I've been tagged (again)

And to be honest I have/had no clue what that means. To the two gals who have tagged me before - I apologize for my lack of blogger knowledge.
Nancy tagged me today, and since I am wore out I took the time to visit her blog and see if I could resolve the tagging mystery. There are rules to follow, but I will be first to admit I have never figured out how to get a link to work. I will have to go experiment and come back to this.

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

here are 7 random facts:
1. I grew up on a dairy farm - it was hard work and I couldn't wait to graduate and go off to college, but looking back, I am glad for how the life shaped me into who I am.

2. Crying babies make me cringe. Might have something to do with our first being colicky as a baby, and my being home by myself with no break from a crying baby for 12 hours. I love babies, don't get me wrong, but I just want to hold them for a bit and give them back to their mamas. (LOL)

3. I talk to the computer. Machines are rather rude - they seem to ignore me, but then again, they don't talk back...something I am seeing as of late with our 10 yr old.

4. I talk to my parrot - and she does talk back, usually squwauks, but hey - she keeps me company when I am scrapping.

5. I love popcorn mixed with some Cheetos - DH just brought me a bowl. Give it a try!

6. One leg is shorter than the other...thus my lifelong sentence for unfashionable walking shoes - nothing cute, no heels in my closet to speak of.

7. I am a water drinker. I do enjoy a cup of coffee most mornings, but by an by I am always accompanied by a bottle of water. Our well water is better than anything ever bottled.

Birthdays Are Work!

Whew... I am just wore out. I have spent the past couple days totally gutting 1/2 our basement, getting out the 409, steam cleaner for the floors, vacuuming webs...all to prepare for 6 munchkins to come over to craft and play on Abby's birthday party. Getting ready for a party is LOTS of work, and I am not even calling it an official birthday party. We really don't need more items in this house, aka gifts, unless it is paint or craft supplies as our daughter is always using up her art supplies. She turns 5 this week and spends 70% of her time coloring and putzing at the craft table. Hmmm...wonder where she gets that from?

I've visited the chiropractor the past two mornings after being imbolized by some major pains over the weekend. What a change - after just the first adjustment. I love chiropractic care. Tonight, however, I worked more and moved the very heavy craft table out from a support beam. That baby is heavier than I thought, and felt my back protest. I suspect I am going to be in pain tomorrow, and my doc is out of town until Monday. Ugh! So anyhow, I am taking a sit down break and blogging. Before cleaning I baked a cake and cupcakes. Yesterday I baked 4 batches of cookies for school treats, daycare, women's group tomorrow, and a few left for home. I don't even like to bake, so two days of it should do me until Christmas time. (LOL)

This afternoon I had to take Kyle to the chiropractor as well, as he wrenched his neck playing flag football in gym. He should get an A for effort in the class - he dove after flag for all he was worth, and knocked himself good on the head. The result was a head ache and they sent him home with an ice pack, as it happened just before the buses arrived, and I was gone picking Abby up from school. On Friday Kyle had received a zinger of a wollop in his face -chasing a friend on the playground at recess and getting too close to someone swinging. Their foot smacked him right in the cheek - he was knocked down, and ended up with wood chips in his mouth,and a bloody mouth. The next morning he lost a baby tooth. (which makes 9 left) Because of that incident our chiropractor had to put his jaw back in line, and I had not even thought of that.

Well, now that the basement is clean, and this includes an immaculate scrapping area (for now) -- who wants to come over and scrap with me? We could even set up two on the craft table next to the scrap table, and have a mini crop! I haven't scrapped all week, or at least since Sunday. I am going into a dark mood fostered by a period of uncreativity. I should at least go make a card.

Growing Up Green

Today's blog title is also the title of a layout that I recently created, which was picked up by Memory Makers for their "one world" theme reader gallery for next March/April. I cannot share the layout here, of course, but in addition to having lots of green - the layout is digital, which is very "tree friendly". I have only recently begun scrapping digitally, having dabbled mostly as a hybrid scrapper since I began scrapping. I love the feel of paper and getting messy with paint, so I know that I will always be traditional at heart.

With a previous career in graphic arts I used to work closely with the paper companies. The company I worked for really hopped on the bandwagon of using recycled papers and soy based inks in their marketing materials - this became really big in the 1990s. When I began scrapbooking I wondered if product manufacturers used post-consumer waste in their paper products as well. It is not a topic I see widely advertrised in the creative arts magazines, yet I admit I would be influenced by claims of recycled paper use by a manufacturer in their consumer product. I hopped over to Paper Trunk's blog today and learned from Carrie that their products are made from recycled paper. Have you felt Paper Trunk cardstock? It has a wonderful texture and is a dream to work with. If you have qualms about using recycled paper on your pages please don't! In fact, it was Carrie's post that made me realize I missed out on a chance to blog "green" yesterday.

Our son, now 10, is very much concerned for the environment. His biggest pet peeve is global warming, and he is angered that 1000s of penguin chicks are dying in Antarctica because the ice they are being reared on is falling into the ocean, before they are ready to fledge, due to global warming. He is concernd about recycling, and habitat destruction for human living and work spaces. Our son inspired my "Growing up Green" layout, which includes photos of our family out on a nature hike, bird watching, and taking note of God's creation. God called us to be stewards of the earth, but unless our kids grow up to love nature and the environment, they really won't hold it much regard. It is up to us to instill that love by teaching our children to "grow up green".

