Just A Normal Day

Sometimes a picture is all you need to tell a story.  This is a normal day in our house.

“Goodbye Cody”

For a while my son has been struggling with some allergy triggered asthma.  We thought we had it figured out but there was some random trigger I couldn’t identify.  So we scheduled him for some testing and found out the trigger was horses.  I didn’t realize horses were such an allergen, but they are!  We decided we had two options, medicate our son, or find a new home for our horse.  Our horse was a very sweat old man, but we just couldn’t justify medicating our son constantly and have more asthma attacks when we could remove the allergen.  Especially since Cody horse was more of a yard ornament than a beneficial creature we rode. 
We found a loving new home for Cody, a home where their autistic son actually learned to speak while on the back of a horse.  Even knowing Cody was going to a good home, it was still hard for the family.  I knew it was something I had to document.
These pictures all had a great foggy hazy background which allowed me to have a little more freedom to select my papers.  I had just bought this new Authentique paper and the blues and white washed grid patterns were perfect with the pictures.  I even thought the mustard yellow coordinated well with the browns of Cody horse and what my husband was wearing. 
Keeping to my true style, I went simple.  Clean and simple, focus on the story.  That’s what pages are for me, the story with the product supporting the story, not the story supporting the product.
One other product element I used on this page is the complimenting use of full scale 12x12 paper and the small scale 6x6 paper.  The yellow block and floral block are both from a 6x6 stack.  I find that the two scales are easily mixed and actually do well to support each other.

Supplies:  Authentique (papers, mini alpha letters), Misc (flowers, bling), American Crafts Thickers

Beautiful Old Stuff!

I have a favorite shop in downtown Omak.  It’s called Grandma’s Attic.  She has incredibly yummy stuff, both old and new.  And since I have a *slight* love of old stuff, I go in often to check out what she has.  If my house was bigger, I’d have it full of stuff she sells.  But sadly (well, probably goodly) it’s not bigger.

Yesterday I saw on Facebook this new gem she posted. 

I hustled down because I mistakenly thought it was a bookshelf.  Hmmm…wonder where my brain was.  I’ve been looking for the perfect bookshelf for a spot in my house, but this wasn’t it.  So I left the store.  Then I decided it would be perfect to put on the wall above my scrap desk, so I went back to get it.  I happily brought it home and now decided it doesn’t fit where I thought it would.  Cry…

You’ll have to stay tuned to see what I do with it!  I have some antique mason jars with a blue tinge that I thought would look so awesome on it.   Wish me luck !!

“My 2 Wolves”

In February, we took a mid-winter break and headed to the warm waters in Great Wolf Lodge!  It was a great family weekend, but I decided to do something a little different and just enjoy the time with my family, leave the camera behind or off.  I think it made my husband very happy, and I was actually quite content as well to only have a few photos.  Makes the few that much more treasured.

I’d been oogling over this October Afternoon Sasparilla paper since it was “released” in August.  It only took 8 months for it to actually hit the store shelves, but hey, that’s okay.  Like they say, distance makes love stronger.  Wait, that probably wasn’t meant for paper though right?  Well, it finally arrived to my hot little hands just in time for some wonderful Great Wolf pages. 
Supplies:  October Afternoon (paper, ledger letters, die cuts), American Crafts (thicker alphabets), The Twinery Twine, Misc (paper flower, button)

Don’t forget my 1,000/100,000 giveaway!  Between now and page hit 100,000 I will give away a camera charm necklaces to 5 random comments!!  Make sure you leave a comment to have your chance to be one of the winners!

Becoming a Content Scrapbooker

A week or so ago I said I would be making some changes to my blog. I’ve been thinking on it for a long time and I wanted to find the “focus” or vision of my ideas.  Before I get on too much talking about the subject at hand, I want to talk about what will change. This month is the last month I will be hosting a challenge (be sure to link up your project!). I set my goals when I started them about six months ago and it hasn’t achieved what I wanted. To achieve them, I’d have to change my tactic to do things that I don’t want to do for it to continue to worthwhile. So I’m going to scrap that (no pun intended) and move on in a different direction. I will still be blogging about scrapbooking and other random things. I am going to try to group other things into certain days and provide more consistency. At this point, my plan is that Fridays will be “Fabric Friday” (days for my new found sewing love) or “Food Friday” (although I know it’s been a while since I shared a recipe). I still plan to blog 5 days a week, Monday through Friday.

Introduction to Becoming a Content Scrapbooker

Recently I was making a comment to someone that “you have to learn to be content with where you are” and it hit me.  Might as well have been a mud pie to my forehead for as much as attention it make me take.

Content. 

