The Forecast: Cold and Rain

Mardi Gras morning 9 am, and the rain was already coming down. As predicted, it was going to be a wash-out...and a cold one at that.

I decided to go ahead and whip up a batch of pancakes since we weren't going anywhere. While doing so, I called my sister to commiserate. We usually meet out on the parade route and spend the day together with our families. That wasn't going to happen today. When she picked up the phone, I teasingly asked her when she was leaving the house for the parades. Hahaha. Just kidding! It was then that she told me her plan...and she wasn't kidding.

Next thing you know, we're hopping out the car at Prytania and Marengo, with bright orange ponchos over layers of warm clothing. My college-aged niece stayed with the car, keeping it warm and ready, in a too-close-to-the corner spot while we headed to St. Charles to catch the Rex parade...and some throws if we were lucky. We arrived just as policemen on horseback were clopping down the street, ahead of the main event.

(All pictures taken with my phone camera. This wasn't a day to bring out the good one!)

It was a cold 36 degrees and the rain continued, but we were there...Mardi Gras day on the Avenue!

The crowds were lighter than normal, but heavier than I expected. We weren't the only crazy ones! This interesting set-up was behind us.

 Across the street, ladders sat empty on the muddy St. Charles Avenue neutral ground. On a nice day, they would be filled with babies, kids, teens, adults. Today, they just make a pretty picture.

I can only imagine what these white uniforms looked like at the end of the parade! Hello Oxyclean!

After a few floats, our hands were freezing, but we had a mission: to catch 3 doubloons, one for each of us, and one for our dad. Only then could we call it a day. Of course, as soon as we snagged that third doubloon, we looked at each other, and agreed...just a little longer; this is too much fun! ;)

Moments later, numb from the wet and cold, we finally surrendered and went back to the car to thaw and head home.

There have been cold Mardi Gras days. There have been rainy Mardi Gras days. But not since 1899 has there been a Mardi Gras Day with a daytime high as low as today. And we were there. :o

Mardi Gras Buzz Kill

I grew up going to Mardi Gras parades, tons of them. Every. Single. Year. Both of my grandparents lived in uptown New Orleans, within walking distance of the parade route, which made it so easy! Now that we're suburbanites, it isn't as convenient, but we still have our favorite krewes and if the weather cooperates, we get out there in spite of the drive and lack of bathroom facilities. But this year is turning out to be different.

First of all, the other Mardi Gras aficionado of the family, Kevin, had a dental procedure on Thursday, and he hasn't been quite up to parade-watching. In fact, he has eaten very little in the last 3 days. 

Then there's the weather forecast for Fat Tuesday, with highs in the 40's, and rain expected to turn the neutral ground on St. Charles Avenue into one big mud puddle. Wet and cold and muddy...no thank you!

So it looks like Mardi Gras Day will be spent at home. The last time I didn't venture out on the big day was in 1993, after the birth of my middle son...three days earlier. Yeah, I skipped that one too. ;)

Anyway, here's a layout with a photo from a previous Mardi Gras Day, one that was bright and sunny!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

An Overwhelming Task!

Whew! I just completed a little scrapbooking organizational project. I didn't organize my space or my supplies; I organized my layouts! I am NOT a chronological scrapper, and I often pick photos and memories from various years (decades even!) to scrap. If I reach back too far in time, I end up with a finished page which often needs a date. (Here's where the trouble begins.) The layout will go into a pile, the "look-up" pile. It isn't a very good idea, but once a page is done, I just want to move on!

So...what I did until 1:30 in the morning for two nights in a row was to work on that pile. Consulting date books, old photo albums, photo envelopes, camera image files, etc. I looked up of all those dates, AND put those layouts in their correct chronological scrapbooks. THAT was a lot of work. But now everything's in order, and I am feeling so much better about my books. Yay. Note to self: Don't let that pile get so out of hand. (I found pages created around 2006 in there!)

So now I'm ready to begin a new set of projects with Scraptastic's March kit, It's My Life. Here's a little peek:

 Scraptastic's other kit choice for March is equally awesome:

And sorry for the tease, but this month's This Life Noted kit is already sold out!

