Fall Fest

Sunday night was our church's big Fall Fest. Matt had to work so Spencer & I went. He had a really great time. They have tons of small games set up, as well as several big inflatable things and rides. He was so excited that there was a rock wall this year. That's his absolute favorite thing!! Here are just some snapshots...

Layout - Journey (Key West)

Yes, I still haven't finished Key West pictures from April 2005 - sad. Anyway, I think I'll have a total of three 2-page layouts. Now, 2 are done. I have at least one more to do, but if it's too difficult, I might expand the # of pages. But, I digress...

These are random pictures of us just hanging out in Key West - nothing special - just catching up with old friends. The scan isn't great on this one...sorry.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Junkitz
Ink Pads - "Cotton Candy", Ink It Up; "Orange", Rubber Stampede
Rubons - Colorbok
"Pure Pink" Zig Writer
Basic Grey Magnetic Snaps
Gem word stickers - Miss Elisabeth's

Mini Albums - Panthers & Bobcats

Each year Spencer's school as a basket auction to raise money for the PTO. Each class puts togethr a themed basket and this year the theme for his class is Charlotte Bobcats/Carolina Panthers (our local NBA and NFL teams).

I decided to create 2 mini albums to contribute to the basket. I will never know if the bidders like the albums but I truly hope they are useful.

Each album is 12 pages, including the covers. It holds nine 4x6 photos and a pocket to hold ticket stubs. The albums are super simple. I kept the photo sizes simple as well so that it wouldn't be intimidating to a non-scrapbooker. All they have to do is glue down the pictures.

Fall flowers & pumpkins

I didn't do much outside for fall this year. But last weekend I did purchase some mums and also planted some pansies and english ivy to (hopefully) make it through the winter. This is the little set-up on my front porch with 2 of our pumpkins and some of the flowers I planted.

Pumpkin Patch #3

Our last pumpkin patch stop was actually the "biggest" in that they were having their annual festival. However, the crowd isn't our thing so every year we tend to spend more time at the less crowded places. I just don't like standing in line for 30 minutes for an apple doughnut, ya know?

Anyway, at this one Spencer took an incredible interest in the blacksmith. Matt & I were surprised how long Spencer stood there to watch him work and listen to his stories. He was selling some items he made and Spencer picked out a hoof pick (just what every kid needs, right?)

Pumpkin Patch #2

The second place we stopped wasn't actually a "pumpkin patch", but they had a cool corn maze. As you can see, the corn was taller than us - and there were plenty of dead ends to keep us on our toes. It was tough! We still aren't sure if we did it right, but we did find a way out - so at least we're not still stuck in there!

Pumpkin Patch #1

Saturday, we took Spencer to 3 local pumpkin patches. The weather was perfect - a little chilly (enough to feel like fall), but warm enough to be enjoyable.

This was our first stop. They always have the best selection of pumpkins so we always do our "shopping" here. They also had a few games set up that we played. And they have a maze made of hay bales but Spencer's so tall now that it's pretty easy for him. There are two things we can't leave this place without - a 6pack of Blenheim Ginger Ale and a $1.60 ice cream.

Mismatch Day - Red Ribbon Week

This week Spencer's school celebrated Red Ribbon Week. Each day had a theme and Monday was “Don’t Get Mixed Up In Drugs”. To recognize the theme, the students were to dress in mismatched clothing. Spencer and I had fun picking out his totally uncool outfit for the day! Unfortunately, he was sick the rest of the week and this was the only day he was able to participate.

Halloween Decorations

Here are a few snapshots of our Halloween decorations. There are more I haven't taken pictures of, but these are some of my favorites.

This is a wreath that I made last year. I wrapped a foam wreath with that spider web stuff. Then I added a bow made from various Halloween ribbons and a few spiders in the webbing. Super simple but I think it's really cute!



















This is my Halloween photo collection. I have a framed picture of Spencer in every Halloween costume since age 2 (about when I entered his life). I just love pulling these out every year and remembering his old costumes. Unfortunately, Halloween frames are tough to come by. Check out that huge, ugly Frankenstein one that I just found for last year's photo. Wow!

Book - Beach Road

Yesterday, I finished reading one of James Patterson's newer titles: Beach Road

This is not part of his Alex Cross or Women's Murder Club series. However, if you read The Beach House, they are somewhat similar in that they are both crime stories set in The Hamptons.

It was a good book and I would recommend it. It has a nice twist toward the end which is always fun!

Gamecocks beat Vandy

On Saturday, Spencer begged once again for us to pay the obnoxiously inflated price of $25 to get the USC game on Pay-Per-View. And like the good, obliging adults that we are - we gave in. Luckily, it was a good conference win (31-13) and Spencer had a blast watching the game. I think the wig Spencer made me wear was our good luck charm! SCARY, huh?

