12/26/19 - (Project) Life Goes On / Weeks 34 and 35

I'm slowly trying to get back into this thing called life, and in doing so I'm also trying to catch up on Project Life 2019.

I know I won't finish this year, and that's okay.

I'm giving myself permission to not stress.

I've been through a lot this year and most of it just recently.

Though I have been working on my pages, mostly chronologically, I haven't been consistent in sharing my pages because, well, life!

So there are gaps in my sharing...

Next year I will try to be more consistent, as long as I can still find the motivation to update this blog.

In the meantime, here are weeks 34 and 35 (only 17 more to go!)

Week 34 was pretty much (almost) all about the food, hahaha!
Almost all of it Vegan, definitely all of it Vegetarian.
Hamlet and I taking a coffee break made it's way in there also ::smile::

 

Week 35... um, also food, hahaha!
Those Vegan Nachos from Just Vegana, OMGEEEE
So Yum!!
- for this week, I tried something new: I took one photo and made it a 6x8 and then cut it so that it would fit in 3 pockets; a trick I learned from another Project Lifer.
I ordered the 6x8 from the Project Life App.

Also
 - A song on repeat
 - Binged watched a show (yes, I'm late to the party!)
 - 2 Funny IG posts
 - Also a Pocket Page card I can relate to

I really love the colors on this page!
Product = Elle's Studio, Kelly Purkey, Studio Calico
 + Memento (ink), We R Memory Keepers (page protector), Scotch Pink ATG (adhesive), Sharpie, and Tim Holtz (tiny attacher)

I hope to have a couple more pages to share soon!

 

 

Finally, here is a page I created that documents our trip to Waco, Texas... back in May.

This is part of Project Life Week 18

Journaling:
"We made it! We loved it!
But I'm pretty sure now I have diabeetus!
::crying laughing face emoji::
Seriously such a beautiful place and despite all the people it was truly peaceful.
Highly recommended!
My only complaint, they ran out of the Sweet Tea we wanted to try: the Holiday Sweet Tea... booo!
Besides what you see here, there were also lots of different food trucks, a large gift shop, and a garden shop.
Also I had the worse allergies that day... I sneezed at least 500 times, no joke! Good thing I was wearing large glasses, to cover my watery eyes, in the photos!"

All the embellishments on this layout are from Elle's Studio.

TFSB!

12/20/19 .....

I am devastated but feel I should share the news...

The photos and words below have been copied directly from my Instagram because I can't bear to write them again.

This is why I have been so unhappy and needing "simple" in my life the past few months, because I KNEW this would be happening soon. 

How soon I wasn't sure, but soon...

And now it's happened.
My heart is completely broken and I'm not sure how I will be able to go on...
right now I'm just going through the motions of life.
The only solace I have right now is that he was 15 (perhaps a little older as we don't know how old he was when he came into our lives) which is the average life expectancy for a dog, so we know he lived a full and happy life.

"If loved could have saved you, you would have lived forever"

.
It is with a shattered heart and through absolute gut-wrenching sadness that I share with you the news, that our handsome little prince is no longer with us.
David and I made the difficult decision to let him go yesterday afternoon.
He had been suffering from Spinal Arthritis for nearly 2 years and just recently been experiencing both bladder and bowel control issues and was living on pain meds, that didn't always work. I was hoping he'd at least make it to Christmas, but a couple of nights (in a row) prior to making the final decision Spotty had really bad pain episodes that made me realize that it was time; he couldn't live like that any longer, and it was unfair to ask him to.
Sure I could've upped his dosage but what kind of life is that especially when he couldn't walk without assistance any longer?
For those that don't know Spotty, he was a runner! Oh my God did he love to run!
And though we tried everything we could to keep him mobile: wheel chair, walking strap, us bending over him, helping him balance as he walked...pretty soon nothing worked and we eventually had to carry him everywhere.
.
We loved him fiercely and Spotty loved us right back, just as much. Even in his final days I could see it in his eyes. What I also saw was a tired boy with a broken body, so I finally agreed to let him go. Even though it hurt like hell, we took our baby to the vet and held him, kissed him, petted him, and told him just how much we loved him as he took his final breaths.
But I'll be honest as much as I keep telling myself we did the right thing, besides being sad about his loss, I am also feeling overwhelming guilt. Even when it is the right thing to do, how do you get over the fact that not only is your pet no longer with you, but it's essentially your fault?
I have cried buckets today & have a feeling I will not be stopping any time soon.
.
When he went, Spotty took a huge chunk of my heart with him and I seriously wish I had crossed with him because I truly dont know how I'm going to live without him.
.
Rest In Peace, baby, my Spotty-Too-Hottie.
Mommy misses you SO VERY VERY VERY MUCH! 💔😭

12/18/19

12/16/19 - "Use Your Stuff Challenge" #388

The Challenge this week at "Use Your Stuff" is super simple: Christmas!

