It's done! I agree with you, Neissa!!! This was harder than I imagined!!! I usually don't do the touchy feely kind of journaling on my layouts. It's difficult for me to put down personal thoughts onto a piece of paper or digital layout. Plus...most of the pictures I take speak for themselves and I don't like when layouts are so wordy looking! :) But this was fun...and it was a great challenge because it got me out of my usual "box".

The journaling reads: My outlook on life has changed dramatically in the past few years. Maybe it’s a result of getting older…maybe it’s a result of personal loss…maybe it’s the influences from people I love and admire...maybe it’s a combination of all of those things. My dearest friend, Ronni, has been an inspiration to me since I first met her in 1978. We have been through births, deaths, divorces, serious medical issues and more and have always been there for each other despite any physical distance. Ronni taught me the concetp of “Still Points”. When daily happenings cause aggravation or annoyances find a “Still Point”. Look around and find some beauty around you. Take time away from the aggravation and enjoy the wonder of the world around you. Life should be full of serene and wonderous “Still Points”. There is always some beauty to be found. Sometimes you just have to look for it…

Challenge #5

This wasn't an easy challenge! I am guilty of not journaling enough on my layouts so I had to step out of my comfort zone for this one. It was fun though so I'm glad I got it done. Journaling reads: The love of photography is something that has been passed down through the family. I have boxes and boxes of slides and prints taken by my grandfather and my dad. When I was little I was my dad's test model. I would sit and pose while he tested light and settings. There are countless pictures of me holding up signs telling exactly what the settings wehre when he took the picture. As I got older I was allowed into his dark room. It was a small little storage room that was attched to the back of our house. He installed a double sink in it and a counter down the wall. There was just enough room for 2 stools. I would sit there in the dark and watch him develop film and pictures. Later, when I was a teenager and mature enough to take care of his cameras and be careful with the chemicals he started teaching me how to use them. I loved spending the day taking pictures and then being able to go into the dark room and develop them myself. Back then I dreamed of becoming a professional free lance photographer. I wanted to travel the world and take pictures like you find in National Geographic. Needless to say I never earned that sort of notoriety but I do still enjoy taking pictures. I use my digital camera more then I do my trusty Nikon, and I haven't been in a dark room in years, but I still carry that love of photography with me. I love doing photo shoots with th ekids, although they aren't always willing participants, and I still pull over when an old barn catches my attention. I hope one day my children will love photography as much as I do.

Credits:
Winter Warmers @ PickleberryPop
FotoKlusters - cluster 2 by Rina Kroes @ 3Scrapateers
font: 2peas Melissa

Week 2/Challenge 4

Here's my layout for challenge 4 which was to do a layout with a "goal" theme. Here is my take on it and I think that I found a perfect quote which pretty much sums up my philosophy of goal setting. Sometimes I think those who are so goal focused lose sight of all the wonder in life around them.

I also used one of the gifts from the first week to complete my layout. I used Winter Warmers by designers at Pickleberry Pop. The large distressed white G is from Misty Cato. Fonts used were: CK Postage Due and CK Christina.

Challenge #4!!!!

This one was harder then I thought it would be!!! I started out with a completely different type of layout! It started out with a lot of journaling but I found that it was getting off track so I scrapped that one and this just sort of evolved!!! I really like this one so much better!!!
I can't believe we're almost finished with week 2 already!!!

Thanks for looking!!! =o)

Journaling:
My Sweet Daughter:
My goal as your mother is simple - to guide you into being a strong, confident woman! A woman that knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it!

My Precious Little Boy:
My goal as your mother is to help you realize your dreams and to reach for the stars! A productive young man that resprects those around him and works to make the world a better place!

Credits:
Piece of Asia Collection by Alison Folendore @ SBB
Index Cards from Something's Cooking @ Atomic Cupcake (decorated with paper from Piece of Asia Collection by Alison Folendore @ SBB
Fonts: Artistmap Medium; Matisse; 2Peas My Muse

Week 2/Challenge 3

The first challenge for week 2 was to create a layout with one of 3 themes: Three Wishes, Once Upon a Time, or If I Were Queen. I chose the Queen theme and here is the result! I just couldn't be too serious about this! I found the little crown on a clip art site and used the old brass action from Atomic Cupcake to shine it up a bit!

Credit: Tempting by Kimberly Stewart at 3 Scrapateers

Fonts: Milk and Cereal and The King and Queen (which is such a fantabulous font!).

In my household I AM the QUEEN! LOL!

