Babies, depression, my hoard and a bit of Shimelle

I am not offering excuses for my extended leave of absence.  But needless to say, 01 September came and went as did October and most of November.  Many things have happened in our household since that last post, but nothing too dramatic or out-of-the-ordinary.  I will say that I'm so happy to see you on #Instagram!!! It's been especially fun following in the adventures of @hikercynthia as she tours state parks along the east coast and into the midwest; and sharing in sightseeing with @furrypig while she was on vacation and on the coast of my obsessed-over UK as well as being a bit envious of the wine and cake.

I did finally get my scrap area moved into my dad's office as well as a place to lay my head and watch TV.  This actually started a downward-spiral of my mood; and, honestly, that unexpected catalyst to my bi-polar issues had a great deal to do my inability to get anything done.  While the room is bright and Hairy Pawter loves it, it definitely is not ideal for a loner with privacy priorities (mom has always said that I am the most private person she knows) and wishes only to be left alone.  Let's face it, I rather enjoy the fact that I can hole up in an RV or even a room and not see anyone for a few days/weeks - especially when I'm not feeling up-to-par or am trying to get into my own little world of scrappiness.  Well, guess what?! This room is right next to the front door, across the foyer from the kitchen, very open close to the living room... and it has no doors!!! It seems that not only do I get to hear every conversation in the house, but also that no one has a qualm about randomly (and frequently) stopping in the doorway to engage me - regardless of what I'm doing or how I feel.  I really, really hate this.  It has not only kicked in my depression but has caused me to feel some animosity toward everyone... especially in view of the fact that they often 'don't feel good' and retire behind the closed door of their respective rooms, but I am not allowed to have the luxury of feeling unwell.  If this sounds like whining, it is.  But as a caregiver I feel that I have no option but endure the situation, which not only causes me more grief, but also guilt over these horrid emotions.  My motto has always been 'it is what it is' but these days that comes with 'heavy sigh' and sometimes tears.  

Anyway, I have occasionally scrapped throughout the past few months (and used a BUNCH of AC Shimelle).  In addition to those layouts, I have also been working on some Simple Stories Snap albums for GiGi that I am entitling 'High School Chronicles' with one for each summer and each school year from 2013-2017.  These are great for all those photos she takes during the day or at school events that are not going into her 'annual album' (which is already full without Oct-Dec!) or are an expansion of those events.  Getting the photos printed in various sizes takes a little more work, but not really as I have found that developers often warp photos into their standard printing sizes (i.e., a square photo is 'made to fit' a 4x5.5" paper) so I have taken to editting them all onto 4x6 layers in PhotoShop before sending them anywhere to be printed in any case.

One of the things I have scrapbooked over the past couple of months are some baby photos of my brother and my daughter.  While I really enjoy scrapping baby photos and especially want to get them all done, the layouts of my daughter put me into a rather dismal funk after a bit - so much so that my depression deepened, I wasn't sleeping well and my MS flaired.  You see, there are long stories about how we really try to do what's very best for our children - especially as single parents - made even more complicated when our children are diagnosed with chronic illnesses.  These photos brought a serious case of the 'if only's' and I had to stop scrapping those for a while.  Maybe that is very much a part of my 'scraperapy'... not to just keep the depression, anxiety and stress at bay, but to make me think about the stories that have created the life we are living.  I know that when I scrap photos of my grandparents, there is a bit of melancholy in the process; and so it goes that there would be the tinges of regret and what-ifs when scrapping photos of Starr.  Therefore, I am putting those photos back in the box...maybe I will pull them out and do a few at a time - or maybe I will find a time and place that I can be alone and work on them. But right now, I cannot continue to do more as long as I have to 'function as normal'.
Well, here they are - some of those baby layouts - created with both hoarded supplies as well as new ones. One thing, I do always add a least one star to each of my daughter's layouts...it's her name, it's her thing. Also, I always use original photos once I've scanned them.  (These layout photos are exceptionally bad, I know.  I really can't tell you why they're so fuzzy; maybe a slight tremor or just bad eyesight. But I've taken them four times and each is as bad as the last..if I quit I will never blog again and truly I miss it.  I'm asking Santa for a tripod just for this purpose so maybe the new year will bring lovely layouts - keep your fingers crossed!).

