There's a story to this page

If you're an ancestry buff you can relate.

Out of the blue a descendant of a great great grandparent

was apparently left off my tree and a DNA

match brought this omission to a cousin of mine.

He was baffled.

As I was.

And then had a hand's on deck with the 

other family historians or anyone in the family

that actually remembered him.

But, at some point I said hmmm....because I remembered

Charles and his family would come to the family

reunions (held around father's day) and

I remember as kid visiting Uncle Charles in NJ.

Well....Charles was not on my tree, not a footnote not even a question mark.

In my defense, he was not well-known amongst the 

secret keepers. Not that he was a secret, but

he never appears in any of the federal census showing

Nils & Mathilda as parents.

However, when I was invited to the "whistleblowers" tree

I noted that she had a 1905 NJ State Census that

was proof Charles was the first born in the family.

Later there are census when he was older and in my defense

those census were not available when I was on ancestry like

8-9 years ago and I haven't checked since.

Oh it's not for lack of ancestry trying.

Even though I'm not a paying member I can still acess my tree

and they tease me by keeping me updated on all the 

flapping leaves on my tree, to entice me back.

Well, I caved and joined because now my tree needed updating 

and while I was at it, I took care of the 99 waving leaves.

Very interesting, although I do find the ancestry

process somewhat cumbersome. 

But alas, my tree was up-to-date for about 30 minutes. 

LOL.

So I made this page that'll eventually get into the "album" or

actually just have an album of its own, but the other

2-3 albums go back 12 generations on some - although

something happened to my tree that I neglected and some/a lot

of what I had in there is gone.

Anyway I can't wait to do more, because alas, I have more info.

Sigh.

Tim Holtz fussy cut papers collage papers and distressed them and a tag, stamping, there

is journaling on the front and back, and Prima.

B&W photo in sequence

Again.

Especially with the sequence.

I was poking around in some of my older photo folders

(say that 3 times fast)

and found this gem which I thought I 

scrapped.

But I couldn't find a page so even if I did scrap it before,

who cares. No rules.

 I scrapped this page at Holli's as well, and

shock upon shock, I actually completed 2 pages and she finished

her baby album she was doing.
Who rocked the scrappin'!
Us!

 She also had that bunny stamp - which she let me

stamp a page full of bunnies for later use.

Is he not adorable?

You'll be seeing a lot of him too.

I also borrowed some flowers. 

Oh and that gold doily came from Holli's place too.

Come to think of it I really didn't supply much.

I love shopping at Holli's place - LOL!!! She has tons

of really cool stuff.

Thanks Holli for the cool stuff and ideas!!!

Love how this turned out and I want points for working

in that pink house.

Studio Calico, prima, Michael's $1.50 bin.

Yellow and pink - so pretty together

This Studio Calico paper is so pretty and girly

and I actually had a b&w photo ready to go for it

until I looked closely at those itty bitty flowers and found

some pink in there.

 So I switched it up for this girly photo of Annie.

I did print them in "sequence" however, when they printed out

the blue line was cut off in that first photo so it looked

like she lost an eyeball so I shifted them around so that the blue

gives an edge to the photo.

 I have a really OLD stash of prima flowers that has

really been whittled down over the past years

so I had to really dig to find these.

(I'm trying to stash bust so I really didn't want to buy more)

And honestly they really worked out lovely.

Out of the $1.50 bin at M's were those beautiful pearls that

are finding their way onto more pages.

 And doilies - don't they make you swoon.

I was hunting down photos when I came across this one

which is older because Annie girl just turned 5.

I know. Time flies.

I'm pretty sure I did this before but it didn't 

ring a bell so I did it again.

No rules about that in scrapbooking.

I didn't add any mists because I really just love

this look as is. Old School.

I'm loving sequence photos at the moment

so of course they'll be used ad nauseam.
I did frame the entire page with regular stitching.

I think it came out darling.

And girly.

Inspiration can change

It all started with this gorgeous paper from Studio Calico

and those two bows.

Until a photo came my way.

 It's okay to kick off from an inspiration piece and

let things go and make changes that are even better than the original.

I loved those two bows on the green strip but

they were too much and I wanted to bring out the yellow in the photo.

I also wanted it to be a bit girly so break out the flowers.
I haven't done real flowers in like forever.

I am also trying the tissue paper backing that Missy Whidden

loves to do and it does make it a bit airy and girly too.

 I was also having issues because there's a bit of

blue-green in the photo that I was originally gonna roll with

 but I loved this paper so I decided no one will notice.

So.....don't notice. LOL.

I also thought about using some mixed media

but.....I just couldn't do it.
I know!!!!

I love all the "white space" that makes you concentrate on the photo

which is totally adorable Annie.

Some prima, Maggie Holmes, Heidi Swapp and EK success.

Creating a heritage album

My hubby recently came into some rather interesting

and cool heritage photos and documents

which of course, put me over the moon.

I adore heritage, ancestry, anything that reeks of the past.

