Happy Tuesday y'all

Good morning and happy Tuesday!
Rereading my post from last week and I realize what a downer it was and I apologize for that! Today is a new day and this morning while on my morning bus route, I had an epiphany. And that epiphany was this--I became too complacent with my place in life over the last months and when the inevitable ripples came I was thrown off balance. Life happens, people, and that is just the way things are. So our family is in the process of going through some changes but life is still good and although it's going to be a rather large adjustment, life goes on and let me say again life is good!

And now that we have that out of the way, how about those scrapbook layouts I promised you all? :)

A couple of these, you'll notice, are rather simple and maybe even "plain". But I really am pleased with each of them in their own right.

First, I'm going to share the first layout I've ever done sans photo. After all, scrapbooking IS all about the preservation of memories and this particular memory is a very special one to me and one that I remember frequently throughout the entire year, not only at Christmastime.

SO much love for Ranger's diamond Stickles!!
What a difference they made to the Jillibean die cuts!
I filled in Santa's beard twice to make sure it was extra full and sparkly :)

I used Stampendous Fran'tage scarlet embossing powder
for my title. I cut the letters on my Expression and then
embossed them individually before adhering them to the
white cardstock and using scissors to cut around each letter.
If you love embossing powder and you have not tried this brand
then let me assure you that you will *love* this stuff. It's amazing
and gives such a wonderful color and texture to your projects.
And YES the gold is already mixed into the powder to get this incredible
effect. 

Got the old sewing machine out for some sewing on this one :)

popdots and Stickles :)

Here is simple layout about when my son, Garrett, had mono. Not the most pleasant of topics but a memory deserving of preservation. Nothing fancy here...just photos, a few stickers placed on popdots and a uniball pen.

I have always loved this photo of my son, Chris. Those blue eyes and a smattering of freckles--ahhh, be still my heart <3
Nothing too fancy here either. I used a glass jar dipped in acrylic paint for the circle effect.
The title was one I fell in love with on a layout posted at Scrapbook.com and the creator of the layout was gracious enough to share where she got it. Turns out, it was a design from the Silhouette Design Studio. I absolutely love it.

Buttons, filmstrip washi tape (Paper Studio), acrylic paint

There's those eyes and freckles I mentioned :)

I like this layout because it's bright and happy :)
I used a couple of punches, stickles, gold leafing, texture paste
rub-ons, stickers, my Expression,...all kinds of yumminess here!

Ribbon that I've had forEVER, flowers made with a couple of punches,
The felt "time for love" is something I've had for ages and I
have been racking my brain trying to remember where it came from
but the memory eludes me.

Here you can see the effects of the texture paste using the Tim Holtz
burlap stencil. Once the texture paste was dry I used a sponge
and dotted the glue on in random spots and then applied the
gold leafing. I really love the way it turned out and I will probably use
this technique again before too long.

Another title from The Silhouette Design Studio. I used diamone
Stickles to make the title POP a little more.

I hope you enjoyed the layouts I shared today and will come back again. The holiday season is here and I have several projects to get started and finished in the coming weeks and of course I'll be sharing them here with you all.

Have a great day and I'll see you soon!

Rhonda

Worry is an ugly thing

For as long as I can remember I have been a worrier. And I do mean, literally as long as I can remember. Well before I was in school I worried about all sorts of things. Looking back, I believe it was the empath in me (oh, you didn't know I was an empath? Well, I don't shout that out because most people think I'm crazy when I tell them). Anyway, I think the empath part of me was picking up on the worry around me. Mama always worried about everything, which in turn, caused me to worry about everything.
Unfortunately, the worry has never lessened. There have been times in my life when worry absolutely consumed me to the point that I became suicidal. It was only by God's grace that I was able to overcome that dark part of my past.

Sadly, many of the things I worry about can be considered silly worries. And yet, I can't control it and the worry creeps in and tries to take control of me--of my mind and even my life. It is a great effort at times to keep things in perspective and realize that I'm being irrational. It's a struggle but I have learned for the most part not to let it control me.
I worry incessantly about the kids...all of them. For example, if I hear a siren my mind goes crazy and I am frantic until I hear from the kids that they're safe. It's completely irrational and I know that. Doesn't stop the fear or worry.

I worry about the past, about the future, and boy, do I worry about the present.
And that brings me to the real purpose of today's post.
The worries of today...and let me assure you that today is chock full of worry.

Worry for my oldest son and his family.
Worry for my 2nd oldest son and his family.
Both are situations I have no control of and yet I find myself thinking about them and worrying continually...going over the million and one "what if's" that are irrelevant because their issues are theirs to worry about and I have no control over them or the outcomes.
My youngest son is struggling with an asthma attack and that is always worrisome. He has his medication and I'm thankful but asthma can be a vicious and terrifying predator.
And today, like many days over the past few years, I'm worried for my nephew--the little boy that nobody wants. I probably shouldn't post that publicly, but public or private, it's no less true. This child has been shuffled back and forth between his parents several times. Each time they tire of "dealing" with him and send him back to live with the other. He spent about a year in foster care before being returned to his dad. He has some issues...behavioral, emotional and psychological.  This poor child is on the verge of reentering the foster care system and my heart is absolutely broken at the prospect and yet I'm powerless. My husband, whom I love and respect, are having a difference of opinion on whether we should take my nephew into our home. And I am left wondering how I will be able to sleep at night if we don't try and give him a stable home and the love and care he deserves.

