random reflections

Encouragement and Thanks

I needed some encouragement cards and a thank you note. When I got home from Oregon, I made a list of some of the stamp sets I haven't used recently and decided to pull one of them out. All four cards were made with "Four of a Kind" (Papertrey Ink), a set that was available only to people shopping at CHA a couple of years ago. Some of the sentiments came from "Floral Frenzy," another set on my list.

The patterned papers were from A Muse, Memory Box, and Basic Grey's "Wisteria." The pearls and gems from A Muse, Michael's, and Queen & Co. 

All four cards are in the mail. It's a sad fact that I have too many friends in need of encouragement right now. The thank you was for a very lovely birthday gift from a friend.

LOAD: Days 3 & 4

Here are the latest layouts of the grandchildren. :-) 

Patterned paper:  "Pink Quatrafoil" (both sides) Style Essential (Echo Park), "Green Flourish," Style Essential (Echo Park), and "Metropolitan" (American Craft) for the title; Silhouette, Stamps: Lawn Fawn and Papertrey Ink; punch:  Knock-out heart scallop (American Craft); Flower: unknown from stash.

We bought this hat for Skylar in the gift shop of the International Rose Garden in Portland. Her middle name is Rose, so we knew we wanted to find something for her there. This was perfect, and I do think she's pretty cute in it.

 

Patterned paper: "Everyday Moments" (Teresa Collins); Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White; Alpha: Puffy (American Craft); stickers: Pebbles.

One of Tracy's first jobs when we arrived in Oregon was to hang Caleb's new jumper. The jumper was a huge hit, and provides Caleb with a much needed way to burn off some excess energy! The journaling reads:

Today’s version is called “Mighty Muscle Builder,” but in Sarah and Matt’s baby days it was the “Jolly Jumper.” I much prefer the older name, and it certainly suits Caleb as he is definitely a jolly jumper. From the moment Tracy hung it up, Caleb has loved it. None of the photos here really capture his joy, but we have several videos that do. Furthermore, I think it helps tire him out. Since he’s a fussy sleeper, anything that contributes to a good night’s sleep is wonderful.

May in Review and LOAD

I've kept up with a Photo-a-Day now for five months, two months longer than I've ever done before, and I'm  committed to seeing it through. I love popping all the photos into Ali's monthly template and writing a review of the month. 

I think you can click on the layout to see it better. I follow the daily prompts when they seem to fit or when I'm feeling uninspired. The rest of the time, I focus on what we're doing. The patterned paper is Bella Blvd, the cute tags from Ormolu, the camera stamp from Studio Calico, and the chevron die for the tag from Papertrey Ink.

Here's this month's journaling which I put on the "pull-out" tag. I added the little stamp "pull here" from Papertrey Ink's "Movers and Shakers" set:

May was a fabulous month! Our trip to Oregon was as perfect as could be---two cross-country flights with no delays, Caleb’s baptism, a week with Sarah & Caleb, and along weekend with Adam & Matt as well! Mother’s Day & my birthday were celebrated with the whole family---nothing makes me happier!

We spent two days driving up the coast of Oregon & were treated with bright, sunny days. Oregon’s coast is even more stunning that California’s. We finished our trip in Portland, visiting with Jessica & her family, & dinner with Mason & Meghan. An hour or so at Powell’s Bookstore, a self-guided tour of City Hall, & a visit to the Portland Art Museum were highlights. Lots more to see and do!

We ended the month with lots of plant-buying & gardening, including a trip to Ithaca to the Farmer’s Market, always a favorite day trip. Had a great lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Rio Tamatlin.

 I finished two books in May:  Thinking About Memoir, & Unless It Moves the Human Heart. Mary & I enjoyed Jennifer Haigh’s talk at Arts & Lectures, and Tracy & I saw a great  Bonnie Raitt concert. Karen & I celebrated our birthdays with dinner at Bennuci’s, I shared meals with Nancy & Mary, & on Memorial Day we helped celebrate Bill Jones’ birthday.

 I’m well into Ali’s class 31 Things, but I’m not sure quiet how I’ll “publish” it. Kat’s Sense of Place has been a fabulous class with lots of thought-provoking ideas about photography. The material here will keep me busy most of the summer. I still need to finish up the Cut Above cards class, & the first of two Silhouette classes with Kerri Bradford. 

There wasn’t a lot of time for creative pursuits at the crafting table, but I did manage to create one layout and ten cards.

I've been participating in Simple As That's monthly review as well, and I added some photos to that collage that didn't make it in the POTD collage. I love the photo of Matt and Caleb watching a golf tournament on TV--the same look of concentration. Skylar Rose's photo will be showing up in a layout sometime soon, as will a series of  Caleb jumping in his "Jolly Jumper."

I never posted April's since we left early in May for our trip, so here it is as well.

Participating in LOAD in February was a great experience, and although there was another session in May, I knew I couldn't do it then. So I'm doing my own version this month since I have so many photos that need to be scrapped. The May layout above is today's. Yesterday I created this one.

This one didn't photograph terribly well. The colors are a bit brighter than they show here. It's much truer in the detail shot below. (Both taken at the same time with the same light; go figure.) The patterned paper is MME "Follow Your Heart," and I added five rows of Washi tape to it to create a border. I think both rolls of Washi came in Studio Calico kits, but I'm not sure. The tag definitely came in a kit, and I backed the cut-out with cardstock from my stash file. The alphabet is October Afternoon.

The journaling reads: Caleb was perfecting his smile while we were in Oregon, but despite many attempts, I never captured one like this. Adam posted Caleb's five month portrait on Facebook this week, and I just had to get it in the album.

Hope you're having a great day!