Meghan and Allen will Honeymoon in Prague!!!

12.12.2008
Time to learn Czech

Allen and I are super excited...we are going to Prague on our honeymoon! Prague is the place I have dreamed about going to for years and it will happen in March! For those of you who don't know much about Prague, here a small description I found online:
"This magical city of bridges, cathedrals, gold-tipped towers and church domes, has been mirrored in the surface of the swan-filled Vltava River for more than ten centuries. Almost undamaged by WWII, Prague's compact medieval centre remains a wonderful mixture of cobbled lanes, walled courtyards, cathedrals and countless church spires all in the shadow of her majestic 9th century castle that looks eastward as the sun sets behind her. Prague is also a modern and vibrant city full of energy, music, cultural art, fine dining and special events catering to the independent traveller's thirst for adventure. It is regarded by many as one of Europe's most charming and beautiful cities."

We are going for a week and have already bought a stack of guide books to make plans about what we want to see.


Some interesting sites include:

Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) - It includes St. George's Basilica and it one of about 2000 castles in the area.


Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock


Prague National Gallery


The Lennon Wall

The Charles Bridge




:) Can't Wait!


http://meghanalanna.blogspot.com/

My daughter is engaged

My daughter's and her boyfriend Allen announced their engagement over Thanksgiving they are planning the wedding for March. She has actually started a blog, journaling the event and everything that is going on. The wedding will be in Orlando and our families will all meet there. Meghan and Allen both attend the University of Florida.

Happiness/ December Scrap Muse kit

Created this page by misting Tattered Angels over a doily that was place on top of water color paper. I then misted the outer edges of the page. The flowers are a punch, I layered three flowers and put foam dots between each one. The top flower has a thick layer of stickles on it. TFL

ScrapMuse.com

Happy Holidays from Cledus

cledus, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

Elf Dance

Check this out you will laugh your self silly. Build your own Elf Dance!


http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/

Friends- Scrap Muse design kit December

Create flower embellishment by punching out 3 shapes in sturdy paper.

Paint the flowers or coat the entire shape with Stickles. Once they are dry , put a foam dot on top of 2 of the flowers. Layer the 3 flower shapes on top of each other. Add more Stickles and a crystals as you desire.

Scrap Muse December kit-Family

This is from the Scrap Muse december kit collection. I try and give scrapbook pages to every one in my family for the holidays and this is one of the give away pages. The photo is of my family on my second christmas. This is my moms family at our home in Lake City, Florida. TFL

http://www.scrapmuse.com/

Scrap Muse- Mom and Me

This was a very small photo that I enlarged. I left some of the imperfections in the photo. This is a photo of me as a new born baby. My moms doctor would only let her gain 20- 25 pounds through the entire pregnancy. I was a 5 pound baby, what I see is how incrediably thin my mother is.

Friends

00000-freinds, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

Some of the Collection is from The Scrap Muse December kit. The live tag is from a previous kit. Flowers can be punched out of stiff paper and covered with Stickles paint. Punch three flowers for each layer.
Paint each and then put a foam tab between each layer for added dimension. Dot sticles in appropriate areas and add jewels if you wish.
Photo is of my niece and her friend. The are cheerleaders for a team in Ohio. She is a great athlete,she plays Lacrosse weekly as well. Her gymnasitc skills earned her a position on the Varsity team even thought she should be on the Jr Varsity squad.

Train ride to Georgia

I am in the process of recording memories of which I have no photos. As a young child I rode the train to my grandmothers house. The train stopped in front of her house in Townsend, Ga and let us off the train. My grandmother walked out of her front door and over to the train track to meet us. My grandmother never drove a car. TFL

http://jgwm.blogspot.com/

Modish Blog GIVEAWAY- Look here!!!