And that, my friends and followers, is what I am worried about today. Technically, there is a laundry list of things I could add that I'm worried about but those are the biggies for today.

When you say your prayers tonight, please send up a prayer for my family. And if you don't pray, then good thoughts are always appreciated as well. I'm a firm believer in the power of positive energy.

I hope I haven't put anyone off with such a dreary post...I just needed to get those things off my chest and this seemed like a good venue.

I hope you'll check back later this week because I do have several scrapbook layouts ready to share with you.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!

Rhonda

Call me Ms. Sentimental

A couple of weeks back I had pulled out a big stack of scrapbook layouts to show one of the girls who was over for a visit. There was one in particular she wanted to see and it was buried in an album and it took me a little while to find it even though it's not one of my older layouts.
After she left for home I was left with a pile of albums scattered across the bed waiting to be returned to their home on the shelf. Of course, I sat down and started flipping through them and I can't even express the feels I got just looking through some of the older layouts...several of which I don't even remember doing, lol. But it was the memories they evoked that had me smiling all the way to the last page. Not that I needed the reminder but when I closed the last album I was reminded of exactly why I continue to scrapbook after all these years.
I love the creativity involved in scrapbooking but it's the memories preserved that keeps me going. I can only hope that my children, their families and so on, will someday look through those very albums with smiles on their faces as they say "Oh, I forgot about that!" They aren't going to wonder if the paper was "outdated" or if I used the "latest" techniques...they are only going to see the love and the memories.
So yes, I am Ms. Sentimental and I honestly wouldn't want it any other way :)

We are actually on Fall Break this week and I am going to hopefully get at least one scrapbook page completed. I encourage you to also get scrappy :)  Preserve those memories, guys!! I promise you it is time and money well spent!

And now, if you aren't tired of reading just yet, then have a look at these 3 layouts I have to share today. You'll probably notice a line through the photos and I apologize in advance. Apparently, a sensor needs to be replaced in my camera and I need to send it in to Canon and I haven't done that yet.Hopefullythe line isn't too distracting and you are still able to enjoy the layouts and get inspired.

Our grandson on his first Halloween in 2013. I wish you could see
how vibrant the colors are on this layout. It really just looks washed out
in the photos.
The yellow cardstock piece is hand sewn to form a pocket to hold
all the extra photos as well as the journaling tag.
The "monster" paper piecing is a file I downloaded from
Miss Kate Cuttable. It originally had only one eye but I modified
it to match the costume he was wearing. Some large googly eyes was the
perfect touch. I also used Doodlebug flock to make the monster feel
fuzzy.

More close up view of the monster...I am proud of the way
he turned out and he's the perfect accent for this layout.
I also used some blue acrylic paint and a toothbrush to make the
splatters. 

simple title formed with alphabet stickers

Layout #2

Pictures of our granddaughter Cadence playing in the snow with her
daddy last winter. Love the photos cut into circles and layered
down the page...perfect for these snow pictures I think.
This layout also doesn't show the vibrancy of the layout.
I used a Martha Stewart border punch. I used 3 separate files from
the Silhouette design store--the title
  the snowflake border along the bottom right
the large snowflake swirl you see above the photos on the left.
I used homemade mists to color the snowflake swirl before
adhering it to the page.

Absolutely love my little snowman!! He is just too adorable, right??
I used some liquid applique for the swirls on the bottom circle. I used the
heat gun to "puff them up" and then added some diamond stickles.

I used 2 different circle punches for the body. The hat, scarf and arms
were cut freehand by me. The small green snowflakes are an
old mini snowflake punch I believe I got at WalMart about 12 years ago.
The sequins are from Scrapbook.com.
the trim I also picked up from Walmart.

I fixed that snowflake after I took the picture...one of the
"petals" had gotten caught in the Xyron when I ran it through and
I didn't notice it at first.
I hand sewed the white ball trim onto the page and also onto the
journaling envelope.

Martha Stewart medium snowflake punch was used for the snowflakes.
I then took some diamond glaze and placed it in the center of each flake and
added some Stampendous Shaved Ice flakes.

Snowflakes are popdotted onto the page for added dimension.

Layout #3

I used a Crafters Workshop stencil for the dotted outline around the
photos. The title "brothers" was created using some chipboard letters
from my stash. I mixed a couple different colors of acrylic paint together
to get the color I wanted.
I used a punch for the 3D star and used my Martha Stewart mini scoreboard to
score the lines and create the 3d effect. I then popdotted it onto the brown cardstock which
I had run through the paper crimper.
The 4 stars on the bottom right are covered with Tim Holtz Fragments.

closer up view of the chipboard title.

the "man" is a stamp, the clock hand is Tim Holtz I think...could
be Paper Studio. I ran the brown cardstock through the crimper as I stated above.
Then I added just a few touches of texture paste and then the accents.