Layout - Street Ball

This layout was done using 5 of Elsie's "make your own" challenges from her book. I wasn't really thrilled with having to do these (guess I'm lazy!), but it was actually fun and I am pleased with the end result!

I, unintentionally, also did Ali Edwards' challenge for the week by creating a photo collage in Photoshop. It took a little time because I don't do it very often, but it was relatively easy and I love the results. I feel confident that I will try to do this more often. What a great way to cram in a bunch of photos!

Now for my creations...
- The photo corner and blocks behind the "S" and "B" are painted chipboard.
- The title is just cutout letters with green inking around the edges
- The stars were hand drawn with a sharpie on a transparency. Then I painted the backs and cut them out after they dried.
- The patterned paper was created by painting stripes on solid cardstock.
- The ribbon was solid white, which I painted.
- The buttons are painted chipboard. Holes were made with a paper piercer and then I added some string.

This layout took a LONG time but it was fun.


Supplies:
Paint - "Country Tan", Plaid; "English Marmalade", Accent; "Terra Cotta", DecoArt
Black sharpie
White ribbon
Alphabet cutouts - Leaving Prints
Transparency - Staples
"Tart Lime" ink pad - Ink It Up
Green fiber

Fiesta!

Last Saturday night, Matt & I went for mexican with friends to celebrate a friend's birthday. Here are a few snapshots:

This is the birthday boy, Dan.




















Amy & Shannon














Matt & I - sorry it's so blurry.

A little gift from mom...

Last week I got a surprise in the mail. My mom had made this super cute Halloween door hanger for me! I just love it.

Yay!

OK - so I didn't get any scrapping done tonight, but after many hours over the last several days - I have made a big accomplishment. I've scanned and organized Spencer's schoolwork and art from Kindergarten and First Grade. Now I have samples of his work on my computer that I might want to print in a reduced size to include in his school album. I can put those two big notebooks of the actual papers up the in the attic now. I've also made huge progress on getting my "thoughts" organized in a document for these scrapbooks. I have a little bit more to do but it's already after 11 so I should go to bed.

Layout - Lucky Licks

This is another 8x8 page for Rio's album. And guess what??? I'm caught up on his album!! I know that's not saying much...but it's better than nothing. (I probably shouldn't point out that I haven't even taken a picture of him since April - gasp!!!)

The shamrock is a clay embellishment that my mom made for me.


Supplies:
Patterned Paper - The Paper Studio (shamrocks); Reminisce (stripes)
Letter Stickers - Miss Elizabeth's
"Pure Green" Zig Writer, EK Success
White Uniball Signo

Layout - Pawprints

This is an 8x8 page for Rio's scrapbook. The title was a long title sticker that I cut into pieces to better fit the space. For the journaling, I created a text block in Word with a brown background and white text. I have it "clipped" to the layout with a bone shaped paper clip.


Supplies:
Twill - unknown
Title Sticker - Sticko, EK Success
Diecut - unknown
Patterned Paper - unknown
Crystal Lacquer, Sakura
Font: Digs My Heart
Bone clip

Bored to tears...

Ok, maybe not quite to tears...but at least bored to the point of making lists for absolutely no logical reason. Here are 10 things that have popped into my head recently...

1. Spencer lost another tooth. Remember how exciting the first one is? Maybe the 2nd one? Then after that it's no big deal? Yeah, we're at that point.

2. After Matt picked Spencer up from school he took him to EB Games to use a gift card he received for his birthday. For less than $20 he got 2 used games for our PS2 - Hockey and Basketball. Gotta love "pre-owned" games. A few bucks certainly beats $60 at full retail.

3. Yahoo is sending through some email messages twice...talk about annoying!

4. Today is cloudy and COLD. What is up with this weather? Where did fall go? We never had it? It went from hot to cold! I want FALL!

5. Speaking of fall...Spencer's class has to do a basket for an auction fundraising - still brainstorming but I might be able to make a little scrapbook to include...

6. Shiggles - heard this on a new game show the other night. Bob Saget said it in place of "shit and giggles" so I guess it will be OK on TV. Matt & I had never heard that and thought it was funny.

7. Speaking of... that new game show is 1 vs 100 and it's so cool. LOVIN' IT. Also lovin' the Game Show Network in general. I'm such a dork. I actually Tivo'd a bunch of game shows to watch while Matt has to work this week.

8. Spencer no longer needs a bandaid on his finger that he injured this summer. It's been three months! Yay!

9. I have to get gas in the morning and it's going to be very cold.

10. Supper's in the crock pot - that'll be nice when I get home, to not really have to cook. I might throw in some cornbread and I need to make rice.

The End... only 3 more minutes and I'm outta here!!!

