Mackinaw/Mackinac Photos

The girls and I spent July 20-23 visiting Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island where I managed to get some nice photos. Enjoy!

It's my anniversary!

Can you believe I've been married for 26 years?!? And to the same guy, too! LOL I'm having a lousy day healthwise so I'm mostly being lazy 'til I need to shower and dress to go out to dinner. I did, however, drag my butt into my scraproom to make DH a card in response to the mid-week challenge at the Scrapbook site to make a card using song lyrics. I decided to make DH a silly card for a chage since I usually give him serious cards and he usually gives me silly ones but he surprised me with a serious card this year!

Imported Dirty Sour Cherries!

Yep, Kim and I want to see a roadside stand selling those! LOL The girls and I just returned from a four day weekend "up north" visiting Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island. We lost count of how many signs we saw advertising "Local Washed Sweet Cherries" for sale along the highway. I'm not sure why they make a point of saying they are washed.
I have unpacking and laundry to do and hundreds of photos to edit so I'll be back to post a few photos after I finish.

It's been a long weekend.

It's been a very long weekend and not in a good way. I came home and checked my email after the fireworks Wednesday night to find a message from someone I thought was a friend attacking my character for posting at Scrapperie! The abuse has continued with additional messages berating me, the owners, and the members of Scrapperie.

I choose my friends based on how they treat me. Obviously, the person who sent these messages is no longer considered a friend and apparently never was one. Sandi and Kim befriended me a couple of years ago when I was first beginning to scrapbook and have only treated me with kindness and respect. Most of the other people at Scrapperie are new to me but have been nothing but warm and welcoming. I choose to believe that you are all nice people unless you prove yourselves otherwise by your actions toward me. I am certainly not going to judge anyone based on one person's accusations.

It's just been a very draining weekend. I value honesty and professionalism [i]very[/i] highly and to have mine called into question was very hurtful. And to learn that I had misjudged the character of the person who would say such things to me was a major blow.

My Son

I'll bet some of you didn't even know I had a son, did you? LOL He's not very often the subject of my pages because he doesn't like getting his photo taken. Just now I asked if I could take his picture and he gave me a handsome grin and ran upstairs! I thought I was going to use a photo of Kacie for this page until I came across this one of Jason. This particular photo is his school picture from the fall of his junior year in high school in 2001. This page was done for a challenge at The Scrapbook Site to use a photo and the techniques from the year you started scrapping. Since I didn't really start scrapping until recently and started out in 2001 as a stamper my page includes cardstock, stamping, and lots of ink.

A Day at the Beach

We had our first visit of the season to the beach today and I got some great photos! I've printed out a dozen of them and already scrapped the first one using papers from the Scraplovers June sponsor Crafters workshop.

He was Hot! LOL

DH and I went to our first ever Highland Games over the weekend and had a blast! I took a ton of photos but had to scrap this one and share the story behind it as soon as I got home. The journaling says "This gentleman was dressed in full regalia and waiting in the shade for the closing ceremonies of the Highland Games to begin when he was approached by two women asking "Aren't you hot in that?" I had to chuckle and share with him that the correct response was to treat the question as a statement and simply say "thank you". We hear this a lot when in garb at a renfest." And he was hot in an older Sean Connery kind of way. :D

I was tagged!

uh oh! Linda tagged me! So here goes!
These are the rules…. Each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

1. I've been married for almost 26 years to the same man! Hard to believe in this day and age, isn't it?

2. I've recently discovered that I enjoy sewing.

3. My second toe is longer than my big toe.

4. I am a chocoholic. Really. If there is chocolate in the house I will eat it. I can't help myself.

5. My favorite color is blue.

6. I love animals and to me a house without pets is not a home. I currently share my home with one dog and one cat plus the two turtles and all the fish who live in my son's room.

7. I am the right-handed daughter of a left-handed mom and two of my three children are left-handed.

Hmm...who to tag? Who do I know who hasn't already been tagged? Can a person be tagged more than once? Lisa, Renee, Anne, Jules,Sandi, Colleen, and Fran were tagged!