Speaking of... who's ready?
I'm not, but then I never really am, but this year seems to be the worst!!!
Ugh, double Bah-Humbug!
Thank Goodness for Amazon's 1 day shipping, LOL

Anyway, onto my project

I created this Project Life page insert of a recent outing with friends:

I actually jumped ahead in my Project Life album because I wanted to scrap some Christmas photos, I mean 'tis the Season right? Plus I really love these photos, and the photos on the flipside, which are not Christmas related at all, but I'm still going to share:

This is one page but it has a flip card feature so I'm showing you "closed" (left) and "open" (right).

Those Simple Stories flip pockets really come in handy!

With that extra pocket I was able to have a title card, a journaling card and include a bonus photo of the adorable llama I got to see! ::mega heart eyes::

If you didn't already know I love llamas (and alpacas...yes they're different)!

Looking at these inserts now I realize, except for the cards and a few stickers I actually really kept them fairly simple and... I like it!

I really need simple in my life right now!

Product details:

Layout 1 -

All the embellishments and most of the pocket cards are from Elle's Studio.

The 4x6 Pocket Card is from Studio Calico and has been in my stash for 3 years

Layout 2 -

All the pocket cards, and most of the embellishments are from Elle's Studio.

Not from Elle's Studio = the date stamp, the "Llama Chill" sticker, and the circle sticker, which is from Kelly Purkey

Other products:

-  Becky Higgins / page protector

- Simple Stories / flip pocket

- Memento / ink

- Sharpie / journaling pens

12/13/19 - "THIS (Lazy Dog Restaurant)"

Hello!

Well I'm posting more than I thought I would since saying I wasn't going to be updating this blog much any longer, LOL
Funny how that works!
TBH I'm still not all that gung-ho about posting here but I guess I'll just play it by ear.
Just like life ebbs and flows, so does my desire to scrap and share.


Today I'm sharing this 2 page Traveler's Notebook Spread I created for a Blog Challenge:

Actually, this spread was inspired by 2 Challenges.

The first inspiration came from the December 2019 sketch by Rochelle at "Through the Eyes of...Rochelle" blog:

The second inspiration was this December mood board by "Scrap with Stacy" :

I was inspired by the food photos to scrap the VERY FIRST time David and I ever went to Lazy Dog Restaurant.

It was the day after our 16th Anniversary.

We had spent the night in Old Town Temecula and on the way home the next day we stopped by the Temecula Mall to watch a movie and then decided to have brunch.

We came across this restaurant we had never heard of before and wound up loving it!

Since then we have been (very) frequent visitors to the one closer to us, in Rancho Cucamonga.

In fact writing this makes me want to go right now; yum!!

I added this story to my food Traveler's Notebook after coming across the photo last night.

I'm so glad I found it, plus the 2 challenges, and that I was able to document another memory of my life!

Products:

- Doodlebug Design "Puppy Love"/ Sticker

- Echo Park "Mama Llama"/ 12x12 Kit

- Elle's Studio / Various Embellishments

- Heidi Swapp "Puffy Chat Bubbles" / Sticker

- Kaisercraft "Suga Pop" / 12x12 Kit

- Kelly Purkey / Alphas

- Sharpie

- ATG (Pink)

- File Label Sticker

12/09/19 "Use Your Stuff Challenge" #387 + Bonus Layout

Hi,

Dropping in to share 2 layouts.

The first is a 2 page Traveler's Notebook spread that I created for the current "Use Your Stuff" Challenge, which is to use the color 'Mint" on your project.

I had to deviate from the challenge just a bit.
I don't  have anything "mint" nor did I have any photos to scrap that would fit the "mint" theme so I figured, "mint" is part of the "green" family and created a layout using mostly green:

The J. Riley Distillery is my favorite place to get a couple of drinks. They serve my favorite drink, EVER: the California Mule.

Though I do not discriminate; I will also drink the Moscow Mule, the Irish Mule, the Mexican Mule, the Cat Daddy Mule, well...you get the point, LOL

The "This Girl Needs a Drink" stamp is from Kellie Stamps, an Australian Based Shop created and run by Kellie Winnell: https://kelliestamps.bigcartel.com/

I absolutely LOVE her stamps!

Other products include Amy Tangerine (for American Crafts), Elle's Studio, Kelly Purkey, and Studio Calico.

Other than the stamp, EVERYTHING on here is OLD stash!

Bonus Layout - A layout I just recently created -

Love This: CTPR Visit

A simple 12x12 Digital/Traditional Hybrid layout created in the Project Life App and embellished IRL, with mostly Elle's Studio products.

My favorite part of my trip to Texas was visiting Central Texas Pig Rescue.
If you have followed me long enough you know I am a huge Animal Advocate, and have a pet Mini-Pig (along w/ a dog and a cat). You also may know that I send Monthly Donations to this Pig Rescue.
It was truly the highlight of my Texas Trip to visit the place I have been a huge fan of, and have been sending money to, for a few years now!

I have more stories to document from this visit but those will have to be done another day.

Pigs = Bailey, Carlos, Finn <3 

Journaling: 

That is all for me today.

I hope all is well w/ you and yours and that you had a Happy Holiday!

