Favorite Photos - April 2019

1. Me, drinking coffee at my favorite cafe in Saline, Michigan.

2. I love puppies in general, and this puppy? He was SO sweet and cuddly, and it took GREAT restraint and resolve not to take him home with me. Fortunately, he did get adopted by someone who loves him, so that's a good thing.

3. Mermaid hair really rocks!

4. Us on Easter, hanging out at Starbucks.

5. These gorgeous flowers were blooming in a gigantic pot in the front of where Daniel works.

6. Us at the Old Irving Brewery, hanging out with our cousins and having some really good food.

7. My sweet Daniel posing for me on a street in Chicago, where spring resumed with bright sunshine after winter's last stand the day before. It looks warmer than it was, but still a luscious spring day.

Pick of the Week - April 30

Another Tuesday rolls around, and it's time for my Pick of the Week.

This week's pick: the Advanced Tape Glider by Scotch.

Two of my friends highly recommended this adhesive dispenser, so I put it on my wish list for last Christmas, and my sweetheart husband bought it for me.

I'll admit, I was a little intimidated by it, at first. Both the friends who recommended it to me told me there was a bit of a learning curve for installing the refills, and they weren't wrong. Fortunately, one of my other friends who works at the local scrapbook store, patiently helped me learn how to do it, and I was good to go.

Also fortunately, the LSS sells less expensive generic refills, a package of six for $20.

Many retail outlets stock the ATG, as well as its refills. I've listed a few links below.

A Cherry on Top
Simon Says Stamp
Joann
Michaels
Amazon

If you need help learning how to install the refills, YouTube is a wealth of assistance. I typed "ATG refill" into the search bar, and many results came up.

While the initial price of this ATG can be a little steep, it's overall an economical choice for a paper-crafter who uses a lot of adhesive. The adhesive I used before is not only more expensive, the tape often breaks or gets stuck, and that refill has to be discarded.

ATG refills can be re-strung, so minimal adhesive is lost, if any, and the refills are less expensive for more adhesive. I'm saving money that I can spend on more pretty paper and adorable embellishments.

Currently - April 29

Here's what I'm currently...

Watching: YouTube videos by Jen Schow, particularly the Use It or Lose It series, which is really inspiring me to dig into my stash and get some of that stuff used, This video on frames is particularly inspiring to me, and I can't wait to try out some of those great techniques. Click on this for Jen's YouTube channel.

Reading: Honestly? The last thing I read was the inspection report for the house we're trying to buy.

Listening: Two new albums I bought from iTunes--Amidst the Chaos by Sara Bareilles and Cuz I Love You by Lizzo. Both so awesome in different ways. I especially like "Armor" by Sara and "Tempo" by Lizzo.

Making: Lists. Lots of lists.

Feeling: Exhausted. For a number of reasons.

Loving: Spending time with my cousins over the weekend and spending time with Daniel in the car on the way to and from Chicago. We have such a great time together, and I really, really love him.

The Currently List is a great way to document your life in a few minutes each week. To play along, check out the rukristin website for all the juicy details right here.

Flashing Back on Friday - You Taught Me

Four years ago yesterday, I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer and dementia, so today's flashback is in honor of her.

When I created the background with stamps and ink and paint and glitter, I didn't know it would eventually serve as a base for this particular topic.

I just played and had fun, and the result ended up being the perfect platform for these two photos of my sweet little Mommy, taken mere hours before she embarked on an adventure to leave Texas and move to Michigan to live with me and my husband.

The journaling reads:

"I know this was hard for you. I know it hurt to leave your home, the home that you and Daddy built, the home you two created together in the last years of his life. I know that letting go can feel a lot like falling apart. I've been there, felt the pain of being ripped away from everything certain and familiar and safe.

"But I also know you are stronger than you realize. You have a heartful of courage to do what must be done. You still know how to leap and trust yourself, your beautiful and resilient self, that you'll land on your feet. I know because...you taught me."

