Lady

Early pictures of my Mother, hair styled and fashionably dressed.  Even at Kennywood Park in 1950, she donned her pearls.  Other photos from Terry's wedding, 1970.

Mom today.  At 87, she still gets her hair styled and dresses up.  (She'd put her arm in Dad's pancake batter that morning. . . thus the spots on her top).  No makeup......she's still a lovely lady!  2012

Love of My Life

When I showed Bob I'd used this picture of us as my laptop wallpaper he said "that's the love of my life".  Pictures taken last weekend at the Morgantown City Reservoir.  October 2012

Bob set the self timer on his camera to take the picture

The fibers and paper were a gift from Rita Barakat.  Rita sent me a huge (heavy) box of papers and goodies.  She's a terrific scrapper and mixed media artist whose work can be viewed on her blog, Let's Embellish.  Thank you my Texas friend!
 

Up the Hill

We're having an Indian Summer here in West Virginia and it is pretty everywhere you go.  Bob and I have ventured to most of the scenic spots in the area.  Monday after I got home from work, I ventured up the hill behind our house.  On top you can see the Coliseum, Sabraton and Grafton Road.  It was gorgeous.  I normally like to have a people photo on my layout, but since I went solo, I decided the cow would have to do.

I printed my journaling directly on the background paper:  "Climb the pole line, cut through a path in the woods, go over a couple fences. . . very pretty here!"

October 2012
 

Never Too Spoiled

The pretty leaf earrings I'm wearing were purchased at a Philadelphia store called "Never Too Spoiled".  These words were on a store display:  "When you buy something made by a person, there is something special and you do feel it.  The consciousness with which a thing is made is often more important than the thing itself".

I used Gabrielle Pollacco's resist stamp technique around my border.  Photo by Bob taken yesterday at Morgantown's City Reservoir.  

T

Here is photo of the display in the Philadelphia Store "Never Too Spoiled".  It is a beautiful store. . . even the dressing areas are pretty and unique.

"You are so sweet" thank you card

I was delighted on Tuesday when the HSC Cafe staff surprised me with this "Edible Arrangement" on Boss' Day.  It was especially fun that we all shared it.  I took the picture with my cell phone and added everyone's name to the fruit kabobs in the photo to make the card.

The inside of the card says "and I am very lucky to work with such a great team."

October 16, 2012

Seaport

It was fun to be in Philadelphia on Columbus Day weekend, touring the historic Cruiser Olympia and the submarine Becuna with my favorite historian, Bob.  2012

I made the posts wrapped in hemp to represent the boats tied to the dock:

The cutouts were made from photos of actual cutout displays in the fabulous Seaport Museum.

 I loved the precious figures:

 

Life Encircled

"Our seasons recur with Bob and I recording the beauty of our surroundings and the fun times we enjoy with each other.  October 2012"

The Harvest Wreath instructions appear in this month's issue of Scrapbooking & Beyond.
1) Cut cardstock into 1 1/2" X 2" and 2 1/2" X 3" rectangles.
2) Soak the rectangles in a bowl of water for a few minutes.
3) Crumple and gently wring rectangles. 
4) Lay flat on paper towels to dry completely overnight.
5) When rectagles are dry, cut assorted-size leaf shapes.
6) Dab sponge into brown ink, then antique surface and outside edges of each leaf.
7) Arrange leaves onto wreath form.

This took several hours to complete, but I was able to watch a NASCAR race and Sunday Morning while I was crafting.  The pictures were taken yesterday at the Cooper's Rock Trout Pond and Reservoir near our home.

Old City

We arrived in Phillie the afternoon before the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo and explored Old City around our Christopher Columbus Blvd hotel.  Race Street Pier by Benjamin Franklin Bridge looked out onto the Delaware River and Elfreth's Alley gave us a glimpse of the18th century cityscape similar to what residents remembered in England.  

October 2012

I scanned a tourist map and placed the Old City segment in the center of my photo collage.

Hemp cord outlines the photo collage held in place with eyelets.  I splattered some blue paint onto to the resin to match the beautifully constructed bridge.

Have a great weekend!

On Day 4 of their Istanbul honeymoon, Michelle & Greg toured the Ayasofya and the archeology museum.  2012

After seeing this image in Greg's photos that day:

I made these grapevines out of polymer clay:

For a tutorial on making these clay embellishments, click this layout from earlier in the summer.

Making Fall Trees (a hybrid layout)

This is a hybrid layout with digital elements that I composed, printed and hand cut before adhering to my layout with paper elements.

To compose the digital trees:

Open the tree top in layer one.

Add a second layer and open the chosen patterned paper.

In Photoshop, click on "Layer" then "Group with previous".  The tree top is now made of pretty fall paper.  Print the tree top and hand cut around it before adhering to the page.

This layout appears in the October issue of Scrapbooking.com along with a You Tube featuring detailed instructions.  Editor Stefan Harlan is very interested in new talent.  I love how they create a video out of my projects!

This layout appears on my blog last  November 2011.

Lilly Pad

The minute we got out of the car to photograph the Lilly pads in the lake, it started to rain.  That did not dampen our spirits on our anniversary trip to Ohio.

To the pretty picture, I added a pretty frame, pretty paper and short romantic poem:

"I wed you on a stormy noon, then kissed you till the sun was moon."
Burr Oak Lake, Ohio
2012