Monday, July 23, 2018

A Summer Walk and Photo Safari

Last Friday, I took my usual neighborhood walk, pausing to take photos along the way. It was a mostly sunny day, but the air was pleasantly warm with a cool breeze.




I passed a tree that seems a little confused, its leaves already starting to turn, even though summer's only about half over--unless it knows something I don't.



A black-eyed-susan blooming near the wall by our apartment complex.



These lavender beauties stretching out along the sidewalk.



And these blooms look like they're just about done for the season.



These odd little things, scattered among the grass, looking just a bit like umbrellas.



A tiny, tiny tree, daydreaming about twinkle lights and shiny decorations in its future.



These lovely white cups catching the sunlight.



And this color.



Evergreens and bright oak leaves, and in the distance, the restaurant where Daniel and I ate the night he proposed to me.



On the way home...


Thursday, July 19, 2018

Scrapbook Page Redo - One

I don't usually redo scrapbook pages. I have been scrapbooking since about 2006, and when I started, I really had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know about magazines until well after I begun my paper-crafting journey, nor did I know about online sources for inspiration and education.

I knew nothing at all about scrap-lifting.

Until I knew about the resources at my disposal, I learned by creating. I learned by jumping in and doing it. I learned what looked good and what didn't, what worked for my own style asthetic and what didn't. I created pages I did like, and some I didn't.

And for the most part, I accept all the work I did as creative play that taught me how I wanted to scrapbook.

But.

A few months ago, I was putting the pages I made about my niece into albums, and I came across a few that really made me cringe. While I value my creative process, I wanted to do these pages over so I would like them better.

Here's one I want to share today.


Now, I don't want to bash my attempt, here. There are some things I did right, particularly attempting the page in the first place.

I think I did a pretty good job matching the background patterned paper with the mood and colors of the photo. That's my little Mommy handing her baby granddaughter to my darling father to hold. He was ill with kidney disease and felt badly that night, but it was a sweet moment. A memory I wanted to preserve on the page, and I thought the photo went well with a poem I wrote about my father's brief relationship with his granddaughter that he only knew as a tiny baby.

I also like that I used acrylic paint to create a place for the journaling, though the spacing didn't serve the design well. The positioning of the elements leave awkward space in between, and then there's the big piece of card stock with the poem printed on it.

Technically, it matches the floral in the background, but it overpowers the whole page, and not in a visually pleasing way. The torn and inked edges only draw attention to the odd shape of that element, and the stamping, crooked and overlapping, adds distraction, rather than the intended subtle texture.

The title fails in both size and placement, and the ribbon further detaches the photo from the rest of the page. While the brads do create a visual triangle, they don't create a sense of cohesion, partly because they are the only embellishments, and they look isolated. Almost minimalist or like an afterthought.

So, yeah. Definitely a candidate for a scrapboook page redo.


What a difference, huh?

What I love about this page, first and foremost is the color scheme. I'm a huge fan of purple, and while it doesn't exactly match the photo, it complements it. I used the original journaling by cutting it out of the background paper and adhering it to the new background. I changed the title to reference the poem, and I cropped the photo down to really focus on the subject.

When I look at this page, I can tell how much I've learned since I created the first version. It isn't perfect by any means; I'm sure I could find more than one thing to criticize, if I chose.

But I definitely don't cringe when I look at it. In fact, it makes me smile.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

What's Going On - July 2018

Four months since my last post, and SO MUCH has HAPPENED!


Probably the biggest news? I turned fifty. The big 5-0, the half century mark, a new decade, starting down the slide towards senior citizenship.

Scary.

But the coolest thing about the milestone birthday is that I got to celebrate with a trip to one of my favorite places on earth, Walt Disney World. AND I got to bring my nephew D.J., which was extra special because I've wanted to take him to Disney World since he was a kid.

While it's hard to pick favorite photos from a trip like that--and sweeties, I took a LOT of pictures!--here's one that definitely makes the top five:


I was so excited to meet Chewbacca. Like-a-kid excited. I may or may not have jumped up and down when I saw the sign for the line. Looking at that picture just makes me happy, makes me smile all the way to my heart.

On the afternoon of my birthday, I got to meet two of my long time online scrappin' friends, an extra-special gift. We met at Disney Springs, chatting for awhile before heading to T-Rex for a bit of celebration.

Check out my birthday key lime pie:


Oh...yeah, baby!

Another sweet thing--getting to see my niece, Rebecca, and her three wonderful kids. We ate lunch and had ice cream together, and it was an extra birthday present getting to catch up with them.

There were a couple firsts during our Orlando vacation, too. We visited Animal Kingdom for the first time, which we really enjoyed, even thought we got caught in a downpour that began just as we started riding Expedition Everest.




We also visited Universal Studios, and you know what that means...


...the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

We. LOVED. It. Just look how excited I was to ride Hogwarts Express:


I admit, by the time the week was over, I was exhausted, but in a good way. The best part? I get to relive all the happy memories again when I create the scrapbook pages documenting the trip.


As part of my birthday celebration, this also happened:

Before...






































And after...






































Mermaid hair. It's something I've wanted to do for quite awhile now and finally just did it, right before I left for vacation. I love it, even after the color has faded some. I'm trying to decide if I want to do it again, freshen it up for the rest of the summer, or wait until fall and try something new.

Since we've been back, I've been coping with the hottest summer I've ever experienced in Michigan, and I've been making plans for future adventures, as well as thinking a lot about what I want to do with my writing life. Daniel and I participated in the 100 Days Project by writing 100 days in a row, and that accomplishment has made me think about writing again, including more blog posts, maybe working on a memoir project, maybe posting some old short stories here.

Lots of possibilities.

That's what's been going on with me. What's been going on with you? Leave me a comment. Let's connect.