My family knows that I consider EVERYTHING before it goes into the trash. It is amazing how many odd things can work to your creative advantage as a scrapbooking tool, or as a page embellishment. Kyle often brings me things, figuring I can use them on my pages. I still remember the handful of tiny tiny rocks he brought me. Sure enough those little rocks did end up on a slide frame for a layout, and the page was actually one of my first published pages in Creating Keepsakes.

In the spirit of "reuse" vs. throw away, I want to share a layout that is the result of a challenge at BusyBee Scrapbooking this week - to scrap a not-so-ordinary item on a layout. This excludes items like bread bag tags, paper clips and such that are wonderful to use on pages, but to challenge the artist to think a bit more outside the box. I had a couple of ideas on this, one of which I decided might not be a good idea. But, last night as I was rummaging through my "catch all" drawers of all things that might possibly be scrapable, I came across a foam disk from a CD spool. Originally I planned to use the foam wheel as a paint stamp, however, I was working on a summer layout of Abby in her floating turtle. I decided the foam disc had a great likeness to a floatation device, and reused it as a center for a flower. Pretty cool, eh? So, I enourage you...always look twice, maybe 3X at something before it goes into the trash - it could be your next great embellishment.


One more tip on creating green... if you are like me, using your computer for journaling, use scrap paper to print out your test prints. My husband and I have bought one ream of paper in the past three years. Rarely do we need a clean sheet of paper for anything, other than an official contract or such. Both of us bring paper home from work that would otherwise go into the recycle bin. It doesn't hurt our printer to run paper through that has been printed on one side. We print all our e-mails, my CG layout sketches, and more on recycled/used paper. To go one step further, I will use a sheet printed on both sides as a "plate" to mix my arcrylic paints on. It makes for easy clean up!

So, although I may be a bit late climbing aboaard the blogger "green" post day, I want to thank Carrie for bringing it to my attention. I really do encourage you, as an artist, to be mindful of creation itself, and what you might do to help care for the one earth we have been given. Think outside the box, as Holly encouraged at BusyBee, and look for items in your home that can add dimension and fun to your pages.

Dream Street "Be Still"!

I love the verse "Be still and know that I am God". I thought it was a perfect phrase for this photo of Kyle. A monarch had hatched and we were ready to release it. When we opened the cage it fluttered all over the living room and we could not catch it. It was not until Kyle stood still that it landed on him, and then I just opened the door and Kyle stepped outside - and off the Monarch flew!

Sometimes we need to just sit still, and allow God's holy presence to alight on us - and I hope that is the message Kyle gets from this layout. I was thrilled to learn that "Be Still" was a winner in the Dream Street contest at Scrap4Life for September. I love the colors of the Dream Street papers - soft and dreamy -perfect to capture the mood of this photo. The birds stamps from Autumn Leaves are a new favorite of mine as well - I find that I love using them anywhere I can. They are just too cute for chirps!

Joys of Fall

I am so glad I live in Wisconsin this time of year. A friend and I attended a wonderful women's luncheon today, and afterwards we sat for an hour and chit chatted, enjoying a hot cup of tea. My friend is a Jersey girl and has travelled quite a bit. She says no other state matches the beauty of our area with its rolling hills, forests, meadows, golden fields, winding rivers, gleaming lakes and bubbling creeks. We really are blessed with a beautiful part of the country.

Kyle called our attention to the moon rise end of September. It was breathtaking - a grogeous Harvest Moon. I totally enjoyed scrapping my photo with Cactus Mango Designs digital elements from K-joi Studios.com. The stars have been bright in the crisp, night air lately as well. We are hoping for a dry weekend - and if weather permits tomorrow evening you can find us out back making smores around the fire pit.
It is a pretty special time to be with loved ones around a blazing fire with no phones or televisions for distraction. I look forward to it.

I also look forward to the March/April 2008 issue of Memory Makers. I had two layouts requested for the One World theme reader gallery today. I am so stoked about it because the layouts are some of my first ever digital layouts...as in count the number I have done on my 10 fingers. I guess it is just proof how easy it is to convert your traditional style onto the monitor when creating digitally. One of the layouts is about our family's love of the outdoors and all that it offers, and the other focuses on adoption. The layout features a group of children at the Lifelink Adoption agency picnic at the end of September. I suspect some non-scrapping people will be picking up this issue of MM just to see their kids in print! At any rate, I am thrilled to have this toot today.

Also, I don't have my hands on a copy yet, but the November issue of Creating Keepsakes, currently available, features a project I made called The Blessing Box. It's a great way to get everyone involved in the act of gratefulness at Thanksgiving. I hope you will make your own Blesisng Box, or create something similar for the upcoming holiday. Peace!

I need a makeover!

An organizational one, that is! I've often wished that if I could afford to hire anyone, it would be a team to come in and totally reorganize my scrap area - or perhaps make it a real one with uniform storage units, a place for everything, etc. I used to have that of sorts, thanks to Sterlite drawers, but I have outgrown my space. Now, no comments on that...I am using my old stuff too! I have also reduced my shopping greatly as I know I need to use what I have.

So anyhow, I spent 2 days searching for ants. Why is it that in spring I can't get the darn things out of my house until I take drastic action, but when I want my ant stickers - held in my hand 2 weeks ago...I couldn't find them? Well, as it turns out the stickers were in the proper bin, I just needed to go through it a 4th time, and I admit, I need glasses. That's on the 2008 agenda.