The filmstrip is a punch...If I'm not mistaken it's EK Success.

I hope you guys enjoy the layouts and if you have any questions at all concerning products or techniques be sure and leave me a comment and I'll get right back to you.
Thanks for stopping by and come back soon.

Rhonda

revamped entry table

I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and happy long Labor Day holiday. I had a 3 day holiday from work so I started a scrapbook layout (that remains unfinished) and also this project I'm about to share :)

SOOOO....I've been threatening to paint our entryway table for probably 2 years now, possibly longer. The only reason I held off was because my husband is really *really* against painting something that can't be unpainted. He was completely against my painting this table but the truth is that we've had this table for probably close to 10 years. Come on, now....I've had it for 10 years and no longer loving it so what's the harm in a little paint? That's my philosophy lol...and he has his own. But in spite of his protests, I decided on a whim, this past Sunday, that that was the day. I could see the fear in his eyes as I dragged the table outside to start sanding it lol. Bless him, I have to give him credit--as much as I know he was against it, he kept his thoughts quiet haha.

The first photo I'm going to upload is the table *before* and this photo was actually posted to the blog a couple weeks or so ago featuring my birthday number canvas.

BEFORE

AFTER

Other than painting the table itself I added a couple of candles I already had and the green chevron metal sign behind the hour glass. I picked that up at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago and it's just been lying neglected until I find the right spot for it so it's going to reside there at least temporarily. So what do you guys think? Is it ok for the table to be white against a white wall? Should I repaint the table a different color or do the accessories add enough color that it's ok for the table to be white?

As for the table itself, I am fairly pleased with the way it looks. My only concern is that it's too much white on that wall. So feel free to chime in and offer up your thoughts and opinions.


I should have something new for you soon so be sure to keep checking back.
Happy Wednesday and thanks for stopping by!

Rhonda

New scrapbook layouts as promised!

Hi everyone ((wave)) :)  I told ya I'd be back with some layouts and I'm here to deliver on that promise. Hope you enjoy and maybe get inspired to dig out your own photos, paper, scissors and glue and create something to preserve memories for generations to come :)

A couple of these layouts are over a month old...and I've just procrastinated getting them posted so you may be feeling overloaded by the end of the post...sorry about that lol.

Love these pictures of our son, Brandon with his
"step-daughter" Lilly. It was fall and they were at the
pumpkin patch but I wanted something to highlight the
photos rather than the season.

I used a punch for the stars and then glittered them
with WOW glitter and covered with a thin coat of mod podge
to seal the glitter and keep it from falling off over time.
Lots of pop dots also...those little boogers add SO much dimension!

Just another view of the stars and the gems I used
as accents.

Love the paper...I think it's from a Paper Studio stacks but
I can't promise without looking. If you just have to know...I'll check.
I used some homemade mist to give the paper some color.
Nothing too special about this one but I love the pictures
and I actually really like the clean look of the layout itself.

I used some OOOOLD Basic Grey letters for the "wonderful"
part of the title and some other alpha stickers for the rest.
More pop dots as well :)
Can't forget the gorgeous green sequins...I'm SO glad
sequins are popular right now (even if they're losing ground already lol)

This one was a little more labor intensive. I used a
transparency to create a pocket on the layout itself to hold
the banquet program as well as a tag with journaling.
I hand sewed the pocket onto the page and added the title
directly to the transparency. 

Here you can see how the program and journaling slide
out of the transparency pocket.

I used more pop dots (because I love them and they just
makes things POP haha)
Also a little distressing around the photos

Add caption

                           

I used some texture paste and a Tim Holtz stencil for the
hexagonal pattern and used some maroon paint to brush across
it after it was dry to add some more texture, color and dimension.
The football stickers are from Paper Studio and they're also dimensional.

I wanted this layout to be beautiful and it just doesn't quite live
up to the vision in my head---but hey, what's new, right? lol
I used a ton of shimmery Goosebumps spray over the paper first to
add shine, shimmer and dimension.
I cut a giant doily in half and sprayed it with Tattered Angels
Gold glimmer mist as well as a pink homemade mist.
I used a stamp for the "girls" on the bottom left.

For the swirl I used a transparency and Stickles  and basically
used a flourish I already had and "traced" it onto the transparency.
I've done this before and I'm never really disappointed in the outcome.

Gold embossing powder for the "2" and the pink E
is popdotted.

The leaves were hand cut freehand by me and inked
with a green Colorbok cats eye ink pad.

I made the flowers using a paper lunch bag,  2 different sized
scallop punches, hot glue and Glimmer Mist Gold and a pink
homemade mist. Embellished with Paper Studio gems.

And that is all I have for today. I am hoping that I can manage some scrapping today even though I'll be babysitting...but we'll see lol.

Be sure and check back as always because I'll have something new to share soon!
Happy crafting :)

Rhonda