A little Shimelle on a cardstock background with both Shimelle and Dear Lizzy dies to accompany the Maggie Holmes, October Afternoon and Studio Calico embellishments & HS ColorShine.

These are almost all hoarded supplies - with the exception of the Dear Lizzy dies and journaling card. The fabric and glitter papers are both DCWV.

Shimelle, Maggie Holmes & ColorShine working great with 'years & years' old embossed cardstock, vellum and chipboard letters. (wish I could find more of this embossed cardstock!!).

More Shimelle!  The glitter paper is Pebbles HomeMade, the 'ribbon' diecut is Maggie Holmes and the stars are SC with some ColorShine in Blush.  These DL Fox Thickers are my all time faves and I think I have them in every color available...the font is perfect!

And as we know, it's awesome for boys too!!!  And I am in love with all the shades ColorShine is available in.... they're perfect!!!!!

These layouts make me snicker...that stiped strip of paper being on both is just plain bizarre.  I created these layouts at two totally different times possibly weeks apart and wasn't aware that both had those strips until I took the photos today.

While these layouts will be spread among two albums, I'm sure I could fill up a complete album with Shimelle and never have two layouts the same. So many other lines have embellishments, etc. that coordinate with these papers that I never run out of possibilities; but my faves are all Maggie Holmes and Pebbles HomeMade.  And there are so many more layouts to come... remember: there are at least 5 other on-going albums to fill!!!  Oh, and the fact that a new collection is most probably on the way to be debuted at CHA! Can I hear a great big WOOOOHOOOO?!!! 

Unfortunately, to be quite honest, I haven't fallen in love with anything else lately - actually in a long time.  Other than the summer lines (due to all the beach photos), for everyday scrapping things have become hit or miss.  While I didn't like DL PDP, I loved DL Daydreamer.  Loved the first two MH lines, but not so much Styleboard. (Embellishments are always the exception to this, the embellishments I usually just love.)  So I have become much more cautious with my purchasing power, buying a 6x6 pad to preview before jumping head-first into the entire paper collection.  That being said, I have found quite a few of the new MH Open Book to love, and quite a few to ignore...but all the embellishments are spot-on in my book. And I keep looking at DL Serendipity but can't quite commit yet...I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Well, as it's taken me about 7 hours to write this little blurb, I'm closing it out now.  I hope to do this again tomorrow with more exceptionally bad layout photos...we'll see.  I hope each of you is wallowing in scrappiness! I hope to actually get online tonight or tomorrow (computers been in shop, and then I really can't blog and then go blog-hopping all in the same day).  I miss you all! But again, am so happy with seeing you in action on #instagram!  

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - walt disney

We Interrupt this Hiatus for a Brief Observation(s)...

Yes, I am still officially on hiatus until Monday, 1 September.  I hope to be a bit more settled by then, but who knows.  I have gotten about everything scrapalicious moved into it's new home, but there are several things still needed so that I can get things put away properly (brackets, drawers, etc.).  It's very, very small in here with wall-to-wall-to-wall furniture.  But there are also huge windows and it's making all the difference.

I just had to break in and make a couple of observations while I was thinking about it.  First, I am hoping to rework this blog a bit when I get started back up.  I have a few ideas and am researching if any of them will be feasible.  I am so serious about wanting to scrap and blog Mon-Fri; but as we all know, life gets in the way sometimes...be it kids, vacation or illness.  So I will settle for 3 days a week and at the very least once a week in times of duress.  Also, I am seriously hoping to share a kind of system to my scrapbooking.  Which leads me to this question:  If the scrap-police came to your door and told you to purge all but seven (7) colors from your paper stash, what seven colors would you keep? (Do not include black, white, kraft, gold or silver)

In other news, I have been sort of taking (actually reading through via email on my phone) a 27-week Organization Class through Scrapbook.com. I just read through Week 4 and it was all about paper storage which in turn reminded me of a conversation at ACOT last month regarding how people store their supplies. A popular answer was 'by color: ROYGBIV'.  While I admit that the way I store items is probably very different from the way anyone else does, and also that it's understandable that people store by color, I don't really understand the ROYGBIV situation.  I mean, that's not even the basic pack of 8 Crayolas.  So a few questions regarding this theory need to be address:

• What about Gold, Silver, Black, White, Brown and Grey?
• How many people own Indigo (I certainly don't)?
• Where is pink and aqua in this equasion (I mean really, Indigo but no aqua)?

