Back to school page - 3rd grade

Found these prepunched starts in my stash and

that "flair" is from M's dollar stash

So easy when things are premade - however, keeping

them and hunting them down can be more annoying

than just punching them out.

 Tossed some ranger mists about and included

stamping on the page.

I'm trying to use more stamps since I have so many

and this one seemed perfect- and

I love the 3D look its having here.

Did some paper tearing and added some washi.

I have a lot of washi I need to use too and

for some reason I have a hard time getting on a page.

 Connor waiting for the bus to start a new school year.

Studio Calico, Ranger.

Walk to Taughannock Falls

And it was beautiful and fun hike! 

 Me and Connor.

 Christopher did this huge jenga thing a few days before

and it was still there when we returned.

 Christopher and Connor.

 Connor made a smaller jenga that was still there too

and you can see his brother's in the background.

 The beach was open, the water temp was the same as the 

weather temp. 71* way too nippy for me..

 But Connor was quite the fish.

We had a fun 2 days together. 

Got a slow start on NSD with the mojo

I didn't plan on NSD, it just happened.

I finished a gift album between laundry, vacuuming and

general cleaning and found I had some time

on my hands.

As I was looking through my download folder I

realized there were some pix that were NOT scrapped.

Oh the horror.

 I started out slow because I found that I didn't

have a whole lot of Easter paper leftover....so adjustments

needed to be made. 

And the paper was kind of little-kid-looking and

these guys are a bit older so...

more adjustments needed to be made.

I therefore sparingly used the kiddy papers and added

some old Jillybean Easter stuff I had stashed

and some die cuts and wa-la

A page.

Connor rounded up the eggs.

Paper piecing sort of

I love this Echo Park collection and I used quite a bit

so when I came across these pix 

that are totally perfect for them and because I didn't have enough.... 

 I used various strips of leftover papers and adhered them

on a 12x12 kraft paper and yeah covered it up totally

but I'm diggin' the result.

 Various embellishments - homemade and from 

the sticker sheet.

Went a little old school here.

Love it.

app

I used all the bits and pieces.

Really loved this line.

Love using all stuff I purchased without leftovers.

Connor picking apples - fun!

One last Halloween page (maybe)

Still hanging with Holli when this page evolved

and did add some touches when it

came home

like enamel and Nuvo dots.

 And those itty bitty hearts.

Aren't they adorable.

Which doesn't lend much to a "scary" page.

However, Pokemon ain't that scary.

 Well we do have some sort of "Freddy" there in the background.

Again, shopping at Holli's was fun and that candy

(which is the title) makes me want to open it up and eat it.

All in all it was a fun, productive day

and the mojo seems to be sortof returning.

Haven't scrapped since but sometimes a break is a good thing.
More K&Co.

Little bits and pieces scattered about

One of my favorite follows is Soaphouse Mama and I

love her style so every now and then (or really a lot often)

when I get stuck its fun to "lift" or incorporate 

someone else's style.

However, Ashli does a lot of white and soft colors-

I use wild papers still, but she has a way

of using bits and pieces on her pages that have no

theme or reason to be there except they're adorable, fun and

her words "unexpected."

And this page is that.

See that adorable bunny peeking out - he's just ridiculously cute.

And that bow - I have this cute punch.

I made that tag - and it was fun using those green hole punch

fixers because you can't just buy the few

that I needed to

fix some punched holes that are falling apart

on the pages in my latest travel album .

 Same with the bicycle - no reason for that to be there either

except I really like it.

I find myself wanting to use more stamps (I have a ton)

and do-dads - (more tons).

 I love those stars and dots sprinkled about and

some negative and positive punches.

Studio Calico, Dear Lizzy, Basic Grey, Tim Holtz, Stickos,
Paper Issues

Leftover transparency

I have a love/hate relationships with transparencies.

Love that they look so cool...

Hate that they're a pain to adhere......

Here I used the tiny attacher - which was brave of me

because letting staples shine on their own

is hard for me - for some reason I 

feel the need to cover them up.

Being the rebel I am decided to use them on the transparency

and let them be part of the embellishments.

Of course you'll have to look at the last photo to see them.

LOL. I didn't think of what I wanted to "chat" about until I

sat down and after I took the pix.