Finally getting to surf the internet some and found this really great site. Check out their give away.

http://www.modishblog.com


::GIVEAWAY CONTRIBUTIONS::

peace sign TIN WINGS
"slowly" print EYEFUL by TRICIA McKELLAR
Czech glass drop earrings K KENNEDY DESIGNS
"Maya in Fall" print MATILOU
"I have many thoughts" print TANIS ALEXIS
Snowman necklace and earrings set HUMBLEBEADS
corduroy bear pouch RED MARIONETTE
"Plant a tree" print KACHING DESIGN
beaded earrings MOONDOONIE
fern clutch with vintage button MONSTER FASHION
silver drip necklace BEADS IN THE BELFRY
beer quartz "kisses" earrings JEWEL ALCHEMY
2009 calendar HAPPIFY
hand-painted silk earrings GILBEA
alphabet-o-graphic wooden earrings MOYOU
tea tree citrus scrub DANDY BODYCARE
"nectarine under cage" print FOOD CHIC
set of Brighton Buildings cards ROBIN101
blue and brown crystal drop earrings CRYSTAL ALLURE
chocolate and vanilla necklace TWINKLE
sushi mousepad HEAD BITCH IN CHARGE
green tree pendant PIECES OF ME PENDANTS
set of 12 correspondence cards 1ST COMES LOVE
love gun necklace PULP SUSHI
beaded rainbow brooch FLECTO
Needlepoint Trade Secrets, autographed book JANET PERRY
beaded bookmark DEE-ZIGNS
jungle print headband STYLISH MODE
winter finger puppet BABYSWEAR
batik zip pouch URBANKNIT
3 little birdies necklace FLAMBEAUX DESIGN
protozoan necklace STARVING ARTIST BAZAAR
"geneen earrings" MUSETTE
crystal quartz and moonstone earrings CATIE'S BLUE
mushroom zip bag OBLINAKNIT
jumper purse PHAT SHEEP
yuzen pendant A PLANET 4 CREATION
copper bead dangle earrings A PRETTY ROCK
black and white flower headband GEMDROPS





A big thank you to all the wonderful crafters and artists who contributed to this month's giveaway! The December giveaway will be announced the following week after this one ends.

Posted by modish on Nov 20, 2008 in Giveaway | Permalink

Live is finally getting back to normal

I have been working like crazy and on top of that we are in the process of moving to a smaller house. What a pain...... when we move in our old house there were seven us of living there. The house has 6 bedrooms and we are now moving in to 3 bedrooms. How did we ever accumulate sooooo much stuff??

I am now starting to put together my work room(s) for my scrapook and altering things. Alot is in storage, but there is just no room for all of my collections.I have decided that every one is getting scrapbooks this year. I figure I will go to my moms and let her choose what she wants and sort the rest in to individual books.

Right now it is all in storage and I am not comfortable with it there for a long time.

November Scrap Muse Collection

Card that were put together using the collection and stamp that was in the November kit. I used the stamp as an all over design on one card. Another one I trimmed out the design and the third card I used a mask design.

Calm

This another one of my layouts from the November Scrap Muse collection. The photo is of one of my nieces and this is a rare moment. Calm

walker book copy

walker book copy, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

This is one of the projects for the Filed Away article that is published this month in Somerset Studios.

shy

This shy child is now a photographers dream, she loves to have her photo take. This grouping of papers and embellishments are from the Scrap Muse November kit. The blues are just beautiful.

http://www.scrapmuse.com

Time Changes Everything

This paper is from the Scrap Muse monthly kit, the color combination works great with this fun photo. What a difference 10 years makes.

young-love

This is one of my layouts from the November Scrap Muse kit. I love the combination of papers, fabric and elements that was put together

True Love/ Scrap Muse design team / September Kit

Photo is of my brothers youngest daughter and a very special moment.The crepe paper flowers are made from the Jenni Bowlin paper kit. http://jgwm.blogspot.com/I have a tutorial on how to make them and hope to get it completed with photo soon.
TFL

One beautiful Smile/ Scrap Muse Design Team

I love Roxy's smile, she is just one of the happiest people that you will ever be around.

I left the journaling blank so that she can add details that she remebers about this day.

TFL

Design Team Scrap Muse/ September Collection

This collection of papers is from the Scrap Muse kit. http://scrapmuse.com/
Their kit is a wonderful collection of papers and the add on are wonderful.
I have to say that they are a great kit company and the price is unbelievable.
Close up of Brittany, I love these papers, finally found some colors that would work with her uniform colors.
Intentionally left the journaling open so that she or her mother can add their own though on this photo. TFL

Brittany 6th grade cheer leader photo/ Scrap Muse design team

Brittany is my sisters middle child, she cheers for a middle school team in Ohio. Near you Valerie.

