Christmas Tradition

All products by One Little Bird: Fresh Kit, Metro Kit, Flight Plan No. 11, All Scratched Up No. 2, Narrative Kit, Retrospective Kit, Still Life Kit

My family celebrates Christmas Eve with a "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake. (We even sing Happy Birthday.) It's a tradition that has been around as long as I can remember, and we've had the privilege now of sharing it with our extended family. The picture on the left is my family and I when I was a kid; the larger picture is me, my brother, our spouses, and firstborn children. Looking forward to enjoying this tradition again in a few weeks!

The Christmas Trains

Supplies Used: A Lot Like Christmas Kit - Design by Dani; Chugga Chugga Kit - Traci Murphy Designs; Paint Swashes Vol 2 and Vol 3, GrungeaRound Vol 1 Masks & Brushes - liv.Edesigns; Dandelion Templates - Sara Gleason; Sparkle Spills - Amy Wolff

A few "retro" photos of my brother and me enjoying the Christmas trains that my grandfather put up every year. It was something we really looked forward to as kids. I can still smell the electrical "ozone" smell those trains would produce, hear the zap as the controls engaged, and remember how we never seemed to tire of watching them make their trip around the Christmas tree.

Fall Together

Supplies Used: Softly Falling Kit - Dani Mogstad; Leaf Prints No. 1 & No. 2 - Agnes Biro

Just a sweet picture of my son and his cousin taken last Thanksgiving. Looking forward to spending some quality time with the cousins tomorrow as they are visiting for the weekend. I so enjoy watching these friendships blossom between them, and I'm so grateful they are close in age and, for the time being, relatively close geographically!

Adorable

All supplies from Splendid Fiins: @ the Office Supplies No. 1, Border Bits: Brilliant, Evidence File Frames, Knockout "Straight Stripes" Mask, Make a Mess Splatter Overlays No 1, Mixed Bag Epoxy Stickers, "See Above for Details" frames, Wishy Washi Eclectic Set, Very Krafty Paper - Bold, 3x4 Love Journaling Cards, Buku Bokeh Photo Overlays

He is pretty darned adorable, isn't he? There's just something sweet and kind of poignant about taking pictures of my kids' backs when they aren't looking. It seems to emphasize the smallness and innocence I think. Love it.

Little Sunshine

Supplies Used: Prairie Hill Kit, Kraft Capers Paper - Pink Paislee; Well Traveled Mini Ric Rac - Carina Gardner; Flight Plan No.8 - One Little Bird; Arrow Sentiments Outline - Ali Edwards

My little niece. What a cutie. She's a teeny tiny little thing but I can tell she's going to make up for her size with a big personality! (And she's not going to let those two older brothers push her around!)

Two of You

Supplies Used: Build Your Own Template Chevron Side - Splendid Fiins; Happy Now Kit - Pink Paislee; Tidbit Alpha - One Little Bird

These two boys. So funny. So silly. So awesome.

Home Grown

Supplies Used: Chalklet Coated Printer Box, Chalklet Kit - Valorie Wibbens/Lauren Reid; Home and Garden Kit - Katie Pertiet

The garden isn't completely vacant quite yet, but I thought I'd go ahead and wrap up the spring/summer growing season with some of the pictures of the harvest. Sweet potatoes were the biggest (literally) success story this year - something I'd never grown before. I finally got peppers, had some decent tomatoes, as well as carrots, cucumbers, beets, sunflowers, beans, and strawberries. All in all, a good year considering it's only my second as a gardener. Each year teaches new lessons and brings new anticipation for the one to come.

Soccer Not

Supplies Used: It's a Guy Thing Kit, School Spirit Kit - Dani Mogstad; Essential Shapes No.1 - Lori Whitlock; Date Tabs No. 4, Touch Up Paint Brushes - Katie Pertiet

So...our first year of soccer was not a success. David was pretty uninterested and spent his time either standing on the field with his arms crossed or sitting on the sidelines, refusing to even get up. He seemed to enjoy the practice, especially running and kicking the soccer ball, but when it came to game time he didn't participate. It's possible he was intimidated - he was the smallest one on what appeared to be the smallest team. Oh well. Athletics weren't my strong suit either. He is super special in so many more ways!