12/05/19 - Monsterpalooza 2019

New 12x12 Layout, who dis?!

It's been a while since I did a Traditional 12x12 Layout and this particular one was a lot of fun!

It's actually a favorite of mine so I thought I'd share (sorry, Julie, LOL!)

Monsterpalooza 2019

My husband at the Monster Palooza Show this year... meeting his peeps!
He loved it, well mostly this part, but still...LOL
If you recall, he LOVES clowns, especially the scary ones!


Design/Product Details:
- BG paper is called "The Circus" from Carta Bella.
- A couple of random Documenter (AKA Project Life) Cards were used for embellishments: a whole one at the top and I punched a medium circle embellishment from the other one.
- The "Hello" is also punched from a Documenter Card.
- Alphas from Kelly Purkey.
- I used an Avery File Sticker to anchor my title (I outlined it w/ a red sharpie first).
- (Most) other embellishments from Elle's Studio.
- Washi from Target $1 Spot.
- Photo ordered from Snapfish.

I like the larger photo, I think I'm going to do that more often!

11/26/19 - JCI and Sharing a Couple of Layouts

Hi,

Just stopping by to share a couple of Use Your Stuff layouts.

And say I probably won't be around much.

you may have noticed, I haven't really been around for a little over a month now.

I just don't have the motivation to keep up w/ this blog any longer.

I still share my layouts at SB.com and on Instagram but don't feel the need any longer to do so here.

I may pop in once in a while to share, mostly because of the UYS Design Team commitment, but otherwise... no.

With that being said...

Here are the most recent UYS layouts I have created.

For Challenge #379 we were to be inspired by this board:

The challenge was to select your layout elements off the board.
I chose the diagonal row that contained: a stamp, the color red, and the color blue.

"Snack Time Favorite" -

2 page Traveler's Notebook spread

The Story:
I went through a phase where I just loved snacking on cottage cheese and fruit; I would eat it nearly every day!
What kind of scrapbooker would I be if I didn't document this obsession?!
It's still a favorite snack of mine but now I don't eat it as often.

I used 3 different Kelly Purkey stamps and lots of Kelly Purkey stickers.
I also used Elle's Studio goodies: the spoon, white hearts, and red acetate heart.
I also used my favorite film strip washi from Queen and Company that I've been rationing forever.
I'll be very sad when it's all gone since they don't sell it anymore.

.
.

For Challenge #385 - Theme = Thankful

"Thankful 4 True Love" -

2 page Travelers Notebook spread
Challenge = Thankful

I have so many reasons to be thankful but what came to mind, when completing this project, is my husband.
I'm thankful to be loved by such a good man.

The "4" is from Kelly Purkey.

All other embellishments, except for the purple paper, and the -blue and white w/ yellow heart- documenter card, are from Elle's Studio.

The documenter card is actually what I started with and it inspired the rest of the layout's look.

10/07/19 - "Use Your Stuff Challenge" #377

2 Page
Travelers Notebook spread
DT work for the "Use Your Stuff" blog
- this week's challenge = Labels
(Starts Monday, October 7th)

I used 3 labels on this:
2 of the labels I split into 2 pieces and used a piece from each of them on both sides of the layout; so 4 pieces total.
I ripped one of them to add texture.
The 3rd label I kept intact and clustered it amongst the label pieces I used on the
right-hand side.

I've already scrapped this photo in my 2018 Project Life album but I had an extra copy so I decided to create a TN page with it. It was a great excuse to use my new Echo Park Coffee Themed paper and my new large "Fri" stamp from Kelley Purkey; there was a lot of white space in my photo so it was the perfect, accidental, set-up! I used the stamp directly on my photo.

The coffee cup sticker is from Pink Fresh Studio.
All additional embellishments are from Kelly Purkey: Labels, Alphas, Stamps (except date), and Word Stickers

I really love this layout!
Hope the UYS ladies and I can inspire you to create a layout you love...
Don't forget to join us, you have until Friday.

09/16/19 - "Use Your Stuff Challenge" #375

The Use Your Stuff challenge for this week is Tags or Frames

We are also teaming up w/ the Double Trouble blog and their challenge is to use Something Plaid.

Here is my example for both challenges:

"I Woke Up Like Dis"

Turns out I dont have any frames in my stash, or else I just couldn't find them, so I went with tags.
I used 1 whole tag and the top of another.
I also included "something plaid"; the BG paper.
The plaid BG paper is older than Madison, who will be 18 in January.

Speaking of, this is a photo of Madison when she was (much) younger wearing one of her dad's masks.
For those who are unaware, my husband loves clowns and scary clowns in particular.
IDK how old Madison is in this photo, but I hope to eventually stumble across some clue and then come back and date this spread.

I chose the plaid BG paper because of the challenge but also because it has a subtle Halloween-feel to it, that goes well w/ the mask in the photo, and includes some purple, to match the purple in the photo.
I'm not sure why I felt the need to bring turquoise into the layout but I like the extra pop of color it adds.

