inspired

Apparently, I am really digging color lately.

Looks like color has been grabbing my eye lately... 1. Frosty Morning, 2. Untitled, 3. Winter Night, 4. Art is everywhere, 5. November Buck, 6. Fetch, 7. Pens, 8. Painting, 9. Burning Incense, 10. Untitled, 11. Mud, 12. Blue House, 13. Leaves in Light, 14. The Staircase, 15. story hour, 16. Dettaglio _DSC4956, 17. flickr.com/photos/94022142@N00/3686292823/, 18. ghosts in the marina, 19. Moon Bay 月亮灣, 20. Untitled, 21. Untitled, 22. the (really) little red canoe, 23. stream of the season, 24. those were the days..., 25. A view from the Caribbean, 26. Old San Juan, 27. IMG_4653, 28. IMG_4652, 29. {trick or treat}, 30. The look of nobody home, 31. Playing with Leaves, 32. fever_balcony-wide-angle-00, 33. Day 3, 34. Day 19, 35. Day 16 (transparency), 36. Day 18 Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Leaving a Legacy: A Look at Why I’m Creating Yesterday & Today

Have I mentioned just how much I am enjoying Ali Edward’s Yesterday and Today class at Big Picture Scrapbooking?  It is INCREDIBLE.

It’s just what I needed.  I was questioning why I scrapbook and whether or not it was worth it all in the end.  Would someone care about these things once I’m gone?  Should that even matter?  And it does to me. 

I’ve decided I to create a heritage album series based on the fact that I want to leave a legacy behind.  Right now, I have about six 12x12 albums full of various topics, life, love, play, etc.  By the time I leave this world, it could be like my sister-in-law who has close to 50.  And what if my family doesn’t want 50 frilly albums?  That worries me.  So I’ve decided to create an abbreviated short series of heritage albums.  Also known as, if you throw everything else out, please keep these.  They will tell you more about where you came from and who those people were.

Enter Ali’s class.  She has such a heavy focus on words & pictures.  She wants us to get the story told.  Of course she is all about excellent design and fun products, but the meat of the class is to get our most important stories told.  Simple ones, fun ones, hard ones and just plain goofy ones.  My goal is to attempt to paint an accurate picture of myself and the people I come from, the people I love, the people I call family.

And it’s not just for me.  It’s for Andy, my husband, too.  It is to be our legacy.  A little slice of our lives, who we are and what we love and where we came from.  I hope it will be inspiring.  I hope it will answer some questions.  I hope it will be cherished and loved.

How They Met: a Yesterday & Today Layout

I have been working on a special project to remember my Grandpa who passed away in August.  Forgive me if I am vague about the details, as it is to be a surprise gift.  What I can share with you is a layout that resulted from the time I’ve spent remembering and honoring Grandpa.

In collecting data for the project, I ran across a brilliant gem.  A brief, romantic story I never knew.  How my Grandpa and Grandma T met.  You can read the full story here.  Today, I just wanted to share the completed layout and a bit about my own scrapbooking process.

One of the things I’m enjoying about Ali Edward’s Yesterday & Today class is she’s sharing glimpses into her creative process.  And I was tickled pink to see the way she tried out the meat of a layout on several different backgrounds!  Why?  Because I do the same thing.  Just for fun, here’s a brief look at the top paper choices I made for this layout. 

  

These five were narrowed down from about 14 pieces that I originally pulled out.  I know, crazy, right?  But I simply adore color and if truth be told, I’m also a bit of a perfectionist.  Shhhhh.

So, I must know, does anyone else ever agonize over paper choices?  Though I must admit, I am getting better and much quicker at narrowing down the choices.  And thanks to the wisdom of my father-in-law, I am learning to “do something, even if it’s wrong.”  In the end, I am always happy.  Now, I am just learning how to get there quicker and with less stress.

