I'm rooting for you!

What better way to let a friend know you're hoping for the best outcome possible from a health issue.  Love the pun!

PSX stamp (boy, did they make some gorgeous stamps!), Jet Black Archival Ink, distress markers, mixed media cardstock, green/orange Bazzill cardstock

On the front side I carefully drew around the image with a roller ball.  I turned it over then used a larger roller ball to fill in the center so the carrot is dimensional.  A bit of foam tape inside the carrot ensure it won't go flat while in the mail.

Happy birthday, mom! (Part 2)

So when you turn 80 yesterday's floral wall display just doesn't seem enough.  At least not for me.  Months ago I had asked her for ALL the family photos so I could start a pictorial timeline for myself.  Kind of like writing my autobiography except with photos.  I also wanted them so I could find enough to make a scrapbook for my mom.  I have made one for my siblings on their special birthdays over the past few years.  But she didn't comply so I had to use images I had in my own collection.  I also went to her public library and took photos of her yearbook pages.  (Sure couldn't ask her for her copies!)  And this is the result.

 Do you typically put something on the cover?  This has a protective vinyl sleeve so it couldn't be 3-D.  Rather than not be happy with a stamped image on the royal blue fabric cover, I left it blank and hope her baby picture will suffice.  I can always add something later.

 The pages are 8"x8" white or orange cardstock.  All journaling was computer-generated.  I know handwritten pieces are lovely but mine is more like chicken scratching and I wanted it to be legible for a long, long time.

 If you put the baby pictures of my grandma, mom and me side by side you'd be hard pressed to know who is who...except for the vintage, and less so, backgrounds.

 Isn't she a cutie?  She's always smiling!

 Except for this one photo...no smile.  Hmmm.

 The page layouts are my own efforts, ditto for the embellishments.  I wanted this to be as original as my mom.

 Like the pen nib cut outs pointing to mom?  Look at the lower right hand photo...she had an 18" waist when she was a senior!!! 

 My mom will just flip when she sees that bottom piece.  She'll be asking right away how I came to have that info. 

 Love that debossing folder!  The chain represents the family members and how we'll always be together, forever linked.  I'll have to tell her about that; she may not get that right away.

 These tags are from an old Provocraft die set.  I thought they made great journaling prompts.

Top photo: her 7 grandchildren





Bottom photo:  my youngest sister, her husband and daughter were unable to be here with us

 Mom's the clown on the left...Jesters for Jesus.

She racked up a lot of road miles when she worked for the State of Illinois...making sure schools followed the guidelines for the lunch program. 


Now she and my step-dad (but he's more like a dad!) travel extensively...I think Africa and Antarctica are the only continents they haven't visited.

Here they are on my sister's pond.  Don't you like how the shadow of the tree points to them?  That was an aftersight.





I didn't want the pages to be too fussy with embellishments.  The scrapbook is all about the photos, not the extras.  I also wanted it to be something she could use later in life recalling special moments, people, etc.  Maybe it would be the only thing that would help her connect to reality or in the here & now.  No matter, it's made with love and I hope it brings her much joy, both now and later.

Travelogue birthday card

I don't normally make such involved birthday cards but it happens on occasion and this is one of those.  The college recipient is majoring in tourism...I don't think any further explanations are necessary.

***Before I go any further, I have a Nikon camera that downloads the photos to ViewNx 2.  I have no idea how to successfully crop and resize there so I've tried Irfanview withvery little success.  I still get this black outline around the photos.  I used to use MS Picture but it doesn't work with Windows 8 and have not had any success getting it on my new computer.  

One day to posting...I have now found a new program that works so easy but I can't find where these are stored so I can edit them properly.  I'll probably find it the day after the post goes live.  Sigh.*** 

I did create a monogrammed tag to dangle from the suitcase as well as tiny tags inside with the recipient's name.  I punched 3 holes using my Crop-a-dile so that I could loosely create joints using jute.  The back cover is similar to the front but different travel labels were used.  On the back page I used some OLD Stampers Anonymous narrow kraft/black paper stencils for locations.  Over this I stamped the sentiment on tracing paper so the first layer is muted and in the background.  I used A Dymo labeler for comments on some of the pages.

Ingredients:  Tweed cardstock, white cardstock, Ranger (clear embossing ink, clear embossing ink, distress stains, distress inks, archival inks, Multi-Medium, Glossy Accents); Detail Brass embossing powder (PSX); Life's Journey decorative paper (K & Company), Stampers Anonymous (Travel Labels CMS108, Air Travel CMS102, Warehouse District CMS124, Road Trip CMS128, Travelways CMS162, On The Railroad CMS127, Remants CMS130, Tiny Things CMS164, Simple Sayings CMS155, Rays layering stencil, clockwork layering stencil); Vintage Valise die (Sizzix); Avery sticker paper; Printers' Type & Printers Lowercase alphabets, Brushstrokes Upper & Lower Case alphabets (Hero Arts); Sakura Micron Pen; tiny tag

A time to remember

those who have served our nation and given their lives so that we may enjoy the freedoms we have. I cannot thank these men and women enough for all that they have done. I applaud those who have served and have returned home to family, friends and loved ones. I can only imagine what it must feel like having a loved one serve in today's military. God bless you all!

Many of my relatives have served in the armed forces over the generations. With pride I fly my flag high not only on this special day of recognition but each and every day.

The poppies (PSX) were colored using Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol (magic pencil technique learned at the hands of Debbie Gimbel at my very 1st convention) and placed on a black background. The poppies are elevated with foam tape. In the flower centers is Black Diamond Stickles. The old calendar page was distressed with distress ink and the corners curled. The flag (Rubber Monger) was stamped on vellum and colored on the reverse side with regular colored pencils. Note to self: start with the lightest color (white, in this case) first! The darker colors smeared a bit so I mixed up some Heavenly White Twinkling H2Os and painted over the white colored pencil. The moisture caused the paper to warp so close up it actually looks as if the flag is unfurling, not just the way the image was created.