Picnic



Supplies Used: Gator Crossing Kit, Loosely Labeled No. 5 - Katie Pertiet; Flight Plan No. 8 - One Little Bird


Going back through my older finished layouts I came across this one that I wanted to share because it's one of my favorites. I had taken little D out shopping one random weekend afternoon and we stopped for an impromptu McDonald's picnic at a local park. The pictures were taken with my old un-smart phone so the size and quality weren't the greatest, but I love them anyway. Mostly I love remembering a few hours of quality time with my son - talking, eating, relaxing - just the two of us.

Halloween 2011

Supplies Used: That Old Black Magic Kit - Dani Mogstad; Hip to Be Square No.2 Template Album - Biograffiti

Halloween excitement continues to build! Little D asks me almost daily now if it's Halloween yet.  I ordered the supplies to make my costume for this year - I think it's going to be awesome. Until Halloween 2012 rolls around, though, I'm scrapping a few of last year's pictures using this super cute Halloween kit from Dani Mogstad. Love the way this turned out! (Mom - this one's for your book!)

Nora, Sardinia

Supplies Used: Artsy Layered Template No 31, Journey WordTransfers No 1, Today PageSet - Anna Aspnes; Fall Colorwash Papers - Nancie Rowe Janitz

Another set of pictures from my college foreign study trip. These from the island of Sardinia, off the coast of Italy. Sardinia is very picturesque, with breathtaking coastlines draped along bright blue waters. The tower shown above is one of many that dot the rocky beaches.  These pictures were taken near the ruins at Nora, a pre-Roman and Roman site, much of which is now underwater.

Heritage Harvest Festival 2012

Supplies Used: Brownbagger Papers Vol.3 - liv.Edesigns; Alfresco Paper Set, Certified Organic Borders, Free Motion Stitches, Color Wash Brushes, Retro Spring Kit, Shmootz Alpha No.5, Little Moments Mini Kit - Nancie Rowe Janitz; Masking Shapes Vol.2 - Lori Whitlock; Vintage Storyboard Frames - Katie Pertiet

Last year was my first year attending the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello. My dad, the gardener, went with me last year, but this year he couldn't go so my mom graciously agreed to go along. We had a great time! The festival isn't just about gardening - there are a lot of speakers and exhibits for all sorts of other pursuits, like homesteading, fiber arts, woodworking, and natural body care. Some of it is a bit out of my realm - I'm not keeping chickens in the backyard at the moment - but all in all I find it very interesting and the people very friendly. I'm already looking forward to next year.

P.S. Shout out to Carpe Donut. Oh. My. Goodness. If they ever decide not to be a vendor at the festival I will be crushed.

Sidelined

Supplies Used: Retrospective Kit, Modern Dates - One Little Bird; Hello Life Title + Journal Boxes - Ali Edwards; Cut in Pieces Template - Katie Pertiet

Journaling reads:

I’ve been trying so hard to make exercise a habit this year. I enjoyed classes at the YMCA during first quarter but couldn’t quite make it work with my schedule. Then when spring rolled around I bought good running shoes and started working through the Couch to 5K program. I enjoyed having a goal to work toward, even started running occasionally with Sarah, but still found it hard to keep up when life got busy. Finally, finally I had started up again in earnest, made some real progress in distance and pace, was prepping for an actual race in October when my back pain, which had been nagging for weeks, became too much to ignore. Sidelined again. I sat out a frustrating two weeks with no exercise, waiting for the symptoms to subside. I’ll be starting physical therapy soon - getting some help to incorporate more stretching and strengthening to my regimen. Hopefully I’ll emerge from this experience smarter, stronger, and more determined to maintain this hard-won dedication to being healthy.