Learning to Focus

I LOVE this picture of Hailey.  We captured that wonderfully intent expression she wears when she begs.  She truly likes to keep her eyes on the prize.  What I don’t like is that the camera choose to focus on her eyes.  Actually, it’s not that this is technically a problem in the shot.  If it had focused on her nose, then her eyes wouldn’t be as sharp and clear.  The problem I have is over the control. 

I basically have NO idea how or where the camera is going to focus on any particular shot.  And for many reasons, that is not good.  So, this weekend I am going to bust out the manual to my nifty starter DSRL, the Nikon D60.  Something tells me this is critical in my learning to focus.

Do you have any information about focusing?  Do you have any good photography forums or websites you would recommend?  Do you focus?

Peace, Joy, Noel: Making Memories Mistletoe Christmas garland

I have long been enjoying the paper garland you see decorating many a scrapper’s home, featured on their blog. Perhaps they have a simple word reminding them why they like to create or they have spelled out a child’s name for a birthday party. They always look gorgeous. And they always look intimidating.

So when I ran across the Making Memories Mistletoe Garland kit at a local scrapbook store, I decided to take the leap. I mean, how hard could it be? I had all the pieces and instructions I needed. I took the plunge.

All in all, it was a fairly easy project and the instructions were clear and easy to follow. However, there was one little problem. The size of the black ribbon they included was quite WIDE and the holes in the plastic beads were NARROW. I tried several ways to get them threaded: cutting the ribbon at an angel, trying a needle & “thread” (the ribbon) and finally just cussing at it and throwing up my arms in frustration.

My hubby picks this moment to pipe up from his hobby table: why don’t you use some of that thread you have. I could’ve thrown the needle at him, but I totally throw like a girl and he was 10 feet away. There was no point and besides, he had a point. I’ve got tons of scrappin’ goodies just crying out to be used.

While I was digging through my stash, I decided that I would try and “spice up” the original design. So, I grabbed my Maya Road Mists (which I ADORE, but hadn’t used in a month or two) and decided to make things brighter.

I also mixed up the shapes and colors and added stickers and a few stick pins.

All in all, I didn’t stray to far from the original design. Remember, this was my first time. But sometimes the attention to little details really make the project.

If you have created a garland of any kind (holiday, birthday, random word), I would love if you would link me up. Peace!

It's Nice to Know Someone Enjoys You

I've never much participated in "chain emails" or things of that sort of nature. And mostly, I have "thumbed" my nose at the various little blog "awards" out there... probably because no one ever nominated me. Boy, do I sound like a whiny second grader or what? LOL


Well, my friend Andi recently nominated me for the "Kreativ Blogger" Award and I must admit that I am flattered. Thank you Andi! She gave a nice, brief description of my blog that made me blush. I'll paste it here.

"I forget how I met Lauren! But let me tell you.. I love her blog!
From her shares of books, or weather ,or her dogs or life. She's another
country girl that I just love. She has been taking all sorts of fun
classes and I get to 'watch' and learn. :) Thanks Lauren for sharing
all of it!"

You are welcome. It is SO nice to realize that all your hard work and effort is enjoyed by others. I must admit, I share a lot of stuff on my blog because my husband, while loving and supportive, probably never cares if he sees another scrapbook page in his life!! And while that's not entirely true, I'm quite sure some of you can relate.

So, THANK YOU for reading, stopping by and saying hello. It means a lot to me! I'm working on a way to give back a little. I'm thinking a little scrappy goodness giveaway? What do you think??

PS. Here's a little look at what's coming up next:


PPS. You should really visit Andi's blog. She is a true country gal, I'm a convert. LOL. Her family has a ranch and she shares bits and pieces from their lives. And if you enjoy handmade cards? Andi is always hard at work creating and sharing. **hugs girly**

C is for Cookie as S is to Smitten Kitchen

O. M. G. I am in love!!! Swoooooon! You have not LIVED for chocolate chip cookies until you have sunk your sweet tooth into the delectable "Our Favorite Choclate Chip Cookies" compliments of Smitten Kitchen. You simply MUST try them!