I am so lucky to have her legacy of courage and strength to inspire me, so lucky to be her daughter.

Thursday 3 - April 25

Three things about my life right now:

1. Today is hard. It's the anniversary of my mother's death in 2015, and I'm really sad, but I struggle with not wanting to feel sad, even though I know it's not good for me to shelve my feelings.

2. The house-buying adventure is moving right along. Now that the house passed inspection with flying colors, Daniel and I are starting to let ourselves plan a little bit of decorating, and that's really exciting.

3. I get to see some of my cousins this weekend, and I'm so looking forward to it. Gonna raise a glass or two in memory of Mom.

Want to play along with Thursday 3? Check out all the details here, and don't forget--a selfie doesn't have to be of your face, if that's in any way uncomfortable. I used this 2014 photo of my mother holding my hand because it fits part of today's story.

This is your story. Tell it the way that works best for you. The point is to tell it.

Stories matter.

Layout Share - 2018 Primary

A sketch by Victoria Marie Calvin got this page off the ground, only I flipped it upside down and used a photo in the spot where patterned paper was supposed to be, and a very small piece of memorabilia where the small photo was supposed to be. That's progress in making a sketch work for me!

Now, I realize the shades of blue in the background, all Distress sprays, kind of depart from the color scheme of the rest of the supplies. I need to complete my collection of Distress spray stain colors, but I used what I had and made it work. Other than the mixed media work, which I did well ahead of putting the layout together, I completed this page in a fairly small amount of time.

And another piece of the 2018 story is documented!

In Memory

Four years ago today, I lost that beautiful spirit to pancreatic cancer, after watching her lose her mind and memory to dementia in small fragments over time.

She was a strong, fierce, loving, stubborn, funny, smart, sarcastic, creative delight of a woman. Not only was she a good mother to six children and their spouses, she was a proud grandmother and great-grandmother, and a faithful friend.

We had a lot of good times together, even after the dementia stole too much from her.

I miss her.

I always will.

Rachel Domain, 1932 - 2015

Layout Share - Good Day

This simple page about hanging out with my nephew came together in about half an hour. All of the supplies are from American Crafts, most from Shimelle collections. I trimmed down a journaling card from a cut-apart sheet to be the same height as the photo and used its sentiment as part of the title. I love this photo, and I love all those quirky camera images, including the ones in the background patterned paper.

Another 2018 story told, and I'm onto the next one...

Gratitude 5 - April 24

Five things in my life right now that make me want to say thanks...

1. The ability to write. I don't mean talent. I wouldn't claim to have that. I'm talking about being physically able to express myself on the page. If I weren't able to do that? I honestly do not know WHAT I would do.

2. That the inspection for the house we're trying to buy went so well today. No major issues, and the inspector was so personable and willing to explain things to me and answer my "dumb" questions. It was a much more pleasant experience than the last home inspection I endured, and no asbestos this time! Yay!

3. My partner in life, my Daniel, and all that he does to make my life easier and sweeter. We were at dinner Sunday afternoon, and the song "Lucky" came on in the restaurant. The lyric "you make it easier when life gets hard" floors me every single time, makes my eyes tear up. He really does make it easier when life gets hard, and I am beyond lucky to be in love with my best friend.

4. Time to do the things that need to get done. Daniel and I are in the calm before the super-storm of activity required to buy a house and get moved. There will be lots to do, most of it not quite ready to get done, though soon. I so appreciate having a little bit of down time before we won't have much at all.

5. Happy memories of my little Mommy to help soothe me as the anniversary of losing her approaches.

Pick of the Week - April 23

Several years ago, I was part of an online forum for the now-defunct podcast, Paperclipping Roundtable. One of the segments on that show was called "Picks of the Week," and each guest and (usually) both hosts would share something they liked and recommended, usually a scrapbooking product, sometimes another podcast, a phone app, a publication or website, or a paper-crafting technique.

I started hosting threads on the forum for listeners and members to share their picks of the week, as well as sometimes sharing my picks on my blog.