The tags are from Elle's Studio, as are the "Hey There", and the star and circle puffy stickers.
The alphas and the "smile" quote are from Studio Calico.
I randomly layered and tilted the alphas to allow the entire title to fit in the allotted space, plus it adds a bit of visual interest.

The title is currently a very popular saying and because it is "a phrase that someone says when they wake up looking good looking"* I of course had to use it for this photo, LOL

Lastly, that 17+ year old paper is from a DCWV Halloween Stack.

*definition copied from Urban Dictionary -dot- Com

09/09/19 - Project Life Week #20 and Week #21

Hellloooo!

Today I share with you Project Life Week #20 and Week #21.

Week #21 was the 4th week of May which means I'm behind. 

But I finally gave myself permission to just stop worrying about it.

I may never catch up, but I'm definitely going to enjoy the process of getting there!

- click/tap on each image to enlarge -

Week #20

 Details:
.. A funny (hungry) dog vs (hungry) pig meme - which is so very true BTW, LOL!
.. Sharing my favorite Soy Chorizo and a little bit about it

.. Happy Mail from a scrappy friend
.. Perfect Avocados - from our tree

.. We found a bird and saved it...

And as you can read, Panini (most likely) killed it! RIP Little Dude

.. David was surprised by our fridge contents:

.. Grumpy Cat died - RIP Grumpy Cat
And though I loved the photo and news story I included on my spread, the size of the photo made it difficult to read the statement released by his family...

So I reprinted it by itself and included it in a Simple Stories flip pocket and used a Simple Stories cat themed pocket card to fill in the back blank space.

I also stamped "nooo..." on the flip tab to carry on the theme (stamp from Kellie Stamps).

Week #21

Details:

.. I bought Panini some Meowijuana - Catnip w/ 'weed' in it... she loved it, LOL

.. I was in a fender bender that cost me, but taught my daughter a valuable life lesson

.. Tried a new and yummy Vegan (frozen) meal

ETA - I loved it! I will be adding that info to my layout since I obviously forgot to originally.

.. "Hungry Again" Pocket Page card Freebie from Kellie Winnell (AKA Kellie Stamps)

.. Panini hung out w/ me in my room while David watched the season finale of "Game of Thrones" in the living room

.. (My son) Joseph got married!!

.. Tried some new items at Plant Power, including their new Cotton Candy Shake

Close up of Car Accident journaling (pre-embellishing):

The "Stop. Breathe. Cry. Move On" stamp, on the finished spread, came from Kellie Stamps, and it definitely was what I did!

All the digital journaling, on both layouts, was completed on the Project Life App.

I chose grids that allowed me to include a photo and a digital pocket card and then add journaling to that card.
The finished product was printed on photo paper.


I really enjoy creating these pages, even if some take me longer than others.
I like looking back on the events, big or small, that make up my life... even if some of those events aren't so good.

09/07/19 - "Vegas (Fun)!

What you see here is a Traditional, 2 page, Travelers Notebook spread

I may be boycotting Vegas right now (see previous post for more on that), but that doesn't mean I didn't have great times there!
Throwback to February 2017, celebrating my friend's birthday.

 

One of the highlights of that trip? Our first time on the High Roller, which is what inspired my design idea. 

I didn't intend to scrap these photos in a Travelers Notebook, but when I printed out the photos, back in 2017, the collage affect printed in a 4x6 size, which ultimately came out as a 4x4, seemed too small for a 12x12 layout.
Not being one to waste photos I held on to them, and made a mental note to myself to print my collages at, at least, 5x7 in the future.
Fast Forward to now when I'm heavy into scrapping in TNs and look what I found... the photos I had tucked away!


Stamps: 
. Kellie Stamps 
. Kelly Purkey - the B&W and the Red Alpha stickers also 
. Studio Calico 

Other products:
. American Crafts - Gold Alphas
. ATG
. Sharpie
. Staz-on Ink

09/03/19 - "Challenge YOUrself" Challenge #68

Good Afternoon (or Morning, or Evening...whichever is currently appropriate)!

Today I'm sharing a 12x12 Digital/Traditional Hybrid Layout.
The layout was created in the Project Life App and embellished IRL

The story:
My husband and I enjoyed a simple celebration of our 18th Wedding Anniversary this year.
This year we spent the Saturday before our anniversary at a new-to-us beach, just the 2 of us.
The reason for this "simple celebration" is we had already enjoyed a trip to Texas earlier in the year and later on this year we plan on taking a trip... somewhere else. ::wink::
So a simple day trip was all we needed.
Plus it was a great way to beat the heat; it was over 100 degrees in our neck of the woods that day!

On a related side note, this is the first year since we've been married that we did not celebrate in Vegas.
In fact this is the first year since we started our relationship, 19 years ago, that we haven't visited Vegas, and we usually go at least 2-3 times a year!
We are currently boycotting Vegas because they decided to raise the prices AGAIN! ::sigh::
(Seriously Vegas, I'm pretty freakin' sure you make PLENTY of money already!)

Anyways...
We had a lot of fun on this day, and I forgot just how much fun it is to create a simple Digital Pocket Page in the Project Life App and then add fun finishing touches w/ my real life embellishments.