How They Met: Remembering Grandpa, An Unexpected Surprise

With the recent passing of my grandpa and the influence of Ali Edward’s  philosophy in Yesterday & Today to get the stories told, I have been gathering up bits and pieces of information and memories about my Grandpa while they are still “fresh.” 

I’ve solicited my family for help with the project, asking for pictures, photographs, memories or even just a nice word or two about my grandpa.  It’s been a bit difficult to draw people out, but I have finally starting getting some feedback, including this unexpected gem which showed up in yesterday’s mail.

Did you spot it?  The little nugget of pure gold that has me so incredibly excited?!?  It’s the story of how my dad’s parents met!  I immediately called my mother and asked her about it.  She didn’t know much more then she initially wrote, but the sentence or two she added painted a romantic story.

I was so excited about this discovery that I immediately started putting together a layout with designs and ideas from Ali’s class.  Working on the story, flushing it out a little bit and making it more “reader friendly".

I originally started with one of Ali’s templates (one of many freebies in the Y&T class) that was a 2 pager.  I had the perfect photos for the layout, how ever I only had a few sentences worth of text.  I played around with the design layout and got frustrated until I decided to see if I could make it work on one page.  I think it’s coming together.  So I printed out this photo cluster and I LOVE it!

       

Next up:  Picking out the papers and font colors to coordinate.

Life Is too Short Not to Laugh: The daily Comic

I simply ADORE reading the daily comics in the newspaper.  Why?  I love to laugh and it’s my little momentary “escapism” from the corporate world, when I grab a cup of coffee in the break room and glance through the local newspaper.  Although I must admit, sometimes Dilbert hits a little too close to home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also get a lot of kicks from LOL CATS and LOL DOGS.  Sometimes I will grab a quick look at those websites during one of my breaks at work and my coworkers always want to know what is so funny, since they literally make me LOL.

What’s your favorite comic strip? What website to you go to for daily laughs?

Erik + Mary = Engaged

So my little brother is gettin hitched!  Does this mean I am officially “getting old?”  I mean, it’s not like turning 30 this summer had anything to do with me realizing I’m no spring chicken anymore.  No, we can place the blame for that fully on the shoulders of my 13 year old niece!  Nothing like a freshly branded teenager to make you realize you have lost your cool!  :)  Anyway… onto much more important news about the gent pictured below…

MY LITTLE BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED!!!  I don’t think I ever mentioned it because it was overshadowed by my grandfather’s passing 3 days later.  But the cool thing about that was at least my brother was able to tell him the good news and he was excited about it.  Fortunately, since Erik & Mary have been together for a long time, Grandpa knew Mary and loved her.  Totally accepted her as family all along (but that’s a story for another day).

Meet the happy couple.  That’s my brother, Erik, on the left.  And the lovely lady on the right?  Well, don’t tell Mary, but that’s his fiancé.  :)

Erik & Mary came out to visit us back in September.  It was a LOT of fun.  I really got to know Mary and more about her background.  Living 1200 miles away from someone makes it hard to learn some off the “fine points” and this was the perfect opportunity to overcome that hurdle.  I wish we lived closer to them.

I also discovered the wonderful personality Erik & Mary share as a couple.  They are sweet, adorable and totally playful!  It’s adorable!  They are the perfect combination of friends and lovers, always playing around and having a good time, yet respecting one another and showing affection.  Just being around them made you smile and want to be more engaged.  Pun totally intended.

Okay… the most important question of all, right?  (yes, she said, yes)

The ring.  One word for you.  TIFFANY’S!!! You should see it sparkle!!

So finally, the part I know all you scrapbookers have really been waiting for: The Layout.  I am SO excited to be welcoming Mary into our family, I naturally created a layout about it.  And I LOVE it!    