 My first step was to photograph everything including the back of photos
where some forethinking ancestor
included pertinent information that would be unavailable now
since those that would know - aren't around to tell anymore.
I wasn't even upset if they used pencil or pen
or wrote hard enough to mess with the photo -
you have to have your priorities straight
and information is #1.
 My hubby zeroed in on that leather wallet that is
in remarkable condition considering
and it was his idea to put it in a shadowbox
and is now hanging on our wall right
next to the grandfather clock his father built.

How cool is that.

There is also documents that stood the test of time
which begs the question do we really need
all the fancy stuff we have now.
FYI....
I do know that ink does fade so archival ink is important.

 A last will and testament by his grandmother.
If you've ever had any kind of legal thing going on
the lawyers usually encase your documents
in a fancy envelope document holder.
As they should - they charge enough right.

Tucked inside was a copy of the actual document
with signatures and everything AND
and onionskin copy.
Remember that from your typing days???

There wasalos a court document
showing that hubby's grandfather's estate had been
duly administered.

The above documents are now encased in 8.5x11

page protectors and I'm just planning to let them speak for themselves
and not do anything tricky like pocket pages - because
A. why hide them and,
B. they fall out and drive me crazy.

 Because several large photos came encased in those photography photo frames
it blew the 8.5x11 album idea I had going on. I decided that 12x12 would be the way to go
because I really don't want to mess with these beautiful photos
and I have scrapped copies of them in other albums.
 And honestly

how much more can you do to make them stunning.

I also came to the conclusion that using the original photos

on the scrapbook page was the way to go

instead of using a copy and tossing the originals in a box

to get all mussed up.

I know that you don't have to use "heritage" papers but I 

personally think it lends to the feel of the photos so 

I picked up this line from HL - Paper Studio.

I also needed to stock up on what I consider "heritagey" embellishments

as I haven't done heritage in years so I was basically

starting again. I also want it to be cohesive since there

really won't be any type of order to it.

This is going to be what I call a "working" album.

I am in the process of scouring ancestry.com for information on the Murphy

family and that means I expect to get stories and/or interesting facts

and memories and have the family members do the 

remembering and writing.

Of course they can always write on the back.

This first page is the mother-in-laws at my hubby's parent's wedding.

I used some gesso to offset some of the busy

and threw down the doily, prima and QK label that

has their names on it.

Aren't they gorgeous and stunning.

We so don't get glammed up like that anymore.

Sad.

I do have a question (and its a long one LOL)

- as I've made some heritage pages for Tom'sfamily in the past - 

they are in albums that are shall we say

none-themed. 

Should I plow through all the albums and find those

and add them into the album or keep them were they are.

And when I say in the past,

 I mean when I first started and Bless my heart

some are really ugly. 

Which would screw up the cohesive OR if I

need those photos - just do them again.

What say you?

Sneaky peek of my take on the color challenge!

Click on the link at Off the Rails Scrappbooking and check it out.

Love the pallette.

After a lot of contemplation, I have decided to step down from

my position on the OTR Design Team.

OTR is a wonderful place for inspiration and the designers

I worked with are phenomenal.

I will continue to hang out with them and look forward to seeing their projects.

The splatter of mist that's sort of covered up

Which is just the opposite of the post from yesterday.

You can do it -- no splats...

Still working through the Lawn Fawn supplies when a bottle of 

Mr. Huey arrived - and had to be tried.

You can kind of see it you look really really hard.

Its called Sunset.

And once splattered I thought it looked

well stupid.

Therefore it need to be covered up as best as could be.

And that explains the design.

Because I was quite liberal with the splats.

Took a stroll through M's and was drawn to the kraft jar (Recollections).

With Avacado arts bugs flying inside.

Then picked up the Webster Pages arrows.

Swoon.

And then there you have Annie & Owen rearranging the dirt.

Love it.

Less is sometimes More

As in the little black dress sometimes a page is created

with just the pearls as an accent.

I started this page and was way over thinking it. I had

lots of stuff going on.

I wanted to use the background paper just as it is because it 

makes the photo pop.

Or the photo makes the paper pop.

Either way its a win.

Since I used part of the paper I whacked it down to 8.5x11.

Then I started packing on the stuff.

And it made me crazy.

I let it sit for a day and then approached it once again

with a different attitude.

I swished everything off and put most of it away and began again.

In wanting mostly the photo to shine and then the paper

because the sayings on it worked perfect with the photo.

I decided to keep the embellishments to a minimum

and I love it so much better.

K& Company which is probably older than I think 

with some old Basic Grey paper and new negative slide,

 prima, Creative Imaginations and Authentique.

With some new Studio Calico and twine.

Watercolor and enamel paints oh my

Some more instagram love going on and its a fun photo of Amelia. I used bits and pieces of left over papers for this and love and the transparency was a fun addition. I started the base with flinging paint around - 3 colors; grey, pink & reddish mist. I forgot to take a photo of it mostly because it was taking FOREVER to dry and I was getting annoyed. LOL.

Most of the paint has been covered up.