Crocodile Hunters

Supplies Used: GO BIG Template No. 1 - Splendid Fiins; Gator Crossing Kit - Katie Pertiet

Fun page! I love the colors on this one...and the fact that I happened to have this "Gator Crossing" Kit in my stash already.  :-)  Perfect!

Journey to Saqqara

Supplies Used: Smootzy Frames Fun & Funky, Mixed 2 Backgrounds, Shmootzy Alpha No5, Certified Organic Borders, PDQ Overlays Vol 11 - Nancie Rowe Janitz; Very Krafty: The Neutrals - Splendid Fiins; Vintage Postcards - Jodie Lee; Make Your Own Postmarks Pack, Messy Stamped Textures No.1 - Katie Pertiet; Around the World Collab Kit; A Day at the Beach Collab Kit

I reached waaaaay back into the archives for this picture, building a bit on a long-term project that has been sitting neglected for a while. I participated in a study abroad program in college that took us to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Italy. I have had almost half my photos from the trip converted to digital format and have done very little to get them scrapped - they've just been sitting on my hard drive. Glad to be able to finally add a bit more to it, and relive the fun memories again!

This picture shows the stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara (outside Cairo). The pyramid was neat, since it represents the earliest form of pyramid building prior to the well known complex at Giza. But the more amazing sight at Saqqara was the mastaba we visited. Mastabas are part of the funeral complex, built to house the remains of other prominent officials of the day. The artistry of the carved walls, some still bearing their original paint were breathtaking. Every wall was covered floor to ceiling in hieroglyphics and pictures. I found it alarming that most of the walls were unprotected at the time, though it did afford an incredible and unobstructed close up view to the builders' handiwork.

Currently...

(This post inspired by Ali Edwards)

Currently I am...

Feeling pain in my lower back, brought on by my recent foray into running/walking. I visited the doctor today, and will be starting physical therapy soon. I find this frustrating because in trying to do something good for my body it has caused unwelcome bad side effects. I'm trying to view it as part of my journey to wellness, which apparently for me needs to become more well rounded and include different forms of exercise and lots more stretching.

Committing to keep working at the exercise and participate in my first 5K coming up in three weeks.

Watching very little TV these days, except the preschool kind. Spending my free time in the evenings working on scrapbook pages.

Scheming about how to move forward with a new idea I've had. I've already discussed it with my Dad and I think it's something we would undertake together, starting with some experimentation.  Could be fun!

Growing cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and some other fall crops in my garden.

Thwarting whatever little critters keep coming into my garden and nibbling up the lettuce and spinach as soon as it sprouts. May need to admit defeat in this area and purchase some seedlings this weekend from the Farmers' Market so that I can make up for lost time.

Dreaming about the future, which lately has included jobs and the kids' educational opportunities. Little D will be starting kindergarten next year, and I've been researching private schools and thinking about how to become more personally involved with his learning experiences.

Eating Oreos and milk every night before bed. My usual ritual.

Worrying about my husband's health.

Realizing that, along with exercise, we need to change our eating habits. I'm struggling with HOW to do this. While I know in my head what needs to be done it seems an overwhelming journey to undertake and one that may not exactly be well-received by the entire family.

Lamenting the potential future loss of some favorite foods but committing to keep the Oreos.  :-)

Loving the crazy things the kids do and say. They alternate between making me nuts and making me laugh. I'm trying to focus more on the positives and enjoy spending time with them while they are in the phase they are in right now, defiance and all.

Trying to stay interested and engaged at work.

Wondering what it means when I have to try so hard to stay interested and engaged at work.

Appreciating beautiful, mild weather and the emergence of fall. I love summer, but I do enjoy the changing colors and the holidays that arrive in the latter part of the year.

Dreading wearing cold-weather clothes because they are not nearly as composed and up-to-date as my spring/summer clothes. I'm already sick of them and I haven't even started wearing them yet this year.