It was one of those layouts that came together perfectly.  I didn’t need an  inspiration piece – Mary and this particular photograph were enough to get me going.  I didn’t need a sketch.  I had no “required” product to use own the page, just whatever caught my fancy in the moment.  And it just flowed.  Ideas came into my head and translated themselves wonderfully onto paper.   It was exciting to watch it come to life and so easily for a change!  Yeah!

I even used a new "hybrid technique” compliments of the Ali Edward's Yesterday & Today class I am taking right now.  I never would have added in the negative “M” & “T” in the journaling below if it wasn’t for the influence of Ms. Ali.  It’s neat to see how we grow in our hobby and surprising what we end up embracing.

Welcome, Mary, to our family!!

66 Weighs I Go: The Goal

I have a dream. It's not about weight loss. No. Really. It's not. It's not about "going back" to the girl pictured above. It's about so much more. It's about creating a new, healthy lifestyle. It's about defining happiness at this stage of my life. It's about the freedom to move. To dance. To hike. To swim. To do yoga without knee pain. To grow into a new fitness. To sleep better. To be nicer. To eat better. To lower my cholesterol. To control my IBS. But above all, it's a dream about loving myself no matter what.

-

Truly, I am learning to choose a lovely life, even when times are hard. It's crazy. It's hard. It's excruciating. It's beautiful.

Wishing You Warm, Lazy Hailey Days…

Me The Abridged Version Update: Three More Pages Complete

Are you kidding, ONLY three more pages complete?! ACK!

I started the class, Me the Abridged Version, with Cathy Z back at the beginning of September and I'm still not done. Sigh. But alas, I "regrouped" last night and took another look at my "to-do" list and decided to knock off a couple more pages. Introducing, J, K & L.

I apologize for the blurring on page "J" but I don't want to make it any easier for that one in a million Internet weirdo to find me.

Letters completed (yippee!!): A, D, E, F, G, J, K, L (wait, that's all??? I would swear it was more!)

Printed, but need photos & to be attached to pages: M, P, R, S, T

Need to complete journaling, pick photos and assemble: B, C, H, I, N, O, Q, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me!

Where the Wild Things Are: Don't Make the Monkey Mad Edition

or the day we were beaten down at the Home Depot self check out line. Or maybe it was it Lowe's. I guess it doesn't really matter either way. LOL The score is home improvement store 1, us 0.


Enter monkey, stage left.

I have to admit something up front: I love self check out machines for the convenience, but I LOATHE the slow, loud way they talk to you in a mechanical voice like you are an idiot and couldn't complete a simple transaction if your life depended on it.

Begin transaction. You would think you could just swipe the item's bar code. No, no, no. Not this machine. It insisted on choosing a language. I ALMOST picked Spanish because at least then I would have no idea what it was yelling at me, but like a good little humanoid I picked English. I think it's little mechanical voice when up a tiny little stressed notch. I don't recall what we were trying to ring up, but we had something that you couldn't really set on the scale (a long piece of tubing, I believe that would have just fallen back to the ground). That upset the computer and it started to get frustrated with me, repeating itself "please place the item in the bag." So we try to balance it on top of the bags to get it to record the weight and sure enough it fell to the ground. "Please place the item in the bag. Now. Or I will quit working." That mechanical pitch was getting higher and louder, I swear.

So, we finally figure out a way to balance the item and proceed to payment. I press the "gift card" button option on the screen. Why? Because I have in my hot little hands a $50 dollar store gift card with which I wold like to complete the transaction. Well, apparently little miss mechanical couldn't handle that and started squawking for the attendant and it even went so far as to start blinking the light on top of the machine. At this point I am downright mad (at an inanimate object, I know, right?) and naturally there are NO employees in sight. Not a single check out person. No one at the service desk. Nada.

Apparently Andy has finally reached the point of frustration. So my hubby, in a completely mature and logical fashion, grabs the item, holds it high above his head and starts screeching like a monkey. The Ooo-Ahhh-Ahh sound they make. Amazingly enough, we suddenly had 3 employees as our side, one of them wondering allowed if we were drunk (which would be impressive as we don't drink).