I completed the layout above using new product from Around the Block for the Scrapbook Playground this month - man I love their buggy paper and brads!! Lots of uses for that in our house! This layout is for Abby's album. She is so much a shadow of her older brother, and in this case having great interest in the ant hill that resides in our front lawn. The kids spent weeks taking out foods - starburst candies left from Halloween, and also healthy foods, such as apple cores and things meant for the compost pile.

As I created this LO my skin felt like it was crawling - Stickopatamus did a great job creating realistic looking ant stickers. It seemed like the buggers were crawling around on my page, but there again, I must have been tired or it is because I need glasses and things tend to go blurry as of late. The only thing this LO is missing is a real magnifying glass - would love to have one over that close up photo. (LOL)

There was an incident with glue the evening I made this LO. Fortunately the LO had not a drop, but for a path of ten feet or so in our basement, it did not fare so well. It did add some excitement to the evening and jolt the guys out of their Playstation trance for a while! (LOL) Kyle got a new Star Wars PS2 game for his birthday - and this was the 2nd night for he and Jesse playing it - they did not see the glue coming at them until it whizzed buy. There is something to be said for Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue -it really lives up to its name!

I am planning to get a lot of old pictures scrapped this month - working on challenge LOs with "lightening speed". We will see how many I can do amidst the planning for birthday parties, anniversaries and such. I love October -but do rather wish every family celebration was not in the same month. On the other hand, I think it is kind of special that October is host to many beginnings in our lives. Happy Croptober!

Fall + Family = MAGISTICALLY PERFECT!!

Before I get into my chit chat I want to thank Creativity Unbound, and my sweet friend Elly, for asking me to be a guest designer this month as the site features Magistical Memories chipboard. Since I see CU has linked to my blog I figured my post from last week needed an update, using a layout featuring the much loved BBQ chipboard. The layout above was one of my entries for the last Hall of Fame - I think it has come "out of the closet" once. I used a combo of inks and pens on the chipboard leaves. I have to admit the maple leaf in the center of the layout was made by yours truly, as at the time MM did not offer a maple leaf. I am happy to say that they now do - so this fall I shall not be in want of any leaf shapes - MM has them all!


With no doubt in my mind, fall is my favorite time of year. This past weekend the weather was PERFECT! I had had a particularly stressful day at work, and Friday night Jesse had the perfect solution to calm my spirit. He build a fire in the pit out back and the four of us sat around the fire. We roasted marshmallows, and made smores of course, but we also listened to sounds that go bump in the night in the woods, and wondered aloud what creatures those might be. I love the challenge of roasting the perfect marshmallow - the trick is to avoid active flames, and find a spot with low, glowing red embers. I call that the "sweet spot" in the fire - and the fun is to claim spot before anyone else does. Of course I am roasting for Abby too, so I am not being totally selfish. (LOL)
After the fire pit and putting Abby to bed I joined Kyle and Jesse out front where Jesse had set the telescope up on the platform we had had the pool on during the summer. It's nice to know we can get a bit more than one season's use out of this slab of wood in the middle of our hillside lawn. Star gazing was wonderful - the perfect night cap.
On Sunday we went out to Blue Mounds, WI - which is just as the name implies. It must be one of the most picturesque areas in southern Wisconsin to go. We climbed both lookout towers for the view. For a bit there I think Kyle was feeling not so well, being over the tree tops - but he pulled it together and enjoyed the view. No one wanted to stay up there as long as I did, clicking away on the shutter, I don't think heights are loved by the rest of my family. It was a brisk morning and we were all underdressed, but for Abby. I had the sense to put polar fleece on her, but left my jacket at home. The guys just didn't think it was cold enough for a jacket, but once we are out from the protection of the hill on our property - the fact is - there is WIND!
While at Blue Mounds we met two men. A younger man walking with an older gentleman using a cane. We were asked to take their picture. As we were ready to descend the 2nd tower they had just made it to the top. They took our photo - it's nice to be in a photo for a change.

I then offered to take theirs and asked a few questions. The younger man, who apeared to have Eskimo ethnicity, had told us earlier that he was from Fort McMurray, Canada - which is in northern Alberta. I asked how long he was here for and some other questions. It turned out the younger man, who had gone to the U.W., was visiting his old college professor from 13 yrs. ago. I thought it was really cool that a former student would spend the time and travel and come that far to visit a former instructor. Obviously the two had bonded, and I thought it was a great life story. I would have loved to have scrapped the picture of the two men, they were such contrasts to one another, but to request would no doubt seem most odd.
While in Blue Mounds we stopped at Brigham Park nearby, which just happened to have a Rendevous camp in progress. Kyle is a history buff, so when we saw all the tee-pees we knew it was sheer fortune. We had a wonderful time exploring the lodges and learning some things about frontier life. I took this photo, which I love, but have no clue yet as to how I might scrap it.

Sunday was spent in an apple orchard. Hay ride, picking apples, coming home to make fresh apple crisp and enjoyng fresh cider. I have over 200 photos from the weekend so that should keep me scrapping for a while. Right now I am in the middle of the huge task of deciding which photos to have printed, and then look for a good print sale.(LOL)
I scrapped very little this past weekend, too busy making memories with my family; and that is really what the journey is all about!

