643 Quadrillion Gallon Pool

Now this is what I'm talking about! The beautiful clear water, warm sand, and salty breezes of the Florida Gulf Coast...it beckons!  A long time vacation spot, Destin was but a sleepy little fishing village when my parents first brought us here as kids. Back then there were no mega-hotels and high rise condos. In the mornings we would walk along almost deserted beaches looking for shells at the high tide line and at night we would light up the beach with a bonfire. The time in between was spent in the water. 

We still go back to the same beach. Some of the same houses are there. But now we stay in several condos, my parents, my sisters and I, and our respective families. We have good times. The kids run back and forth from the Gulf to the pool, from condo to condo, from one snack to the next...and the adults relax. On this particular day, the Gulf of Mexico was so calm and clear, like one big gigantic swimming pool, thus my silly title. Did you know that the Gulf contains about 643 quadrillion gallons of water? (I wonder how many zeros go behind THAT number.)

This was such an easy layout to create. The stickers, backed with chipboard were layered and pop-dotted in a cluster while colorful patterned papers anchor the opposite corner of my photo. The bright patterns coordinated perfectly with the pretty rafts in my snapshot. And that background paper couldn't be more like the sea.

We missed the beach last year...so this year we are super anxious and can't wait to go back. I'm sure I'll return with a camera full of fond memories ready to be scrapped as well.

These Lazy Hazy Days

Yep...it's summer. And I am still putting together our weekday routine, so the blog's been pushed aside a bit. There's swim practice every morning, spinning class at noon, swim meets on Tuesday nights, summer movies at the theatre once a week, live bands around the pool on Friday evenings, and we've begun pulling out games (that is games other than the video variety). During the school year, there's little or no time for games, with homework sometimes lasting until the wee hours! But now we're free. So far, we've dusted off Spongebob Monopoly, In A Pickle, and Bananagrams. Scrabble, Scattegories, and Up-Words are next in line.

A favorite "gaming" page from a few months ago, using Sketch # 72 from Susan Stringfellow's Sketch Savvy blog. Kevin has fun even when he goes broke!

Do you play games? I'd love to know some of YOUR family favorites!

Deadliest Catch

Most of my photos from this Alaskan cruise were of the scenic variety. Glaciers, bears, wildflowers, eagles, etc. It's nice to have those pretty pictures of the landscape and nature reminding us of the beauty of that region of North America. But it's even nicer to have a few pictures like the ones below...silly photos of Tommy and I having fun on our first shore excursion. Here we are in our bright yellow windbreakers, playing around with the nets and traps near the docks, pretending to work the fishing boats. I titled this page, Deadliest Catch, after the TV show that my boys used to watch.

On the layout I used a mix of older patterned papers from October Afternoon and Basic Grey, inking some of the brighter prints with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Old Paper. Even the chipboard title letters were given a grunge look. A light touch with a Staz-On ink pad dirtied them up nicely. The small banner adds a little something to this sparsely embellished page.

These are the things we'll remember best about our trip to Alaska...goofing off, having fun, doing the unexpected. Silly us.

Sunkist

It was a tough choice. Both of the Scraptastic kits this month were awesome, but I ultimately chose Oh Snap! because of the super bright and colorful Amy Tangerine patterned papers. I had colorful photos from past beach vacations waiting to be scrapped...and we'll be going back this summer!

For my first page, I used one 5x7 photo and two patterned papers (strategically cut so that I could use the remaining portions on additional pages), then filled much of the remaining space with embellishments.

  

Stickers from the American Crafts Remarks sticker sheets were backed with chipboard and popped up for a little added dimension. I added the bitty bags and flowers from my stash and cut out a coordinating camera from another of the patterned papers. (I can see those little cameras will be showing up on a lot of my future layouts.) In this case, it was the perfect backing to highlight the little yellow letter stickers in my title.

One of my favorite embellishments from the kit has to be the Do-It-Yourself banners. They come all white with an embossed portion that resists coloration. I used a Tim Holtz Mustard Seed Distress Ink and rubbed it on with my fingers. It couldn't be easier and the results were fabulous. I can't wait to play with these some more. Watercolors, spray ink...I have some experimenting to do!

The Lighter Side

My last two pages with Scraptastic's Faded Jeans kit combined many of the lighter papers. For the page below, a contrasting background was needed to balance out the dark photo taken after my son's graduation. I loved this pattern from Authentique, as the stitched-look design reminded me of star-bursts or fireworks. This was a celebration after all; Chris had graduated summa cum laude!

For a moment I considered stitching over the paper design but ultimately decided to add a trio of festive pinwheels. The pinwheels take advantage of the beautiful double sided paper, which I also used behind the photo and as a strip underneath. 

My final project for today highlights a tinted heritage photo taken when my mother was but a teen. The subtle colors of the papers I chose compliment the soft colors in this hand colored photograph.

Growing up, no one in her family called her by her given name, Dorothy, nor the shortened version, Dot. No, they gave her the nickname "Mickey", after the newly penned character created by Walt Disney. Isn't that funny?! I'm sure at the time, no one would have suspected that the little mouse would come to have worldwide renown and be the iconic symbol of an entertainment empire. I have a couple more questions for my mom before completing the journaling on this one. I wonder who first gave her the nickname and why. Future generations might also have this question so I don't want to leave it out!

Have you scrapped any old photos recently?

Wolf River

We love to canoe! On our paddle down the Wolf River, Kevin and I took our time and lots of pictures. I bravely brought my good camera and kept it in a dry bag whenever it wasn't in my hands capturing photos. It was a gorgeous day of blue skies and full sun for our trip. We were adventurous this day, and not content with a leisurely paddle, we took a few detours to explore the little offshoots and backwater lakes of the river. By the end of our journey, we were pretty exhausted...but happy!

I had been saving up these papers from October Afternoon for scout camping photos, and was pleasantly surprised at how perfect they were for documenting our canoe trip. I'm so in love with the little map prints and the animal images are too cute. One of the coolest things about OA papers is their ability to coordinate across collections. I have at least three collections represented here!

Thumbs up for the Canoe & Kayak Club!

Arrow Of Light

I was so proud of my son and his pack when they received the highest award in Cub Scouting, the Arrow of Light. They were each presented with a beautifully finished wooden wall hanging created by the grandfather of one of the boys. Cradled in the cup hooks attached to the hanging is an authentic arrow.

Here is the page I scrapped with photos taken at the ceremony:

The Simple Stories Awesome collection had the perfect papers for my rustic-colored, boy-theme photos. I added a little banner made with a trio of triangular paper-covered chipboard flags alternating with buttons. The numbers on the notebook represent the boys' pack number.

It was an exciting time for the boys as they joined the older scouts for meetings and activities. But sadly it did not last for Kevin. School was becoming more challenging and time-consuming and night time activities were difficult. Finally, he asked to quit scouting. He didn't find it fun anymore. Great memories of good times and camp-outs will have to suffice.