Some Recent Pages

I have been doing a little scrapping between sewing projects. I am particularly pleased with "The Candy Lady" created with products from The Crafters Workshop for Scraplovers. And I had to combine my hobbies by scrapping a page for a challenge at Scrapperie using photos of my daughter in her new garb. :)

More Adventures in Sewing

After realizing that I really can sew (doing it mostly by hand, though, since the sewing machine and I still still don't get along well) I started working on some things for myself. I made some alterations to my purchased bodice by covering the large grommets with strips of velveteen and sewing on decorative lacing rings. I made a hat and woven ribbon caul for myself and a beaded net haircovering for my daughter. I made a cartridge pleated velveteen trimmed wool skirt and a bum roll to wear under it. I made a set of reversible sleeves with one side matching the blue wool of the skirt and the other matching the navy brocade of my bodice. I made a linen partlet (think of it as an Elizabethan dickey! LOL). Next up is a square necked shift to wear under everything since the partlet looks silly with the gathered neck chemises I have. I am hoping that these additions will bring my garb to more of a middle class than peasant look. I have also been working on a Florentine gamurra dress in between the other things.

Hi! It's me again!

When I started this blog I intended to stick to the subject of papercrafting but, since discovering a new passion, I have decidied to expand it to include any and all creative pursuits. :)
My DH, youngest DD, and I began attending renaissance festivals in garb last year. Most of our clothing came from ebay augmented by a few purchases at the faires. Things are changing this faire season. About the time of my last blog entry my daughter told me that she didn't want to wear "clothes from the store" this year. Last year she wore a faerie costume consisting of a peasant blouse and broomstick skirts from her mundane wardrobe with wings and a bodice purchase at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. She said she wanted a "fancy dress" but didn't want to wear a corset or hoops. We did a little research and settled on a Florentine-esque style of gown. I hadn't sewn anything in YEARS but couldn't find anything that looked right that I could afford available for sale so about a week before the first faire of the season we hit the fabric store. Taking advantage of a lot of information and advice found on the internet I made her a linen Italian camecia and adapted a Simplicity pattern to make her a simple gown in one week's time to wear to the Marshall Mayfaire. She and I are both pleased with the results especially since I didn't think I could sew!

Why do I Scrapbook?

It seems that question is being asked a lot this weekend as we celebrate National Scrapbook Day. I've been thinking about this and realize that it all boils down to the same thing: I scrapbook to connect.

To connect with my family. I like it when my kids look at a page and say "I remember that! Do you remember when....?" Journaling on my pages allows me to say things to them that I'm not able to say face to face. I do notice the smile on my husband's face when he reads what a wonderful man I think he is and how much I love him.

To connect with my past. Scrapping my parents and grandparents reminds me of their struggles and helps me to be more forgiving of their faults. Scrapping my childhood is theraputic and reminds me that there were a few bright spots among the darkness. And that it all contibuted to the person that I am today.

To connect to the future. I hope that future generations will look at my pages and learn a little about my family and I and what our lives were like and what our hopes and dreams were.

To connect with myself. Scrapbooking allows me an outlet to express myself. It gives me a voice and an identity other than someone's wife, mother, or employee.

To connect to the outside world. I don't get out much and, believe it or not, I'm very shy. Scrapbooking message boards allow me to meet people with a common interest. Sharing my pages and viewing their's lets us share our lives a bit and see that, wherever we are in the world, we aren't so different after all.

CyberCroppin'

Hey! The NSD cybercrop is already in full swing at ScrapLovers! Won't you join us? Just click the link over on the right there ---->

We've got card and altered art challenges as well as page challenges for paper, digital, and hybrid scrappers.

Here's a sneek peek at samples for one of the challenges I'll be posting tommorow.

Only in My Mind- the page

Only In My Mind!

I have come to the conclusion that the perfect scrapbook page exists only in my mind. I keep coming up with these wonderful (I think, anyway :P) ideas for scrapbook pages but, when I try to create the page, I just can't bring my vision to life!
Usually it's the embellishments. I'll envision something only to discover that I don't have that embellishment after all or it doesn't look quite the way I remember it. So I make do. I adapt the design to what I have on hand or can make myself. Most of the time that makes me stretch my creative muscle and I still come up with something that pleases me.
A few days ago I was looking through an online gallery and read another scrapper's touching journaling about her handicapped daughter's lack of self-confidence. That made me think about my own daughter's fearlessness and how that has enabled her to overcome so much. I wanted to do a page celebrating her fearlessness. I have the perfect photo of her- all smiles and leaning toward the camera as if she is ready to take on the world. The problem? That photo is about seven years old and I've scrapped it at least twice already.
Another page I've been planning in my head for a few days now is for my older daughter. I have the journaling all written out about how her boyfriend is soooo much like her dad! LOL I wanted to use a phto I took of her and her boyfriend last fall from behind when they weren't looking where she is sitting on his lap and his hand is resting against her back. I wanted to inset a smaller photo of her sitting on her daddy's lap as an infant. So I went to print out the photos this morning and discovered that photo wasn't nearly as great as I remembered it and no amount of photo editing was going to make it usable. The 25 year old photo with her dad wasn't so hot, either.
So now I'm trying to figure out how to scrap these pages without those photos and without the "perfect" embellishments. Because I have stories to tell. And sometimes life doesn't come with illustrations.