I stitched around the page with my sewing machine and then distressed the paper edges with my scissors. ( guess I need to invest in a Tim Holts distresser).

The flower is two pieces of paper torn is a (sort of) circle. One of the pieces of the paper is torn smaller than the other. I then wet the paper and scrunched them. I microwaved them to dry them quickly and then glued the smaller piece on top of the larger, then add the pearl.

The brown diamond paper is accordion folded and then glued on top the paper. I used two different pieces and attached them under the flower. TFL

Mixed Media Monday- Nature Theme

This is my first week participating in Mixed Media Monday and I have not quite finished the book but this is the cover. I have two friends that participate and I know that you have to finish your project quickly before the cut off time, so her it is.
This is the cover and there will bew different photos of birds and flowers from my garden this spring.

Scrap Muse September Kit

This is a layout that I completed using the September Scrap Muse kit. I love this paper combination. I cut the center out of the tan piece of paper and laid it over the coral paper. This months kit had beautiful embellishments, I think the black trim really makes it pop off the page.

The photo is of me with my dad on my 1st birthday. This was taken at my parents 1st home in Lake City. I do not really remember my bed room in that house, but I remember the back yard and my friends that I walked to school with. We moved from this house when I was in the 2-3 grade. TFL

Starting to feel like Fall ???

Worked outside today out side today in our nursery and I have to say it actually felt like a fall day. The wind was blowing and it kept the air cool and enjoyable, for today anyway!

It seem like just a short time ago I was taking these spring photos. I can not believe that it is September 2008.

Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year. The weather allows us to open our windows and the nights are perfect for sleeping under a light blanket.

Guess I better work in capturing the fall here in Florida. Only problem is it will still be a couple of months before we get any real color from the fall leaves.

Pencil Line sketches.

This is my other challenge for my self this week to complete a layout using Pencil Line sketches design by Kelli Crowe.

I like working with their challenges because as they say -

Pencil Lines is a blog all about using sketches to expand your artistic horizons, get you outside your box, and lift you out of scrappers block and to help you get more layouts done. It is about thinking outside your normal processes to create something wonderful.

I now have 6 days to complete this challenge.
http://pencillinesketches.com/

OLW challenge due by Sept 5th

I need to get back to creating for weekly challenges,s o my goals this week are to create for to sites the first is OLE- One Little Word and this is the challenge due Sept 5th..... lets see that gives me 5 days to complete this one.

Word Up #34: CHOOSE
A quote to start:
Morpheus: "Everything begins with choice." Merovingian: "No. Wrong. Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without."
If you're a fan of the genre then you'll know the dialogue is from the Matrix Reloaded, one of my favorite films. I love the quote because, to me, everything begins with choice. Some choice. Any choice.
If we aren't living every minute, every hour, every day in a myriad of choices then we are living by default. It's the difference between making conscious choices or choosing not to make a decision at all which often times is still a choice. Lovely word ... that word choice is.
Here's another favorite quote:
"The willingness to make conscious choices is another way of demonstrating that you are ready to find new ways of living, before you are forced to do it. When what we do, how we do it, and the way we do it, no longer fits our purpose in life, we must choose to do something else. It means we are aware of our patterns and no longer choose to embrace them. Choices makes it easier and when you see that you make the wrong choice, you have the ability, right and power to make another choice." - Iyanla Vanzant
Choice, and the ability to choose, is power! We all possess it, we all have it. Sometimes we don't act upon it, sometimes we do but the ability to choose allows us to honor ourselves and our lives

Scrap Muse Monthly Kit

I am on the design team for Scrap Muse and their kit this month was so much fun to work with.