If you have the answer to any or all of these questions, please speak up!

I must say that I do have four categories that are stored by color:  Flowers, Thickers, Cardstock and Tape; but they are not stored in the ROYGBIV sort of way:

Flowers are sorted into five jars:  blue/aqua/green, pink/purple, off-white, yellow/orange/brown, black/white/red.  I know that sounds odd, but it's actually quite pleasing to my eye.
Thickers - aaaah - are stored in three drawers: 1) pink, purple, red, aqua, blue, green, yellow (I only have one pack of purple so I used it to separate the pink & red)... 2) DIY, black&white, grey, black, white, brown (neutrals)... 3) gold and silver (bling!)
Cardstock has it's own bin and is sorted like this: kraft, white, black, grey, brown, pink, aqua, blue, mint green, lime green, coral, red, yellow, orange, other greens and purple. (I really don't think I own any Indigo)
Tape is stored in a 7-slot divider in a drawer (2 slots (Left & Right) per roll with one long roll across back): R1L = black & white; R1R = aqua & blue; R2L = silver, gray, gold; R2R = pink; R3L = Green; R3R = Multicolor; R4 = Purple, Yellow, Orange and Red

Now you may look at these lists and the way I store things and think to yourself, "WHAT???? That makes no sense whatsoever!" But really it does, much more than ROYGBIV! Because, primarily I do not own any Indigo!, rarely scrap in Orange and almost never in Purple(Violet????).  Really the way I sort by color is very much related to the question I asked earlier regarding those seven colors you'd keep because my seven colors are:  Pink, Aqua, Navy, Mint Green, Lime Green, Coral and Yellow (it was a very close call between red and yellow, but it's summer right now so I chose yellow).  If these are my favorite colors to scrapbook with then they are most certainly the ones I scrap with most often...so why wouldn't my storage reflect that?  Of course, this system isn't for everyone, but it is certainly something to think about.  I mean really, Indigo??!!!

Okay, so here's the one and only layout I have done in 3+ weeks.  It is the Shimelle layout...WOOHOO! While I sit most of my layouts around to check out every once in a while and make sure I like it okay before putting it away into an album, I actually still have this one sitting where I can look at it all the time. LOL! It's not my scrapbooking that's got me looking at this one, it's the lovely papers and embellies. OH MY!  It was really hard to get this one started: not only had it been so long that I didn't know where to start, but I also had a case of intimidation...what if my layout wasn't good enough to do justice to my new Shimelle collection? But I got over it of course, and cut right into four pieces of paper and started gluing them to a fifth. Now I can't wait to do it again!

The 'love', teal and banner stickers are from the new Jen Hadfield's Home*Made by Pebbles.  The flair, label, roses and label stickers are from Maggie Holmes Flea Market.  The foil & glitter papers I picked up at Hobby Lobby but noticed they are carried online by either AC, Pebbles or WRMK; and the heart punches are by EK Success & Martha Stewart.  Everything else including the Thickers, 'lovely' die and pen is American Crafts Shimelle.

Oh, I did finally get my awesomeness from that last 2Ps order with the exception that one item was missing, but of course they refunded the money for that.  The entire order was made up of the 2Ps exclusives - basically just wood and flair - imagine that!!!  Also, mentioning that I am signed up for the last class that Shimelle did back in January; so maybe I can get started with that some time in September.

Okay, that's all today.  So now, what are your 7 colors? Let me know, it's for future use.  Hope all are well and having awesome times on your Road Trips.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

P.S. Yes, I have a real issue with Indigo...maybe I had an Indigo nightmare at some point..but moreover, it's just ridiculous.  And yes, I really did know that ROYGBIV are the colors of the rainbow; but seriously, real scrappiness is not all about rainbows.
P.S.S. Check out www.allscrapbooksteals.com for some shopping goodness (but don't buy everything up before I put in my Sep order!).  I love these peoples.


“Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into creativity that is not hampered by opinion.”  - Red Haircrow

A Little More Something Something...

OMG!!! I want to get all scrappy!!!  Don't you hate when you have that 'I wish I could scrap' feeling taking over your being?! I don't mean the 'I wish I'd feel like scrapping' - like when I'm laid up in bed all puny.  Nor that 'I wish I wanted to scrap' - like when you've lost your mojo.  No, I mean the OMG I WANT TO SCRAP!!! but I can't because our house looks like a tornado has hit it and I can't even find my scrappy space.
It has finally happened...I have started the process of turning my dad's office into my room and moving out of GiGi's room.  It has just become so unfair that she cannot even have guest over - not in this town.  Here, where it blows my mind the homes her friends have (and I'll admit it's not just size, but the fact that they're always spotless...but then they don't live with my mom!).  Many of her friends have rooms the size of our Master.  It's not the size though... it's the fact that at 15, she spends hours and hours in either the bathroom or her walk-in closet (off mom's bathroom) in order to find an ounce of privacy.  That doesn't seem fair to me in any way, shape or form.  Fifteen is a serious time in a girls life - a serious time requiring some measure of privacy.  And also, 53 is a serious time in a Nonna's life...a time when guilt-free privacy is definitely desired.  But then, at 84 it's really not too much to ask for a man to have an office in one's own home; and, that's why this move has been postponed so long... it's been the hardest project we've ever undertaken on an emotional level.
However, I should say that's it's a long hard process physically as well.  This is not a very big house, made all the smaller with all the people (and animals!) packed into it.  When you're changing rooms up like we are, everything has to go somewhere in the meantime - so there are boxes and boxes and boxes in the living room, boxes and boxes in the office and boxes and crap all over the bedroom.  And, unfortunately, with the MS, only so much physical stuff gets done per day - and some days none at all - as it's only me doing anything... which kinda pisses me off since I have to work with other peoples stuff before mine ever even gets touched.  Anyway, it is what it is and I'm doing the best I can; but certainly not fast enough for GiGi and especially not for me.  I NEED TO GET SCRAPPY!  Besides, I got a notice that my Shimelle 6x6 pad is on it's way and I'm just waiting for the other items to hit the store so that I can get the notice saying they're on their way as well.  Also, I did place one last order with 2Ps for some of the exclusives - that was on 7/3 and now I have no way of knowing if and when I will ever get my stuff...it was sizable so this may end up in a roadtrip to Wisconsin and some jail time if I don't hear something soon!  But at any rate, I'd really like to have my space put together before my stuff comes in so that I may put it away properly.  Okay, so that's what I'm doing right now and I'll update you when I have something to update.
In the meantime, I have submitted some layouts to the Challenges at ACOT and thought I'd post those here real quick.

Of course I did three (yes, 3) Independence Day layouts for the various albums - and of course they all used the same supplies; but what's the odds that someone will look through those 3 albums at the same time?  And really, so happy about all those albums right now...now that all my extra Indp Day supplies won't be used up on school projects.  So honestly, I used practically every single themed item I purchased this year - I don't think I've ever done that before!  All are made using mostly Pebbles with just a little Simple Stories thrown in (as well as that Studio Calico wood)

And then our Father's Day layout was red/white/blue as well since my dad's a disabled vet, retired Army Col and retired government worker.  This was Pebbles and Crate Paper plus some ooollllddd stuff by Making Memories (and those super-cute Crate Paper Thickers).

