mom's musings.

I created this section in my LOM album, All About Us. The layouts in this section are ones that

include a reflection or realization about life or that are based on a quote. Since I love quotes, I find that sometimes that is all I use on a layout. I was having trouble determining where to put these two "kinds" of layouts and thus developed the Mom's Musings section.

Little did I know that it would become a favorite section of mine, but it has. I feel that it'll help tell a more complete story of our little bubble of the world and the way I'm influenced by the little everyday happenings.

Below are three of the pages you would find in this section. The first two are examples of reflections about living . . .

And here's one based on a quote. (BTW, I made this in response to a Kelli Crowe challenge during the BPS class Have More Fun.)

LOM Structure

I've been considering title & section pages for my Library of Memories for some time now. There have been two hang ups for me:

1. Using photos on these structure pages because of the way the page will become dated almost instantly & my plan is for it to be a title/section page over the course of time. (Now I'm sure I'll get bored with them & someday update 'em . . . but overall, I wanted them to have a classic-timeless appeal. I also know that almost everyone uses photos on these pages & they are quite happy with it . . . so maybe I should just get over it. Still . . . )


2. The color scheme. I love (and I mean lovelovelove) the WeRMemory Keeper albums; however, I wish there were more colors -- namely a grey and an off-white (to go with the cinnamon and red). So I bought all cinnamon for my LOM + a red one for the recent layouts. Still toying with the idea of adding a kiwi + buttercup to have four colors . . . but I'm not sure.

So, yesterday was the day I decided to get the structure pages complete. I worked all day & enlisted the help of two young girls with the set up of "temporary pages" and making a list of the pages I need to complete. Here's what we created:

Title Pages

Section Pages (This one falls under the All About Us album)


All of the title pages are the cream background; all of the section pages are the red background. Still considering ways to "jazz 'em up." :)

I made 24 pages yesterday -- woo-hoo!

least common layout

My People I Love & Places binders could be "beefed up" a bit. So for my LOM class, the assignment was to create a layout from one of the "least common" layouts I have in my collection. So here's to good friends!

connections.

Feels good to make stuff again. Glad to complete an assignment for LOM. :) We were to use photos that spanned time & make a connection . . . I even included a 1980 shot of my dh!

The journaling will be put on library cards & tucked in the pocket. It reads:

In October of 2006, I presented A. & S. with A.'s favorite childhood book of all time: The Digging'est Dog. I jotted a little love note inside the front cover and we cracked it open.

It became an instant favorite. We took it with us when we went on trips, and reached for it when there was time for "only one book." As A. read it to S. one while Mamaw rocked the little guy, it seemd the book had come full circle. She once read it until the book was worn to her son, who was now reading it to his son.

Soon S. was able to "read" it himself. He often snuggled beside Sascha, and read the story to her. Reading books to Sascha in the morning before breakfast became a bit of a routine in the summer months. At first Sascha would move to a new spot, but he would follow and follow and follow. She eventually gave up, realizing it was easier just to "listen" to the story than to have a toddler follow her around the house.

Then the girls came home. Reading is a staple in our house every evening and they quickly adapted to the new routine. Early on (perhaps even the first night), A. introduced them to his favorite book. It continued to be a nightly request for months.

Some of those first few bedtimes were a little tough. A. found himself reading The Digging'est Dog in the bedtime bedroom of each of his daughters. The sound of his voice while snuggling in his strong arms, with the words of a favorite story wrapping around them always soothed them.

The Digging'est Dog has earned a special place in the hearts of our next generation. Simple things like a favorite book seem so trivial. What started as a little gift to bring back memories from a childhood turned into something powerful. A book that was a daddy's favorite, used to comfort and delight his children, read over and over and over throughout the years will be a stronghold in their hearts long after the words are forgotten and they've stopped curling up in his strong arms. It will be these simple memories that will remind them of his constant love.

LOM Class

Taking the Library of Memories class from BPS and enjoying it. Since I poured over the book this summer, I mostly have the system set up & am enjoying picking up ways to fine tune it. It's a good thing since March yielded ZERO pages, mainly because we've been sick and remodeling and sick again. Oh well, back in the saddle, as they say.

circles?

Okay, I'll admit it, I've been a little anti-circle on my layouts. I'm not sure why -- I think it reminds me too much of the LOs I created in the early 90's. So when Kelli's challenge was to use a hole punch to make as many dots as possible, then glue them into multiple circles onto one lo, the challenge was daunting at best and miserable at worse. (See, I'm not a big punch girl either.)

As I was percolating on what to do for the challenge, my mom graced me with a goodie bag of old fibers and a jar of buttons. These would work perfectly for the Crazy Ladies photo of my daughters! I actually enjoyed sewing the buttons and I love the bright colors. I also found Kelli's idea of mixing and matching black letter stickers ingenious.