Chocked FULL of embellishments!!
Pink Paislee: Vintage Moon: Night OwlPink Paislee: Vintage Moon: Moon PiePink Paislee: Vintage Moon: Moon GladePink Paislee: Vintage Moon: Harvest MoonPink Paislee: Vintage Moon: Hollow MoonKaiserCraft: Jades Garden: JamieKaiserCraft: Jades Garden: JosieKaiserCraft: Reminiscing: Hold DearKaiserCraft: Reminiscing: Treasure
Bazzill: Spoiled Brat BlingBazzill: TapiocaPrism: Gray PrismaticPrism: Island Mist MediumPrism: Stormy Dark
Pink Paislee: Black Alphabet Stickers
Kaiser Clock RubonsKaiser Rhinestones: BlackKaiser Pearls: MangoKaiser: small paper flowers: TaupeKaiser: small paper flowers: Sepia7 Gypsies Number Metal ClipsClear Scraps: Buckle acrylic shapesJournaling Tags from Etsy shop ( The Paper Pixie )Jenny Bowlin: Crepe Paper Ribbon: TurquoiseJacquard Ribbon: 1 yardBlack Cord Snake Rose ( 2 each )Venise Applique MedallionAssorted metal buttonscandy bar

September Scrap Muse Contest

Scrap Muse is having another contest for the month of September. Be sure and visit the Scrap Muse and check out all of the new products.

Here is information about the September contest and the great prizes.

Back to School ContestIt’s that time of year again, time to head back to school. Whether you are heading back to school yourself, have kids that are going back to school or just love that back to school feeling chances are you have bought some new school supplies in the last month. Contest dates: now until September 30, 2008. Requirements: Create an LO or project that features school supplies as a design element or embellishment. Be creative. You may use staples, paperclips, binder clips, notebook paper, graph paper, pencils, pens, erasers, etc, anything that is a school supply is acceptable. LOs can be about any topic you choose. Layouts (8 x 8 or larger) as well as mini-books will be accepted. Maximum 3 entries per person, please. Items must be loaded into the Scrapmuse September Contest Gallery by midnight (EST) on September 30, 2008. The winner will be announced no later than October 6, 2008 in our forum. Designs will be judged by our current design team. Contest is open to US, Canadian and International Scrappers. The Prize:One lucky Scrapper will receive:• One Past Mega Muse of their choice , available in the store (Anything before the new September 2008 Muse) Retail value of $32.00!!(Domestic shipping will be included. International shipping, if necessary, will be the responsibility of the winner.)We can’t wait to see your creations in the gallery!For more information and to answer any questions please visit www.scrapmuse.com

Fun Times/ August Scrap Muse Kit

Just a fun page fo random images and products from the August kit. The star is a applique bought years ago in Joanns, junk clearance section in Gainesville, Fl. TFL

John - The Summer of 2008/ August Scrap Muse Kit

This is my oldest Nephew, who has grown up so fast. This was a wonderful summer for him, and there are great photos for him to remember it by. I stamped around the photo on the right with Prima stamps.

This is more of the Scrap Muse monthly kit, perfect for summer photos.

The Wild Ones/ August Scrap Muse kit

This is a page using mopre of the beautiful collection form Scrap Muse. Don't you just love the color combination that she put together. Take a look on the web site at all of the other creations.
http://scrapmuse.com/

This kit has alread sold out, so get your order in early for the September kit. New Product arriving. daily


The cousins all met at Flagler Beach this summer and this is a photo of some of the younger ones. TFL

Bailey is in first grade

This is a project I completed with the August Scrap Muse kit. I was a great collection this month and wonderful embellishments. This is a folder that has been altered to hold lots of school papers.

Prima Design Challenge/ Second Place Winner

Prima recently had a design contest called Easy To Be Green, and I entered their contest, as usual at the last minute. I have a tendency to stress and over analize my work and not enter the project at all. So my new theory is to put it together at the last minute, don't think and just submit. Besides, I know by now I work best under pressure and am most creative when I am using half a brain. Which is how my brain is most of the time now that I get up at 3:45 am to go to work daily. I am definetly not a morning person, but I do like getting home early. By nature I am usually just going to bed at that time. Anyway, I had forgotten about my entry for the prima contest and was pleasantly surprise to find a 2 day old message in my email from Sharon. The email had arrived letting me know that I had won second place in the Easy to Be green contest. I am so excited free, FREE product from Prima my favorite company, just for having fun with their contest.I absolutely love all of their products, and can not wait to see what I have won.