HARVEST MOON!!!

Two posts in one day? You bet! I could not wait to show you the pic I got tonight. It was awesome. Kyle happened to look out the window and told us to come look. The moon was coming up over the horizon in a blaze of red. I tried to take a pic without the tripod as it came over the horizon. Impossible. By the time I got the tripod and set it up the moon had risen above the horizon, but I still think it is pretty with wisp of clouds passing through. I also thought it interesting that as the moon rose the corn field became more illuminated, but of course that makes sense when you consider it becomes brighter as it rises in the sky. (OK - Jesse explained the reasoning behind that as I thought later pics would be more dark - as in dark outside -duh) Anyhow, wanted to share - it is the last full moon in September - officially a harvest moon! Of course I already have a title for my layout!

I'm An Official Doodler!

Well, I guess. (LOL) Maelyn Cheung's new book, "Doodling for Paeprcrafters" arrived on my doorstep yesterday and I LOVE the book. I was actually so captivated by all the pages that I didn't stop everything to find my layouts. Abby saw me looking at it again this morning, and wanted to know where she was. (so funny!) So I began to start, from the back of course, and work my way forward.

I love how the book is layed out, with instructions on how you can learn to doodle yourself. There are great ideas and some things I want to try. I am especially inspired by hand drawn letters for titling. Do you think I can do it? It has always seemed daunting to me, but I sure do love the look! One thing I know for sure, Sakura is getting a lot of mileage out of this book with their pens in the supply list! Maelyn even has a spread devoted to tools and the variety of pens and proper storage.

At last I did find my pages. Reading backward, the first was my favorite "Flirt with Red" LO on page 39. "You Are 4" is on page 29, but it looks so funny. The color is way off - my brown paper background looks green. It's washed out as well. I admit, the bulky buttons I used on this LO made it a challenge for me to scan, and I suspect the buttons cause a glitch when obtaining an image for publishing. Just so you can really see my doodles on the number 4 and such much clearer, I am posting my own scan of "You Are 4" - just to prove I really do have good taste in color. (LOL)

Printed version:


My own scan:


If you have ever been interested in playing with your pages, I recommend Doodling for Papercrafters. Doodling makes me happy and gives me a real sense of freedom - give it a try!

Scrapped for Murder!

Put on your detective hat, get your photos developed and scrap area ready to go. Then come to the Scrapbook Playground for the month of October - click on the link at the right "Places I go!" - Get lots of pages done and and help solve a mystery.

October will be full of CHALLENGES, FUN, GAMES, and even a litte MURDER!!! YES you read that right!!!! We are going to play CLUE the entire month of October!!! There has been a murder at a scrap retreat and you get to use your detecting skills to SOLVE THE MYSTERY!!!!!

Members from the Design Team will be characters from the clue game. Suspects in the murder. They will each be hosting a room in the mansion with games and challenges for you to enjoy! Follow the detective around Scrappy Mansion as she interviews all the suspects and discovers WHO did it? WITH what scrapboking tool? and in WHAT room did the murder take place?

PRIZES: There will be TWO grand prizes. One prize will go to the one who SOLVES THE MYSTERY FIRST!!! And the other prize will go to the name drawn out of the hat for participating in the games and challenges! So the more you participate the better chance you have at winning! Plus there will be random prizes and RAK's given out during the month.

So get your scraprooms ready, your pictures developed, your detective caps on and let's PARTY!!!!!! See you in the Scrappy Mansion on October 1st!

Put some Joi in your scrapbooking!

I haven't found time to toot about this yet, but a few weeks ago I became a Studio Diva for K-joi Studios.com - a new site devoted to digital scrapbooking. My friend Kara Jones launched the site in September, and she has a super talented list of digital designers offering page kits and digital elements. And hey - freebies are always available - so you MUST check it out!
I am still pretty new to digital scrapbooking. What I love is that I can procrastinate and not clean up my traditional scrapping space, and keep on creating. (LOL) We had a house situation this past weekend where I could not scrap in my space, but thanks to K-joi I was still able to participate in some challenges at the crop hosted at the Scrapbook Playground. Here are two of my challenge layouts, the first uses a freebie dragonfly download by Scrapassie Designs.

The second is a word art kit and jewels mini-kit by Dawn Inskip. Last Wednesday night I was listening to Focus on the Family and heard the figure of 147,000 orphans in the world that are in need of families. I pray that if you have even thought about adoption to please consider it prayerfully. Also, for those of you who are able - if you know of a family who wishes to adopt, help them financially if you can. The cost is the greatest prevention of families being made complete through adoption. I know this is not what God wanted, but we live in a fallen world where money is king. If you have great organizational skills plan a benefit, and most importantly, please be in prayer for the orphans and those who have breaking hearts from wanting a child. My layout shows a photo of my niece Sarah on a mission trip in Haiti, holding a little boy that she completely fell in love with. The other photo, is of course, my sweet husband holding our beautiful daughter from South Korea.

You may have noticed that for the past several months Memory Makers magazine has added the criteria of "never before seen" pages for their reader gallery column. I enjoy making layouts for page calls if I already have an idea for the theme - a call usually gives me the push to get it done. The new criteria, however, makes it more difficult. Thanks to being able to scrap more quickly with digital scrapping, I was able to complete two super layouts this past weekend for the "One World" call. Now I am just waiting for scrapbookpictures.com to have a sale on 12x12 prints and I will have more layouts for our albums. In the meantime, I can put my digital layouts on a DVD and we can enjoy them on television. How cool is that?