And then various layouts using Bella Blvd:

Some Dear Lizzy for GiGi's modeling audition (she did fab and now has an agent!) and her grandmas (that's my mom on bottom!):

American Crafts, BoBunny, Simple Stories:

Echo Park & Bella Blvd :

and My Minds Eye with Pink Paislee chipboard showing how all the guys in the house are outnumbered (4 girls vs 2 guys people-wise plus 4 females vs 2 males inside pet-wise):

So that's what I've been doing - that's what I am doing.  I see Furry-Pig is on holiday (via Instagram) and hope she is having a blast.  Hopefully sometime this week I can get on the computer for more than 5 minutes.  If you haven't checked out A Cherry On Top, do it... the new Shimelle is expected at any minute but I'm not sure if they're still taking pre-orders (and don't forget to tell them I sent you).  Also, new Challenges & games will be starting by the end of the week (I've won a couple already - it's totally random!).  Plus, they have great discounts and the turn-around hasn't been beaten by anyone else yet!  Okay, just trying to help you get your crafty on!  Oh, and a big WooHoo! goes out to whoever at 2Ps decided they'd let us keep our old Glitter Girl videos, they are still on YouTube!!!  Really, now I must go through some files now...yck!

Stay Safe and Scrap On!!!

P.S.  If you haven't seen the Book Thief, see it!

“In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for constructive use of solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone.”  - Rollo May

Sneak Peek...

I had mentioned in a previous post that I am so excited about GiGi's album this year.  It has become my favorite album ever.  I am mixing all types of page protectors to try to create a cohesive (I hope) yet dimensional album. I started the album during my dry spell, when I wasn't caught up on my blogs or videos. But I had seen how Shimelle had done a few divided protectors into her albums and loved it, so I'm running with it.  There is no order in my album other than chronology, so each time you turn the page you don't know what you'll find - 2 12x12; a 12x12 & 4x4 protector 2-page layout; an 8x10 divided protector; whatever.  I think it makes the album really interesting and fun.  Anyway, here's a few of the layouts that involve other than just 12x12s. (Of course, all through the album this year the journaling is left blank for GiGi to fill in.)

First up - the front pages:

The first page is an 8x10 photo on a piece of MH Flea Market vellum cut to size for an 8.5x11 protector.  I kept the embellishments to a minimum - a chipboard typewriter and camera on pop-dots, to let the vellum show through, emphasize the photo, and chose those items as a statement of what the book was about - photos and stories.  When you open that page, the next page on show is the original title page.  I love this photo of GiGi playing guitar on the beach, wanted the layout to just be a summary of her personality and her life.  I did make sure when I added the 8.5x11 page that the title and year were still on show.  I love that vellum on top of the cloud paper and that you can just barely see thru the vellum to what lies below.

A 2-page layout:

A two-page layout using a 4x4 protector.-I used DL Daydreamer for the papers and the coordinating Project Life cards which I cut down to size then used the Project Life corner rounder to redo the cut side. 

Another 2-pager using the back of the previous page protector:

This is using a combination of MH Flea Market, CP Fourteen, and PL Love mini-kit.  The center row is vellum, so I'm still thinking about that - it will eventually have something behind the vellum just haven't decided yet - but I'm not really worried about it because I know it will eventually get done.

Then between the Mardi Gras layout and a 12x12 beach layout, I stuck in a page of 2.5x3.5 photos of GiGi with friends at the beach.  It just works out better than doing a layout about friends that she likes hanging out with but are either shown in another big layout or she's just school-friends with.  And I am absolutely fine with it between the big bright layout as, surprisingly, you actually focus just on that 8x10 protector and not what's around it.

These are from a small Echo Park journaling card pack - love all the manufacturers and pack-sizes that title/journaling cards come in!  

Well that gets us through February!! As always, I'm really open to suggestions regarding all my layouts, so bring it on! I'm going to try to go scrap now...

I hope you are all so scrappy.  Check out Cynthia's new Tim-Tag...it is amazing!!!  Take care of yourselves and I'll be back later.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“Reinvent new combinations of what you already own. Improvise. Become more creative. Not because you have to, but because you want to. Evolution is the secret for the next step.” - Karl Lagerfeld

A Quick Something Something...

