Bosporus

The Bosporus is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia.  Connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, its shores are heavily populated as the city of Istanbul straddles it.

On Day 1 of their honeymoon, Greg and Michelle cruised the Bosporus and toured the fairytale island Buyukada on a horse drawn buggy.  The island is on the Sea of Marmara and is home to wild horses and tile-roofed villas.

2012

Folder for Dad's 90th Birthday Cards

This is the 12 X 12 inch folder I made for Dad's 90th Birthday cards.  My parents have a revolving pedestal on their TV that displays scrapbook pages.

 Here's my Dad holding the filled folder.  He'd be upset his hair was a little messed (he usually wears a NY Yankees baseball cap).  My Dad has macro degeneration so I guess the display is more for the rest of us.

 Before his birthday, I sent stamped and addressed cards to celebrities he liked with a letter asking if they'd kindly sign the card and mail to him.  He was thrilled when he received cards from Darrel Waltrip, Richard Petty and AJ Foyt.  The stock car drivers all came through.  I can not say the same about the politicians.  Darrel Waltrip and his wife Stevie both signed a card and a picture.  Richard Petty enclosed a card with his racing achievements.

My Mom and Dad are life long race fans.  In the 60s, it was Indie 500 races, thereafter NASCAR races.  Here we are at a Dover Delaware race in the 1980s.  The race car drivers are special people.....the proof was that they sent my Dad the birthday cards.  I think we scrappers are like that too!

Me Becomes We

Bob's unrehearsed toast for the Bride and Groom was special to all of us:  "Today marks the beginning of many big changes for you two, but the biggest one is pretty simple.  Actually, it's only one letter.  Today, for Greg & Michelle, Me became We.  See, just one little letter, but it says and means so much.  From now on, every important decision either of you makes should be done on the basis of we, not me.  If you follow that simple formula, things should be alright for a couple of scientists like you two."

The white flowers were a RAK from Shawn one of my west coast friends!

Happy Friday my scrappy friends!

A Parent's Thoughts & Wishes

The speech was delivered by Doug Hunt, Father of the Bride, at Michelle and Greg's wedding.  The pictures of Michelle and Greg are from the rehearsal wedding eve.

A few excerpts from the beautiful speech Doug wrote:

"As a guide to our bride and groom, I caution you that they are probably the smartest two people I know and the smarts, combined with their analytical minds, can be very entertaining.

A word to the wise, ask them mundane questions at your own risk.

I can only wonder at the depth of analysis that brought them to the conclusion that they would marry each other.

I first prescribe them lots of laughter.  Michelle and Greg are pretty good at it.  I love to see them light up when something strikes them funny. . . and then I ask them to explain it to me.  It is a pleasure to see them having fun. . . a little mysterious and very playful.  It's like watching monks dancing.

Second, i challenge them to have an attitude of gratitude.  The two best things in your lives will be your love and friendship.  Hold on to them dearly.

Now that you are officially a family, know that your only real purpose is to develop, enjoy, grow and encourage your best friend.  Agree to give and take so both can know the joy of meaningful work, but never lose sight of your real purpose.  I raise my glass to Greg and Michelle and wish them every blessing.  May they meet their challenges. . . and earn, enjoy and share their rewards."

Cross Over the River

 "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade trees"--Stonewall Jackson's last words.

Last week I met with other members of the West Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics board at Stonewall Jackson State Park.  The park is named in the confederate generals honor and the boat we rode that evening was named after his horse, Little Sorrel.  I missed my husband, yet enjoyed the scenery and planning with my colleagues from around the state.  
July 2012

The shells were ones Bob gathered for me from the Shenandoah River, as "potential scrapbooking material"  (he calls it PSM).

I added my journaling, title and a digital overlay to the cardstock, printed it and added my pictures, paper, netting and a little "Make it Stone" sand spray. 

I loved the title quote I found on Wikipedia while doing a little research for my page.

Here's a picture of the board members (that's me in the center with the brown ruffled top).  Thanks to the facilitator for offering to take a picture.  As you may of guessed, I am the affiliate's historian.

Vested

Many years ago I got Bob his first Banana Republic Photo Vest.  I filled each of the pockets with a gift.  For Father's Day I got him a new vest and Chris helped me find fun items to put in most of the pockets.  We all had a good time with this.  June 2012

In this hybrid layout, I first added the photos and journaling to a digital chipboard frame by Amy Teets.  I cut out the remaining frames and added canvas and hardware to the back of them. 

The digital camera stamps from Cottage Arts were printed on cardstock.  I cut around them and added pop dots behind to give dimension.

This layout was so much fun to make!

Celebrating Life

We began Dads' 90th birthday celebration at Creekside Park near Mom & Dads' childhood homes.  His 91 year old first cousin Bernice and her niece Gerry were first to arrive.  After one hour we moved to Keyser where the Michaels were glad to let us chill in the game room of their pub.  Family and friends attended.  Young and old, it was a fitting celebration of life.

The watch is an actual watch piece Bob gave me for "potential scrapbook material".  I recall getting it as a token gift one year we purchased a subscription to Time magazine.  It features the "Life" logo.

Here's the digital invitation I made for the event.  I used this same format for Michelle's shower invitation.  The kit was a sampler from Michelle Shefveland of Cottage Arts.  I love the mask and the color.