More Paper Trunk for SBPG

Since I cannot post in the gallery at the Scrapbook Playground, and am dying to share my Paper Trunk projects, I thought I would share my second layout for our September upload here. When I made my treasure trunk project I set aside the paper that had the blue background and 4 flowers - it was just too pretty to cut up. I didn't have many scraps left to work with, but did manage to squeak a second 12x12 layout from my PT stash.


The 4 flowers in the design of the paper made me think of our family of 4 – how we were three for many years and added 1 to make 4. This photo was our first family portrait taken abou a month after Abigail arrived from Korea. I used my new Autumn Leaves Nature stamp set to create a blue bird and cut it out – afterall, bluebirds are symbols of happiness and with our family complete - I couldn't be more joyful than that time when our adoption wait was over.

Now that the weekend is over I could use a two day nap. Seems like I was running out teh door constantly. We went fishing, I went to a Pampered Chef party, and Sunday was our annual adoption picnic with Lifelink. I always love to see the new babies that have arrived in the past year. Most Korean babies are as chubby as Abby was when she first arrived. We were introduced to Kendra, a little girl from Ethiopia - the first from that country that has attended the picnic. I believe 6 or 7 countries were represented all together. I had hoped to get a photo with a child from each country in it..but let's just say large group picture taking of children, all under age 8, was completely chaos. I admit it was fun watching the littlest one, who could crawl - zoom out of the group as fast as her legs and arms could carry her each time her mother set her down for the photo. We had beautiful weather for the picnic, and the kids totally love McKee Farms Park with the HUGE Kids Xing playground. I think we are all really tired from the weekend. Until another time...keep to the narrow path!

Dedicated to Anna

Here it is! A layout of my great-grandmother, Anna Lien. Born in 1873 in Telemark, Norway. She married Nicholas Weber at the age of 18, and thus this chalk painting was created in honor of her engagement. I just LOVED, LOVED working with Paper Trunk papers for the Scrapbook Playground design team. The texture and colors were perfect for this LO. I also had blue hands for about 30 hours, from dying a white Heidi Swapp flower minutes before we had company over on Monday night. Yes, I knew I should have wore gloves, but time was critical. I wanted the flower to dry while we had company, so I could return to scrapping afterwards. Funny thing is - no one asked about my hands...how very kind of them, or not observant. (LOL)

I wanted to include the factoids I had learned about my beautiful ancestor, but was not sure where to include them. I don't care for crowded looking layouts. Piggy Tales Barndoors to the rescue! Thanks to Brandon I had a round barndoor that was perfect in the center of the flower. The layout title is on the outside of the door, and under the flap is the information I was able to learn about here.

I had another great surprise in my mailbox this past Saturday. Tara from PageFrames sent me a package full of their wonderful shapes. I hoped to incorporate one with one of my Paper Trunk LOs, but it was not to be. I already have some ideas and look forward to sharing my creations with Pageframes very soon. Tara was so so sweet to send me their product - I just LOVE it!

I have so much that I want to share this week... I am going to have to post regularly for the next couple of days. This weekend the Scrapbook Playground is having a weekend crop.

The real fun begins for our version of Octoberfest - a month long game and crop that will keep you guessing. Just remember I am innocent!! (hint, hint!) I am having fun making a list of challenges for the October event - please join us at the Playground!
It is going to be a blast, lots of prizes - so click on the link to your right to register and join the fun!

Mesmerized

Growing up this photo hanging on a wall in my grandparent’s home mesmerized me. It was contained in a gold gilded oval frame, as I recall, with a BUBBLE glass front which was truly unique. The woman in the photo captivated me, and I always wanted to know the story behind the long locks of hair.

I’ve been doing some research on this photo and have learned a number of facts, although little is really known.
 The young woman in the photo is my father’s grandmother, Anna Lien, age unknown
 When she departed from the ship as she came to America from Telemark, Norway her hair was reported to be below her ankles
 No one knows why her hair was so long, and all who might possibly know the answer are no longer alive
 I discovered, upon close inspection of the copy print in my fathers home (shown above), that the image is actually a painting, not a photo (the feet were the tell-tale on this fact)
 Upon restoring this image in Photoshop, and enlarging the pixels for repair on my monitor I noticed a diamond ring on her left hand, which had not been noticed before – which leaves me to believe that this is an engagement painting
 Once I obtain the marriage date I can deduct Anna’a age, as I have her birthdate (this is exciting for me!)
 I also learned that Anna’s husband, Nicholas Weber, had to help her wash her hair (no doubt!)

Other facts learned from my aunt who took the original to a photo specialist to have copied: Original is actually a chalk painting, rarely done, and easily smudged (I suggested the painting be taken to a specialist and have chalk fixative applied to help preserve it – a product that did not exist in the 1800’s)
 Artist’s name was likely smudged from bottom corner, as the painting has a number of chalk smudges on it
 Frame itself is very unique, rare to find one intact from that period

What I am doing: Scanned the copy print that my father had received
 Restoring as best I can in Photoshop as the image has scratches, discolorations of red spots here and there, lots of specks
 Planning to reprint on archival premium photo paper and return to my father in a proper, archival safe frame
 Planning to scrap with Paper Trunk this week for the Scrapbook Playground DT, as I realize the colors will be a wonderful compliment to this painting
 I will continue to be mesmerized by this image that I adored as a child, and will at least have some facts to go along with the page – my contribution to preserving family history. I LOVE this part of scrapbooking!