I'm actually gonna blog a little later about one of the layouts I did yesterday for a Challenge at A Cherry on Top, but right now want to get a quick fix in!
We all know I'm a customer service junkie - as long as I'm getting good customer service, I'm a devoted patron.  So I need to talk a moment about GiGi's phone.  All the photos you see on the layouts these days are from some generation of Apple iPhone - and the loveliest of the photos are by GiGi on her iPhone 5.  So, I had mentioned that GiGi's phone went kaput after only 6 months.  Well she went to AT&T and they said she needed to contact Apple.  She did; and, she said they were the sweetest people she's ever dealt with on the phone.  They sent her to the UPS store to return the phone to them.  All we had to do was give the work order number provided by Apple to the store clerk and away it went - no charge.  Two days later, a brand new iPhone 5s (just exactly like GiGis) arrived by FedEx.  Because of iCloud and the sims card they sent, she lost no contacts, no apps, no photos.  That is awesome customer service!!!!!
On to ACOT, same goes with their customer service.  I have never yet had an order take over 24 hours (weekdays) to ship (if I order on the weekend, my ship confirmation is usually in my email by 10:00 am Monday).  That being said, this week I had a small order and 3 days later no confirmation.  I emailed customer service and received my merchandise the very next day!  This keeps me coming back forever!
Now, on to scrapbooking.  I have been doing some layouts on my own and some for Challenges.  Here we go:

On my own - lots of Carta Bella, Crate Paper and October Afternoon

On my own...Dear Lizzy, Bella Blvd, October Afternoon

On my own...Dear Lizzy & Maggie Holmes

On my own...Simple Stories and Echo Park

Challenge - water OR sun - Bo Bunny, Teresa Collins, WRMK (this was a panoramic GiGi took on her phone; unfortuantely my local developer doesn't do panoramic, so I split right down the center for 2-4x6)

Challenge - Supply List - American Crafts, Pink Paislee, October Afternoon, Shimelle for 2Ps by Hero Arts, Echo Park

Challenge - red/white/blue non-Independence Day - Pebbles, Dear Lizzy, American Crafts

Challenger - use a poem - Fancy Pants, Studio Calico, Bo Bunny, October Afternoon

At least being on the boards and posting to the Gallery has got me in my scrap room more!!! Even fighting the heat - and the snakes (LOL!) - seems worth it every time I download photos to my computer.  And I've gotten GiGi to take more photos of the layouts, so that's very helpful.

Yes, Shimelle's line looks just like her - even the word stamps/embellies are pure Shimelle.  Can't wait to get some of this in my hands but I'm afraid that it's going to take a bit longer than I expected as i can't really afford the pre-order right now... we'll see.

Okay, gotta go - GiGi has modeling gig this afternoon and the Blue Angels show is at Pensacola Beach, so traffic will be a bear!

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

Hey Ladies...

whatcha been doin?  It's hot here and we know what the heat is - a sign of the devil.  I am zapped before I even get out of bed most days, so I just sit here looking at message boards, watching TV. Too tired and pained to fight the heat to scrap.  Poor pitiful me.  Okay, over that - thank you for putting up with the BS.

Truly, I'm sorry if I've been neglectful.  I have only been in my scrap room a couple of times since the sssssssssnake.  I have been over at A Cherry on Top getting my feel of the place.  Heck, I'm even hosting a Challenge this month over on the message boards. {You know what goes here - a WooHoo}.  It's about the town we live in and you have to choose supplies from a rather extensive list.  Random winner gets a $5 gift card.
There are about 20+ Challenges a month over at ACOT with a random winner for each.  About 95% of the Challenges offer a $5 gift card.  I saw where one lady won at least 2 gift cards last month - so those can add up and your chances of getting them are just as good as anyone else since it's picked by a website called random.org.
Then, on top of that, there is the Gallery where you post your Challenge entry as well as any other craftiness you care to share.  Points are given for each Gallery entry - if you show photos of your supplies you use, you get more points.  (Cynthia, you could display your tags too!).  You also get a point for each comment you make in the Gallery - so you can skim through the other peoples layouts and post comments wherever you feel, getting points each time.  Those points on top of the Cherry Hunt (1-3 cherries posted on products and gallery submission) and you can rack up a bunch of points unless you're lazy like me.  Then every order gives you points - I don't know the point to dollar ration, but it's significant. Anyway, for every 1,000 points, you get $5 off your order.
Also, every month there's a 20% off code that you can use on your order or you may opt for free shipping over $100 (I don't know how this applies to UK Ruth, but I'm sure it's discounted).  And of course there are pop-up sales all the time.  But even if you don't want to do anything but 'converse' with scrappers, post and look at the Gallery, play some games (they're fun!), or check out new product - you may want to take a look.  Oh and they have Shimelles new line by American Crafts for Pre-Order! {Another fat WooHoo!!}
Okay, that sounded like a sales pitch if ever I've heard one; but I have enjoyed myself...y'all know I don't get out much!