Chastizing myself for complaining about clothes when I am incredibly blessed to be able to buy things that I need and want.

Thanking God for the ways he has blessed me and looking to the coming months with expectation, hopefulness, and open arms.

You Are My Happy

Supplies Used: Needs + Wants: Eyelets Galore 02, Loopies Vol. 2 - LoopyLove, Brownbagger Paper Pack - liv.Edesigns; Hot Mess template 1, wishy washi - skies are grey set 1 - Splendid Fiins; For The Record 2 Documented Element Pack #1 and #2 - Echo Park; Pretty Much Stitches - KStudio

Definitely my favorite picture. Carter being...Carter. So very much HIM.

Stay Little

Supplies Used: Just Stay Little Kit - Dani Mogstad; Splatters Vol. 1 - liv.Edesigns; Marigold Templates - Sara Gleason

Too fast. Slow down.

The Parent Paradox

Supplies Used: Pumpkin Spiced Latte Kit - Dani Mogstad; Falling for You, Paint Swashes Vol.2 - liv.Edesigns; Vintage Photo Frames No.2, Neutral Date Bits No.1 - Katie Pertiet

The other night the boys and I went for a quick walk down to the neighborhood cul-de-sac after dinnertime. Since the road isn't busy I let them go a bit ahead of me. Both kids were running, of course, and it occurred to me that I should probably tell them to stop. But I didn't stop them, I just let them go, and Carter fell and scraped his knee. As I was carrying him home I realized what a paradox it is to be a parent. You want to protect the kids from any sort of pain or disappointment, but to do that would deny them the experiences that make them wiser and braver later in life. The "Anyway" poem written by Mother Theresa came to mind and I used my own variation for the journaling on this page.

Day to Remember

Written on September 11, 2011. A memento for my children and all those who follow.

Today is a day of remembrance. Make this anniversary of September 11th a day to sit and reflect on these events. Remember heroism in the face of evil. Remember patriotism through pain. Remember unity and understanding. If you haven't done so already, please write down your memories of September 11th and its meaning to pass on to your children and your children's children who will grow up without firsthand knowledge of that day. The most beautiful gift we can give to future generations is the knowledge and perspective of past events - a reminder that in this world bad things happen, but goodness and light are far more enduring.

Halloween 1984

Supplies Used: Oct 31 Collection - Fancy Pants Design; Bookshelf Scrap Pack Templates No.1 - Katie Pertiet

The designers over at JessicaSprague.com keep releasing these great Halloween kits, but I don't have enough Halloween pictures to scrap! (My kids are too young - not a lot of Halloweens under their belts yet!)  So for this page I decided to use a photo from long ago that I recently restored. I love how it turned out! (Yes, that's me...I was seven years old.)

Jam Session

Supplies Used: Narrative Kit, Check It Cards, Tidbit Alpha, Modern Dates, All Scratched Up Borders No.1 - One Little Bird Design; @ the Office Graph Paper Background Brushes - Splendid Fiins

Trick or Treat

Supplies Used: Happy Halloween Collection - Lori Whitlock; Bubbling Over Brushes, Needs + Wants: Eyelets Galore 01 - livE.design; Chillingsworth Manor Element Pack #1 - Echo Park; Journaling Brushes - Katie Pertiet; Creator Kit - One Little Bird; Papyrus Template - Sara Gleason

Reached back into the photo archives to pull out these Halloween pictures that I hadn't gotten around to documenting. We went pretty low-key with David's costume that year (a shirt we already had plus a foam construction hat) since he was wearing his costume to school. His Grandpa even got into the act by wearing his own "construction" themed costume. The two of them went out together for David's first-ever trick or treating experience. They weren't gone very long - but long enough for him to come home with a bagful of candy!