These are my plans this week for scrapbooking. I am not a huge genealogist, but I do love to learn and make discoveries when they fall my way. As we continue our journey here on earth it is important that we not forget the past, for where would we be without ancestors?

You Never Let Go

It's hard to let go at times... especially when your children reach a new milestone in their lives. This week Abby began school, Tues-Thurs. she attends West Middleton as a mentor in the early start program. Basically she and a few others help to set an example for children with special needs, listening to the teachers, sitting still at story time...being themselves, really, but at the same time showing other children who struggle in these areas "how to do it". It's a great program, and a perfect fit for a child who has an October birthday and has to wait another year to begin kindergarten.

As for myself...not so much letting go of traditional scrapping..never, never, never! But embracing even more, digital scrapbooking. This week I became a Studio Diva for www.kjoistudios.com (permanent link found at right). I love doing hybrid layouts and my friend, Kara Jones, launched K-joi last week - a great site for those who love digital and who are interested in learning, to come together in a forum. First, I have to laugh at the mere thought of me...at 44, 2 kids, and extra pound-age, having the title DIVA. So NOT diva am I! (LOL) But I can get a kick out of the title, and in the meantime enjoy all the fabulous digital elements provided by a fantastic group of digital designers. I have so many ideas...so little time.

My first project as a Diva is a hybrid greeting card. When I saw Dawn Inskip's awesome dino doodles I knew they would be perfect for a kid's card. Card magazine has a call out for their Feburary issue, and I decided for the first time, that I would make cards specificall to submit. I am not sure a hybrid greeting card has ever been published, but hey...if I am too futuristic on this one so be it. I love how the card turned out.




The hybrid portion of this card simply comes in with the inking around the edges of the card, and taking my Sakura clear glaze pen over the alphbet, and in the eyes of each dinosaur, to make them glow and stand out. It's very cool in real life. Hope you enjoy it.

On the note of letting go... our church has been singing a new song these past couple of weeks by Matt Redman. I recognized the refrain when we first sang it, no doubt because I listen to Christian radio each moment I am listening to the airwaves. The song really speaks to me, and I totally love the melody. It is awesome to hear 100s of people singing this at one time, and knowing that each may be thinking of a time when God was with them through a trial...never letting go, no matter what we have done, where we have been, where we are going. Awesome! Click on the arrow to start the video located at your right - take a few moments to draw closer to God.

Paper Trunk for your treasures anyone?

Recently I just finished up a project that turned out really cool for the Scrapbook Playground, featuring Paper Trunk's Gigi collection. From the moment I heard we were getting product from Paper Trunk I was inspired to create an altered trunk. I remembered seeing a paper mache trunk at WI Craft Market years ago. I visited Michael's and found an even better trunk than what I remembered, this one matching old steamer trunks that my mother used to keep in a storeroom, belonging to her great-grandfather, as I recall. They were heavy wooden trunks with metal straps, lots of rivets, and what I remember most is that they were lined with newspaper. How cool - a bit of history glued to the inside of the trunk! I decided to do the same with my trunk, using the hometown newspaper. I made sure "church notes" was visible and circled the name of the church I work at. On the inside I made a point to include local news from nearby Black Earth, where Jesse grew up, and the feautured article is about the recent flooding. I figure 25 years down the road someone will see this paper trunk and it will be similar to a time capsule with bits of news from the past. No matter where it ends up, the person who has it will know something about the area that the artist who created it, and where she is from. I had a great time making the project, and it was about time I blew the dust of the dremel tool and used it to drill holes for the brads, aka rivets.

For now my plans are to keep current photos in the trunk. I realize my family sees few photos as I am always filing them in craft keepers with papers, etc. upon receiving them. Taking our trunk to family reunions is also much classier than a couple envelopes of photos, don't you agree? I made index card separators so that the photos can be sorted by season. Which will also make it easy for me when I want to find certain photos for scrapbooking. The index cards, simple in design, each feature a photo that has red in it.



I also had fun layering flowers, felt leaves that I cut out and stitched on the sewing machine, and a black key on top of the trunk. I found a Sarah Heidt Photocraft diecut in my stash for "Family" that was pefect in its raw chipboard state for the front of the trunk. I totally love all the details on this project. I am excited to share it with you - enjoy!


On another note all together, I just learned that Maelynn is going to be teaching a class on doodling at Big Picture Scrapbooking, and using the book she authored that includes some of my work! If you have always wanted to doodle or would like some more practice from a great artist - consider Maelynn's class. Sign up at Big Picture Scrapbooking - - doodling on pages is great fun and SUCH a stress reliever. I think I do my best doodlign late at night...kind of going a little crazy, thinking I maybe went too far, but after a night's rest I love it.

Last but not least...Creative Express is making the BIG decision today. I would SO LOVE LOVE to be on this team. With the week I have had it probably won't happen, but I will say Scatty and crew have a really fair way of figuring out who the team will be. They should share their method with CK and MM for their annual big contests - no one can argue fairness and impartiality with the CX method! Good luck to everyone who has tried out for this awesome design opportunity!

