Southampton

Southampton is a nice quiet village on the northwest coast of Lake Huron. Rick and I booked a bed and breakfast weekend with the intent to lay on the beach, golf, shop and bike for 2 days. Little did we know that an F3 tornado was on its way an hour to the south. Foregoing the beach, we managed to keep ourselves entertained between heavy rain downpour nonetheless. We particularly enjoyed biking around the little streets by the beach. The homes in Southampton are
picturesque beyond description. We also had a wonderful ride through the Lakeshore Trail at McGregor Point Provincial Park.
Southampton features many antique heritage homes so naturally I used a vintage theme for this layout. I had gorgeous sheet of ephemera paper with bicycles, umbrellas and wardrobes that fit the bill perfectly. My colour theme was rich browns, rose and buttercup. I love the faint handwriting on the You and Me Close to my Heart papers; and a detail shot shows me using yet another  Milepost corrugated shape for the ampersand . ("and" symbol)
I dont know if you can see the detail unless you click on the photo to enlarge, but there are some pennant shapes with tiny mocha opaque adhesive pearl gems that came with me You and Me Kit in July.
Believe me these kits are a value , I got a stamp set, ribbon, the gems, chipboard, and the papers with instructions for 4 layouts. Hello? I always purchase the kits on special.

Bliss on Dalrymple Beach

I keep saying, this summer was the best one that I can remember since childhood. Clear blue sunny skies and very little rain. There were no "indoor" days whatsoever other than the weekend of the tornado in August. In June, I had decided to plan some new units of study on rainy days and had lugged home all the curriculum documents and teaching guides.  In fact, by the time school was starting, I had not  cracked a book - nor had I gone to the school at at the week prior to .Labour Day. The weather was simply too nice for me to be inside. Of course I managed nicely but paid the price the first 3 weeks of September with 3 hours work at home per night. It was sooo worth it.

Dalrymple Beach is about a 20 minute bicycle ride from my home, on Lakeshore Road near Camlachie. It is very seldom used by a handful of people so very tranquil.
The beach itself is wide and open, with a very shallow gradually sloping sandy access to Lake Huron that makes the water warm . I find it similar to the beaches at the Pinery so I go there when I want to be in nature and experience solace.
Rick and I spent a few quiet hours in the afternoon in August soaking up some bliss together under crystal clear blue skies next to the waving beach grasses. I like the photo of our feet and of the big piece of driftwood.
You can see a few of the corrugated chipboard milepost  shapes incorporated. I also had fun playing with one of my new stamp sets, Vintage Type.
It is found on page 18 here:
http://www.closetomyheart.com/en/Products/Online_Idea_Book.aspx

Relax

Time to Relax

and be leisurely in the summer , in our amazing pool

the weather was perfect this year, with only 2 days of rain

the kids and i made the most of it and enjoyed the crystal

clear waters of our backyard pool

i used 4x4 squares in this design

with an emphasis on black and grey papers

the photos are dazzling enough on their own!

Daylilies in June

Because I took so many flower photos, I had all of these gorgeous blooming daylilies and wanted to showcase them in a unique way. Inspired by Ali Edwards monthly layout design , via my ambitiously scrapping friend Julia, who takes a photo of her son each month and has them all in sequence.

I had actually seven different daylilies blooming in June, but did not have a photo of the yellow ones to add to this layout. I used irresistible make it count numbers by Close to My Heart, which I inked in 3 different colours: vineyard berry, desert sand, and twilight. I used a sponge dauber to apply the ink lightly.
I then journalled across the top of each background paper.
"Daylilies bloomed in profusion . They are the first to bloom, colourful and vigourous".

October Chalet Crop

I spent the weekend scrapbooking with 3 wonderful ladies . I am blessed to have a generous sister in law who invites me to share in this event each year at her chalet near Talisman resort. Our mutual friend Julia is a great inspiration and muse, our own version of Ali Edwards. Her influence can be seen in the first layout, SPRING . Blocked photos and paper strips ; opposing rounded tops and bottom edges; handwritten journalling.
"My garden is my joy. Every detail entices me."
There is a visual pun in the layout : Look closely and you can see some hardware "springs" on vellum paper next to the barn board and yellow print papers. thanks Leslie D for the ephemera books.

Cap and Gown

Grad pics are a lot of fun to scrapbook because they are such a happy occasion. I left room for a picture and some journalling to be added. This is my usual inneffective tactic of, get the page done now/ journal later strategy. I better write something down soon before my mind loses its memory of that day!! Summer seems to be keeping me outside almost every day.

Colton heads off to university in 3 weeks. He will be missed!

you live, you learn

the words to this layout title are from a song by Alannis Morissette that reflect the poignancy of both good times and bad in our life voyage of growth .

you live you learn

you love you learn
you cry you learn
you lose you learn
you bleed you learn
you scream you learn

you grieve you learn

you choke you learn
you laugh you learn
you choose you learn
you pray you learn
you ask you learn
pretty succint, huh?
i topped the photos with cricut lettering for the word YOU on gypsy purple and used my stamps to dress up the plain cardstock. I like the flow of the font on the bottom .