Check out their web site and you can see the other winners and all of the very creative projects on their site.

http://prima.typepad.com/prima/2008/08/easy-to-be-gree.html

This is a doll I made out of Porcelain, and she has a move able body. I have an extensive collection of dolls that I have made over the years. My sister saw her and said s her hair was scary, actually it is very long and she originally was part of a very large fairy doll collection. Her eyes are hand painted and her hair is mohair. The body totally interconnects and she can be posed. The Box is a prima flower box that I painted with Tim Holtz distress able paint and then washed with green shutter ink. I actually have a clear heart page in the back from one of the build a book pages. Lucy, Tomi and Nan will recognize it as one of the pages from a project we worked on together. Another project half finished, but hey I re purposed part of the project.

Scrap Muse July 2008

http://scrapmuse.com/nl/2008/July2008.pdf

This is the July Scrap Muse.

a Boy's Life

ee

Brothers/ July Scap Muse Design Kit

This layout was created using the July Scrap Muse July kit. I altered some of the solid papers with paint. I placed the punchinella on top of the paper and brushed paint over the top of the punchinella to create the stippled effect. I used 2 different colors, you could actually used several colors if you wanted to. I then cut the bottom brown paper just a little larger and put the green paper on top of it. I then stitched around the edges in a very random manner. The blue is a piece of old blue jean ( I am sure every one a pair of worn out pants) I stitched it down and put the picture over it. Punchinella in the corner, and rub on is from the add on kit, helped to create a very personal looking paper. The journal card is actually a piece of left over paper from the kit cut in to a circle ( it has the notebook paper lines on it). TFL

Listen/ for Scrap Muse Design Team

The July Scrap Muse monthly kit has a beautiful selection of papers to work with. The combination allows you to use the papers for a girl or a boy. I especially like the puncinella ( Sequin waste). I put paint on bubble wrap and then stamped it on the bottom half of this page to add visual interest. You can experiment with different items that you have around the house if you do not have bubble wrap. I think the yellow and blue floral Sassafrass Lass paper is wonderful, such a bright and cheerful combination. The journal card is one of the add on kit for this month at Scrap Muse. The tag is one in the collection from Jenni Bowland. TFL This is Casey trying to explain to Walker how to dance. As you can tell from the photos, he is not always attentive.

Scrapbooking.com Article for Little Charmer

This is the layout that I created for scrapbooking.com, with step by step instructions for creating this page. Scrapbooking.com is an on line monthly scrapbooking newsletter with projects and instructions.

This is the layout before I added the journaling. The paper is Prima thanks to my friend Nan who shared her stash. She was able to get a paper pack at Michaels's with 3-4 sheets of each paper design. I have to say the entire line was just beautiful.

http://scrapbooking.com/article/41452

Amazing 10 year old Watch this!!!

With or With out you - U2 Watch Episode 347. Some times the others start to play , so just close those out while I try and edit the post.

Shy

Created this for the Chatter Box challenge. The white and peach is an old Chatterbox paper. Thought the soft colors of the Bad Girls kits worked well with this paper.

Added crackle paint to the edge of the CB paper.
Love the new products that melody is coming out with on CB.

Blanket Baby

This is my youngest son Damian, and he was a blanket baby. The blanket was blue and he carried it everywhere he went, even in the summer.

The main paper is Making Memories, the alphabet is Heidi swapp with blue ink on them. Added Basic Grey, ribbon and Fancy Pants.

Bundle Of Joy

bundle-of-joy, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

This Bundle fo Joy is Tillman and he is being taken care of by his sister Casey.

The paper is Webster's paper
the not gives all of the stats of his birth.

the leaf is made from the Crayola foam clay and it is air dry and then colored it with with permament pigment powders.

Here they are- The scruffy pair- Fly Away!

The two babies are in the front of the nest. The are just getting their new feathers, but amazing enough they will be gone in less than a week.