Toadally LOVIN' It!

This is my boy...doing what he loves best - playing with the critters outside. This toad, for one day, had a lot of love. Not sure if it is just me, but this toad seemed more cute than others. There was something about the expressions of its face, but maybe it was because of love. On this day this toad was crooned at, held, stroked, given a bath with fresh warm water. Logs and rocks were placed in the back of the pick up truck and Kyle used it as a play area for himself and Toad. In the photo where toad is perched on the log, he seems to have quite an "all about himself" attitude, perhaps because he had just been bathed and was feeling more handsome than the coolest frog prince.

I had fun creating this layout, using Piggy Tales papers which perfectly coordinated with the colors in the photos. The circle designs allowed me to layer and create movement throughout the page. The pictures made me smile as I created...which I needed, for when I made this layout the calls were going out for the next celebrated group of Memory Makers Masters. Scrap therapy - that's what I love about creating. I had so much fun making this, that as I got into my mojo zone, I did not even think about the calls, and the next thing I knew it was midnight. This simple layout was created for pleasure, and to preserve the memories of a little boy who one day wants to be a veternarian. It is not one of, what I would consider, my best layouts. I wasn't even sure if it was worthy to sumbit to Piggy Tales for their design team call. But as I shared it in on line galleries I was surprised by the reaction. People love this layout, and they want to scraplift it. WOW! It makes me take another look to see what people are seeing that I do not see in in my own work. I see details that, although I put them there, did not think much about as I created. All I can do is give God the credit. I think that night, when He knew I was feeling disappointment inside, He was at the helm, giving me peace and joy using a gift that He has given me. As my son toadally loves all thing amphibian, I totally love all that there is about creating - we are both doing what God has made us to do.

Counting Down!

Whew...summer seems to have flown past! It seems I am counting down for a lot of things right now. Counting the days I have left to do fun summer activities with my family, yet also counting the days that we return to a routine and less hectic schedule (yes, the school year will bring some normalcy for us), and counting down the days that Memory Makers will be making calls to the next ten Masters. Perhaps they have already started the calls for the contest, but I am hoping that is not the case...as I am really praying for my phone to ring. I would love the opportunity to create for a magazine for year - I love the challenge of deadlines.
On that note, August has been a busy scrapping month for me. I was laid up for about two weeks since end of July with a back sprain, but that did not make my design team deadlines go away. In addition I had receieved several private invitations to submit work for upcoming publications - no guarantees that my work will be published, but I felt very honored to be included with an exclusive list of designers for the various publications. Once my back was healed so that I could return to a normal life, I set a priority list by deadline date and began scrapping furiously. Unfortunately I am not able to share most of these projects, but I created some wonderful treasures in the process. And that, is really, what scrapping does for me. Not only is it my creative outlet, but it has definitely made me more aware of life around me, not to take things for granted, and scrap that which is most important to me. I almost lost a very dear friend in July, and prayed fervently that God would keep her here on earth so that I might visit with her again and take a picture of us together. He heard my prayer, granted it, and I was able to scrap a layout that means the world to me.
Up until recent rains, and my back sprain, the kids and I have really been enjoying the summer in our EasySet pool. I created this layout using Cherry Arte papers for the Scrapbook Playground - Kyle is sporting his bright green swim goggles. It is his favorite color, and what strikes me as funny is that Kyle wishes to remain an unnoticed "wall flower", yet his goggles are very loud and he is easy to find in the pool. (LOL)


Yesterday we were finally able to take Kyle and Abby to Lil' Amerika. We have taken the kids to this amusement park every year since Kyle was four. It was a perfect sunny day in the 70s - the weather could not be any better for us.
When I saw the chiropractor Tuesday I asked for permission to ride the TiltAWhirl with Kyle. Jesse won't ride it, and I am the only one game enough to do so with Kyle. Dr. Joe was not too thrilled that I was going to push it so soon, but told me to wear my support belt. My confession - I did not. I wasn't going to spend the day wearing this huge black belt, which is not that comfortable, and it is warm. But I did really well. The force of gravity plasters my body against the back of the car as the Tilt-A-Whirl spins - I think the only repurcussions I suffered was a bit of a headache and upset stomach from all the spinning. And yes, I went back and rode it a second time, even though I told Kyle I wouldn't do it again.
Abigail is the daredevil in the family - no one else would ride the Ferris Wheel with me, which easily towered over all other rides in the park. Abby asked to go on it, however, and she and I did. I fully expected her to start crying and that they would have to stop the ride to let us off...but she proceeded to count the cars and give a play by play as to when we were going backward, up, forward and down. When we got to the top I was actually the one who had a lurching stomach...I learned the only way to get through it was to keep my eyes focused on her. And yes, we did that more than once as well - she loved it. The park also had a new wooden roller coaster...and it seemed to run so much more smoothly than the others. On that note, near the end of the day I decided to ride it. It was a blast - and my body (neck, spine, etc) was not jarred at all - I give the Meteor 2 thumbs up for being a chiropractor approved ride. (LOL) Abby rode beside Jesse - he kept his protective arm around her while she raised her hands up in the air like all the kids in front of her. Yes...that is our fearless 4 year old. I always suspected she might be a daredevil from the moment she first began swinging and kept telling me to push her higher and higher.
Abby also learned to play mini golf. I needed to create one more Junkitz product layout for the SBPG, so when we got home I printed some photos right away. I created a layout telling the story of how Abby mastered the art of mini-golf in about 10 minutes.