 What I wanted to point out was the golden color - I took the idea from Ashli (SoaphouseMama)  when she used it to highlight this page she was making and it added that little something to it. I used it at the bottom to help highlight that area. This was the 3rd alpha thickers I pulled out - getting frustrated with the lack thereof of alphas I needed. I did a play on words of the title (thanks April) in order to make it work. I only had 2 t's and needed one for cute. And I lacked an E so therefore whacking off part of an ampersand - and wa-la an E (I didn't have a 3 in the pack). Woo hooo!!! The A at the top can start off the title or just be A for Amelia (AND she's 2 in the photo). Genius. LOL!

And then a splash at the top to bring it all together. Its really not hard, just smoosh your brush in the color and then smear it where you want it. I am happy to report that I am slowly working my way through a stash of flowers that I've had forever. And I still can't remember the mfg. of the huge one - I do know its not one of the top flower makers.

Transparency & Silver

Switching gears in the metals and going with silver.

I also love this photo too and wish I had taken it as well. Miss Amelia stuffing her own stockings. LOL!

It needed special papers so I went with these Christmas papers that were in my Studio Calico kit and the transparency was just made to go together. I also found in my stash some silver paper.

I kept going back and forth about the kraft and in the end it seemed more right than off white. The trees are not quite white and not quite beige. Total conundrum - so kraft it is. Broke out an edge punch too.

Going all out. I cut out a circle with deckle scissors and found it looked plain. Broke out the sewing machine and stitched - twice. I then broke out some glimmermist.

I did a lot of breaking out.

However, the edge on the circle needed something too, so I went to my broke out stash and got some silver liquid pearl and painted around the edges. AND, I didn't make a big mess.

Shocked you I know.

More breaking out came in the form the of the arrow as I broke out my die cut and let'r rip. Found some stash silver ribbon and it accented everything perfectly. Got some tags going on and popped in the red flower and sequins for a pop of color.

The title is from Basic Grey alphas from long, long ago and they look better in person.

So here's a close up.

I picked up the red from the tree lights and skirt. And I love the little flag I punched out of denim ribbon - its to the left of the flower under the ribbon.

Hello NY - Hi 5

I'm recovering from the creeping crud and so glad for it too. Very annoying being sick - it gets in the way of all the fun things waiting to be done.

So there's Lou, a yankee fan, you can tell by the awesome cap he has on. In a great photo - that almost looks 3D. And then there's the NY skyline. I love the skyline - You can't help but take a bunch of pix of it. Gotta love that.

Of course the page is 8x8 because it will be off in the mail to go in the parents's album. I like mixing up sizes and these are the easiest to ship.

It was a fun page to toss together without overthinking it. Much. Using Bo Bunny, Basic grey, K&co and unknown blue sheet. I really need to mark these things down - but once the strip is off I'm pretty much just guessing.

Love that I got to use the Prima chipboard alphas that I've had forever- the distressed look makes me swoon. The ticket stub for journaling is 7 gypsies well unless mama's windy - then she can write wherever she wants to. There as a big gap to me when I was putting it together, hence the swirly twine from one to another - I think it helps with pulling the title together. It's odd but works.

All dressed up

Almost back to the land of the living. Not hacking up a lung everytime I cough - progress! Staying in an upright position longer and doing little things.

I was in a giddy mood one day and decided that I needed to play with my watercolors. I saw someone - somewhere  just doing some swirls and sworls and wa-la a flower.  So I gave it awhirl.

Well...I wasn't impressed that day so I put it aside and happened upon it again and suddenly it didn't look so bad. And I decided it wouldn't hurt to run my new rolling stamp from SC over it in various directions and there it was looking even more better.

I remembered the paper that sort of was the inspiration for it and had a bit left over. Studio Calico stuff adorns the rest of it - except for the die cut flower- Tim Holtz, a bit o'prima bling.

The fun part about this photo is you can tell that we are dressed up; me more than the brother which is often the case. I am wearing a dress, carrying a clutch and I have stockings on and a garter - only thing in hosiery wear back then.

And we are visiting Sunken Gardens in Florida, in April. Its botanical gardens outdoors and I'm dressed up like I'm visiting royalty. That's how it was done back then. It was considered an event. Can you imagine? I had to be totally uncomfortable. But I was looking good. LOL!!!

Way too fast...

I almost fell on the floor when I saw this photo on facebook. I know Cami is growing up fast, but dang, this is way too fast.

I remember her as a little girl and Uncle Tom allowed that she could only cry three times in a day and he would be counting. She would also unafraidedly mix it up with her cousins and show them that girls totally ruled.

Now this is another page that started without a photo. I used some Tim Holtz paper  as a base (I think-the strip was off or nonexistent) and jazzed it up with some grey paint and a crafter's workshop stencil. If you look at the lower left I turned the stencil upside to get the branch - and after I noticed the birds were flying upside down. Must be magic. LOL! An old Swirly doos kit transparency (the last of it I think) and a tag I have no idea what- it was in a transparent envelope. Prima bling, can't place the flower, and thickers. I did fix the T - it slipped upon photographing. I really do like how the stencil turned out. There's also a basic grey rubon that you can't see near the title. PP: authentique, bo bunny, jillybean soup... I did use a honey comb stencil with tan paint under the bird cage stencil and on the other side - it looked stupid. So I covered up. win-win.

Very girly for a tom-boy that became a girly-girl when I wasn't looking. (and she's only 11). Sigh.