Pop

Supplies Used: Bubbling Over Brushes - liv.Edesign; Geometric Set 1 Overlays and Masks - Lori Whitlock; Flying High Kit, Hello Sunshine Kit - Design by Dani; Stapled Photos Layered Templates - Katie Pertiet

I just love this photo. And I love that this page came together in my head before it came together on the screen. It morphed a bit in the process, but the inspiration and the execution were pretty much the same!

Geek in Training

Supplies Used: Imagination Kit - Design by Dani; Coreopsis Templates - Sara Gleason

What can I say? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. David LOVES being on the computer. He really surprised me by getting the hang of the mouse relatively easily and also by how little help he needs from us when he's playing a new game. He's growing up in the age of technology - good to know he will be well prepared!

Berry Natural

Supplies Used: Fresh Kit - One Little Bird/Sahlin Studio

Lessons learned about strawberry picking:
1) We should do it at least a few times each summer.
2) Strawberry freezer jam is awesome.
3) Never send one adult alone to juggle two children and a bucket of strawberries while attempting to navigate an obstacle course full of electric fences, tractors, and rows upon rows of strawberry plants.

Get There Together

Supplies Used: Garden Vignettes Series by Carina Gardner: Rub-On Alphas, Collection Cards Vol.1, Paisley Bed Papers, Button Collection, Rub-On Titles Vol.1; Essentials Masks Vol.1 - Carina Gardner; Typography Templates Vol. 18 - Valorie Wibbens

My sister-in-law was visiting this past week with my two nephews and my niece. It's so fun to get all the kids together - the four boys are very close in age, paired up two by two, and they have a blast playing with each other. They raced cars around the yard, played in the water table, ate, laughed, took baths together, and acted silly as most preschoolers do. I tried to get a bunch of pictures of them to capture these moments. My sister took a lot of shots, and she's a much better photographer with a nicer camera, so I'm really looking forward to seeing her pictures! I'm sure this will be the first of a series of layouts featuring our recent visit.

The One

Supplies Used: Vintage Blue Papers and Elements - Glitz Design; Photocuts Frames Vol.1 - Carina Gardner; Go Big Template No.2, Knockout Mask Birds Emerging - Splendid Fiins; Blossom Hill Road Kit - Laurie Ann Anderson

Congratulations, Derek and Darly!

Teacher, Teacher

Supplies Used: Off to School Collection - Fancy Pants Design; Flight Plan No.2 - One Little Bird Design

We have been so blessed to have some wonderful people in our boys' lives. They are gifted teachers and special friends. It is such a great thing to know that our sons are spending their days learning and playing with people who genuinely love and care for them!

Waited for You

Supplies Used: Spring Kit - KI Memories; Loopies vol. 2 Loopy Love - liv.Edesigns; Knock Out "Clouds" mask, Very Krafty Paper Softly Now - Splendid Fiins; Hello Life Boxes vol.3 - Ali Edwards

I reached back a bit into the photo archives for this one and found a picture of me and Carter soon after he was born. WOW - more than two years ago and it seems like such a long time! So much change in our family and in him since then. Early babyhood was tough for Carter, but he's a rambunctious, lively, friendly little guy now!

First Christmas

Supplies Used: Doodle Flakes, Festive Borders, Gouache Painte Strokes, Seaglass Acrylic Alpha - Nancie Rowe Janitz; Baker's Twine, Wishy Washi Tape (Skies are Grey) - Splendid Fiins; Photocuts Overlays v.1 - Carina Gardner; These Moments At Christmas Journaling Cards - Elle's Studio; Beige Like Me Paper Pack - One Little Bird Design

Christmas 2010 wasn't exactly the best Christmas ever. It should have been - it was Carter's first Christmas ever, and we were all excited about surprising little David with his much-anticipated train table. We even had a gorgeous white blanket of snow fall over the holiday, something that rarely ever happens here. We forgot, however, to ask Santa for a germ-free Christmas. A few days before the family arrived Carter got really sick with the flu and some kind of stomach bug and spent days throwing up and subsisting on nothing but Pedialyte. On top of that my sister-in-law's boyfriend and I both got food poisoning on Christmas Eve and spent most of the evening hugging the toilet or laying prone on the bed. We managed to drag ourselves out of bed for Christmas morning, but ended up cancelling the traditional Christmas dinner with my family.  Not the greatest celebration, but after the year we had in 2010 it was sort of like....the (sour) icing on the cake. At least we all were together to share the "joy"!