On Tuesdays, I am going to revive the pick of the week tradition and start sharing something I like and recommend each week.

First up, the Garden Harvest collection from Jilliebean Soup.

I bought these patterned papers at my local scrapbook store, Scrappy Chic, last Saturday:

While it's hard to pick one favorite, I really like the cut-apart sheet, especially the sentiment about "love and shenanigans."

Here are the B sides:

Really, really love that shade of purple! (Quelle surprise!)

I also bought the small alphabet sticker sheet and the die cuts:

(I'm not a big fan of the word "blessed," so I discarded a couple pieces with that sentiment in the recycling bin.)

Look how many pieces there are! And I love the little letters in that luscious purple.

I'm hoping to put some other supplies from my stash with these things and create a kit. Not sure what I will create yet, but oh...the possibilities!

Currently - April 22

Here is what I'm currently...

Watching: Season 5 of Bosch on Amazon Prime. Actually, we binged it over the weekend, and it was really good, probably the best season so far. The writers of this show know how to craft an engaging narrative, and the acting performances are exceptional.

Reading: House and garden magazines for decorating ideas, daydreaming about our new home.

Listening: Lovett or Leave It podcast, the episode about the details of the Mueller Report.

Making: Slow progress on the 2018 scrapbook.

Feeling: So many things! Excited, tentative, overwhelmed, energized. Buying a home can run the gamut of emotions. Above all, I'm feeling really, really thankful.

Planning: To start purging stuff and packing up the apartment for our upcoming move.

Loving: Spring. The warm freshness of it, the hopefulness of all the brand new green popping up out of the ground, unfurling from the waking trees. The sunshine and rain in almost constant competition. While spring is not my favorite season, it has its distinctive and very enjoyable delights.


Want to play along and document your life right now in just a few minutes? All the information about the Currently list journaling project is available on my friend Kristin's blog right here.

Flashing Back on Friday - Sonata of Memories

Back in 2007, I was still learning how to scrapbook, mostly by experimenting with different things and seeing what looked good and didn't, what I liked and didn't like.

I had an envelope of small photos of my parents and their life together. My father died in 2003, and I wanted to make my mother an album with those pictures, an album that she could write her own memories in, making it a collaboration between the two of us.

Mom had bought me a Close to My Heart paper collection called Sonata, and I used that collection to create a 6x6 album for her.

The cover and the introduction page:

Some of the pages:

Mom did write a few things in the book, though some of the spots I included for her, she left blank. And that's okay! I wanted her to enjoy it, not find it a task, and I think she did.

I treasure this album. It's our joint effort, my Mom's and mine, to preserve the story of her and my father and their wonderful life together.

Another Springtime Walk in the Park

My favorite park in Ann Arbor is County Farm Park, and on Tuesday, I went there for a long walk to get some fresh air and exercise and dispel some stress.

There were bouts of bright sunshine, so I wore my shades, and it was warm, so the hair had to go up in a ponytail.

Something new is blooming about every week during Michigan spring. These lovelies (camellias, maybe?) were just getting started.

These delightful little beautiful popped up in an area that has been cleared recently. I love that color.

Same with these, just a little cluster a few feet from the others, but I bet there will be more by the next time I visit.

Thursday 3 - April 18

Another Thursday rolls around, and that means it's time for Thursday 3. Click here for details on how to play along.

1. Spring is in full swing in Michigan. I mean, obviously, but it has a lot of bearing on everyday life right now because the weather is so all-over-the-place. It rains a lot, and it can be in the high 60's one day, the low 40's the next. I never know how to dress! Except of coures, layers for the win! There's also a lot of nasty allergens in the air, so cue the spring allergy headaches and sinus congestion.

2. Daniel and I are in full house-buying mode, and it's both exciting and overwhelming. Thankfully, we have a really good mortgage agent and real estate agent helping us through all the details. And at the end? We (hopefully) get a house we get to make our home.