I am submitting this for the current challenge at "Challenge Yourself" which is called What I like About Summer

Thanks for stopping by!

.
.
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Product details:

Digital Pocket Cards
 - "Better Together"
 - "Scrumptious"

Stickers
- Doodlebug
- Elle's Studio
- MAMBI
- Studio Calico

09/02/19 "Use Your Stuff Challenge" #373

Hi!

This Week's Challenge at the "Use Your Stuff" blog is Back to School

No "Back To School" photos for me though!

Instead, I was inspired to create a 2-page Traveler's Notebook spread of this photo of my girls hanging out in the front yard on a bright, sunny August day. It was on the 24th, so almost the end of August, right before going back to school!

Left to Right: Ivanna, Madison, and Panini
08/24/2012

I love this photo, though it's bittersweet for me:
Ivanna has since passed, and Madison and Panini are older and too cool to hang out like this now (yes, even Panini, the cat, LOL)!
But I'm so glad I have this moment in time captured.

As for the design, I had a lot of fun adding various embellishments to help frame the cute photo of my girls just lounging on a Lazy Friday afternoon.

I love the look of the multiple embellishments, plus it's a great way to use them up!

Speaking of using up "stuff"... that BG paper was a leftover piece from my stash.

Travelers Notebook layouts are a great way to use up scraps!

I hope this layout has inspired you to join us.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT Projects:  UYS Back to School

Products:
- Amy Tangerine: Patterned Paper
- Elle's Studio: Acetate Heart, "Sunny Days" Puffy Sticker
- Freckled Fawn: Wooden Sun
- Jillibean Soup: Circle Flower Sticker, Happy Face Green Sticker
- Kellie Stamps: "#Snapshot", "Lazy Day..."
- Pinkfresh Studio: "Takin' It Easy" Puffy Sticker
- Studio Calico: "August" Stamp, Brown & White Alphas
- Tim Holtz: Black & White Alphas, Tiny Attacher staples
- Sharpies: Black and Blue
- Staz-on Ink: Jet Black"
- Scotch Pink ATG Gun
- Pink Heart (Unknown brand)

08/30/19 - "One Photo"

My most recent, completed, project:

a 2 page Travelers Notebook spread for my "Miscellaneous" TN album.

You may wonder...

"How does she decide what goes in a Miscellaneous album?"

Easy!

Whatever I can't make fit anywhere else, LOL

And add to that, the pages in this album are NOT in chronological order ::gasp::!

Actually, that's not too shocking.

Most of my TN Albums are not in chronological order.

 

 

Journaling:
"When my husband sends me an Instagramable photo, how could I not?! Our roses are blooming, and they are BEAUTIFUL!
05.10.19"

As I was writing this I noticed a "typo" in my journaling ::doh!::
Luckily I can fix it (and I will)!

I created this w/ all Kelly Purkey products:
The Alphas
The 3 Stamps, came from her July "Snapshot" Stamp Set
 - "Photo Courtesy of my Instagram Husband"
 - "One Photo"
 -  The photo strips (printed on regular computer paper then cut out)
The BG paper, left-hand side, came from her  April "Grow" TN kit
The label (upper right)
Even the "torn and then layered label" idea is from her!

Click here to visit - >>> Kelly Purkey Shop

Only other products used were a sharpie, adhesive, Staz-on Ink (black), Scrapbook.com Ink (green), and the Tim Holtz tiny attacher.

As simple as it is, I really LOVE this layout!

TFL!

08/26/19 - "Yikes... Oh Hell No!"

Did that title get your attention?! LOL!

For this layout I used up some more stash...along w/ some new stuff.

#Balance

12x12 Traditional

This is also part of my Project Life, Week 11

Journaling:
"Left - David, Chad and Nicole on Hang Time
Right - David and Chad on Excelerator
Not Pictured - Me... on the ground!"

Yup, I hate roller coasters so I was happy to take photos while my husband and our friends rode them! 

TFL!

Product Info:

- Crate Paper: BG paper
- Echo Park: Pink Polka Dot paper
- Simple Stories: Emoji
- Freckled Fawn: "date" arrow
- Tim Holtz: Tiny Attacher
- ATG Gun Pink: Adhesive
- Sharpies:  Blue and Black
- Elle's Studio: "Yikes" and "Oh Hell No!" Alphas
"This Is Happening", "Observations", and Camera die cuts
"Tuesday" chipboard sticker
"Just Having Fun" and Blue Stars pocket page cards
 green/white circle
 yellow puffy stars

08/24/19 - Project Life Week #19

Project Life Week 19 (05/05/19 - 05/11/19)

12x12 Digital layout created in the Project Life App, including a majority of the journaling (including typos: "my David" 😅).
Embellished in real life.