 My sister was able to feature part of this postcard size invitation on the Evite she sent to many of the guests.

Cool Springs

Bob and I grew up some 250 miles apart, yet we both visited Cool Springs Park near Rowlesburg, WV as kids.  My family took picnics there on Sundays in the 60s.  Bob's family stopped there when taking David to Potomac State.  The store features a junk gift shop and sells footlong hot dogs.  Outside there is an assorted collection of rusted tractors, train cars and well fed donkeys.  3 mountains over from Grafton and 4 from Keyser, perhaps we passed by in the middle.  2012

The terra cotta elements were made with polymer clay.  I rolled the clay to a thin thickness and stamped it.

Then cut around the stamp prior to baking.  This Sculpey clay calls for baking at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.

 While the clay was warm, I glued it to the page and varnished it with a clear Delta varnish.

 Doesn't the Curiosity Shoppe paper fit this place perfectly?

History in the Making

Every year on the eve of the Great American Scrapbook Convention, we spend the night in Manassas, Virginia and visit the Bull Run Battlefield.  The replica of the Henry House sits in the center of the battlefield. There is a haunting story to the house as Judith Henry, a widowed invalid, was killed in her bed by crossfire on the battlefield.  

It was 102 degrees the day we visited, so we waited until evening to go.  The battlefields had been mowed and men were busy baling hay.  I cannot fathom marching into those fields on a hot July day many years ago in wool uniforms with fighting all around.

Journaling:  "It's 151 years since the Battle of Bull Run and 39 years since we met.  We hope to come here many more times.  Bull Run, 2012"

This Jen Allyson paper was perfect as is, but I decided to cut around the inside of the flower border, remove the inside piece, make it slightly smaller, adhere it to gray cardstock and stitch around it.  This made a nice sturdy layout with a little bit more emphasis on the center photo.

Photography Tutorial: "Blurred Motion"

Today's post was written and photographed by my husband Bob, a veteran photo journalist, who taught photography on the college level for many years.

For every photograph, there is one correct exposure. With an adjustable camera, you have two ways of controlling the light to achieve that result. Your exposure controls are the shutter speed (duration) and aperture or f/stop (intensity). Duration plus intensity controls exposure. 

Think of it like filling a pitcher of water. You can turn on the faucet so a trickle of water comes out and it will take a long time to fill the pitcher. Or, you can turn the tap all the way open and fill it fast.

It's the same way with light. You can open the lens up by using a wide aperture setting like f/4 and let a lot of light in like the open tap. Therefore, you need a short exposure duration to keep too much light from filling up your picture pitcher, so shutter speeds like 1/2000th of a second will be used.Or, you can let in only a trickle of light by using an f/stop like f/16 or f/22), but the shutter will be open for a longer time, like 1/4th or 1/2 second so the trickle of light can fill the exposure up.

The shutter speed can also affect the way that moving objects are reproduced. In simple terms, the motion can be frozen, like a football player flying in mid-air, or it can be blurred, where the moving object creates a streak instead of a clear and sharp image.

The first photo of the waterfall shows the blurred motion affect. The exposure time was 1/4th of a second, which caused the flowing water to look almost like ice. It can sometimes help to visually carry the sense of the subject's motion, like this stream, into a still image.

The second photo was taken at a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second. If you look closely, you will see the water drops frozen in flight from the waterfall, and can see the different way the moving water is reproduced compared to the first photo.

Check your camera's owners manual to see if your camera allows you to manually adjust the shutter and aperture settings. Remember that when you change one of the settings (shutter or aperture) to get the affect you want, you also have to set the other one accordingly. Some cameras, particularly digital SLR's, have the choice of aperture-prefered or shutter-prefered settings (marked A or S) that let you make your choice and then automatically set the other exposure setting for you. Also, use a camera support like a tripod for best results when using long exposures (like 1/15th or 1/2 second) unless you are experienced at handling your camera in a steady manner.

Life Goes On

Happy Birthday to my Dad who is 90 years old today.  The family celebrated Saturday, first at a park where Mom and Dad grew up, then moving to my nephews pub to beat the 106 degree temperatures.  It was a nice celebration. 

Journaling:  "Life hasn't always been easy and has its' share of disappointments, but like Dad, I'm a believer that if you're busy you don't have time to think about it.  He never seems disappointed in his family and that makes us all very happy.  James William Reeves Sr. at 90.  July 2012"

 I took the pages from the 6 X 6 inch Marine book I made about Dad's World War II experiences and temporarily framed those in a poster frame.

The scrapbook about Mom, which features the places they both lived as children and the history of both families was examined by many.

I gathered other pages about my Dad and placed those in a 12 inch binder.  Many family members asked for links to the history and I was able to oblige.  I'm very lucky to have my family and to be able to preserve our family history.
 

Byway

 

On route from Winchester to Chantilly, Bob surprised me by turning off the main highway to view this historic town and mill.

Millwood Virginia developed around two late-18th century gristmills  and Nathaniel Burwell's Carter Hall plantation.  In 1865, Confederate Col. John S. Mosby discussed terms of surrender in the J.H. Clarke house and tavern here.  After the Civil War, Millwood included a community of freed blacks with a school and several churches.  The village retains many late-19th century stores and dwellings.

Bubbles & Gadgets

Mom says she always loved bubbles and gadgets, so this battery operated bubble maker my brother Jim gave her was a real treat.  
July 2012