our vacation that starts in a little over a week. We are headed to Chicago for a week, where I am looking forward immensely to hanging out with my bud Robin for a couple of days at CHA as well as meeting up with other digi gals I've known for years too. After we are done in Chicago we are heading to St. Louis and then Oklahoma to visit Dale and my grandparents for a few days before heading home. It will be a quick week then to get the kids ready to start school the first week of August, and just like that summer will be over for us.

The twins started their summer dance class two weeks ago. They are taking the Petite Tap Prep class again this summer and will be trying out for the Petite Tap ensemble group after the summer class is over.

It seems like I don't get nearly as much done these days, but here are a couple of things I finished up this week.
An envelope travel album to take on vacation with us so that I have a place to store all of the miscellaneous memborabilia I inevitably accumulate on a trip:

credits: Travel Envelope Album templates by Eva Blokker at Scrapartist.com; Down With Daisies by Carrie Stephens at PrimaHybrid.com
paper credits: Reverie paper (#602246) from the Caliope Collection, Elysee ribbon (#519520) and flower (#120023) by Prima, Marketing, Inc.; Textured Trio ribbon by Michaels; letter stickers by Creative Memories

If you want to see some of the inside pages, you can check out the album in my gallery.

and a couple of LOs with new kits by Chere Kaye that came out at the beginning of the week:

journaling: Sarah, we had such a busy day this day in Cripple Creek and you were just a doll the whole day- having fun and showing off your sweet smile to everyone you met.
credits: Girly Denim by Gina Miller and Chere Kaye; fonts: CK Kiddo and CK Neat Print

credits: Ka-Boom by Chere Kaye and Marcie Reckinger at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com; fonts: CK Becky

and last night I put together this layout with photos from one of last year's July 4th celebrations that we attended down in Pueblo at their Riverwalk park:

journaling: It was a good old-fashioned family party at the Pueblo Riverwalk on June 30, 2007. The lawn and walkways were crowded with people enjoying the oldies, but goodies, music and each other’s company. The kids thought we were just a bit silly singing along to the songs. Sarah entertained herself by pushing the stroller around in circles within the little space we had staked out for ourselves. We were a little too close to the river for comfort and had to constantly remind them to stay away from the edge so they wouldn’t fall in. We had a spectacular view of the fireworks when they went off finally though as we were sitting right in front of them.
credits: American by Redju; Doodled Acrylic Alpha by Amy Hutchinson; Templates with Attitude 14 by Tracy Blankenship at Scrapdish.com; fonts: CK Becky and Century Gothic

We were planning to head to Pueblo this evening for their beach party concert and fireworks, but it has been raining off and on since about 7- along with thunder and lightning- so we opted to stay home and save our fireworks outing for the one at Memorial Park tomorrow. The weather reports say tomorrow should be fine firework viewing.

I got to spend this afternoon with a good friend I haven't seen in a while and enjoyed that time a lot. We sit in the kitchen and do our crafty things together while the kids play together. As I was packing up my stuff to come home, I ran the little toe on my left foot into the corner of the tray she keeps the dog food and water bowls on- ouch! I'm not totally sure what I did to it, but it hurts like the dickens, is swelling up and has a rather large purple bruise on it for such a small appendage. Another foot annoyance, darn it. Once again, I've done this before and know there is nothing to do but wait it out. It's not as bad as the times I know I fractured it, so hopefully it is just a bad bruise and will heal quickly. I don't think I will be wearing shoes with toes for a few days :P

Oh, and my 20th High School reunion is coming up August 1st. I won't be able to make it again (read that first paragragh up top), so I volunteered to help put together a section for the DVD they are planning to put together to send out to people after the reunion. I will be working on the section with current photographs of my classmates and their families along with info on what they are doing. I'll probably regret the time commitment eventually, but I am looking forward to peeking a tiny bit into everyone's lives and seeing where they are now. I find it amazing how I'm not surprised by the career choices some make, while others are doing things I never would have imagined for them. I don't think anyone would have pegged me as a stay at home mom with 5 kids who did 'artsy-craftsy' things at a professional level, so I just might surprise a few of them too ;)
I got my first set of pictures from an old classmate via email last night and I've spent most of today coming up with some things to work with that will hopefully make the whole project go a bit more quickly when crunch time arrives. And that reminds me I need to go dig out my Dover books from the storage area before the girls head off to bed!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!