>This week we watched "A Star is Born"
- as the (real life) journaling strips indicate: I liked it, David didn't
> I tried a new Protein Cookie
- if you've followed me long enough you know that I love to eat and I like to review and compare food as well. The journaling is my review of the Quest Cookie including how it compares, both taste and macro-wise, to Lenny & Larry's. BTW - Larry and Lenny's is Vegan, Quest's isn't.
> It was World Donkey day on 05/08 so I included a Selfie David took w/ Iris of CTPR* and another photo of David, and more donkeys, along w/ Dan the co-founder of CTPR.
> Hamlet's tush and a quote from the movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure"

*CTPR - Central Texas Pig Rescue
If you have followed me long enough you know I follow/donate to the Central Texas Pig Rescue, a Sanctuary for Pigs (and other animals, but mostly pigs).
One of the stops during our trip to Texas was to visit the Sanctuary.
And it was amazing!
I know for sure I will be scrapping this aspect of our visit to Texas (stay tuned).
For now, enjoy the donkey photos ::wink::

This week was also when I received Hamlet's "no escape" harness.
A reminder of that layout is here (click): Here We Go

Supplies:
- PL App
- Tim Holtz: Tiny Attacher
- Sharpies: black and blue
- Elle's Studio: heart puffy stickers (3), circle puffy alphas, "love this snack" puffy sticker, star puffy sticker, "love this" sticker, green acrylic heart
- Citrus Twist: "today this is on the menu" stamp
- Kelly Purkey: "showtime" stamp

08/19/19 - "Use Your Stuff Challenge" #371

This week  "Use Your Stuff" brings you a Mood Board Challenge.

Here is the Mood Board:

The photos of the dogs on the wall, and the green color of the wall, inspired me to scrap these photos of Spotty frolicking outside, near the green grass.

These photos mean a lot to me because, as you may recall, Spotty lost the use of his back legs last March (2018)… but I'm happy to report, he regained use of them around Christmas time (2018), YAY!

The vet told us he would never "walk" again so I consider Spotty to be a "Miracle Dog". This is the first time I called attention to this "miracle" in my scrapbook.

"Miracle Dog" 

Journaling:

"My sweet old boy enjoying a little stroll. He's slow but still 'lapping everyone on the couch'. Go Spotty, Go!

Spotty recovered the use of his back legs around Christmas time last year and has been zipping around ever since!"

If you're not familiar w/ the term "lapping everyone on the couch" it's basically a motivational quote for those who don't go to the gym because they're embarrassed because they feel they're too weak, slow, or just plain not good enough...
Basically it means, as long as you are doing SOMETHING you are doing more than the person sitting on the couch and that's something to be proud of!

Product -

- Pinkfresh Studio

- Kaiser Craft

- Photo Play Paper

- Doodlebug

- MAMBI

-  (Pink) ATG Gun 

- Black Sharpie

08/18/19 - Project Life Weeks 17 and 18

Okay,  so I noticed I'm a little behind on Project Life.
Not only as far as actually completing pages, but sharing also.

So today I am sharing 2 spreads - Week 17 and Week 18.
Reminder you can tap/click on each page to enlarge

Week 17 -

I created a small simple layout on the back of my Hamlet "Can't Breaf layout":

I found this photo on Instagram.
All I did was glue it to the Simple Stories 6x8 page, add the "Let's Stay Home" sticker and the "For the Record" stamp and doodled around the entire edge of the layout.

Next comes my "Sharp Objects Pocket Page" that I've shared prior, so I don't need to say more about it. I included it so you can get an idea of how it looks as you flip through my album (though I added a blue back drop for less distraction), but since I have already shared it before w/ more detail I wasn't too concerned about the way the page itself photographed.

As I mentioned prior, I left the back of the Sharp Objects Pocket Page blank because it was a nice back drop for the "Can't Breaf" layout (seen here ).

Then comes my 12x12 Pocket Page layout for the week:

A brief summary of this week:
> Easter Sunday - David and I went to Lazy Dog for Brunch
> I caught Panini recovering from what looks like a wild night, LOL
Basically the story is, I walked into my room and saw her napping, surrounded by money and a receipt that David had thrown on the bed.
It looked like she passed out after a long night of partying so of course I had to take a photo, LOL
> A beautiful avocado from my tree...
Using my new Kelly Purkey "Healthy" stamp set: the avocado and the "healthy + tasty"
> I tried the new Hazelnut M&Ms, which I loved, and used my new Kellie Stamps "Chocolate" stamp set: the chocolate bar and the '#NotSharing"
I also used some Elle's Studio stamps and pocket page cards.
BTW this is one of my favorite PL pages this year because it's so colorful; the photo here does not do it justice!


Week 18 -

We went to Texas this week, crossing into Week 19.
But I didn't want to include "all things Texas" in my spread as I want to maybe, hopefully, create some separate Texas related layouts...but don't hold your breath, LOL!
So in this week's spread I just made sure to mention that we went to Texas.
The photo of "Texas" is a postcard image I found online.
The photo of the plane is a PL digital card that I found in the PL App. I also used the PL App to add journaling to the card; a brief summary of the main highlights of Texas.
This I printed on heavy white paper.

