Hometown: Assignment 4

So, I have to admit it...my favorite food is breakfast.  This is our go-to place that we can always count on.  Yummy!

Hop To It Challenge 10

I'm trying to keep up with at least one challenge each week at Apron Strings Designs.  This is for the Hop To It Challenge #10, to create a monochromatic layout, using green. In the end I just kept it super simple.  If you are a Bachelor fan, this is the same place they went on the last show  We cracked up when we saw the episode.

My Neighborhood Park

As I don't have children, I am usually at the park to work out.  This is the best park in Seattle: Greenlake Park.  There is a three mile loop around the lake and there is something for everyone.  There is a theater, a playground, crew, golf, basketball, swimming and on and on.  Here is a shot of part of the park and part of the loop trail.

Hop To It #4: Favorite Papers

This layout was inspired by Hop To It Challenge #4 at Apron Strings Blog to use some favorite paper from your stash. 

So, I have been stashing these papers for the "perfect" layout of our Spain trip last summer.  The problem is, there isn't a perfect layout!  I kept looking at these papers and not using them.  I love how they look, even though in the photo they don't look that special.  Somehow the colors and textures just remind me of Spain.  So, I finally put them to work, and they look pretty good.  I'm just glad to be doing some scrapbooking and getting past some barriers.  Thanks for the challenges!

Hometown #1

I'm coming in a little late on this one, but I want to catch up.  Here is the front of our house.  It is a gorgeous day...finally!  Love the blue sky in the background.  I went through photos and realized that I didn't have a photo of the front of our house (almost three years after moving in!).  Thank goodness for this challenge; at least now I have a few.

Hop to it #5 at Apron Strings

I'm hopping into some of the challenges on the Apron Strings blog for April.  I'll see how many I can complete.

Here is my submission for the challenge to use mostly white with a few pops of color.  This is very lightly embellished, but I think that it shows off the photos beautifully.  Somehow this just came together lickity split and I really like it!

Hometown #2: Your Grocery Store

This is my favorite grocery store.  I love everything about it! 

Apron Strings Challenge #18 Faux Stitching

This week's challenge at Apron Strings Designs is to use faux stitching.  It was perfect for the birthday card for my niece.  She turns three on Saturday.  I used some stickles to make it sparkly.  Guess who she loves...Elmo!

Ad Inspiration: Monday Challenge #16

It feels great to complete a challenge again!  I'm down to the wire, but I'm uploading this before the end of the night Sunday.

This is for a challenge at Apron Strings Designs to use an ad for inspiration.  Here is the ad:

Here is where I went with it (thanks to a Recipe from Pagemaps that came with my wonderful kit from Apron Strings Designs.  This is the best kit club ever!

This is a page from our trip to Spain this summer.  This page is about all of the wonderful people we were able to spend time with while there.   It's going to take awhile to get all of the pages scrapped, but I am at least started (and I've sorted my photos into pages that I want to scrap, so that is good.)!

Croptober-Fest: Nuts About Sketches

The best kit club around, Apron Strings Designs has started their Croptober Fest!  Yeah!  Unfortunately I will be out of town for their big crop next weekend, but I have some time now and will be trying to keep up.  The first challenge was to use a sketch from Nuts About Sketches.  It had to be done by Friday night.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my take:

This is from my DH's 40th birthday party.

Sketch Challenge (#9)

This week Apron Strings Designs posted a challenge to use a sketch to complete a layout.  Or, you could use the card sketch (or for double bonus--use both!).

I am not a card maker.  I think that I have made two or three in my life.  However, I was wanting to send my MIL a thank you for some scrapping goodies, so I was inspired.  She is a scrapper herself, so I was pretty sure that she would appreciate the effort.  In the end I was pretty happy with my design!  All from scraps, of course.

In case you are wondering, here is the original sketch:

Color Inspiration

This week at Apron Strings Designs we were challenged to use the following color scheme to create a layout.

I completed this layout of my spring break trip to LA.  It is a little busy, but I like the color combo, and how I used the orange to piece together a frame.  Then, I stitched around the border.  I love sewing on my layouts, even though my machine is so heavy!

Five on Friday: September 11

This spread was created for a challenge at Apron Strings Designs to use only five items.   This week these are the items:

• 1 sheet paper with dots or circles
• 2 sheets of cardstock
• 1 set of chipboard
• 1 frame

This is an overview of the 30 days I was on vacation this summer in Spain and Italy.  There is one small photo for every day.  This challenge was perfect for these photos so that it was not too busy.  My frame is around the date :)  I really love how it turned out.  Now I just have to scrap the rest of the photos that tell the story in detail.  Ha!

For those of you at ASD, the chipboard was a Cookie Jar Treat from a previous challenge!  Yum!

Monday Challenge #6: Grandparents Day

This layout was started for a challenge at Apron Strings Designs (Apron Strings Designs Blog).  Grandparents Day is today, September 13.  This challenge came at the perfect time, because on Tuesday (9/8) my grandmother Tricia died.  She had been ill for a long time, and it was not a surprise, but it was still very sad.  I spent my free time this week working on a page honoring both of my grandmothers, who were incredible women.  I miss them so much!

 

The journaling on the left reads: Both of my grandmothers played huge roles in my life, and I loved them greatly.  Alice Erlene (Hendrix) Schwartz was always there for me through my life.  As a child she welcomed me to share in adventures and in my difficult teen years she was a steady force and confidante.  Patricia Josephine (McHugh) Branstetter was a consistent matriarch who taught me manners and etiquette and shared with me a love for cooking, reading, the sun and nearly a birth date!  both of these women are a part of me now ans forever.  Thank you grandmothers.  09-12-2009 

On the right, the photo on the middle left I picked out because in that photo my grandmother is wearing a green checked skirt.  This was an important skirt because my grandmother made me the same and matching skirt.  Even more incredible, and important to younger me, was that she made my barbie the same skirt too!  This from a woman who was a woman's studies major in college!  Yes these women were impactful on my life.  Scrapping was a great way to remember stories and honor them both.

Labor Day Photo Challenge

On Friday we met our new niece A for the first time. When we arrived she was having dinner. We had a great weekend.

On Saturday we just stayed in an played and watched the baby. Here is my DH and Q. They were busy making food.
This is me feeding the baby. What a sweet way to end our visit. She is a lovely baby. I'm sure that she is going to change so much between now and Christmas when we get to see her again.

This is from Monday. My DH hung up new rods for curtains in our dining room. I think that they are going to be great!

ASD Fruit Punch

This spread is of the great food we had in Miami.
It is part of the ASD challenge:

• A=ampersand
• S=Seven photos
• D=Dots

It also fits in with the fruit punch challenge with lots of cherries!

Recipe Challenge

This is a spread based on this recipe:

• More than 3 photos
• Sewing (my first ever--it was fun! Look at the edges of the plaid paper, left side)
• Bling (used glitter glue)
• Monogram
• Strip Journaling

The paper is really more red than orange, photo doesn't do it justice.

Maria's Sketch Challenge

I had to change to a 2-page layout. Great sketch...I got this page done in record time.

Jana's Challenge

The left side is an update on our remodeling project and the right side is Thanksgiving.

Treasure Hunt Photo 8

My front door.