Darling

The photo in this layout has been on my mind for a while and when Case File 120 at CSI required an umbrella as one of its potential criteria, I decided that it was time to do this one. 

 

The little girls in the photo had a tragedy in their young lives. Once you know the sad story you will understand why they didn't have a smile on their faces. The journaling on vellum reads:

A Sad Story

Kathryn and Geraldine were my mother’s cousins. They were left motherless when their dear mother died trying to give birth to a baby brother. Neither the baby nor the mother survived.  Fortunately, the sisters were members of a large family, including their father, aunts, uncles and grandparents.  Not a single need went ignored, and they had all the love and attention they could want.   Occasionally their family would take the two girls to the cemetery in Houston, Texas, which is part of a coastal area with a low elevation.  The two little girls would be shocked to see that water was standing on their mother’s grave and they would cry for hours as they grieved over the loss of their mother and the condition of her grave. After this went on for some time, their grandfather decided to build a family mausoleum, and the girl’s sadness eventually subsided to the point that they could function as normal children. 

Products used:

Prima paper, flowers, resin figure, chipboard  
      sticker,  butterfly and button
The Robin's Nest Tear Drops
Webster's Pages lace and tule
From my stash:
     embroidery thread and metal heart

Techniques used:
inking
distressing
paper folding
3-D work
painting
masking

Thank you for viewing and leaving a comment.

This Day

Today I'm sharing a layout for The Crafty Scrapper Design Team. This layout was created using A Charmed Life by Simple Stories and lots of fun Maya Road embellishments. In this design, my intent was to draw the eye diagonally up and across the page, beginning at the lower left corner. The eye then circles the photo in a  counter clockwise manner.

I began doing the art of beautiful handwriting  forty years ago, while a student at TCU. For ten years, during the 1980's, I taught calligraphy at UTA (University of Texas at Arlington), and still enjoy using it in my scrapbooking work. This lettering was not done with a broad tipped pen, as is traditional  European Calligraphy, but working with a fine point felt tip and using an italic alphabet looks nice if done properly.

After die cutting a gear from the solid blue cardstock, I decided to use that negative space in the layout.

Techniques used here were masking, inking, painting, calligraphy and die cutting.

Fairy Whispers

This layout was created for Case File 115 at CSI and was so much fun to work with.  I am enjoying their weekly challenges so much that I am renewed in my desire to try new color combinations, learn new ways to journal  and be more adept at scrappy problem solving. Here is the challenge for this week:

After border punching around the top layer of paper, I stamped the area just below where  the masking would later be. Next came the application of  modeling paste over the area where  the birds are sitting on a branch. After the paste dried , paint  and markers were used  to achieve the desired colors. 

In the area where the cut out photo would be, I misted with a pewter colored spray and began painting the chipboard pieces.

                                        

Next came the lettering in a way that would look as though it was fairy dust being scattered on the photo.  

Using two sheets of the paper gave me two of everything. The little gnome, fairy and mushrooms had to be fussy cut, and popped up. The wings and crown were crying out for stickles before adhering them to the photo.  



Thanks for taking a peek. Comments are always appreciated!

Best in Show





This layout is an entry for the current challenge at Color, Stories, Inspiration....AKA: CSI. It is a social media site for scrapbookers. There is a new challenge every week and it's fun and interesting to see how other people interpret the criteria for the challenge. This week's challenge  is "Case File No. 114".

 All five colors of "The Scheme" have to be used, at least two "Evidence" choices, and a minimum of one "Testimony" choice should be included. On the second week of each month a sketch is provided for participants to use when creating their layout. I decided to rotate the sketch 90 degrees counterclockwise.





The story behind the layout occurred one night when my husband and I were taking care of our daughter's dachshund. After dinner we settled in to watch the Westminster dog show on T.V. When the show ended, I was in what might be called a silly mood and hurriedly created a little Best in Show ribbon for Wit to be wearing when our daughter came to get him. The ribbon led to a photo session and the pictures have now become an addition to one of our scrapbooks as a fond memory.  

The steampunk hot air balloon is a transparency that I made by finding the clipart  and printing it out as a transparency. Techniques used here are painting, inking, masking, stamping and punching. For a little added texture, I used dry wall tape from our garage.