I have scrapped some:

First this one - it was the example I used for the Challenge I'm hosting:

Background paper: American Crafts; Camera paper: Bella Blvd; Embellishments: American Crafts, Bella Blvd, Simple Stories, Two Peas in a Bucket; Letter Stickers: American Crafts, October Afternoon

That photo was taken from the Navarre Beach Pier with GiGi's iPhone 5s.  Wow, she is beachin' several days a week this summer; she's having a great time.  I told her she needed to stop because it wasn't fair.  My pain is her gain - my devastation, her good time - my need for winter, her fun in the sun.
I will say this though - we have thoroughly spoiled that child.  But, you should know, it's been for a very good reason.  First, we have set her standard of living very high; much higher than anyone else in the house obviously...GiGi gets the best of everything while I thrift shop.  In this way, she will never settle for a n'er-do-well - boyfriend better have a very good education/job cause she's high-maintenance.  Funny though, she hardly ever expects anything.  I mean, she'll say something like 'really love this', or try something on and, well, that's about all it takes.  And she's always sooo appreciative.  Also, she has every intention of getting a job in January as she turns 16 in December; she really wants to drive and knows the only way that's going to happen is if she can pay insurance. But, she too has admitted that she knows what she's expecting from her future husband; and while it's not a rich man, it's someone who loves her enough to provide for her.  She says she just wants what Grama (my mom) has always had and she could be very happy in a house just like this one with a man who loves her 'as much as Baba loves Grama'.  I'm proud of this - she has every plan to have a career, but doesn't want to end up like me - good for her!
Second, GiGi can do very little for herself.  While she's a pro at unloading the dishwasher, she won't touch a dirty dish.  We are always falling for the 'pretty please I'm so tired' bit about doing her laundry (honestly, she just doesn't know how).  She's over 15-1/2 and still hasn't gotten her drivers permit, so Lord knows she'll probably be 18 before she gets a license.  She cooks hash browns, corn souffle and cupcakes.  And while she can be very frugal and budgeting about her own money (saving for shopping sprees), she rarely ever leaves the house without getting money from someone in case she wants food (who can turn down a kid who may need food).  Why do I let this use and abuse keep up? Quite simply, because I never want her to move out.  (Shhh...I'll tell you a secret - one of the reasons we still sleep together isn't just a logistics issue; it's because she walks in her sleep and on more than one occasion she's gone outside.  You don't really think I'm going to ever let her live alone, do you??!!)  But even with all I've said she can't do, I will say this: if you ever need to deal with Customer Service regarding anything, she's your girl - she's not afraid to call, talk to, deal with anyone about anything - she's the first to make the call and it's all business.  Did I tell you I'm so proud?!
Enough about Gigi, I've also scrapped a few things about me (and Hairy Pawter):

The second layout is from the Shimelle weekend. It is named 'the Harry Potter bookmark' because that is the bookmark that Gigi bought which I use all the time.  I use this as my moniker when I post these pictures from my bedstead each month. Of course, both layouts are practically all Maggie Holmes Flea Market with the exception of that woodgrain on the first page - that is Crate Paper Oh Darling. (Did I show this already?!! Oh well. Did I mention I'm brain-dead?)

Then I did this for a Challenge at ACOT which goes something like this: there are 3 rows by 3 columns of scrap-products (9 total); use 3 in a row for a layout like in tic-tac-toe.  I used all 9 so I got a double entry for the $5 gift certificate:
 tags                                            glitter                                              buttons

die cut                                         lace                                                paint splatters

cardstock                                  at least 3 patterned papers              bling     

This is almost entirely Maggie Holmes Styleboard with some Flea Market thrown in.  Of course then there's that other stuff like SC Stars, OA little letters, Little B tape and bunches of stuff from my stash.