In the end, we did receive justice. The machine didn't like the employees any better then us and we had to complete the transaction at another register. Sweet vindication. So naturally, our new little inside joke with problems at the store makes Andy threaten to bring out the monkey. We both laugh and our tension usually dissipates.

***************************************************************************************

PS. I really do want to see Where the Wild Things Are. It was one of my favorite books as a child. I should tell you my other two favorites sometime soon.

Quick Tips on WHAT to Photograph

Recent message board talk on WHAT to photograph (vs. how to) prompted me to generate some crazy lists of ideas. Here are a few highlights.
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*IMPORTANT NOTE* In order to get more photos, try taking your camera with you every where you go, both inside the home and out and about for a few days. Tell yourself to take lots of pictures and pay attention to what captures your fancy.

EVERYDAY STUFF
* Money.
* Bills to be paid.
* Books to be read.
* To do lists.
* Food you are making or eating.
* Your feet. Or shoes. Going through your day.
-


ANIMALS
* Do you have any pets?
* Capture them from above.
* Then get down on the floor.
* Try shooting from behind while they are focused on something exciting.
* Get a photo of them playing together (if you have more then one).
* Or get a photo of them playing with your child, spouse or friend.
* Maybe even try out that timer and get a "self portrait" of the two of you.
* Squirrels, rabbits, birds and any other animal will work too.
-

AROUND THE HOUSE
* Door knobs, perhaps with keys dangling in them.
* Your front door, back door or any door you use frequently.
* Your living, dining room or any other room you spend time in and enjoy.
* The sunlight streaming in the window at dawn or dusk.
* What’s on your coffee table, night stand or desk.
* Clocks, decorations, mirrors, etc.
* Favorite “corners” or “spots.”
-

SELF PORTRAITS

* In the mirror.
* Reflection in the glass of home, car or neat storefront.

* Reflection in water or other liquid.
* With the timer and a quick pose.
* First thing in the morning.
* Laughing, smiling, frowning and even crying.
-

SCENERY
* Your front yard. Or back.
* The local park.
* Neat looking trees. Maybe with the sun streaming through.
* An approaching storm. Or amazing puffy clouds in the sky.
* Sunrise. Sunset.
* A view you really enjoy on the way to work.
* Water. Beaches. Oceans. Lakes. Streams. And Shores.


AROUND TOWN

* Your place of work.

* Where you shop.
* City hall or defining buildings.
* The skyline.
* Old, abandoned, rusted and ruined things, buildings, etc.
* New, shiny, bright things, buildings, etc.
* Get in close for textures: brick, concrete, dirt, marble, peeling paint, etc.

-

PEOPLE

* You love.

* Family, spouse, partner, parent, sibling, child.

* People who've passed. Take photos of the photographs (if not digital).

* Friends. Coworkers.

* "Enemies" if you are so inclined.

* Random candids of random people.

* Hanging out and doing something fun together.

* And why not try and get the WHOLE group in a shot together.

RANDOM IDEAS, JUST FOR FUN

* Junk Yards and items within.
* Old alleys and their textured details. Or pose yourself or friend in one.
* Salad dressing pouring out of the bottle and onto crisp green salad. Close up.
* Something you find ugly or unattractive.
* Bumper stickers and signs that make you laugh. Or raise your eyebrow.
* Stacks and piles of anything.
* People walking away.

-

What unusual, unexpected or everyday things capture your attention?

Grandma & Papa K Wedding: A Heritage Story to be Scrapbooked

I LOVE this little gem of a photo I discovered the last time I visited my parents back east. It is a picture of my Grandma & Papa K on their wedding day.

I don't really remember my grandparents well. I mostly have flitting childhood memories of playing at their home more then memories of Grandma and Papa themselves. So naturally, I have many questions about this photograph. When is this? How old are they? How did they meet? Why did they fall in love (aka "the story")? How did he propose? Who are the other people in the photo? Was he on leave? What is my grandma laughing at?

