Hike & Ride

Over a dozen years ago we had the opportunity to visit Bermuda for the first time. Our favorite excursion was hiking the Railway Trail, where what once held train tracks was now a serene path across the Bermudian landscape. Back then, we had younger knees and more stamina and managed to hike from our hotel all the way to the Dockyards at the tip of the island. Knowing we could never recreate that lengthy walk, I poured over maps of the trail and found a portion that seemed not only scenic, but easily managed by us "old folks"! We rode the bus out to the trailhead and began our hike, stopping to take photos of the water and a particularly pretty bird. Two city blocks later the trail ended. WHAT?! "We rode all the way out here for THAT?!" asked Tommy. Oooops. It sure looked longer on the map! Ah well, more time for photos.


I had a little fun with my banner on this page, adding tags and tickets, cards, a metal letter and a chipboard arrow among other things. The cut out border strips give the page the look of a scalloped border. What a cool surprise!

Patterned paper and journaling cards-October Afternoon (Joy Ride). Chipboard letters-Basic Grey. Chipboard arrows and deco brads-My Mind's Eye. Other-tickets, buttons, metal tag.

Climbing the Wall

Kevin was never interested in trying out the rock climbing wall at St. Ann's Fair. A few months ago, however, he had the opportunity again, at the CBS Fishing Rodeo...and this time he said O.K. He clipped in and shimmied up, quite quickly to his dad's surprise! Tommy couldn't believe how confidently he climbed the wall, and Kevin couldn't wait to show me his new-found skill.

Made a mini-banner for this page. (I know...it's an obsession.)


Patterned paper: Crate Paper (Toy Box), October Afternoon, Basic Grey. Stickers-Crate Paper (Toy Box), Sassafras. Journaling cards-Crate Paper (Toy Box). Chipboard-Maya Road. Felt shape-Fancy Pants.

Endless Inspiration

I have to show you the page that a friend of mine did after I inspired HER with MY scrapbook page (see post below) that was modeled after HER sketch... Confusing? No matter! It just goes to show you how inspiration can pass from one person to another by sharing our work. I am so thankful for all those scrappers who post their pages in galleries and on blogs, providing me with endless inspiration. Check out the awesome assemblage of embellishments along the top of Susan's banner!


For even more inspiration, check out her Sketch Savvy and Creatively Savvy blogs!

A Banner Year!

I don't know about you, but I'm LOVING all the different banners that are populating scrapbook galleries lately, especially the ones with variously sized and shaped flags. When my friend posted Sketch #72 on her SketchSavvy Blog, I knew it would be fun to try my hand at one. I pulled out some papers from Crate Paper's Toy Box collection along with a handful of colorful scraps and got busy cutting out my flags. I must have moved them around a dozen times to find the arrangement that pleased me the most. But then the REAL fun began, sifting through my stash for all those miscellaneous badges, stickers, brads and such that would create an embellishment "cluster", running from one end of the page to the other. I can't wait to make my next banner!

We fell into a Monopoly kick over summer break...Spongebob Monopoly. Boardwalk was replaced by The Krusty Crab, and the "houses" were shaped like pineapples. When I took this picture of Kevin, he had just lost his last dollar. Oh well, what can you do? There's always tomorrow's game.


Patterned paper-Crate Paper (Toy Box collection) and miscellaneous scraps. Letter stickers-Making Memories, Doodlebug. Stickers-Crate Paper. Felt shape-Fancy pants. Other-brads, chipboard, metal tab.

DC Metro

When I flew into DC alone for the first time, I foolishly boarded a cab and had the driver take me literally "across the river". Silly me! I had no idea how convenient it would have been for me to take the Metro the mile or so to my destination, which just so happened to be directly above a Metro stop! I was amazed at the cleanliness, safety and ease of use of DC's subway system and happily saved myself a cab fare by taking it back to the airport for my flight home.

This page came together fast with papers from the Basic Grey Wander travel collection!


Patterned paper-Basic Grey, Sassafras. Lace cardstock-Basic Grey. Letter stickers-Basic Grey, Doodlebug, Sassafras and 7 Gypsies. Other: Deco paper clip.

My New Toy

When Tommy asked what I wanted for Christmas this year, I actually had an idea. So, after going back and forth trying to decide whether it would be frugal for me to invest in a die-cutting machine, I gave in and placed my order. Now I've got to prove it was worth it! On the layout below, I cut out not only the lettering but the oval doily embellishment as well. I love my new toy!

I also love this photo of my daughter and the Amandapur vending truck, along the path in WDW's Animal Kingdom. They are both decked out in the same color!


Patterned papers-Basic Grey Lauderdale and American Crafts Margarita. Flowers-Prima Marketing. Fabric brads-Basic Grey Out of Print.

RE-Finding My Groove

Whew...finally! For the past two months I've been recuperating from knee surgery and scrapbooking has been put on the back burner. But now, with physical therapy down to once a week, life is slowly getting back to normal. And that means I can spend more time engaging in my artistic therapy which I have really missed! Yeah, it's kind of like riding a bike. You don't exactly forget, but those first tries after a long time off are a bit shaky.

Bits and pieces of this page have been sitting on my desk since before my sugergy. I handcut the little hearts intending to arrange them into a bouquet. This is what happened instead. I think I like it!


Patterned paper-Graphic 45 and 7 Gypsies. Foam letters-American Crafts. Other: corrugated cardstock, ribbon, trim, button, and decorative punch.