I tend to use this word a lot.  In my life I’ve learned (from experience) that life is much better when I’m content.  Let’s look to the dictionary to see what “content” means.  From Mirriam Webster:

Definition of CONTENT

: contented, satisfied <was content with her life as it was>

I realized that my goal in scrapbooking and my desire to teach others is contentment.  I want to be content with my work, my stash, my style.  From my experience in life, I believe that there is incredible freedom in being content.  Maybe the best way to describe “content” is to say what it is not.  A content person does not look enviously at the rooms of other scrapbookers and say “if only I had that.”  A content scrapbooker does not say “if only my style was like hers.”  A content scrapbooker does not say “why does she always get selected for publication and I’m always looked over.”  A content scrapper does not think enviously of other scrapbookers, their stash, or their skill.  A content scrapbooker does not allow negative thoughts to rule her mind, but rather says “I am satisfied with my stash.  I am satisfied with my style.  I am satisfied with my work.” 

Now, please don’t think that contentment means the ceasing of growth.  I think it’s far from that.  We all have goals and things we want to achieve.  But envy and negative thoughts hinder growth.  The freedom found in being content allows you to break free from the snares of negative thinking to grow!  How exciting that there is much more power in being happy where we are than in thinking “I’ll be happy when….” because if you can’t be happy now, how will you know how to be happy then.  Be happy now, and embrace the freedom to grow!

I did a little video to introduce this.  I pretty much said everything I said above, so you don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to.  But I’d like to explain my reasoning.  Often times the written text is hard to read tone and personality.  If the reader can hear and see the author, I believe tone is easier to understand.  So if you want to watch, here is a 4 minute video introducing what’s going to happen.

My disclaimer:  I’m not psychologist, psychiatrist, linguist or anything else really smart.  The things I will be saying are from my own experience, so please consider that if I make an inaccurate statement.  I have no intention to be deceitful, I’m just not that smart!

I invite you on the journey to become a content scrapbooker!  And if you already are – bravo to you, I invite you then to help be an encourager to others who struggle along this journey!

Redneck Lawn Ornaments

I decided this afternoon that my yard was a little too plain.  It needed some bling added.  Yes, it did. 

Well, it wasn’t me who decided this, rather the ground itself.  Our driveway has taken a BIG beating this winter.  It was definitely in 4 wheel drive only mode and it just needed some work.  Our tractor is out for the count at the moment, and my husband has been swamped with work, so he decided to hire the neighbor to help us out.  A few minutes later my phone rings and I’m told to bring C and the camera down the driveway.  This is what I see:

More than 40 minutes later, and probably at least 50 pieces of firewood also eaten by the ground, the backhoe is free.  As for the state of our driveway, I don’t know.  I just hope my car isn’t the next victim.

Vintage Inspired Apron

My sewing machine and I have been spending quite a bit of time together lately.  So much so that I think my husband is worried I’m going to abandon my immense stash of scrapbooking stuff.  No need to fear though, that isn’t going to happen.  I’ve been really tired all winter.  It’s been busy and stressful around here, so sewing has been an easier creative outlet for me because it’s more brain power in technique than creative power.  When I’m tired, I don’t often feel very creative, so sewing has been a great option because it doesn’t take constant creativity. 

I needed a gift this week, and I wanted it to be something very thoughtful.  I walked into my local quilting shop and the first fabric I saw in then window called to me that it was perfect for the person.  I asked them to take it out of the window and cut me a yard.  Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the yardage needed on the pattern was lost in translation, and I didn’t have quite enough fabric.  That left me in a place of either improvise or wait.  Now, I’ll admit, I’m not always patient.  So improvise it was!  The pattern was supposed to have additional panels in it that would be gathered.  I left out two of the panels and skipped the gathering so it still came to the same width.   Worked perfectly, and I think I like the look even more.
urgh…looking at these pictures though makes me think I really need to get a different iron. 


I have adopted a bit of a signature thing for most garments I make.  I like to use off-white thread for everything.  Rarely do I make an exception.  My reasoning is two fold.  First, I really like the contrast, as you can see here on the brown bias tape.  But also, rarely do I use solid fabrics.  There will always be some point on the fabric where the thread doesn’t match, so I like to just stick to off-white.  I like contrast (and I’m too lazy or forgetful to keep changing the threads).

I Love Simplicity

I love simplicity in life.  I’ll admit, I’m not always as good at maintaining simplicity as much as I wish, but I strive for things to be simple.  Not chaotic, not busy, not distracting, but simple.  My scrapbook pages are no different.  I like simplicity so the photos and story are the weight of the page, not product.

With that in mind, I went uber simple on this page.  Very minimal supply usage, just photos. 

Supplies:  Crate Paper Farmhouse Collection (patterned paper, alphas, mini alphas, border stickers, button), Co’redinations (cardstock), The Twinery (twine)

Brown Paper Packages

tied up with string.  These are a few of my favorite things….

I can’t reveal what this is until Monday.  But don’t you just love a pretty yet simple package?

Pretty In Pink

As a little girl, I always remember the special treat it was to pick out fabric for my Easter dress.  It always came with a pretty hat and a new shiny pair of shoes.  I always felt like a special princess.  I have to make sure I carry on the tradition for my little girl.  Well, minus the hat, I’m not sure she’ll go for that. 