Scrap Muse Monochromatic Color Challenge BLUE

Started a challenge on Scrap Muse for the week . The goal is to create something BLUE.
Here is the challenge-
http://scrapmuse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10340
MONOCHROMATIC Main Entry: mono·chro·mat·ic Pronunciation: \ˌmä-nə-krō-ˈma-tik\ Function: adjective Etymology: Latin monochromatos, from Greek monochrōmatos, from mon- + chrōmat-, chrōma color Date: 1822 1 a: having or consisting of one color or hue Challenge is to put together a layout, ATC, card, altered item using only the color Blue. Paper, should be predominantly blue, embellishments must be blue, etc. You can use different shades and hues of blue to create the lights, darks and medium tones on your page. Show us how creative you really are. If you are a scrap saver, pull out your Blue scrapbag ! Photos can have any color. This will be a weekly contest and your entries must be posted in the gallery.

Outside My Window

This is a Dove nesting outside my bedroom window. She took over an abandon nest and rebuilt it... look a little small to me, but what do I know. We are waiting on two eggs. Will keep you posted. Lots of new pages in the head, just need time.


Plans are to submitt to Making Memories Masters contest, have to get moving. Talked to Lucy today, and yesterday. Funny how submitting makes you rethink everything you do.

Cocoa Daisy Design Team call

Last Sunday night saw the Cocoa Daisy design team call. It was literally almost midnight, and submissions had to be in by May 25, 2008. Picked some of my work already in my computer and sent it in. The last up load went at 11:58pm, ( they are probably on a different time zone). Any way figured chances were slim with all of the advanced planning I had put in to it.
https://www.cocoadaisy.com
Did not win
But got this email, which is encouraging...


Hi Gayle,
Thank you very much for all the hard work and talent that went into your design team submission. Your work is simply amazing! We were completely awed by the number of stellar applications that we received. The design team and I spent many long hours pouring over the layouts wondering how we were going to be able to narrow down such a gifted field to just 3 submissions! I am sorry to say that your submission was not one of the ones selected for our design team. I hope this in no way discourages you from submitting to future design team calls as your layouts were incredible! In fact, you were a semi-finalist. In recognition of the time, hard work and the courage it takes to enter a design team competition, we'd like to offer you a $15 gift certificate to the Cocoa Daisy store. Please use the following discount code ****on your Also, if you note that you had tried out for the design team in the comments section of your order, we will also include a special gift.
Thank you again!
Kind regards
Tricia & the Cocoa Daisy
As my daughter says "SWEET" free stuff is always fun!

Good News- Tinkering Ink

Opened My email tonight and found out that I was one of the winners. What a great surprise . When I started the project, I only had the Provencial Fare, so went to Scrappy Papers and and picked out one more sheet of Tinkering Inks paper.

My prize is $25 in merchandise from Tinkering ink. Now this is going to be

fun! Check out their new website.

http://tinkeringink.com/blog/2008/may/27/frustrated-and-more-winners/

A Rough day RENEWED

Got up today and it was one of those days. A project I was working on was damaged by water, so it will be an altered work, since I am not ready to give on it. Then the connection for my external hard drive was damaged, and I can not access my photo's with out it! Maxtor the manufacturer is closed until Tuesday.

But just got this email from a friend and you have to see this wonderful photo, that her friend too. A wonderful abstract flower photo.
http://heyjules.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/two-weeks-in-a-row/#comment-1012

Submission for the Tinkering Ink contest

Decided to play.

Tinkering ink a very graphic paper company, with bold colors and designs held a vintage contest.

Right up my alley, so this is my submission. You had to use their paper and something old vintage, not a reproduction or photo copy.