I included a postcard I bought in Texas and brochures of a couple of things we did in Texas: a Cavern Tour and a visit to the Dr. Pepper Museum.
All were hole punched and placed directly into the album

This week was also the end of April, beginning of May, so you know I had to include that Justin Timberlake "It's gonna be May" meme, bahahahahaha!
The top left is a new one I found this year and the bottom left popped up on my Insta Stories "Memory Feed", reminding me that I posted it last year, so I used both on this layout cuz a spread w/ JT in it is always a good idea ::wink::

I finished watching "The Act" a Hulu Original story based on the true life story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Though I found the true story to be interesting, the show wasn't all that.
It was good as far as learning more about the case, but the story-telling was way too cheesy, in my opinion, so I gave it a "Meh" rating.
If you never heard this story, check it out: Gypsy Rose

Finally, I also enjoyed a yummy breakfast of Pumpkin Spice Mini-Wheats that I wanted to document. Yes, Pumpkin Spice in May, cuz that's how I roll!
BTW - Peep that pumpkin stamp from the Kelly Purkey "Healthy" Stamp Set.

I really enjoyed creating these pages, though they took me for-ever!
I do have a few more pages finished but sometimes it feels like photographing and sharing the pages takes as much time as making them!

08/10/19 - Maine

 

Today's layout was inspired by a favorite Scrapbooking blog, but in a different way.

 

If you recall I used to frequently play along w/ a blog called the "Counterfeit Kit Challenge" blog.

Though I have wanted to play along, I just haven't found the time to this year.

 

I don't have time to create and photograph a kit, nor do I have time to put all the unused items from my kit neatly back into my stash.

 

But the other day I was inspired by another way to play.

 

This was copied and pasted from a recent post of theirs:

 

 

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the idea of a big kit this month?Perhaps you just want to pull together a few products to get those creative juices flowing again.

Maybe a mini kit is the answer!

 

A mini kit can be a smaller version of the main kit, or a small kit specifically curated for use as a page kit, card-making, a mini album, pocket scrapbooking or planning. Whatever works best for you! We are all about using up our supplies so whatever fits into your schedule - you can use the mini kit option at any time you like!

Susan decided to try something a little different this month - she looked to the mood board, released as a "sneak peek" just before the beginning of each month, as inspiration for her August mini kit.  Here's the mood board:

  

 

 

 

A smaller kit and the mood board is what motivated me to finally scrap some photos from my Boston/Maine vacation last year.

Hey, only 1 year behind? Not bad, LOL

- If you don't know I love taking photos of my vacations but hate scrapping photos of my vacations... too many photos! #Overwhelmed

 

 

My kit included:

- The Maine BG paper

- The Kelley Purkey "Best Coast" Stamp Set

I used 4 stamps: the anchor, "East Coast", "Fresh Seafood", and "Coastal Views"

- A StazOn Jet Black ink pad

- Bits and pieces from some old Elle Studio kits

- White scrap paper for matting and accents

- Sharpies (black and red)

- Project Life App for journaling

I selected a digital journaling card, typed my journaling, and printed on heavy white paper

- 2 Circle Punches

 

 

 

 

"Maine - Remember Today"

 

 

Here's a close up of the journaling:

 

 

I feel good finally getting this into my (2018) Project Life album!

 

 

08/05/19 - "Use Your Stuff Challenge" #369

This week's challenge over at the "Use Your Stuff" blog is: Inspired by Disney

I'm not much of a Disney fan.
I do have a favorite Princess: Jasmine
A favorite Disney Movie: "Aladdin"
and I have a Tinkerbell tattoo* on my left calf, but...
otherwise... Disney? Meh
*I know what you're thinking... bahahahahaha!


My son is a HUGE fan though!
And I just recently came across this photo that I stole from his Insta-Stories.
It's a photo of him and his then fiancee, now husband, getting ready to watch "Incredibles 2".

This was taken/posted last year so it was great timing that I recently stumbled across it when I needed something Disney-related to scrap.
To be technical, "Incredibles 2" is a Pixar movie but Disney owns Pixar, so... it works!


A traditional 2 Page TN Spread -

"Disney Date Night" 

 

Products -

Ella and Viv Paper Company

Elle's Studio

Echo Park

Queen and Company

Pinkfresh Studio

Tim Holtz

Scotch Pink ATG

Glue Dots

Sharpie

08/03/19 - "Here We Go"

 

12x12 Traditional Layout

Part of Project Life Week 19

Not an original design, by any means...
but when you're telling your story, sometimes you have to forgo originality in order to get 'er done!
That's not to say I don't like this layout, in fact I love it!

 

The journaling was created on the PL App:
I used one of their 4x6 templates, this one was already divided in 2, and placed a 2x3 photo and 2x3 Journaling card (from the app) and printed it on photo paper.
Fun Fact: the digital journaling card I chose comes from the same Amy Tangerine traditional paper line that the "Here We Go" and "Love This Dude" cut-a-parts came from!