The miniature golf course is a tough one, and Kyle and Jesse had some frustrations getting through the obstacles. By the third hole Abby declared, "I know how to play this game!" She picked up her ball, strutted over to the hole, set it a few inches from the target, and push-putted the ball in. "See, this game is easy!" she said with a big, proud grin. She proceeded to play the game much faster than Kyle or Jesse, having mastered the game with her own set of rules. It was too funny - and of course she was quite proud of herself the whole while.
I hope as you count down the final days of summer all who read this blog are finding themselves in good health. And while we are counting down...don't forget to count your blessings one by one...God gives us many as we enjoy the journey!

Weeks After CHA

CHA has been over for several weeks now, and I had all these things I wanted to accomplish with the rest of my summer. As luck would have it, I sprained my back which has put me in ultra slow mode, when not immobile.
A week ago it was awful - I am pretty sure the pain was worse than when I had had ruptured discs. Monday morning I stood up, got dizzy, nauseous and was not so sure I wasn't going to pass out. I had not felt that bad in all my life. Thank the Lord for Dr. Joe Teff, my chiropractor. He came in on weekends and even saw me more than once a day. I know he is "all natural" and probably cringed when I asked if he could provide a prescription.
My MD was out for the week. She had always said we should keep Rx on hand in case I ever had my back go out when she was gone. We never followed through on the idea and I was desperate. Fortunately her nurse had another doctor prescribe pain meds, but I was disappointed to get no noticeable relief.
On Tuesday Dr. Teff used "light therapy" on me, which is supposed to help alleviate the pain. He treated me late in the day, but it really did not seem to help. (often requires multiple treatments)
By Weds. morning my leg muscles were so tight I could barely walk. For lack of knowing what to call the thing, he used a "jack hammer" on my tight muscles - pressing it against my thighs, pounding hard- surely thought I was going to be black and blue. The thing sure hurt, but it did wonders for going deep into the muscle to relieve the tension. Thursday I felt better, and went to work - but I didn't last an hour sitting at the computer and I just had to lie down. Friday I just behaved and laid around all day, and by Saturday I felt pretty good. My legs are almost pain free (the stairs can still be a problem), and the only pained area is the lower part of my back where the sprained ligaments are.

Thanks to Dr. Joe I managed to get some layouts done for some call deadlines that I really wanted to scrap for. I worked on them Saturday with my husband reminding me to stretch and take breaks. I did push it a bit, but that is how I am when I have deadlines.

August is full of deadlins for me. With two deadlines met my next is working with Tinkering Ink's Noir Blanc collection for Scrapfriends Review in mid-August. I know Wendi at the Scrapbook Playground has a box enroute to me as well for uploads on the 20th, and there a couple of DT calls that I am considering, if I can manage to find time to scrap for them.

It is amazing how one week out of commission can really make me feel behind. On the up side, I discovered just how compassionate my 9 yr old boy is. All of last week he played mom, dad, and nurse while Jesse worked. He took care of me and Abby - made us lunch (sandwiches all week - but they were good!), cleaned the living room, organized kitchen cupboards (a bit of that "OCD" showing up), used the massager on my legs, and was the best boy a mom could have. Jesse had a hard week, too. By the time he got home the kids were tired of sitting around all day watching television and video gaming - so he would get them in the pool as soon as we were done eating the supper he had made.

It is times like these where God reminds me just how wonderfully blessed I am. I have the best family, and even little Abby could think about someone besides herself for a bit. Although Kyle declares he is never going to get married (he is at the "girls have cooties" stage), I dare say I think he has the makings for a wonderful husband some day. I see how he has learned to be caring and compassionate, just like his dad. I would love to scrap this, but I guess I will have to stage some photos as I couldn't possibly do it last week while he made lunch and cleaned the house for me. He is one very special boy.

So that is a summary of our family's past two weeks - and now, back to the last baby layout for the Memory Makers book call. I have started this layout topic no less than three times since I began scrapping, and this time I am going to get it done!

More Fab Discoveries!!

But first...I want to shout out a WOO HOO! Memory Makers requested an "I Wish" theme LO for the January 2008 issue. It was my original idea for the Masters contest, but then second guessed that everyone will "wish" for their children, so I created another for the contest. Hope I made the right layout choice for Masters!

Today I want to introduce The Paper Element....www.thepaperelement.com

Sunday at CHA I had no agenda...I just wandered around. In the far back room I came upon this row of fancily decorated tables... it was apparently a deisgner showcase of party tables with themes - the settings would put Martha Stewart to shame.

I get done checking out the tables and come around the corner to what must be the most remote booths in the entire trade show...and there on the end was a collection of papers that stopped me in my tracks - designed by Lisa at the Paper Element. Boy stuff, girl stuff, any where you go stuff... every single sheet of paper was totally delicious and I could easily be inspired and scrap with every one! As a designer, that was the big thing I noticed about CHA - I was either inspired by new product, or not. I will say that the mojo flowed very readily with some of the newer CHA discoveries. Without further a-do -check out The Paper Element. I love it all, but totally am drooling to get my hands on Coffee, Fruits, and Sweet. It's even better IRL - gotta get it now!