Hello from Florida,
Just saw your contest and this is just the sort of thing that I like to do. Incorporating the old with the new, and I love your paper as a bold contrast to the softness of old photos .
I live in small town so a not lot of choice for your product. I had some of you Provencal Fare and while it is beautiful on it's own, wanted a little more personality to the Nursery Rhyme page, So I cut out some of the Al Fresco, to add a little color to the page. I love the playful whimsy that the flowers give this layout.
As a child I lived in a small town and not a lot to do besides read. My parents bought a set of Childcaft Books for us to read. They have great memories, this is a page from (not the original set) a book that I bought at a thrift store., They were originally published in 1947 this book is from 1961, if that is not old enough or vintage enough for you some of the buttons are from my mom's collection and my grandmother button stash. Hope you love it. Challenge, recording old memories, of child hood. Did I say old!!!
Any way would love to have product from your store, just sorry that I did not see your design team challenge, that you held. If you ever need a guest designer, think of me! Thanks for the challenge, Gayle

scrapmuse-paper-flowers

scrapmuse-paper-flowers, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

Close up of the paper flowers

May Scrap Muse Altered project- Lu Lu scrapping buddy

scrap-muse-may-lulu, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

This is created using elements from the monthly kit. Cut up the chipboard elements and inked the edges with a gold leaf pen. Flowers are paper torn in progressively smaller circles, that have been wet and scrunched up. I then glued them together and inked the edges. Lu Lu was my daughers cat, but she adoped me. Where ever I went she stayed with me. She was a fully grown cat but very tiny. This is her perched on top of my computer screen. Every so often she would reach over and try to swat the curson on the screen. When I scrapped she would climb up and sit on the corner of my desk. When my husband would come in to the scrapbook room, he would pull my clips of ribbon down and roll he rall up in it. She loved the yarn and ribbon, they are not from the kit, just junk on the desk from previous projects that I threw in the bottom of the basket. ( I am sure we all have scraps of junk). This is actually a 4x6 little suitcase that I picked up. The photo is on the inside top of the case and the scraps are in te bottom half of the case. She was my Muse, she sadly is no longer with me. TFL

Scrap Muse May kit-Notes To Casey

scrapmuse-notes-to-casey, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

This also from the monthly kit. Edged the bottom paper with red to give it a more modern edge. Created a pocket to hold journaling cards. Roughly cut out a flower, ( actually folded it in to quarters and then cut around the edge to create the shape). The center is one of the chipboard kit pieces inked with red. The edges of the flower are rolled up just a little to give the page dimension. Tried to only add things that most every scrapper has in their collection. Added from my stash ( ink, stickles, thread, button, the rest is from the kit. TFL

Scrap Muse May Guest Designer Challenge

scrapmuse-prom, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

Another layout using the May Scrap Muse kit, incorporating products from 3 different paper companies. I circle cut the Basic Grey paper and used a gold leaf pen of the edge, then stitched around the circle. The fleece pieces were the perfet color for this layout, so I actually roughly cut flowers and used them on this page. I accented other areas on this page with a gold leaf pen.

Scrap-Muse-May- Guest Designer Submission-Gone-2-soon

Scrap-Muse-May-Gone-2-soon, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

This paper was just perfect for this photo this is of Golden Finches, that fed right out side my office window. The are only here for a short time.

scrapmuse-prom- Sneak peak

scrapmuse-prom- Sneak peak, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

This corner is from the second page. I love the Basic Grey paper added to this kit. The circle I cut and edged with gold almost looks like a plate.

Scrap-Muse-May-Gone-2-soon snapshot

Scrap-Muse-May-Gone-2-soon snapshot, originally uploaded by jgwm166864.

This is a snap shot of one of the pages that I created from the Scrap Muse kit. The Kit was called Antique Gardenhttp://scrapmuse.com/muses/2008/200805Mega.html

Sneak Peaks... Scrap Muse

I was one of the Guest Designers for ScrapMuse this month and we are posting peaks at the the Kit pages. I completed 3 pages and 1 altered item, that will be displayed on the site with the other designers.

Scrap Muse has a very creative group of designers that put together some awesome projects. Traci the new owner has alot of new plans in the works for the company, and some of it's future kits, this has got to be a very exciting time for her. http://scrapmuse.com/

Exciting News!!!

Yesterday I received an email from Jami Peterson, Editor in Chief of Scrapbooking Magazine. Her comment was "OMG!! I'm blown away, these are amazing!! Are you a designer for a manufacturer? " We communicate via a couple of other emails and then she asked to call me. She asked if I would write a article for her magazine.
http://scrapbooking.com/
I am very flattered by her comments and her request and totally appreciate her calling and talking with me. So for the July issue I will be putting together an article on layering on a scrapbook page. We discussed some option that she liked for the August magazine, and I will be doing a technique article for that month.