Swimming Lessons

Supplies Used: Splash Kit - Echo Park; Photocuts Masks v.6 - Carina Gardner; Splatters Vol.3 - liv.Edesigns; Water Drops No.1 - Anna Aspnes; Digital Date Stamps No.21 - Katie Pertiet

David took swimming lessons at the Y this year. Each time he was a bit hesitant before the lesson but always ended up enjoying himself by the end. It's so entertaining to watch a group of young children who are thrown together for the first time. They are generally so quick to accept each other and ALWAYS happy to have new playmates!

Moments

Supplies Used: Still Life Kit - One Little Bird Design; Photocuts Overlays v.1 - Carina Gardner

Moments like this make me so happy to be a mother. These are the ones to cherish.

Wild

Supplies Used: Wild Life Paper Pack - Ki Memories; Printed Tickets Expressions - Jenni Bowlin; Framed: Postage Stamp Pack - Pink Paislee; Paint It Up Vol 1, Needs + Wants: Eyelets Galore #1 - livE.designs; Plentiful Kit - Shabby Princess; Between the Lines Messy Alpha - Katie Pertiet

We visited the Natural Science Center in March, along some of our family visiting from out of town. Honestly, if I had been there before I really didn't remember it - too bad considering we had a great time! We're so lucky to have such an awesome place so close by. The kids loved looking at the animals, and of course the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex was a big hit!

Boy to the Rescue

Supplies Used: A Boy's Life Kit, Little Boy Kit - Echo Park; Paint Swashes Vol. 3 - liv.Edesigns; Photo Masks 12 Inch Sets - Carina Gardner; Metro Kit - One Little Bird Design; Digital Date Stamps Vol. 21 - Katie Pertiet

The kids love going to the children's museum downtown. They have all sorts of exhibits set up that encourage imaginative role play. One of the exhibits is a real fire engine, firefighter equipment, and a "hose". David really got into it, pretending to drive, to spray the hose, and even giving his best "tough firefighter" face.

Sunflower

Supplies Used: Smudge It Up Vol.1, Nature's Canvas Paper Pack - liv.Edesigns; Watercolor Masks - Nancie Rowe Janitz; All Scratched Up Borders - One Little Bird Designs

This year my son brought a sunflower seedling home from school. As it happened, I had an empty spot in the garden, so we plopped it in. I've been amazed at watching what was actually TWO separate seedlings grow and grow and GROW and finally blossom into a cheerful cacophony of flowers. Sunflowers are truly a wonder to grow - the stems are very strong, in fact my sunflower supported a cucumber vine for a while until the vine produced its fruit, then died. The flowers are still coming and coming, as are the honeybees, who LOVE visiting these plants.If you've never grown sunflowers before I highly recommend it!

The photo technique used on this page came from this tutorial.

Birthday Girl

Supplies Used: Hoopla Kit - Glitz Design; Storyteller Frames Trios - liv.Edesigns; Galvanized Coin Alpha - Wishing Well Creations

Last night was girls' night out to celebrate my birthday weekend. My best bud, Katie, and I got pedicures, went shopping, and enjoyed margaritas and a yummy dinner. The afternoon and evening just flew by - we had such an awesome time!

JessicaSprague.com Fifth Birthday!

Come and join our celebration! JessicaSprague.com is celebrating its fifth birthday this week. You can enjoy sales, giveaways, speed scraps, and a FREE class! Check it out!

