Wall of Blessings

On the hill overlooking Ephesus is the house of the Virgin Mary and a wall where people leave prayers and blessings. June 2012

These were pictures from Greg and Michelle's honeymoon (Day 6).  I was fascinated with the wall and the numerous notes on paper, tissues and handkerchiefs:

Here is the blessing I made for them where I stamped the words on a cloth napkin:

I would be amiss if I did not show their photos taken that day from the remains of the Temple of Artemis - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world:

Blessings to all of us!
  

Us in Topkapi

On Day 5 of their honeymoon Greg and Michelle toured the Topkapi Palace, the primary residence of the sultans for 400 years.  The Topkapi is an ensemble of palaces, courtyards, chambers and collections, with a panoramic view of Istanbul.  May 2012

 

The mosaic tiles on my layout represent beautiful tile work on some palace interiors.

I added the stamp and postmark digitally.  They say:  "Hold my hand".

I got tickled when reading Greg's caption with this photo from the Topkapi. "Now there's a couch I could read a book on":

I can't wait till they are home at New Year's and he can lay on our couch!

 

 

My Favorite Veteran

My favorite veteran is my Dad, pictured here as a young Marine in the early 1940s and (center) today.  For Dad's 90th birthday earlier in the year, I asked a few of his favorite race car drivers and a few other prominent people to send him cards.  One of those who sent cards was Hershel Woody Williams, West Virginia's only living Medal of Honor Winner.  My Dad was in the 5th Marine Division, wounded at Iwo Jima and a Purple Heart recipient.  Woody was in the 3rd Marine Division and received his Medal of Honor for his heroic service at Iwo Jima.  In his card to Dad he wrote:
     "Life is God's gift to us.  What we do with it is our gift to him.  You have done well."

 Woody Williams also sent me a card, saying "Thank you for giving me the chance to send the card.  it was my pleasure to honor a Marine".  I think Woody is my 2nd favorite Veteran!

South Street

On our last night in Philadelphia we walked along rain soaked sidewalks from Old City to South Street where we ate at Jon's Bar and Grille, the birthplace of Larry Fine from the 3 Stooges.  October 2012



Here I am putting together the finished layout on an overnight business/pleasure trip we made yesterday :

Bob found out Monday that he'd have to work his normal Friday, Saturday days off and instead be off Wednesday and Thursday.  Tuesday night he worked the Elections and I didn't see him all day.  Knowing I was to attend a seminar Thursday in Greensburg, Pa, I asked him to travel with me and we'd make it an overnight getaway.  What fun we had.

Today he relaxed in the hotel and visited some shops while I was at my meeting.  After my meeting he took me to Art Tech, a "well stocked" shop with one of everything every made for scrapbooking.  

When I use the papers I purchased there, I'll remember the fun time we had on our getaway!  Just like the pretty Anna Griffin die cut paper in the South Street layout I found on a clearance rack in Philadelphia's Paper Source store near the Convention Center.



 

Mad Alice & Head Crab

Greg and Michelle made their costumes to wear to a "Cards Against Humanity" board game with friends.  2012

Michelle designed and sewed her costume.  Greg's made his fake employee ID for the "Black Mesa Research Center"-where an alien invasion started in the Game Half Life (where the hat is from).  The head crabs take over bodies and control them.  

It's keeps me young following my kids!

Scooby

I am so glad our older kids still dress up for Halloween.  Chris and his college friends actually dressed in different costumes to attend 2 parties.  For the Scooby Do rendition, they researched the costumes and then went to the thrift stores to find what they needed.  Chris dressed as Fred, the "leader and determined detective".

I am a hybrid scrapper and for this one, you can see why digital frames are so much fun and can make a layout.  

I'm thinking I should now call our children "young adults".  Chris was a first time voter this year, voting in the early election on Thursday.

2012

Hybrid Tutorial: Adding Digital Frames

It was the eighth time the family had gathered at the nephews' pub in Keyser, WV. What a fun family tradition this is. Since the name of the pub is "Clancy's," the song title, "Here's to you Clancy," was fitting!

I made this layout to display pictures of my family members who attended. I was able to capture 16 photos of family members on my layout by placing those images in digital film negatives. My finished layout has photos of over 20 family members on one page! 

To create the digital film negatives, determine the width of the negative you want and size.  

Determine the photo size. An easy way to do this is to crop the inside of one of the frames, then click on image size. 

Crop each photo that same size. Paste it behind the negative.

Crop and repeat. Print the negatives and hand cut around each. The slide image on my layout is also a digital frame. The journaling block is a digital image on which I typed my journaling. I adhered the negatives, journaling block, slide and title alphas to my paper, added a border and a few studs.

This article is published in this month's issue of Scrapbooking.com.  Editor Stefan Harlan seeks new talent and blogs to feature in their monthly international publication. 

Happy Friday!