I will post soem of my other work that is not on this site and see what you think.

Any suggestions???

Time Out/ Color Story #4

This photo was taken when a friend asked me to photograph their family. Their son was .... well... a typical little boy. When he would not cooperate, the had him sit on the side rail of the old truck. I took this phot and several others with a telephoto lens while he sat there. Of all the photos, this is one of my favorites. Challenge was to use these colors and incorporate the design in your lay out.

This is a fun challenge weekly, giving you a design as well as a color selection and theme. Check it out!!!

http://www.colorstorychallenge.com/

Baby Girl Pencil Line Sketch #83

This page was created using the Pencil Line Sketch#83 a weekly challenge.Bailey is my sister's youngest daughter, and these are notes about her. TFL

Another garden job

I put in gardens for customers and I ordered about 400 plants for a customer this week. I make sure they know when they ask me to create gardens that I do not maintain them, only create them. This week I worked on a second planting for one customer.

Yesterday and today my daughter was her to help me with some gardens for this lady. She needs money to start Graduate school next week, so I told her to come help me with the planting. She let me know that she definitely did not get the gardening gene, she hated the entire process. I just wanted to make sure that she knows how hard I work for my money. She could not wait to get home to take a shower, and I have to say that is my favorite part of the as well. I have greenhouses, but they are at my house and I can shower when ever and as often as I like. I will post photos once all of the flowers are blooming.

Big Sister/ Scrap Lift challenge Scrap Muse

This is my Scrap lift challenge from the Scrap Muse site. http://www.scrapmuse.com/





















I scrap lifted the poster above me Yazziegirl.http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4742149871871817489

Michaela is the Big Sister, and Bailey headed for her lap when I started taking her photo. What a difference a few years make..... now she is the ultimate poser for America's Top Model. Just love this seeing this moment. Thanks for looking.

Photos from a different view point

I am trying to challenge my self to take photos in a different way, be more aware of my surroundings.. Saw Natka's Scrap Muse Photo challenge http://scrapmuse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8508 challenge from last year, and loved her ideas, this was one photo per day.
As a scrapbook, most of the time we crop out all of the elements in the back ground. IE( cars, cereal boxes, TVs, just general junk). When I look at old photos of my self and my family, I love looking at the old cars, toys I had, schools, churches,my bedroom, etc.) Am I the only one??? So what photos are you leaving out of your scrapbooks? This could even be a summer time project for you and your children. So once a week or (month) take photos of the places you go, the people you meet, what you eat for breakfast, information about your city, state, festivals you have, fashion styles, games they play. So give me your feed back, thoughts and suggestions.

When my son's were little, they each had a journal and I tried to write something in it that they dictated to me. I then added photos to show the ages they were when they were giving me these wonderful bits of knowledge. They actually have drawing in some of the books, and wrote little notes. Blogging has replaced journals for us.

Red Shirt Friday

WhIf the Red shirt thing is new to you, read below...Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together.After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.'No' he responded.'Heading out' I asked?'No. I'm escorting a soldier home.''Going to pick him up?''No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq, I'm taking him home to his family.'The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conv ersations in so few days.I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, 'Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.'Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom:'Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign.'Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do .Red Fridays.Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority.' We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, Country and Home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -- and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something red.By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a home coming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is 'We need your support and your prayers.' Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday.

My father was in the Korean War, My father in law was in 3 wars, retired from the military.

Grow UP/ Pencil Line Sketch #82

This is my take on Sketch #82, I submitted this for their weekly contest.

My sisters daughter is on the left and 2 of my brother 6 are on the right. My parents own alot of property and we always go exploring, and I (as usual)am looking for great photo opportunities. The kids are such willing models as you probably can tell. My own children always hated me taking their photos. Right after I took the bottom photo of the 3, Walker fell in the big tire and hurt him self. I picked him up and carried him over to the barrel to check him out. Look closely at Walker's you can see that he has been drawing on his legs with an ink pen. His older sister told him to draw tattoo's on himself.