Lil Sunshine

Yellow! Green! White! Hot pink! Light blue! Orange!....ahh...so many colors, but I think this page is refreshing like an ice cold slushie in the summertime!
My great niece Baylee (Charles' stepdaughter) turned two in June. After her birthday party she blew bubbles outside and I captured this adorable picture. Look at those lips!! So cute! The only thing I have to add is my journaling. However, remember the 5K page from a few days ago? Remember I said I had journaled so much on that one that I don't have to journal for an entire year? Looks like I am living up to that. LOL No, I really will journal. Just wanted to get these pics posted and at that point hadn't done it yet.

I found this yummy orange bling word on clearance for 99 cents! Baylee has red hair, so between finding this and the fun puffy circle stickers I had my color scheme for this page.

I layered the large circle die-cut over the lime green ledger paper, then added some puffy patterned dot stickers in various places. I added some scrumptious hot pink/white twine around the lower part of the page. That helped pull together all the colored accents.

Just a note....I tried SEVERAL times to photograph this page where it would show up clear and crisp. The white overlay essentially comes out looking light blue in natural daylight in my living room. I contemplated taking the layout outside, but said "eh, forget it." So, just imagine these yummy colors in a more vibrant way. *sigh*

Rock & Roll

Last month, my friend Cindy visited us for a few days. We met when I lived in MN and worked at Nordstrom. She and her husband live in Long Island City, NY and she works on Wall Street in NYC. She is a true city girl! She and her co-worker/friend Kristen were traveling to different cites to see U2 in concert. I'm so glad they stopped here on their way from Nashville to Chicago to Montreal. I hadn't seen her in FOUR years!
On July 7th, we went to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This layout shows the few snapshots we took. Photographs aren't allowed inside the Hall of Fame.

I saved my wristband, of course! I found rock 'n roll stickers at Hobby Lobby. The orange grid paper is by Jillibean Soup and was a piece from my stash. Orange and blue are complementary colors so they look snazzy together. Seeing the blue tones from the wristband and my shirt made me want to add that funky orange to complete the look.

I added the glittery Thickers and some fun foam musical notes. Glitter ROCKS!

What a Deal!

This layout is about the FREE car Kevin and I received from his mom. Yes, I said FREE! She decided to get a new Nissan Rogue and gave us her 2002 Nissan Altima...just because. How generous!
When I went to Achivers the last time, I chose the papers I would use. I had originally thought I'd use more of the flowered paper, but once I started planning the page, it was just obnoxious. Sometimes patterns are best in moderation. For the title I used my 3/4" circle punch and chose letters from another patterned paper. I then added a clear dimensional sticker over each one.

In this picture you can see where I added an entire row of clear dimensional circles for an interesting embellishment. Also, I wanted to add a button and then thought "Hmm, how can I stitch it in a different way?" So, I got this. I threaded it through the button holes and then out again and behind the circle in different angles. Neat? Maybe. Different? Yes!

I was tickled when I found this "coupon" in my embellishment stash. It was indeed perfect for this page. Just perfect!

By the way, we LOVE our "new" car. To pay it forward, we will be giving my 2000 Pontiac Sunfire to my brother. It needs several things fixed, but he still wants it. It has been a good car for me, but I am grateful to not be spending a FOURTH summer with no air conditioning. I endured THREE summers and this year I am soaking up the cool air in the Nissan. Ahhh....

Balloonfest 5K

Ok, so yesterday I posted a page I liked and today...well...I'm not too jazzed about this one. I really struggled trying to get all my keepsakes on the page, create a good design and journal about the event. I failed, but oh well. Can't love 'em all. I am grateful to have simply captured the memories of that event. I journaled so much that I shouldn't have to journal for a year. That's right Mom and Connie...a whole year. *giggle*
Remember, when you visit my blog you can click any picture for a closer look. Back when I first started my blog, pictures automatically appeared larger when posted. I haven't changed any settings on my camera and not sure if I changed something unknowingly on the blog, but they seem tiny now. Sorry. (edited to add: duh. double duh. I figured out my "size" issue. I have to choose small, med or large when I post the pic. I hope you all haven't gone blind and now I will fix it in future posts.)

More journaling. Don't faint...

Where You Live...

When Kevin and I went to WV in May I took this picture. I just love it. It captures a moment of life where he didn't even know I was snapping the picture. This picture says a lot. It's not just about my husband, but because I know and love him I can see his contentment. I had to really think about a good title for this page. I knew it was about a man visiting a place that in his heart he calls home. He has spent a lot of time growing up on this old farm. The Scott Family farm in Smithville, WV. This is where his grandma still lives. I tried to add some rugged details to reflect the "old" and "outdoorsy" feel of this place. Notice the distressed blue jean paper (inked, torn, etc.), the random red stitches and the tattered edge on the right. I tried to choose paper that would help convey the feeling I get not only when I visit this farm, but when I look at this picture.

When I was choosing my embellishments, I happened upon this tag in my stash. The letters were too stark white, so I pulled out my light creamy peach "cat's eye" stamp pad and rubbed it over the word. Perfect...it came out a creamy color and blended better with the old feel of this page.