The fortunate thing is that most of their children are still alive: my mom, two of my aunts and one of my uncles. This means I have MANY resources to discover the answers. The trick is getting answers out of my family that live over 1200 miles away. They only sort of do email and just when asking them for some information about my Grandpa T who recently passed, it's been like pulling teeth. I'm sure seeing them in person would help get answers, but I only have that luxury 1-2 times a year with the high cost of airfare.

While it's fortuante that I have access to and will hunt down as many answers as possible, let's pretend I truly knew nothing more then this being a photograph of my Grandma and Papa K on their wedding day. Based on that, if I were to scrapbook this today, my journaling would not only include those questions above (pretending/assuming I had no way to get answers), it would also include my thoughts, feelings and observations about the photograph and what it reveals.

Sample Journaling: I love this photograph on my Grandma and Papa K on their wedding day. My mom's parents look incredible happy to be getting married to one another. The love and joy they shared reflects in their faces. I love the expression on my Grandmother's face. I love how her face is all crinkled up and their is a slight little space between her teeth. I love this because I smile the exact same way. When I am having a good ole time, I scrunch up my face in laughter and happiness, showing off those pearly whites for all the world to see. It's sweet to know I get that from my Grandma. And would you look at the height of the hair on my Papa's head! What is that about? I know he was a tall a man, and this must have really drew a man's eye up when he ran across them in the war. I believe he was a part of WWII. I also really see my cousin Gary's features reflected in his face.-

Sample Journaling Continued: Who are these other people pictured? I'm going to guess that it is the maid of honor and the best man. I am also guessing that the maid of honor is Grandma's sister because they have similar facial features. I am guessing the same of the best man. I am betting the best man is Papa's brother because of the nose. Though he looks older, maybe old enough to be his father, but knowing that Papa was one of 10-12 siblings, I'm guessing it's his brother.

Journaling thoughts continued. If I couldn't see any resemblance of the other people in the photo to my grandparents, I would still be musing if they were the best man and maid of honor. I would probably be guessing they were the respective best friends of my grandparents. Also, if I had enough room on the layout (I would probably make room), I would talk about the background and what's on the table in front of them.

This method could also apply to any heritage photo you have with extremely limited knowledge, i.e. only the person's relationship to you. Even without that, you can still use a similar method to document and record that person's memory and legacy. And when in doubt, don't forget to talk about how you feel: frustrated at lack of knowledge, curiosity about details or the background in the photograph, expressions on people's or their features and how they make you feel. Don't let the fact that you don't know anything, or could "get it wrong" stop you from scrapbooking your treasures. Besides, if you really do find out you were wrong someday down the road, you would always have more fodder for another page.

Tis the Season

Tis the season. We wish you a merry Christmas. I LOVE this song by Shedaisy. Probably one of my favorite holiday country tunes. I LOVE Christmas music. Traditional, country, rock, classical, choral, etc. Bring. It. On.

So, now that Halloween is officially over, the weekend passed and much candy consumed... it's time for the Christmas Holiday Season to begin! I can officially start making cards, creating decorations and singing Christmas carols at the office. No. Wait. One of my coworkers just vetoed the last one! Oops! He claims that's not allowed until Thanksgiving! We'll see how long I can hold out!

So, the big question is: what holiday decorations are on the agenda? Over the last couple of years, I have made a paper wreath and a paper Christmas tree that I love and still bring out every holiday season. But I'm thinking it's time for something new. I think I will be "spicing up" this garland by Making Memories. It's my project for the week. Maybe add some spray, stamps, glitter or paint. Or different papers. Not sure. I like the design, but I plan to add my own "flair" to the garland.

Do you have any holiday projects in the works? I would love to see what you are up to! And I am also curious to know what's your favorite Christmas/Holiday song or album? I'm always looking to expand my musical knowledge. I am a classically trained violinist you know... perhaps I should document that story soon. Stay tuned. :o)