Journaling:
"Hamlet has a new harness/leash and I love it!
It's an escape-proof leash that's easy to put on and adjustable. I bought him the Medium/Large which fits from 40-170 lbs. He's currently at 125lbs* and will probably stay around that size, give or take a few pounds. Pigs generally stop growing at about 5 years old and he just turned 4 in March but his growth rate has slowed down considerably.

I'm excited to hopefully go on more adventures with him now, though truthfully just finally finding a harness/leash combo that works for him and allows us to take simple neighborhood walks thrills me!
I included a screenshot of the leash, in a different color, from Amazon.
As you can see, great reviews; peep those stars!

*BTW - reminder Hamlet is a Mini-Pig. Mini-Pigs do not stay "small" unless you realize that he IS small compared to a farm pig, which is why pigs like Hamlet get their "Mini-Pig" label.
#NoSuchThingAsTeaCupPigs

And yes, I'm outside in my jammies... cuz that's how I roll!"


Products:
- Amy Tangerine for American Crafts
- Glitz Design (The BG paper is from their Dapper Dan line that I have had in my stash For-EVER)
- Scrapbook Customs
- Elle's Studio

07/27/19 - 3 Yrs (Gone)

Okay, so I lied...
In my previous post I said I was done with my Pet Themed TN, but I just created another layout.
That makes 14 in this TN, if you're counting.
I didn't think I could comfortably fit any more but this one fit and fit well.
In fact it gave me less trouble than the layout right before it... go figure!

 

June 20th (2019) was the 3rd anniversary of the passing of my Malti-Poo, Ivanna.

She was 15.

I came across the bottom photo and decided to scrap it.
It's a photo of the memorial statue we bought after she passed; it sits on the window ledge on our front porch.

Funny story...
this is the 3rd time I scrapped this photo; unbeknownst to me.
I knew I scrapped it twice, once for a tribute page and once for a Project Life layout, but had no idea until after I had stuck it down here that this was the 3rd time!
Apparently I printed multiples of this photo w/out realizing.
It's the 3rd anniversary so I guess it was just meant to be.
::shrugs::

 

 

Anyway onto the layout.
As I said, I came across this photo one night, when felt the urge to be creative, but was exhausted (lately it's the story of my life, but that's a whole other Oprah)!
So I thought I would play a little w/ glue and paper and just see where it went.
Well, THIS is where it went.
But to be honest, the only things I stuck down that night was everything on the bottom (minus the date stamp) and the black tag and the "this was a tough day" phrase on the top.
Everything else was added a couple of days later.
But I'm glad it worked out that way, because in that 2 day interim I remembered I had the top photo, that I have never scrapped, which would work perfectly on this spread because of the colors in the BG of the photo.
Sometimes it really does work out better to allow the scrappy process to marinate!

Product deets:
> the BG papers are from Kelly Purkey
> the majority of the embellishments are from Elle's Studio.
> the "3" is from Pinkfresh Studio
> the "xo" and the "thinking of you stamp" are from Studio Calico

And though it was difficult to really capture the true fullness of this TN, I wanted to share this w/ you:

Seeing it so full, and flipping though it, makes me smile!
Despite some of the creating process being a PITA, LOL
 

07/23/19 - " (the) Visit"

*Note I created this page just prior to my unintentional scrappy break, just forgot to post it*

A 2-page

Traditional Traveler's Notebook Spread

Nope, it's not your imagination...you have seen this before, well at least the bottom half.

If you saw my original post, you may recall that I said my book was getting too full and bulky to fill up both sides of each page (and you may also recall I said I didn't like the look of the blank side).

Original layout:

I was just going to let it go, but then decided to reach out for "expert help".
I asked a fellow TN Scrapper, who has been scrapping in TNs a lot longer than I have, and who is also a scrappy designer, how she is able to use all her pages and fill up her books without them being too bulky?
Her answer? She removes some of pages from the TN before she starts. Less pages means less bulk and more freedom for play!

Unfortunately I learned this trick after already filling up this TN pretty well.
But I still went in and removed some blank pages best I could. It did cause the book to fall apart a bit as the bulkiness of the completed pages made it difficult for me to re-staple it but with a bit of perseverance... and lots of regular tape and washi tape (LOL)… I was able to get it back together again, though I must admit the tape is a bit unsightly, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do! Though, I did also have to tell my self to just "breathe" because I did have a momentary melt down when I saw the book fall apart (thanks my OLW)!
I know better now going forward.
And I just made sure not to put the tape on the actual photos in case the tape started to erode over the years, which I believe it generally does.

But enough about that!
For the new page I used some washi tape that had been sitting in my stash along with bits and pieces from the same Echo Park collection I used for the original page.
I also added a button to match the bottom button to help tie in the 2 pages and make it look more like one.
I also added the date. I wanted to stamp it but neither of my roller date stamps had 2012 on them; it was either before or after ::doh::!
The page is not 100% to my liking, but it definitely makes me feel much better about the previous blank space!

Now I know another handy trick to working in TNs and am looking forward to creating in them more!

BTW - this is the same book I recently said I was finished w/… I'm happy to say I was able to include 13 layouts in it!

Additional Product:
-Elle's Studio
-Kelly Purkey