The exclusive flair and wood veneers, along with all the other hand-picked embellishments and papers make these kits a cut above! I can't wait to get started on my kit and hope to have some pages to show you next week, along with reveal of the full kit contents.  :)

American Crafts' Valentine's Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the American Crafts' Valentine's Day blog hop! I hope you will be inspired by all of the lovely projects you see today. Below is the photo that inspired my project, a card for that special someone, my husband. 

This wall of photos, with frames fitted in every possible space, reminded me of a certain Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party paper, and the print included in the 6x6 inch paper pad was the perfect scale for the card I had in mind. Here it is filled with colorful flower patterns, many from the same paper pad.

Supplies: Tropical 12x12 Pack (AC712P12-49) - Cardstock, 6"X6" Paper Pad (366214) - Polka 

Dot Party,  Cross My Heart Paper (366037) - Cut&Paste, Adhesive Chipboard Pieces (366074) - Bits, Dear Lizzy Acrylic Stamps (366797) - Daydreamer

How to:  Cut card base from pink cardstock, and fold in half. Trim frame print paper to fit the card front leaving 1/2 inch on each side. Cut out windows in the center frames only. Back each open frame with flower print paper, using pop dots to add dimension. Mount frame paper on pink patterned paper and and then adhere to card base. Paint chipboard heart and attach to card. Stamp, watercolor, cut out, and adhere image to card. Write sentiments inside, sign, seal, and deliver! 

Thanks for stopping by today. The next blog on the hop is the fabulous Allison Waken. In case you get lost, here is the full list of participants:

Paige Evans

Meghann Andrew

Katie Ehmann

Patricia Roebuck

Lilith Eeckels

Becki Adams

Ashley Horton

Heather Leopard

Elizabeth Gardner

Gina Lideros

Diana Waite

Janna Werner

Jill Cornell

Erin Stewart

Angie Gutshall

Madeline Fox

Allison Waken

American Crafts

Have a Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

A Decade Apart

I have two more pages to share today, one with a photo from last summer, one with a photo from over a decade ago. Both were created with the very vibrant Scraptastic kit, Mr. Big Stuff. 

As soon as I saw all of the color in the kit, especially the flurry of primaries, I was in love. On the page below, however, I went with a more subdued look, using kraft and blue. The page was split, diagonal print up top, ticket print on the bottom, with an assortment of similarly colored embellishment goodies layered along the horizon. Pure fun!

And now for a very vibrant page put together piecemeal from colorful polka dot and striped paper.  A 10-month old Kevin looks on in amazement and admiration when his big brother blows a bubble. So funny. I love the little one's expression.

Yes, you never know which decade I'll be scrapping next! Every once in a while it's fun to pull a really old picture out from the box. I tend to hop all over the calendar. Do you like to scrap chronologically or out of order? Or does it not matter?

Not All Athletes Wear Shoes

 When I first pulled out the patterned paper with football schematics and field outlines, I was sure I'd use it for some sort of page about football, maybe a Superbowl Party or Saints game. But then I went a completely different route, and used the paper with a witty t-shirt slogan to contrast such sports with the sport my son loves, swimming. I had the perfect picture, Kevin with his teammates standing around the pool deck, barefeet and all. Yes, not all athletes wear shoes. These boys swim:

On one side of the page, the title takes center stage. On the other side, I layered a few papers and embellishments. The chipboard alarm clock has special meaning for me and my son. During the high school swimming season, their team practiced twice a week, in the early morning, before school. They were in the water at 5:00 AM. Oh my, those were some dark rides to the pool in what seemed like the middle of the night!

But the boys persevered, and his 8th grade team won first place in the boys metro middle school swim meet. Way to go team!

All papers, stickers, and embellishments are from the Scraptastic February kit, Mr. Big Stuff, with the exception of the large blue letters, leftovers from a previous kit.

Mr. Big Stuff

February's Mr. Big Stuff Kit from Scraptastic couldn't be more perfect for scrapping my boys, their cousins, swim team friends, etc., etc., etc. Here's a look at the kit and a peak at three layouts I'll be sharing this week.

While I love the vibrant colors throughout the kit and add-on, I went with a more subdued look for the first page I tackled:

I added a little more color here, but it was clearly all about the title below:

And then I pulled out the stops and combined all the colorful dots and stripes on a single page:

Oh yeah, Mr. Big Stuff is fun stuff!