As Paul Harvey would say, "And now, for the rest of the story". We enjoyed having Wit stay with us frequently and finally decided to get a dachshund for ourselves. Her name is Gracie and she is now a year old and will most likely be the star of her own layout soon.

BTW....it isn't necessary to be officially be entered in the Westminster Dog Show to get a "Best of Show" ribbon. We love you, Wit!

Spring is Almost Here!

Spring always signals a new beginning, and after this long, cold Winter, it could not be more welcome! Officially,  Spring begins on March 20, but we won't be concerned with such human ways of keeping track of the seasons.

Look! It's Mr. and Mrs. Cottontail! He has some carrots that he just dug up from Mr. McGregor's vegetable garden and she has pretty flowers also from the good farmer's garden! They don't seem to be concerned with calendars, but they are loving a lot of sunshine and pretty green grass!

Here is a little flower girl with a basket of flowers. I think that's a scrapbooking flower she has on her pinafore! She has obviously been caught red handed after rummaging through my "Happy Scrappy Place"! Maybe that is why she doesn't have a smile on her face.

This Easter Tree gets decorated every year about this time. We are ready for Easter Sunday, April, 20, 2014!

The dining room table is decorated for an Easter brunch with a runner in pastel colors, bunny candles, baby chicks and pretty eggs.

The chicks seem to be ready for a celebration!  

In the center is a compote filled with Easter grass and velvet eggs. The large eggs are decorated with  pansies and velvet leaves.

At the Roger's home we are all ready for Spring and Easter! We hope that you are ready too, and that you will have a  BLESSED NEW BEGINNING!

CSI Challenge 113, Memory

Recently, I have joined CSI.....Color, Stories, Inspiration. There are many wonderful artists who share their scrapbooking work, and I always enjoy seeing what they are doing, because it is inspirational!

For the past three weeks I have been a little under the weather and when my daughter came home for a visit she offered to cook dinner one night for her dad and me. What a treat that was!

For this challenge scheme, I used all five colors. For evidence, I chose to use hearts, ledger paper, an owl, butterflies, a typewriter and beads. We only had to choose one, and I went a little overboard!

For the Testimony I was to choose at least one clue, but I used two: Write a letter of appreciation and the Inspiration word, "memory".

Be sure to check out CSI and see if you might be interested in playing along.....it's a lot of fun!

Blooming

Hello friends! This layout was created to frame a photo of my daughter, Liz, when she was about sixteen.    

 

All of the products used here were from The Crafty Scrapper.....my Happy Scrappy place! The complete product list is: Authentique, Uncommon Collection paper, Maya Road Embellishments, Prima Ink, Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabbers and Ranger Stickles.

 

The flowers are hand made using a punch from my stash. I added stickles and small bling to them and adhered some of the flowers to the snowflakes just for fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Maya Road XOXO. First, I painted it, applied glossy accents and finally, I wrote in the center of each letter with stickles. Each step required time to dry before moving to the next step.



 And now, for the grand finale......drum roll, please. I couldn't help but want to put these little flowers in the Maya Road bottle and pour Glossy Accents by Ranger into the little jar to look like water.

Be sure to stop by The Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie to check out all of the beautiful projects and layouts by the design team and get inspired or take a class....or both!

See you next time...........Patty

Disc Golf in Colorado

This is a layout that I created for my son's album and for my own enjoyment. One of Lee's friends has returned to the states from his third tour of duty in The Middleast. For the next few months Tommy will be stationed in Colorado until his discharge from the U.S. Army. We can't wait to get him back home, either!

A few months back, Tommy and Lee enjoyed some lovely weather, exercise, the great outdoors and each other's company in Pine, Colorado. They  are both disc golf enthusiasts and never miss a chance to get out and participate in their favorite sport.

For this layout, I chose the  brand new Cartographer Collection by Prima, which I purchased at The Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie, Texas. All embellishments are by Prima.....some old; some new. Diecuts are by Tim Holtz/Sizzix. Also used was Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

Techniques used were painting, die cutting, distressing and sewing.

What a unique twist.....to print the word, "capture" backwards on this little clip! Yea, Prima!

Prima Junk Yard Findings give this layout a masculine feel, and since Lee is artistic, like his mom, I decided to use the piece that says, "ART".



I hope you enjoyed viewing as much as I enjoyed sharing with you! Your comments are always appreciated.