How Did I End Up Here?

A Layout for GCD

We were recently asked to define our style for GCD, and I have to say my style involves a lot of papers and a lot of layering. Here is the layout I created using the Animal Crackers for Girls Collection.

This line isn't just for babies! I thought it was perfect for this shot of my girl all dressed up to head out to the Nature Center. She cracks me up!

 

Pile on the Layers with GCD

I love layering, and the GCD papers from the Soul Food Collection are the PERFECT papers for layering.

Here is my daughter and her cousin. Jenna ADORES her cousin, who serves as her stand-in sister.

For this layout I made some flowers using the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die for my Sizzix. The centers of the flowers are from the Sweet Surrender Collection.

Here is a close-up of the flowers.

 

Don't laugh too hard, but

I love camping. There, I said it. And for those of you who know me personally, stop laughing. It's true!

We go to Manistee every summer for one of Bill's shooting competitions, and we have a blast. Good food, good friends, good times. And this time Em even got to join us for an evening, and she spent the night in our camper.

Now don't get me wrong, the hot shower I took last night the minute we got home might very well have been the best thing since sliced bread. But there is something about being outdoors, sitting by the fire, telling stories and sharing a laugh . . . it just doesn't get any better than that!

The loads of laundry I have been doing for the last two days? Totally worth it.

I am slowly but surely editing the pics from the weekend, but here are some of my favorites from the first day. We went Munson Creek Natural Area. It was rainy, but we had this amazing view of the water!

I think one of the things that we love about camping is the slower pace. Jenna loved hiking with her dad!

And she picked some beautiful flowers along the way.

then to Lake Michigan to walk the beach. It was crazy foggy, and wet, although it didn't dampen our spirits in the least! We met some kind fisherman who told us some cool stories.

Turns out you don't want to catch these little dudes . . .

You couldn't see very far in front of yourself . . .

and yet that made me notice more of what was right in front of me!

Here is the lighthouse through the fog.

Then Jenna spent about an hour just walking the beach, chasing the seagulls. Fog or not, up north in Michigan is spectacularly beautiful.

I'd love to share more, but I have laundry to do. Hopefully I will have some time later this week to share more of our trip!

 

June Technique with GCD

I love summer! And one of our favorite things to do in the summer is go to our friend's cabin on the lake. I did this layout using The Great Outdoors Collection.

 

For the bottom border I made my own logs by cutting papers into 3x3 squares and rolling them around a pencil. I then swiped some glue on the ends  and voila, logs for the fire!

Here is a close-up of the log details:

What are your summer plans?

 

Poor Baby

 

Our baby had surgery on her front leg . . . she had a tumor with cancerous cells, and the vet felt that a) she was healthy enough to withstand the surgery, and that b) the cancer was contained in the tumor.

Mind you, this girl has been with us for over 15 years. We had to give it a try.

She's been through a lot . . .

I think I need help.

I am seriously addicted to my new IPhone. I never was one of those people who carried around a phone, waiting for the next call or text. In fact, I'm still not waiting for a call or text. But I digress. I am positively TETHERED to this new toy. I check my mail, I take and edit photos, I listen to music, I check my Facebook . . . you name it, I do it! I even learned how to make my own ringtones.

I am so addicted I haven't even been taking pictures with my camera. I've been using my phone instead, as I promised I would never, EVER do. The quality is crap, and it's so trendy, but here I am, shooting away, editing in PS Express, then adding filters in Instagram. Like today I took this pic of Mags and Jenna @ Ikea eating breakfast.

And my phone case? It's industrial strength pink. Not to be missed. I check in my purse at least 15 times an hour making sure my baby is there.

Sad? You betcha. True? Yep.

Have a great Tuesday!

 

A change of pace . . . a boy layout!

Recently my nephew and his soon-to-be-son were visiting and I snapped this picture of him and his dog. I thought the Animal Crackers for Boys collection would be PERFECT for this shot!

For this layout I used my favorite technique, BLOCKING. Basically what you do is make a large square or rectangle to fit around the picture. I find it allows me to use a lot of patterns without taking the attention away from the picture. And for me it's all about the picture.

 

For the embellishments, I simply punched the circles with hearts and popped them up.

What have you done with blocking?

 

Summer, I love you.

Everything about you. Waking up whenever the mood strikes, going to bed hours later than during the school year. Having the whole day ahead of you, not having to do anything if I don't feel like it. Heading to the Farmer's Market twice a week to shop for the latest fruits and fresh veggies. Attending festivals, like the Greek Festival last weekend. Camping, sports camps, swimming lessons . . . life is good!

Lily Bee

This was up on their blog yesterday. These are my colors, for sure!!! The line is called "Happily Lost." TFL!

Another layout to share . . .

from the June Sketch challenge for Sassafras. Play along!!!