3. Mermaid hair is the best!

Wild Hair Colors

In June of 2018, in honor of turning 50, I had my hair colored with multiple "fashion colors," what I called "mermaid hair."

Sure, I'd had my hair colored before, since about 2007, but this was the first time I'd done something so wild.

And I loved it.

I even loved when the colors faded over the next month, looking like this:

And I got a lot of compliments, more than probably ever before, especially from the younger set.

Many times, when I pulled up to the window at Starbucks, the young person handing me my mocha would say, "I love your hair!"

Fall was a busy time for me, so I didn't get back to the salon until December, and my sweet and talented stylist pepped up the fade (and covered the grey), so I was all set for the holidays.

In February, she went a different direction, and I was delighted with the purple!

Purple is my favorite color, and every time I looked in the mirror, it made me smile to see my purple hair.

Unfortunately, purple fades more quickly than the other colors, and that might've been helped along by a dirty bird one day at the park that made me have to wash my hair with very hot water three times in a row.

Insert appropriate emoji here.

Yesterday, I went back to mermaid hair, and I think my stylist really outdid herself.

I love it. I really, really love it.

What's interesting is that when I was a teenager, I loved wild things, but I don't think I would ever have colored my hair wild colors like these, even if it had dawned on me that it was possible.

Now, at 50, it feels so authentically me to have my hair like this.

And I love being authentically me most of all.

Gratitude 5 - April 17

Five things in my life right now that make me want to say thanks...

1. We found a house!

2. Our real estate agent, who helped us through a kind of confusing negotiation process and helped get to the point of the sellers accepting our offer.

3. That the sore throat I had last Friday and Saturday didn't get worse or linger too long.

4. Daniel's steadfast-ness (is that a word? It is, now!) through this process, and how great a team member he is, always.

5. My friends, who are so supportive and share in my excitement. I'm so, so lucky to have these wonderful women in my life.

Currently - April 15

What I'm currently...

Watching: Hanna on Amazon Prime. Actually, we already finished watching it. Binged it in two days because I was sick and didn't feel like doing anything else. While it had an intriguing premise, and it was engaging throughout the eight episodes, the end...well, it kinda sucked. No good way to put it. Still, a decent distraction for two consecutive sick days.

Reading: An article from Victoria magazine on the Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan. I'm wondering if I can manage a visit to see the tulips this year...

Listening: the Hysteria podcast. I've been catching up and really enjoying it.

Making: a pizza embellishment for a scrapbook page about the day that Daniel made pizza at Domino's. I couldn't find an embellishment that I liked, except a couple that were part of themed Jolee's stickers, and I needed one larger one. So, I crafted one myself and love how it turned out. (I'll share the page once I get it done.)

Feeling: Impatient to get back to normal, healthwise.

Planning: What to give to two of my friends for their birthdays this month.

Loving: Daniel, my partner, my best friend, my anchor through life's turbulence. I mean, like, ALWAYS, of course. But spending all day Saturday next to him, even though I felt crappy, was such a comfort, and yesterday, we ventured out in the rain to attend open houses. It was so pleasant to be with him, to have him near. So, yeah. Like always, always, REALLY loving this man and the relationship we've crafted. I'm SO lucky.

Want to play along with Currently? Go check out all the details here.

Flashing Back on Friday - Celebration of Spring

Nine years ago today, I took these photos in the yard of our house in Farmington Hills. So many beautiful flowers, a visual celebration of the charms of spring.

Thursday 3 - April 11

Three things about my life right now:

1. Our house search is in full swing. Last Sunday, we went to seven open houses, and while not one of them was "the house," it was an informative experience that helped us narrow down what we do and don't want. Sometimes, it's a little frustrating not to find what we want, but I'm trying to see this as an adventure and approach it positively, so it's fun and not fraught.

2. The apartment complex management is coming to do preventative maintenance tomorrow, so I took their visit as an opportunity to do some spring cleaning in preparation. I worked all day yesterday, and my 50-year-old body feels it! Not sure when cleaning became a full workout, but it feels great to have a clean apartment and get rid of some stuff that was hanging around and needed to go.