Prom May 2011

More of my son Colton's prom layouts. Formal themes like proms and weddings call for simplicity and in many cases use larger pictures so one or 2 photos per page is enough. I stuck with black and white and gypsy purple and amethyst cardstock throughout the layouts for consistency. Placing the photos first that I wanted over two 12 x12 white pages, I came up with ideas. The larger picture simply called for a double matt and mount on the background. Flourishes finish it nicely and the amount of white space makes the photo even more dazzling. When photos have to be cropped square, then square shapes become part of the layout design. Here, in the second layout, I created square boxes in amethyst the same size as the photos and matted all of the pieces onto a large square to get this look. The empty spaces will be used for journalling using a calligrapy pen. Flourishes were stamped into the corners.

Prom : Hope you had the Time of your Life!

My youngest son's prom was in May, and I have over 70 photos... not that I will scrap that many, but there were a lot of different friends and teams to take pictures of at the pre prom parties.

We started out here with his date, for a few shots, and then moved on to the Brennans (one of his closest friends who lives 2 blocks away) for a bit larger of a group, and then on to Camlachie on the lake for the big pre prom party with 20 guys and 20 gals taking part.

Colton chose light purple for his vest and tie to accent his dates dress, so my layouts are elegant black and white and lilac, just like his tux. I am not embellishing with any florals or girlie things, just a simple black swirl here and there with lots of negative white space for the background. I put together the first 4 pages at the Scrapbook for Japan in the Grove event this weekend. Thank you Robin A for the use of your Cricut machine! I like the trapezoid shaped lettering.

ART 2010

This 2 page layout is a showcase for my best art from the fall, which I photographed. I took a watercolour class with Kathy Rath while recovering from hip surgery. Having the time off work gave me the opportunity to finish an unfinished portrait my dad had sketched of my neice Natasha. It fell into place very quickly, almost by divine intervention. I felt almost equally as inspired painting the portrait of John Lennon. My confidence with paints is coming along , and I am proud of my art. Sorry for some reason I could not get the first page to post straight up and down... having attempted twice I decided to post sideways with an apology. Its a shame.

december 25: time for each other

Getting Christmas Day scrapbooked was so satisfying. This year, with a 19 year old and a 17 year old, we waited until 4 pm to take pictures and thereby had the opportunity for several poses from the two, who due to age and other lifestyle choices are not good for photos in the morning , or while opening gifts. So this year I just put the camera away, and enjoyed WATCHING them open gifts, and it was really great not to have to document the event, but to be in the event.

I got these papers from Basic Grey, Jovial, at Lasting Impressions. The neat thing about the papers, was that I fell in love with them a few months ago while browsing the Basic Grey papers online. The Jovial papers had just the nicest blend of vivid Christmas elements. So I was happy to match the cardstock stickers and papers with my photos.

As you can see, I left a nice spot for the journalling... the J word, as the ladies at Lasting Impressions referred to it. Being concise and evoking memories... not a simple task! what I usually do is pen a few sentences on a rough draft and then carefully edit and copy down... its a good idea in my case to do this sooner rather than later so that the memory doesnt fade!

I can describe our day :

11 am. breakfast: peameal bacon and eggs with waffles

12 am. opening stockings and gifts : I got a Susan Boyle CD, scented home and bath and beauty products, earrings, La Senza goodies, and a long awaited Latte machine

I gave the kids some gifts to unwrap, and also some cash rolled up with tissue paper and tinsel and stuffed into mini gift bags and mini stockings and hung on the tree

1 pm. movies on TV

4 pm . photo shoot

6 pm. turkey dinner with all the fixings

7 pm. watching a movie

9 pm. walking the dogs

10 pm. to bed for the grown ups

Time for Each Other... December 25... how fast it goes!

Kerlovich Family Christmas

We hosted our family Christmas on December 19. It was a good excuse for me to tidy up and decorate the basement rooms. Attacking the cobwebs with my new Dyson attachment was as fulfilling as hanging the lights and garlands . Blue LED light branches were the big hit amidst the more usual odds and ends in my Christmas array. Most of my family has to drive a good distance in order to visit so it is a treat when we can all be together at the same time. I had my crafting tables set up as a bar and snack area and made large 2 stars out of ice and sprigs as well as a shrimp tree which proved to be impressive for those who had not seen it before! Bobs cheese star was certainly a unique and artistic touch. The theme for this years Family Christmas was performance! Those of us who were able to contributed by reciting poetry, singing, doing magic tricks, doing a short skit, or playing a musical instrument. It proved to be an enjoyable afternoon and the meal was a hit too.
So I cant wait for next year!
As for the layout, with 20 people in my home, I had over 2 dozen photos printed to feature on this 2 page layout. I printed most of them wallet size (2x3) to cram them onto the page. I was overwhelmed by the number of pictures I wanted to include to tell the story, but quickly became ruthless in order to get on with the actual layout.
If I was better at digital layouts I might have found a better solution. I used a group picture as a large focal point, and selected what I could out of the rest. I used papers purchased on sale at the Town Scrapper and some gold metallic paper. I will journal this week by hand.