Here's a few more!

I've been scrapping like crazy this week! Here are a few more of the pages I've done.

Mark Your Calendar!

Join us at ScrapLovers on NSD (May 5th) for the "5-5 Scrap 'n Jive NSD Crop" ! We're cookin' up some fun, games, and challenges for you!
ScrapGal is extending the fun by planning their event for 5/ 12.
And drop by Scrapperie any Wednesday evening for a fun mini-crop!

I've been scrapping!

I haven't been posting but I have been scrapping! Here are the first two pages I've done with the WDW photos.

Yeah, I Know...

I really suck at this blogging thing! I was totally wrapped up in planning my daughter's first visit to Walt Disney World. Now that I have returned to the real world I'll try harder to update more often. After all, I have more than 200 photos to scrap and share! LOL

Oops! I did it again!

No, I haven't shaved my head or been in and out of rehab so fast you'd think there was a revolving door. I let more than a month slip by without posting anything. I've been caught up in vacation planning and not doing much scrapping. Here's one I did for ScrapLovers using American Crafts products, the technique of paper cutting and the theme of the women in our lives. "Here's to good women. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them."

Another one that makes me happy!

I made this in response to the challenge at the Autumn Leaves Look Blog http://www.autumnleaves.com/lookBlog/ to use what you love.

"Some things I love Right Now!" are:

great quality smooth white cardstock: SU! whisper white

scalloped cardstock in the perfect shade of blue: Bazzill

black titles and texture: MM velvet alpha stickers

bling: Heidi Swapp bling borders

ribbon: SU! bluebird grosgrain

stamps: Autumn Leaves florishes v.2 by Rhonna Farrer

ink: SU! Ballet Blue Classic pad

handwritten journaing: SU! Stampin' Wrte Journaler in Ballet Blue

A camera that actually records the image I see instead of a blurry mess!: Cannon S3 IS

"Okay, so I'll always love blue!"

Cabin Fever: Part Duex

I had to share this one cuz it was just plain silly fun to make it!

Journaling: Don't you think my son's socks nicely complete my ensemble of t-shirt, flannel pants, and furry robe?

Cabin Fever!

We've been having some nasty weather here making for horrible driving conditions. This is our second day of closed schools and we haven't been out of the house since Friday afternoon. Kacie and I have been passing the time scrapping. :) The girl has found her scrappin' groove. Here's the page I did for the PucCalls Birthday Bash Challenge (Snow Day-check my gallery at ScrapLovers to read the journaling) and a couple of Kacie's Pages (blonde...& Lucas). And speaking of ScrapLovers- mark your calendar for the Sweethearts Cybercrop the weekend of Feb. 16-18.

A Splash of Color

Here's little project I just finshed for ScrapLovers using product from one of our February sponsors Maya Road. I love the splash of happy color it adds to my studio as the landscape outside my window is currently white and gray as several more inches of snow falls.

I'm trying to be a better blogger.

But this freaking site keep locking up on me when I try to add images and I really don't feel like typing out my post for a fourth time!!!

So...

Do three posts in one day make up for not posting for weeks? I just had to share this great mini album project I started this weekend! I've created the cover and five inside pages and plan to add to it next weekend. The instructions are posted here: http://www.shimelle.com/classes/

Pssst! Hey, wanna win somethin'?

If you would like to win a box full of cardmaking supplies check out the Card-A-Day challenges that I have been posting all month at ScrapLovers.com
Every challenge card uploaded to the gallery and linked to the challenge post by the end of January will earn an entry into the prize drawing. :)

I am officially a bad blogger.

You would think with as much time as I spend online that I would remember to update more frequently, wouldn't you? Let's see.....since my last entry I celebrated a quiet Holiday with my family. Santa was good to all of us bringing me some cash to spend on scrappy supplies and a laptop lap desk for those days when all I'm up for is surfing the internet on the couch or in bed. We also celebrated the birthdays of my two oldest "kids" who are now 25 and 23. God, it makes me feel old to have children so old! LOL We saw a new little person enter the world when our friend gave birth to a son. And last, but not least, I got a new camera with twice as many megapixels and four times as much zoom! It remains to be seen whether this actually improves my photography. :D