Here you can see the title better. I love those little Cosmo Cricket letter stickers. I have them in several colors and they are super inexpensive. I got them at Archivers. I used some woodgrain dimensional letters for LIVE and then carefully added some screw-like brads. Had to get some more manly details going on here. :) Overall, I was really pleased with this page. I couldn't wait to show it to Kevin and he liked it, too. That made it even sweeter!

For me, creating a scrapbook page is about the details. Sometimes less is more and sometimes I love to add just a few more touches to make it just right. I don't always make pages I love, but I love this process.

What's new, Pussycat?

Meow!
It's more like "retract your cranky claws, Natalie". These past few weeks have been nothing but stressful, and quite frankly...I've been cranky. Not just a little cranky, but "leave me alone, I want to be by myself and I'm pretty much sick of everything" cranky. So, just to give you an update, here goes:

1) Kevin had been having recurring chest pain. Long story short....he had a stress test which came back "entirely normal and completely good" as his doctor put it. Although grateful for the outcome, next comes the thought of "great, when's the bill coming?". A stress test is over $3000, but thank God we have insurance. I still don't like bills.
2) Our basement flooded...not once, but TWICE in two days. Long story short...we had to file an insurance claim, the carpet/pad were destroyed and removed, mold was growing and now we have the joy of cleaning up and making sense of the ugliness left. The furniture must be disposed of and I really don't even like going downstairs right now. We got a bit of money from our claim, but nowhere near enough for us to contemplate waterproofing. So, we deal with the ugliness, clean what we can, throw out what we can and move on....and wait for the next round of water. Ugh.

The unfortunate thing is that now I am riddled with anxiety every time it rains. And, trust me...we are getting a LOT of rain nowadays. The other night when I went to bed I thought one of the dogs was moving the bed. Then, I realized it was ME who was moving. My entire body was quivering with anxiety as I listened to yet another thunderstorm roll on by. I was terrified of the thought of what water was creeping in our basement yet again. I feel like my chest is tight, I am stressed and quite frankly I am wondering if I need to make an appt. with my doc for something to calm my nerves before I have my first-ever panic attack. So, keep me in your prayers. Feeling REALLY strung out right now and I don't like it. I think the last 6 months have just been an overload from my job being so busy, to everyday stressors, to situational event stress/anxiety and it is just compounding into how I feel right now.

Now, the good news:
Kevin, his mom and I enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing weekend in West Virginia recently. His grandma lives LITERALLY on top of hill in the middle of nowhere. You have to drive through a field, a creek and up a bumpy LONGGGGGGGGGG, TALLLLLLLLLLL hill to get to her house. The whole world stopped for a while and all I thought about was the cool breeze, sounds of nature all around and the squeak of the porch swing moving to and fro. Just reading that makes me want to go back...now. She had the best ice cold well water and old-fashioned Percale sheets. Anyone that knows me well, KNOWS I LOVE SOFT SHEETS. Ahhh...

Here are some picture highlights from our visit.
Just a bit away from her house looking towards the woods where the LONG descent begins down that winding hillside "road". Pictures do not capture how steep and long this hill is once you enter the wooded area. Basically while standing here, imagine ending up at the bottom of a big hill to the FAR LEFT of yourself...yet being about a half mile away. If you know anything about WV terrain...it's super steep. Super steep! So, imagine it but I can't really show you how far up we were in this spot. You gotta be there.

The signature porch swing. His grandma's favorite spot. She has two big shade trees that protect you from the sun when you sit here and the breeze blows right across here just melting away your frustrations.

From her house looking to the left, this is the top of one of the many ridges in that area. Again, the depth and distance is hard to fathom from a seemingly "flat" picture. I love the curve of this ridge, and the contrast of all the colors on this gorgeous sunny day. Ahhhhh...

Hubby and his gun. He and I were heading "over a hill, in the pasture, along the cow path, through the soggy mud, and up a ridge" to search for groundhogs. Grandma's beagle Heidi followed us and began to bark (aka howl) as she trailed something. So much for getting a groundhog. I do love his picture though. I think it just shows my honey relaxed, soaking up the sun and heading out to do something he loves in a place so dear to his heart. Sweet.

And, last but not least....I got to scrapbook with my Girlz last night here in Ashland. I am currently working on a gift album for my hair stylist Abby. She is due any minute now and we will be excited to meet her baby girl Kamryn Lane. Going last night (I am so tired that I had second thoughts.) reminded me that I MUST keep doing what I love, giggle uncontrollably and forget about my troubles for a while. I must or I'll die from stress. So, it was great to see the ones who could attend (including my wonderful mom) and I got a lot done.

Hope everyone enjoys their extra time off during this Memorial Day weekend and don't forget to remember those who lost their lives serving our country or have passed on after their tour of duty. I am thinking particularly of my Uncle Bill who served in the Army Special Forces in Vietnam. He died in 1995 from cancer.

What's that?

Never in all my life have I received an ice cream cone at a drive-thru that was as jacked us as the one I got today. The kid at McD's needs more practice. HILARIOUS! I just can't stop laughing at it! LOL