All the Toys in the World

Supplies Used: "Toy Box" Mini Kit - Echo Park; Template+ 1.01 - Jessica Sprague

My son LOVES playing with the dishwasher. Never mind that he has an entire room full of toys a few steps away, plus a shelf full of puzzles and books, a train table, and a swing set outside. Do you think he'll still be that fascinated with it when he's a teenager?

Epcot

I love it when a kit comes along that so PERFECTLY fits a set of pictures, it's like they were made for each other. Loving this new "For the Record" collaboration kit!

Sonshine

Supplies Used: Hello Sunshine Kit - Design by Dani; Knock Out "starburst" mask - Splendid Fiins; ;Essentials, Stitches v1 - Carina Gardiner; Monogram Tags - Elle's Studio; DIY Acrylic Alphabet No.2 - Pattie Knox

Hexagons seem to be all over the place on scrapbook pages lately! I decided to join in. I think I tried three different titles and innumerable different placements of all the elements before I decided I was happy with this one. That's the way it goes sometimes. But I do feel pretty proud of myself when I pull together a nice looking page without a template.

Two Mothers

Supplies Used: French Spring Papers, Vintage Crackle Texture, Shabby Photo Frames 1, Vintage Postcards, Vintage Brush Club Collection - Jodie Lee; Design 365 Color Kit 2, Essentials Basic Paper - Carina Gardiner; Color Wash Brushes - Nancy Rowe Janitz; GrungeARound Vol.1 - liv.E Designs

Love you, Mom.

Monster-rific Birthday

Hootenanny Kit, Boy Crazy Kit - Design by Dani; 7 Days in May Template - ITM Design; GrungeaRound Vol.1 Masks & Brushes - Liv.E Designs

We had such a blast at our "Monsters Inc." themed birthday party! The boys had all their friends from school there to enjoy bouncing on inflatables and eating pizza and cupcakes. I totally lucked out and discovered a brand new kit ("Boy Crazy") that actually had two monster images in it! Perfect for this page!

Restoring a Vintage Photo

I found some scans of old photos that I had on my computer and decided to try my hand at restoring one of them. I had attempted some of this type of thing before, but not really to this extent. I walked through several lessons of Jessica Sprague's awesome online class This Old Photo which helped me immensely. For those of you who have a shoebox full of old photos that need to be preserved (you know who you are), I highly recommend this class. There are four lessons, along with a couple of bonus ones, and they are fairly short and easy to work through. Jessica does a really awesome job of explaining all the steps without getting overly technical.

I found a special family photo, taken probably when I was 7 or 8 years old. (We won't say how long ago that was.) I'm wearing a clown costume that belonged to my grandfather when he was a boy, and has been passed through my mom's side of the family for years. Quite a number of the children and grandchildren on that side of the family have worn it at one time or another!

Here is my "before" photo:

You can see that it has faded quite a bit and there are a lot of white splotches where either the photo got wet or perhaps got stuck to another photo.

Here is my "after" photo:

Quite a difference, isn't it? I won't go so far as to call myself an expert at photo restoration, but it's definitely an improvement. This should also illustrate the point that it is so important to digitize your old photos before they are beyond repair. It's the best kind of "memory keeping" - even if you aren't a scrapbooker!

Still Life

Supplies Used: Still Life Kit, All Scratched Up Page Borders - One Little Bird Design; Stamped Blocks No. 10, Neutral Date Bits No. 1, Stamped Alphabet - Katie Pertiet; Photo processing action - My Four Hens Photography

I love this kid.

Emperor Zurg Invades Halloween

Supplies Used: SuperVillains elements; SuperVillains patterned-paper pack; Super-comic panel 12x12 layouts; Splendid Tutorial #6- Super Comic Photos; Super halftone edges; Super halftone-splatters; Super elements v1 - All products by Splendid Fiins (available at JessicaSprague.com)

Last Halloween David decided that he wanted to be Emperor Zurg from "Toy Story", Buzz Lightyear's mortal enemy. (He's got a thing for villains, apparently.) I'm typically not one to go out and purchase a costume, plus this character was rather obscure, so I probably wouldn't have been able to find it anyway. So I made it myself from a purple T-shirt, some felt, foam, and a black plastic tablecloth. The "gun" was made with plastic cups glued to a plastic plate and spray painted. He was thrilled, of course, and even to this day he will occasionally pull out the costume and want to put it on.