ADSR Challenge #3

When I read this challenge there was no flood of ideas and I immediately thought 'Oh no! This is going to be a hard one!' But I figured I have a week, surely some inspiration will come sooner or later. Well, this morning while I was washing dishes it hit me. Duh! Do a layout about my 'Once Upon A Time', my fairy tale!

I think we surprised both of our families by making an 'internet' relationship work. LOL

Journaling reads:

Once Upon a Time there was a young lady who’s best friend thought it was time she started dating again. She hadn’t dated in a quite a long time and her best friend was sure she had found her the perfect man! The only problem was that he lived her hometown and she lived hundreds of miles away. She gave her best friend the okay to give him her email address. Several days later she received an email from him. He seemed nice enough so she sent an email in reply. It wasn’t long before they were emailing several times a day and staying up to all hours of the night chatting. A few months later she had the opportunity to go back home and met him in person. After that he was making trips to visit her, sometimes twice a month. It was about a year later when he started talking about her moving closer to him. After giving it some serious thought, she decided he was right. She quit her job and packed her stuff. That was 8 years ago and they have lived Happily Ever After ever since!

Thanks for looking =o)

Credits:
Tea Time by Barbie Chewning @ 3Scrapateers;
Border Templates by Laurie Whitney-Pawlowski @ DigiScrapToolbox
Fonts: The King & Queen Font; Natural Script Bold

Challenge #2

For this challenge we had to collaborate on our layout. We had to use two photos, the word friendship, red, flower(s) and a doodle for our challenge. It was so much fun! The quote says "Plant a seed of friendship; Reap a bouquet of happiness".

Credit: Flower doodle from Black Art Flower Collection 1 by Kashiabean Kreations @ 3Scrapateers,,Girlfiends mega kit (with the mat and the red flowers recolored), Template by Susan Wingfield

Font: Annabelle.

I finished my first challenge, too!

I completed my first challenge,too. I'm right behind you, Neissa!

This was fun....and a bit challenging since I'm down at my mother's in FL and don't have all my scrapping stuff and pictures handy! I really wanted to do a layout of my favorite piece of art, Michaelangelo's the Pieta, but it sits in St. Peter's Basilica and isn't really in a museum! So I went with this photo of a mummy/coffin lid that I took at Emory University last February.

I wanted to be an archeaologist since I was in the 3rd grade. I always imagined I'd be in Egypt digging in the dirt! :)

I did it!!! I completed the first challenge for the ADSR!!!!
I'm so excited!!!! What a fun way to get some layouts completed!





Journaling reads:
During your summer visits to Nana and Gandy’s you choose different things to do on the weekends. One weekend you decided you wanted to visit this museum. It was a 2 hour drive but from the website it looked like it would be a great museum. In reality it took only about 15 minutes to walk through and these were the only 3 pictures Nana took!!!

Thanks for looking =o)

Credits:

Mayan Coast by Kelly-Ann Halbert @ 3Scrapateers
Inspired by a sketch @ LifetimeMoments
Fonts: Michaels; CK Artisan

It's almost here!!!! The race is about to start and I'm so excited!!!! Until then I thought I would share my latest layout!!! My DD has been taking riding lessons and she has really taken to this horse. His name is Mazzi and he is such a character!!! She is visiting her grandparents this summer and will be home in a couple of weeks. I'm making this album as a surprise for her!!
You can find more of the album in my 3S gallery!!!

Credits:
Kiwi Gelato by Kelly-Ann Halbert @ 3Scrapateers
Wild Tear Action @ Atomic Cupcake
Inspired by a sketch @ 3Scrapateers
The Kings and Queens font

Let the Race Begin!

We're ready for our first challenge! What will it be? Will it be hard? Will it be easy? Half the fun is always anticipating, isn't it?

We're raring to go!

Here's my latest layout made with Rina Kroes' kit called Lavendar Blue available in the store at 3 Scrapateers. I just loved the soft colors and prints of this kit. I think it worked beautifully with some pictures taken of Ronni and me recently when we were in California on our "Girl's Trip"! We roamed around in our little rented VW convertible Bug like we were Thelma and Louise! LOL! We had a wonderful time, though...the first night we spent at a little Bed and Breakfast in Medocino which was just the cutest little inn. If you're ever in the area I would recommend it. It's called the Joshua Grindle Inn. We got in rather late...so they basically left the key for us. We went into our cute room and the lights were on, the music was playing and there was sherry in the parlor for us. Such a nice homey feeling!