Using a silly photo with this quirky quote allowed me to be open to creative play. I let go of the "rules" and "my style" and just allowed the art to lead me. It was a fun experience and one I plan on having more often.

So here's to "Nonsense -- It wakes up brain cells," you know?

evolving.

Week three in my class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, Have More Fun, has really challenged me creatively. It pushed me. Many of the projects I didn't like as I was creating, but as I played and continued, I found that I liked them in the end.

Regardless of the outcome of the final project, I have appreciated being pushed creatively. I've been forced to create in new ways. I've been forced to try new concepts. And with that, I have allowed my art to evolve as I create.

The story takes shape as I create. My story emerges, the message becomes clear, and I feel more complete. I'm thankful to be evolving this way as a writer, artist, communicator.

On this particular LO, I was determined to use those Heidi Swapp Ghost Stars that have been taking up space for more than a year now. I also toyed a bit with texture. That was fun. I love playing with texture in miniBOOKS, and it was fun to do so on a traditional LO. Here's a close up that captures some of the layers of this page.

Many of the photos came from Mom & Grandpa. I would have liked to tell more of this story than I did. I'm thinking a future page called "Through Their Eyes," where I scrap photos that other people have given me.

After completing this, I decided I need more embellies. So I went shopping. I found myself drawn to letters + papers + words -- the same things as always. I had to make a conscious effort to pick up embellies. I didn't get too many.

So I was then inspired to revamp the organization of my embellies. I made a drawer for different colors and reorganized according to color. After only a few hours, I could feel my creativity once again refreshed. I think I'll really like this system because it will enable me to be more productive. Gotta love that!

home.

Without Here, I wouldn't be who I am out there.

Creating a safe home has always been a priority of mine. Thankfully, it's a priority for my husband too. About a year ago, over a colleague and I were doing a lot of thinking about place. I created a post that has stuck with me. And although, I couldn't wait to get the photo printed -- I went to the local lab the same day I created it and got two copies -- I haven't scrapped it. One copy has taken up permanent residence in a writer's notebook. The other has been waiting for a scrapbook page.

It called my name when I sat down to complete another challenge for Have More FUN. I love the results. The colors and the design and the stitching and the warm feeling it gives me make it a favorite. But more than that, my husband loved it. It struck a conversation between us last night around midnight about the importance of having a safe home . . . and the importance of recording these memories.


I've always known that he's my biggest fan, but it was heartwarming and refueling for him to tell me how much my hobby means to him -- how much he appreciates pages like this. How much our kids and even grandkids are going to appreciate pages like this. I'm so thankful for him and for our safe home.

FUN Defined.

So, for the class I'm taking at Big Picture Scrapbooking, we were asked to think deeply about the word FUN and how we would define it. After multiple lists in my writer's notebook, here's what I came up with:

FUN is the state of being relaxed and enjoying Right Now.

(And yes, I capitalized right now on purpose . . . in this context and in my mind, it is a proper noun!)

pink?

So the first Wacky Wednesday challenge was to create paper ribbon using monocromatic scraps. Surprisingly, I was drawn to pink. If this isn't evidence that change is happening in my life, I don't know what is.

I love the results. I just wish I had some sparkely letters to use in the title. Oh well, the important part is that it is complete and I had a good time creating.

I'm glad to have finally created this layout. Here is the original post. Working with this photo and poem brought back warm memories of trying something new with my writing and my camera. I'll have to do that again, soon.

PLAY photos.

The first Freedom Friday challenge was to find two or three photos featuring play. I flipped through my new storage albums with the attitude that the first thing I came to I would use. So glad it happened to be these photos from the first weekend as a family of five.

Freedom Friday2: Silhouette

Okay, so it was a total flashback to scrapbooking during my middle school days. I can't believe how much fun I had with this. When I first saw this photo a couple of months ago it cracked me up. Reading Friday's bonus idea inspired me to print it as an 8 x 10 and give it a whirl with the Silhoette Challenge. I love the results . . . and it cracked up my DH too.

project2: mo-mints

I totally loved this project -- to create a scrapbook inside an Altoid's canister. Love it! I giggled through the entire process, loving the play on words. I have plans for many, many more of these puppies!

Project 1: Remember miniBOOK.

I used this project as the means to tell the story of the first few days of having daughters. Although I need to complete the journaling cards, I've been percolating and living with the ideas and words for the past few days. I'm going to try to add a slide show with the album pages. We'll see how it goes.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

kickstarted (again).

Okay, so I signed up for a class called Have More Fun at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Two weeks into it and I have to say -- I LOVE IT! So very glad I used my birthday money for this.

Soooo, I'm going to post the projects I'm completing here. It'll be a good time.

If you're around, I'd love to hear your feedback. Thanks. :)