Star Tours

The longer we stood in the queue, the more warning signs we read. Eventually, Julie chickened out...and Tommy stayed behind "to keep her company". The rest of us had an exciting adventure on the flight simulator, modeled after those that are used to train astronauts and pilots. With all the dips, turns, twists, and climbs, it actually felt like we were dodging asteroids and swooping down on extra-terrestrial landscapes. Later that same day, we rode again and the scenario presented was completely different from the one experienced earlier. How cool!

The papers from October Afternoon's Rocket Age were perfect for this layout about our "ride through space".


Since I hadn't bought any of the embellishments for this line, I decided to make my own decorative bottlecaps.


Supplies: Patterned paper-October Afternoon. Label and word stickers-October Afternoon. Corrugated letters-Jillibean Soup. Felt letters-American Crafts. Glitter star-Junkitz. Small stars-KI Memories.

Remember This?

Facebook Flair! Remember when these faux buttons adorned everyone's profile page? It was kind of like collecting bumper stickers and slapping them all over your car...only more easily removed. Some of my favorites are the "i-Bob", Blue Dog, and Cookie Monster sitting in front of his PC, utterly alarmed at the message saying "DELETE COOKIES"!


They're gone from Facebook now, but I captured a screen shot of my "Flair Board" before they disappeared, with the precise intent to scrapbook this phenomenon. And that's just what I did, using papers almost as colorful as my buttons.


Supplies:
Patterned paper-BasicGrey, October Afternoon. Flowers-Prima Marketing. Letter stickers-Doodlebug Designs Inc. Chipboard letters-American Crafts. Flourish border-KI Memories. Other-dye ink, extra-large brads.

Sweet Home Alabama

Christopher's new home-away-from-home is quite the space! Four guys share a generous kitchen and simply furnished living-dining area, complete with microwave, full size refrigerator, lots of cabinet space-for what, I wonder? And they each have their own bedroom! He's on the ground floor, so no waiting for elevators or hiking up and down stairs. I can't think of a more perfect arrangement.

Also, his dorm is only half a block away from the newest dining hall which operates more like a food court, with areas for various types of cuisine, all included in his dining plan. Choices include Asian, pizza, fruit and salad, pastas, baked potatoes, veggies and meats, drinks and desserts. When eating there during freshmen orientation one evening, the manager came around hawking "FRESH ROLLS, GET YOUR FRESH CINNAMON ROLLS!" We didn't even have to get up from the table. Tray in hand, he was passing them out, hot from the oven, with tongs. Can you say "freshman fifteen"?!

And the campus. Tradition and beauty all mixed up together.


Oh, and then there's football. It's expected that Alabama and LSU are going to be the big SEC contenders, one of which could have a shot at going to the Sugar Bowl, which is the BCS championship this year. Exciting times at Alabama. Roll Tide!

Best Salmon Ever

When Kevin was about 2 or 3 of age, we discovered that he liked salmon. It was a pretty weird fare for a picky toddler who otherwise existed on more simpler foods like Cheerios and chicken nuggets. But whenever we served it for dinner, he ate it, in spite of the slightly fishy smell pervading the kitchen! I would rub the fish down with a little olive oil and generously sprinkle lemon-pepper on top before baking. It was a favorite of everyone at our house.

And then I tasted Salmon in Bermuda. Maybe we were just extremely hungry after hiking the Railway Trail that morning. Whatever the reason, this citrusy relish-topped salmon from a little counter service eatery in Hamilton could well be "The Best Thing I Ever Ate"!* I would LOVE to know all the ingredients that were used, and I even tried googling recipes that I thought might be similar. No such luck. I wish I could recreate this dish at home, but I will have to settle for the memory instead.



Supplies: Patterned paper-BasicGrey (Out of Print collection), Letter stickers-BasicGrey, KI Memories, Corrugated letters-, Felt leaves-Making Memories, Fiber, Dye ink, tag, burlap.

*There's a show by this name on the Food Network, a channel that is on at our house almost as often as Disney. Tommy is a cooking show aficionado!

100 Days of Summer-NOT

I WISH there were 100 days of "summer"! Alas, summer, as defined by Kevin, is from the end of one school year to the beginning of the next, and there are only 74 days between the two. 74 days of relaxing, unstructured freedom. Days to fill with swimming and board games (Bananagrams and Spongebob Monopoly are faves), a vacation to the beach (Disney this year), sleeping in and staying up late. Days without school. And in case I didn't emphasize it enough, DAYS WITHOUT SCHOOL! Yep...100 such days would be nice, but I'm sorta looking forward to the routines of fall. (Did I say that?!)



Supplies: Patterned paper-Simple Stories (100 Days of Summer collection), BasicGrey, Lace cardstock-KI Memories, Stickers-Simple Stories, Bingo Card-Jenni Bowlin, Chipboard letters-American Crafts, Letter stickers-BasicGrey.

The two little girls in the photos below are my daughters, now 28 and 30! I recently came across these photos from a company "picnic" on the beach in Biloxi. The kids swam in the murky gulf water while the adults played volleyball in the sand. Fun times.



Supplies: Patterned paper-Simple Stories (100 Days of Summer collection), BasicGrey, diecut paper-BasicGrey, flower-Prima, dye ink.

Lollipop Flowers

The whole family, my sisters and brother, our spouses and kids, all dressed up as hippies for Mardi Gras this year. During a break in the parades, Kevin posed with his cousins and a friend, hamming it up for the camera. I scrapped the picture with cool papers from the Basic Grey "Out of Print" collection. After assembling the page, and scattering a dozen or so punched flower embellishments over the top, it just didn't seem complete. The little flowers were cute, but not substantial enough. "Hmmm..." I thought, "maybe I could make some of those lollipop flowers I'd been admiring on other people's pages!" And I did. Sooo easy. Instructions: Cut out circles of varying sizes from patterned paper. Ink edges. Wet edges slightly and bend upwards. Let dry. Layer and finish off with a button.

I'll be making these whimsical, fun flowers again!



Patterned paper-Basic Grey (Out of Print, Wander, and Oxford Collections). Edge punch, flower punch, dye ink, mini-brads, ribbon, and heart pins.

New York, New York

On our first afternoon at Walt Disney World, we arrived slightly early for our reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Restaurant so decided to take a short walk down the "Streets of America". The forced perspective of this scene is so cool! The background of buildings is actually a two dimensional "cutout", with painted facades. Step back and it is a realistic portrayal of the New York skyline. Although I didn't capture the entire scene in my photo, I was able to add my own illusion by extending the buildings onto the page using the various patterned papers. As for the rear-view photo of the family, let it be known...if you don't stop for a picture, I'll shoot your butt! ;)



I entered this layout in a contest at 2Peas and won stuff from one of my favorite companies, BasicGrey! Yeah!

Supplies: Patterned paper, chipboard letters, chipboard sign, and rub-ons-BasicGrey, Chipboard apple-Maya Road, Chipboard car-Cosmo Cricket, Taxi brad-Karen Foster, Calendar-Jenni Bowlin, ribbon.

To the Moon!

I had no grand plans for this title, and was only looking for a nice mix of naked chipboard letters when I stumbled upon an "0" that was long and skinny. Wow, what do you know, it was perfectly suited for a planetary ring!



Supplies: Patterned papers-BasicGrey, KI Memories. Chipboard letters-BasicGrey, Making Memories, and American Crafts'Thickers. Acrylic paint-Ceramcoat by Delta. Other-Spaceship pin, ephemera.