Gone Home

As most of you know, my paternal great aunt Irene died in January. She was laid to rest in the family cemetery in Kentucky on 2/1/09. I was unable to go, but Connie took a few photos that she shared with me. I made this very "heart healing" page in her memory. It is often hard to scrapbook the difficult moments in life, but it can be quite therapeutic as well. Connie said that the lower portion of her stone has the words "Gone Home" engraved on it. I was having a hard time with a title for this page, and her suggestion was not only meaningful but downright perfect.

This is a close up of the flower/button details. You can click either picture to really see all the details.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks, too, for letting me share such a tender page.

Craft Farm Highlights-Sunday

Mom and I stayed up late Saturday night into Sunday morning. I missed breakfast and grabbed a bagel and yogurt to go as we left Craft Farm. I slept in long enough to shower and quickly pack my supplies. Whew! I haven't stayed up that late in a long time! I was making this page about 3am Sunday. :)
I had these pictures of Jack from one of the many times he was under the spare room bed. I thought it would be funny to do them in a "film sequence". I created the filmstrip edge with my Spiral Stampin' Up! punch. I then added some strips of double-sided paper I cut using my Cutter Kit tool, some punched stars and bling stones. I added red as an unexpected accent color. Everything was too green/black/white for me so I got weird and added red. LOL! (click for a closer look and read the "movie theme" journaling on the next pic below)

We stopped to see Julie and Josh on our way back home. I got to see adorable little Tucker! He is Riley's brother and weighs about 2 pounds less than Riley. He's just a peanut!

Tucker was checking out the box of Girl Scout cookies we delivered to Julie. *sniff sniff*

Well, that's the super simple version of highlights of our weekend. From here on out, I'll just show other layouts I completed while there. More to come later this week! Thanks for stopping by!

Craft Farm Highlights-Saturday

This is one of my fav pages I did this weekend. Click for a closer look. More detailed pic below.

Connie had these hilarious pig slippers.

I forgot to take a picture of breakfast or lunch on Saturday. We had stuffed french toast and thick-sliced bacon for breakfast. For lunch we had baked potato bar with all different toppings to choose from and tortilla soup. Yum! For dinner, we had side salad, chicken breast and three-cheese pasta. In the pic below, the food portions look small, but I couldn't even eat the chicken breast since it was so thick and big. I should have taken a closer picture. I tell ya...we ate great all weekend! And....we didn't even have to clean up! Yeah to that!

Dessert that night was Cream Puff Dessert! Let me tell you.....this rocked! I even got the recipe! Yum! Look at how the chocolate and caramel toppings just oozed over the dessert. Yep, it was scrumptious!

These are the two other girls who stayed at Craft Farm this weekend. Courtney is on the left. She is from Colorado Springs, CO. She flew in to visit her friend Jessica who lives in Toledo, OH. Jessica grew up in Colorado and they have been friends since junior high. They were both so very nice! This picture was taken Saturday night before they left to go to their special dinner. They upgraded their stay with a Diva package that included massage, facial and dinner out. Courtney reminded me of my dear friend Christie in Tennessee. Kinda weird, but neat.

Craft Farm Highlights-Friday

Wow! What a great get-away! It sure doesn't last long enough. I can't wait to go again!

Mom, Joan, Connie and I met at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, then headed to Archivers at Easton for some pre-trip shopping. Check in at the farm was 3pm and we arrived shortly after that.

We had the trunk and back seat of two cars filled with all the goodies needed for cropping!

Oh, and some Girl Scout cookies from Connie's granddaughter. There was a naughty mouse that got in them on the way there and back. LOL!

The B&B owners are Ken and Christi. They have a staff of 13 people that help them at Zane Trace Inn and Craft Farm. We got a special dinner made by Ken on Friday night....his awesome homemade pizzas! We had pepperoni, chicken ranch and garbage (supreme with fried onions) pizzas. Yum!

That naughty mouse took a bite of my pepperoni piece before I took a picture. :)

Dessert on Friday night was bite-size cheesecakes and cherry topping. I have to admit that I ate more than just these two. LOL!

This is the only card I made while there. The rest was scrapbook pages. I used Basic Black and Whisper White cardstocks. The flower is part of a piece of Bazzill cardstock that you can stitch on. I just used it as it comes and layered it over the white. The chipboard heart is colored with Regal Rose craft ink and coated with Stickles for some shimmer. The letters are tiny rub-ons. You can see a close-up below.

Stay tuned later this week for more highlights...including more food pictures and some scrapbook layouts! :) I am spending Monday recovering from staying up super late. I'm catching up on laundry, etc. I think it's gonna be a jammie day ALL DAY LONG! :)

I scrap, therefore I am.

I am making sure this posts AFTER Mom, Connie, Joan and I are on the road to The Craft Farm this morning. I made one of these for each of them as a surprise goody once we arrive. Last year when we went to Zane Trace Inn, Mom had an awesome goody basket for each of us. I decided I wanted to have something special for everyone this time. :)
I used my Creative Memories one-inch square punch, Chestnut Roan cat's eye ink pad, red brads, various paper scraps and a few circle punches. I printed the saying using my computer printer. OH, and I got the frames at The Flower Factory. I was pleased with how they turned out and hope that each one of them likes it for their craft rooms. I took a few different angles and a close-up of the saying. You can also click any pic for a closer look.

The paper scraps are in my one container filled with all different patterned paper scraps. I love finding ways to use even the smallest piece of leftover paper. This project was perfect for that!

We will be gone Friday through Sunday. I am so excited to spend another great weekend with three ladies that are so dear to my heart. I love spending time with each of them! I won't have to deal with the phone, bills, to-do lists, doggy potty breaks, work, laundry.....well, you get the picture. I will be dealing with delicious meals, a super comfy bed, luxurious toiletries, a hot tub, laughter, music, scrapbooking and loving family/friends. I hope to really rejuvenate myself on this trip. I'll share some highlights next week. Hope everyone has a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Bling Birthday

My niece Julie is turning 24 on Saturday. I made this card and matching envelope for her. She is definitely a girly-girl so I added tiny bling stones to the flower centers. I made a straight edge on the envelope by laying down a post-it note, then stamped the flowers.

I tried taking the pics twice, but they still look "gray". Oh well...hope you at least get the idea.

I masked an area for the greeting by simply laying down a post-it note. It made a "frame" for the sentiment and signature. Easy to do!

Stamps: Mixed Greetings by Papertrey Ink, Time Well Spent by Stampin' Up!

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Taken With Teal

Well...

...I was going to post a card I made Sunday, but realize the photos are just too dark. I'll try to take new pics soon and post it. The boys are pretty wound up now that I am home from Bible study, so I'll try for tomorrow. Gotta wind down...