When it came time to scrap the Halloween pictures, my creative juices ran out. I just could not get the page to look right - I wasn't happy with the paper or the colors or the elements...nothing looked quite right. So the page sat unfinished for a long time until I ran across this "Superhero" themed stuff from Splendid Fiins. Not only does she have some brilliant templates, papers, and elements but she also had a really easy tutorial for how to give pictures a comic-like effect. Finally, a page I was happy with! Sometimes all you need is a creative kick-start.

Butterfly Garden

Supplies Used: Design 365 Color Kit 2 - Carina Gardner; Design 365 Color Kit 1 - Carina Gardner; Essentials Collection Masks v2 - Carina Gardner; Country Lane Kit - Pink Paislee; Blossom Hill Road Kit - Laurie Ann Anderson; Olive Tree Kit - Sara Gleason

Another page here from our recent trip to Disney World! There was so much beautiful scenery to take pictures of at EPCOT since the Flower and Garden Show was in full swing. One of the special exhibits for the show was a butterfly garden tent. The kids really enjoyed finding the butterflies and getting such an up close look at so many beautiful varieties. I found a lot of great butterfly-themed digital supplies to compliment this page - I think it turned out great!

Viva Vegas!

Supplies Used: Printed Tickets Expressions - Jenni Bowlin Studio; Mixed 1 Backgrounds, Mixed 2 Backgrounds - Nancie Rowe Janitz; LE PETITE PAPERIE Arrows - Carina Gardner; Knock Out - "circle explosion" mask, very krafty-the neutrals - Splendid Fiins; Artsy Layered Template No.23 - Anna Aspnes; DIY Acrylic Alphabet No.4 - Pattie Knox; Ripped and Stitched DIY No.02 - Lynn Grieveson; Glitter Paper (Soho Sweetheart Collab Kit) - Viva Artistry

Every once in a while it's fun to do a page that is a major departure from my usual style. My usual style tends more toward the simple and minimalist, but you can't do a simple page about Vegas! It just wouldn't give the right Vegas-y feeling. So bring on the glitz! I took all these photos with my iPhone, many via Instagram. I just love those photo filters. I got a lot of great pictures to remember my awesome trip. Enjoy!

Dance

Supplies Used: Tangerine Dream Collection, Butterfly Rub On Kit, Date Labels - Jenni Bowlin Studios; Fabric Covered Buttons - Kitschy Digitals; Flight Plan No. 16 - One Little Bird Design; Photo processing actions - My Four Hens Photography

Summertime is finally here! I am so ready for warm days, long sunlit hours outside, and veggies from the garden. On Monday Jenni Bowlin Studio is releasing this sun-kissed kit, "Tangerine Dreams." The colors are lovely, but I was particularly inspired by the paper with the sheet music print. Then I found this quote...and the rest of the page just kind of came together. I love this picture of Carter. Shouldn't all our days be filled with that kind of joy?

What are you most looking forward to about summer?

Teacher Appreciation

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, so I created a little piece of subway art to give to the teachers at my kids' daycare. I think the quote is great because it has many layers of meaning, both for teachers and non-teachers alike. I am so grateful that my kids spend their days learning with people who genuinely care about them and help them become happy, social, individuals.

Do you have a special teacher or person in your life who might appreciate this sentiment? Share it! I'm making it available to download a print-quality copy here on my blog. It is sized to print on an 8x10 sheet.

Be sure to show your appreciation to teachers this week - they have a really tough and often overlooked job. Show them how much they mean to you and your family.