Isn't that always the way?

 The new Studio Calico kit paper is perfect

for this photo, I think it looks like tire treads.

I also liked the other side so I whacked it down for this page

so I'd have some leftovers.

And those Tim Holtz do-dads have been around

for a LONG long time.

Hardware and tires - win.

 See those staples now?

Three times to hold it down then layered

everything on top.

Those stars are perfect for Connor being at

the top of the heap.

Of course I had the title way before anything else.

It just worked. 

Old & New Studio Calico Mix

For a birthday page!

Connor turned 7 and omg. where did the time go.

Seriously.

Totally looks like he had a great birthday bash

and so glad he had a great time.

So the new Studio Calico kit came and how about that

delish number paper.

The cut aparts are a few kits ago and

I really do like the emoji ones - 

they have been alot of fun to try and incorporate

into pages.

I have been sort of successful.

I can roll with that.

I did purchase a new stamp at M's in the $1.50 bin

and even though I was thinking

"older" person sentiment - I decided to use it

here. Because he is getting awesome.

This page is pretty straightforward - not alot of tricks.

Every now and then I like to go "old" school.

Grandchildren growing up way too fast

 And this is just an example of one.

I was so glad we got to meet up with Connor

and hang out with him in the

great outdoors

with yummy outdoor fare - hotdogs, smores.

 Love the RSVP line from Basic Grey

that worked well with the boy line

I had from a few warehouse rounds ago.

Because of the busy paper - which I love

and used before, I used an oversized mat and 

a whacked down 4x6 photo.

I love the graphic-ness of this page

and the embellies were fun.

I had the "eat cake" sticker in a different place

which is why I watercolored the banner

to bring that color down.

And added a few "sevens" just to let everyone

know what the one year older 

added up to.

Going toward the boyside

 When you have boys you gotta

roll with some

masculine looking papers

 and don't Basic Grey just fit the bill.

Love that little cluster using a semi-new sissix die set.

I used it a lot in my mixed media road journal.

 Nothing real tricky going on - I did get

carried away and did some messy stitching around the edges.

And love those wooden hearts.

Sweet little photo that doesn't really

have any journaling to go with it so I went

with this title because I loved the

print font even though it states the obvious.

Birds of a feather

I had to highlight this photo as its two grandkids

in 2 different states wearing similar

shirts on back to school day.

How fun is that.

 A new Studio Calico kit fit the bill for a title

I already had picked out - I know!!!!

Love the bird and star transparencies and I wanted

them to have dimension so I used Zots

that you can see but I think it looks cool.

 Loooovvvveee the paper too so I didn't mess

with it too much - added a circle

and then put everything around it.

 It's sort of a different look for me. 

I love it.

And of course how adorable are them two.

ALL Studio Calico except for the thread & LillyBee alphas.

Handwritten titles - go for it

I had a lack of mojo yesterday and was frustrated.

I forgot all about this page as I try to add them to my album immediately.

When I was adding another page to the album I found this one.

Geez. Talk about oldheimers. 

Love this photo of Connor and Christopher and wanted to make it special.

It was also Christopher's birthday on the 30th and wasn't I surprised.

Even after I had been warned by my calendar notifications for a few days in advance.

Sigh. 

Heavy Sigh.

Love the Studio Calico and bits and pieces of Basic Grey

and Pink Paislee AND Simple Stories.

I wanted the title to be simple so I handwrote their names and

called it a day.

I have a love/hate relationship with my handwriting.

When its not important - my writing rocks (say that 3 times fast)

and when I put it on a page - my writing stinks.

I decided to roll with it anyway.

Whenever I find handwriting from my ancestors, the first thing I do is swoon.

And then I felt so thrilled to have that connection.

Back in the snail mail day, I couldn't wait to get mail from family

and friends and I would always recognize their handwriting

without looking at the return address.

Always and it never failed to thrill.

NOT ONCE, NO NEVER have I ever said 

OMG...their handwriting stinks.

It never occurred to me. 

Because to me it was beautiful. 

So I decided to throw caution to the wind and hope somewhere

down the line, my kids will recognize my writing and be 

thrilled too. Not only that it totally worked on this page.

Therefore, in addition to handwriting your journaling as much as you can,

-----go for the title as well.