Yes, I actually used buttons and lace! It was a stash buster alright, so glad to use some of the older stuff.  There's another layout, one of my little buddy JC (I know, we forget about him sometimes with all these GiGi selfies!) but it has undergone a change about 8 times - twice since the last pic I took.  I know you're all so flabbergasted about this because I never change layouts - LOL!!! But, alas, I have finally finished it for good - loving it better than ever.  Unfortunately, GiGi has my phone so I can't take a new photo of it now. So I will save that one for next time.  (Poor GiGi, her computer is in the shop so she has to share mine (or I get to share mine because she has it most of time) and her iPhone went back to Apple today because it stopped working last week so she has my phone as well.)  

Okay, well that's about it for tonight.  I hope everyone is staying cool and scrappy.  See ya on the net my fair blonds.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!

“Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not. ” - Pablo Picasso

OMG! OMG! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

That being said, I will start at the beginning.  On Sunday, I grabbed a couple of photos, loaded my tray up, took it to my bed, and worked on a layout (all day long).  When I finished, I sat my tray back on my desk and put my layout on my easel - it still needed the journaling which I absolutely could not do Sunday night.
I should interject here that there is a door from my scrap room/GiGi's bedroom which goes into the garage.  So Monday, I went into the garage refrigerator for something and when I came back into my scrap room, I noticed that several items on my layout were either askew or totally knocked off. Hmmm - that's strange.  So I just took the layout down and started to repair it when... lo and behold... something wiggled out of my scraps basket.
I have an Ikea 4x4 Expedit.  My scraps basket is on the first vertical row - 3rd cube from the bottom.  It takes up most of that area and the reason it is there is because when I sit at my desk I can just reach in a grab a handful of paper to go through.  On the 2nd and 3rd vertical rows - 2nd cube from bottom - are the Target bins of colored cardstock and fave patterned paper (respectively)...perfect for flipping through and grabbing 12x12 sheets.
Back to the wiggling.  Yes, a nice black snake slipped from my scraps basket into the bin of colored cardstock - I was literally standing right beside the scraps basket - about 12-18 inches from the black wiggly.  So of course, I ran out of the room screaming "There's a snake in my paper!!!!".  Thank goodness of my brave daughter and grandson, they went in the room, found it again (of course it had moved - behind the stacks of supplies that have no other than under the shelf I have behind my desk.  There's a lot of stuff there, plus a shelving unit for the TV, plus another small cabinet, plus the desk chair and of course the things that had to come out of the Expedit.  After a couple of hours, they finally chased it out into the garage through that door.
Needless to say - there were more OMG! moments to follow - when I walked back into the room to see all the stuff everywhere.  I mean, to the point that I can find absolutely nothing.  Who knew that I had soooooo much stuff shoved into that 5x6 spot???!!! I literally can't get to the king-size bed in GiGi's room. Which leads to the next OMG! moment....
It's 150-degrees in that room!  First there is no A/C there so the only way it's cooled is whatever air comes in through the laundry room and the fan that sits in the middle of the room.  But, by the time that main door had been shut two hours, and the garage door open for two hours, it felt like a sauna.  So needless to say, I can't find anything, I can't hunt for anything, I can't put anything away, no one can sleep in there.  (I have no clue where that layout I was repairing is currently.)
Then in the middle of this crisis, GiGi's iphone has flipped out and has to be sent back to Apple.  I can't help but feel so sorry for her as she LIVES on her phone - SnapChat, FaceTime, camera, text, Facebook, Instagram, etc.  There have been actual tears and sobbing randomly for a couple of days.  So she has my phone, which I admit I live on: all my email, blogs, texts, calendar, google, meds reminder, Instagram, Facebook, camera.
And dad's been to the doctor with no good news.
So life goes on here - no scrappiness in this house.  But thought I'd share why I'll be gone for a few days - I know I don't usually, but this time I can actually see it coming.

Hope everyone is well and relatively normal.

Stay Safe and Scrap On!