Layout - 7

I created this layout for last week's Elsie challenge, which was to fill the background. Obviously, I chose eyelets. I have a huge stash of eyelets that I rarely use now, so this was an ideal way to use a bunch at one time! I actually think it turned out cute - better than I originally thought. The 7s are stencils that I covered with patterned paper. I punched out the circle from polka dotted patterned paper, then cut "happy birthday" from the other paper. The circle is edged with microbeads.

This is a recap page for Spencer's album. It shows the FOUR different ways we celebrated his birthday last year.


Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Pebbles, Inc
Font: Century Gothic
Microbeads
Misc. eyelets
Stencil
Pinking shears
Circle Punch: Marvy

More Swap Layouts

Here are some more swap layouts - no titles requested on any of these.

Swap Layouts - 8.5x11

Here are some swap layouts I completed...

Tammy (no title requested)





















Melissa

Dianne



















Jill

October 4

Journaling:

Wednesday began much like Tuesday ended – my not feeling well and lying in bed. I made the decision at 5 a.m. that I wouldn’t be going into work. Of course, that meant I had to get up at 8:00 to make the call. It didn’t take me long to find the bed again. Matt hadn’t started his new job yet, so he was home with me. I finally wobbled downstairs and spent most of my day on the couch watching TV.

October 3

Journaling:

I woke up with a very sore throat on Tuesday morning. I honestly thought it was simply because I had talked too much the night before (sad, I know!). But as the work day wore on, I felt worse and worse. I made a special trip to McDonald’s for a large orange juice just because I knew it’d feel good on my throat. Eventually, I left work early (around 3:00). When I got home, I slept – all evening, all night.

October 2

Journaling:

Monday evening I hosted a candle party at our house. Amy Trader is a demonstrator for Gold Canyon candles. Now that we finally have a house that is “company friendly”, I thought it would be fun – Plus I love candles!!! I was also able to meet some new neighbors.

October 1

I decided to do a "Photo a Day" album for the month of October. I was inspired by some I saw over at 2Peas. I'm using the same supplies throughout to keep it simple and easy. The papers are all Kaleidoscope. Journaling is handwritten with a brown Zig. Date is stamped with Provo Craft foam alphabet stamps (font is "Circa 1937"), using a brown ink pad (Ink It Up).

Journaling:

I plan on including the journaling in my posts since you can't read it in the scans:

No, this pumpkin isn’t to help us get into the Halloween spirit now that October has arrived. It’s actually been sitting in the back seat of Matt’s truck for a full year now (don’t even get me started on that!). So, what is the significance?
Sunday morning, Spencer woke up (early, very early) sick as a dog – bless his heart. While watching a movie later on, he fell asleep on the couch. Matt insisted on waking him to have lunch at his parents, but we didn’t get far. Before we even made it out of the neighborhood, Spencer – in a particularly heart-breaking tone – says “Daddy, I think I’m gonna throw up.” We turned around and headed home as quickly as possible, but in the meantime, poor Spencer grabs this pumpkin and holds it to his face all the way into the house and upstairs to his bedroom…where he spent most of the day.

Layout - October 31

This is a page for my work album - Halloween pictures from 2003.

Supplies:
Word Stickers - Pebbles, Inc.
Patterned Paper & Circle stickers - Reminisce
Ink pad - Ink It Up (orange)
Font: SP Cheese Steak

Layout - Holiday Fun

This is a layout for my work album. These are old pictures from Christmas 2002. Very simple page.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper - misc. scraps
Stickers - Scrapworks
Ink pad - "Tart Lime", Ink It Up
"Hunter Green" Zig Writer

Layout - Read

This is a page for my "Book of Me" album. After taking the photo of a stack of books, I used the polarize function. The journaling is about the types of books I like to read and my favorite authors.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Christina Cole; Rusty Pickle (brackets)
Letter stickers - Sticker Studio
"Jet Black" Staz On ink pad
"Alpine" decorative scissors - Creative Memories
Font: Arial Unicode

Quote

Just thought this was cute....

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Teacher Conference

We had our conference with Spencer's teacher yesterday. This was actually my first time meeting her because I was on a business trip for "Meet the Teacher". Anyway, the conference went great - as they always do. She had nothing but wonderful things to say about Spencer. He is at the appropriate level (or above) in all areas. She isn't concerned about anything. We got a few pointers on some reading comprehension things we can do and she answered a few of our questions. Overall, it was nice.

I also chatted with her afterwards and she is going to start burning photos to a CD for me and I will be making mini albums for the kids in Spencer's class.

Altered Letters - BOO

I altered some super large chipboard letters to use as Halloween decorations. I think they came out pretty cute. Nothing fancy.

Supplies:

Chipboard letters - Rusty Pickle; Patterned Paper - Reminisce ("Candy Dots" & "Freddy's Sweater"), Doodlebug ("Hauntingly Halloween Stripes"); Orange ribbon -Offray; Black fibers; Sticker - Pebbles, Inc.; Paint - Accent