Last week we found this pink flocked swirled fabric at Walmart.  Normally, I wouldn’t buy any specialty fabric such as this at Walmart, but I knew if we were going to make her an Easter dress, we wouldn’t have time to go to a different store.  So we picked the satin like fabric to use for the dress with the swirls as just an overlay.  Now, at this point, please excuse me, but I’m going to brag a little.  I pieced two patterns together to make this, and I figured out the tulle ruffle at the bottom all on my own!  Yes, I can do it!!

Now, I just can’t wait to see it on the princess.  She’s terrified of trying dresses on before they’re completely done because she’s afraid I’m going to poke her with pins.  I promised not to!  She doesn’t believe me though.

Christmas 2011

Hi, my name is Amanda, I have a problem taking too many photos. 
But I don’t see it as a problem!!  I find nothing wrong with taking 100 pictures on Christmas morning.  My kids love Christmas!  I LOVE capturing their faces of excitement.  It’s fantastic family time.  Nothing wrong with taking a lot of pictures of that.  But I will admit that I get overwhelmed when I print them.  Yes, I was selective in the ones I printed.  This is where I bring in one of my favorite product lines, in their intended form.  Simple Stories.  The reason (besides beautiful designs) I love Simple Stories so much is it’s adaptable to traditional scrapbook pages or to quick divided page protector scrapping.  (The only thing I don’t like is that it’s really hard to get a good crisp photograph through the page protector of the finished “layouts'”).

Using Simple Stories, I was able to get 34 pictures scrapbooked in about 45 minutes.  Life is good.
Supplies:  We R Memory Keepers divided page protectors, Simple Stories (all paper products, both 12x12 scale & 6x6)

“Special Story Time”

For Christmas this last year, my inlaws sent my kids a very special gift.  It was a book that had a sound chip in it and allowed them to record the story as they read it.  My kids were able to have Grandpa & Beppe read them the Christmas story even though we’re 1,800 miles apart.  It was a really neat experience to watch. 
I knew these photos needed to be documented, even though they aren’t technically perfect.  They are still story perfect.  After all, isn’t that the root of scrapbooking?  The story!
I used a sketch for this page by my friend Ashley as part of the March Sketch it Out challenge she is hosting at Club CK.  I used the sketch like I use any sketch.  I looked at it, pulled the key pieces of it that caught my attention then walked away.  I processed it for a couple hours before I set to work.  What I remembered of the sketch was two photos spanning the right in a vertical fashion and then pennants.  Although there were only two on the sketch, it didn’t feel balanced for my page, so I used three.  (Rarely do I like embellishments in even  numbers).  I shook it up a lot, but used those two elements that stuck with me.  That’s how I process any sketch or challenge.  I’m not motivated by challenges or sketches, so I file it in my noggin and then use it from there.  Sometimes there is nothing similar, sometimes it’s very close. 


Supplies:  Simple Stories (paper, stickers, alphas, journaling card), misc (cardstock, button, floss), Hero Arts (poinsettia)

Country Life

Spring is here.  Well, it was here for a few hours, and then winter returned.  With the arrival of spring, comes fence repair.  Friday night we set out to hike the property and fence lines.  The great thing about it is the mile hike (yes, our property perimeter is just a few feet short of a mile).  And parts of it are a HIKE!!!  Steep up and steep down!  Fun fun!! 

As I’m typing this, I have to say, I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.  God’s creation is so amazing.  He’s the ultimate artist. 

I’m really enjoying my iPhone.  After having my SLR camera, I never thought I could do a point and shoot style camera again.  And honestly, there are times I probably couldn’t.  But on this hike carrying the SLR just wasn’t practical.  I put my phone in my pocket and was able to get some pretty decent snap shots with it.  No, it certainly isn’t the same quality and I’d never dream of using exclusively it.  But this is definitely a situation of “the best camera is the camera you have with you.”

I was worried that our snow pack wasn’t enough this year and we’d have water problems.  Well, I was wrong… our drive way flooded.  And this is after half of it drained.  But it filled back up again.  It’s past those fence posts on the far side there and too deep to drive through now. 

I’m the KING of the rock!!

If we ever build another home on our property, we are building it on the back parcel here.  It overlooks a lake.  Can’t really see it in the picture, but in the left third, bottom third intersection, that shady spot is a beautiful little lake.  We have a lot of lakes up here on my mountain.  Beautiful little area. 

The remnants of a wild fire that burned our property in 2001.  We didn’t buy it until a few years later.

My sweet darling princess picked me “flowers” all along the way.  They were last years dried and dead flowers.  But she still knew they were flowers and it was so very sweet!

We live on a dirt road.  The way life is supposed to be (oh, I know you city folks don’t believe that though).  This is the road from the high point on our property. 

When you have to go down a steep hill in snow, why not use your bum as a sled?  Sure works good if you’re a boy!

But this, this is my favorite picture.  The silhouettes of the family hiking back up the hill to the house.  Princess was tired, this was the last little bit of the near mile loop.  Daddy came to the rescue and carried her the rest of the way up the hill.  Gave me a great photo op.  Family.  It’s what country life is all about.

and cows.

Have a blessed Sunday, my friends.