Snow Day

December 13, a huge snow storm hit Ontario, forcing the 402 and all eastbound roads from Sarnia to London to close due to white outs caused by high winds and heavy snow fall. Over 300 vehicles were stranded , and 100s of people took shelter in nearby Wyoming and Petrolia where I work. Helicopters lifted stranded people to buses where they were taken to safety while the entire community east of Sarnia shut down for 3 days. I have pictures of rescue workers taken in Wyoming that tell the story of the severity of the storm. It was a harrowing experience to be so close to, and our communitites rallied to help those trapped in their cars for over 24 hours .

Blankets food, and toiletries were brought to shelters and snowmobilers assisted wherever possible in conveying people to safety.

For my snow layout, I used the papers and kit designed by Cathy Smith at Lasting Impressions. I really enjoyed adding the gathered ribbon to the layout and will stitch it down tomorrow. The journalling will come later. I also stamped some snowy swirls on the borders of the pattern paper, and then added smooching paint in electric blue (it is a type of liquid pearlescent ink with an applicator like the one in liquid eyeliner) and also some stickles in light blue. You can add detail work with the smooch applicator nicely and also use it right on your stamps!

The photo of the house was taken 9 am the morning of the storm. The other pictures were taken the following day, aas schools were closed for 3 days. The effects on nature afterward were incredibly beautiful. The sun was bright and the sky was blue after the storm, and the branches looked like they were dipped in cotton balls.

It was an opportunity for me at home to scrap and indulge in some baking with my son. We also played Scrabble with his girlfriend Carolyn one afternoon. I am grateful I had him with me, to help shovel, and to keep me company.

Summer Layout

Very bright, very clean, and simple... a happy layout, to celebrate our family get together this summer with my brother and my cousin and our families! I got some great photos of the kids in front of the house. I think the colours pop out on the all white background!

All Star Layout

My son has played competitive hockey for 11 years. One of the highlights of his high school hockey was being selected to play on the all star team. Players were chosen from 7 high schools to represent the LSSAA all stars. He had many good friends from several high schools that he had met throughout the years play in this game which was also televised. Colton as goaltender played half the game, and his team won. It sounds cliched but every player there was already a winner so the win was just for fun . The spirit of sportsmanship was much more important to every young man who participated, as evidenced by the smiles and handshakes all around.

I used a wonderful print paper on the right hand side of the layout which I "matched" using CTMH dotted background paper, Lagoon and Moonstruck cardstock gave me some deep blue colour as well.

I incorporated 3 flip flaps into the layout, so I could add the article from Sarnia Sports about the game and the list of players, as well as a few extra photos. Handy... I didnt have to cram everything onto the base of the page and could showcase the photo of my son on the right hand side.

I am showing you 3 photos of page one, with flip flips closed and open on the vertical and horizontal photos.

Viva la Vida!

I worked on this layout over the past weekend at the chalet retreat. The pictures are from our trip this past March to Mexico, and I had already scrapped most of the book. There were just 2 more to do to finish the album but for some reason I put it off .

I wanted to use the colour red as a background and make it really vibrant. Papers are from Moon Doggie (ctmh)The layout is taken from Magic , also ctmh, and is called Backstage. I used a chipboard dimensional circle element to set off the circle. There are tiny adhesive twill fabric squares that I stamped , underneath the OLE letters on the right. Lots of brads and chipboard circles for texture. Best of all, I got ALL the journalling written into the album this weekend . Phew. I am very pleased with how it turned out!! Hope you like!

Pure Love

This is page two along with Umbrella in the Rain (previous post)

The three of us (Julia H, Bernie T, and moi ) are having our fifth fall
scrapbooking retreat at Bernadette's chalet by Talisman.
Bernie is all digital. She tried teaching me a bit about creating photoshop layouts and gave me some pages and such. Hm. Not the easiest, simplest thing I have ever worked on .
I was right back to the paper after doing one page.
But you never know... LOL

Umbrella in the Rain .

Umbrella in the Rain...

Chloe looks so parisienne in her knee socks and beret under the umbrella.

This photo was taken as she was coming to work, and was posted on Facebook!

I used Julia's punch for the notebook edge on all the papers. Such a nice antique effect!

papers:

Game On , cranberry CS

Tiny Typewriter alphabet by CTMH

amor

This layout is about our dining romance at night in Mexico.

We enjoyed wonderful food in a gorgeous atmosphere!

I did a lot of marker blending with a watercolour brush on the chipboard title (amor).

Papers : Moon Doggie

Stamped Heart Image: Soul Mates Word Puzzle

brackets: irresistables chipboard

chipboard: Dimensional Elements Simple Alphabet

all materials are Close to My Heart