3. I just feel really good lately, and I'm so full of gratitude for that.



Want to play along, do your own Thursday 3, check out all the information on rukristin's website here and do your Thursday 3 thing!

Scrapbook Page Re-do - What I Wear

Once in awhile, when I'm paging through my scrapbooks, I come across a page I don't like. For one reason or another, usually poor design or color choices that no longer appeal to me, I experience a gentle cringing at my own work. Most of the time, I accept that pages I don't like are part of my scrapbooking journey, but sometimes, I just want a re-do.

Here is a page I created in 2012, and a couple weeks ago, as I was looking through my Story of Me scrapbook, I decided it needed to be redone.

What I don't like:

1. The color scheme--I like that turquoise/teal color in small doses, but on this page, it's too overpowering for my taste.

2. The style of the patterned paper and embellishments doesn't match the story, and that bothers me.

3. The word "day" in the title is too far beneath the word "typical," which I find distracting. I just want to scoot it up, and of course...I can't.

When I set out to re-do a page, I try to salvage some of the original, but with this one, I simply couldn't make that work and wound up starting over with only the photo and journaling.

Flipping through the spring 2019 issue of Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine, I came across this wonderful layout from Nicole Nowosad, and I thought it would be a great design to scraplift for my new page.

What a beautiful, well-designed page, right?

Here is the page I made from that inspiration:

So much better than the original.

I love the navy in the patterned paper and die cuts (I realize it looks more like charcoal or black in the photo, but it's navy.) because those tones coordinate with the colors in the photo. I had plenty of room to copy my journaling, though I admit, I did edit a little bit, and I did crop my photo down to 3 by 4 inches.

The design is better, and the whole feeling of the supplies I used is more casual, less formal. Most of the supplies are from Pinkfresh Studios, which is rapidly becoming a favorite manufacturer of mine.

Obviously, I don't have the time or interest to re-do every scrapbook page I did when I was teaching myself how to scrapbook. Those early layouts not only document the stories they tell, but also my process as a scrapbooker.

However, I'm really glad that I chose to recreate this page. When I see it in my scrapbook, I will smile, rather than cringe.

To see another scrapbook page re-do from July of 2018, click here.

Layout Share - Saugatuck

The last layout for the story of our weekend getaway to the western side of Michigan for Daniel's birthday last year presented a challenge for me.

All but two of the photos were about our visit to a coffee shop, but I didn't want to make separate pages for the photo about the winery tasting room and leaving. My solution was to kind of separate the coffee shop photos with those two pieces of strip stickers along the top and the bottom of the page, while keeping the page cohesive by using similar embellishments throughout, other than the wine bottle and glass next to the photo of Tabor Hill's front window.

I think it works? I like it, anyway, and it's another story wrapped up in my 2018 yearbook.

Layout Share - Together at Lake Michigan

Last summer, for Daniel's birthday, we took a weekend trip to the west side of Michigan. Ottawa Beach was our second-to-last stop before heading home, and while clouds hung over the July day, we still enjoyed wandering out on a pier, seeing baby ducks braving the Lake Michigan waves, and kids making the most of the cloudy day by jumping into the lake.

Because I had a lot of pictures for this piece of our weekend getaway story, I went for a simple, loose grid design with patterned papers that match the rest of the pages I created about this event, and I opted for more minimal embellishment than usual because I wanted the photos to be more of a focus.

I really like how this page turned out and how visually appealing it is to me. I'll be using similar designs more often in the future.

Gratitude 5 - April 10

Welcome back to my Wednesday series, Gratitude 5, in which I list five things in my life right now that make me want to say thanks.

1. The spring flowers blooming all over the place.

2. My wonderful, wonderful friends.

3. The availability of fresh fruit.

4. How easy it is to buy songs I love.

5. Journalists working so very hard all the time to get the truth to the public.