homecoming and the creative type

last week was homecoming and the high school here has lots more fun with it than my high school did, way back when! they have spirit contests, dress like a character day, pajama day, and powder puff football games. each class tries to get the most points and then they get bragging rights for the year. it seems like way more fun than what we did.

i also found another challenge blog that looks like fun. it's fairly new, and it's called the creative type.  the prompt was to use a quote as the background.  here's how i interpreted it:

the quote is by barbara sher, and it is:  "you don't need endless time and perfect conditions. do it now. do it today. do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating." this is especially helpful when i only have a small amount of time to do something, and need a little nudge to get going.

it's such a gorgeous fall day here that i need to go enjoy some of it! thanks for visiting:)

scrap challenges

there are some awesome challenge blogs that i like to visit. lately i have had both the inspiration and the time to participate in some of my favorites, and even try a couple of new ones.

one little word, or OLW, is fun because they pick a word, and you can interpret it however - there aren't any limitations on size or materials. the current word is change, and here's what i came up with:

i used the lyrics from "landslide" for my title.

this one is for a sketch challenge at SIStv.  Gretchen, one of the fashionistas, put up a sketch for inspiration, and i followed it pretty closely. i haven't ever really used sketches as a starting point, but some people say it's super helpful. so i gave it a whirl, using one of my all-time favorite photos:

the third challenge i did is a new one for me, it's a site called scrapping the music, and they choose a song for their prompt. this time the song is forever young by rod stewart. i thought this picture of my nephew Danny was perfect. i blurred my face on purpose to highlight him. the photo is from his first halloween, where we dressed him up as a smurf:

 

 

what challenge blogs do you like?

btw, i am loving live writer! you should try it!

feeling a little Martha-ish

i have some beautiful autumn joy sedums in my yard that were just begging to be showcased, so i obliged.  i put them in some old jars  and tied some ribbons around them. having a scrapbook stash comes in handy! it made me feel just a little Martha-ish.  

on a scale of 1-10, i'd say about a 4. what do you think? they are on my front porch on my old table.

i've been reading good things about windows live writer, a free download that you use to compose your blog posts.  so i have high hopes that i can now put my photos exactly where i want them without cutting and pasting.

i thought i'd show you some of the other cards and tags we made at my class last week, so here you go:

 

which one do you like best?

thanks for stopping by!

plenty to say

one of the reasons i was hesitant to start a blog is that i wasn't sure what i would write about. well, that really hasn't been a problem. so far, at least.

so i'm trying to decide whether i should tell you about the handmade cards and tags class i taught last week, the marathon crop and sweet tooth kit club, the marching band performance at the football game friday night, the pages i made this weekend, the fun and games going on with the fiskateers, or the softball game today. hmmm.

since i like to include photos with my posts, i'll choose the topics i have the best photos of. more than one topic per post? sure, why not?!

my class was at the senior center, and we had a good time. the ladies were all friendly and seemed to enjoy making everything. since i'm not teaching at the scrapbook store i have to plan carefully and double-check that i have everything we might need. there's no teacher's closet to check or store up front to get what i have forgotten. this time i forgot 3 small silver brads. it didn't make a huge difference in the project, but i noticed it. i need to channel my friend Shelly m. she is the most organized scrap teacher i know and i bet she would have remembered the small silver brads!

here's a peek at what we made:


i named this one "Connie's favorite card"


i really like this one.

my friends Shelly and Cindy have started a new venture, "sweet tooth scrapbooking". you can visit them here: http://www.sweettoothscrapbooking.com be sure to click on crop registrations to find all about the fantastic marathon crop coming in october. it will be 29 straight hours of scrapping - can you last that long??!!!

i have to include a couple pics from the marching band last friday night. the weather was so perfect and they sounded and looked amazing! their theme this year is "guitar hero". such great songs!

here's the drum line:


and, just because i like to take random photos, here's a random shot:


i've changed the comments so you can post without setting up an account, so talk to me!

happy mail day!

yesterday i got the SIStv august ATC swap back in the mail! they were all so fantastic, i am so happy! the theme was music. (ATCs are artist trading cards, and everyone that signs up for a certain swap makes an original artwork the size of a playing card. you make enough for each person to have one, and then send them all off to the host. once everyone has sent theirs in, you get a set back with one from each person.) Stacey was the host for this one, and she does a fantastic job!

i have an ATC holder that i put mine on so i can see them easily, they are great when you need a bit of inspiration. i got art from california, tennessee, illinois, and australia - how awesome is that?!

here's a pic of them all together:



and to make this my longest post ever, here they are individually so you can appreciate each one:
















can you guess which one i made?

the good, the bad, and the pages

last night i took tickets for the fresh-soph football game, and then helped out in the food stand. it was the first game for me this season, and i like being out in the fall weather and seeing people i haven't seen all summer. that was the good part.

the bad part came when one of the other team's players went down and didn't get back up on his own. eventually air care was called and everyone cleared the field so that the helicopter could land right about on the 30-yard line. i am really glad we have such a fast way to get to the hospital, i just wish we didn't need it. i hope that young man is okay.

i put together a couple of new pages, inspired by the september scarlet lime. as usual, it is fabulous and inspiring. i love the bg boxer line (it didn't come with the sl) and thought the colors were perfect for these pics, but it needed just a bit of gesso.



on this one i had fun with the title.


which one do you like best?

treasure hunting

yesterday i stopped in at one of my favorite places, the Habitat Restore. (they are usually located in cities that have Habitat for Humanity chapters, and they sell construction and building supplies.) it's fun because you never know what you're gonna find, and the money they make helps more people get affordable housing, so everybody's happy.

they had the most amazing built-in antique bookcases, in many pieces. it would be fabulous for somebody who had an old house AND the space, and since i only have one of those, i left them there. it didn't look like it had ever been painted, and was made out of gorgeous old pine boards.

so what did i find? they were having a one-cent sale! stuff inside the tent was all only one cent. so i found about a nickel's worth of treasures, my favorite so far being the little towel drying rack. my kitchen dates from about the 1950's or so, and it is the perfect vintage-y addition. here's a couple pics:




just totally perfect.

i also made a mini album for my etsy shop. i was inspired by the bird print that Shelly and i found last weekend at sister's garden. it's the one of the bird on the front. i used 4' x 6" file dividers for the "bones" and filled in with lots of pages that i created pretty edges on. here's a peek:






won't it be just perfect for a lil journal to carry around?

thanks for visiting!

scrappy weekend

so last weekend was full of scrap goodness. Kate, Becca, and i scrapped at my house til the wee hours - Becca was the last scrapper standing! (well, sitting, but last scrapper sitting just doesn't have the same ring to it.)

then on saturday morning Shelly M and i took a road trip to sisters garden. it was a fantastic fall day and we ooh-ed and aah-ed all through both houses. they have most every flavor of handmade soap imaginable, and i had a hard time deciding which one was my favorite. i decided on "fresh linen" and it smells so good i may not be able to use it!their displays of antiques, vintage, and ephemera are so striking and original. it's like taking your eyes to a feast, just absolutely wonderful.

Kate and Becca and i got together again saturday night and only scrapped for about 5 hours. we did a round robin with a layout, where you work on a page for 20 minutes and then pass it to the next person. we kept going around til the layout got back to the original person, and we ended up with a page that had everyone's touches on it. pretty cool. 20 minutes goes really fast too!

here's a page i did about the sisters garden road trip. since i didn't take my camera, i just used the bags, receipts, etc. i had fun with it.



thanks for stopping by!