Paper Trail Blog Hop - Roxie

Welcome to the December edition of the Paper Trail blog hop. If you have arrived here from Terri's blog you are on the right track. (If not, don't worry. This hop is circular so you can start anywhere.) I'm loving the pinks and blacks in this paper pack!

I started out with a layout using a fun technique my friend Linda showed me to draw attention to a small portion of a photo: crop the significant part and then mat it and place it over the hole in the photo to emphasize one portion on the whole photo.

I was nervous when I attempted this technique, but I love the way it draws attention to the tulip leaves to that they don't get lost in the snow. This layout is out of the ordinary for me in that it doesn't include any journaling, but I think the other elements - photos, title, butterflies and colors - work together to tell the story.

On my layout I also used hemp and the Just Blooms Flutter Paper Shapes.


I loved the Roxy paper so much that I decided to use it to create some cards for a young girl's birthday and a baby girl's baptism.

This template worked well for both cards. The Art Philosophy cartridge and the Cricut made it quick and easy. I really like the ready made zip strip border on these papers! I used some small sparkles and hemp on these cards as well.

Are you ready for some more Roxy fun? Hop on over to Linda's blog to see what she has created!

Thanks, again

Finally I'm sharing the next installment of my daily thanks.

9 - I'm thankful for daylight and seasonal decorations.
10 - Thanks for alone time and family members who do food shopping.
11 - I'm thankful for our zoo membership - especially on cold snowy days.
       I'm also thankful for the highways that are near our house.
12 - I'm ever so thankful for people who have listening ears, ask hard questions
       and really understand.
13 - Thanks be for food other people have prepared!
14 - I'm thankful for individuals - like one student - who think of others and take
       time to check in.
15 - Thanks be for reprieves and teachers with a sense of humor.
16 - I'm thankful for babies and a clean toilet.
17 - Thanks for time to catch up and painted finger nails.
18 - I'm thankful for those organizing moods when I am able to purge and for
        many ways to recycle.
19 - I'm thankful for movie popcorn, locally grown and home prepared food and
       new recipes that work out well.
20 - Thanks for found time and inspirational conversations - especially those that
        actually encourage me to make a change!



I'm still working out some details for my album. I think I'll include some photo-free pages (why, not, right?)

Are you keeping track of your thanks this month? What are you discovering? Do you have a plan to record these thanks?

I would love to hear about your month of thanks. I can't wait to see what you create!

Paper Thrills challenge 34 - The Sweater

The new challenge is up over at Paper Thrills. This week the challenge is to use items you would find on a sweater. Here is my sweater layout about my little crafter:

This layout was fun to create. I dry embossed the light blue cardstock and then sanded to reveal the white core. The patterns said sweater to me as much as the buttons and fibers.

Head on over to Paper Thrills to check out what the other design team members created. While you're there, why not create a layout and play along? While you're there, check out the guest design team challenge!

The first days of thanks

Just because I'm not posting, doesn't mean I'm not thankful! In fact, that is the beauty of my conception of thirty days of thanks. Here is a bit about my month so far:

1 - I'm thankful when I don't have to cook dinner, especially when it is healthy and yummy and everyone in the family eats it!
2 - I'm thankful for the chance to watch my favorite TV show (even if I'm working while I'm doing it.)
3 - I'm thankful for early morning appointment times and offices that are as quick as they say the will be.
4 - I'm thankful for reconnecting with long-time friends.
5 - I'm thankful for a chance to escape my regular life for one day and scrapbook with my friends!
      I'm also thankful for backrubs.
6 - I'm thankful for the chance to play the organ at church and the support of the congregation and the choir. I'm also thankful for my five-year-old assistant.
7 - I'm thankful for keys that are lost and then found!
8 - I'm thankful for being at least a little bit ahead of the game. I'm also thankful for friends who support us in eating local food.

This project has been interesting. One thing I'm noticing already is that I don't want to be limited to only one thanks. Thinking about what I'm thankful for is making me more aware that I am thankful and therefore giving me more things to record. I guess I'm developing an "attitude of gratitude" (thanks, Oprah!)

Are you recording your thanks? What are you noticing?

I'm still pondering the project I will create. Originally, I had a mini-album in mind, but I'm also wondering about a layout or series of layouts. And I have to confess, I haven't taken any photos for this project yet. What ideas do you have about recording thanks? I would love to hear what you plan to do - and thanks, in advance!

Thirty days of thanks

I love the way November inspires people to reflect on - and share - their gratitude. Each year I'm motivated by those who share a daily gratitude and this year I have decided to join them and share my thanks both here and in a mini-album.

I know a little something about myself, however. I can easily  find something for which I am grateful each day, but I am pulled in too many directions to commit to posting that frequently. I also know that I am not good at working on a mini-album one day at a time. Since I'm trying to be realistic so that I can be successful, I've come up with a plan that I think just might work!

I will record my daily thanks in a notebook (or on sticky notes, in my calender, phone etc.) and then post once a week. Throughout the month I will take photos and gather supplies (including the mini-album itself) and then in December, I will be able to create the album.

Would you like to join me for thirty days of thanks? I would love to hear what is making you grateful right now and see how you record your gratitude.

Check back later this weekend for my first list of thanks!

A blog award!

Thanks to Jill over at Paper Thrills for awarding me the Versatile Blogger Award!

 All recipients of the Versatile Blogger Award are asked to:

1. Thank the one who awarded you.
2. Share 7 things about yourself that readers might not know.
3. Award 7 other bloggers with the same award.

So, thanks again, Jill for the recognition!
Seven things you might not know about me:

1. When I started scrapbooking I swore I wasn't going to get sucked in. I was only going to do my wedding album.
2. Seven years later, the wedding album is still in progress and I've created at least 20 others!
3. I play the pipe organ.
4. I teach piano lessons.
5. I married my high school sweetheart. We were together 7 years before we got married.
6. I love Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I'm really enjoying sharing her books with my children.
7. I love the Chicago Cubs!

 And now I get to recognize seven other bloggers:

1. Kerrie at Scrappy Happening
2. Jennifer at Midwest Scrapgarden
3. Linda at The Paper Taylor
4. Karen at Inky Fingers
5. Marina at My Scrapspiration
6. Vicki at Wizard's Hangout
7. Pam at p-inks

Congrats, ladies and thanks for your inspiration!